Interesting to consider that despite all that is “known” about human diet and health, we still have an immense and growing (pun intended) obesity problem.
Best dry food for C/A cichlids? Northfin vs NLS?
- Thread starter ccichc
- Start date
look back at the 50s and 60s when meals were cooked and eaten at home. There was very few human whales. As soon as the fast food joints sprang up everywhere. And the moms/wife's joined the workforce, the average size of the average American steadily increased.
The obesity epidemic wasn't caused by fast food outlets, if anything it was caused by so called experts, who demonized fat, and crusaded for Americans to consume more carbs. Why have dietary guidelines been so wrong, and how do they still need to change? | Levels
Along the way, the vast majority of people lost the ability to use fat as an energy source, so they now run off carbs (glucose). Enter the current epidemic of type 2 diabetes world-wide. Most people that are pre-diabetic have no clue, because doctors don't typically check insulin levels, and most won't bother with a fasting glucose test, unless there are other obvious signs for the potential. In humans, this can build up for 5, 10, even 20 yrs, before a health care provider picks up on it. Pathetic.
Just like fish, humans are designed to use fat as the main source of energy, followed by protein if/when fat runs out. NOT carbs. Cut the carbs out of your diet, and watch how quickly your body learns to burn fat as fuel. If you are obese, yeah you fatty, your body will burn your own fat as fuel, the fatter one is, the longer one can go without eating aka fasting.
Carbs are not an essential nutrient in fish, any more than they are in humans. They can be used as an energy source by both, but both humans, and fish, will be better served by utilizing fat. With fish, typically all it takes to tweak nutrient levels between carnivores/omnivores/herbivores, kept in captivity, is to alter the protein/fat/fiber levels. This can also be achieved by increasing or lowering quantity of feed.
Of course, most of the tropical species of fish kept in captivity have never been studied long enough (if at all) for any real conclusions to be made one way or the other, as far as assimilation, digestible energy, bioavailability, etc. and this is where the logic behind feeding a *wide variety* came into play many years ago. A high quality commercial diet can also consist of a *wide variety* of high quality, nutrient dense feed stuffs, sometimes in a much more controlled manner than someone feeding frozen/fresh/live, with no real idea regarding the nutrient levels and/or the bioavailability of what they are feeding, to any given fish.
A read of the numerous studies and papers over the past 100 yrs will explain why certain species are classified in the manner that they are, and go into detail regarding amino acid profiles found in various protein sources, as well as fatty acid profiles, vitamins, trace minerals, etc. Even most fish classified as herbivores, frugivores, etc, consume aquatic based sources of protein and fat. Mother Nature seldom gets this wrong.
Nutrient Requirements of Fish (1993) is pretty much the bible on this subject, well worth a read for anyone interested. I believe there is now an updated version as well. For most of the tropical species one has to extrapolate the info from commercial herbivores/omnivores/carnivores to tropical species kept in the hobby, but most of that research is a valuable place to begin.
Good luck
Along the way, the vast majority of people lost the ability to use fat as an energy source, so they now run off carbs (glucose). Enter the current epidemic of type 2 diabetes world-wide. Most people that are pre-diabetic have no clue, because doctors don't typically check insulin levels, and most won't bother with a fasting glucose test, unless there are other obvious signs for the potential. In humans, this can build up for 5, 10, even 20 yrs, before a health care provider picks up on it. Pathetic.
Just like fish, humans are designed to use fat as the main source of energy, followed by protein if/when fat runs out. NOT carbs. Cut the carbs out of your diet, and watch how quickly your body learns to burn fat as fuel. If you are obese, yeah you fatty, your body will burn your own fat as fuel, the fatter one is, the longer one can go without eating aka fasting.
The vast majority of finfish are not very complicated when it comes to supplying nutrients for good health. They require protein (amino acids) for growth, lipids (fatty acids) for energy, and the standard mix of vitamins & minerals for overall health. NOT carbs.
Carbs are not an essential nutrient in fish, any more than they are in humans. They can be used as an energy source by both, but both humans, and fish, will be better served by utilizing fat. With fish, typically all it takes to tweak nutrient levels between carnivores/omnivores/herbivores, kept in captivity, is to alter the protein/fat/fiber levels. This can also be achieved by increasing or lowering quantity of feed.
Of course, most of the tropical species of fish kept in captivity have never been studied long enough (if at all) for any real conclusions to be made one way or the other, as far as assimilation, digestible energy, bioavailability, etc. and this is where the logic behind feeding a *wide variety* came into play many years ago. A high quality commercial diet can also consist of a *wide variety* of high quality, nutrient dense feed stuffs, sometimes in a much more controlled manner than someone feeding frozen/fresh/live, with no real idea regarding the nutrient levels and/or the bioavailability of what they are feeding, to any given fish.
A read of the numerous studies and papers over the past 100 yrs will explain why certain species are classified in the manner that they are, and go into detail regarding amino acid profiles found in various protein sources, as well as fatty acid profiles, vitamins, trace minerals, etc. Even most fish classified as herbivores, frugivores, etc, consume aquatic based sources of protein and fat. Mother Nature seldom gets this wrong.
Nutrient Requirements of Fish (1993) is pretty much the bible on this subject, well worth a read for anyone interested. I believe there is now an updated version as well. For most of the tropical species one has to extrapolate the info from commercial herbivores/omnivores/carnivores to tropical species kept in the hobby, but most of that research is a valuable place to begin.
Good luck
Thanks,
RD.
, very interesting and informative post. A real eye-opener, at least to me. Among other things, it helps negate the feelings of guilt that some people...I'm not specifically referring here to my wife...try to make me feel for being "too carnivorous". 
RD.
, very interesting and informative post. A real eye-opener, at least to me. Among other things, it helps negate the feelings of guilt that some people...I'm not specifically referring here to my wife...try to make me feel for being "too carnivorous".
Now after reading that link that I posted, apply the same to what one has seen in fish feed. Utilizing “novel” (cough cough) sources of protein, such as peas, corn (dried distiller grains with soluble) etc, along with seed oils, and it all should become clear what the motive is, just follow the $$$$. Marine based products such as fish meal, krill meal, etc, and the fats associated with them have become too costly for the likes of many manufacturers.
I was gonna try to get into this thread/argument but i took too long reading and oxidized from sitting here too long.
