Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts

Monday, 12 August 2013

Protein reduces endurance (in mice), food processing vs food refining & Schrödinger.

I saw the following study via Twitter. Dietary protein decreases exercise endurance through rapamycin-sensitive suppression of muscle mitochondria.
Mmm, protein!
Hmmm! In mice, a high protein diet significantly decreased the amount of muscle mitochondria, the mitochondrial activity and the running distance at 50 weeks, although it increased muscle mass and grip power.

A mouse's natural diet is fruit or grain from plants, though mice will eat virtually anything, including Kevlar insulation on wiring. Fruit & grains aren't particularly high in protein, so it's quite possible that eating a sub-optimal diet results in sub-optimal health.

If the results do translate to humans, we have a choice between endurance, and muscle mass & strength in our old-age. I know which I would choose. You'll have to prise the proteins from my cold, dead fingers!

More from Twitter:  A Major Communication Challenge of Our Times: What on Earth Do We Say About Processed Foods? The word "refine/refined" doesn't appear in the above article. I don't have a problem with food processing. What I do have a problem with is food refining. Just after the Mid-Victorian period, it became fashionable to eat foods that had been stripped of "impurities". Goodbye essential co-factors. Hello, degenerative diseases.

Finally, today is the 126th anniversary of Erwin Schrödinger's birthday. I have only one comment:-
Blatantly stolen from https://memegenerator.co/instance/31138345
:-)

Sunday, 5 May 2013

Why do domestic cats eat grass?

From When My Cats Are Eating The Grass.
Keep off the grass!
Outdoor cats eat rodents & birds. Therefore, outdoor cats eat processed grains, seeds and nuts. Wait, WHAT?!?! Rodents & birds are grain, seed and nut-eaters, though some birds eat worms. Therefore, domestic cats are eating grains, seeds and nuts that have been chewed/pecked and swallowed i.e. processed grains, seeds and nuts.

This may be one reason why domestic cats chew grass - to get magnesium from the chlorophyll to "neutralise" the iron from the meat. Another reason is to vomit up indigestible parts of rodents & birds that the cat ate, including fur-balls. They might also be trying to get Folic acid.