Archives for September 2010

Seriously.

Is any-Paleo-one more prolific than I in trashing veg*ans? Yet they read, some, and stick around. If you’ve been paying attention you’ll see them in comments, and I get emails, too. Plant based gluttons for punishment? OK, let me not get off on the wrong track because I have something to share. And this in advance of the vegan trashing Dr. Mike Eades’ blog that I may hammer tomorrow. But no promises. I may feel differently in the morning.

Erin rings in:

I am a vegetarian- but I’m not writing to complain.

I find many issues with vegetarianism, but I feel that holes could be poked in any diet. I hate the cultish feel generated by all of them, when all I’m trying to do is eat rationally and not join some bullshitty new-age group.

In an ideal setting, I would have my own plot of land with varieties of vegetables and fruits. There would be laying hens wandering around, and I suppose at least one annoying-ass rooster. (I am on a temp work assignment in Hawaii and roosters are everywhere. They are god-damned annnoying animals).

That being said, I work as a Combat Exercise Planner and essentially use my war expertise to help train troops to more effeciently engage in combat. I have no real problems with humans killing humans, but humans killing animals just seems unnecessary to me.

(My doctor assures me I’m not a sociopath. I am just an "INTP")

I don’t think my life is less important than an animal’s. I do believe, however, that animals would prefer not to live miserably on shitty farms- which I think rational people could agree with. If obtaining food were a game of cat-and-mouse, I could probably get behind it- just like war. But raising and systematically killing milions of malnourished animals for our own food seems like cheating to me.

I know that people in your camp are offended by wiping out perfectly good ecosystems by planting soy/wheat/corn – as am I. This is where most of my problems with vegetarianism arise. My question for you is, other than meat- what is included in your diet? I ask because I am genuinely curious to know. I’d like to cut out soy from my diet but it is seemingly unavoidable. What carbs do Paleo-dieters eat, other than plant sugars? What protein do you eat, other than meat?

I read that you went to DLI- cool- me, too. But then I got out of the marines and studied visual arts at Columbia University. Maybe that’s why I’m such a confused girl… ha

OK, yea, soy is crap (use the search function as I have entries with references). Since you’re vegetarian, why not get your protein from dairy? Other than milk, you have cottage cheese, whey powder and many other ways. And hell, you could do a dozen eggs a day and that wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Y’know, come to think of it, I could probably pretty easily be a vegetarian, which actually means that as someone pointed out in comments some time ago, the real distinction is in those who eat animal products vs. those who don’t. Vegans against the rest of the world.

And now I’ll leave it open to comments

Entries are coming in for the silly Free the Animal Rant Contest. So be silly. Give it what you can.

~~~

…The last three weeks or so have been gruesome with the move, et al. Worst of all, I came down with another instance of what I firmly believe I have Google diagnosed as trochanteric bursitis. I believe I’ve had it before, mistakenly thinking it was sciatica — which I have also had long time ago..but thought is was a different manifestation last time. I think it happened from just over use in the move, i.e., hundreds of squats and bed-overs per day for days straight (packing / unpacking boxes, assembling furniture, ceiling fans, mounting flat screen TVs to hidden wire perfection, and such all contributed).

The pain is awful — nearly constant and it’s worse when sitting standing, or laying down (you should see how I have to contort to sleep — I quit taking the 800mg Motrin I was taking for a while before bed). Walking is the best relief. So, after nearly three weeks of it  and no gym — and it’s getting better — I did a relatively light workout at the gym today and had substantial relief for several hours. Now, the constant pain begins to set in, again, but diminished. I’m definitely on the downslope. I’m hitting the gym again Friday. Of note, I did 10 reps deadlift at 135 just to test, then went to other things to see if the hip stayed calm. No problem, so I came back and did a very easy 185 x 6. I may go for my 295 x 6 on Friday so I can move to 305. I really hate that I got set back from hitting that 300# deadlift mark through this period.

But I’ve been eating well. So disappointed I didn’t get any shots of the three pounds of tri-tip, two pounds of boneless pork ribs and a 1 1/2 pound roasted chicken on a single big platter I did this weekend for Bea’s local family. There was no meat left. This is my deal: no bread, pasta, rice, beans or any other woefully inferior cheap "nutrition," but, I’m fuckin’ gonna fill you up on meat if you’ll have it. How good a deal is that?

Click all photos below for the hi-res versions.

Roast Chicken & asparagus. Dried Italian herbs & olive oil. Lightly coat fresh asparagus with EVOO, some sea salt, and cookie sheet it for 20-40 minutes @400 until you like it. Crunchy tops are great. French fry subs.

Chicken & Stinky Pee

We have a fig tree in the new backyard, two lime trees, and a pomegranate in the front yard. Since we moved in I’ve been moved about how I might be able to use the figs. Ready. How about in a sauce with jalapenos?

Fig & Stuff

All that including the fresh chopped garlic & onion you see, went in the saute pan with a bit of butter. Then, all of it went into the so-called "magic bullet." I say that cause it sucks. I’m getting a Vita-Mix. Fuck bullshit.

So because there was a total lack of magic in the bullet, I ended up having to strain anyway, and so reduce more because the liquifies fiber — if i had magic — would’ve alleviated the need to strain.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The very first step is to reduce red wine to a syrup. Do not introduce it to an ongoing reduction. Do this first.

Shitty Photo

Then you add your stock & fixins and continue to reduce. I needed no thickener at all, so maybe a little magic happened.

Then I was done, with some Caprese salad left over and an heirloom tomato.

Apples & Oranges

Oh, yea, all the peeps in attendance wanted grilled burgers even though I offered steaks.

Salisbury?

Last night was just Bea & I, and I had in mind an enormous salad of butter and green leaf lettuce with tomato (heirloom), finely sliced onion, peeled and cubed cucumbers, and blueberries…

Salad

I just drizzled olive oil on it, and the juice from a half of fresh lime or so, from the backyard.

And then I grilled "country style boneless pork ribs" @ about $3.50 per pound. Get The Salt Lick dry rub, which I get at BBQs Galore here in CA, rub down the meat liberally and let it set 30 minutes or more at room temp. For these kinds of ribs where you don’t need to get them to fall off bones as there aren’t any, a low BBQ will do the trick, turn every 15-30 minutes for a total of 45-60, but watch. Done is done and you don’t want to dry them out.

Boneless Pork Short Ribs

Today, I ate about a pound of those leftover, right outta the fridge, post workout.

Oh, I almost forgot. Sashimi on app, last night.

Sash

You know what? Upon serious reflection; Fuck vegans. Uh huh?

I laughed at myself as I wrote that — the contest part. I’m pretty much never interested in contests, and truth be told: I’m happier if you aren’t either. So then, do it for the fun & sport and the title. The thing is, this will be unlike any contest in the paleo realm you’ve ever seen. Or, it could flop, because it’s not going to be easy. Fun, but not easy.

It so happens that I have on hand some supplements of good quality that are beyond my current capacity to use in a timely fashion (notice how bad I suck at writing a blog to energize you about the contest). Mark Sisson’s Damage Control Master Formula. Now don’t take this the wrong way. I have a two month’s supply, unopened, and the reason I do is because I was on autoship for a number of months, but I don’t supplement daily. I do it intermittently. Consequently, his one month supply lasts me 2-3 months. I’m giving away one of those unopened cases, shipped anywhere in the world I can — and if I can’t ship to the winner, I’ll make it good one way or the other. If this goes well I’ll give away the other month in a similar contest.

Here’s the contest: you need to write a 300 word rant, give or take 50 words (so, 275 – 325…about 3 minutes speaking, ’cause I’m going to read the winning entry in video). English, of course. No rules as to what words you choose. Vulgar as you want, but that could run against you if not in context and too gratuitous. Bottom line is that vulgarity alone won’t win it for you. Cleverness and style will. Think Dennis Miller in his best days.

Now that’s gonna be fucking hard, isn’t it? No, it isn’t, because I’m going to give you such a 9 minute, target rich environment that’s you’re gonna come away thinking that this is gonna be as easy as Obama winning a ‘get your ass kissed’ contest.

Here’s the video and I’ll fill in the last of the details below.

What did I tell you? Here’s the link to the article. And a quote by moron number one, "Pixel."

Pixel spoke with loads of celebrities at PETA’S 30th Anniversary Gala in Hollywood, California, on Saturday. Alec Baldwin, Pamela Anderson, Anjelica Huston and more talked about giving a voice to animals. ‘I was amazed how many people really were animal activist, vegetarians, vegans, no leather. They were doing more than going Naked for PETA; they are living by their beliefs of protecting animals’ she said.

Breathless drivel. How. Fucking. Exciting.

Bryan Adams performed "Everything I Do" and the evening was filled with tributes that moved the audience to tears.

And tearful.

Now, I could write a post in any number of ranting directions; so see, it’s really easy as shit. Pick a single celebrity, machine gun the whole lot, or focus in on the overall transparency of the whole torrid affair. I have no preference and I have no idea which entry could be best.

Her’s the method. I’m going to pick the best three and either — I haven’t decided yet — publish them and put them to a community vote, or, email them to a few of my many paleo contacts and decide by committee. In either case the top three will be published — maybe more — so if I go by committee and we screw it up, comments will be open for your wrath.

Now, many of you put up ranting comments regularly. Just put in a bit more effort and you may have a shot at the title.

Oh, email your entries to me a the freetheanimal email address on the about page. DO NOT post your entries to comments. And you have until Friday morning, 10/1, 8am PST.

If I were inclined to predict the future — an exercise in which I only indulge by observing principles, culture and history — roughly in that order — I’d have to give Paleo a decent shot at becoming dominant. There are many reasons for that — probably enough to fill a book — but I try to keep a keen eye out for other possibilities.

For sure, paleo is definitely hitting its mark in surprising ways and what’s more interesting to me is that veg*nism has had a long, long run and I simply don’t see the potential groundswell for it that I do for paleo (you had your chance: Fork. In. Done.). Call me Pollyanna, and I’ll actually accept the criticism; I could be all wrong. But here’s how I stack it up: it essentially comes down to a choice of living in accordance with your nature, or drinking the Cool-Aid, repenting of your dietary "sins," and taking your penance; with bonus points if it makes you sick, fat, weak, miserable or preferably, all of the above — all the while fooling yourself into thinking you’ve "never felt better," like some poor wretch giving a standup testimonial at an evangelical tent revival because she’s so starved for attention (and her husband left her for the organist). Anyone have a preference, at all? I note the way that culture and history have rolled along and thankfully, people have an "annoying" propensity to ultimately do the fuck as they please. Could paleo fill in a missing thing or two for many where various veg*n doctrines and catechisms have routinely fallen short? I guess we’ll see.

The gradual decline of strong religion (in a cultural and historical sense) over centuries is instructive. Upon the advent of the idea of religious freedom (your choice; none — mine — or go through the motions for social harmony) it likely could have been predicted — probably was — to much hand wringing — that the overriding trend would be towards less and less religious influence in your everyday life. Religion for most, even for the moderately religious, has become little more than a mantle piece. That’s a good thing in my assessment, but I suppose I’ll keep on making fun of it even after the Hummel Humpty Dumpty is shattered into pieces — even as some still can’t bring themselves to part with it even though All the Pope’s Horses and All the President’s Men — bedfellows — can’t put Humpty together again.

Yes, health has many facets and toxins exist in many places…

There are a number of things converging. You now have a plethora of Paleo-related blogs (check out the comments). Many different flavors for many kinds of folks, and that’s good. Let some be quasi-religious about paleo — or totally agnostic: me. The point is that things are shaping up in the finest traditions of fun & freedom. How free are you with Hezbollian Veganism? And was the point of it ever about fun?

And then there’s Mark Sisson’s The Primal Blueprint and now, Robb Wolf’s newly published The Paleo Solution — already hitting its mark at The New York Times list. Granted, it’s small potatoes compared to the books sold by Campbell, McDougall, Esselstyn and Ornish. And the four of them are small potatoes compared to Bible sales. And yet, is religion gaining ground in a cultural and historical way, or losing ground as already hashed out? And look how much the latter five have in common. Foremost, they share a particular method of human manipulation: guilt. Make a person feel guilty — even and in particular: unearned — and they’re putty in your hands.

Fuck that noise, Animals.

The bright spot in all of this is that the vegans, like creationists and "Intelligent Designers," wholly lack the scientific background, mental discipline, logical consistency and a whole host of other crucial attributes (like ability to form an objective argument) to advance their cause beyond jerking off the masses ( I believe "energizing" is the pussy-PC way of putting it). Want to know what I mean? Well in any debate the creationists are generally going to spurn science when the apparent facts and evidence go agains them (usually the case) and rely upon "authority;" namely, that of some ancient, conveniently interpreted text — from dirt scratching origins to glass & steel skyscrapers — like The Bible. Vegans do exactly the same thing. If you have the stomach (and time) for it, see comments at Denise Minger’s blog. I recently blogged about a typical example.

Speaking of Denise, she’s kept busy and I’ll take some liberties with the post titles which she has nothing to do with.

• The T. Colin Campbell Smackdown, an Addendum
• The Formal T. Colin Campbell Smackdown Because Habitual Liars Don’t Know When They’re Done
• The Wheat Connection: A T. Colin Campbell Smackdown For Just In Case You Didn’t Know That  in Terms of Fact Interpretation, Campbell is as Loose as a Two Bit Whore
• The Total Liar-Fuckhead Smackdown: Teresa T. Fung, ScD; Rob M. van Dam, PhD; Susan E. Hankinson, ScD; Meir Stampfer, MD, DrPH; Walter C. Willett, MD, DrPH; and Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD. And let’s not forget that fat-faced, rosy-cheeked make-up-less clown of the "Chubby Faced Diet" himself, Dean "Smiley" Ornish

Had enough? Good, ’cause there’s more. Remember Chris Masterjohn? He and Anthony Colpo took on The China Study way back (here and here), when it was still but a gleam in a rapist’s eye — dietary rape, that is.

Chris Masterjohn has been particularly supportive of Denise (you can see that in comments in many of the links, above). And not only in comments on her posts but in doing more digging himself. Again, I’m taking liberties with post titles.

• T. Colin Campbell Sycophants Just Won’t Die
• T. Colin Campbell Can Be Reduced to a Single AssHolism
• T. Colin Campbell is a Protein Deficient Rat

The last of those links was just published and served as the Sunday morning motivation to put this post together. Amazingly, what Chis shows is that way back when, Campbell recognized and scientifically showed that the diet he now advocates constitutes protein deficiency, was labeled as such, and caused all sorts of problems including cancer (in rats). And today, apparently for notoriety and a buck, he advocates for humans the exact opposite of what his studies demonstrated a few decades ago. Consequently, I’ll not be softening my vitriol for that asshole anytime soon.

No; I’m not done yet, but just so we’re clear, neither Denise nor Chris have anything to do with my muckraking, above. This is my sport, and I take full responsibility. As of right now, nearing the end of this draft, neither have a clue as to what’s coming and I have no idea in the world what they’ll think about it.

So let’s wrap this up with a video that is in some ways conciliatory to the veg*ans, since I’m such a fair-minded kinda guy.

I give you the former Liar in Chief (as distinguished only by date of holding office; i.e., the "medicine man;" the closest primal analog I can think of: he’s always a liar, as that’s his raison d’être; we seem as yet — qua human meta-culture — to not have evolved past the point of needing a chief liar, the one who sets lying policy for all; seemingly, because we can’t live with the harshness of reality, preferring the opium of sweet sweet lies).

Just watch the video.

That video doesn’t really enrage me, believe it or not. Actually, in some queer sense, I find it pleasing. It’s rather like observing children who’ve latched onto serious and important practical elements of getting it right going off into maturity and adulthood, while remaining frustrating all at the the same time because they’ve got the fundamentals all wrong and don’t yet understand shitall.

"No, dear, it’s not because Susie is a girl and you’re supposed to treat girls nice. It’s because you minded your own business, she’s her own person and so you get along fine."

"No Mr. Bill Clinton, Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Ornish; it’s not because the Liar in Chief followed your hocus-pocus, evolutionarily vapid medicine-man diet, it’s because he cut out the very modern and recent no-food crap that gave him heart disease in the first place, you miserably myopic morons."

Alright, it’s a Sunday afternoon wrap. I’ll be sorely disappointed and will consider my mission failed if no one tells me in comments that this is over the top and they’re not reading my blog, anymore.

09/27/2010: Just up this morning, Denise Minger on JimmyMore’s Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb podcast.

 Spotted on FailBlog the other day.

No Foods

Tied up doing a moving sale right now, finally getting to near the end of this process. So this’ll have to do, for now.

Since I saw that pic I’ve dumped using the term "Processed Foods" in favor of the term "No-Food "’Foods.’"

It began right here in a comment on an older post about T. Colin Campbell.

Chris Califano // Sep 22, 2010 at 06:27

Where is the “ample evidence” about whey protein that you mention? What are the specific studies about the benefits of animal protein that you say exist? Where is there a need in human nutrition for animal protein in Harrison’s Medical ? Or in any medical book? I am not for or against any food due to my own habits or food habits or cultural background or even family upbringing. I always, by trial and error ate what gave me the best health and physical performance-and that of my clients who I have trained and coached for 30 years. If there is a better way to eat, we do it. This is not a pissing match. We are all working together for the same end I would hope.

I replied with a specific list of seven references, courtesy of Anthony Colpo (from his original The China Study review), that dealt specifically with whey and its properties in isolation (the same way Campbell studied casein).

While Chris Califano has not yet replied to that, he did drop another comment on another post about Denise Minger’s exhaustive work (PDF).

Chris Califano // Sep 22, 2010 at 08:33

T Colin Campbell only gets a fraction of the credit that he deserves. History shows that all greatness is discredited first, then accepted as gospel. The earth used to be flat…people were tortured and killed for stating that we are not at the center of the universe and so on.., you know the rest. Only those “pioneers” who REALLY were interested in furthering the health and performance of humans would leave their comfort zone and discover and then APPLY what works better long enough to even understand what this whole discussion is about. I challenge ANYONE to challenge T Colin Campbell on the fact that a whole plant based diet (not processed plant foods weak in fresh fruit or greens, or silly “vegan” or “healthy” snacks and all that mumbo jumbo in a package) produces superior health, AND athletic performance in strength, endurance and flexibility. History, numbers and thousands upon thousands of case studies do not lie. Look around you. The human body does not lie either. Just take a close look… do you dare? If you look at meat eaters long enough you will see what happens to these poor people. The only ones who survive on animal foods are those who eat very small amounts, usually less than 5% of their diet, as Campbell points out. How many people even know that even most carnivorous animals easily eat the bulk of their diet from whole plant foods? I only enjoy criticisms and arguments when they come from serious people with serious knowledge and experience. ANYone can argue. But only a stubborn few, such as Campbell, actually ADD to our knowledge and experience base…. which is quickly deteriorating … especially due to the internet. “Research” and “Metadata” and “Experience” seem to be meaningless in most cases. Please will someone (ANYONE) show some viable arguments that are backed up with equal triple reviewed metadata? Please!!!! I am so bored with those who, due to their own ideas… grasp on to arguments just for the sake of NOT leaving their “dark cave” of what they are used to…. come on, people.. leave your comfort zone just for a moment… you may discover.. God forbid! that the rewards and pleasures and REAL comfort that you get in return is more than you ever imagined.

OK, so first, who is Chris Califano? Here’s his website: The First Supper. He boasts a lot of great results which I’m not going to dispute at all. I believe him and his body composition simply speaks for itself. I do note a complete lack of body composition comparisons on his testimonial page. That is certainly not to say they don’t exist or that some raw vegans don’t whither away as so many do, or even that it’s not possible to build significant strength or lean muscle doing raw vegan "right," granting for the time being that there exists such a thing (especially considering most humans and not outliers).

I bring this up simply because he claims to have been at this for so long while guys like me and others in the paleo community who’ve been blogging only a relatively short while can produce tons of body composition comparisons. Here’s a few from my own "Real Results" page: Murray, Timothy, Michelle, Austin, and finally, Chris, who dumped 106 pounds of fat in six months by going Paleo.

Of course, this is just the body composition. There have also been numerous other health improvements; such as blood glucose normalization, improvement or elimination of inflammatory diseases, increases in energy and stamina, improved sleep, and the elimination of some — or in many cases — all prescription medications.

And it’s not just here. Tons of success stories at Mark Sisson’s Primal Daily Apple. And in Robb Wolf’s just published "The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet," you can read what appears to be dozens of testimonials covering weight loss, strength / athletic performance, and health.

So my second issue is this. In the first comment Chris says: "I always, by trial and error ate what gave me the best health and physical performance-and that of my clients who I have trained and coached for 30 years. If there is a better way to eat, we do it. This is not a pissing match. We are all working together for the same end I would hope." Well I was prepared to believe that but go read that second comment again and tell me whether you really believe it or not.

OK, I know there are tons of things to pick at above but I chose just those two. Anyone else want to take a shot at the "CHALLENGE?"

I’m only a few chapters into this book but I figured, why wait? And, I’ve skipped ahead here and there and read bit & pieces just to see how Robb would handle them.

As I’ve mentioned both here on the blog and in all the interviews I’ve done, Art De Vany was the first guy in the paleo realm I had contact with. Well, Robb Wolf was the second and I’ve been following his stuff ever since. I don’t know where he took notice of me along the line, but we’ve exchanged emails from time to time going back a while. Then a couple of weeks ago I was pleased to have a copy of Robb’s book show up. Unfortunately I couldn’t dig into until yesterday but I’m breezing through it and it’s hard to put down, which is saying a lot coming from me.

So who’s Robb Wolf? I’m glad you asked. From his bio:

ROBB WOLF, a former research biochemist is one of the world’s leading experts in Paleolithic nutrition. A student of Prof. Loren Cordain, author of The paleo Diet, Wolf has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world via his top ranked iTunes podcast and wildly popular seminar series. Wolf has functioned as a review editor for the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, is cofounder of the nutrition and athletic training journal, The Performance Menu, co-owner of NorCal Strength & Conditioning, one of the Men’s Health "top 30 gyms in America" and co-owner of paleo Brands Inc. a paleo food company selling meals and snacks featuring grass fed meat, wild caught fish and all organic ingredients.

Wolf is a former California State Powerlifting Champion (565Lb Squat, 345lb Bench, 565lb Dead Lift) and a 6-0 amateur kickboxer. He coaches athletes at the highest levels of competition and consults with Olympians and world champions in MMA, motocross, rowing and triathlon. Wolf has provided seminars in nutrition and strength & conditioning to various military entities including the Canadian Light Infantry and the United States Marine Corps.

If you’ve ever listened to Robb’s Paleo podcasts which are simply amazing, then you’ll be right at home with the style of the book. It’s written in a very personal style, is super well organized, and quite light and humorous when it needs to be. It’s a fun read with absolutely no compromise on the completeness of the information. However, for those who don’t want the "Geek-Speak," sections in the book so-labelled, they can just skip to the part where you can do exactly what Robb tells you.

Needless to say I heartily recommend this latest addition to the growing library of current books on the paleo lifestyle.

I am therefore inclined to embrace the heretical conclusion that we have reason to desire the extinction of all carnivorous species.

Jeff McMahan — professor of philosophy at Rutgers University and a visiting research collaborator at the Center for Human Values at Princeton University — in The New York Times.

Really, such head-shaking ignorance doesn’t even merit a post of this short length.