The Foodless Diet

Here's a space-age idea for your dieting needs.

I hypothesized that the body doesn't need food itself, merely the chemicals and elements it contains. So, I resolved to embark on an experiment. What if I consumed only the raw ingredients the body uses for energy? Would I be healthier or do we need all the other stuff that's in traditional food? If it does work, what would it feel like to have a perfectly balanced diet?

So far, so good. Lots of science fiction movies and books include the idea of the single pill that supplies all the nutrients an adult human needs in a day. Why not actually try it?

The weirdness comes in when the experiment gets underway, and within just days the positive results start to flow in:

• On day 4, he can run 3+ miles whereas before couldn't make it a single mile;
• A lifelong skin condition clears up;
• By week 4 he's up to 7 mile runs.

After a month, one starts to wonder if there's some cocaine in the mixture.

My mental performance is also higher. My inbox and to-do list quickly emptied. I 'get' new concepts in my reading faster than before and can read my textbooks twice as long without mental fatigue. I read a book on Number Theory in one sitting, a Differential Geometry book in a weekend, filling up a notebook in the process. Mathematical notation that used to look obtuse is now beautiful. My working memory is noticeably better. I can grasp larger software projects and longer and more complex scientific papers more effectively. My awareness is higher. I find music more enjoyable. I notice beauty and art around me that I never did before. The people around me seem sluggish. There are fewer 'ums' and pauses in my spoken sentences. My reflexes are improved. I walk faster, feel lighter on my feet, spend less time analyzing and performing basic tasks and rely on my phone less for navigation. I sleep better, wake up more refreshed and alert and never feel drowsy during the day. I still drink coffee occasionally, but I no longer need it, which is nice.

It's a bit hard to take this at face value. All of these benefits just from a supposedly balanced diet, after just 30 days? If so, it's a huge breakthrough and I'm sure we'll all be drinking Soylent in short order. But one is skeptical.

Obesity = Hunger?

Today on NPR, guest Bill Ayers (wait, where have I heard that name before?) argues that hunger is a major problem for the poor in the USA. Obviously, a major problem with this position is evidentiary: the biggest health problems among the poor are related to obesity, not starvation. So, applying pseudoscience that would make L. Ron Hubbard blush, Ayers asserts that the two are really the same thing.

A true Alinskyite, Ayers knows that lies that contain a kernel of truth are the best ones, and this one is exemplary. It's certainly possible to be malnourished and also obese. And obesity caused by excessive consumption of junk food has bad side effects. But these effects are secondary.

An obese person simply isn't going to die of starvation, or lack of nutrition. Take two people. One of them is given a steady diet of McDonald's chicken nuggets and Egg McMuffins. The other is given 800 daily calories of rice. Is there any doubt which is the more healthful diet? The chicken nuggets contain all sorts of bad stuff, but they contain enough nutrients to sustain life indefinitely. The first person might die of a heart attack at age 50, but the second person is unlikely to survive to adulthood.

By ignoring this primary fact, Ayers tries to create the myths necessary to underpin more government control of our economy. First, it's health care. Then, it's food production, because, as he asserted (with no evidence at all) on the show, eating a (more expensive) apple today instead of an apple pie leads to equivalent health care savings in the future. He does not connect the dots (yet), but it's easy to see where this leads (just look at the U.K.): restriction of "unhealthy" foods, subsidy of "healthy" foods, rationing of government-run health care for people who lead "unhealthy" lifestyles, etc.

Health care is one of the key commanding heights of the entire economy. If the left is allowed to control it, all sorts of other, smaller battles will be lost. It's just a matter of time.

And by the way, why is Bill Ayers still allowed in polite society? Doesn't NPR know he's an unrepentent terrorist?

Guilty Pleasures

Every so often I'm in the mood for a peanut butter and banana sandwich. It's something I've liked since I was a kid. For me, simple works best: toasted whole wheat bread, peanut butter on both slices, and sliced banana in the middle. Some people put honey on this - not me. Nothing else is needed.

But lately I figured out a new twist: sauteed plantains. I've enjoyed a good plantain for a long time, but never tried to cook them myself until just a few weeks ago. It struck me: what would a peanut butter and plantain sandwich taste like. I can now tell you: truly decadent!

You can buy frozen ripe plantains (Goya brand, and probably other brands as well) for an easy way to try this out. But sauteeing your own plantains is the only way to get the full experience. Use butter and don't forget to sprinkle a little kosher salt over them after cooking.