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Bart B. Van Bockstaele

@thamno.bsky.social

75 followers 18 following 490 posts

Medical translator, veteran computer programmer & author of several books on the subject. I love science, language, snakes, nutrition. Lost 65+ kg (143+ pounds) of weight & keeping them off. Not promoting any specific diet but very much in favour of APF.

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · Nov 17

Just a reminder to people who are struggling with their weight that weight loss is *possible* at any age. I went from 127 kg in 2012 to 69 kg in 2022 and am currently hovering around 65 kg.
It took me 40 years to find a solution, I obviously found one that works. At least for me.

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 4d

Excellent and hilarious-while-sad video about the dangers of 'alternative' health. Whether we like it or not, the only alternative to reality is fantasy, and that is not an impressively reliable basis for desirable results. We may not like that, but reality doesn't care about that either.

Gil Carvalho MD PhD @gilcarvalhomdphd.bsky.social · 5d

Scientist Reacts to the most Dangerous Internet Health Fads

Coffee enemas, raw meat/milk, Sun-staring or drinking urine. The craziest practices on the Internet reviewed with a scientific eye
https://youtu.be/BzIKJLvhrD0

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 5d

Wonderful talk by @kevinh-phd.bsky.social‬ that is well worth the time for anybody even remotely interested in weight gain, loss and maintenance.

Pete Scarborough @petescarbs.bsky.social · 6d

Fantastic evening at @oxmartinschool.bsky.social last night with @kevinh-phd.bsky.social giving a talk on "The Calculus of Calories". Really great, nuanced and evidence-based approach to why it it so hard to lose weight, the obesogenic environment and UPFs.

Video below in case you missed it!

'The calculus of calories: food environments and body weight regulation' with Dr Kevin Hall

YouTube video by Oxford Martin School

www.youtube.com

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

When time is short, this is a lifesaver: sprouts/microgreens taken from a drawer next to my desk with TVP, psyllium-spice mix and water. The salt mill does not contain salt but citric acid.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

Glad you like it, Julia. I think you wrote an important book with several subjects that are important to myself (weight loss) and to our society as a whole (food waste, cruelty, environment, poverty) without the usual filler distractions (such as the absence of recipes).

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

I also remember her disagreement with the idea that only humans have feelings (and intelligence). I was always sent to catholic schools and it put me at odds with my teachers. Animals were considered instinctive automatons that had no intelligence and no emotions or feelings. Revolting.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

I thought she was remarkable, and while it is almost insulting to compare them, I loved comparing her to Audrey Hepburn. To me, as a very distant observer who never had contact with them, they seemed to have the same aristocratic gentleness that made them a delight to listen to.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

Here👇is the little blurb about "Food Intelligence", the remarkably enjoyable and intelligent book on food written by @kevinh-phd.bsky.social and @juliabelluz.bsky.social I wrote on Google. I think it deserves many more and better reviews.

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

In short: if you like natto and make it yourself: try these. It is more than worth it.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

In my opinion, of all those I have made, fenugreek stands out and on its own. The effect is surprising and quite yummy. My personal favourite is probably moth bean natto. In some ways, I compare it to caviar, but with a different flavour profile. I love it. But then, I also love plain moth beans.

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

only in mixtures, not on themselves yet. The only "failure" in those mixtures was popping corn, but that was because it was so hard that while it was possible to bite it, it was unpleasant. Non-legume grains are just bound to be "less strong" because they contain significantly less protein.

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

I have made natto with soybeans (yaay!), green peas, black-eyed beans, white pea beans, jumbo lima beans, "black" chickpeas, black turtle beans, moth beans, black matpe beans, green mung beans, crimson lentils, TVP and fenugreek. They also work. I have made it with dried grains as well, but

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

No one will ever mistake traditional soy-bean natto with pea natto but — in my opinion — no one will fail to notice that they are definitely similar.
That said, you can make natto with just about any dried product, as long as it contains bacillus-accessible protein.

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

traditional natto as a flavouring agent. For example, if you eat pure mustard, it tastes and feels how it does, and if you put it on bread, all those characteristics remain, but they are weaker and the bread taste and other sensory properties also come through. In short: it is a blending.

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 6d

I love traditional natto. Do they taste similar? Yes and no. Green-pea natto is definitely natto and the taste is absolutely there. However, it is also *less* sticky, less slimy, less thready and the pea taste is also absolutely there. My best (least bad) way to describe it is to see the

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 8d

Aren't they manly? How brave of them to be protected against local wildlife competition. Reminds me of the Bærskin commercials on YouTube that claim that men are not children... and therefore need a special soft and warm jacket to protect them. This whole manly-man thing is pathetic.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 10d

For people who believe that everything should be "organic", which is said to mean "containing no human-made chemicals": petroleum is perfectly organic. It was created at a time there weren't even any humans around to "contaminate" it with those hated human-made chemicals.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 10d

It's a great book. I finished listening to it and it was a pleasure. Wholly recommended to anyone interested in food and nutrition. It is so refreshing to have a book on food that is both based on reality and not filled with useless recipes. The narrator, Barrie Kreinik, also did a lovely job.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 11d

Since Julia is talking about Paris, I can't help but remember one of the movies I saw when I was 14/15 years old and that is still one of my favourites: "L'aile ou la cuisse" with Louis de Funès and Coluche, where they talk about the US as "le pays de la malbouffe" (the country of bad food):

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 12d

Here is my current number one favourite meal. I have to be careful with it, because it is prone to massive overeating:
Sprouts/microgreens, crushed tomatoes and psyllium with nattou. Insanely delicious.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 13d

I love green peas, but I almost never eat them fresh or frozen. I do cook dried whole green peas and usually eat them as nattou. I love that even more ^_^

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Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 13d

The image has stayed with me until this day. It destroyed my desire to eat fresh oysters, something that I genuinely loved. I never done it since that time, and I won't. My stomach churns when I think of it.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 13d

I asked myself that question when we were told to dissect a mussel in med school, now some 45 years ago. The idea was that they have no brains and therefore no feelings. All I can say for sure, is that my mussel didn't seem to appreciate me poking it and slicing it up with my scalpel.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 13d

Looking forward to it. Since I didn't know about it, I missed it.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 13d

I am using neither. I don't use any oils because I have no use for them. However, I do have a jug of corn oil in my fridge because my intake of omega-6 is usually so low that it could be argued that I am deficient. So I do (occasionally) add it to my diet, when I am not eating soybeans.

Bart B. Van Bockstaele @thamno.bsky.social · 13d

Given the exceedingly impressive value of the conversations I have had with ChatGPT, I think that this would be a great thing for the rest of the world. For the US, it would be great too, on the condition that they desire a return to the dark ages.
Artificial idiocy is not great.