I was putting together Part 2 of my dopamine series—digging into lifestyle factors, receptor sensitivity, and how modern life exploits our prediction systems—when one of my Substack subscribers, Tom Welsh, dropped an absolute gem of a question in the comments:
Carnivore for 14 months. So, the other day I made my husband a loaf of sourdough bread. I had two slices with butter for an experiment. About an hour later I felt hunger pains. I’m never hungry and usually eat one meal a day.
I knew right away that it wasn’t true hunger pains. And was most likely caused by insulin response. Insulin dump, then insulin crash. I didn’t like that feeling. I also woke up hungry the next day.
Experiment over! lol
Also, my husband was a life long drinker and he quit drinking on day 6 of the carnivore diet.
I had him on low carb for about a year and he had slowed his drinking down, but still drank a six pack a day. Carnivore made him not want it anymore. He’s says he never quit. He says that he just doesn’t want it anymore.
The bread didn’t make him hungry or make him crave some beer. It was his treat for sticking to carnivore. He says he can take or leave the bread. He likes it, but said it wasn’t something he wanted to start eating again.
There are also the other harmful effects of wheat. See Dr William Davis' books, "Wheat Belly", etc. He has parleyed it into an empire of sorts, but that first book has the gist. Like several other doctors and scientists who have written about nutrition, he was originally motivated by seeing his own health deteriorate and his waistline bulge as he ate and drank exactly what he recommended to his patients. (He's a cardiac surgeon). So he went off to the library and studied the literature, and discovered that the actual studies often don't jibe with the conclusions that are published.
Basically, Dr Davis claims, all grains are more or less toxic to humans. Various other animals seem to eat them with little or no harm, but we never evolved to handle them. He has an impressive list of toxins, all of which work fairly slowly but between can cause a lot of harm - which most people never attribute to the grains.
In case you are interested, it's all grains without exception - and actually grains are just one type of seed, so it's all seeds without exception. Sunflower seeds, nuts... You can eat them, but according to Dr Davis and others you are better off not doing so.
"Someone else’s brain learned different associations. Maybe they discovered that a hard run clears their head and makes them feel accomplished. Now, when they’re stressed or see their running shoes, dopamine fires, creating the motivational drive to lace up and go. Same stress, same dopamine system, but entirely different learned prediction".
And just think of the implications! Just a few hard runs at the right time (in principle) could set a person on the path to lifelong health, whereas if he had settled for a few drams instead...
One of my favourite quotations is not exactly from Aristotle, but a paraphrase of something he said. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit".
I hope everyone thinks this is as funny as I do. Stephen kindly wrote: "...one of my Substack subscribers, Tom Welsh, dropped an absolute gem of a question in the comments..."
How nice! I thought, and started reading this next article of Stephen's. Half-way through I suddenly had a vision of myself as a salivating dog, and realised that I was eagerly reading the article - motivated (partly at least) by the hope of finding something about which I could ask another "gem of a question"!
And, of course, I did. These two articles (so far) are absolute gold mines of ideas.
Such an interesting information. Learning and questioning about behaviour, personality and identity is so rewarding to me! Reading all of you make my day! Thanks! 🙏🏻
This seems to explain why the journey provides satisfaction, and the goal often disappoints. I have this thing where I want to buy something, say for $200, so I save for it. When I have the $200, I then no longer want to spend the money, opting to keep it. Then I see something else that costs $400, so that becomes my new goal.
Carnivore for 14 months. So, the other day I made my husband a loaf of sourdough bread. I had two slices with butter for an experiment. About an hour later I felt hunger pains. I’m never hungry and usually eat one meal a day.
I knew right away that it wasn’t true hunger pains. And was most likely caused by insulin response. Insulin dump, then insulin crash. I didn’t like that feeling. I also woke up hungry the next day.
Experiment over! lol
Also, my husband was a life long drinker and he quit drinking on day 6 of the carnivore diet.
I had him on low carb for about a year and he had slowed his drinking down, but still drank a six pack a day. Carnivore made him not want it anymore. He’s says he never quit. He says that he just doesn’t want it anymore.
The bread didn’t make him hungry or make him crave some beer. It was his treat for sticking to carnivore. He says he can take or leave the bread. He likes it, but said it wasn’t something he wanted to start eating again.
Great information, thank you for sharing
There are also the other harmful effects of wheat. See Dr William Davis' books, "Wheat Belly", etc. He has parleyed it into an empire of sorts, but that first book has the gist. Like several other doctors and scientists who have written about nutrition, he was originally motivated by seeing his own health deteriorate and his waistline bulge as he ate and drank exactly what he recommended to his patients. (He's a cardiac surgeon). So he went off to the library and studied the literature, and discovered that the actual studies often don't jibe with the conclusions that are published.
Basically, Dr Davis claims, all grains are more or less toxic to humans. Various other animals seem to eat them with little or no harm, but we never evolved to handle them. He has an impressive list of toxins, all of which work fairly slowly but between can cause a lot of harm - which most people never attribute to the grains.
In case you are interested, it's all grains without exception - and actually grains are just one type of seed, so it's all seeds without exception. Sunflower seeds, nuts... You can eat them, but according to Dr Davis and others you are better off not doing so.
Of course, it's not an issue for carnivores! 8-)
"Someone else’s brain learned different associations. Maybe they discovered that a hard run clears their head and makes them feel accomplished. Now, when they’re stressed or see their running shoes, dopamine fires, creating the motivational drive to lace up and go. Same stress, same dopamine system, but entirely different learned prediction".
And just think of the implications! Just a few hard runs at the right time (in principle) could set a person on the path to lifelong health, whereas if he had settled for a few drams instead...
One of my favourite quotations is not exactly from Aristotle, but a paraphrase of something he said. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit".
Great quote
I hope everyone thinks this is as funny as I do. Stephen kindly wrote: "...one of my Substack subscribers, Tom Welsh, dropped an absolute gem of a question in the comments..."
How nice! I thought, and started reading this next article of Stephen's. Half-way through I suddenly had a vision of myself as a salivating dog, and realised that I was eagerly reading the article - motivated (partly at least) by the hope of finding something about which I could ask another "gem of a question"!
And, of course, I did. These two articles (so far) are absolute gold mines of ideas.
Thank you, that is very flattering
Such an interesting information. Learning and questioning about behaviour, personality and identity is so rewarding to me! Reading all of you make my day! Thanks! 🙏🏻
This seems to explain why the journey provides satisfaction, and the goal often disappoints. I have this thing where I want to buy something, say for $200, so I save for it. When I have the $200, I then no longer want to spend the money, opting to keep it. Then I see something else that costs $400, so that becomes my new goal.