Science_1
The Dinosaur Heresies Robert T. Bakker
The World We Live In Lincoln Barnett and the Life Editorial Staff
The Meme Machine Susan Blackmore
The Web of Life Fritjof Capra
Darwin Niles Eldredge
The Fossils of Florissant Herbert W. Meyer
Prehistoric Mammals Alan Turner, illustrated by Maurico Antón
The Protein Power Lifeplan Michael and Mary Dan Eades, MDs
The Dinosaur Heresies Robert T. Bakker
Given that this is 2005, this book is somewhat old. Published in
1986, Bakker is stating his then controversial opinion. At that
time his hypothesis was certainly unusual and controversial. Now
it is pretty much accepted and the major questions are when, why, and
how – just tidying up the details. It definitely chronicles
a paradigm shift.
C1 When the first dinosaur remains were reported in the
scientific literature in the 1820’s, it was realized that they
were very different from the ancient reptiles that had preceded
them. It wasn’t until much later that the
“progress” movement relegated dinosaurs to the same slow
moving cold blooded category as the reptiles.
C2 Wyoming and Montana contain an almost unbroken sample of rocks
from all of the ages of the dinosaurs. Some of the finest
examples of many species can be found in these rocks.
C3 The “Lower Species” of animals are actually doing
very well thank you. The reptiles, fishes, snakes, and amphibians
are very numerous and fill very many ecological niches. It just
happens that most of them live somewhere else than where most modern
day biologists live. Warm blooded mammals and birds do much
better in northern areas.
C4 Heat means speed. Warm-blooded animals are faster than
cold-blooded animals. This is especially important for big
animals on land. Not so important for small land living animals
or freshwater animals. Dinosaurs were large land animals and they
suppressed big mammals for 130 million years.
C5 Brontosaurus fossils are found primarily on usually dry
floodplains, not in swampy deltas. They preferred dry land.
C6 There is evidence that suggests that some plant eating
dinosaurs had gizzards stones, thus improving the efficiency of their
digestion and providing more energy for movement.
C7 The footpads of some duckbill dino’s which were once
thought to be webbed now seem to be cushioning pads similar to camel
foot pads.
C8 Some herbivorous dino’s like duckbills probably grazed
like buffalo’s, some horned dino’s probably sliced off tall
leaves and fronds.
C9 Plants and dinosaurs evolved together, but not in a friendly
manner. Plants evolved to discourage being eaten. They
developed poisons, thorns, tissues hardened with cellulose, silica, and
phytoliths, and began bearing new leaves in the spring. Flowering
plants (angiosperms) originated at the beginning of the Cretaceous just
as the low feeding dinosaurs were replacing the high feeders.
Flowering plants could reproduce quickly after the land was ravaged by
dinosaurs.
C10 The early (American) discoverers of large dinosaurs
(diplococus) mounted tem with vertical legs. Later mounters, led
by the Germans, portrayed them with sprawling legs like alligators and
lizards. The evidence from joints and fossil footprints shows
that their legs were vertical. Many other lines of evidence
support this and suggest that many dinosaurs were swift and powerful
runners.
C11 Many plant eating dinosaurs evolved fantastic defense weapons
like tail spikes and clubs, body armor with spikes, bony heads, head
and neck spikes and big horned beaks.
C12 Other dinosaurs developed whiplike tails, sharp teeth in big jaws, and sharp claws.
C13 A lengthy discussion of the many types of flying dinosaurs.
C14 Archaeopteryx, Hesperornis, and other feathered toothed birds
were originally described as descendents of dinosaurs. Then in
1925 it was pointed out that the bird collarbones (wishbone) were more
like early reptile collarbones than dinosaur collarbones. In 1964
it was discovered that a 200 lb. Dinosaur had feet and joints
remarkably similar to modern birds (the hoatzin especially) and
archaeopteryx. Recently the discovery of suppressor genes would
seem to answer the problems of the collar bone discrepancy.
C15 Many lines of evidence support the hypothesis that many of
the strange shapes of animals, all the way from early amphibians to the
most recent mammals, are strongly effected by reproductive or sexual
displays and head butting.
C16 The cold-blooded lifestyle of amphibians and reptiles is very
efficient but slow, warm-blooded is inefficient, perhaps requiring 10
times as much energy (food) but produces a very rapid growh.
Evidence such as growth rings in teeth and bones and Hoversian canals
supports warm-bloodedness in dinosaurs. Humans and other primates
are a notable exception to this. Big brains take a lot of energy
and time to mature.
C17 Dinosaur hearts and lungs (based on chest size) were very
large and suited for warm-blooded life. Brain size of dinosaurs
was similar to modern mammals and birds and was slowly enlarging.
Brains evidently evolved very slowly, primates being a major exception.
C18 Predator to prey ratios (based on body mass): Modern
cold-blooded animals (spiders) and early reptiles have ratios around
25%, early proto-mammals and crimson croc’s (relatives of early
dinosaurs) had ratios had ratios around 10%. Later dinosaurs and
mammals have ratios between 1% and 5%, depending on conditions.
Walking speed of dinosaurs is comparable to modern mammals and much
higher than reptiles.
C19 Fast (warm-blooded) metabolism yields fast evolution.
Dinosaurs and mammals species usually last only 5 million years before
extinction. Reptile species last 30 million years or longer.
C20 4 great megadynasties have populated the land. 1 -
primitive reptiles and amphibians, 2 – proto-mammals, 3 –
dinosaurs, and 4 – true mammals. The crimson croc’s
outcompeted the proto mammals leaving only small sized ecological
niches open. When the true dinosaurs out competed the crimson
croc dynasty, the mammals remained as small creatures until the
dinosaurs died off about 65 mya.
C21 Why did the dinosaurs die off? There are many
possibilities, climate changes, mountain building – destruction,
new plants, insects, mammals volcanoes, comet, supernova, death star,
etc. Bakker belives (c. 1985) that as land bridges opened up and
migrations occurred, many species became extinct. As shallow seas
contracted the same thing happened. This reduced the total number
of species, which makes the entire ecosystem more fragile. Any
disastrous event, volcanoes, bacterial pandemic, meteor, etc. is much
more likely to destroy major parts of the ecosystem causing a weakened
population to become extinct.
C22 A minor rant about naming conventions regarding
dinosaurs. I say minor because at least for me it is obvious that
in light of new advances in data analysis and genetics, our entire
scientific nomenclature in biology needs to be revised and this is a
continuing process. In contrast to this you can’t go around
changing the names every year or so. That is to wasteful in users
new names and the continual process of trying to discover what are the
“right” relationships between species, etc. It should
be understood that this is an ongoing process, it is subjective, and
there will never be a final answer. We should just do it
periodically, accept the answers, and agree to come back in 10-15-20
years and do it over again with our new knowledge.
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The World We Live In Lincoln Barnett and the Life Editorial Staff
A book version of the series, The World We Live In,
that appeared in Life magazine from Dec. 8, 1952 through Dec. 20, 1954.
It consists of 13 chapters: The Earth is Born, The Miracle of the
Sea, The Face of the Land, The Canopy of Air, The Pageant of Life, The
Age of Mammals, Creatures of the Sea, The Coral Reef, The Land of the
Sun, The Arctic Barrens, The Rain Forest, The Woods of Home, and The
Starry Universe. A good book, wonderful illustrations, it has
held up very well, being over 50 years old. Many areas are quite
dated but it is still worth reading and looking at the pictures.
Unfortunately it is only 300 pages long. My interest was in
the plants and animals of 50 mya, it probably would have needed 6,000 pages to get everything in.
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The Meme Machine Susan Blackmore
Forward A long section by Richard Dawkins
C1 Strange Creatures What makes humans different from other
animals? “The thesis of this is that what makes us different
is our ability to imitate.” What is this thing that is
imitated, both Blackmore and Dawkins would call this a meme. A
workable definition of a meme is that it is a unit of imitation.
A couple of personal comments: Memes spread by Lamarkian
evolution, memes evolve much faster than genes, memes have a higher
incidence of propogation errors, and meme evolution is a much stronger
influence on human existence than gene evolution since the last Ice
Age. The idea of a meme is slowly becoming accepted in general
culture but it is still meeting a lot of resistence in the academic
community. It is meeting the same sort of resistance that the
solar centric theory and evolution did in their early years.
C2 Universal Darwinism A brief review of evolution,
comparison between genes and memes, relationship between them and
computer viruses.
C3 The Evolution of Culture A short review of prior
theories that have attempted to explain the spread of culture.
They all seem to be precursors to the idea of the meme.
C4 Taking the Meme’s Eye View The brain is always
active. The weed theory, an unused mind is a fertile plowed field
and memes will quckly take root and grow. Classical
conditioning and Skinnerian learning are not memetic. Memes
are created in new minds by imitation and are contageous.
C5 Three problems with memes We cannot specify the unit of
a meme, we do not know the mechanism for copying and storing memes, and
memetic evolution is ‘Lamarkian’. The terminology
surrounding this area is still in flux.
C6 The big brain Why do humans have such a huge
brain? A brief review of the evidence for the evolution of the
brain over the last 6my and some of the theories of why the size of the
brain has increased. Her question, did memes drive brain
size. She presents some evidence but admits that evidence will be
hard to come by.
C7 The origins of language Talking is energy intensive,
why do we talk to much? Memes are selected on the basis of their
survival, not how much energy is consumed. Memes must have been
involved in the creation of language.
C8 Meme-gene coevolution What is language for? Her
first proposal is that it was primarily for increasing social
interaction, for gossip.
C9 The limits of sociobiology Gene-gene interactions and
meme-gene interactions and how they define form and behavior.
Early psychological theories were of the “tabula
rosa” type. Later theories stress the importance of
“built in” abilitlies. Once genetic evolution created
the capability for memetic imitation then 1) memetic selection, 2)
genetic selection for memetic abilities, and 3) genetic selection for
mating with the best imitators. Memes and genes act in concert to
increase survivability.
C10 Sex 1 Sexual selection, vertical transmission of genes.
C11 Sex 2 Memetic selection and horizontal transmission of memes
C12 A memetic theory of alturism There is a good
mathematical basis of the genetic theory of altruism. Memetic
selection augments this theory.
C13 The altruism trick Memes increase social connectivity,
group survival is increased by group connectivity. Considerable
discussion of different aspects of altruistic activities.
C14 Memes of the new age Relationships between memes and
various new age belief systems. Young humans come equipped with
credualism built in. They will believe almost anything.
Memes enter easily and without evaluation, the same occurs with many
people who “willl believe anything”.
C15 Religions as memeplexes The more popular religions of
the world are composed of many interrelated memes. Many of these
are empiricaly beneficial for people living in groups. Examples
of how memes have been incorporated within religions. Religious
memes have played an important role in the creation of societies.
There is evidence to suggest that a tendency towards religious belief
is inherited. Memes that emphasice in-group behavior can cause
neighboring groups to diverge and if there is some selection
encountered then one group may prosper or fail compared to the other
group, a group selection may occur. Science is a set of methods
for trying to distinguish true memes from false memes. Religion
tends to build theories about the world and then preventing them from
being tested.
C16 Into the internet Are papers, books, fax, internet,
etc. examples of spreading memes? She thinks so. How
writing and other forms of communication dramatically increased the
spread of memes. The advantages of copying the instructions
instead of the product, just like genes do it. Why the World Wide
Web is such a perfect medium for meme expansion.
C17 The Ultimate Memeplex Who or what am I? Descarte
came up with “I think, therefore I am”. Unfortunately
we have not yet been able to come up with the thinking part. Many
other more recent authors haven’t been able to do much
better. The best we can come up with seems to be somewhere in the
brain. She suggests that self is a large collection of our memes,
we could call it a selfplex. Memes survive because they all
mutually support each other in the selfplex. An all for one
response.
C18 Out of the meme race She tries to explain just what the
self is. She considers such things as free will, consciousness,
creativity, and human foresight. How can we relieve ourselves of
the tyranny of our collecive memes? She tries to explain this
process but there is no straight forward algorithm.
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The Web of Life Fritjof Capra
A somewhat old book, published in 1996 and definitely out of the main stream.
C1 Deep Ecology Science is undergoing a paradigm shift.
Science grew up with the determinism of Copernicus, Newton, and
Descartes. Now it is moving into an era of quantum mechanics,
ecology, and statistical laws. He makes a distinction between Shallow Ecology - anthropocentric use of the natural world and Deep Ecology
- a network of interconnected and interdependent objects including
humans. I had previously thought that the difference was self
interest and ecology.
C2 From the parts to the whole Capra traces the major
highlights from the history of scientific philosophy. He
discusses cartesian mechanism, romanticism, nineteenth-century
mechanism, vialism, organismic biology, systems thinking, quantum
physics, gestalt psychology, and ecology.
C3 Systems Theories Key elements of systems thinking: the
shift from parts to the whole, ability to shift back and forth between
systems levels, emergent properties, the world is a network of
relationships, most knowledge is composed of successive approximations,
and thinking in terms of process. A Russian, Alexander Bugdanov,
developed a general systems theory which he called Tektology. It
was published betweem 1912 and 1917 in Russia and republished in
Germany in 1928. Can you imagine someone having a better sense of
timing and place? Ludwig von Bertalanffy published his General
System Theory in 1968. Most modern systems thinking dates from
this book.
C4 The Logic of the Mind The term Cybernetics
was first used by Norbert Wiener. John von Nermann was another
early contributer. Some of the first terms were feedback
(especially negative feedback), homeostasis, and information theory.
C5 Models of Self-Organization Terms used in this chapter
include systems analysis, cost-benefit analysis, systems dynamics,
molecular biology, and networks. Others are the creation of novel
structures and forms of behavior, open systems acting far from
equilibrium, nonlinear interconnectedness, Humberto Maturana's
term Autopoiesis, for self making, James Lovelock's term Gaia,
for the earth as a self-regulating system. This term, Gaia, has
received much criticism because of its use of the name of a Greek
goddess and the mistaken idea that the proposal was implying that the
earty was a teleological or self-aware organism. Lovelock was
later joined in theorizing by Lynn Margulis. The early whole
earth models of Daisyworld.
C6 The Mathematics of Complexity Some of the names used for this are systems dynamics and dynamic systems theory.
Early mathematics was defined by geometry, later algebra became
more important. Calculus was invented by both Newton and Leibniz.
By the time we get to James Clerk Maxwell and his laws of gasses
these exact methods cannot be used and statistical laws must be used.
Both of these techniques, deterministic for the analytical
methods and statistical for complex systems, use linear equations.
Often the phenomena were not ameanable to analysis and so the
equations were linearized. Once many of the simpler problems were
solved it was realized that the underlying reality was non-linear.
In efforts to attack these problems new non-linear methods were
developed. Some of the new terms are feedback, iterations, Chaos
Theory, Fractal Geometry, and complex numbers.
C7 New Synthesis The three criteria of living systems:
a pattern of organization, a structure, and a life process.
He discusses these with respect to a plant cell
C8 Dissipative Structures Bertalanffy used the phrase, flowing balance,
to describe life processes. A typical food cycle is described.
Some of the follow-on terms are nonequilibrium and nonlinearity,
irreversable processes, order and disorder, and points of
instability. Notice all the negative definitions.
C9 Self-Making He discusses cellular automata (the game of
life?), binary networks, and bounces around a number of other concepts.
C10 The Unfolding of Life Brief discussions of Lamark,
Darwin, Mendel, and neo-darwinism. Is puncuated equilibria a new
concept or a straight-forward application of evolution? He covers
some of the major facts and problems surrounding the existence of life
on earth over the last 4 billion years. He breaks the timeline
down into three ages: Prebiotic age, 4.5 bya from the formation of the
earth through 3.8 bya with the formation of the first carbon-based
compounds, catalytic loops, and membranes. Microcosm, 3.5 bya with
the first cell or cell-like organisms until 1.5 bya with the
establishment of the essentially modern atmosphere and earth surface.
There is some fossil evidence of cellular organisms at this
stage. Macrocosm, 1.2 bya with the first cells or organisms
exhibiting locomotion and sexual reproduction until the present day.
He goes into more details with the evolution of plants and
animals starting at 700 mya and the evolution of humans starting about
4 mya.
C11 Bringing Forth a World A recap with a few added
comments. He calls it "the emerging theory of living systems".
C12 Knowing That We Know Communication, language, consciousness, these are some of the continuing problems.
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Darwin - Discovering the Tree of Life Niles Eldredge
C1 Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln - Both were born on Feb. 12,
1809, both detested slavery, both are on popular bills (Lincon on the 5
dollar bill, Darwin on the 10-pound note) and both remain as important
figures almost 200 years after their birth. Eldredge devotes the
first 11 pages to describing why Darwin remains so important to us
today. The remainder of the chapter is a brief biographical
sketch of his life.
C2 Darwin on the Sandwalk In 1836 Darwin returned to England on the Beagle,
between 1837 and 1842 he developed most of his theory of evolution.
In 1842 he moved to a new home, called Down House and retired to
a life of writing. The Sandwalk was a path that he had
constructed where he took his almost daily walks and thought.
Between 1842 and 1858 he worked on many publications and very
gradually worked on preparing a book on his evolutionary theories.
In June of 1858 he received a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace
which contained many of his ideas. Darwin dropped his slow
preparation of his massive book, published a paper with Wallace which
outlined the theory, and published his much smaller Origin of Species in 1859.
C3 Darwin's Evolution: Issues, Contexts, and the Red and Transmutation Notebooks
A discussion of many of the concepts and issues involved in
evolution. Darwin was very much a creationist when he set sail on
the Beagle.
Over the years of the voyage he gradually came to realize that
evolution had occurred. Shortly after he returned he began
writing a series of notebooks laying out his ideas on evolution.
He showed them to no one other than a few close friends and his
wife. He gave her instructions and money to have them published
on the event that he died before they were formally published. He
describes the notebooks in rather excruciating detail.
C4 Darwin's Evolution: The Manuscripts and Books In 1842 Darwin wrote a Sketch
(of 42 pages in a later printed edition) which puts together many of
the ideas contained in the notebooks. In 1844 he wrote a much
longer Essay (of 164 pages in a later printed edition) expanding greatly on the Sketch. He did no more work on this subject until the middle 1850's when he started work on a much longer book, entitled Natural Selection, which he never finished. Not much changed with Origin until the 6th edition in 1872 and the only major new work on evolution was his Decent of Man in 1871.
C5 Evolution after Darwin
Some people accepted evolution immediatly but many never did.
It wasn't until a new generation arose that there was general
acceptance. Eldredge goes on to list the various branches of
science that created supporting documentation for evolution.
These are: Comparative Anatomy and Systematics,
Paleontology, Embryology, Ecololgy, Micro-Biogeography, and Modern
Genetics.
C6 Darwin as Anti-Christ: Creationism in the Twenty-first Century
In 1809, creationism was the dogma of the Church of England and
very few disagreed. The new sciences of Astronomy, Physics, and
Chemistry were making inroads on the thought of churches but nothing
had changed with the biological sciences. Most mainstream
Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish people have no problems with the
concept of evolution. Almost all of the opposition comes from
fundamentalist and evangelical Protestants who insist on blind
acceptance of their version of what the Bible says. Eldredge
briefly discusses creationism and refutes their arguments. He
then discusses Intelligent Design, compares it to the old concept of
William Paley, the blind watchmaker, and refutes their arguments.
He concludes with a bibliography and index.
An interesting book filled with many pictures and illustrations, many
taken from Darwin's original works and other contemporary sources.
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The Fossils of Florissant Herbert W. Meyer
Intro The Florissant fossil beds in Colorado are one of the best
preserved records of life in the Americas of 34 million years ago.
C1 The fossil beds were discovered in the 1860's and soon became
a tourist attraction, unfortunately many of the larger petrified trees
were destroyed by collectors. The first scientific study was the
Hayden Survey which arrived in 1873. The first paleological study
was started in 1877. Over the years there have been many studies
and commercial ventures. A part was designated as a National
Monument in 1969.
C2 Geology The bedrock is the Pikes Peak Granite, 1.04 billion
years old. By about 37 mya it had uplifted and eroded down to a
low relief landscape. Shortly therafter volcanic activity started
and much of the area was covered by pyroclastic flows. About 35
mya the Guffey volcano formed beside the Florissant valley and repeated
mud flows created periodic lakes and then buried them. Several of
these events created the Florissant fossil beds.
C3 Reconstructing the Ecosystem Florissant of 34 mya was an
upland site with many modern species, a few extinct species, and some
that are only found in isolated spots in the world like the tsetse fly,
sequoia, golden-rain tree, etc. There were many flowering trees
and shrubs more suited to the mild, damp climate. The estimates
of the rainfall were 50-80 cm and mean temp of 11-13 deg C with a dry
season (current rain is 38 cm and temp of 4 deg C). The
Florissant beds record species while the temperature was lowering and
drying out. Earlier fossils in the west were from warmer wetter
times and later were from colder dryer periods. Elevation also
plays a major role. He discusses insect damage and distrobution
of species with respect to the deposition of material which will become
fossils.
C4 Plants The fossil redwood stumps at Florissant are among the
largest ever found. Many trees have been found, including broad
leaved varieties and conifers, many pines. Some of the species
found include: sequoia, golden-rain tree, locust, elm, cypress, fir,
spruce, pine, yew, oregon grape, beech, oak, birch, hickory, willow,
poplar, mulberry, hops (marijuana family), grapes, currant, rose
family, ocean spray, apple, prune, blackberry, legumes, hydrangea,
elderberry, cattails, water lily, and palm.
C5 Invertebrates Spiders, millipedes, dragonfly,
grasshopper, katydid, cricket, mantis, cockroaches, termites, earwigs,
water strider, beetles, crane fly, bee fly, hover fly, moth, butterfly,
bee, ant.
C6 Vertebrates opossum, fish, birds (plover?), mammals.
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Prehistoric Mammals Alan Turner, illustrated by Maurico Antón
A nice coffee table book if you want your guests to get lost in a book
or get frustrated because they would rather be looking at it instead of
visiting. After some introductory pages the book is organized by
order and family with many omissions because of space. Each entry
is described briefly and one or two species are described in more
detail including when the species existed. More than half of the
book is taken up with illustrations including in some cases photos of
existing fossil skeletons. My only real problem with the book is
that I wanted to see the origin of each entry and how the group
diverged and spread through time and space and when the orders and
families became extinct (perhaps even some speculation as to why).
What is your problem with another 6,000 page book?
Just for reference for those who haven't retained the full Linnaeus classification scheme using the lion as an example.
- Kingdom Animalia (all animals)
- Phylum Chordata (animals with backbones)
- Class Mammalia (produce milk, warm-blooded, hairy)
- Family Felidae (cats: short faces, large eyes, usually retractile claws)
- Genus Panthera (larger cats, can roar but only purr as they breath out)
- Species leo (note lower case, lions)
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The Protein Power Lifeplan Michael and Mary Dan Eades, MDs
This book and its predecessor (Protein Power) are somewhat
controversial. I can’t claim any scientific knowledge that
I can cite to prove their conclusions are either true or not
true. I have only one fact that I can cite. For many years
I have been an EMT with volunteer ambulance groups. One of the
most feared calls is when you are called to the residence of a neighbor
and friend. One night I got one of these calls, shortness of
breath, crushing chest pain, pallor, sweating: classic symptoms
of a heart attack. Luckily he was able to come home, although
that was about the last time he was able to hold down a full time
job. After several years, a couple more heart attacks, and
multiple heart surgeries his cardiologist finally came out and told
him, “Jim, I have done just about everything I can, the next time
I will be bringing flowers to your funeral. About the only thing
I can say is that you need to read and follow the advice given in this
book”. The cardiologist handed Jim a copy of Protein Power
by the Eades. That was about 15 years ago. Jim and his wife
have since built a new house, are again moving, and thoroughly enjoying
life as an ex-cardiac patient. Sort of convinced me.
This is going to be longer than most because I want a reference to many of the details.
This is a considerably different book than their earlier book, Protein
Power. There is much less emphasis on food preparation and
specific foods and more emphasis on the scientific basis of human
nutrition. In other words, less picky details and more general
knowledge. They break their nutritional plan into three general
levels.
- Hedonist – Least restrictive, most health benefits for the
least nutritional change. Three major caveats: no trans fats, no
aspartame, no added fructose.
- Dilettante – Eliminate certain grains associated with gut
damage and arthritic disorders and reduce potentially toxic additives
such as hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides.
- Purist – Eliminate all foods not used by our ancestors for
the last 3 million years or so. This would be dairy, grains,
hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, alcohol, and caffeine.
Chapter 1 Straw Men:
The Chinese have very little cardiovascular disease because they eat
very little fat and protein and lots of carbos. Fact:
Chinese and US males have almost the same levels of cardiovascular
disease. Chinese females have higher death rates than US
females. Chinese female deaths are mostly by stroke, US females
mostly from heart attacks.
Low fat – high carb (complex or not) diets are good for
you. Fact: Between 1958 and 1993, the percent of fat in the
US has gone down from 42% to 35% and the percent of overweight people
has gone up from 23% to 34%. I doubt that the trends have
ceased. Walter Willett, MD, PhD, Chair, Harvard School of Public
Health, “Low fat has been like a religion. But it was just
a hypothesis to begin with.”
The Spanish Paradox (Amer. J. Clinical Nutrition 61-6[June 1955] p
1351s-1359s) Over a period of 25 years, roughly between l970 and
1995 the Spanish reduced their bread, fruit and vegetables, and olive
oil consumption. The increased their consumption of dairy
products and meat. Contrary to the normal expectations, the rates
of death from heart disease declined dramatically. Since the
results did not meet the researchers expectation, they analyzed the
results on a region by region basis. Again they found that the
regions with the highest levels of meat consumption had the greatest
declines in rates of death from heart disease.
Our human ancestors were vegetarian hunter-gatherers whose meat
consisted mainly of small amounts scavenged from the kills of large
carnivores. Fact: There are many types of evidence that
shows that our ancestors hunted and ate large amounts of meat.
The earliest known evidence dates back at least 2.6 million
years. Of course our ancestors also ate a large variety of fruits
and nuts.
A major, and often quoted, paper published in 1968 stated that
hunter-gatherer societies obtained 65% of their calories from plants
and only 35% from animals. Fact: Dr. Loren Cordain,
Colorado State University, reanalyzed this data and found that only
about 1/3 of the raw data was used, calories from shellfish, fish, and
small animals were ascribed to the “gathering” or plant
related calories. He then used the most recent available data and
came up with a reversed figure of 65% animal based calories and 35%
plant based calories.
Interesting Fact: Cereal grains, like wheat, maize, and barley
contain opioid substances called exorphins. These stimulate the
opioid receptors in the brain are to varying degrees addictive.
When you eat grains you are getting just a little bit high. And
you wonder why they are called “comfort” foods.
Chapter 2 Insulin
What are the problems? The Deadly Quartet, composed of
hypertension, diabetes, elevated triglycerides, and obesity. This
should be modified to The Deadly Big Band, because many more problems
are now recognized as being related to excess insulin. Excess
insulin contributes to the narrowing of coronary arteries in at least 5
ways. In determining excess insulin they recommend 1) Fasting
insulin level, 2) 2-hour post fast insulin test, and 3) insulin
challenge test. They list 7 methods of reversing insulin
resistance with their major recommendation being decreasing carbo
intake.
Their recommended dietary supplements are:
- Magnesium, 400-600 mg/day
- Vitamin E, 400-800 IU/day
- Chromium picolinate, 200 to 1000 micrograms/day
- Alpha-lipoic acid, 200-600 gm/day
- CoEnzyme Q10, 100-300 mg/day
Chapter 3 Fats
Types: Saturated (butter, lard, coconut, palm) monounsaturated
(olive oil, avocado, nuts, lard, poultry), polyunsaturated ( 2 or more
double bonds, tend to be liquids at room temp, tend to turn rancid upon
exposure to air. Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats are very
important. Our ancestors ate a diet containing an Omega 6 to
Omega 3 ratio of about 2/1, the current US diet has a ratio of between
20/1 and 50/1. Omega 6 fatty acids are associated with pain receptors,
inflammation, smooth muscle contractions, blood clotting, etc.
Omega 3 fatty acids act as blood thinners, reduce pain, slow cell
growth, relax smooth muscle cells, etc.
Good sources of Omega 3’s are sardines packed in sardine oil or a
second choice is packed in olive oil or water. Carlsons Cod Liver
Oil, it has a lemony taste is also good. Fish oil capsules are
also good however they very easily turn rancid. Rancid fats are
quite harmful.
Another type of fat is a trans fat. These are normal straight
chain saturated fats that have been heated with a nickel
catalyst. The result is a straight chain polyunsaturated fat that
is solid, has a very long shelf life, and a biochemistry that causes
many biological problems. They lower levels of HDL, raise LDL,
decrease testosterone in males, decrease cream in breast milk, weaken
the immune response, and increase insulin resistance. Food
manufactures have increased shelf life while reducing human life.
If vegetable oil doesn’t have a dark bottle or doesn’t
require refrigeration it has trans fat. 70% of soybean oil has
been hydrogenated to a trans fat.
Chapter 4 Cholesterol (a waxy alcohol)
Subtypes, HDL – High Density Lipoprotein, LDL – Low Density
Lipoprotein, IDL – Intermediate Density Lipoprotein, and VLDL
– Very Low Density Lipoprotein. Chemically HDL is scavenged
cholesterol plus protein, more and more triglycerides are added for
each step in the series from LDL to IDL and then to VLDL. When
they are spun out in a centrifuge the final fraction in this series are
individual triglyceride molecules. Molecules of this series leave
the liver as VLDL. As they travel through the body they drop off
triglyceride molecules as fuel. Then the molecules drop of
cholesterol the body cells. Then they pick up excess cholesterol
and deliver it to the liver for recycling or elimination in the
bile. The subtypes can themselves be broken into
sub-subtypes. LDL is essential to proper cell functioning and it
only becomes a problem when it is oxidized or caramelized (glycolated)
by blood sugar. The more LDL that is present the more likely that
it will become damaged. Damage can be reduced by keeping blood
sugar stable and by eating sufficient antioxidants.
LDL it typically calculated by the Friedenwald equation, LDL = total
cholesterol – HDL – triglycerides/5. Types of LDL,
type A (large fluffy particles) and type B (small dense
particles). Type a tends to resist oxidation but type B is prone
to oxidation and is prone to enter artery walls creating
atherosclerotic plaque. Low fat, high carbo diets seem to produce
type B particles and high fat, low carbo diets seem to produce type A
particles, especially in men. You can directly test for Type A
vs. B by using a LDL gradient-gel electrophoresis (LGL-GGE) test.
When the body has excess triglycerides the proportion of type B
increases, when triglycerides are low, type A predominates. The
Eades prefer triglycerides lower than 100 mg/dl. They recommend
using a ratio of triglycerides over HDL – See J. Michael
Graziene. The level of Lp(a) should be around 4 mg/dl.
Lp(a) is thought to reduce clot dissolving and it can be reduced by
eating saturated fats.
Fibrinogen levels should be low; anything over 335 microM/l is cause
for alarm. Low carbos, moderate alcohol, and exercise can reduce
fibrinogen. They recommend 100 micrograms of B12 to metabolize
homocysteine and keep it lower than 10 microM/l.
The “normal” cholesterol vs. death graphs show deaths
increasing directly as cholesterol levels rise from 200 mg/dl past
400. However a more complete database shows that deaths
decrease as cholesterol levels rise from 50 to about 200 and then rise
above 200. The best range seems to be in the 160-220 range.
No study has ever shown a direct link between cholesterol level and
deaths from heart disease. If you are taking statin drugs you
should take 300 mg of oil based coQ10 every day.
Chapter 5 Antioxidants
Our ancestors ate roughly 100 to 150 different foods. In the US
we typically eat 15 to 25 different foods. We should eat as many
different foods as possible and get most of our antioxidants from
them. Researchers at the Texas Health Sciences Center in San
Anntonio found that lipid peroxides, not cholesterol, caused membranes
to stiffen as we age. A lipid peroxide is a rancid fat.
Vitamin E is the best antioxidant for protecting LDL particles.
It seems that some cells in the immune system can immobilize intruders
(cancer cells, bacteria, and viruses) and kill them by flooding them
with free radicals, then other immune system cells come and consume the
dead cells. If you take too much pure antioxidants you may
suppress this effect and allow cancer, bacteria, and viruses to grow
unhindered.
The best solution is to eat the raw materials and let your body produce its own antioxidants.
ORAC: Oxygen Radical Absorbency Capacity – the ability of a
food to absorb oxygen free radicals in a test tube. Some of the
foods highest in ORAC values are prunes, raisins, berries, plus,
oranges, grapes (red), cherries, colored veggies, onion, corn, eggplant
(table on page 122). Glutathione should be the most abundant
antioxidant in the body. It can be injected (painful!) but it
cannot be taken as a pill as it is broken down during digestion.
However the body can make its own given the proper raw materials such
as meat or other animal protein, alpha-lipoic acid, and selenium.
Avoid lipid and cholesterol peroxides. These are produced when
egg yolks are heated in air, such as scrambled eggs and powdered
eggs. Occasionally is OK – just not too often. Avoid
excessive exercise without periods of rest and recuperation. The
nutritional supplements that the Eades recommend are:
-
Vitamin # - 500 mg/day
-
Vitamin C – 200 mg/day with Paleolithic punch or 250 mg/day without
-
CoEnzyme Q10 (coQ10) in oil – 90-100 mg/day, 300 mg/day w/statins
-
Alpha-lipoic acid – 1---200 mg/day
Chapter 6 Leaky Gut and related problems
Many of us are gluten intolerant to lessor or greater degree.
Approximately 2/3 of the immune-defense activity occurs in the
intestinal tract. This is essential because of the large amount
of harmful material that we ingest, fecal material, bacteria, viruses,
poisons, etc. Many plants, including grains, contain toxins and
other substances that are produced to protect the plant from animals
that eat the plant, for example, us. Cooking destroys some of
these toxins but not all. Often wen you ingest more starch and
sugar than can be digested in the small intestine, these pass along to
the colon in an undigested state. The resident bacteria there
break this undigested starch and sugar into alcohols and gas and this
material is forced back into the small intestine where the material
damages the intestinal lining. Sort of a “heartburn of the
small intestine.” This inflammation can permanently
sensitize the body to some of the plant proteins that have remained
undigested. The immune system “remembers” these
proteins and unfortunately some proteins found in the human body are
very similar to these “remembered” plant proteins.
Many serious autoimmune diseases can result from this. Some
examples are rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type I diabetes,
MS, etc.
Chapter 7 Sweets
In 1900 the US ate approximately 2 lbs. of sugar per person per year,
in 1970 it was 126 lbs./person/year, and in 1993 it was 150
lbs./person/year. Compare this to the rise in obesity and
diabetes. White powders are addictive and bad for your health
(sugar, flour, crystalline fructose, cocaine, and heroin). All
carbos are sugars. Complex carbos are just several sugars linked
together.
Glycemic Index. How quickly and how much various sugars and
carbos raise the blood sugar level. It takes no account of other
foods in the diet, nutritional values, or ripeness. Also foods
containing fructose are misleading because fructose does not stay in
the blood very long, it passes directly into the cells of the
body. Fructose also causes insulin resistance, high blood
pressure, and reacts with some bodily proteins to form a substance
similar to caramel.
Artificial sweeteners: Most are probably OK in moderation.
Not aspartame, it has the capability to kill certain brain cells,
especially in the hippocampal area, which is involved in memory.
Aspartame should never be used.
Chapter 8 Iron
Iron is absolutely essential for living organisms. One of the
strategies that many animals (including humans) use to fight infections
(rapidly growing cells such as bacteria, virus, cancer, or parasites)
is to pull iron out of circulation and hide it away so that these cells
cannot access the iron in the body. A tragic consequence of this
is the giving of iron to underfed and disease ridden people (mainly
children) in third world countries who apparently are suffering from
iron-deficiency anemia. The standard treatment is iron
injections. If this is done before the infections are cleared up
the excess iron can allow the bacteria and parasites to multiply
rapidly and cause an overwhelming infection that is often life
threatening. Iron is a double-edged sword. We need it to
live but in excess it can be deadly.
Iron is a very powerful pro-oxidant. Iron is stored in the body
inside of ferritin molecules. When blood flow ceased for a while,
as in a heart attack, stroke, or the application of a tourniquet, cells
(and ferritin molecules) break down and the contained iron – a
free radical – damages the surrounding tissurs. This is
called reperfusion injury. It can be deadly.
There are sources of evidence that many conditions and products that
protect against heart disease are associated with reduction of bodily
iron. As a pro-oxidant, iron can cause the type of DNA damage
that results in cancer. Then the excess iron allows cancer cells
to multiply rapidly. Iron may be stored in and cause problems
with the thyroid, pancreas, gonads, and pituitary.
The Eades recommended test for iron levels in the body is a serum
ferritin test. The recommended ferritin level is between 10 and
50 micrograms per liter.
Chapter 9 Magnesium
The Eades estimate that our ancestors consumed between 800 and 1,500 mg
of magnesium per day, for a calcium to magnesium ratio of about
1/1. The current US diet has a calcium to magnesium ratio of
between 1/5 and 1/15. They recommend that most people take a
magnesium supplement of 300 to 600 mg/day of magnesium as a malate,
citrate, or aspartate.
Chapter 10 Sunshine
Sunlight converts cholesterol in skin cells to a precursor of Vitamin
D, which is then converted in several steps to active Vitamin D. They
recommend that you sunbathe until your skin just starts to get pink,
when it feels warm and tingly. Do not let your skin burn.
Chapter 11 Brains
Fathead is a compliment. More than 60% of the brain is composed
of a variety of fats. For good brain function you need a diet
rich in fats, especially omega-3 and cholesterol. Mental exercise
and continued learning are also very good for you.
Chapter 12 Exercise
They recommend stretching every morning and before exercise. They
also suggest brief sessions of high intensity exercise of varying types
(cross training) followed by periods of relaxation and possibly
meditation. They recommend against long hours of workouts.
Chapter 13 Nutrition Plan
This chapter is filled with tables of protein requirements, protein
portions, fats to use and not use, carbo portions and content, carbo
intake guidelines, food selection guidelines, and vitamin and mineral
contents of foods. It cannot be summarized.
Chapter 14 Handy supplies and other practical things
They list items to be kept in the pantry, the freezer, and in the
fridge. They have cooking and meal preparation tips, lunches,
snacks, dinners, salads, salad dressings, and soups.
1 specific recipe: Punch
1/2 cup each of frozen blueberries, raspberries, and sliced strawberries
1/2 to 1 cup water
1 tsp. Honey (optional)
Process in blender until smooth and thick
Yield: 2 portions, each with 7.5 g of carbos
Chapter 15 Sample menus and foods
Appendix
-
Recommended micronutrients for specific medical conditions
-
Sources of food products and education
-
Suggested reading and data sources, complete bibliography
Recommended Stretches and Exercises
Stretches (hold means maintain position for up to 30 seconds max and breathe)
-
Sit up in bed, tip your head forward, hold, tip it back, hold, rotate right, hold, rotate right.
-
Sit on edge of bed, reach arms straight in front, hold.
-
Sit on edge of bed, reach arms straight up, lock fingers, hold
-
Sit on edge of bed, reach arms around chest as far towards back
as possible, pull shoulders around towards center of chest, hold
-
Stand with legs slightly apart, stretch out arms, hold, turn
head as far to the right as you can, twist body as far as you can,
hold, return to center, repeat other side
-
Stand, legs apart, bend forward at waist and reach towards floor, hold
-
Stand (next to wall or chair), pick up right foot, grab ankle, pull up, hold, repeat other side
Exercises
Sprint:
Begin at a slow pace (jog, walk) until you are warmed up, then
sprint for 10 to 30 seconds, return to slow pace. Repeat up to
5-6 times, stop, stretch by bending at waist and reach for
ground. Slowly build up stamina until you can sprint for 1-minute
periods.
Leap
Stand relaxed, arms at sides, swinging your arms up leap as
high as you can. Repeat for 3 to 5 leaps. Rest for 30
seconds, 3 – 5 more leaps. Repeat the leaping – rest
cycle 4 or 5 times. Stretch by reaching for sky and then
reach for toes.
Jumping
Stand relaxed; jump forward as far as you can, landing on right
foot, quickly jump again landing on left foot. Jump about 6
times, landing 3 times on the right foot and 3 times on the left.
Rest about 30 seconds and repeat. Perform the same set of 6 jumps
and a rest about 4 times.
Moving Weights
-
Do 5 pushups as fast as you can, rest for 30 seconds. Do
5 more, Repeat the sets of 5 pushups and resting 5 times. As you
get more fit increase the number of quick pushups from 5 to 10
-
With weights (dumbbells, medicine ball, or water jugs) in your
hands, squat down until your thighs are parallel with the floor, hold
for 10 seconds and stand up. Do 4 or 5 squats. Gradually
increase your holding time until you get up to 30 seconds.
-
Lie on your back, gradually curl up with your hands held
parallel to the ground. Hold for about 5 seconds and lie back
down, repeat for 5 curls.
-
Using a heavy weight (medicine ball, pillowcase filled with
laundry) hold it over your head and throw it as far as you can.
Repeat 5 times, rest for 30 seconds. Repeat the cycle 4 or 5
times, stretch. It helps to have a partner to catch and throw it
back.
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