I'm sorry, but I really disagree with any sort of dieting advice articles appearing on Hacker News for multiple reasons. Reading this thread only backs up my own thoughts and reasons why I dislike these articles.
First of all, everyone has their own idea of healthy.
Second, there are so many different diets, fads, foods, etc to eat or follow that's it ridiculous to even argue one way or another. Some eat lots of protein, some eat lots of fat, some eat low fat and high carbohydrates and everyone believes their method or means of eating is healthy. I'm sure no matter which way anyone argues there is a book, article, pubmed article to back up your ways. Making statements such as that can't be healthy, or you need to eat vegetables, fats, a certain amount of calories, and other similar statements is only someone else's opinion or belief and everyone is different.
Go with what makes you feel good. The best diet is the one you can follow. Listen to your body.
I would down vote this, but I can't down vote yet.
I'll probably get down voted for all this text, but I feel that strongly about this.
Frankly, what else bothers me is that almost any time someone expresses disagreement, they get down voted. Thus, people who disagree often times probably end up never posting.
> First of all, everyone has their own idea of healthy.
> Second, there are so many different diets, fads, foods, etc to eat or follow that's it ridiculous to even argue one way or another...
> Go with what makes you feel good. The best diet is the one you can follow. Listen to your body.
Don't mistake the presence of disagreement as evidence for there being no fact of the matter. It's of course difficult to make strong claims about complex machines like people without large, expensive randomized studies, leaving the door open for people to argue for whatever preconceived ideas they have. But that doesn't mean there is no answer, nor that you should just do whatever makes you feel good.
That said, yes, these threads are largely useless.
> I would down vote this, but I can't down vote yet.
I don't think anyone can downvote posts (aka articles, links). (At least I can't with 1.6k of karma.) It's just comments you can downvote after you get <s>200</s> 500 karma or so.
Thanks for replying. I figured people wouldn't read into it like that, but what I have learned is that one has to state very explicitly on Hacker News.
I agree with you and I was hesitant to state what I did about that.
Off Topic: I really wish one could not up or down vote anything without requiring a comment in reply stating your reasoning. I think it could lead to much more active and interesting discussions breaking out.
Maybe I was a little harsh stating I would down vote the submission.
I probably should have prefaced my post stating that any post that talks about diet and/or nutrition on Hacker News ends up turning into geeks arguing about proper diet and nutrition and telling others what is and is not healthy.
Which by reading this submission seems to stay true to past submissions.
Diet and nutrition is one of those subjects everyone feels they know very well when they don't. Kind of like how everyone feels they are an expert at driving.
Some eat lots of protein, some eat lots of fat, some eat low fat and high carbohydrates and everyone believes their method or means of eating is healthy.
Well, there's too much fixation on micronutrients such as carbs, fats etc. 100g carbs from HFCS is not the same as 100g carbs from vegetables. 100g fat from industially processed seed oils is not the same as 100g duck fat.
I personally prefer not to eat anything that comes packaged, in a box, can etc. and go for meat, fish, poultry, fruit, veggies, nuts etc. But I guess that qualifies me as someone who "thinks his way of eating is healthy".
Go with what makes you feel good. The best diet is the one you can follow. Listen to your body.
Well, there are a couple of issues with that. I personally feel good on a diet with copious amounts of beer and pizza, add ice cream to taste. Side effects may be years or even decades away for a healthy person, but some of them may be irreversible by the time they are evident.
Your body will never tell you "oh I feel my bone density is 1% lower today" or "oh I feel my arterie wall is 0.1mm thicker today". Some people find out they have osteoporosis only when they suffer a broken bone.
The other thing is that all of us (with the exception of those with genetic disorders) posess the same biochemistry. So I'm not sure how far can you go with "listen to your body". Maybe someone can genuinely feel bad on a diet that mostly consists of fruit, vegetables, some animal products, some nuts and lacks processed sugars, grains, vegetable oils, trans fats and fast food, but I think I'm yet to hear about such a person.
>Second, there are so many different diets, fads, foods, etc to eat or follow that's it ridiculous to even argue one way or another.
I hate to invoke the name of Tim Ferriss for fear of the downvotes, but that's exactly one of the things he puts forward in The Four Hour Body.
To paraphrase, "Here's what works for me. It might not work for you. The only way to know if something works for you is to try it, and measure your results."
First of all, everyone has their own idea of healthy.
Second, there are so many different diets, fads, foods, etc to eat or follow that's it ridiculous to even argue one way or another. Some eat lots of protein, some eat lots of fat, some eat low fat and high carbohydrates and everyone believes their method or means of eating is healthy. I'm sure no matter which way anyone argues there is a book, article, pubmed article to back up your ways. Making statements such as that can't be healthy, or you need to eat vegetables, fats, a certain amount of calories, and other similar statements is only someone else's opinion or belief and everyone is different.
Go with what makes you feel good. The best diet is the one you can follow. Listen to your body.
I would down vote this, but I can't down vote yet.
I'll probably get down voted for all this text, but I feel that strongly about this.
Frankly, what else bothers me is that almost any time someone expresses disagreement, they get down voted. Thus, people who disagree often times probably end up never posting.