Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2018 13:55:05 GMT -5
So. A bunch of people on Facebook are arguing about this article, which notes the (to many, surprising) discovery that ancient Roman gladiators ate a mostly vegan diet consisting heavily of barley, legumes and greens. Optimus -- care to weigh in on the article and my doubts about the article?
I don't doubt the discovery about the gladiators' diet at all. (Besides the fact that it is based on scientific evidence regarding the gladiators' teeth, it is also supported by the fact that gladiators were nicknamed "barley eaters"!) I find it fascinating. What I DO very much doubt, however, at least without further evidence, is the article author's conclusions that since gladiators ate a carb-heavy diet, they were necessarily fat.
www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-did-gladiators-eat?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page&fbclid=IwAR31A4iFqRImWBkPnZBlLfh2jRlNiCql9X9vvUQlmSYaX_I-AinrV8oa8bU
Okay. I think THIS conclusion -- that they ate carbs, ergo they were fat -- is questionable at best, and based more on the modern "CARBS ARE TEH EVIL!" diet advice, which I think for some has become as extreme and as stupid as the one-time "FAT IS TEH EVIL!" or "DAIRY IS TEH EVIL!" schools of thought.
I know that the typical American carb-aholic diet is bad. It is loaded with processed food and sugar, which I don't for a minute contest are bad for you if you don't keep them in moderation.. Plus people who eat lots of that stuff often tend to compound it by also eating lots of fatty foods, and by working desk jobs and not exercising. Yes, those people often struggle with their weight, and their diet is a big reason why. No question.
But that's not what the gladiators would have been doing at all. Their diet wouldn't have had sugar, except from fruit. Their carbs wouldn't have been potato chips, Twinkies, and corn syrup -- it would have been lentils and barley and greens. I'll bet they ate very little fat, too. And their activity level -- well. I've taken boxing lessons and let me tell you, it's exhausting even for a one-hour lesson. And I'm a runner in excellent cardiovascular shape. These guys would have been fighting for a living, using heavy weapons, and no doubt practicing constantly (since if they didn't, they'd die). I don't think they'd likely be fat, for the most part. I think they'd more likely have been wiry and loaded with lean muscle.
I base this on vegan athletes I personally know, especially those who avoid processed foods and sugars. Take a look at your elite marathoners, who eat a shitload of carbs -- thin as rails. Actually, MY diet is quite carb-heavy and meat-light. I'm a size four, barely. (I'm a runner, cycler, and lift weights.)
Sure, of course, some vegetarians are overweight. But the ones I know who are? Their diets are loaded with sugar, fat, and fake foods, and their lives are pretty sedentary. Hardly what the gladiators' lives or diets would have looked like.
So unless this author has something else to offer to support his/her conclusions about the gladiators' physiques other than "DEY ATE TEH EVIL CARBS!", I'm not convinced.
Fight me.
I don't doubt the discovery about the gladiators' diet at all. (Besides the fact that it is based on scientific evidence regarding the gladiators' teeth, it is also supported by the fact that gladiators were nicknamed "barley eaters"!) I find it fascinating. What I DO very much doubt, however, at least without further evidence, is the article author's conclusions that since gladiators ate a carb-heavy diet, they were necessarily fat.
www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-did-gladiators-eat?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page&fbclid=IwAR31A4iFqRImWBkPnZBlLfh2jRlNiCql9X9vvUQlmSYaX_I-AinrV8oa8bU
WHAT EPITOMIZES THE IDEAL WESTERN male physique more than the Roman gladiator? Rippling with lean muscle, gladiators’ bodies represent corporeal perfection—or so films and television shows such as Gladiator and Spartacus would have us believe.
In reality, what we know about gladiators’ diet and physiques suggests a very different physical appearance than the one depicted in classical art and contemporary popular culture. According to archaeological research, their abdominals and pectorals were likely covered in a quivering layer of subcutaneous fat. Why? The evidence suggests gladiators carbo-loaded. They ate a diet high in carbohydrates, such as barley and beans, and low in animal proteins. Their meals looked nothing like the paleo or meat-and-fish centric diets now associated with elite warriors and athletes.
In reality, what we know about gladiators’ diet and physiques suggests a very different physical appearance than the one depicted in classical art and contemporary popular culture. According to archaeological research, their abdominals and pectorals were likely covered in a quivering layer of subcutaneous fat. Why? The evidence suggests gladiators carbo-loaded. They ate a diet high in carbohydrates, such as barley and beans, and low in animal proteins. Their meals looked nothing like the paleo or meat-and-fish centric diets now associated with elite warriors and athletes.
Okay. I think THIS conclusion -- that they ate carbs, ergo they were fat -- is questionable at best, and based more on the modern "CARBS ARE TEH EVIL!" diet advice, which I think for some has become as extreme and as stupid as the one-time "FAT IS TEH EVIL!" or "DAIRY IS TEH EVIL!" schools of thought.
I know that the typical American carb-aholic diet is bad. It is loaded with processed food and sugar, which I don't for a minute contest are bad for you if you don't keep them in moderation.. Plus people who eat lots of that stuff often tend to compound it by also eating lots of fatty foods, and by working desk jobs and not exercising. Yes, those people often struggle with their weight, and their diet is a big reason why. No question.
But that's not what the gladiators would have been doing at all. Their diet wouldn't have had sugar, except from fruit. Their carbs wouldn't have been potato chips, Twinkies, and corn syrup -- it would have been lentils and barley and greens. I'll bet they ate very little fat, too. And their activity level -- well. I've taken boxing lessons and let me tell you, it's exhausting even for a one-hour lesson. And I'm a runner in excellent cardiovascular shape. These guys would have been fighting for a living, using heavy weapons, and no doubt practicing constantly (since if they didn't, they'd die). I don't think they'd likely be fat, for the most part. I think they'd more likely have been wiry and loaded with lean muscle.
I base this on vegan athletes I personally know, especially those who avoid processed foods and sugars. Take a look at your elite marathoners, who eat a shitload of carbs -- thin as rails. Actually, MY diet is quite carb-heavy and meat-light. I'm a size four, barely. (I'm a runner, cycler, and lift weights.)
Sure, of course, some vegetarians are overweight. But the ones I know who are? Their diets are loaded with sugar, fat, and fake foods, and their lives are pretty sedentary. Hardly what the gladiators' lives or diets would have looked like.
So unless this author has something else to offer to support his/her conclusions about the gladiators' physiques other than "DEY ATE TEH EVIL CARBS!", I'm not convinced.
Fight me.