[extropy-chat] Atkins Diet Change

[Robert J. Bradbury]

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004, Mike Lorrey wrote:

> Please be more accurate, as you are below. They say that you get better
> results if you don't eat as much RED meat.

The problem is they aren't being as specific as one might like
because they are speaking to the general public.

a) Meat is high in iron.  Excessive iron intake is probably bad
   in the long run.  (In the genetic disease hemochromotosis excess
   iron is stored and causes liver and heart damage as I recall).
   So the recommendation *should* be different for men and women
   as mature women before menopause lose iron every month while
   men do not.  (Even if high iron does not contribute to organ
   damage it quite likely may contribute to the excess production
   of free radicals which will damage DNA and lead to cancer.)

b) The red meat commonly consumed in western countries is high in
   saturated fat.  Saturated fat is probably the real culprit here.
   Consumption of leaner (e.g. wild) meats might not have the problem
   that farmed meats do (even if they are "red" -- bearing in mind (a)).

> Depends on the age of the person. I would disagree with children and
> seniors. As I've detailed here, and Robert has concurred, there is
> evidence that low-fat diets can have an impact on brain health, with
> potential for encephalopathy.

I think over the next couple of years we are going to work out
significant polymorphisms involved in fat metabolism (on top of
those already suspected).  That is going to lead to genome specific
diet recommendations in these areas.  Down the road we will get
some plant genome tinkering that will give more plant sources
high in Omega-3 fatty acids -- then the current diet plans
we are using which involve tradeoffs of various kinds can
be adjusted.

Robert