Unnamed Health and Fitness Author
Takes a Swipe at NHE

An NHE reader, Vic Holtreman, writes:

I recommended your book to someone who publishes his own workout/nutrition book which is standard bodybuilding fare (every set to failure, carb load with simple carbs pre and post workout, as little fat as possible, etc.). This was his reply [reprinted below], to which I'd like to hear your response.

Thanks,

Vic

Unnamed health and fitness author writes:

I nearly finished the book, and my basic view is this -- he states in the book (I don't recall what page) that the Japanese have the longest lifespans as a group, and in a footnote relates this statistic to their diet routines. As far as I know, the Japanese diet contains daily carbohydrate intake in the form of rice and vegetables, as well as fish. If I were to apply a protein/carb ratio to their diet routines, I would assume it would approximately equal 80/20 carb to protein due to the large amounts of rice in relation to fish. While they have a very high lifespan, they also have high body fat percentages, and this is related to the high level of carbs in relation to protein. If you were to take their basic diet (carb/protein focused) and add some protein/remove carbs to further control insulin (to the 60/40 carb to protein levels I recommend) and add regular exercise (which is not part of their culture), body fat levels would decline, and they would maintain their long lifespans. The author makes many connections in his book to arrive at his theory, but does not make the most obvious connection of all, which is to analyze the diet of those that have the longest lifespan as a group (Japanese) in relation to his recommendations. Doing so leads one to believe that he needs to modify his theory in accordance to their dietary focus, rather than vice versa.

All-in-all, an interesting read, and some good fats in the diet (olive oil being primary) will help cholesterol and hormone levels no doubt (in moderate quantities). In addition, artificial sugars (sodas, fat free desserts, etc) do increase the risk of digestive cancers, and a natural dietary focus is best. Yet, it's amazing how he has one small footnote stating the obvious -- the Japanese diet IS the most healthy, and it is much closer to my recommendations than his.

Anyway, best of luck, and stay with ONE program -- mental focus and consistency with ALL recommended elements is necessary to truly evaluate the effectiveness of a particular routine.

ROB'S REPLY:

Dear Vic,

I can understand why your unnamed fitness author wishes to remain anonymous. I would not want to associate myself with such specious arguments, either.

It is very telling that the most potent criticism that the Nameless One could conjure up derives from one sentence of one footnote (on p. 159) of NHE. This is like declaring a ship unseaworthy because a chair in the ship's dining room has a broken leg; except in this case the leg is not broken. My rebuttal to the Nameless One's argument is contained in the other sentences of that same footnote, which seem to have been selectively overlooked. As noted in the 2^nd sentence of that footnote, the Japanese are an exception: the diets of "other healthy, long-lived populations like the French and the Eskimos [and the Mediterraneans]" are significantly lower in carbohydrate. Moreover, as noted in the 3^rd sentence of that footnote, the Japanese have other dietary practices (i.e., high consumption of fish, soy, and green tea) which, as noted in the 8^th sentence of that footnote, "I suspect collectively confers a very powerful cardiovascular-/cancer-protective effect that more than compensates for any transgressions committed in the area of carbohydrate consumption." In other words, it is possible that without a lifetime of high soy, fish, and green tea intake the Japanese life expectancy would be mediocre or bad.

In addition, the Nameless One "assume[s] that the Japanese diet "would approximately equal 80/20 carb to protein due to the large amounts of rice in relation to fish." This kernel of conjecture is undercut by evidence discussed in the now-famous-footnote and elsewhere on the same page that the Japanese diet is, on a percentage-of-total-calories basis, high in protein. Even without reference to extrinsic evidence, the Nameless One's assertion is intrinsically dubious given that it is based on a comparison of "rice in relation to fish." Having never visited Japan, I can't claim firsthand knowledge of Japanese eating practices. But I'll hazard a guess that their diet is not limited to these two items. In particular, just because they eat a lot of fish does not mean that the Japanese people don't eat other animals; nor is it appropriate to assume that the Japanese have suddenly stopped consuming soy protein, heretofore known to be a staple of their diet. Notwithstanding how he beat and tortured the footnote on p. 159 to get it to sing his tune, the Nameless One says he finds it "amazing how [Rob has] one small footnote stating the obvious. . . " It's "amazing" indeed how someone can, by overlooking all but one sentence in one footnote and concocting facts to distort that lone sentence, proclaim that his dietary program is "obviously" superior to the NHE Eating Plan.

Best of health and sincerely yours,

Rob Faigin 

P.S. - The Nameless One also writes: "an older friend of mine (in his 60's) nearly died when switching from the Atkins to a normal carbohydrate based diet due to the radical change in macronutrients (which is exactly what one does when restricting carbs for several days, and loading on carbs during a final meal)." The reason I'm addressing this in a postscript is that I originally decided not to dignify this scare tactic with a response. Then, a moment before I hit the "send" button, I changed my mind and said, "okay, I'll be a sucker."

First, I affirm what prudence dictates that every author of a book containing diet information tell his readers: before altering your diet you should check with your doctor. I also affirm that NHE is intended for "healthy individuals." Having said that, the Nameless One refers to an "older friend. . . [who] nearly died when switching from the Atkins to a normal carbohydrate based diet." It's awfully convenient that the friend "almost died." What does this mean? I almost died earlier this year when the New York Giants qualified for the Super Bowl. But I pulled through. Considering that millions of people have employed the Atkins diet and more than 95% of them wound-up quitting and returning to a high-carbohydrate diet, millions have survived the "radical change in macronutrients" that supposedly almost killed the Nameless One's older friend. If the Nameless One were truly concerned about people dying from unsound dietary practices he would cease promoting a diet that has been linked to virtually every major degenerative disease that afflicts the Western world.  

In response to the foregoing exchange, a Japanese woman named Yoshiko Nabei Nue wrote the following letter, which affirms Rob's arguments and refutes the "Nameless One's"   characterization of the Japanese diet.



Dear Mr. Faigin:

I just have to let you know that my husband and I enjoyed reading your response to the "Nameless One." My husband has been on NHE diet and his parents are enjoying the benefits of the diet. He checks your website regularly and wanted me to read the question and response.

I am from Japan, having been born and raised there for 30 years before moving to this country four years ago. Thus, I think I can have a say to what "The Nameless One" said and how you rebutted his argument. I found the argument of the nameless fitness guy almost ludicrous, assuming Japanese diet causes "high body-fat percentage?" Look at us!!! While over 80 percent of the people I see everyday are either overweight or simply obese, almost everybody in Japan is thin. Let me also point out it is also laughable to assume the Japanese do not regularly exercise. While it may be true that they do not exercise in the sense American would consider "exercise" (i.e. jogging, going to gym, lifting weights, getting on a treadmill, etc.), we walk to everywhere, to a bus stop, a train station, a supermarket, even to McDonald's in the neighbourhood because driving is not a good option over there. Public transportation is excellent and so reliable; and walking is part of the culture. I agree with you on the ratio of carb/protein in the Japanese diet. As you say, fish is not the only source of protein. Chicken, beef and pork are regularly consumed. Of course, soy products, as well. The diet looks very carby, but I think the balance between protein and carb is good. I love your comment that the Japanese diet is not limited to fish and rice. Actually a wide variety of vegetable, seaweed, fruits, etc. are available, much wider than what you can get at your local supermarket.

Thank you for reading this. I just had to write to you after reading the "nameless one" page. You have to excuse me for any grammatical or syntactical or punctuational mistakes.

Yoshiko Nabei Nue

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