Protein! And Other Off-Topic Topics

A friend I spoke to this morning asked if I was becoming disaffected with photography, a suspicion raised, for him, by reading my recent blog posts.

No, not at all. It's that I'm preoccupied by the political situation here in the USA—but I can't write about that. Not my purview here. But that's what's going on with me. (Oh, and I'm still sick—approaching five weeks—although not suffering. Grateful for the latter.)

My other distractions at the moment are pool and food. I'm playing in a pool league, playing or practicing a little most every day, and learning more about the game as I go. The guy who sponsors our team (we're in first place by five games as of the last standings), whose name is Hatter, just installed a "milk dud" tip on my Schön. Talk about weird—you start with a Tweeten* non-laminated Elkmaster, soak it in milk(!) for 24 hours, press it in a vise for another 24, and then mount it and shape it. But I'm pretty sure nobody came here for reviews of pool cue tips! 

"Gotta get your protein"—?
Regarding food and eating, most recently (since December 20th) I've been experimenting with "time restricted eating." I've been eating from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day, which comprises a 17 1/2-hour daily fast (usually more, as I seldom start eating by 9:00). I'm not going to write about that until I've given it more time—probably sometime between May and July. I will post a report then. So that will be my next big diet post.

Oddly enough, along with a berry-and-kale morning smoothie, I've fallen into the habit of eating a salad every morning for breakfast. That probably sounds weird! It started because I read the advice that at your main meal you should eat your salad first while you're still hungry. I just applied the advice to the whole day, is all. It quickly became a habit, and has become my favorite meal of the day. I really look forward to it.

If you want to be healthy, gotta get your plants.

I'll pass along two links about food and diet today. First, if you eat a lot of greens, you'll want to read this new report about safety from Consumer Reports. (It's also in the current issue of the magazine.) And just to do my bit toward informing the public, I'll repost this little primer about protein. Americans especially have been subjected to persistent propaganda and misinformation about protein over many years, and consequently "know" some strange things about it that aren't true.

This is only a little more than four minutes long, but it puts paid to a few of the more persistent myths and misinformation:

If you have a few extra minutes, watch it twice.  :-)

Mike

*Tweeten Fibre Co.'s website says both that it was founded in 1912 and that it's 85 years old, from which you'd conclude either that the website hasn't been updated since 1997 or that they suck at arithmetic. I use their products, though.

Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

Please help support The Online Photographer through Patreon

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Yoshi Carroll: "That protein video blew my mind. I thought I was well informed about this stuff. What else do I know that ain’t so?"

Greg Heins: "FINALLY! A review of a pool cue tip. I've been coming here every day for years in the hope, which I was beginning to think was not going to be realized in my lifetime.... Thank you, god/ess."

Tim Bradshaw: "Well, I disagree with you about many things (and this means you are wrong, as I am, obviously, infallible), but thank you for posting the protein thing. I was taught what turns out to be rubbish about vegetarians and amino acids at school in the early 1970s, and as a vegetarian (never liked the taste of meat, stopped eating it when I left home, no moral bullshit) since the late 1980s I've long wondered why I'm still alive as a result of that. Well: turns out that's because I was taught things which were not true."

Mike replies: In fairness, nutrition science is still fairly young, and it's distorted by the propaganda efforts of food producers who fund many of the studies. There's a whole lot we still don't know, and there's a lot that's difficult to study even when we can fund it. But the "balanced protein" thing is an interesting case. It's a true "old wives' tale" (a familiar term, but one I dislike, as it does a disservice to older wives, who are frequently people of strong character and good values!), in that a common and widespread belief rests on the slimmest of foundations. I mean really, an article in Vogue in 1975? "Flying saucer" is another...and "you should drink eight glasses of water a day" is another. The origins of all three (and there are many others) are just so scant and vaporous that it almost beggars belief that so many people take them at face value. Crowd psychology fascinates me.

Although nominally about economics, one of my father's favorite books speaks to that point: it's called Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, by Charles Mackay. (Called Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions when it was first published in 1841.) The subtitle of the linked edition reveals more: "The classic guide to crowd psychology, financial folly and surprising superstition." I think every high school kid should at least be assigned the third chapter, "The Tulipomania," for its surprising entertainment value if nothing else! —It's very short. I love the story of the sailor eating his onion, which just goes to show you the astonishing ways in which even the perfectly innocent can find trouble.

Comments

[Dan Khong]

Mike

Not writing about Photography is the best way to have a break and later write about Photography.

I cannot explain this but, as an occasional writer, we all suffer from writer's block and doing something else is the best way to overcome that.

Don't forget that writers all have a finger print. It's not the subject that counts but the style of writing. I think your TOP readers will enjoy - although they came for the Photography part - whatever topic you write about.

Dan K.
Singapore

[Bob G.]

Funny! Pool cue tip conditioning reminded me of the arrow field shafts we used to use years ago. Every now and then the shaft would snap off right behind the base of the point cleanly if it hit a stump or similar. One solution was to buy the compressed-end shafts that started out with a flare-shaped end and were compressed under pressure back to the original shaft diameter.

[MikeR]

Well, staying off-topic: AccuWeather radar often shows snow up where you live. No pictures? Are you getting out enough?

[Ben]

Salad for breakfast-love it! One of my favorites is a big bowl of greens and vegetables with an egg on top, perhaps dressed with warm vinegar.

I would like to spend this spring photographing more... been in a bit of a photo down time for a while...

[Ned Bunnell]

First you say “and I'm still sick—approaching five weeks.” Then four paragraphs later you proclaim “If you want to be healthy, gotta get your plants.”

Maybe you need some good old fashioned chicken soup. And get some fresh air every day taking photo walks around your lovely Finger Lakes.

Couldn’t hurt you Mike.

[This virus is very common up here right now--lots of people are sick, lots of kids are out of school, and lots of older people are taking precautions. My doctor is swamped and I can't get in to see him. It's well known that it's lasting 4-8 weeks for many people. If I was the only person who was sick for this long I'd be a lot more worried. --Mike]

[Richard Nugent]

Mike, Have you considered that it is your dieting that is contributing to your slow recovery? Maybe calling a time out until you are back to full health would serve you best. Just sayin' .....

[I believe just the opposite. I think my good diet is helping my immune system fight the virus and is keeping its effects to a minimum. I'm much less symptomatic and feeling less bad than a lot of people I know. That's just a feeling, not any sort of objective certainty, but it's what I think. --Mike]

[Paul McEvoy]

Not talking about politics today when you have a voice is a lot like not talking about the Titanic sinking when it’s sinking, and you’re on it, because you’re afraid you’ll offend someone.

[Edward Taylor]

The truth is that very little that is said about nutrition is anchored in scientific fact. It is all opinion really. It seems the only thing that the "experts" agree on is that vegetables are good for you. And there is even some dissent with that.

I always get a chuckle when a centenarian is asked what the secret is to longevity and they say, "Fast food, cigarettes, alcohol and sun bathing."

[Lynn]

Agreed, Paul McEvoy. Mike, maybe you would like to start another blog to release some of the pressure? You could put the more contentious content there. I'd read it, pretty sure I wouldn't be the only one.