Cohen Diet II
Several people replied that they found my posting of the "Cohen Diet" one of the best things I've written - what that says about my serious political analyses I am not sure.
Anyway, there was one subject left out of my posting on diet that needs to be addressed, and that is milk products. I happen to be "lactose intolerant," and this has nothing to do with my views about Obama. When we are babies and children we need to drink milk and eat milk products in large quantitites, because milk is a very nutritious balanced diet, containing protein, carbohydrate and fat, just at the time when we are growing, and it is also rich in calcium that is needed for bone growth.
However, the largest component of milk is the white carboydrate lactose (a disaccharide containing two units of sugar joined together). In order to digest lactose one needs the enzyme lactase, and this is produced in large quantities in the gut of babies and children. But, when people reach puberty one of the changes that occurs is that the levels of lactase go down, and in adulthood it usually decreases further. In most adults there is some lactase present, but in ca. 30% of the adult population there is no lactase at all, and this is referred to as "lactase deficiency." In fact, this proportion is much higher in Jews and Asians, from 50-90% of the population have no lactase.
Since we have been taught from childhood that milk products (yoghurt, cheese, etc.) are good for us, and since refrigeration has become routine, many adults continue to eat high levels of milk products unnecessarily. This is alright if you have enough lactase to digest the lactose, but if you don't, this can lead to severe intestinal discomfort, mainly because the excess lactose is digested by bacteria in the lower intestinal tract, that results in the production of gas and bloating. So the ingestion of milk and milk products by healthy adults can have negative consequences. This is termed "lactose sensitivity."
Note also that lactase levels can vary considerably, so someone can eat a yoghurt one day and have no problem, but another day it can cause discomfort. Also, many other products (such as cakes, biscuits, soups, etc.contain milk products). It is advisable that anyone who experiences problems after drinking milk or eating cheese should see a gastroenterologist and get tested for lactase deficiency (a simple test), but in general adults should avoid milk products, just as they should avoid fatty meat products. One of the things to avoid is milk chocolate, dark chocolate is much better for you, but remember that high levels of cacao also contain high levels of caffeine, so people bothered by caffeine should be careful of high percentage dark chocolate (as I said previously chocolate syrup is healthier).
"Lactose intolerance" is an immune sensitivity to lactose that results in those who have lactase deficiency but ignore it. For such people any milk products containing lactose can become a source of suffering and should be avoided completely. There are some alternaives, such as lactose free yoghurts and soya milk (that has calcium added). I use these all the time, and when I eat cheese I usually take a "Lactaid" tablet, that is in fact solid lactase.
So add milk products to the "no-no" list for the Cohen diet. Also, avoid any vegetables that have shiny skins that contain fat and are difficult to digest such as cucumber, corn and green peppers (red peppers are not as bad). Also, some fish such as tuna and mackerel are much fattier than others, such as salmon and trout.
Finally, one of my friends pointed out that a "balanced" diet must also contain vitamins and trace elements. Yes, any diet must include these, but if it is truly balanced (i.e. fish, chicken, vegetables, fruits, bread and chocolate) then there are certainly enough vitamins and trace elements to suffice.
Anyway, there was one subject left out of my posting on diet that needs to be addressed, and that is milk products. I happen to be "lactose intolerant," and this has nothing to do with my views about Obama. When we are babies and children we need to drink milk and eat milk products in large quantitites, because milk is a very nutritious balanced diet, containing protein, carbohydrate and fat, just at the time when we are growing, and it is also rich in calcium that is needed for bone growth.
However, the largest component of milk is the white carboydrate lactose (a disaccharide containing two units of sugar joined together). In order to digest lactose one needs the enzyme lactase, and this is produced in large quantities in the gut of babies and children. But, when people reach puberty one of the changes that occurs is that the levels of lactase go down, and in adulthood it usually decreases further. In most adults there is some lactase present, but in ca. 30% of the adult population there is no lactase at all, and this is referred to as "lactase deficiency." In fact, this proportion is much higher in Jews and Asians, from 50-90% of the population have no lactase.
Since we have been taught from childhood that milk products (yoghurt, cheese, etc.) are good for us, and since refrigeration has become routine, many adults continue to eat high levels of milk products unnecessarily. This is alright if you have enough lactase to digest the lactose, but if you don't, this can lead to severe intestinal discomfort, mainly because the excess lactose is digested by bacteria in the lower intestinal tract, that results in the production of gas and bloating. So the ingestion of milk and milk products by healthy adults can have negative consequences. This is termed "lactose sensitivity."
Note also that lactase levels can vary considerably, so someone can eat a yoghurt one day and have no problem, but another day it can cause discomfort. Also, many other products (such as cakes, biscuits, soups, etc.contain milk products). It is advisable that anyone who experiences problems after drinking milk or eating cheese should see a gastroenterologist and get tested for lactase deficiency (a simple test), but in general adults should avoid milk products, just as they should avoid fatty meat products. One of the things to avoid is milk chocolate, dark chocolate is much better for you, but remember that high levels of cacao also contain high levels of caffeine, so people bothered by caffeine should be careful of high percentage dark chocolate (as I said previously chocolate syrup is healthier).
"Lactose intolerance" is an immune sensitivity to lactose that results in those who have lactase deficiency but ignore it. For such people any milk products containing lactose can become a source of suffering and should be avoided completely. There are some alternaives, such as lactose free yoghurts and soya milk (that has calcium added). I use these all the time, and when I eat cheese I usually take a "Lactaid" tablet, that is in fact solid lactase.
So add milk products to the "no-no" list for the Cohen diet. Also, avoid any vegetables that have shiny skins that contain fat and are difficult to digest such as cucumber, corn and green peppers (red peppers are not as bad). Also, some fish such as tuna and mackerel are much fattier than others, such as salmon and trout.
Finally, one of my friends pointed out that a "balanced" diet must also contain vitamins and trace elements. Yes, any diet must include these, but if it is truly balanced (i.e. fish, chicken, vegetables, fruits, bread and chocolate) then there are certainly enough vitamins and trace elements to suffice.
posted by Jack Cohen at 6:51 PM
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