Meal of a lifetime: what to eat at every age

“Breast milk or first infant formula should be their main drink during the first year, you can continue breastfeeding for as long as you both want. Remember your baby’s tummy is tiny and fills up quickly – so offer milk feeds after solids.”

https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby...

I feel the posted article does a disservice to parents who are overwhelmed with opinions that lack nuance and context around infant diet and health. The NHS website on the other hand does a good job showing the spectrum of options for introducing foods and changing milk/formula ratios.

This article is just bad, it attempts to be authoritative on a subject that has bedeviled researchers for decades.

It doesn’t meet Hacker News criteria for ‘new and interesting.’ There isn’t anything new here, the tradition of news publications writing up health advice (which always contradicts the most recent previous article) is a long and boring one.

Pure nonsense. Seriously.

And do we really have to change our diet as we get older? Besides being reared by their mother in the earliest part of their lives, do other mammals change their diet as they get older?

Something irks me about these sentences, that are literally next to one another in the piece.

> If eating to slow ageing is your aim, Lawton only has one recommendation:s fasting. “There’s something called autophagy: if you deprive your body of nutrients for an extended period of time, your body has to find alternative sources of energy. So it finds loads of gubbins in your cells – bits of protein, old organelles, the cellular damage – and it burns them. It’s like cleaning out loads of old crap from inside you.” Fasting is associated with better metabolic health, and in animal experiments “has been tried on every conceivable animal from insects through to macaques, extending their lifespans by up to 50%”.

I know what the problem is. I'm just really bad at following the solution.

I’m trying so hard not to read that as some emasculation conspiracy for the youth of boys.

I can see the argument going from whole milk --> 2%, but in general you need to be very careful with low-fat or non-fat dairy products, as they tend to simply add a ton of processed sugar to make it taste better due to the lack of fat.

Whole fat yogurts, cottage cheese, sour cream, etc are almost certainly better for you than their low-fat/non-fat alternatives. They'll keep you full longer and won't spike your blood sugar.

> What to eat: seeds, tofu and semi-skimmed milk

If you have kids of this age, please do not do this to them. They need lots of healthy fat and animal protein.

Did you know that cholesterol ”serves as a precursor for the biosynthesis of steroid hormones, bile acid and vitamin D.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholesterol

Cholesterol is the precursor for nearly all the hormones in our body.

I didn’t learn about this until very recenty.

”Steroid hormones can be grouped into two classes: corticosteroids (typically made in the adrenal cortex, hence cortico-) and sex steroids (typically made in the gonads or placenta). Within those two classes are five types according to the receptors to which they bind: glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids (both corticosteroids) and androgens, estrogens, and progestogens (sex steroids).”

Cholesterol is the precursor for ALL OF THESE. Including cortisol.

”Steroid hormones help control metabolism, inflammation, immune functions, salt and water balance, development of sexual characteristics, and the ability to withstand injury and illness.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steroid_hormone

I do not see the proposal to avoid cholesterol as a default way of living to be grounded in any kind of solid scientific basis. Having read the studies as well as I can.

It was also very interesting and important to learn what *low* cortisol does. And afaik there is “competition” for cholesterol resources when there isn’t enough cholesterol. Sex hormones are usually the first to be turned off when there’s a problem in steroid hormone synthesis. And sex hormones do a lot for well-being.