Key paragraph:
But it was with the 50th-anniversary edition of “Diet for a Small Planet” that [Moore's daughter] Anna took on a specific goal of adding more recipes from Black, Indigenous and people of color and taking a serious look, with the expert help of nutritionist Wendy Lopez, at both culling and updating the recipes from the original edition. Ingredients such as soy flour and margarine and ideas such as “protein combining” (designed to alleviate the fears of skeptics of vegetarian diets) from the original book were scrapped, while the overall focus continues to stay on eating whole fruits and vegetables.
How can there be an "edition" of the book that omits the main idea?! That book didn't just "alleviate the fears of skeptics." It informed us about the completeness of the protein in eggs and meat and gave us a formula for building a complete protein from vegetarian elements. For example beans with rice made something like a complete protein. If you've taken that idea out, it's not what "Diet for a Small Planet" has meant to us devotées and former devotées for half a century.
The WaPo article links to a 2015 WaPo article that scoffs at the old "completing the protein" idea: "The best reason to eat beans and grains together: They’re delicious."
There’s a persistent myth involved, though: the idea that you have to combine the two to get a so-called “complete protein,” or protein that contains all the essential amino acids found in animal protein. In fact, some legumes, grains and other plant-based foods can be complete sources of protein on their own. Moreover, researchers have learned that you don’t have to eat complementary foods in the same meal to get the benefit.
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40 comments:
We are capitalizing "Indigenous" now?
learned that you don’t have to eat complementary foods in the same meal to get the benefit
in, Other Words.... You DO have to eat them
in, Other Words.... The book was right, but; we took it out, to see 'trendy'
These people are searching for science to support their answer.
There isn't any.
As a species we grew up driving the Giant Land Sloth to extinction. As we deviated further from our common ancestors from Chimpanzees we evolved with smaller guts and larger brains.
You cannot support a large brain and a small gut on a plant based diet.
Plant based diet = cow.
Deal with it.
You can eat a carbohydrate centered diet and carry all of the extra gut bacteria and pummel your pancreas. It is very resilient. But it is not healthy and you will have food cravings and carry extra fat.
Kinda like a cow.
adding more recipes from Black, Indigenous and people of color
People with persistent health problems. People who historically have often had the diets they had not out of choice, but because that's what there was.
Meanwhile, the arrogant white progressive elitism here is rather appalling. How is "Black food" different from white food?
"Black, Indigenous and people of color"
What's with the "and"? Black people and Native Americans aren't "people of color" anymore?
I read Diet for a Small Planet when I was in high school.
My main takeaway was not the completing proteins idea, it was how the insane amount of food and water it took to get one pound of beef. And that vegetarian food can provide enough protein.
I remember the "complete proteins" idea but I don't remember reading that in the book--I think I remember hearing about that in my middle school home ec/nutrition class. So obviously, that concept made its way into other areas. I just don't remember it being the--as you say--the "main idea."
Long ago I read the following analogy to explain essential amino acids. If you wanted to make up signs that read "DO NOT ENTER," you'd need a box with D's, one with O's, etc. If you don't have any R's, even if you have plenty of the other letters, you can't make even one sign (that being the protein your body needs to function). You can get all the letters you need from meat. But you can also get some letters from one vegetarian dish, and other letters from another vegetarian dish, and still have all the letters. Finally the essential amino acids need to be in the ratios needed to build the protein: so if you had 200D's and 400 O's, T's, E's and N's, but only one R, you could only make one sign.
I see we've now degenerated into diet diversity, inclusion, and equity. I'm sure that'll help the health of the gen pop as much as it has education and government. Go team!
The secret to life is everything in moderation, with an occasional addition of offal to your diet, and an occasional, but regular sip of whiskey.
Everything else is just a fad, a trend, or a hunt for more book sales.
Althouse
“What's with the "and"? Black people and Native Americans aren't "people of color" anymore?” Since the sixties the left has been monkeying around with the best way to articulate the various ethnic groups that needed its support and solidarity. Anyway the writer here is doing it wrong. To be authentic, to be down with the struggle, it is peoples of color not people of color. This flourish guarantees your creds as an original social justice warrior.
"Black, Indigenous and people of color"
so, fry bread and ripple?
Dr. Althouse:
"Black, Indigenous and people of color"
What's with the "and"? Black people and Native Americans aren't "people of color" anymore?
Indigenous Swedes are as pasty-white as I am. And here you have the ludicrousness of treating skin color as a racial signifier and race as a dietary value marker in a single sentence.
So the original idea of “complete proteins” is now refuted or the new book is the dumbed down version, complete with cultural appropriation of minority type food that no one else should be allowed to eat.
On a related topic, another example of the "settled" science being wrong.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/sep/26/food-myths-busted-dairy-salt-steak-swedish-study-science-health-advice
Our Brain:Gut ratios increased for millennia as hunter gatherers until about 12000 years ago when we domesticated agriculture.
Guess what has happened to our Brain:Gut ratio since then.
"Indigenous" is not just "Native American," but aboriginal anywhere (Inuit, other Canadian indigenes, South American ditto, Australian aborigines, Maori, &c. Maybe Hmong, too -- I'm not sure). But yes, the point of "BIPOC" in this country is that the Blacks and the Native Americans had it worst, so the other "POC" are also-rans. Pushed to the back of the bus -- er, acronym.
Ann Althouse asks "Black people and Native Americans aren't "people of color" anymore?"
The point of these formulations (BIPOC, DEI, LGBTQIA+, and so on) is to induce the user to buy into a moral/political frameing that is riddled with contradictions and to leverage those contradictions in the future.
Thus, corporations are all eagerly using these brandings, which will be used down the road to insist on concessions with the argument that not to take the additional step (and enforce the step not only on their own employees, but on their suppliers) would be hypocritical.
So, feature, not a bug.
The last thing that lard-ass Americans need to be concerned with is getting enough protein.
The optimal macro nutrient balance preached by all of the food fundamentalists, eg Keto carno Vego is horshit. Human beings evolved to be able to survive and thrive on any and all mixes of whole food diets. This flexibility helped our ancestors to survive the climate extremes that have characterized the Pleistocene.
Modern industrial agriculture is a double bind two edged sword. On the one hand, it's the most acutely economical system for producing calories. On the other, it sterilizes and depletes soils, contaminates water and air and kills bugs and bunnies.
Industrial meat production is much worse in environment impact, abject animal cruelty and human health impacts.
Because of the lizard brain chemical stimulation from Uber processed industrial chemical food products, the addicts resist any attempt to question or change the status quo.
Once again Ann is spot on. Our DIET for a SMALL PLANET is no longer in the kitchen so I went to the upstairs library. On the first page of the book, before the title page and contents page:"What is protein complementarity? the combination, in the proper proportions, of non-meat foods, that produces high-grade protein nutrition equivalent to-or better than- meat protein.AND THAT IS WHAT THIS BOOK IS ALL ABOUT" Caps in the original: she was shouting to the reader. What did a famous person recently say? Being woke turns everything to shit. Judging by the food stains, my favorite was the cornbread (soy flour!)
If any diet is truly to be "for a small planet" then it must include meat and dairy from RUMINANT animals. Many, if not most, soils are not appropriate for production of grains, beans, vegetables, and so on because they are too erodible, to steep, too shallow, or too full of clay for anything but perennial forage crops like grasses and clovers.
They can produce food only via meat and dairy. Think of cattle as solar-powered grass combines ... which happen to be very tasty and nutritious.
Black people and Native Americans aren't "people of color" anymore?
All the cool kidz are using that silly form of speech:
"BIPOC, which stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color."
BTW, "People are using the term to acknowledge that not all people of color face equal levels of injustice."
Unequal levels of injustice?!?!? Call in the JEDI!
White people are indigenous to Europe, of course, but that doesn't count, of course.
Sounds like cultural appropriation to me. Very, very bad. Anyone who promotes this diet must be a racist. /sarc
Imagine ditching steak for soy beans. It's insane.
You will love the bug based protein coming in the next few decades. You won't even miss that t-bone.
'"Black, Indigenous and people of color"
What's with the "and"? Black people and Native Americans aren't "people of color" anymore?'
It's just Diversity Bullshit, Ann.
There’s a persistent myth involved, though: the idea that you have to combine the two to get a so-called “complete protein,” or protein that contains all the essential amino acids found in animal protein. In fact, some legumes, grains and other plant-based foods can be complete sources of protein on their own. Moreover, researchers have learned that you don’t have to eat complementary foods in the same meal to get the benefit.
Since I've believed that claim, I'd like to see the evidence against. But WaPo won't let me see the article. Anyone read it, and found a link to research they claim they're talking about?
"you don’t have to eat complementary foods in the same meal"
How long of a gap is allowed? 1 hour? 1 day?
"some legumes, grains and other plant-based foods can be complete sources of protein on their own"
"Some" is such a powerful word. Two is "some". So, which are the foods that are so powerful? or is the answer to that "the only foods this is true of are foods that everyone hates"?
In a competently and honestly written article, that sentence would be:
In fact, some legumes, grains and other plant-based foods, like X, Y, and Z, can be complete sources of protein on their own. The lack of that "like" clause makes me deeply suspicious of the claim
You cannot support a large brain and a small gut on a plant based diet.
This, of course, is utter nonsense. There are plenty of high protein plants available.
People with persistent health problems.
They didn't have persistent health problems until they were forced to eat the foods of Western Europeans (or in the case of African Americans, the scraps and waste of Western European food).
Frank Oski, late Chief Pediatrician at Johns Hopkins and author of the standard US pediatric textbook during his life, used to say that a lot of fad diets were merely "feeding the fishes" because most of the supplements, vitamins, minerals, special proteins and other highlighted fad diet contents passed right through the user and ended up in the local water system.
There are minimal nutritional requirements of calories, essential vitamins and minerals, protein and fat and carbs to stay healthy. Usually this amounts to a lot less than most people eat in the US. Your body can't differentiate the sources of these things, and passes the excess material out your gut or kidneys, or makes you fat. Excesses of some things, from bacon grease to Vitamin D, will make you sick. It isn't that complicated.
Sounds more like they do not want to admit that getting your protein from eggs or meat is really the best option if you have access.
I would really like to live on the indigenous diet of the Native American plains tribes. Buffalo or beef and more buffalo.
Look how healthy these people look. On a diet of mostly meat I will take the indigenous diet.
Research the Maasi
https://masai-mara-bookings.com/introduction-to-the-maasai-people/
Ann Althouse said...
"Black, Indigenous and people of color"
What's with the "and"? Black people and Native Americans aren't "people of color" anymore?
**************
How about "other people of color"? Wouldn't that be more "inclusive"?
"What's with the "and"? Black people and Native Americans aren't "people of color" anymore?"
Folks with shaky logic fear being accused of being non-inclusive. Belt and suspenders.
Can't be too sure.
I remember combining proteins from my grad school days in the mid-70's. I lived in a church and served as the janitor for my rent. They had Bread for the World meetings with big vegan food fests, complete with instructions on the many ways beans and rice could be combined for nutrition and overall yumminess. I'd known most of that since I was about four, being Southern and such. We always managed to have some part of the pig involved, though.
Really nice people.
'How is "Black food" different from white food?'
More soul, or course.
'What's with the "and"?'
Wokeness has made some people unremittingly stupid.
From Good Calories, Bad Calories (Gary Taubes), my recollection (since I can't look it up at the moment) is that bread, for example, really does contain complete protein. You just to have to eat more than a loaf to get it. Not low-carb friendly.
But the first hit googling 'bread complete protein' tells me only two slices of Exekiel bread, with its blend of sprouted grains, "contains all nine essential amino acids" for "8 grams of filling protein". Eh, a rare indulgence.
The "fears of skeptics" of vegetarian diets are based on actual, real science. You no longer hear about "high quality protein", which was how meat and fish used to be described. The meaning of "high quality protein" was simply that it contained all necessary amino acids, without having to make sure that your diet contained all the amino acids you need. Yes, you can select proteins that fulfill that requirement as a vegetarian, but you have to be damned careful to pay attention to what you are eating. Poor people have a bad record of failing to account for missing nutrients when eating a meat free diet....usually not by choice, but because they could not afford meat. The same societal affluence that allows vegetarians also made starvation rare in the West.
People who historically have often had the diets they had not out of choice, but because that's what there was.
I remember reading an account of the life of a slave written by someone who had been a field hand and was educated in one of the numerous schools for freed slaves that were opened after the Civil War. Going by his account the slave owner barely fed them at all. Mostly potatoes and other cheap food stuffs that they were obliged to grow as a matter of subsistence. Naturally, they stole all the food they could get away with and learned to scrounge anything edible from the woods and waters they could reach.
I think the "And PoC" means "Thai and Indian food"
Freder Frederson,
They didn't have persistent health problems until they were forced to eat the foods of Western Europeans (or in the case of African Americans, the scraps and waste of Western European food).
So, Central European food OK? Eastern European? Indian? Ukrainian/Russian? Or will only sub-Saharan African food do?
I doubt that any culture's food is actually toxic, or the culture wouldn't long remain a culture. But if you are convinced that Argentine beef and Indian chicken and lamb and Chinese pork are all toxic, go for it.
I read a couple of nutritionist Adele Davis's books, and as I recall, completing proteins was a regular theme of her books published in the late '40s and '50s. It's where I learned the concept. Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit.
Adam and Eve were vegetarians, per Genesis. Only later, in the covenant with Noah, are humans explicitly allowed to eat meat. Not that this needs to be accepted literally, but it is an interesting picture of human eating practices.
admittedly, Soylent Red and Soylent Yellow aren't particularly complete; or delicious
BUT!
Now that the Soylent Corp has started producing Soylent Green; ALL these issues should be addressed
Soylent Green is not only a complete protein; it's Yummy!!!
Love that quinoa from Popeyes is not much of a sales pitch.
So what I'm doing up at the cabin -- subsisting on rice and beans -- is actually good for me?
Great, but it's not good for the environment.
Beans ... methane ... you know the rest.
"Black, Indigenous and people of color"
They wanted to give pride of place to African-Americans and American Indians.
It should be "Black, Indigenous and other people of color."
But BIOPOC sounds too much like biopic, and looks like it has something to do with biology.
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