Skinny Cooks (was Re: Re: SC - Re: coronation menu (long))

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Lee-Gwen wrote:
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From:  Anahita
> 
> > What i miss on that sort of
> > diet is fresh fruit.
> 
> Erp - splutter!  I find it very distressing to think of anyone on a diet
> plan which doesn't include lots and lots of fresh fruit and vegies.  These
> contain so many things which are needful for health.  They have very little
> fat and few calories and at the same time are filling.  I assume that you
> have spoken with your doctor about this diet plan?

FWIW, the creator of the plan in question is a doctor, and the specific
but entirely theoretical issues raised about possible health problems
resulting from this diet have never been conclusively borne out by
research. (Although the majority of complaints have been very different
from Aoife's own negative experience; I'd never heard of that particular
problem before.)   The claim that such diets have been helpful _to
many_, although not all, have been pretty well-documented. In essence,
organizations like the AMA have engaged in a [fairly effective] smear
campaign by claiming not that there's conclusive evidence that it is
harmful (which there apparently isn't, at least not in the way they
predict such evidence would emerge) but rather that there may be
evidence suggesting that it could be harmful (technically true but
misleading) and that they do not endorse it (true). There may also be
evidence to suggest that the earth could be flat, and many people
espouse the belief, and will actively contest evidence that the earth is
in fact an oblate spheroid. 

It's not a low-fiber diet, just low in starches and sugars (very big on
salads, lettuces, bean sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, etc.). Fruits do
enter the picture, in controlled quantities, after a couple of weeks.
The main food types this diet recommends avoiding are processed sucrose
and low-fiber starches. On the other hand, some preachers and
practitioners of this diet espouse a high-fat variant; if there were a
projectile vomiting event at the Summer Olympic Games, I would gladly
eat deep-fried cheddar cheese wrapped in bacon as a way to ensure
victory. 

It's not for everyone, but many doctors do recommend it on the sly as a
way to decrease strain on the heart and various orthopedic problems,
radically improve blood pressure and energy levels (and stop acid
reflux, literally, almost overnight). For many people the rather low
documented potential for risk is vastly outweighed by the documented
benefits, and many of the people who have claimed it doesn't work are
found simply not to have been following it faithfully. Not all,
certainly, but many, in my own experience.   

No, I wouldn't recommend it out of hand; nor would I condemn it.

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com