The De-Evolution of Bodybuilding Nutrition

[heyzeus909]

All of about 5 of you on this site will find this article about old timers and their nutrition ways to be interesting. For the rest of you, this is likely a long, boring read. Much of the information below is from a single site. Please don't follow my lead by taking more than an excerpt from another website; I know I'm setting a bad example by doing so myself. PLEASE read the information at the site where this original article can be found:http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html

There's more information there that I didn't copy/paste here.

I grabbed most of the information below from the link above. I also used wikipedia and other bodybuilding sites for a little additional information about some of the people, and then tried to find a pic of them.

Here ya go:



Bernarr Macfaddan (1868-1955)

"Credit for the Physical Culture movement in North America, the precursor to the bodybuilding movement, goes to Bernarr Macfadden..."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html

"Nicknamed “Body Love Macfadden” by Time, he was a flamboyant personality who inspired millions of people around the world to live healthful and vigorous lives. He was branded a “kook” and a charlatan by many, arrested on obscenity charges, and denounced by the medical establishment. Throughout his life, he campaigned tirelessly against “pill-pushers,” processed foods, and prudery."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernarr_Macfadden

"Macfadden preached clean living and whole natural foods. He ate vast quantities of raw carrots, beet juice, fruits, dates, raisins, grains and nuts. He abstained from meat but recommended copious amounts of raw milk. In fact he even recommended an exclusive raw milk diet for extended periods."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html

"Macfadden popularized the practice of fasting that previously had been associated with illnesses such as anorexia nervosa.[2] He felt strongly that fasting was one of the surest ways to physical health. Many of his subjects would fast for a week in order to rejuvenate their body. He claimed that “a person could exercise unqualified control over virtually all types of disease while revealing a degree of strength and stamina such as would put others to shame” through fasting. He saw fasting as an instrument with which to prove a man's superiority over other men."

"He died of a urinary tract infection in 1955 after refusing medical treatment." (at the age of 87)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernarr_Macfadden


Macfadden posing as Michelangelo's “David” in 1905






Eugen Sandow (1867-1925)

"Sandow's resemblance to the physiques found on classic Greek and Roman sculpture was no accident. He actually measured the marble artworks in museums and helped to develop "The Grecian Ideal" as a formula for the "perfect physique." He built his physique to those exact proportions. Because of this, he is considered to be the "Father of Modern Bodybuilding," having been one of the first athletes to intentionally develop his musculature to pre-determined dimensions."

"He owned a mail-order physical instruction and exercise equipment business and was the inventor of a unique spring-loaded dumbbell and a weighted rubber band resistance training system. His fame was instrumental in popularizing home training equipment. He also produced Sandow Cigars, Sandow's Health & Strength Cocoa and Sandow, a magazine devoted to physical culture."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Sandow

"In an 1894 interview on his dietary habits, Sandow claimed to abstain from hard liquor, coffee and tea, but consumed the occasional beer. He ate mostly wholesome foods, but indulged at selected opportunities. Sandow, along with most of the other Physical Culturists of his day, placed more emphasis on the mechanical aspects of diet as opposed to the chemical. He believed in doing what was necessary to facilitate good digestion, including eating at regular intervals, selecting simple foods, applying thorough mastication, eating slowly and tying it all together with a good night’s sleep. He was critical of over-indulgence and recommended foods with a high nutrient value, although he admitted to eating what he wanted, when he wanted, and however much he wanted during his younger years."

"Sandow referred to the eating of raw eggs and under-cooked meats as nonsense and a practice that was "passing away.""
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html









Arthur Saxon (Saxon Brothers) (1878-1921)

"In one act, Arthur Saxon lifted his seated brothers on a barbell with one arm. Another popular portion of their performances included opening the stage for anyone who challenged the validity of any lift."

"At one point during a bent press performance Saxon claimed the act could not be repeated by the famous Eugen Sandow. Unbeknownst to Saxon, on February 26, 1898, Sandow, in the audience at the time, accepted the challenge. Initially, Sandow was unable to replicate the lift and, in retaliation, took the Saxon Trio to court. In the case Sandow won with a ruling that he had "handled the bell in exactly the same bodily attitude as Arthur", which debunks the claim that Sandow failed the lift."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Saxon

"He warned against the dangers of hard liquor, but condoned beer. In fact, Saxon had a reputation for hefty beer drinking as did many men of strength of the time. He warned against smoking while admitting to being a smoker himself. For gaining muscle, Saxon recommended milk mixed with raw egg after a workout, milk with oatmeal, cheese, beans, peas, and meat. He called milk the perfect food."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html








George Hackenschmidt (1878-1968)

"In the Hack squat, a barbell is held in the hands just behind the legs; it was invented by early 1900s professional wrestler Georg Hackenschmidt."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_(exercise)

"Hackenschmidt is believed to be the creator of the professional wrestling version of the Bearhug as well as the originator of the hack squat, which is a squat-deadlift with arms behind the body."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Hackenschmidt

"Both a gentleman and sportsman, George Hackenschmidt reflected a spiritually conservative philosophy towards nutrition. In his book The Way to Life, he stated: "I believe I am right in asserting that our creator has provided food and nutriment for every being for its own advantage. Man is born without frying-pan or stewpot. The purest natural food for human beings would, therefore, be fresh, uncooked food and nuts." He stated that a diet of three quarters vegetable food and one quarter meat would appear to be most satisfactory for the people of central Europe but conceded a hardy appetite which, in his early training years, was based on 11 pints of milk per day, presumably raw, along with the rest of his diet. A prophet before his time, he warned about the dangers of refined sugar and meat from artificially fed and confined animals. He believed that most people ate too much flesh food from these improperly raised animals and encouraged more emphasis on natural raw foods."

"Macfadden and Hackenschmidt inclined towards diets that excluded meat, or that at least derived a preponderence of calories from plant foods."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html







Jack Lalanne (1914-present)

"Jack LaLanne (born September 26, 1914) is an American fitness, exercise and nutritional expert, celebrity, lecturer, and motivational speaker who has been referred to as "the godfather of fitness.""

"LaLanne gained worldwide renown for his success as a bodybuilder, as well as his prodigious feats of strength. He has won numerous awards, including the Horatio Alger Award from the Association of Distinguished Americans, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Hall of Fame."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_LaLanne


"Jack began his carreer as a vegetarian, bringing his own food, such as apple or carrot juice and vegetables, to train at the beach during the 1930s. However, Lalanne later ate meat when focussed on bodybuilding. In fact, Armand Tanny says that Jack would visit the local stockyards to acquire cow’s blood to drink while in training. Later Lalanne reverted back to his vegetarian ways, but allowing some fish and eggs."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html








Lionel Strongfort (1878-1970)

"He began his famed stage career around 1897, becoming world renowned for his "Human Bridge Act" (The Tomb of Hercules position). Strongfort's greatest fame came after retiring from the stage in the early 1900s, launching his world famous mail order course, "Strongfortism," which appeared in popular publications the world over. For more than 25 years until about 1935, "Strongfortism" was one of the most successful train-by-mail correspondence school adventures. Unfortunately, the Great Depression of the thirties proved to be an economic disaster for most mail-order concerns."
http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competit...onfortbiog.htm

"Lionel Strongfort who promoted a system of raw foods based on fruits, vegetables, eggs and milk. He recommended very little meat and cooked fat. Strongfort suggested eating only two meals a day, a strategy shared by Macfadden that would re-emerge in the 60s and 70s. Strongfort and Macfadden both advised against overconsumption of food. They claimed overconsumption created a negative stress on the body’s systems, sensible advice that bodybuilding publications would ignore in the coming years."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html








Tony Sansone (1905-1987)

"At 16, he came across magazine pictures of physique star Tommy Farber in Physical Culture magazine and became interested in physical development. He trained under the tutelage of bodybuilding publisher Bernarr Macfadden and bodybuilder Charles Atlas (aka Angelo Siciliano). In October 1923, Sansone, 18, won a physique contest sponsored by Atlas. He did not pursue competitive bodybuilding as a career, however, and has never earned any titles like Mr America."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Sansone

"Charles Atlas called him "The Most Beautiful Man in America." Physical-culture historian David Gentle has said, "If Sansone had been born in Greek antiquity, he would have been immortalized as a god.""
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Sansone

"Another Physical Culturalist who advised against over-consumption was Tony Sansone, but Sansone understood the importance of flesh foods, including animal fats and organ meats. He wrote extensively on nutrition for bodybuilders and recommended nutrient-dense "foundation" foods such as milk, eggs, butter, meat, vegetables, fruits, and some whole grains, in that order. He also stressed the importance of organ meats such as liver, kidney, heart and cod liver oil and recognized the need to drink whole raw milk instead of pasteurized and skimmed. He believed goats milk was more nutritious and easily digested than cows milk. Fresh butter and cream were his preferred fats. He also recommended six to eight glasses of water per day."

"Tony Sansone wisely stressed the importance of generous amounts of fat in the diet to allow the complete utilization of nitrogenous (protein) foods in building muscle tissue--a fundamental and important fact that would be lost as the era of protein supplements took hold. He also knew that weight loss was not a matter of simple calorie counting, as cellular uptake or utilization of food varied on an individual basis. In anticipation of Dr. Atkins, Sansone recommended his foundation foods of milk, eggs, meat, vegetables and fruit for strength and health, and starchy foods as weight manipulators. His recipe for gaining weight was to add more high-carbohydrate foods such as bread and potatoes to the diet, and for losing weight to simply reduce or remove them. Tony Sansone’s caveat to lose no more than two pounds of fat per week is still the standard used in bodybuilding today."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html







Armand Tanny (1921?-he was alive and 84 years old in 2005...that's all I know)

"Featured in Strength & Health magazine at the age of 14, Tanny was an iron-game prodigy, trained by his elder brother Vic of gym-chain fame. He went on to compete in bodybuilding and weightlifting contests while also being one of the most prolific writers the industry has known."

"...his five professional phsyique competitions - all in 1949-50 - involved battling some of bodybuilding's most famous stars: John Grimek, Clarence Ross, Steve Reeves, George Eiferman and Vince Gironda. His three victories were at the Mr. 1949 (sponsored by the American Professional Iron Game Association), the 1949 Pro Mr. America and the 1950 Pro Mr. USA."
http://www.ifbb.com/viewfamous.php?id=48&circa=2005

"Originally a weightlifter, Armand had a fantastic physique and the strength to qualify him for the wrestling circuit. He visited the Hawaiian Islands just after the Second World War and came away with a lasting impression of the Samoans. "They ate everything raw," he noted. "You name it, fish, meat, beetles--everything! They were so strong and healthy.""

"In 1948 he shut off his stove and ate just about everything raw from then on--tuna, beef, liver, lobster, oysters, clams, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Armand recalls wading out into the surf along the Santa Monica Pier and using his feet to kick up 6- to 7-inch Pismo clams, smashing them together to get at the pink and white flesh. Armand also took brewer’s yeast, desiccated liver, yogurt, black strap molasses and wheat germ oil, all recommendations of Gaylord Hauser, a nutritional guru of the era. Hauser also recommended fish liver oil, but Tanny felt he was getting plenty from all the raw fish he was consuming. Armand credited his 1950 Mr. USA and the Pro Mr. America titles to his raw meat diet."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html








John Grimek (1910-1998)

"The biggest influence on bodybuilding in the 1930s and 1940s was John Grimek, the second American Athletics Union (AAU) Mr. America and the first to win back-to-back titles, in 1940 and 1941. Many commentators believe that Grimek represents the beginning of modern bodybuilding as we know it today, describing him as the best physique of the mid century."

"During the early 1930s, at the start of his career, Grimek came under the influence of Mark Berry, editor of Strength magazine and an advocate of an eating protocol in which an athlete would bulk up in bodyweight and then train it off. At one point, Berry had Grimek beef up his 5’ 8" frame to 250 pounds. The practice would become commonplace by the 1950s and maintain a foothold for several decades after."


"Grimek bulked up on whatever was put in front of him, reports his wife Angela in a 1956 Health and Strength article entitled "Life with John." "John has an enormous appetite. . . John has yet to find a restaurant that can do justice to his appetite. . . . Sometimes he goes on a restricted diet--and it is surprising how little he can get by on then. But when he goes all out, he can never be filled. . . . but the ‘hog’ (our pet name for John) just eats and eats and still remains trim and muscular.""


"By the 1950s, Grimek’s diet included Hershey chocolate bars and hi-protein tablets manufactured and promoted by Bob Hoffman, publisher of Strength and Health, a magazine that provided a platform for Grimek along with the new-fangled supplements coming on the market. Hoffman used Hershey chocolate in his products, so Grimek and the rest of the York gang had easy access to some empty calories."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html














Vince Gironda (1917-1997)

"One man who had definition dieting mastered and who never used drugs was the Iron Guru Vince Gironda. Pioneer of a technique involving intense abbreviated training routines rather than long workouts, Gironda began competing in the 1950s and then trained both athletes and movie stars for many decades after. So defined was his physique, he often found himself penalized by judges who seemed confused over his appearance. Says Gironda, "The men who judged physique contests at this time were puzzled by so much muscularity. Quotes from physique magazines stated I didn’t place higher in whatever contest because of too much muscularity. They thought that this type of cut-up physique was slightly repugnant so I lost most muscular titles to smoother men who had that type of definition for that day."

"Gironda often stated that nutrition was 85-90 percent of bodybuilding. His alternative to drugs was eggs. Like Blair, he advocated up to 36 eggs a day for 6 to 8 weeks to produce muscle buildup. (He also took, among many other supplements, "orchic tissue tablets," that is, dried testicles.)
He recommended following this "anabolic phase" with a short-term vegetarian diet to "re-alkalize" the body. Similarly he alternated a low-carbohydrate diet with periods of carbohydrate loading. He was careful to point out the difference between natural and refined carbohydrate foods. He presented research data that strongly indicted refined carbohydrates as the real culprit in much of the century’s degenerative disease. His articles went into surprising detail on the biochemical pathways through which sugar did its damage, pointing out the relation between sugar and atherosclerosis, abnormal increases in height and weight and skeletal anomalies."

"As for protein, he believed the average American could get along fine with just 45 grams of quality protein a day. However, he insisted that bodybuilders needed over 300 grams daily for several weeks to force the growth process. He believed in quality protein powders and used Blair’s milk-and-egg blend until he came out with his own product. When he used the powders, he blended 1/3 of a cup with a dozen eggs and 12 ounces of raw cream or half & half. He was also big on steak and often ate his meat raw.mmended germ oils, amino acids, vitamin and mineral supplements, and hydrochloric acid (HCL). He recommended mineral rich sea kelp for its iodine content and dried liver extract for blood building and oxygen capacity boosting. Many bodybuilders used desiccated liver after the early 1950s experiments of Dr. Benjamin Ershoff. Ershoff who conducted the famous liver study wherein rats fed 10 percent desiccated liver swam far longer compared to controls."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html
(read more at the link immediately above for information on the "Blair" protein powder, the advent of steroids in bodybuilding, and the bodybuilding magazine's reaction to the steroids. Good stuff...it explains a lot of the reasons things are the way they are today.)






The Confusion Game: Food vs Supplements vs Steroids (1960's-present)

"The acceptance of steroid drugs among bodybuilders got off to a slow start. Drinking a gallon of milk or swallowing 2000 protein pills seemed more logical to them than taking a tiny pill to do the job. Even those who did take them were slow in accepting or acknowledging the fact that it was the steroids that were giving them such tremendous gains in muscle mass."

"Out on the West Coast, bodybuilding great Bill Pearl was also curious as to what the Russians were doing, so he took it upon himself to do his own research. During a visit to the University of California at Davis in 1958, he learned from a veterinarian about the successful use of steroids in beefing up cattle. Bill figured that if it was good enough for a bull, then it was good enough for him. While continuing to train hard, he took 30 mg of the steroid drug Nilevar (three times the recommended dose for humans, but an absolute joke by today’s practices) for 12 weeks and brought his bodyweight up from 225 to 250 pounds."

"Steroid use among athletes paralleled the challenge to conservative moral standards that characterized the era of the 1960s. It was a time that seemed ripe for the liberation of one’s desires. Individual freedoms took precedence over the rules, morals and ethics dictated by a long established culture--and by Mother Nature. If the new generation could take mind-altering drugs, it could take body-altering drugs as well. Anabolic ("building-up") steroids such as testosterone ushered in a new bodybuilding look that was larger and more muscularly pronounced than ever before."

"During the early 1960s, the magazines emphasized caution about steroids. They acknowledged the rumors concerning Bill Pearl and others but tried to steer their readers away by stating that the drugs didn’t work, wouldn’t produce what bodybuilders expected, or were outright dangerous. Both Iron Man and Muscle Builder magazines warned of side effects and published articles claiming much better results with high-protein products. But behind the scenes, the athletes knew that they worked. Pearl openly acknowledged that he used them for a final time in 1961 to prepare for the 1961 National Amateur Bodybuilding Association (NABBA) Mr. Universe contest. He stated that the drugs by then were no longer underground but well known to the top bodybuilders."

"Still, most athletes relied on diet for strength-building, and protein occupied a large percentage of that diet. In the early 1960s, Irving Johnson targeted elite bodybuilders with a milk-and-egg protein blend considered far superior to competing products--including an earlier product of his own--based on soy. By the mid 60s, ads for Johnson’s protein blend began appearing in the bodybuilding magazines. At that time he changed his name to Rheo H. Blair. Blair claimed that his protein powder was made from milk and eggs obtained from animals raised on the rich soil of Wisconsin and that the proteins were extracted at very low temperatures. Wary of the difficulty some might have digesting all that protein, he endorsed hydrochloric acid supplements, to be taken with any protein meal. He also sold supplements such as amino acids, liver extract, B-complex and soybro (a combination of wheat germ, rice germ and soy germ oils). In 1966 he introduced a new protein formula which he claimed had a biological value resembling mother’s milk."

"Blair promoted his products with skillful salesmanship but he also made an important suggestion that would ensure that his products actually worked--he insisted that his protein be taken with raw cream or half and half. He was smart enough to know that you must replace the fat removed from protein during processing. He also recognized the benefits of raw dairy products. Athletes of the 1960s used a variety of recipes, varying the proportions of Blair’s protein product with raw cream, raw milk and raw egg yolk. Weight-trainer Don Howorth remembers eating 3 dozen eggs, 1 quart raw cream, and 2 pounds ground sirloin along with 2-3 cups of Blair’s protein powder per day."

"Blair had a special method for cooking his eggs. He did not cook them in boiling water but recommended cooking many eggs at one time in water maintained at 181 degrees for 31 minutes. The eggs were then left in the water to cool down slowly. Blair claimed that putting the eggs under cold water "shocked" many of the nutrients, rendering them ineffective and that cooking eggs in this fashion preserved much of their nutritional value."

"It is interesting to read Perry Rader’s "Reader Roundup" column in his Iron Man magazine during this time. He tries to explain the spectacular gains made by some of the popular bodybuilders who were using Blair’s products. Many of them were eating 6000 to 9000 calories a day in the same fashion as Don Howorth and gaining muscle while maintaining or even trimming their waist size. Rader published Blair’s response in a 1966 issue of Iron Man. Blair claimed that his protein powders, along with all of his other supplements, were formulated in a special manner to metabolize fat more efficiently. He also warned that taking cream with any protein powder other than his own would result in fat accumulation."

"But Blair could not help knowing that these dramatic results were not achieved on food and protein powders alone. Bodybuilders knew that they could expect to build muscle consuming 8000 calories per day, but not lose fat at the same time. That required some additional anabolic assistance. Blair knew his guys were taking steroids. Don Howorth readily admitted his past use of Dianabol, but was adamant about the importance of diet along with it. In fact, some bodybuilders were quite open about drugs. When Larry Scott, two-time winner of Mr. Olympia, was asked about his steroid use he said without hesitation, "Sure, doesn’t everyone?" However, the bodybuilding magazines continued the deception that the new, larger physiques were built on powders and supplements. Thus steroid use artificially inflated the already marketable commodities of bodybuilding."
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html









Mountain Man: (1973-present)

"There were generations of strength men and physique builders from the turn of the century to the steroid era beginning in the 60's. The information was handed from one person to the next and was refined over the decades. These men knew what worked and what didn't. The information was absolutely pure as it related to building the physique naturally."

"Then came the steroid era and the magazines that promoted the steroid physique. They would report the nutrition and training techniques of their steroid stars which have little or no bearing on what naturals should do. Mix in political correctness (read: low fat diets and the lot), supplement companies that want you to believe that you will make greater gains from their products than you can from the best of nutrition, the scientific studies that have very little real life application - yet are held as gospel - and I have no doubt that the waters have been muddied so much that the collective nutrition wisdom of the natural bodybuilding culture has actually regressed over the past 40 or 50 years, rather than been advanced. In other words, they knew more then than we do now."
http://eatcleanlifthard.com/forum/sh...=9646#post9646

"They're (steroid users) getting all the help they need; they don't need the anabolic properties of diet like us mortals, nor should we emulate their nutrition."
http://eatcleanlifthard.com/forum/sh...1700#post21700











The End:

"Bodybuilders started stacking these hormones like regular anabolic steroids along with estrogen blockers, growth hormone enhancers, cortisone inhibitors, stimulators (ephedra), creatine, protein powders and, if there was any cash left, perhaps some vitamins. The recommended diet today is high-carb, high-protein, and low in fat--skim milk, egg whites, protein powders. . . anything but real whole foods. It’s no surprise that early natural bodybuilders, such as LaLanne, Tanny, Gironda and Grimek, enjoyed good longevity in the sport while the health of today’s muscle stars is a huge question mark. As five-time Mr. Universe Bill Pearl recently remarked: "The guy left standing on the stage today at the end of a bodybuilding show is probably the guy in the arena who is closest to death.""

"It’s unfortunate that today’s young athletes who have that genetic potential to excel in bodybuilding really have no choice but to go down that pharmaceutical road if they want to achieve top honors at the shows. A friend of mine and long time gym owner Marty Hodgson stated to me, "We must remember it was in fact drugs that played a significant role in building those comic book characteristics that attracted us to the sport over the past 40 years. But those very substances that help make the sport are the same ones that are, with no doubt, destroying it.""
http://www.westonaprice.org/men/splendidspecimens.html

[deejaykaydee]

Couldn't sleep, so I read all of it - including some of the links.

Later I sumbled upon bb.com's steriods forum. It's very sad.

[Timpl235]

I read it all. I've actually read up on quite a few of these guys already. When i first started lifting i idolized the guys of todays mr olympia. When i realized they were all a bunch of roided mother fuckers i looked into natural bodybuilding and came across a few of these guys before as pioneers. I like the message it's sending i wish a lot more people today could see this post.

[MarkusWolf]

Quite telling, that quote about how today's most successful bodybuilders are often the ones closest to death. I know a previous Mr. Minnesota who was absolutely huge. An awesome specimen. Now, years later, he is morbidly obese. He can barely walk across a room without sweating and wheezing. It's obvious he could die at any moment of a heart attack, and his quality of life in his mid 50s is horrible. It is sad, because he is actually a pretty nice guy. Hmm, maybe I will eat two eggs instead of 36.

[heyzeus909]

...maybe I will eat two eggs instead of 36.

Ugh.

I'm truly sorry that's what you walked away from that post with. I wouldn't have posted it if I would have known.

[Bocasean]

Grimek and the majority of the York Barbell kids were all early juicers from my understanding. I have NO IDEA, though, what kinds of steroids where used back then and in what quantity. I can't even have an intelligent discussion with anyone if it goes into prohormones, let alone anabolic steroids, so it's beyond my comprehension.

[Rockwild]

Good read Moutain Man..

This week I'm adding the 4 hard boiled eggs.. on top of what I eat for breakfast daily.. ( 10 daily ).. Don't think I could eat 36...( I'd rather drink milk and eat steak.

[King_Marmoset!]

For those of you keeping score, these men averaged 80.2 years of life.

Note: Despite still being alive, I counted Tanny (born in 1920) and LaLanne's ages in this. They are actually still bringing the average up with their longevity. I did not count Mountain Man.

Eugen Sandow died prematurely from Syphilis. Arthur Saxon died prematurely due to complications from malnutrition inflicted during WW1. If these 2 premature deaths are removed the average life span is 87.6 years of life and counting.

These statistics don't prove anything, but they are noteworthy.

[deejaykaydee]

He felt strongly that fasting was one of the surest ways to physical health.

Are there any real benifits to fasting?

[Patrick]

Every day I seem to lean more and more towards good, natural, whole foods. Its a shame they aren't as available as they should be. But then all those companies that supply the SHIT we eat would go out of business. What a shame that would be! FUCK! It seems that the people that advocate the things that are actually good for US and not good for big business get swept under the rug. I personally have only heard of 2 or 3 of those guys. Albeit some of them go back quite a ways. But regardless, its time the rug gets rolled up and put in the closet, because people need to wake up and eat their eggs dammit! I think the world is ready to hear what these men, mountain man included, are advocating. With all the fad diets that go around, people are desperate to find what truly works. The time is now gentlemen.

Thanks for another outstanding, eye opening post MM.

Ego Animus Invalesco