Last January I reviewed Jonathan Bailor’s excellent book The Smarter Science of Slim, which is very well written and packed with references to research. Bailor will also be a speaker on this year’s low-carb cruise, so I’ll be meeting him in person … after roasting him, of course.
In the meantime, he’s launched a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the public with information about diet and health. Rather than try to summarize their activities myself, I’ll quote Bailor:
Wanted to drop you a quick note as we were fortunate enough to receive VC funding to start up a non-profit ancestral nutrition educational organization we’re calling Slim is Simple. SIS is working to provide compelling multimedia resources—free of charge—that the entire good nutritional science community can leverage to help share the simple lifestyle adjustments that have helped us all help so many people live so much better. We’re working to get this “curriculum” into schools, churches, and etc.
Here’s one of their first videos:
You can visit the organization’s website here and follow them on Twitter at #SlimIsSimple.
If you enjoy my posts, please consider a small donation to the Fat Head Kids GoFundMe campaign.
Nah. It’ll never fly. Consider:
If you are healthy, and not taking any medications, you are completely worthless to the medical and pharma industries.
If you are fat, sick, and on a bunch of prescription medications, you are the motherlode to the medical and pharma industries. Bonus points if you require frequent heroic expensive life-saving interventions like bypass surgery.
The only real challenge facing the medical and pharma industries is how to effectively intensify and prolong the misery without actually killing the host.
If the medical and pharma industries need lessons on that challenge, Congress could tutor them.
I wish he had mentioned animal fat with more conviction. He talks a lot about protein and gives me the impression he is trying to avoid a polemic subject and sticking with a golden middle solution.
Nah. It’ll never fly. Consider:
If you are healthy, and not taking any medications, you are completely worthless to the medical and pharma industries.
If you are fat, sick, and on a bunch of prescription medications, you are the motherlode to the medical and pharma industries. Bonus points if you require frequent heroic expensive life-saving interventions like bypass surgery.
The only real challenge facing the medical and pharma industries is how to effectively intensify and prolong the misery without actually killing the host.
If the medical and pharma industries need lessons on that challenge, Congress could tutor them.
@Howard. And along that line. . . should we define “preventive medicine” as “an intricate set of scare tactics designed to prevent the flying of healthy persons under the industry’s radar”?
The one thing that bugs me in this video is his knock on going to the gym and eliminating gym memberships. I understand that weight training and cardio do not benefit fat loss, but there are many benefits to a fitness program.
For me, weight lifting has been a lifelong hobby. I started it when I was 13 when my football coach’s son showed me a few weightlifting moves in their basement gym. At the time, I had just injured my back, and the weightlifting has kept that reasonably healthy over the last 35 years. So, I never got into exercise because I was a fat kid. I got into it “for my health”, and I enjoyed the strength gains that came with it. It was a challenge. Building muscle was a side effect and there is nothing quite like an endorphin high after a workout. That my heart is healthy, even after surviving the low fat, high carb craze of the 80s and 90s is a plus, too. 😉
I’m glad I lift weights and was able to gain muscle in my 50s. I believe his point is that people join gyms and spent hours on treadmills and suchlike thinking they’ll lose weight.
Congress tutoring anyone…. LOLOLOL. Those pathetic idiots are the ones who got us into this situation, among others, I won’t be holding my breath to see them reverse their incompetence.
I think the SIS is a great idea, its going to be through the democratization of information on sites like yours and the like that are going to spread the good word!!
But Congress is good at prolonging the misery without actually killing the host.
I wish he had mentioned animal fat with more conviction. He talks a lot about protein and gives me the impression he is trying to avoid a polemic subject and sticking with a golden middle solution.
@Howard. And along that line. . . should we define “preventive medicine” as “an intricate set of scare tactics designed to prevent the flying of healthy persons under the industry’s radar”?
The one thing that bugs me in this video is his knock on going to the gym and eliminating gym memberships. I understand that weight training and cardio do not benefit fat loss, but there are many benefits to a fitness program.
For me, weight lifting has been a lifelong hobby. I started it when I was 13 when my football coach’s son showed me a few weightlifting moves in their basement gym. At the time, I had just injured my back, and the weightlifting has kept that reasonably healthy over the last 35 years. So, I never got into exercise because I was a fat kid. I got into it “for my health”, and I enjoyed the strength gains that came with it. It was a challenge. Building muscle was a side effect and there is nothing quite like an endorphin high after a workout. That my heart is healthy, even after surviving the low fat, high carb craze of the 80s and 90s is a plus, too. 😉
I’m glad I lift weights and was able to gain muscle in my 50s. I believe his point is that people join gyms and spent hours on treadmills and suchlike thinking they’ll lose weight.
Congress tutoring anyone…. LOLOLOL. Those pathetic idiots are the ones who got us into this situation, among others, I won’t be holding my breath to see them reverse their incompetence.
I think the SIS is a great idea, its going to be through the democratization of information on sites like yours and the like that are going to spread the good word!!
But Congress is good at prolonging the misery without actually killing the host.
@Bernardo.
Maybe not talking too much about fat is by design.
If you start talking to normal people, from the start, that saturated fat is good, it will scare them off. This video will give them a reason to investigate nutrition and eventually seeing that fat is good.
Dept. of “whoopsie”:
http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/06/omega-6-fats-linked-to-increased-risk-of-heart-disease/
Yup. More on that later.
A physician friend of mine introduced me to this. I was happy that she’d discovered it, and lost 35 lbs, but was bemused because I’d told her about low carb years ago, and she dismissed it as a fad diet. I guess it’s all in the packaging. I am happy, though, that she’s finally gotten the message and has the influence to bring others to it.
Bailor explained the ideas well.
That video allow me to finally explain to some friend that didn’t believe/understand me before, why counting calories doesn’t work…
Even if it’s nothing new, It’s unfortunately reach more to the mass then a lecture by Gary Taube or by you Tom.;)
@Bernardo.
Maybe not talking too much about fat is by design.
If you start talking to normal people, from the start, that saturated fat is good, it will scare them off. This video will give them a reason to investigate nutrition and eventually seeing that fat is good.
Watched this yesterday at another site (I think it was thatpaleoguy). Slick presentation and well-scripted. I hate that that matters, but it does. Best of luck to these guys, and thanks for bringing it to your audience, Tom.
Yup, if you want people to learn something, you have to hold their interest. Entertainment value matters, like it or not.
Have you ever thought about creating a 10 minute version of Fathead? Something that could be used as a teaser for the full length version, but short enough to be an effective teaching tool for those who don’t want to dedicate 90 minutes to the whole enchilada?
No, I haven’t really considered that before.
RE: Jeanne’s comment
People need to be exposed to new ideas several times before they can accept them. This is well known in the advertisement business where vital statistics about media are how many people do you reach and how many times are they exposed.
This is important because it means we have to hit them multiple times from multiple directions and each effort, however futile it may seem at the time, might just pay off in the future.
Seems the reason why Fat Head hasn’t reached the masses is because it has yet to become official in the mainstream media. It’s great that this website is spreading the word, yet, that method can only go so far.
I certainly believe that this diet is healthier, yet, popularity tends to win out in this world. After all, my family and friends keep rejecting my suggestions because they view major TV networks as gospel. What’s seems to be missing is innovative promotion. At the very least cable could be be a great start.
Alas, taking the high road and playing by the rules may no longer be as effective. Indeed, what kind of a media event would it take for Fat Head to go viral?
Sometimes ideas hitting a tipping point and go from being resisted to being accepted almost overnight. Let’s hope that what happens here.
Walter B., I agree wholeheartedly that people need to be exposed to ideas several times before they will accept them. For myself, I read Mary Enig’s article about fats, and saw the movie Fat Head, among other similar things, several years before I began to put the ideas into practice.
With Fat Head, I loved the movie and watched all the supplementary material on the DVD with great interest, but there was a mental block about accepting the ideas until a bit more time had passed and more contributory information had come my way.
So every little bit helps!
Dept. of “whoopsie”:
http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/06/omega-6-fats-linked-to-increased-risk-of-heart-disease/
Yup. More on that later.
A physician friend of mine introduced me to this. I was happy that she’d discovered it, and lost 35 lbs, but was bemused because I’d told her about low carb years ago, and she dismissed it as a fad diet. I guess it’s all in the packaging. I am happy, though, that she’s finally gotten the message and has the influence to bring others to it.
Bailor explained the ideas well.
Jonathan Bailor is the man. He’s really good at using analogies to articulate these concepts which are, for most people, hard to grasp or buy. That’s great that he’s continuing to communicate with the public in a variety of ways.
I agree 100%. He’s got that all-important knack for explaining the concepts clearly.
That video allow me to finally explain to some friend that didn’t believe/understand me before, why counting calories doesn’t work…
Even if it’s nothing new, It’s unfortunately reach more to the mass then a lecture by Gary Taube or by you Tom.;)
Watched this yesterday at another site (I think it was thatpaleoguy). Slick presentation and well-scripted. I hate that that matters, but it does. Best of luck to these guys, and thanks for bringing it to your audience, Tom.
Yup, if you want people to learn something, you have to hold their interest. Entertainment value matters, like it or not.
Have you ever thought about creating a 10 minute version of Fathead? Something that could be used as a teaser for the full length version, but short enough to be an effective teaching tool for those who don’t want to dedicate 90 minutes to the whole enchilada?
No, I haven’t really considered that before.
RE: Jeanne’s comment
People need to be exposed to new ideas several times before they can accept them. This is well known in the advertisement business where vital statistics about media are how many people do you reach and how many times are they exposed.
This is important because it means we have to hit them multiple times from multiple directions and each effort, however futile it may seem at the time, might just pay off in the future.
“…We’re working to get this “curriculum” into schools, churches,”
Churches?
CHURCHES!?
If schools or churches try to tell me anything about nutrition I’ll slam the door in their figurative face. None of their damn business.
Unfortunately, there are churches out there who provide classes on nutrition — featuring the usual standard (bad) advice — to their parishioners as a service. If they’re going to promote dietary information, I’d rather it be good dietary information.
Seems the reason why Fat Head hasn’t reached the masses is because it has yet to become official in the mainstream media. It’s great that this website is spreading the word, yet, that method can only go so far.
I certainly believe that this diet is healthier, yet, popularity tends to win out in this world. After all, my family and friends keep rejecting my suggestions because they view major TV networks as gospel. What’s seems to be missing is innovative promotion. At the very least cable could be be a great start.
Alas, taking the high road and playing by the rules may no longer be as effective. Indeed, what kind of a media event would it take for Fat Head to go viral?
Sometimes ideas hitting a tipping point and go from being resisted to being accepted almost overnight. Let’s hope that what happens here.
Walter B., I agree wholeheartedly that people need to be exposed to ideas several times before they will accept them. For myself, I read Mary Enig’s article about fats, and saw the movie Fat Head, among other similar things, several years before I began to put the ideas into practice.
With Fat Head, I loved the movie and watched all the supplementary material on the DVD with great interest, but there was a mental block about accepting the ideas until a bit more time had passed and more contributory information had come my way.
So every little bit helps!
Jonathan Bailor is the man. He’s really good at using analogies to articulate these concepts which are, for most people, hard to grasp or buy. That’s great that he’s continuing to communicate with the public in a variety of ways.
I agree 100%. He’s got that all-important knack for explaining the concepts clearly.
@Marilyn — Good one! *Really* good one!
Related side note: My VA finally stopped trying to give me statins after about the fourth time I barked at her. Basically, I told her I was not going to take a known muscle toxin that has been clinically demonstrated to increase all-cause mortality just to treat a fictitious disease diagnosed by the long-ago-discredited Friedenwald test. The forth time, it was followed by, “Do not mention statins in my presence ever again.”
Ironically, I received a survey in the mail from the VA last week, asking me to rate my VA doc. I haven’t decided what to do with it yet.
That was really enjoyable but sounded fat phobic. It also sounds like it is preferring seed and nut oils unfortunately. If this was my first introduction to the concept then I would be turned off as I know I couldn’t be satisfied with just lean meat and vegetables. Been there, done that, need the fat!
Bailor isn’t against animal fats, but recommends against adding them to foods in the form of butter, cream, cooking fats, etc. He prefers the lean protein sources. It’s the one area where we disagree.
“…We’re working to get this “curriculum” into schools, churches,”
Churches?
CHURCHES!?
If schools or churches try to tell me anything about nutrition I’ll slam the door in their figurative face. None of their damn business.
Unfortunately, there are churches out there who provide classes on nutrition — featuring the usual standard (bad) advice — to their parishioners as a service. If they’re going to promote dietary information, I’d rather it be good dietary information.
I don’t mind churches discussing nutrition. At least nutrition exists.
@Marilyn — Good one! *Really* good one!
Related side note: My VA finally stopped trying to give me statins after about the fourth time I barked at her. Basically, I told her I was not going to take a known muscle toxin that has been clinically demonstrated to increase all-cause mortality just to treat a fictitious disease diagnosed by the long-ago-discredited Friedenwald test. The forth time, it was followed by, “Do not mention statins in my presence ever again.”
Ironically, I received a survey in the mail from the VA last week, asking me to rate my VA doc. I haven’t decided what to do with it yet.
That was really enjoyable but sounded fat phobic. It also sounds like it is preferring seed and nut oils unfortunately. If this was my first introduction to the concept then I would be turned off as I know I couldn’t be satisfied with just lean meat and vegetables. Been there, done that, need the fat!
Bailor isn’t against animal fats, but recommends against adding them to foods in the form of butter, cream, cooking fats, etc. He prefers the lean protein sources. It’s the one area where we disagree.
I don’t mind churches discussing nutrition. At least nutrition exists.
Bailor managed to call this a natural ancestral healthy diet without mentioning fat once. I find this a bit of an oxymoron.
Bailor managed to call this a natural ancestral healthy diet without mentioning fat once. I find this a bit of an oxymoron.
Bailor’s position on fat is that if a healthy food contains fat, it’s all good. He does not agree with the idea of purposefully adding fat to a food to make it fatty though.
Bailor’s position on fat is that if a healthy food contains fat, it’s all good. He does not agree with the idea of purposefully adding fat to a food to make it fatty though.
Even though there are non fatty plants that contain fat soluble vitamins that would otherwise pass straight through. Sme foods are optimised with cooking and or added fat. Love my butter and lard 🙂
Even though there are non fatty plants that contain fat soluble vitamins that would otherwise pass straight through. Sme foods are optimised with cooking and or added fat. Love my butter and lard 🙂
It is unsettling to read the comments of people who apparently agree with me concercing what constitutes a healthy diet and realize their level of intelligence is nothing to boast about (I won’t mention any names). It makes one reconsider; Am I really on the right dietary path or not?
At any rate, I think Bailor’s video could be helpful as a start in the right direction, and I will send links to friends.
It is unsettling to read the comments of people who apparently agree with me concercing what constitutes a healthy diet and realize their level of intelligence is nothing to boast about (I won’t mention any names). It makes one reconsider; Am I really on the right dietary path or not?
At any rate, I think Bailor’s video could be helpful as a start in the right direction, and I will send links to friends.
My husband was just started on a statin drug, and the cardiologist poo-poohed my objections saying repeatedly, “Nobody ever had a liver transplant because of a statin drug.”
What do I say, and how do I handle giving the man I love a pill that I feel isn’t good for him?
Does the doctor seriously believe a liver transplant is the only possible side effect? How about muscle degeneration, joint pain and memory loss? Send your husband to SpaceDoc.com to read up.
My husband was just started on a statin drug, and the cardiologist poo-poohed my objections saying repeatedly, “Nobody ever had a liver transplant because of a statin drug.”
What do I say, and how do I handle giving the man I love a pill that I feel isn’t good for him?
Does the doctor seriously believe a liver transplant is the only possible side effect? How about muscle degeneration, joint pain and memory loss? Send your husband to SpaceDoc.com to read up.
Hi Mr. Naughton,
I remember reading earlier blogs on this site about SSOS where you suggest that eating 10+ servings of non starchy veggies a day is difficult due to palatability issues or other. I found the same was true until I started eating some servings in the form of smoothies mixed with some fruits and whey protein. Makes it so much easier to get servings in and tastier too. Thanks 🙂
Hi Mr. Naughton,
I remember reading earlier blogs on this site about SSOS where you suggest that eating 10+ servings of non starchy veggies a day is difficult due to palatability issues or other. I found the same was true until I started eating some servings in the form of smoothies mixed with some fruits and whey protein. Makes it so much easier to get servings in and tastier too. Thanks 🙂