GNOLLS.ORG http://www.gnolls.org Home of J. Stanton, author of The Gnoll Credo Wed, 16 May 2012 11:41:33 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 The Most Important Event In History (Big Brains Require An Explanation, Part VII) http://www.gnolls.org/3105/the-most-important-event-in-human-history-big-brains-require-an-explanation-part-vii/ http://www.gnolls.org/3105/the-most-important-event-in-human-history-big-brains-require-an-explanation-part-vii/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 11:34:51 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=3105

Click to see the timeline again at full size.

We’re taught, as schoolchildren (usually around sixth grade) that the invention of agriculture is not only the most important event in human history…it’s when history began! Leaving aside for the moment the awkward facts that its effects on human health and lifespan were so [ . . . ]

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]]> http://www.gnolls.org/3105/the-most-important-event-in-human-history-big-brains-require-an-explanation-part-vii/feed/ 1 What Are “Hydrolyzed Soy Protein” And “Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein,” And Why Are They In Everything? http://www.gnolls.org/3089/what-are-hydrolyzed-soy-protein-and-hydrolyzed-wheat-protein-and-why-are-they-in-everything/ http://www.gnolls.org/3089/what-are-hydrolyzed-soy-protein-and-hydrolyzed-wheat-protein-and-why-are-they-in-everything/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 08:41:35 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=3089 A close inspection of the nutrition label on most processed foods will usually turn up—among other disturbingly-named ingredients whose function is unclear—something known as “hydrolyzed soy protein” or “hydrolyzed wheat protein”.

What is it, and why is it added to so many processed food products?

What Is Protein, Anyway?

“Protein” is a generic term for an animal or [ . . . ]

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]]> http://www.gnolls.org/3089/what-are-hydrolyzed-soy-protein-and-hydrolyzed-wheat-protein-and-why-are-they-in-everything/feed/ 4 Your Whey Protein and Whey Isolate May Not Be Gluten-Free: Beware “Glutamine Peptides” http://www.gnolls.org/3066/your-whey-protein-and-whey-isolate-may-not-be-gluten-free-beware-glutamine-peptides/ http://www.gnolls.org/3066/your-whey-protein-and-whey-isolate-may-not-be-gluten-free-beware-glutamine-peptides/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:42:48 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=3066 No, whey protein isn’t paleo…but it sure is convenient to have a portable, non-perishable, and relatively cheap source of quickly-digested protein for when I don’t have access to real food or the time to cook it.

However, as with any dietary supplement, we must always be on the alert for misleading packaging or adulterants—as white pills [ . . . ]

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]]> http://www.gnolls.org/3066/your-whey-protein-and-whey-isolate-may-not-be-gluten-free-beware-glutamine-peptides/feed/ 3 It’s Just Like Drug Addiction EVERYONE FREAK OUT: The Role And Limits Of Reward (Why Are We Hungry, Part VIII) http://www.gnolls.org/3039/its-just-like-drug-addiction-everyone-freak-out-the-role-and-limits-of-reward-why-are-we-hungry-part-8/ http://www.gnolls.org/3039/its-just-like-drug-addiction-everyone-freak-out-the-role-and-limits-of-reward-why-are-we-hungry-part-8/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:44:52 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=3039 It’s good that we’re learning more and more about the brain’s reward systems. I’ve spent months dissecting their role in hunger—and indeed, hunger is the subject of my upcoming AHS 2012 presentation!

(This is part VII of a series. Go back to Part I, Part II, Part III, . . . ]

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]]> http://www.gnolls.org/3039/its-just-like-drug-addiction-everyone-freak-out-the-role-and-limits-of-reward-why-are-we-hungry-part-8/feed/ 4 Big Brains Require An Explanation, Part VI: Why Learning Is Fundamental, Even For Australopithecines http://www.gnolls.org/3008/big-brains-require-an-explanation-part-vi-why-learning-is-fundamental-even-for-australopithecines/ http://www.gnolls.org/3008/big-brains-require-an-explanation-part-vi-why-learning-is-fundamental-even-for-australopithecines/#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:39:19 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=3008

Our Story So Far (abridged)

By 3.4 MYA, Australopithecus afarensis was most likely eating a paleo diet recognizable, edible, and nutritious to modern humans. (Yes, the “paleo diet” predates the Paleolithic age by at least 800,000 years!) The only new item on the menu was large animal meat (including bone marrow), which was more calorie- and [ . . . ]

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Why Learning Is Fundamental, Even For Australopithecines"

]]> http://www.gnolls.org/3008/big-brains-require-an-explanation-part-vi-why-learning-is-fundamental-even-for-australopithecines/feed/ 1 Anti-Nutritionism, L-Canavanine, And The Limitations of N=1 Self-Experimentation http://www.gnolls.org/2982/anti-nutritionism-l-canavanine-and-the-limitations-of-n1-self-experimentation/ http://www.gnolls.org/2982/anti-nutritionism-l-canavanine-and-the-limitations-of-n1-self-experimentation/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:17:41 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=2982

What Is Nutritionism?

While I disagree with Gyorgy Scrinis (and the popularizer of the concept, Michael Pollan) on their proposed solution, I believe Scrinis’ concept of “nutritionism” as an error in dietary thinking has merit—and I doubt anyone in the paleo community would disagree.

“Reducing food to its nutrient components could be called “nutritionism”, and it has [ . . . ]

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]]> http://www.gnolls.org/2982/anti-nutritionism-l-canavanine-and-the-limitations-of-n1-self-experimentation/feed/ 5 Big Brains Require An Explanation, Part V:Re-Orienting Ourselves In Time, and Why Are There “Southern Apes” In Ethiopia? http://www.gnolls.org/2961/big-brains-require-an-explanation-part-vre-orienting-ourselves-in-time-and-why-are-there-southern-apes-in-ethiopia/ http://www.gnolls.org/2961/big-brains-require-an-explanation-part-vre-orienting-ourselves-in-time-and-why-are-there-southern-apes-in-ethiopia/#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:14:46 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=2961 In Part IV, we established the following:

Our ancestors’ dietary shift towards ground-based foods, and away from fruit, did not cause an increase in our ancestors’ brain size. Bipedalism was necessary to allow an increase in our ancestors’ brain size, but did not cause the increase by itself. Bipedalism allowed Australopithecus afarensis to spread beyond the forest, [ . . . ]

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Re-Orienting Ourselves In Time, and Why Are There “Southern Apes” In Ethiopia?"

]]> http://www.gnolls.org/2961/big-brains-require-an-explanation-part-vre-orienting-ourselves-in-time-and-why-are-there-southern-apes-in-ethiopia/feed/ 1 AHS 2012, Recommended Reading, and The Ascent And Descent Of Mountains In Winter http://www.gnolls.org/2940/ahs-2012-recommended-reading-and-the-ascent-and-descent-of-mountains-in-winter/ http://www.gnolls.org/2940/ahs-2012-recommended-reading-and-the-ascent-and-descent-of-mountains-in-winter/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:16:21 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=2940 For those who haven’t already seen the list of presenters, I will be speaking at the 2012 Ancestral Health Symposium in Cambridge, MA. My presentation is titled “What Is Hunger, And Why Are We Hungry?”, and I look forward to sharing it with you in August. As I wrote in the [ . . . ]

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]]> http://www.gnolls.org/2940/ahs-2012-recommended-reading-and-the-ascent-and-descent-of-mountains-in-winter/feed/ 1 Always Be Skeptical Of Nutrition Headlines: Or, What “Red Meat Consumption and Mortality” (Pan et.al.) Really Tells Us http://www.gnolls.org/2893/always-be-skeptical-of-nutrition-headlines-or-what-red-meat-consumption-and-mortality-pan-et-al-really-tells-us/ http://www.gnolls.org/2893/always-be-skeptical-of-nutrition-headlines-or-what-red-meat-consumption-and-mortality-pan-et-al-really-tells-us/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 13:18:28 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=2893 Normally I’d be continuing my ongoing series on the evolutionary history of the human brain. However, there is yet another red meat scare story making the rounds—and many readers have asked me to analyze it. Should we really be eating less red meat?

I don’t like to spend my time debunking specific studies—because [ . . . ]

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]]> http://www.gnolls.org/2893/always-be-skeptical-of-nutrition-headlines-or-what-red-meat-consumption-and-mortality-pan-et-al-really-tells-us/feed/ 14 Foolproof Prime Rib! How To Buy, Cut, And Cook A Standing Rib Roast: The Easiest Prime Rib Recipe On The Internet http://www.gnolls.org/2865/foolproof-prime-rib-how-to-buy-cut-and-cook-a-standing-rib-roast-the-easiest-prime-rib-recipe-on-the-internet/ http://www.gnolls.org/2865/foolproof-prime-rib-how-to-buy-cut-and-cook-a-standing-rib-roast-the-easiest-prime-rib-recipe-on-the-internet/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:15:40 +0000 J. Stanton http://www.gnolls.org/?p=2865 Prime rib is an intimidating entree to cook for many of us, because the meat itself costs so much. It’s easy to have over $75 worth of meat in the oven—at which point mistakes become extremely expensive.

Fear not! Here’s how to buy, cut, and cook a prime rib roast that comes out perfectly [ . . . ]

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