Quiet Heather...
I am so GLAD
to hear someone finds it fascinating, as I do, rather than annoying or somehow insulting, as I FEAR I may have caused in some others here...not my intention.
My intention is to find out stuff...that's it, only.
I used to think we were all pretty much the same, and what worked perfectly for many or most people should be okay for just about everybody else...now, though I question that notion, and wonder just how cultures, traditions, etc., in the past got their wisdom for knowing what to eat, with what, when, etc. It seems we have lost that...and no matter how hard we try, true scientific proof of anything seems elusive...humans really have trouble being objective...we all do, even scientists and researchers.
As you said...you already are feeling biased against Taubes...me too, really, because it's obvious that he leans toward Atkins, himself. I believe this came to him during his research for this subject. Likewise, T. Colin Campbell says he became vegan due to his own research. There ya go... two extremes because of what they both found in the research...and I doubt either of the two would purposely put their health in danger by eating something other than what their researches led them to believe!!!!
How's that fer confusion????
I guess more and more I feel strongly driven to compare these two guys...seek out stuff, and then compare whatever I gather with older traditions...
You knowl....I'd like to get my hands on the Osawa stuff I'd read earlier... I found him to be brilliant. His observations of traditional dietary patterns were amazing to me...his brilliance in observing... he was in Africa at the same the the humanitarian doctor was there.... Albert Schweitzer... and they clashed tremendously while there... schweitzer, in his humane efforts, bringing white man's food to the different tribes in Africa, and also treating them for emerging illnesses... while Osawa obsereved their diets and then accused Schweitzer of making them sick, and then treating them for their illnesses...
... needles to say, Schweitzer the doctor/scientist, and Osawa, the lawyer/ amateur traditional diet observer, didn't get along so well while in Africa.
But both Campbell and Taubes claim to be scientifically articulate...I mean, Campbell the researcher, and Tuabes the scientific journalist. I don't know what they think of each other... no idea... no mention of either one in eithe rbook that I can recall... but both speak of the McGovern groups that were discussing dietary issues back in the 70s... two differing sides of that story.
I could go on and on with this...however... I really don't want to offend people, as I said, not my intention... my intention is just to really dig into my fascination with all of this, and it would be really fun if others joined in the conversation-- bouncing around this stuff and sharing thoughts, ideas...stuff they've read or experienced personally.
My myself...I am attempting to eat grain free for the first time since attempting raw vegan several years back. My attempts at raw vegan failed quickly everytime I tried... got too hungry and went nuts in just a few days. This time, as everyone here probably knows.... I'm not quite vegan right now, and am attempting grain free in this way...just to see for myself what happens, good or bad.
So far, I haven't done so well... I made it about a week and a half, then my mom got really sick and I had to spend lots of time helping them out and found myself catching up with popcorn, tortilla chips, gluten free pbj or humus sandwiches, and even made some cobblers with sorghum flour to try to relax after enduring stressful ordeals, etc.
I started again...and then ate a brown rice chocolate bar last night...so... planning on company tongight with corn masa based stuff... then I'll get back on the grain-free wagon once again.
I figger a month off grains (although at the rate I'm going with it...I might still count a month even if I have a few days here and there in which I include some grains...as long as it's not entirely off the wagon) might give me some hints/clues as to if there's any real benefits. As I said... my results might be different because I am now including some animal protein sources. Gotta say, though...that does take away the hunger for me. Still not sure if I will continue with that, though, as I'm worried about the healthfullness of that... right now, though... it's how I get by.
IN the link, the previously discussed Jeff Novick grain quote can be found:
http://breathing.com/grain-damage.htm
As I said before, this quote is ten years old now, but I still feel unclear whether Jeff Novick himself has started eating grains or not again...if so...wondering if his allergies stayed away after including grains back again.