Food for Thought Friday: Low-Carb Logical Fallacies





Time for to a greater extent than or less other circular of things that brand us travel hmmm.

Last fourth dimension inwards Food for Thought Friday, I addressed the number of ketosis, carbs, in addition to alcohol. I’m pleasantly surprised at the number of page hits it’s gotten. Here, I idea it was sort of a throwaway post, a quick one-off exactly to larn something upward on the weblog earlier people forget I exist. But it seems the topic struck a chord, or mayhap people exactly similar reading nearly ketosis & alcohol. (And who tin hand the axe blame them? Either together or separately, they’re corking topics!)

Since I pointed out the problems amongst the keto-haters suggesting ketones are “dangerous” or “unnatural” because the torso stops producing elevated levels of them every bit shortly every bit it has whatever appreciable amount of glucose inwards the bloodstream, today I idea I’d betoken out a logical fallacy that low-carbers are prone to using—myself included. It goes a picayune something similar this:



If dietary fatty were fattening, they would utilization lard, tallow, in addition to butter to fatten cows inwards feedlots, but they don’t. They utilization grain. Therefore, grains are fattening. (And nosotros extrapolate this to humans.)

Now, believe me, I concord that this is true. But that doesn’t hateful it’s an declaration that works good inwards our favor—especially when a counter-argument nosotros mightiness larn from vegans, vegetarians, in addition to what Dr. Richard Feinman calls “the lipophobes” goes something similar this:

Cows maintain optimal wellness past times eating cipher but grass. Therefore, fauna fats in addition to proteins are unnecessary for a good for y'all diet. (And they extrapolate this to humans.)

You encounter the work here, right?

I’m guilty of using the “they utilization grains to fatten cattle” logic, myself, but that was inwards the past. Now that I’ve realized counterarguments are so slow to retrieve of—even if they’re incorrecttry to steer clear. (No pun intended, hehheh.)

It’s a logical fallacy to say that what works for i fauna species volition travel for to a greater extent than or less other fauna species. This is what got us into problem dorsum inwards the day, when they fed cholesterol to rabbitsherbivores. So yeah, of course that led to problems inwards these bunnies’ blood vessels. They were beingness fed something that is non an appreciable purpose of their natural, species-appropriate diet.

And when nosotros feed steers in addition to dairy cows foods that aren’t purpose of their natural diet, of course biological problems ensue. And fifty-fifty though I concord that grains are fattening for humans (at least, those who are insulin resistant in addition to convey a depression saccharide tolerance, since nosotros convey enough of examples of population groups who arrive at not travel obese via grain consumption), nosotros convey to base of operations that declaration inwards human physiology, rather than on that of ruminant animals.

Just because grains fatten cows doesn’t automatically hateful they’ll fatten humans. And exactly because cows in addition to sheep thrive on grasses in addition to greens, exclusively, doesn’t automatically hateful that humans will.

Why? Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 picayune something called the digestive tract. Ruminants in addition to humans convey digestive tracts that are worlds apart. We are literally different animals, and there’s no argue to assume that nosotros tin hand the axe thrive on the same type of diet. (But I justice the only people making this claim would endure anyone who believes humans tin hand the axe thrive on raw greenish constitute matter in addition to cipher else. And non fifty-fifty the raw foodists are proverb that, ‘cuz to a greater extent than or less of them eat raw nuts & seeds, don’t they?) 

I won’t bore y'all amongst a long anatomy lesson, but the bottom occupation is, ruminant animals convey multi-chambered “stomachs,” or pouches. One of these is called the rumen, hence the term “ruminant.” (Also, hence the verb “ruminate,” which way to mull something over for a while, turning in addition to churning it this way in addition to that, exactly similar happens to nutrient within the rumen.)

A rumen is a gigantic fermentation vat. It’s similar a sauerkraut crock right in that place within cows, sheep, goats, in addition to other ruminants. The chambers of these digestive tracts are loaded amongst bacteria. They are loaded amongst certainly species of bacteria that human GI tracts arrive at non harbor, in addition to these bacteria assist cows convert the cellulose of constitute fabric (carbohydrate) into protein, which y'all mightiness endure familiar amongst inwards the shape of delicious things such every bit brisket in addition to filet mignon.

And every bit long every bit I’m on the subject, I’ll innovate to a greater extent than or less other logical fallacy I’ve used inwards the past: cows create enough of poop without whatever “added fiber” inwards the shape of whole grains or flaxseeds. Yes, greenish vegetation is loaded amongst indigestible constitute fiber, in addition to ruminants eat a ton of this greenish vegetation, but that exactly goes to present that feces tin hand the axe endure produced exactly fine inwards the absence of high-fiber cereal, bran muffins, or Metamucil in addition to psyllium husk. (In fact, if y'all inquire a farmer raising his steers entirely on grass, he/she volition confirm for y'all that they create plenty of poop.)

Way dorsum in the digestion series, I said, “Obligate carnivores, similar lions in addition to tigers, don’t pass their days on the savannah chomping downwardly on endless piles of kale, broccoli, or bran muffins, in addition to they seem to defecate pretty good without pharmaceutical intervention. I’m non suggesting the anatomy in addition to physiology of these big cats are the same every bit humans, so thence nosotros don’t postulate whatever fiber, either. I’m but pointing out that somewhere inwards nature in that place exists a machinery for allowing good for y'all animals to excrete feces without the postulate for copious amounts of constitute fiber.” Obviously, enough of animals excrete dung without isolated fiber from grains, seeds, or copious amounts of greenish vegetation. (Or almost any vegetation, for that matter. In fact, I’ve been giving a lot of idea to this every bit it regards humans, so endure on the ticker for a yoke of posts on whether vegetables are "required" for people.)

To recap: inwards the fauna kingdom, nosotros convey species that thrive (and poop) on plant-only diets. And nosotros convey other species that thrive (and poop) on animal-only diets. However, inwards the involvement of intellectual honesty here, allow me betoken out that inwards the course of pedagogy of eating so much vegetation, nosotros convey to assume ruminants are also consuming a lot of insects, worms, larvae, in addition to whatever other tiny critters mightiness endure lurking inwards all that grass. But nosotros tin hand the axe hardly telephone telephone them carnivores. And fifty-fifty obligate carnivores in addition to “mostly” carnivores withal occasionally eat plants, but nosotros wouldnt telephone telephone lions in addition to tigers herbivores.)

So yes, nosotros convey widely varying diets that travel good for the widely varying anatomy in addition to physiology of unlike fauna species. But the argue those widely varying diets travel is because the species convey widely varying anatomies & physiologies. To propose that grains fatten humans because they convey been shown to fatten cows is a outflow of logic every bit shaky every bit suggesting that raw grass in addition to cipher but raw grass tin hand the axe proceed humans good for y'all because it keeps cows healthy. (This is just every bit unhelpful every bit postulating that all humans tin hand the axe thrive on high starch diets because the Kitavans do, or that nosotros tin hand the axe all thrive on high pith in addition to fatty diets, because Arctic peoples do.)

Again, I’m non proverb grains don’t or can’t fatten humans. I’m proverb only that if nosotros utilization the grains/feedlot/fattening angle, nosotros should endure prepared to dorsum it upward amongst something based on human anatomy, digestion, in addition to endocrinology, rather than the logical misstep of extrapolating from ruminant physiology to our own. We convey the answers (at least, I think nosotros do), but nosotros strengthen our instance past times knowing why they’re the answers.






Remember: Amy Berger, M.S., NTP, is non a physician in addition to , LLC, is non a medical practice. The data contained on this site is non intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or preclude whatever medical condition.

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