[CE02]

As someone who has been very interested in diet and health from many perspectives, be it general health and wellness when I was younger, competitive cycling and rowing, and more recently competitive bodybuilding, I have come to a tragically bland conclusion.

Every day it seems like there's a new study about a new food that will revolutionize XYZ. Meanwhile, most people don't sleep well, dont drink enough water, overindulge in alcohol, don't get enough excercise, and don't get much sunlight.

I think it should be everyone's primary focus to sleep well, drink water, get outside, get active, and eat generally decently. The huge cognitive and physical gains that would come from these basic activities far surpass any marginal benefit from optimization. I hate to say it, but if you're not eating a good amount of vegetables and fruit, decent protein, sleep, etc, no amount of mushrooms will catch up to that detriment.

Now if these fundementals are in place, findings like this are truly fascinating! I just see so many people put the cart before the horse far too often.

[stantaylor]

> Meanwhile, most people don't sleep well, dont drink enough water, overindulge in alcohol, don't get enough excercise, and don't get much sunlight.

A couple I know in their mid-60s were both diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. They were both sedentary, overweight and ate horribly. They embarked on an ambitious diet and exercise plan, have both lost a lot of weight and are both no longer diabetic. It truly is fantastic, and I'm happy for them.

One of them is convinced that people just don't know that they can beat type 2 diabetes; she wants to publish a book about what they've done. I keep trying to tell her it's not a lack of information, but a lack of will for most people, that she and her husband are very much outliers in that regard. Her publishing their method won't change things for hardly anyone.

I'm 59 years old and have been a moderate athlete my whole life; I keep my weight decent (not as low as I'd like but well under official obesity levels), eat pretty well, get enough sleep. I am having a medical procedure done tomorrow (that's completely unrelated to anything here), and the nurse who did intake for the hospital was shocked that I don't take any prescription medications. I call that a win.

[CE02]

I completely agree, but to add to this I also think it's an issue with information overload. Popular culture and pop science is all about quick fixes and crazy complicated "30 day transitions". It causes people to think that there are 3 types of people:

1) People who are naturally fit without effort. 2) People who have crazy gnarly diets and regiments. 3) Everyone else.

This causes them to give up as it seems like far too steep of a climb. It's incredibly sad because the basics of "eat a little less, a little cleaner, and go for a walk" would kickstart a revolutionary change in most people. If you're maintaining weight on 3500 calories, it doesn't take a ton of work to start losing a bit of weight, even if its at a slow rate. People just see the first step as insurmountable.

Not to mention the millions of fashion models and actors who take steroids then say they have a perfectly attainable physique and it was all hard work. Alas, that is a disucssion for another post.

P.S. Hope the procedure goes well!

[TheHumanist]

Learned Helplessness everywhere you look. It's why, here in the US, we won't rise up like the French as our own government also looks to raose our retirement age. Not sure how you correct this across such large demographics?

[penguinvondoom]

I don't think it's a lack of will. It is more an environment that is overwhelming most peoples capacity of will, as well as simply just material circumstances that make all those changes even more difficult, or impossible. Inbetween working long times, low wages, unavailability of healthy food in a lot of places, car-centred culture, you will need absolutely crazy amounts of will power. The solutions to these problems are not individual, but systemic.

[gymbeaux]

It seems like that “lack of motivation” applies to many other medical conditions as well, and people like me who actually want to and have and will commit to the “hard fix” are confused about just how “incurable” something is, and whether something like surgery really is necessary.

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome for example can typically be cured with either months of exercise and stretching, and being cognizant of one’s posture throughout the day, OR a relatively simple and quick and minimally-invasive surgery. I get why most people opt for the surgery and probably even lie to themselves by saying surgery is the only pragmatic option.

[scruple]

I've had orthopedic's tell me I needed an epidural steroid injection without even bothering with an MRI (same guy told me to, "Take it easy on the PT." despite the fact that PT and a systematic return to exercise is what got me pain free).

So I'm personally just as likely to blame the so-called specialists here. They can't bill insurance when people start taking their health into their own hands.

[gymbeaux]

I've had orthopedics (a total of 3) tell me I had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome when it was actually Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Preaching To The Choir

[TheHumanist]

I struggle so much with figuring out how to fit enough fruits and especially veggies into each day. Really fruit isn't an issue now that I think about it. It's nature's candy. Veggies, though I do love them, are harder to get enough of EVERY day.

As an athlete and lifter, do you think smoothies destroy a lot of the benefit of veggies? Say I want to make a smoothie each day that is packed with spinach and broccoli and carrots. I have to clearly pulverize the crap out of that to get it drinkable. I love the idea of that, because I can get a fair amount of veggies in a smoothie... But I've heard some say that doing this can destroy a lot of the nutrients from oxidation as you blend the veggies which is also pulling oxygen into the whirlpool created by blending. Not sure if that makes sense.

Aside from making a really veggie packed smoothie each day, I struggle with how to fit all the veggies into each days diet?

I do eat a good amount of oatmeal in general... Try to have some fruit and veg every day. Very little red meat. Any pointers you could offer in general are appreciated and I'm sure others here would appreciate the extra information as well!

[CE02]

I personally don’t really think it’s a problem to blend them. In general, it’s still far better than not getting enough in at all.

I think the important thing to think about is that not all vegetables are created equal. The nutrient profile of spinach versus lettuce isn’t even comparable for example. Then you have fibrous veggies like broccoli that can be great for digestion. So a diversity is amazing, making your core dark leafy greens and adding ancillary vegetables on top.

One hack is that spinach wilts down super nicely. If you’re ever behind in a day, olive oil, cup or two of spinach, and some garlic and you’ll have a very enjoyable way to cram nutrients.

[yamtaddle]

I find I can put quite a bit of kale in a fruit smoothie before I can even tell it's there.

[samarthr1]

When cooking at home, i tried to keep the vegetables as the primary ingredient by weight.

I am quite fond of kichdi, a dish with lentils, rice, vegetables all cooked together.

Chuck in all the vegetables, rice, bengal gram (2:1 rice to lentil) salt, spice and ghee. I just dump a ton of vegetables in the kichdi

[Llamamoe]

The problem is that taking care of yourself to that extent is a massive undertaking that often completely exhausts your functional capacity irregardless of the benefit.

[NoPicklez]

Could not agree more.