Response delays

[Iguana]

A physicist friend of mine, Gerard Gewinner, has at my request written the following text intended to those who may think that feeling better shortly after a diet change is a kind of proof that their new diet is more healthy :

The response of complex systems such as the biosphere, the climatic system or a living organism to various perturbations is...complex. It exhibits usually an extended range of response or correlation delays that implies different things happening at largely different time scales as a consequence of the perturbation. Clearly such systems display historical character with their state at time t depending essentially on past events at all time scales.

In contrast many simple physical or technological systems such as a Geiger counter or a photomultiplier are characterized by and rely on the existence of a single relaxation time that measures the typical time scale over which memory of past events is definitely lost.

This situation makes the experimental investigation of complex systems quite difficult, involved and generates possibly a lot of confusion. For instance in life science this means that the effect of a  dietary change cannot be simply and reliably inferred from short term studies but should in principle be carefully observed over several generations. Just think of the famous Pottenger experiment on cats.

That is also why the experiments mother Nature has already done on our species in the past such as reported by anthropologists on our untouched by civilization hunter-gatherer ancestor's way of life and diet, are so tremendously important to acknowledge, learn everything we can about and finally try to take advantage of. Similarly in medical care if a patient feels better today, this unfortunately does not necessarily mean that it is merely the result of the drug swallowed or dietary change made yesterday.

[William]

Feeling worse after a diet change is also not proof that the new diet ain't working.
For instance, the reported lethargy for the first weeks or more of the change to raw zero carb.

Some carefully investigated faith is not a bad thing.

[goodsamaritan]

2 months of raw vegan showed me it was unsustainable for myself.
2 months of raw fruitarian showed me it was unsustainable for myself.

So far 20 months of RPD has been very good to me and very easy and very convenient.

I'm moving my children to paleo diet raw / cooked... going more raw later... we will see soon enough.