XPOST: [PathOfHealth #659] Body composition; Sources of body mass; Activity, lean tissue, and body mass

[Guest guest]

Hi Em and all,

 

Following is a cross post of PathOfHealth post # 659, entitled " Body

composition; Sources of body mass; Activity, lean tissue, and body mass " .

Perhaps this will provide a bit of the information people seek.

 

Best,

Elchanan

_____

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Antie Em

Friday, June 22, 2007 4:32 AM

rawfood

[Raw Food] Re:Salt again, I suppose

 

 

PathOfHealth [

<http://health.PathOfHealth/post?postID=loP7_TnEexobd

sS6Qx54funFYoCr66bwyIbwpeX-Mp9Dr91oem_I5_bbNCFmzoQIz2N7v7VoHaSUrPDbeVlxL_sc>

PathOfHealth ] On Behalf Of Mona

Friday, August 25, 2006 7:48 AM

 

Hi Elchanan,

In building a diet in this manner, would I gain some weight? I know I eat

too many fats making the mistake that more calories would mean adding

weight. It hasn't happened yet.

 

I have a scale that counts fat and water weight, too. I go between 17% and

14% fat. When I was in the States, I got a lot of comments on how skinny I

am. I'm 5'6 " and weigh 109 lbs. I prefer weighing 120 but want to stay raw.

Shelton writes that we should have just

enough fat to round out our muscles.

 

Another raw foodist I met said she gained weight by eating more sprouts and

greens. She hardly eats any fruit. She looks great--not too skinny. With so

much diversity in the kind of raw diets to go on, it's hard to decide what's

right.

 

I eat both a lot of greens and fruit and I know, too much fat from seeds,

nuts and avocados. I want to find what will work for me and gain back some

fat so I won't look like I'm starving myself. I also feel like I'm addicted

to nuts. After I eat, I got to have nuts. It's

really physical in the sense that my body is going through withdrawals.

 

Any suggestions?

Mona

_________________________

Common law/Natural law copyright 5767 / 2007 CE by The Presiding Emissary

for Vibrant Living Ministries, and Successors, which claims all right of an

absolute possessor of hereditaments in the following writing.

______

Greetings Mona and all,

 

To me you sound attractive, not skinny. But then, my perceptions regarding

what a healthy human body looks like have shifted from what they were a

decade ago.

 

There is a marked tendency for people in the RF world (and elsewhere) to

TALK holism and to DO anything but. Diet alone is not the sole determinant

of body mass, nor of body composition. " Weight " , in and of itself, is not a

particularly useful measure of anything. Rather, body composition ... the

proportions of lean tissue vs. fatty tissue in one's body ... is much more

useful. In fact, I strongly discourage people from setting weight-related

goals, as I find that such goals almost always work against people's

progress. In contrast, body composition goals seem to provide a more

sustainable focus of attention.

 

I would also dissuade you from the perception of the mainstream (and

including most RFs) regarding words such as " skinny " , " too thin " and the

like. The natural appearance of large mammals (with certain exceptions, as

when bears are preparing for hibernation), is very lean. Watch any PBS video

showing bid cats, zebras, even elephants in the wild, and you'll probably

notice that you can see their rib cages as they move. There is no excess fat

on these creatures, nor should there by on us, either. This is the

perceptual shift I have made, and I encourage others to make this shift, as

well. Look at the wild animals as role models, not at your friends, family,

and coworkers. And when you're ready, take these people out in a 15-mile

hike up a mountain. Then you'll see who can move what, and how far! :)

 

That having been said, perhaps it will be constructive to provide an

overview concerning types or sources of body mass, then introduce the role

of physical activity in determining body mass, composition, shape, and

vitality.

 

Sources of Body Mass

Our body mass (or what most Americans would call " weight " ) arises from

various sources, each with clear distinguishing characteristics. These

include, for the most part:

 

1. Water: A healthy human body consists of 70-75% water. Blood consists of

approximately 85% water, and lean tissue -- even bone -- is comprised of

well over 1/2 water. Most internal organs and tissues are largely water.

 

2. Fatty tissue: In contrast, fatty tissue contains very little water, just

a few percentage points. Therefore, as the percent of body fat rises, the

percent of water declines.This means that any increase in body fat over a

healthy concentration in the body MUST be accompanied by at least some

degree of systemic dehydration. Further, since fatty tissue contributes

nothing to body movement and must itself be moved, any excess of body fat

MUST increase the burden upon every organ and system throughout the body to

accomplish anything, and particularly anything involving physical movement.

By physical movement, I mean not only bodily movement, such as walking and

running, but also internal movement, such as blood and lymph circulation or

respiration (lung expansion and contraction). Even a small quantity of

excess body fat causes an increased load upon the heart, lungs, muscles, and

generally throughout the system. In turn, these burdens limit available

resources to the brain, especially the forebrain, and in the long run, we

become less emotionally competent, less imaginative, and less intelligent.

 

From a body composition perspective, healthy percentage of body fat is about

3-8% in men and about 13-15% in women (somewhat less for post-menopausal

women).

 

This means that one's body should be composed primarily of water, bone, and

muscle (along with organs, tissues, etc.), and one's outward appearance

should be determined primarily by bone and muscle -- NOT by the presence of

fat hanging off the exoskeleton.

 

3. Lean tissue: Lean tissue includes primarily muscle, cartilage, tendons,

ligaments, and bone. After adolescence, lean tissue increases in mass and

volume in response to physical activity -- and nothing else (for practical

purposes). My teacher, Doug Graham, enjoys saying that if eating could build

muscle, then all the body builders would be in the kitchen, not the gym.

 

WHEN WE LOOK " TOO SKINNY, " IT'S BECAUSE WE HAVE TOO LITTLE MUSCLE, NOT

TOO LITTLE BODY FAT.

 

In other words, for a healthy man or woman, at a healthy body mass, the only

way to add lean tissue and to " look good " is to add physical activity,

particularly activity involving load and impact upon the exoskeleton.

Examples include working with weights, other work against gravity (hiking up

hills, rather than on flats). It's not an issue of diet, except that

increasing one's activity level likely creates a need for additional

nourishment (fuel and other resources).

 

4. Organs and tissues, and interstitial fluid: In addition to water, our

organs and tissues consist primarily of structures made of proteins and

fats. The nature of these structures and the proportion of protein-based vs.

fat-based tissue varies for each organ/system. In general, though, there is

minimal fatty tissue throughout the body, except in the brain, as insulation

on the nerves (myelin sheath), and a few other specific structures. For the

most part, the internal body is quite " lean " .

 

Whenever we introduce foreign matter into the body, and whenever we are

inadequately active, and whenever we engage in any other suboptimal way of

living, the metabolic and cleansing load on the body increases. When this

occurs on a chronic basis, our organs are overworked, and they expand (gain

mass and size) as the body attempts to cope with its increased burden. Over

time, one can actually gain several kilograms of body mass from enlargement

of the internal organs.

 

5. Food-in-progress: Food in the process of digesting may contribute

several kilograms to one's present body mass. Here the role of diet is

significant: when we choose a diet consisting primarily of foods that are

high in water and simple sugars (fuel) and low in fats and proteins, we

choose a diet that digests quickly and easily. In other words, there is

little " backlog " of undigested and partially digested food in the digestive

tract. Further, when we fuel ourselves properly in this manner, we are able

to wait long periods between meals -- 5-6 hours, vs. less than half that

duration for most of the population. So the system is actually able to

complete its digestive work and rest before we begin eating again. In

contrast, most SAD eaters, and even most RFs who consume a high-fat diet,

compel their digestive systems to remain active nearly 24 hours a day; when

the system is unable to rest on a chronic basis, fatigue of the organs

supporting the digestive system sets in over time; these organs become

enlarged, and eventually exhausted. This contributes to a long list of

chronic and degenerative health problems.

 

6. Stored trash: When we consume foreign matter -- salt, spices, cooked food

of almost any kind, excessive quantities of nuts and seeds (whether cooked

or raw),, etc., the body is unable to remove the foreign matter as quickly

as we ingest it. To survive, the body is forced, over time, to store this

material, either in a brine (primarily under the skin) or in fatty tissue.

In addition, a backlog of fecal matter in the colon is quite common, and in

autopsies more than 20 kilograms (nearly 50 pounds) of fecal matter has been

found in some people.

 

Here, diet plays a significant role. A healthy diet results in minimal

stored trash. The body " looks better " , and you feel better.

 

Conclusion: Both diet and physical activity play a vital role in determining

body composition, cleansing capacity, and appearance. One can only go so far

with diet alone. Ultimately, one must engage in load-bearing physical

activity on a regular basis to build lean tissue and create that " healthy

look " .

 

Hope this overview is helpful!

 

Elchanan

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

-

Elchanan

>Following is a cross post of PathOfHealth post # 659, entitled " Body

composition; Sources of body mass; Activity, lean tissue, and body mass " .

Perhaps this will provide a bit of the information people seek.

 

very informative, thankyou Elchanan )

 

Caron