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Comment by noondip | Hacker News Reader

Fibre is carbohydrate. Protein isn't that important - WHO recommends just 10% of calories be protein. Fat isn't as scary? I assume you meat saturated and trans fat found in almost all processed and animal foods - avoid them at all costs for optimal health.

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Actually, saturated fats aren't all that bad at least from what I've read as long as you don't go overboard with them. You can't survive w/o them as they make up quite a bit of your brain, skin, muscle, and the like. What I think is the problem with the US/EU diet situation is the fact we just over eat. Fast/Junk food being easily accessible and made to be savory just makes it easier to over eat. I know for me at least that's the case. The worse part is when going back to eating whatever I can cook (even chili or some other semi-spicy dish) it just doesn't feel as satisfying as just munching on a Chipotle burrito. So, I think there's some psychology (picking up food feels more fun than having to prep and cook it yourself) and probably other tricks (flavor combinations?) at work here.

You can't survive without saturated fat? I'm going to ask for you to provide a citation for that. I eat ~0g saturated and trans fat and have never been more healthy.

You're getting your fat sources from unsaturated fats then? I believe the body converts those sources into the fatty acids found in saturated fats when needed and vice versa (same w/ Omega 6 to Omega 3). You literally cannot survive on 0% fat intake it just doesn't work. You'll get vitamin deficiencies in short order. It's why I'm leery of any diet that prescribes an extremely low fat content (sub-10% daily intake).

Yes, sir/ma'am! I mix nuts, seeds, avocado, or similar plant-foods into almost every meal because you're right - unsaturated fats are essential, and conduce vitamin absorption. I also have a daily smoothie with a generous helping of ground flaxseed, chia seed, or hemp seed to get my tasty omega's. My own experience and research has led me to conclude the optimal amount of fat in my diet is less than 10%. Oh, and my acne is gone completely.

Thanks for the information, but I'm going to say that your sarcasm isn't necessary if you want to discuss the matter. This isn't a subject that requires it as I never came to it with such (as I see it).

Edit: after seeing the way you behave in other comment threads, I'm retracting my apology. You have the characteristic of a zealot which makes all discussion impossible (personal experience of myself being a zealot in the past, so I'm going to tell you to take a chill pill, the universe is fine if I/others eat saturated fats and meats). Have fun promoting your diet onto others with such zealotry. Also, take the misgendering and stuff it.

Hey - I'm sorry about that, no sarcasm was intended, nor implied. I just explained how I get my fats and in what amount. If you want to get technical, yes - the universe is fine with others eating saturated fats and meat, but the planet definitely is not. Animal agriculture is an unsustainable practice and is the leading cause of climate change, for instance. So, if you want to go there, it's important to recognize these facts first.

Everything in the long run unsustainable. You're not going to magically undo centuries worth of socialization on millions of people. So, I think it's best to work on what you can change (which it seems you did with your diet).

Also, I'm sorry if I snapped at you. I intend no malice.

  I assume you meat saturated and trans fat found
  in almost all processed and animal foods

For the umpteenth time, transfats do not occur in meaningful amounts "almost all" animal products. There are small amounts in dairy, and those naturally-occurring animal transfats have been found to be neutral or beneficial!

See, for example: Effects of Ruminant trans Fatty Acids on Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer: A Comprehensive Review of Epidemiological, Clinical, and Mechanistic Studies (Adv Nutr July 2011 Adv Nutr vol. 2: 332-354, 2011)

Noondip made this exact same false claim in a December thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10673687

Your evidence is, once again, fraught with bias and cherry-picking.

> Supported by the Global Dairy Platform

> Although data from experimental models suggest that rTFA may beneficially affect risk of CVD and cancer, further research is needed to determine the effects of VA and c9,t11-CLA in humans. Data from existing human studies do not consistently support the findings from experimental studies.

> thus, it is difficult to draw conclusions regarding VA and c9,t11-CLA and various cancers.

You're never going to convince me trans fat is good for you.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra054035

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22059639

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22403632

> 'The National Academy of Sciences’ report is the first attempt by a panel of experts to set a safe intake level for trans fat. The panel found that, like saturated fat, trans fat promotes heart disease. Furthermore, the panel concluded that the only safe intake of trans fat is ‘zero.’ However, because it would be impractical to eliminate all trans fat from the diet, the panel recommended that people consume as little trans fat as possible. Yet it is currently impossible for consumers to follow the panel’s advice because the Food and Drug Administration does not require trans fat to be listed on Nutrition Facts food labels.

http://www.cspinet.org/new/200207101.html

Please, don't recommend people eat animal products for beneficial properties of trans fat. It's just scientifically untenable.

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