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I'm doing unethical human medical experiments at home


SwampNut

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One of the reasons we have limited data on how nutrition affects people is that it would be unethical to purposely put people on a shitty diet to see how they do.  Most Americans are on a shitty diet by their own choice, so we do have some data, but it's hard to get people to simply change their diet and keep it up for a long time, thus building comparative data.

 

Left to her own choices, Moriah mostly eats trash, maybe even more than most people.  I carefully did a couple months of very regularly providing real food for us, no dairy, mostly no salt or oil, etc.  She commented that she thought she felt better, and certainly had less bowel issues.  Ok, so then I took it away.  I didn't really cook much for a while, and/or I cooked trashier stuff.  A couple days ago she asked if we had any Purple Carrot deliveries coming soon (I paused them, they are healthy pre-portion ingredients for specific meals).  I said no and she was disappointed.

 

Most Fridays, I cook a good healthy dinner for a group of friends and neighbors.  I'd also skipped this last week and had been traveling the Fridays before.  Today I told her we were doing our usual, and she said, "Thank god, I need real food again.  Why haven't you been cooking?  I've been eating trash, and I feel shitty."

 

I hope to get published and peer reviewed soon.

 

Or tried for violating the Geneva Convention on human experiments. 

 

Or both.

 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, DBLXX said:

 

Define this and be specific.

 

Highly processed, low nutrition, high in sodium.  Mac & Cheese boxes and similar, frozen dinners (though I've really pushed those to 50% healthier options), ramen, chips, Club crackers, chocolate, basic processed snack foods.  She'll eat chocolate chips and marshmallows, too lazy to turn them into a s'more.

 

The compromises have been sweetened nuts, trisquits more than the junkier options, medium-nutrition rice snacks, higher value frozen things, etc.  But even then, she's noticing when the grease/sodium are up and fiber is down.  There's no replacement for real green things and real food-based fiber.  Her bowels confirm this.

 

 

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Hahahaha, now she's proactively bringing me recipe ideas.  There's nothing quite as motivating as making your body work better through real nutrition, and then having it taken away.  This happens to me every time I travel, and reminds me to do better.

 

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This is one of my struggles while working out of town all week. I am currently in hillbilly hell NC and most of the choices are of your fast foods and few actual real restaurants to offer a decent selection. I carry protein shakes, will meal prep some with homemade egg muffins (similar to a quiche) and drop in for the breakfast in the mornings to grab a banana or apple. This past week I smoked a small pork loin and had that sliced up for 2 meals for lunch. 

 

Remembers over 5 yrs ago my boss was looking at my purchasing card and noticed most of my dinners were from Cracker Barrel. When I told him that they were for salads he laughed and asked if I was serious. Dead serious, would get a grilled chicken salad in a heart beat and being it was 100 yards from the hotel it was an easy walk and didn't require me to drive in all the NOVA traffic. Plenty of veggies, some grilled protein, chopped egg, little bit of fat from the cheese and dressing. 

 

I would probably give my left testicle by Thursday night when out of town for a cracker barrel this past month. Some nights I just go to my room, grab a shower and heat up my little egg muffins as I just don't want to deal with people or the foods. 

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One easy option is simply canned low-salt beans and hot sauce.  Also canned low salt corn, bagged microwave rice, and things like that are tools I rely on for travel.  The really hard travel for me is with people, who often want to go out to eat, and it's usually junk.  I think I ate more grease and salt during NeXXt than I do all year.  Spice it up with a tortilla, guac/avocado, some beans, and some hot sauce.  Quick nutrition, not terrible.

 

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1 hour ago, SwampNut said:

One easy option is simply canned low-salt beans and hot sauce.  Also canned low salt corn, bagged microwave rice, and things like that are tools I rely on for travel.  The really hard travel for me is with people, who often want to go out to eat, and it's usually junk.  I think I ate more grease and salt during NeXXt than I do all year.  Spice it up with a tortilla, guac/avocado, some beans, and some hot sauce.  Quick nutrition, not terrible.

 

Thats a great idea on the rice you can microwave, could simply add in some of my own grilled proteins and items. Grabbed some Chinese the other night and was more excited for the rice and broccoli than anything else. Lady was sweet and tossed in an eggroll, never liked cabbage raw, cooked, in any shape or form. 

 

Not a lot of worries for going out to dinner with others at this location, no one else around. Talked to my boss this past week and he asked where I was at and what have I been up to. Dang, I go out of town for a month and quickly forgotten, need to do it more often so I don't have to worry about interruptions. Work gets done and paychecks steady roll in so its a win win situation. Might see about picking up some more of those tuna or chicken packets, use to carry them with me everywhere as they take up little space, don't need to be refrigerated and are pretty fool proof as long as you have a fork.  

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Right now Carlos is on a proper Cuban diet, at least for some meals (he's in Miami)....I hope he survives it.  I rarely eat before 10:30am, it's 5:30am and just thinking about the food there made me hungry.

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10:00 breakfast was a papa rellena, croqueta, and some pastry thing with an unknown savory filling.  I'll go home 8 pounds heavier and feeling like shit with all the salt and crap.  At least with everyone being on Cuban time, I don't have to change time zones.

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On 3/11/2023 at 5:56 PM, SwampNut said:

Spice it up with a tortilla, guac/avocado, some beans, and some hot sauce.

I couldn't find where we were talking about it but I have never tried a avocado.  Well I bought one and from a taste standpoint, can't see the draw.  It taste like creamy nothing.  So I took half, sliced it thin with the skin on, sprinkled it with Nu-Salt, pepper and garlic powder and baked it until it started to turn brown. It was so so.  Took the other half, sliced it the same way and sprinkled it with Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, baked the same and it was OK.  The skin pulled right off and it was kind of like eating a spicy french fry.  All in all, can't really see the excitement. 

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It's pretty hard to know from one single try.

 

Was it ripe?

 

Was it a good species, or a bland one?

 

Was it a decent quality single fruit?

 

I've never heard anyone describe avocados in general as having no flavor.  I know people who find certain species to be flavorless, and I find those same ones to be super light but ok.  Not my preference.  Was the skin more like a glossy and smooth one, or rough and not glossy?  Was the texture like a cooked squash, or harder/softer?  Any brown parts?

 

I had actually been thinking about asking you for an address, and mail you a local carne asada burrito loaded with guacamole.  It would be interesting to get your perception of something that is just taken for granted here.

 

Fully ripe avocados tend to get bitter when cooked.  The fact that you reported good results cooking it sort of (maybe) suggests that it was not ripe.  There are places that sell "avo fries" but they use hard, unripe fruit.

 

 

Yes, a ripe avocado will turn bitter when heated. 

Avocado bitterness was first documented in the literature by Harrold in 1930 when Hawaiian chemists were working to preserve their crops for mainland export. It wasn't until 1951 that several strategies for avocado products came forward. In one, Cruess et al characterized avocado browning due to oxygenation as well as bitterness / off flavor from heat and oxidation. In this work, they proposed to mix mashed avocado with sugar prior to freezing. Soon after that, other frozen guacamole bases that we see in stores now were developed using the cold to avoid bitterness development and citric acid from lemons/limes to maintain color.

 

Fast forward to 2010 when Degenhardt and Hofmann utilized modern chemical analysis to finally identify the actual species (several oxylipins) that lend the bitter taste to avocados after heating. The mechanism by which these compounds form is still unknown but their role in heat-induced bitterness in avocados is fully defined.


Harrold EV. Avocado preservation and utilization. Hawaii Agricultural Export Station Annual Report. 19 (1930)

 

Cruess, WV, Gibson A, and Brekke J. Avocado products experiments. The Canner, 112(2): 11-12 (1951)

 

Degenhardt AG and Hofmann T. Bitter-tasting and kokumi-enhancing molecules in thermally processed avocado (Persea americana Mill.). J Agric Food Chem, 58(24): 12906-15 (2010)

 

 

 

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Also, you remind me of this:  

 

 

TIFU by enraging the parents of my girlfriend by pretending not to know what a potato is.

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Let me tell you that I have made a bad mistake this evening.

My girlfriend (who let me tell you is only my 2nd girlfriend of all time) said I am "invited to dinner" with her and her parents. I was very aghast, nervous, and bashful to be invited to such a situation. But I knew it must be done.

I met them nicely, I should tell you, and it started off in a good way. The idea slapped my mind that I should do a comic bit, to make a good impression and become known to them as a person who is amusing.

When I saw that baked potatoes were served I got the idea that it would be very good if I pretended I did not know what potatoes was. That would be funny.

Well let me tell you: backfired on my face. I'll tell you how.

So first when the potato became on my plate, I acted very interesting. I showed an expression on my face so as to seem that I was confused, astounded but in a restrained way, curious, and interested. They did notice, and seemed confused, but did not remark. So I asked "This looks very interesting. What is this?"

They stared at me and the mother said "It's a baked potato." And I was saying "Oh, interesting, a baked....what is it again?"

And she was like "A potato."

And I was like "A 'potato', oh interesting. Never heard of a potato, looks pretty good."

And then they didn't see I was clowning, but thought I really did not know what is a potato. So I knew I would be very shamed, humiliated, depressed, and disgusted if I admitted to making a bad joke, so what I did was to act as if it was not a joke but I committed to the act of pretending I didn't know what a potato is.

They asked me, VERY incredulous, did I really not know what a potato is? That I never heard of a potato. I went with it and told them, yes, I did not ever even hear of a potato. Not only had I never eaten a potato I had never heard the word potato.

This went on for a bit and my girlfriend was acting very confused and embarrassed by my "fucked up antics", and then the more insistent I was about not knowing what a potato is was when them parents starting thinking I DID know what a potato was.

Well let me tell you I had to commit 100% at this point. When I would not admit to knowing what a potato was, the father especially began to get annoyed. At one point he said something like "Enough is enough. You're fucking with us. Admit it." And I said "Sir, before today I never heard of a potato. I still don't know what a potato is, other than some kind of food. I don't know what to tell you."

Well let me tell you he got very annoyed. I decided to take a bite of the potato, and when I did I made a high pitched noise and said "Taste's very strange!"

That is when the father started yelling at me, and the mother kept saying "What are you doing?" and my girlfriend went to some other room.

Finally the father said I should "Get the fuck out of his house" and I said it was irrational to treat me like this just because I never heard of a potato before. Well let me tell you he didn't take that kindly.

Now in text messages I have been telling my girlfriend I really don't know what a potato is. The only way I can ever get out of this is for them to buy that I don't know what a potato is.

I wish I never started it but I can't go back. I think she will break up with me anyway.

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8 hours ago, SwampNut said:

Was it ripe?

 

Was it a good species, or a bland one?

 

Was it a decent quality single fruit?

 

I've never heard anyone describe avocados in general as having no flavor.  I know people who find certain species to be flavorless, and I find those same ones to be super light but ok.  Not my preference.  Was the skin more like a glossy and smooth one, or rough and not glossy?  Was the texture like a cooked squash, or harder/softer?  Any brown parts?

It was firm when I got it, after reading up about it, I waited to feel a little difference when palming it and the top nub came off without issue. Yes I think it was ripe without being over and no brown inside.  Don't know the species only it was from Mexico with rough skin and not glossy.

88 cents at Walmart.    The texture before cooking was creamy/buttery but not mushy.  It wasn't bad but I don't understand how someone like yourself that likes extreme hot smoky flavors enjoys these.  BTW-my wife also confirmed my thoughts on it so it wasn't just me.

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I like both extreme flavors and super subtle ones.  But I assure you, my taste buds do not think an avocado is mild or low flavor at all.  If I put a bit of hot sauce in the avocado, I can still taste it over the sauce.  I like firmer than normal avocados (less ripe), but the standard true ripe moment is when you could super easily push a fork flat through it, and it would mush easily between the tines.  You were a little early.

 

Still so curious on whether it was the fruit, or your tastes.  The comment on the wife concurring leads to it being the fruit.

 

Oh...and in PA, it would have had to travel far.  So maybe they are picked super early?

 

Let's meet up for avocado tasting, LOL.

 

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First result for "avocado tastes like nothing."  Interesting point that you have to learn to taste it, which is true of so many things.  Another hit was that some people just have a genetic marker that makes them not taste the umami/amino acids in many foods.  So I wonder how you feel about Asian foods.  And how you feel about cilantro (a gene expression makes some people say it tastes like soap).

 

Simple answer: Avocado tastes good because you like avocado. Some people do not and, for them, avocado tastes bad—yes, I know that’s hard to believe but it is true.

I am not, however, an avocado hater. On the contrary, around this house we believe avocado is a food group.

For those who like them, there are several things—not just the taste—that are appealing about ripe avocado.

  • Color: A lovely green is particularly appealing to many people
  • Texture: That smooth, unctuous, creamy, almost velvety texture is like butter—smooth and sensuous.
  • Aroma: It’s not strong—floral, grassy, and “green” in a way that entices.
  • Taste: Subtle but complex, deeply rich in a decadent way, sweet, herbaceous, and nutty.

Avocado is not a simple thing to describe; it is complex. USDA reported researchshowing, “In all, researchers obtained more than 4,500 observations [from taste testers] about the hundreds of domestic and imported avocados tested.”

The taste of avocado isn’t “strong.” Many people when they first taste one wonder what all the fuss is about. It’s a subtle thing and it won’t come through until the second or third tasting. It’s something your brain must “dial in” before you understand.

It’s worth the effort, though, so go ahead: Dial it in.

image Credit: [USDA, NASS, Florida Field Office]

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26 minutes ago, blackhawkxx said:

Thanks for all the info.  From you friends comments it sounds like I'm not an outlier but maybe I'll try one again someday.

 

No, and it tends to follow ethnic lines.  All but one white person categorize it as mild, but not flavorless.  All the hispanics are like, "What, of course it has a lot of flavor!"

 

I'm fascinated by this all around.

 

https://neurosciencenews.com/genetics-food-choice-21260/

 

Summary: Researchers have identified over 400 different genes associated with people’s liking of different foods including avocados, chilies, oily fish, and more.

Source: University of Edinburgh

The reasons why people love certain foods and turn their noses up at others, has to do with more than their cultures or even their taste buds… their genes play a significant role too, a new study reveals.

Researchers have identified hundreds of genetic variants—differences in peoples’ genetic make-up—linked with their liking for specific foods, including ones associated with a love of aniseed, avocados, chilies, steak, oily fish and many more.

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What do potatoes taste like to you (as far as flavorful or not)?  I think yellow potatoes are prominently flavored, and whites are nearly flavorless, with the avocado being about the same as the yellows in flavor level.  I think that's why people use basic white potatoes as just a holder for butter and salt.  The yellows taste fantastic without the junk.

 

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