tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84726972024-03-12T18:03:49.993-04:00Fanatic CookBixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.comBlogger1724125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-54142712592729793322014-10-02T15:48:00.001-04:002017-03-18T07:06:28.640-04:00Back At Fanaticcook.comI'm back blogging at <a href="http://fanaticcook.com/">fanaticcook.com</a>. Sorry for the inconvenience!Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-73436817439563451312014-10-01T13:17:00.000-04:002014-10-01T14:15:25.886-04:00Engine 2 Food Line Expanding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-56K0Qlp_dUY/VCwx2nTm7nI/AAAAAAAAHi8/2dad3oHv7UM/s1600/Engine2GrainBlends5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-56K0Qlp_dUY/VCwx2nTm7nI/AAAAAAAAHi8/2dad3oHv7UM/s1600/Engine2GrainBlends5.jpg" height="246" width="320" /></a></div>Rip Esselstyn's <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthy-eating/engine-2" target="_blank">Engine 2 Food Line</a> has been expanding. I've tried his Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (there's also a Traditional and a Jalapeno Cilantro), the Ancient Grains tortilla (thicker than a whole wheat tortilla, very flavorful), and the frozen grain blends (shown) which I'm currently hooked on. They're real time-savers. He has 4 blends:<br />
<br />
<b>Ancient Grains</b>: Organic Quinoa, Organic Farro, Organic Red Lentils, Organic Brown Rice, Organic Black Barley.<br />
<b>Wild Rice</b>: Organic Wild Rice, Organic Black Barley, Organic Brown Rice, Organic Scallions, Organic Celery.<br />
<b>Fiesta</b>: Organic Brown Rice, Organic Black Beans, Organic Sweet Corn, Organic Red Bell Peppers, Organic Poblano Peppers.<br />
<b>Morning</b>: Organic Wheat Berries, Organic Farro, Organic Black Barley, Organic Golden Raisins.<br />
<br />
All of his foods (<a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthy-eating/engine-2" target="_blank" />according to Whole Foods</a>, the only distributor right now) have:<br />
<ul><li>Zero animal products</li>
<li>No added oils...ever!</li>
<li>100% whole grains</li>
<li>Minimal added sugar, if at all</li>
<li>Less than 25% total calories from fat</li>
<li>Less than 1:1 ratio of milligrams of sodium to calories (Exception: Condiments)</li>
</ul><br />
He also has some frozen burgers I want to try. From <a href="http://engine2diet.com/the-daily-beet/food-line-update-plus-a-recipe-contest/" target="_blank">his site</a>:<br />
<blockquote>Using only whole food ingredients, these plant burgers are not held together by funky binders. Instead, sweet potatoes, rolled oats, brown rice, or quinoa work together to create a tasty & satiating plant burger. The kind that you will want to sink your teeth into! Crumble into soup, salad, casseroles or onto pizza and pasta dishes! What the heck, enjoy one for breakfast -just because you can! Your buns will never be the same!</blockquote><br />
<b>Curried Lentil</b>: Gold and brown lentils unite with sweet potatoes, carrots, brown rice, and yellow curry.<br />
<b>Poblano Black Bean</b>: Black beans, brown rice, and tomatoes team up with oats, roasted poblano peppers, and spices to deliver a savory Southwest flavor. <br />
<b>Thai Basil Edamame</b>: “East” meets West when edamame, Thai basil, and ginger combine with sweet potatoes, quinoa, radishes, and brown rice. This burger delivers a fabulous fusion of flavor!<br />
<b>Tuscan Kale White Bean</b>: Tuscan kale, white beans, and brown rice pair with roasted peppers, basil, and roasted garlic to deliver this Mediterranean masterpiece.<br />
<br />
I know I sound like an advertisement but for me these foods are a great find. They're a bit pricy but there are some great ideas here for making your own. <br />
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<br />
Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-78425556660552351902014-10-01T08:24:00.001-04:002014-10-01T08:24:28.154-04:00Small Amounts of Dietary Cholesterol Cause Arterial Lesions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpunkxwryA3WhTmiSHMOIberaCm72mg5C_dUfPp7bNJhfTmiqL-W4n1UcOzeFxQ7fKfgOPrleRUJL16msbjXLCxsg4zXiYy6ggOD0ZNL3PKYaIpOB4Lqv9w8-DhV5nF0Cdh3tjew/s1600/EggsFried.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpunkxwryA3WhTmiSHMOIberaCm72mg5C_dUfPp7bNJhfTmiqL-W4n1UcOzeFxQ7fKfgOPrleRUJL16msbjXLCxsg4zXiYy6ggOD0ZNL3PKYaIpOB4Lqv9w8-DhV5nF0Cdh3tjew/s1600/EggsFried.jpg" height="248" width="330" /></a>The topic of eggs came up recently. It reminded me of this older study from the American Heart Association: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://circres.ahajournals.org/content/34/4/447.full.pdf+html" target="_blank">Intimal Thickening in Normocholesterolemic Rhesus Monkeys Fed Low Supplements of Dietary Cholesterol</a>, Circulation Research, 1974 <br />
<br />
Rhesus monkeys were fed a high-fat diet containing either 0, 43, or 129 micrograms/kcal of cholesterol a day for 18 months. There was a cholesterol-free control group: <br />
<br />
<ul><li>Control: No cholesterol </li>
<li>Group 1: about 25.8 milligrams cholesterol (~86mg chol for a human eating 2000 kcal, about <a href="http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2" target="_blank">half a small egg</a>) </li>
<li>Group 2: about 77.4 milligrams cholesterol (~258 chol for a human, about <a href="http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2" target="_blank">1 jumbo egg</a>) </li>
<li>Group 3: about 232.2 milligrams cholesterol (~774 chol for a human, about <a href="http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/111/2" target="_blank">3 extra large eggs</a>)</li>
</ul><br />
After 18 months, addition of dietary cholesterol increased plasma cholesterol in all groups; increases were evident within the first 2 weeks: <br />
<br />
<ul><li>Group 1: Baseline cholesterol:115 mg/dl, After 18 months: 130mg/dl </li>
<li>Group 2: Baseline cholesterol:117 mg/dl, After 18 months: 168mg/dl </li>
<li>Group 3: Baseline cholesterol:115 mg/dl, After 18 months: 392mg/dl</li>
</ul><br />
Since Group 3's total cholesterol rose so high, they were excluded from further analysis. <br />
<br />
Additional findings: <br />
<blockquote>"A decrease in HDL and an increase in LDL cholesterol occurred after cholesterol feeding." <br />
<br />
"<b>Clearly elevated lesions [on the aorta] were positively identified only in the [cholesterol-fed] monkeys</b>." <br />
<br />
"The [cholesterol-fed] monkeys had more intimal thickening expressed as cross-sectional area than did the control group. ... The involved areas contained significant fibrous and lipid elements. Foam cells were seen to a variable and sometimes prominent degree." <br />
<br />
"The monkeys fed the higher amount of dietary cholesterol showed an increase in hepatic [liver] cholesterol." <br />
<br />
"The fact that lipid absorbed from the gut enters the arterial wall is well established." (They discussed this.)</blockquote>This first photo, Figure 5, was from the group receiving the human equivalent of 86mg cholesterol, or what you get in about a half of a small egg. I was surprised there was this much narrowing in just 18 months: <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAYfGkAglYfP539SimZpkgGYMdEsXycblukMDxgoQyJDyaFLkiydRLuOdRsO28hWMblflCCEnZ7kRDm9EVp9d5krETPMTst6-SgDxozilTwObBseqaHMLaVLO0OCBHS9_k6s5AA/s1600/CholesterolMonkey2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAYfGkAglYfP539SimZpkgGYMdEsXycblukMDxgoQyJDyaFLkiydRLuOdRsO28hWMblflCCEnZ7kRDm9EVp9d5krETPMTst6-SgDxozilTwObBseqaHMLaVLO0OCBHS9_k6s5AA/s400/CholesterolMonkey2.jpg" height="372" width="377" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj673wxX-lc0ZS992gqUaFznQ-wMXHIzY0Grs4cR2UqTenEAq5iL7GJM7Ol3PVCwJgBOQTgbDiHgwC52klYdnsQMiigoUNFZ074XIP5pbxh7dcvopp3ZR0kdAMkAAsJRvjfOREloQ/s1600/CholesterolMonkey1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj673wxX-lc0ZS992gqUaFznQ-wMXHIzY0Grs4cR2UqTenEAq5iL7GJM7Ol3PVCwJgBOQTgbDiHgwC52klYdnsQMiigoUNFZ074XIP5pbxh7dcvopp3ZR0kdAMkAAsJRvjfOREloQ/s400/CholesterolMonkey1.jpg" height="400" width="364" /></a> <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZ9N_RMUn0ehbYunlqvotAl9XqCgptJ_GGCUtyEZO2STRt4OPdyF8MkS-A8iEXp6R0bS3tQJsqYI_qpM7crbDmhnfyVnYzp8iG6c52_6HiQ239I4vrr-lgj__lYSAJQf2Jzgp3Q/s1600/CholesterolMonkey3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZ9N_RMUn0ehbYunlqvotAl9XqCgptJ_GGCUtyEZO2STRt4OPdyF8MkS-A8iEXp6R0bS3tQJsqYI_qpM7crbDmhnfyVnYzp8iG6c52_6HiQ239I4vrr-lgj__lYSAJQf2Jzgp3Q/s400/CholesterolMonkey3.jpg" height="389" width="377" /></a> <br />
<br />
This point was notable: <br />
<blockquote>"The regimen for group 1 was originally designed to demonstrate a null point of the effect of dietary cholesterol on the arterial intima. However, such a point was not found; no threshold for dietary cholesterol was established with respect to a putatively adverse effect on arteries."</blockquote>They thought that Group 1 monkeys, who received the smallest amount of dietary cholesterol (equivalent to about 86mg cholesterol/day for humans), would not experience adverse effects. They did. <br />
<br />
What's an occasional egg? From <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989358/" target="_blank">Spence's earlier paper</a>: <br />
<blockquote>"The effects of dietary cholesterol on serum cholesterol are, in part, dependent on the diet and the characteristics of the individual consuming the cholesterol. <b>Dietary cholesterol has a much greater effect on people consuming a low-cholesterol diet</b>, with a threshold effect as shown by Connor et al. In their 1961 study, Connor et al also showed that egg yolk, containing 240 mg of cholesterol, had a greater hyperlipidemic effect than pure crystalline cholesterol dissolved in oil. <b>In people consuming a low-cholesterol diet, egg yolk intake increased fasting serum cholesterol level by 40 mg/dL</b>."</blockquote>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-43357877074287910052014-09-30T07:33:00.000-04:002014-09-30T07:33:31.161-04:00Artificial Sweeteners Cause High Blood Glucose In Mice And Humans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C6oWsT2AsWo/VCqUoTqUkoI/AAAAAAAAHhk/NB98i2jBJDI/s1600/ArtificialSweeteners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C6oWsT2AsWo/VCqUoTqUkoI/AAAAAAAAHhk/NB98i2jBJDI/s1600/ArtificialSweeteners.jpg" height="154" width="320" /></a></div>
A recent article in The Economist said "consuming [artificial sweeteners] might - ironically, and in defiance of common sense - be associated with obesity."<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21613311-sugar-substitutes-may-mess-gut-bacteriacausing-obesity" target="_blank">Saccharin Solution? Sugar Substitutes May Mess With Gut Bacteria - Causing Obesity In The Process</a>, The Economist, 20 September 2014<br />
<blockquote>
A paper just published in Nature<sup>1</sup> ... provides a big dollop of evidence in support of an emerging idea that artificial sweeteners are not directly bad for people (humans cannot even digest most of them). Rather, they may be bad for the zillions of microbes that live in people’s guts - and this, in turn, may be bad for their human hosts.<br />
<br />
Three groups of rodents were given water containing aspartame, sucralose or saccharin, three common commercial sugar substitutes. Three control groups were given plain water or water laced with glucose or sucrose—sugars from which the body can extract energy.<br />
<br />
After a week, Dr Elinav and Dr Segal gave their animals a hefty dose of glucose and measured how well they processed it (inability to do so properly is a risk factor for obesity, and is characteristic of diabetes). <b>The mice drinking the artificial sweeteners had higher levels of glucose in their blood than did their confrères who had been sipping water or ordinary sugar.</b><br />
<br />
To check whether the sweeteners were affecting the murine microbiome, the researchers dosed their mice with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Sure enough, killing off the gut bacteria reversed the metabolic changes. To make doubly sure, they transplanted faeces from mice that had been drinking artificial sweeteners into others that had been raised in sterile conditions, and which, therefore, had no gut bacteria of their own. Once the transplanted bacteria had colonised their new hosts, these too began showing signs of glucose intolerance<br />
<br />
Gene sequencing confirmed that mice fed artificial sweeteners had a notably different set of bacteria living in their guts from those fed on the natural kind. Intriguingly, the microbiomes of the sweetener-fed mice looked a lot like those found, by other studies, in obese individuals.</blockquote>
Here's the study's press release, and an excerpt about the team's pilot study on humans:<br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/news/sugar-substitutes-linked-to-obesity-1.15938" target="_blank">Sugar Substitutes Linked To Obesity</a>, Nature, 17 September 2014<br />
<blockquote>
So his team recruited seven lean and healthy volunteers, who did not normally use artificial sweeteners, for a small prospective study. The recruits consumed the maximum acceptable daily dose of artificial sweeteners for a week. <b>Four became glucose intolerant</b>, and their gut microbiomes shifted towards a balance already known to be associated with susceptibility to metabolic diseases.</blockquote>
Why only 4 out of the 7? Back to The Economist:<br />
<blockquote>
Unlike those of mice - animals which are enthusiastic eaters of each others’ faeces, and which thereby regularly swap gut bacteria - the microbiomes of humans differ from one individual to the next, says Dr Elinav. It is a lot to hang on one small experiment, but if the unpleasant effects of artificial sweeteners affect only some people, that could explain why the large epidemiological studies have failed to find that they consistently make people fat.</blockquote>
So, eating sugar resulted in lower blood glucose than eating artificial sweeteners - in mice and in some humans. Do the new soda taxes apply to non-caloric sweeteners too?<br />
<br />
Another thought ... if something as benign, or thought to be as benign as an artificial sweetener can markedly affect glucose tolerance, what are other chemicals doing?<br />
<br />
<sup>1</sup> <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13793.html" target="_blank">Artificial Sweeteners Induce Glucose Intolerance By Altering The Gut Microbiota</a>, Nature, 17 September 2014Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-63583902332843067652014-09-30T07:14:00.001-04:002014-09-30T07:14:33.360-04:00Pumpkin Oatmeal With Corn GritsI just made this for breakfast. It was so good I had to immortalize it in a photo:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iP0ClT8wP5c/VCqOXhyHJoI/AAAAAAAAHhU/TlaHf2-PWzM/s1600/PumpkinOatmeal3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iP0ClT8wP5c/VCqOXhyHJoI/AAAAAAAAHhU/TlaHf2-PWzM/s1600/PumpkinOatmeal3.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Maybe it doesn't look at good as it tasted. To be honest, I'm more into taste and technique than presentation. In fact, I took the photo while it was still in the pot because I knew that was the last place it would be before my mouth. Oh well.
<br />
<br />
Here's what it was. It cooks up fast:
<br />
<br />
3 tablespoons dry oatmeal, quick-cooking<br />
3 tablespoons dry corn grits<br />
1 to 2 cups water<br />
2 big dollops precooked winter squash (e.g. pumpkin, kabocha, buttercup, butternut)<br />
Dash cinnamon<br />
Tiny pinches of nutmeg, clove, ginger<br />
Salt to taste<br />
Maple syrup to taste
<br />
<br />
Boil the oats and grits together on high with about 1.5 cups water. I don't measure, I err on too much and just boil the rest away. When the cereal starts to thicken, lower heat and stir until it reaches desired consistency. (If it sticks, remove from heat for a few seconds, stir, and return to heat.) Stir in the pumpkin or squash (I used <a href="http://bonnieplants.com/products/vegetables/squash/buttercup-squash" target="_blank">buttercup squash</a> puree that I made over the weekend), spices, salt, and maple syrup while still warm.
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<br />Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-35192280387147496462014-09-27T07:17:00.000-04:002014-10-01T07:19:52.586-04:00Who Uses Twitter?Are social networking sites like Twitter good <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdsourcing" target="_blank">crowdsourcing</a> tools? Maybe for the crowd that uses them.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QrHmtyhiGUU/VCvjEl9K_yI/AAAAAAAAHig/PywNpUjCYDY/s1600/TwitterUse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QrHmtyhiGUU/VCvjEl9K_yI/AAAAAAAAHig/PywNpUjCYDY/s1600/TwitterUse.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
<br />
The source for this is Ipsos MORI, a market research firm in the UK and Ireland. I don't know what the letters after Male and Female stand for. My hunch is that it has something to do with socioeconomic status.<br />
<br />
I saw this on Twitter.Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-78066972422424262472014-09-24T10:35:00.000-04:002014-09-30T08:16:14.835-04:00Pressure Cooker WorkoutI just pulled out an old Presto pressure cooker. This is probably over 20 years old. I don't even know if they make them like this anymore. The little knob in the lower left sits on top of the vent in the middle of the lid and acts as a pressure regulator. It says it maintains 15 psi while cooking. My goodness it's loud. You get the feeling that at any moment the hot contents of your cooker will burst free and go flying across the kitchen. It's probably why I abandoned it years ago.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TK5NH0TAb2g/VCqee92u_zI/AAAAAAAAHh4/OifwubI_pBY/s1600/PressureCookerPresto3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TK5NH0TAb2g/VCqee92u_zI/AAAAAAAAHh4/OifwubI_pBY/s1600/PressureCookerPresto3.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br />
So far I've made black beans, navy beans, chick peas, apples, and brown rice ... with varying degrees of success. The chick peas made a great hummus and the apple chunks made great applesauce but the black and navy beans I had to cook more after about 30 minutes in the cooker. I'm still experimenting... Does anyone out there regularly use a pressure cooker?Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-29661274321932521612014-09-23T08:22:00.000-04:002014-09-30T08:28:13.263-04:00The Rice Diet: Forerunner Of Today's Plant-Based DietsWhat would happen if you fed people only white rice, fruit, juice, and sugar? At up to 2400 calories a day? Would they gain weight, lose weight, or stay the same?<br />
<br />
This is what happened when, in the 1940's, doctor Walter Kempner began feeding his patients a rice diet:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ecrnHZfvpPI/VCqg5z9Ng-I/AAAAAAAAHiA/zmD0tXpoQD8/s1600/KempnerRiceDiet2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ecrnHZfvpPI/VCqg5z9Ng-I/AAAAAAAAHiA/zmD0tXpoQD8/s1600/KempnerRiceDiet2.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br />
His initial intention was to feed patients who had advanced renal disease with a diet that would lessen the amount of filtering the kidneys had to do. The diet would reduce nitrogen (from dietary protein), sodium (from salt), etc. White rice fit the bill since it was low in protein and fat while providing all the essential amino acids, and it was widely available. The diet was a success.<sup>1</sup><br />
<blockquote>The refugee with the strong German accent explained his ideas about renal failure to his skeptical medical students. “The problem with renal failure is the resultant metabolic dysfunction. The kidneys excrete waste products, amino acids, keto-acid metabolites, hydrogen ions, the salt that is eaten, and all these things are the result of what the people are eating. Theoretically, we should be able to make them better by reducing the amount of work the kidneys have to do. Namely, we could radically alter the patients’ diets and thereby save lives.” The (Duke University) students challenged the Herr Professor. “Sounds cool but prove it!” And so he did. The ideas behind this gallant hypothesis were not that novel. Others had prescribed various similar ideas about reducing renal work by modifying the diet, particularly in terms of sodium content. However, they had not been that successful in sending the kidneys on vacation. Kempner introduced the first comprehensive (global) dietary program to treat chronic renal disease. By doing so, he revolutionized not only that disease but also the treatment of hypertension, obesity, and a host of other disorders.</blockquote>It was by accident that he discovered the diet could do a lot more than treat kidney disease: <sup>2</sup><br />
<blockquote>A major breakthrough occurred by accident in 1942 when one of Dr. Kempner's patients, a 33-year-old North Carolina woman with chronic glomerulonephritis (kidney disease) and papilledema (eye disease) failed to follow his instructions. Because of Dr. Kempner's heavy German accent she misunderstood his instructions to return in two weeks, and after two months, she finally returned, with no signs of deficiency, but rather with robust health. <b>The woman had experienced a dramatic reduction of her blood pressure, from 190/120 to 124/84 mmHg, resolution of eye damage (retinal hemorrhages and papilledema), and a noticeable decrease in heart size.</b></blockquote>Rice, fruit, and sugar really was all they were eating. This was not just a diet to which lots of rice was added. It was a diet very low in protein, fat, and sodium: <sup>2</sup><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PgvpY7es7cI/VCqhSJK_dgI/AAAAAAAAHiI/pDf_gX7dQdQ/s1600/KempnerRiceDiet4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PgvpY7es7cI/VCqhSJK_dgI/AAAAAAAAHiI/pDf_gX7dQdQ/s1600/KempnerRiceDiet4.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Dry rice of 250 to 350 grams daily forms the basis of the diet. Any kind of rice is used as long as it contains no milk or salt. The rice is boiled or steamed in plain water or fruit juice, without salt, milk or fat. (One cup of dry white rice weighs about 200 grams, and contains about 13 grams of protein, 150 grams of carbohydrate, 1 gram of fat, and 700 calories.)</li>
<li>Fruit and fruit juices are allowed.</li>
<li>Dried fruits can be used as long as nothing but sugar has been added.</li>
<li>White sugar may be used as desired (ad libitum); on average a patient takes in about 100 grams daily (400 calories) but, if necessary (to maintain body weight), as much as 500 grams (2000 calories) daily has been used.</li>
<li>The nutrient breakdown is about 2,000 to 2,400 calories per day (depending on the patient's body weight): 95% carbohydrate, 4 to 5% protein (20 to 25 grams), 2 to 3% fat (rice is relatively high in the essential fat linoleic acid), 140 milligrams of calcium, and 150 milligrams of sodium daily.</li>
</ul><br />
These photos of a retina that show reversal of diabetic retinopathy (bleeding/hemorrhages and leaking/exudates from blood vessels) are nothing short of remarkable:<sup>3</sup><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4BGX7K4YYoM/VCqhfmoDXHI/AAAAAAAAHiQ/s9MINY-DjvM/s1600/KempnerRiceDiet3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4BGX7K4YYoM/VCqhfmoDXHI/AAAAAAAAHiQ/s9MINY-DjvM/s1600/KempnerRiceDiet3.jpg" /></a></div><br />
And this: <sup>2</sup><br />
<blockquote>His numbers also showed how a high-carbohydrate diet improved blood sugars and often cured type-2 diabetes.</blockquote>A diet of essentially <i>all</i> refined carbohydrate - white rice and white sugar - often cured type 2 diabetes! Why is this knowledge being lost on us? How did it come to pass that high-fat, meat-based diets reign? Because there's little money to be made in telling people to eat rice? <sup>3</sup><br />
<blockquote>In the 1950s, diuretics were introduced for the management of high blood pressure. And still later the direct application of Kempner's dietary regimen diminished as a large array of blood pressure medications — Beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin antagonists, and calcium channel blockers — became available for the management of hypertension. Kempner could take solace in knowing, nevertheless, that his regimen could provide comparable, if not better, results.</blockquote>Many of today's high-carb, plant-based diets are incarnations of Kempner's rice diet from the 1940s.<br />
<br />
______<br />
<sup>1</sup> <a href="http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/64/4/684.extract" target="_blank">Who And What Drove Walter Kempner? The Rice Diet Revisited</a>, Hypertension, October 2014<br />
<sup>2</sup> <a href="https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2013nl/dec/kempner.htm" target="_blank">Walter Kempner, MD - Founder Of The Rice Diet</a>, McDougall Newsletter, December 2013<br />
<sup>3</sup> <a href="http://www.retinalphysician.com/articleviewer.aspx?articleID=101631" target="_blank">Fifty-year Anniversary: Reversal of Diabetic Retinopathy With Rice Diet</a>, Retinal Physician, 2008<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jci.org/articles/view/102357" target="_blank">Dietary Treatment Of Hypertension. Clinical And Metabolic Studies of Patients On The Rice-Fruit Diet</a>, Journal of Clinical Investigation, September 1950Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-24965260455452546502014-09-21T07:23:00.000-04:002014-10-01T07:23:44.016-04:00Obesity Rates Leveling Off, Waist Sizes Still Increasing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xEi4SpsmT2U/VCvj8kmxVNI/AAAAAAAAHis/nOlyKaiVWVc/s1600/VisceralFat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xEi4SpsmT2U/VCvj8kmxVNI/AAAAAAAAHis/nOlyKaiVWVc/s1600/VisceralFat.jpg" /></a></div>
This story got mere mention last week and was promptly buried.<br />
<br />
A letter published in JAMA last week...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1904816" target="_blank">Trends in Mean Waist Circumference And Abdominal Obesity Among US Adults, 1999-2012</a>, Journal of the American Medical Association, 17 September 2014<br />
<br />
...Analyzed data from 32,816 men and women over the age of 20, and found:<br />
<ul>
<li>Average waist circumference increased from 37.6 to 38.8 inches</li>
<li>Average waist circumference for men is now 40 inches</li>
<li>Average waist circumference for women is now 38 inches</li>
<li>Average increase in men was 0.8 inches, women 1.5 inches</li>
<li>Abdominal obesity (belly fat) increased from 46.4% of the population in 1999-2000 to 54.2% in 2011-2012</li>
</ul>
<br />
The <a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/831830" target="_blank">researchers wrote</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
"The reasons for increases in waist circumference in excess of what would be expected from changes in BMI remain speculative, but several factors, including sleep deprivation, endocrine disrupters, and certain medications, have been proposed as potential explanations," they write.<br />
<br />
Carrying too much fat around the middle (waist) can increase the risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.</blockquote>
<br />
I think they're right in the reasons they give ... for why midsections are increasing but weight is not. People say we don't exercise enough; that's why we're getting soft around the middle. It's more than that. Inadequate sleep certainly plays a role. But the real culprit, in my eyes, is endocrine disruptors. We're being exposed to these chemicals like never before. And <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2F1471-2458-12-298/fulltext.html" target="_blank">belly fat, or visceral obesity, is a known side effect</a>.<br />
<br />
________<br />
Related:<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29220000" target="_blank">Waistlines 'Grow An Inch In A Decade' In US</a>, BBC<br />
<a href="http://fanaticcook.com/2014/05/14/animal-fat-is-a-natural-reservoir-for-environmental-pollutants/" target="_blank">Animal Fat Is A Natural Reservoir For Environmental Pollutants</a><br />
<a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186%2F1471-2458-12-298/fulltext.html" target="_blank">Public Health Concern Behind The Exposure To Persistent Organic Pollutants And The Risk Of Metabolic Diseases</a>, BMC Public Health, April 2012Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-49404175389981476852014-07-15T07:31:00.001-04:002014-07-15T07:31:41.736-04:00Drone Snaps Eagle In FlightA drone took a photo of an eagle flying over Bali Barat National Park in Indonesia:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://fanaticcook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DronestagramEagle1stPlace.jpg" target="_blank"><img class="alignnone wp-image-1423" src="http://fanaticcook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DronestagramEagle1stPlace.jpg" alt="DronestagramEagle1stPlace" width="600" height="338" /></a>
<br />
<br />
From: <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28262942" target="_blank">Eagle Shot Wins Drone Photography Competition</a>. More drone photos on <a href="http://www.dronestagr.am/" target="_blank">Dronestagram</a>.Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-13732404343557703722014-07-14T11:08:00.001-04:002014-07-14T11:09:34.797-04:00Olive Oil Shown To Promote Atherosclerosis<a href="http://fanaticcook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/OliveOliPoured2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Olive Oil" class="alignright wp-image-1431" src="http://fanaticcook.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/OliveOliPoured2.jpg" height="303" width="320" /></a>The following studies provide evidence for the atherosclerosis-promoting effect of olive oil, in monkeys, mice, and humans:<br />
<br />
1. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC508167/pdf/1000074.pdf" target="_blank">Hepatic Origin of Cholesteryl Oleate in Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis In African Green Monkeys, Enrichment By Dietary Monounsaturated Fat</a>, Journal of Clinical Investigation, 1997
<blockquote>"[We observed in monkeys] that the <b>amount of coronary artery atherosclerosis was similar in the monounsaturated and saturated fat groups</b>, in spite of the significantly improved LDL cholesterol concentration and LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio in the former."</blockquote>
2. <a href="http://atvb.ahajournals.org/content/18/11/1818.long" target="_blank">Dietary Monounsaturated Fatty Acids Promote Aortic Atherosclerosis In LDL Receptor–Null, Human ApoB100–Overexpressing Transgenic Mice</a>, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 1998
<br />
<br />
Mice were fed one of 6 diets with different fatty acid content: saturated, monounsaturated (cis and trans), polyunsaturated (n-3 and n-6), and a control diet.
<blockquote>
"The reduction in aortic atherosclerosis was not found when either cis or trans monounsaturated fatty acids were fed. Rather, <b>just as much atherosclerosis was seen when cis monounsaturated fat diets were fed as when saturated fat was fed</b>, and significantly more atherosclerosis was seen when the trans monounsaturated fatty acids were fed."
<br />
<br />
<b>This is an important outcome when one considers that monounsaturated fats, often in the form of olive oil, are widely promoted as being healthful and effective for protection against heart disease</b>.</blockquote>
3. <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2899%2903374-7/abstract" target="_blank">Effect Of Fat And Carbohydrate Consumption On Endothelial Function</a>, Lancet, December, 1999
<blockquote>
"Consumption of <b>a meal high in monounsaturated fat was associated with acute impairment of endothelial function when compared with a [low-fat] carbohydrate-rich meal</b>."</blockquote>
4. <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109700008962" target="_blank">The Postprandial Effect Of Components Of The Mediterranean Diet On Endothelial Function</a>, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, November 2000
<blockquote>
"Contrary to part of our hypothesis, our study found that omega-9 (oleic acid)-rich <b>olive oil impairs endothelial function postprandially</b>.
<br />
<br />
The mechanism appears to be oxidative stress because the decrease in FMD was reduced (71%) by the concomitant administration of vitamins C and E. Balsamic vinegar (red wine product) and salad reduced the postprandial impairment in endothelial function to a similar extent (65%).
<br />
<br />
In a clinical study, <b>olive oil was shown to activate coagulation factor VII to the same extent as does butter</b> (44). Thus, olive oil does not have a clearly beneficial effect on vascular function."
<br />
<br />
The major unsaturated fatty acids in olive oil are oleic acid (18:1n-9) and linoleic acid (18:2n-6) (42). <b>A high-oleic and linoleic acid meal has recently been shown to impair FMD in comparison with a low-fat meal</b> (28). (That's the study above by Ong et al.)
<br />
<br />
In terms of their effects on postprandial endothelial function, <b>the beneficial components of the Mediterranean and Lyon Diet Heart Study diets appear to be the antioxidant-rich foods—vegetables, fruits ... not olive oil. Dietary fruits, vegetables, and their products appear to provide some protection against the direct impairment in endothelial function produced by high-fat foods, including olive oil</b>."</blockquote>
<br />
Clearly, olive oil is not the heart-healthy food it's made out to be. It truly is a feat of marketing that a food which has been shown over and over to impair artery function exists in peoples' minds as an elixir. The Mediterranean diet, with its generous portions of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, improves health not because of olive oil, but in spite of it.Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-64446030191769902472013-12-17T08:43:00.000-05:002014-01-02T13:20:21.983-05:0023andMe Suspends Gene TestThis is what you now see when you visit <a href="https://www.23andme.com/" target="_blank">23andMe's site</a>:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TTzo9lB0uj0/UrA3SwFeJwI/AAAAAAAAHWc/Fs5_uOH2OOk/s1600/23andMeSuspend.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="506" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TTzo9lB0uj0/UrA3SwFeJwI/AAAAAAAAHWc/Fs5_uOH2OOk/s1600/23andMeSuspend.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<br />
<br />
23andMe sells (rather, used to sell until the FDA told them to stop) a $99 test kit that tells you your risk for over a hundred diseases by having you mail back your spit and comparing its DNA with other people's DNA.
<br />
<br />
The test was never validated for that use, so the FDA, after years of working with 23andMe, <a href="http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2013/12/fda-orders-genetic-testing-co-23andme.html" target="_blank">told them</a> they "must immediately discontinue marketing the PGS [personal genome service] until such time as it receives FDA marketing authorization."
<br />
<br />
I have read comments from people defending 23andMe, saying the test is valid, implying that the health risks it returns are accurate, generalizable to diverse populations, and actionable. The FDA says otherwise, that the test has not been validated ("we still do not have any assurance that the firm has analytically or clinically validated the PGS for its intended uses".)
<br />
<br />
Is 23andMe selling an insufficiently tested, unvalidated product to an unsuspecting public? Yes, they are. Or, they were.
<br />
<br />
A medical device should be sufficiently validated for its use in assessing risk before it is used as justification for any additional test, any surgery or other intervention, any further expense - to prevent doing more harm<sup>1</sup> than good. Health risks associated with a DNA analysis should be communicated by a team of healthcare professionals, who are prepared to advise on a course of action.
<br />
<br />
Speaking of harm ... See that "I Understand" button at the bottom of their splash screen? Is that there to protect the consumer?
<br />
<center>
________</center>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><sup>1</sup> <a href="http://qz.com/151311/why-23andme-might-have-the-fda-worried-it-gave-me-a-false-result/" target="_blank">Why 23andMe Has The FDA Worried: It Wrongly Told Me I Might Die Young</a></span>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-61036041586664682622013-12-12T12:46:00.001-05:002013-12-12T12:46:30.965-05:00Chris Voigt Ate Only Potatoes For 60 Days, His Health ImprovedChris Voigt is the Executive Director of the Washington State Potato Commission.
<br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bcx8s6OqPRE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"After the USDA had proposed eliminating the potato or restricting its consumption in various federal feeding and nutrition programs, Chris decided to protest these proposals and ate nothing but potatoes for 60 days. His health improved and he lost weight. His potato only diet attracted a lot of media attention, which helped Congress to intervene and save the potato."</blockquote>
Some of his pre and post numbers:
<br />
<br />
<b>Weight:</b>
<br />
Pre: 197 lbs
<br />
Post: 176 lbs
<br />
<br />
<b>Cholesterol:</b>
<br />
Pre:214 mg/dl
<br />
Mid: 162 mg/dl
<br />
Post: 147 mg/dl
<br />
<br />
<b>Fasting Glucose:</b>
<br />
Pre: 104 mg/dl
<br />
Post: 94 mg/dl
<br />
<center>________</center>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-85363561858136040512013-12-09T15:56:00.000-05:002013-12-09T16:03:08.954-05:00Low Vitamin D Not A Cause Of Poor Health, New Study Finds<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-De0fAU5b8CI/UqYtqo5aRrI/AAAAAAAAHWM/PM9HBwXaVFU/s1600/VitaminD1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-De0fAU5b8CI/UqYtqo5aRrI/AAAAAAAAHWM/PM9HBwXaVFU/s1600/VitaminD1.jpg" width="400" /></a>Population studies describe an association between levels of vitamin D and disease ... low vitamin D seems to increase risk for heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and other chronic illnesses. But does it? Supplementation with vitamin D, in intervention studies, does not improve health. What's going on? Autier et al. in this recent analysis say that low vitamin D may merely be a marker for ill health:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(13)70165-7/abstract" target="_blank">Vitamin D Status And Ill Health: A Systematic Review</a>, The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, Online 6 December 2013
<br />
<blockquote>
"We did a systematic search of prospective and intervention studies that assessed the effect of 25(OH)D concentrations on non-skeletal health outcomes in individuals aged 18 years or older. We identified 290 prospective cohort studies (279 on disease occurrence or mortality, and 11 on cancer characteristics or survival), and 172 randomised trials of major health outcomes and of physiological parameters related to disease risk or inflammatory status.
<br />
<br />
Investigators of most <b>prospective studies</b> reported moderate to strong inverse associations between 25(OH)D concentrations and cardiovascular diseases, serum lipid concentrations, inflammation, glucose metabolism disorders, weight gain, infectious diseases, multiple sclerosis, mood disorders, declining cognitive function, impaired physical functioning, and all-cause mortality. High 25(OH)D concentrations were not associated with a lower risk of cancer, except colorectal cancer.
<br />
<br />
Results from <b>intervention studies</b> did not show an effect of vitamin D supplementation on disease occurrence, including colorectal cancer. In 34 intervention studies including 2805 individuals with mean 25(OH)D concentration lower than 50 nmol/L at baseline supplementation with 50 μg* per day or more did not show better results. Supplementation in elderly people (mainly women) with 20 μg vitamin D per day seemed to slightly reduce all-cause mortality.
<br />
<br />
<b>The discrepancy between observational and intervention studies suggests that low 25(OH)D is a marker of ill health. Inflammatory processes involved in disease occurrence and clinical course would reduce 25(OH)D, which would explain why low vitamin D status is reported in a wide range of disorders</b>."</blockquote>
* 50 μg is 50 micrograms or about 2000 IUs
<br />
<br />
Vitamin D has become a darling in the supplement world. That reputation may not be founded. What's more likely is that low vitamin D levels, rather than being a cause of poor health, are a consequence.
<br />
<br />
Lead author of the study, Dr. Autier:<sup>1</sup>
<br />
<blockquote>
"Ageing and inflammatory processes involved in disease occurrence... reduce vitamin D concentrations, which would explain why vitamin D deficiency is reported in a wide range of disorders."</blockquote>
<center>
________</center>
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><sup>1</sup> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25234313" target="_blank">Doubt Cast On Vitamin D's Role Against Disease</a>, BBC, 5 December 2013</span>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-61398942251533576942013-12-07T09:14:00.002-05:002013-12-07T14:15:18.440-05:00Broiled TofuA few slices of tofu, marinated for a couple minutes in a mixture of: tamari, lemon juice, hot mustard, spices (ginger, cumin, coriander, black pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, chipotle).
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yWtbSDf-tX4/UqMhV6UpYMI/AAAAAAAAHV8/Yn-y6v356sU/s1600/TofuBroil2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yWtbSDf-tX4/UqMhV6UpYMI/AAAAAAAAHV8/Yn-y6v356sU/s1600/TofuBroil2.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<br />
That's an inexpensive tile we bought from Home Depot for about 60 cents. It worked great, gave the tofu a nice crust. I turned them a few times. It took about 10 minutes total on a low broil setting.
<br />
<br />
These are great in a sandwich, like a BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato), except a TLT. Especially if you use smoked paprika in the marinade.
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<center>________</center>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-25110867922898091352013-12-05T08:09:00.000-05:002013-12-05T08:11:22.216-05:00"Don't Eat Anything With A Face" Yes Or No? Watch The DebateArguing for the motion (Don't eat anything with a face) were:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Dr. Neal Barnard</b> - Clinical Researcher, Author, President and Founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine</li>
<li><b>Gene Baur</b> - President and Co-Founder of the Farm Sanctuary, Author, Vegan since 1985</li>
</ul>
<br />
Arguing against the motion were:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Chris Masterjohn</b> - Nutritional Sciences Researcher, Blogger at The Daily Lipid hosted on his web site Cholesterol-And-Health.Com, and Mother Nature Obeyed hosted by the Weston A. Price Foundation.</li>
<li><b>Joel Salatin</b> - Farmer, Author. His family’s farm, Polyface, was featured in Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore’s Dilemma" and the documentary Food Inc.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" scrolling="no" src="http://fora.tv/embed?id=18988&type=c" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://fora.tv/v/c18988" target="_blank" />Don't Eat Anything With A Face</a> from <a href="http://fora.tv/partner/Intelligence_Squared_U_S_Debates" target="_blank" /> Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates</a>
<br />
<br />
The Intelligence Squared (IQ2) debates put forward a motion, poll the audience, have the debaters argue the motion, then poll the audience again. The team which succeeds in swaying the most audience members to their position is considered the winner.
<br />
<br />
Poll prior to debate:
<br />
<ul>
<li>For 24%</li>
<li>Against 51%</li>
<li>Undecided 25% </li>
</ul>
<br />
Poll after debate:
<br />
<ul>
<li>For 45%</li>
<li>Against 43%</li>
<li>Undecided 12% </li>
</ul>
<br />
Dr. Neal Barnard and Gene Baur, arguing in favor of not eating animal food, changed the most minds and were declared the winner.
<br />
<br />
There's a robust comment stream on <a href="http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/upcoming-debates/item/910-dont-eat-anything-with-a-face" target="_blank" />IQ2's website</a>.
<center>
________</center>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you, Melinda.</span>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-65669204326972095712013-12-03T09:25:00.000-05:002013-12-03T09:25:54.432-05:00Class Action Law Suit Filed Against 23andMe<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1_l7klavlLw/Up3n4X88ZZI/AAAAAAAAHVc/qRaaE1R6jdE/s1600/23andMeLawSuit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1_l7klavlLw/Up3n4X88ZZI/AAAAAAAAHVc/qRaaE1R6jdE/s1600/23andMeLawSuit.jpg" width="300" /></a>Forbes is reporting that a class action law suit has been filed against the DNA testing company 23andMe:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunro/2013/12/02/class-action-law-suit-filed-against-23andme/" target="_blank">Class Action Law Suit Filed Against 23andMe</a>
<br />
<br />
Here's the filing:
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0zYPQn3U6APbjhyMUxvN2ZtVEU/edit" target="_blank">United States District Court for the Southern District Of California, 27 November 2013, Lisa Casey V. 23andMe</a>
<br />
<br />
The suit alleges:
<br />
<blockquote>
"1. This proposed class action alleges that 23andMe, Inc.(“Defendant”) falsely and misleadingly advertises their Saliva Collection Kit/Personal Genome Service (“PGS”) as providing “health reports on 240+ conditions and traits”, “drug response”, “carrier status”, among other things, when <b>there is no analytical or clinical validation for the PGS for its advertised uses</b>."
<br />
<br />
"2. In addition, Defendant uses the information it collects from the DNA tests consumers pay to take to generate databases and statistical information that it then markets to other sources and the scientific community in general, <b>even though the test results are meaningless</b>."
<br />
<br />
"3. Despite Defendant’s failure to receive marketing authorization or approval from the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), Defendant has slowly increased its list of indications for the PGS, and initiated new marketing campaigns, including television advertisements in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDC Act”)."</blockquote>
Much of this I said in my prior post, <a href="http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2013/12/fda-orders-genetic-testing-co-23andme.html" target="_blank">FDA Ordered Genetic Testing Co. 23andMe To Stop Selling Home Test Kit</a>. I didn't know that 23andMe was turning around and selling consumers' data! Is that what item 2 says? This reminds me of Facebook, where a company lures consumers into divulging personal information then turns around and sells it. I wonder who is buying it.
<br />
<br />
Why doesn't 23andMe just validate it? If they are so sure their service provides meaningful, accurate, health-promoting data, why don't they conduct the studies and submit the results to gain approval? According to the FDA, more than 5 years after they began marketing, they still had not completed studies and had not even started others! No drug company could get away with that.
<br />
<center>
________</center>
Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-47383524850511356572013-12-01T09:34:00.000-05:002013-12-30T15:25:57.182-05:00FDA Ordered Genetic Testing Co. 23andMe To Stop Selling Home Test Kit<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pJ14Z6-pg6k/UptFgjcs8wI/AAAAAAAAHVM/Z_hdsueN99Y/s1600/23andMe2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pJ14Z6-pg6k/UptFgjcs8wI/AAAAAAAAHVM/Z_hdsueN99Y/s1600/23andMe2.jpg" /></a>But 23andMe has continued to sell its $99 "Saliva Collection Kit and Personal Genome Service (PGS)" in the face of this order:
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.23andme.com/">https://www.23andme.com/</a>
<br />
<br />
Here's an excerpt from FDA's Warning Letter to 23andMe:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2013/ucm376296.htm" target="_blank">FDA Warning Letter to 23andMe, Inc. 11/22/13</a>
<br />
<blockquote>
"However, even after these many interactions with 23andMe, <b>we still do not have any assurance that the firm has analytically or clinically validated the PGS for its intended uses</b>, which have expanded from the uses that the firm identified in its submissions. In your letter dated January 9, 2013, you stated that the firm is “completing the additional analytical and clinical validations for the tests that have been submitted” and is “planning extensive labeling studies that will take several months to complete.” Thus, months after you submitted your 510(k)s and more than 5 years after you began marketing, you still had not completed some of the studies and had not even started other studies necessary to support a marketing submission for the PGS.
<br />
<br />
It is now eleven months later, and you have yet to provide FDA with any new information about these tests. You have not worked with us toward de novo classification, did not provide the additional information we requested necessary to complete review of your 510(k)s, and FDA has not received any communication from 23andMe since May. Instead, we have become aware that you have initiated new marketing campaigns, including television commercials that, together with an increasing list of indications, show that you plan to expand the PGS’s uses and consumer base without obtaining marketing authorization from FDA.
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<br />
Therefore, 23andMe must immediately discontinue marketing the PGS until such time as it receives FDA marketing authorization for the device."</blockquote>
They have until December 6 to respond or:
<br />
<blockquote>
"Failure to take adequate corrective action may result in regulatory action being initiated by the Food and Drug Administration without further notice. These actions include, but are not limited to, seizure, injunction, and civil money penalties." </blockquote>
Lots of questions here. If 23andMe's genome service can, as they say, determine risk for disease:
<br />
<ul>
<li>Should insurance companies cover it? Medicare? Our taxes?</li>
<li>Will patients seek care for diseases they don't have? Who will pay for that care (additional cancer screenings, blood tests, surgeries)?</li>
<li><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/video/fda-tells-23andme-to-halt-dna-test-kit-sales-BgXMu_eYT6CfGQ3I1fsLgA.html" target="_blank">Bloomberg said the genome service market is poised to make $25 billion in the next 10 years</a>. Those are our nation's healthcare dollars. We already spend the most per capita on health care compared to all other developed countries (sadly, <a href="http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2013/07/first-comprehensive-analysis-of-disease.html" target="_blank">we rank behind those countries in life expectancy and rates for many chronic diseases and injuries</a>.) Will an extra $25 billion (moving from the pockets of consumers to the coffers of industry) improve our nation's health?</li>
</ul>
<br />
The disease risks produced by 23andMe's test are based on correlations. Many people claim that science based on correlation is junk science. I don't think epidemiology is junk science. As I've said often, epidemiology generates hypotheses which provide the foundation for clinical research. The question is ... how actionable is science based on correlation?<br />
<br />
Not only are the results based on correlations, but the population used for comparison is limited ... those people who had the resources to have their genome analyzed, and who voluntarily offered their results for study. This is not a broad cross-section of the world's population. It's an elite group, characteristics of whom remain proprietary.<br />
<br />
The above addresses external validity, that is, how generalizable results are to other people, other populations. But there is also a problem with internal validity ... how accurate is the test? The consumer spits in a tube and mails it back. Can you think of an instance where the saliva in one's mouth might not contain only the DNA of the person spitting? Can the sample degrade on its trip through our postal system? The FDA also has a problem with its validity: "we still do not have any assurance that the firm has analytically or clinically validated the PGS for its intended uses."<br />
<br />
Genes do not predict risk in a vacuum. They operate in the real world. They interact with what we eat, what drugs we take, what environmental chemicals and radiation we are exposed to, how much or how little sleep and stress and exercise we experience. Love, laughter, grief, loss ... so many things affect the relationship between genes and expression of genes. Assigning risk based on genes alone is fraught. Bernard Munos at Forbes said as much:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmunos/2013/11/29/23andme-a-fumbling-gene-in-its-corporate-dna/" target="_blank">23andMe: A Fumbling Gene In Its Corporate DNA?</a><br />
<blockquote>
"Traditional clinical research faces severe limitations and is ill-suited to help us inderstand the relationship between genotype and phenotype. ... Many flawed genes can produce the same phenotype, and disentangling what causes what is a challenge of staggering complexity."</blockquote>
Finally, how private are the results? Insurance companies and employers have discriminated based on genome reports, even though they're not supposed to (<a href="http://www.genome.gov/24519851" target="_blank">GINA</a>). As we now know, electronic communication is monitored in this country ... even when the communication is encrypted, even when there are laws (<a href="http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/" target="_blank">HIPAA</a>) protecting medical privacy.<br />
<br />
So many questions.<br />
<center>
________</center>
Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-29782362595116831782013-11-23T16:33:00.001-05:002013-11-24T05:49:02.726-05:00Animal Food And Diabetes Don't Mix<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-11UbkLugqeE/UpEdPUA-raI/AAAAAAAAHU8/zqCUjj1Hw3k/s1600/DeliPlatter5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-11UbkLugqeE/UpEdPUA-raI/AAAAAAAAHU8/zqCUjj1Hw3k/s1600/DeliPlatter5.jpg" width="430" /></a>Here are three large, prospective studies, in this year alone, providing evidence that meat and dairy consumption contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes:
<br />
<br />
<b>1.</b> <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00125-012-2718-7" target="_blank">Association Between Dietary Meat Consumption And Incident Type 2 Diabetes: The EPIC-Interact Study</a>, Diabetologia, January 2013
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<br />
16,835 participants.
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<br />
They found a significant association with type 2 diabetes and each of the following: total meat consumption, red meat consumption, and processed meat consumption. The association was dose-dependent; for every 50 gram increase (about 2 ounces) there was a corresponding increase in diabetes risk. For women, there was also an association between poultry consumption and diabetes.
<br />
<blockquote>
"This prospective study confirms a positive association between high consumption of total and red meat and incident type 2 diabetes in a large cohort of European adults."</blockquote>
<b>2.</b> <a href="http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1697785" target="_blank">Changes in Red Meat Consumption and Subsequent Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Three Cohorts of US Men and Women</a>, JAMA Internal Medicine, July 2013
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<br />
149,143 participants
<br />
<blockquote>
"Increasing red meat intake of more than 0.50 servings per day was associated with a 48% elevated risk [of type 2 diabetes] in the subsequent 4-year period."
<br />
<br />
"Our results confirm the robustness of the association between red meat and [type 2 diabetes] and add further evidence that limiting red meat consumption over time confers benefits for [type 2 diabetes] prevention."</blockquote>
A half a serving is just 1 or 2 ounces.
<br />
<br />
<b>3.</b> <a href="http://www.nutrinfo.com/biblioteca/documentos_adicionales/Fagherazzi.pdf" target="_blank">Dietary Acid Load And Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes: The E3N-EPIC Cohort Study</a>, Diabetologia, Published online 11 November 2013
<br />
<br />
66,485 participants.
<br />
<br />
Those consuming foods with the most acid-forming potential had a 56% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Interestingly, women with normal body weight (BMI less than 25) had a 96% increased risk - the highest risk. Overweight women also had an increased risk. They speculated that the association may be independent of body weight.
<br />
<blockquote>
"We have demonstrated for the first time in a large prospective study that dietary acid load was positively associated with type 2 diabetes risk, independently of other known risk factors for diabetes. Our results need to be validated in other populations, and may lead to promotion of diets with a low acid load for the prevention of diabetes. Further research is required on the underlying mechanisms." </blockquote>
The underlying mechanism probably involves insulin resistance. Acidosis interferes with insulin receptor binding.
<br />
<br />
Recall from <a href="http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2010/06/acid-producing-diets.html" target="_blank">this post</a> that a diet with a high acid load is a diet high in meat and other animal protein, especially cheese.
<br />
<center>
________</center>
<br />
Almost every day I hear, "But I can't eat carbohydrate, it raises by blood sugar." "I have to eat meat." If you have diabetes, you have to eat carbohydrates. But you don't eat processed, nutrient-deficient carbohydrates. You eat... Well, here's <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/keith-defeated-diabetes-142338991.html" target="_blank">How Keith Defeated Diabetes</a>:
<br />
<blockquote>
"When Keith was first diagnosed, his HbA1c was a staggering 9 percent. After a few months of healthy eating, his level dipped to 6 percent. In March, Keith and my mother began following a meat-free diet, and now his HbA1c is at 5 percent! Astonished, the doctor declared that Keith no longer had diabetes!"</blockquote>
Keith lowered his blood glucose by eating a whole food, plant-based diet that was high in carbohydrates ("okra, string beans, lettuce, beets, carrots, cantaloupes, peppers, watermelons, tomatoes"). He reduced his blood glucose so much that he stopped using all diabetes medications. If he is holding his HbA1c at 5%, after at least 10 years of diabetes, and without meds, he deserves a medal.
<br />
<center>
________</center>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo of deli platter from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/allyrose18/" target="_blank">allyrose18's Flickr stream</a>.</span>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-34626733959015195112013-11-18T09:18:00.000-05:002013-11-18T09:20:37.395-05:00New AHA Guidelines: "A decision that will benefit the pharmaceutical industry more than anyone else."I've been really busy and haven't had time to post. It's not that there aren't things to post about.
<br />
<br />
Like ... Last week the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology issued new cholesterol guidelines. Those guidelines were accompanied by a calculator. The calculator will help you decide whether you need a statin or not.
<br />
<br />
You can get the actual calculator here:
<br />
<a href="http://my.americanheart.org/professional/StatementsGuidelines/PreventionGuidelines/Prevention-Guidelines_UCM_457698_SubHomePage.jsp" target="_blank" />CV Risk Calculator</a>
<br />
<br />
Click the "Download Risk Calculator" button. It will download an excel file onto your computer. Open the file and plug in your measurements. It will tell you your risk and how it compares to your peer with "optimal" risk factors.
<br />
<br />
This morning the New York Times published:
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/18/health/risk-calculator-for-cholesterol-appears-flawed.html" target="_blank" />Risk Calculator for Cholesterol Appears Flawed</a>
<br />
<br />
Flawed because "... it will increase the number of healthy people for whom statins are recommended by nearly 70 percent," says Dr. Abramson in his opinion piece, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/opinion/dont-give-more-patients-statins.html" target="_blank" />Don't Give People More Statins</a>.
<br />
<br />
And...
<br />
<blockquote>"This announcement is not a result of a sudden epidemic of heart disease, nor is it based on new data showing the benefits of lower cholesterol. Instead, it is a consequence of simply expanding the definition of who should take the drugs — <b>a decision that will benefit the pharmaceutical industry more than anyone else</b>."
<br />
<br />
"This may sound like good news for patients, and it would be — <b>if statins actually offered meaningful protection from our No. 1 killer, heart disease; if they helped people live longer or better; and if they had minimal adverse side effects. However, none of these are the case</b>."</blockquote>
This comment under Abramson's article was chilling:
<br />
<blockquote>"I am a victim of statin "therapy." At the age of 72, with just a moderately high LDL, Simvastatin was prescribed. I took it for approximately 2 weeks, and severe pain developed in my whole body, but, primarily in my lower legs. I read the side effects on line and stopped taking it.
<br />
<br />
The pain went away, but my legs were weak. After much investigation by neurologists at University of California, SFMC, I was diagnosed with <b>statin-induced neuropathy</b>. The calf muscle in both legs has totally gone -- nothing left but sinew. My life has been severely damaged by an inability to walk properly. I cannot raise on my toes. It has been three years since I took this medication, and there is no further hope of recovery. Prior to taking Simvastatin I was an athlete all my life. At the time of this pharmaceutical invasion I was still, hiking, exercising regularly and downhill skiing. Shame of this hired committee of "experts.""</blockquote>
<center>________</center>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-13051978443919812872013-11-14T07:20:00.000-05:002013-11-14T11:43:07.615-05:00Man Vs. ElkHere's a man who got himself into a very compromising position:
<br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xGQExgOxZMQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br />
<center>________</center>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-61692869663279803352013-10-27T06:58:00.000-04:002013-10-27T07:02:54.225-04:00Frozen Berries With Cranberry SauceRB, because you reminded me...
<br />
Frozen berries, defrosting, with a dollop of <a href="http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2007/12/lazy-mans-cranberry-sauce.html" target="_blank" />homemade cranberry sauce</a>. From this morning. It will go into a bowl of oatmeal.
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<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6vYLK5gjkEk/UmzubrVangI/AAAAAAAAHUM/cyWm-U9zdn4/s1600/CranberrySauceBerries2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="467" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6vYLK5gjkEk/UmzubrVangI/AAAAAAAAHUM/cyWm-U9zdn4/s1600/CranberrySauceBerries2.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<br />
<center>________</center>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-62013656771460697482013-10-16T14:50:00.000-04:002013-10-16T14:50:33.584-04:00First Pomegranate Of The SeasonI wash it, slice the top off, cut it into quarters, and submerge them into cold water. (A cleaner operation would be to make about 6 scores in the skin running from top to bottom, then crack it open along the scores.) After a few minutes the skin softens and you can wiggle the kernels out easier.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vgKgRC1_8k/Ul7X29Ti0YI/AAAAAAAAHTU/cATcfeHEnmc/s1600/Pomegranate3.jpg" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="500" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3vgKgRC1_8k/Ul7X29Ti0YI/AAAAAAAAHTU/cATcfeHEnmc/s640/Pomegranate3.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<br />
<br />
The kernels keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can eat them by the spoonful (the outer fruit bursts in your mouth first leaving the nutty seeds left to chew), or the kernels can be blended and strained if the seeds are a nuisance.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UMHlCHoRk9Q/Ul7X20CmPdI/AAAAAAAAHTQ/ezCWsVnFBvg/s1600/Pomegranate2.jpg" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="525" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UMHlCHoRk9Q/Ul7X20CmPdI/AAAAAAAAHTQ/ezCWsVnFBvg/s640/Pomegranate2.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<br />
<br />
By the way, pomegranate juice stains (another good use for handling them under water.) Take a look at my now pink cutting board.
<br />
<center>
________</center>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-1323814376492819972013-10-13T14:30:00.003-04:002013-10-13T14:32:19.647-04:00High Dietary Fat Contributes To Insulin Resistance And DiabetesTom Hanks recently admitted he's been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Hanks is 57 years old:
<br />
<br />
<iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/wBhZoTN2bvM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<br />
<br />
There has been much talk in diabetes circles about Hanks' diagnosis. Subsequently, there has been much talk about the role of sugar and carbohydrate in diabetes development. Unfortunately, there has not been much talk about the role of dietary fat in diabetes development.
<br />
<br />
The topic of dietary fat and its role in diabetes' development comes up often here. Here's <a href="http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2011/01/diabetes-is-disorder-of-fat-metabolism.html" target="_blank">one post</a> that delved into how a high-fat diet contributes to insulin resistance (and subsequently to diabetes, since a body that is resistant to insulin leads to a blood stream with higher levels of glucose that can't enter cells). The study that post referred to was:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.jci.org/articles/view/37048" target="_blank">Mitochondrial H2O2 Emission And Cellular Redox State Link Excess Fat Intake To Insulin Resistance In Both Rodents And Humans</a>, Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2009
<br />
<br />
That study highlighted the role of mitochondria. Here are a few excerpts:
<br />
<blockquote>
"<b>High dietary fat intake leads to insulin resistance in skeletal muscle, and this represents a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes</b> and cardiovascular disease."
<br />
<br />
"Here we show that in skeletal muscle of both rodents and humans, a diet high in fat increases the H2O2-emitting potential of mitochondria, shifts the cellular redox environment to a more oxidized state."
<br />
<br />
"<b>An oversupply of lipids overwhelms the β-oxidation and TCA cycle pathways</b>, generating metabolic intermediates that otherwise are not present." This surplus of intermediates causes "an exponential increase in the rate of H2O2 emission from mitochondria."</blockquote>
So, a high-fat diet overwhelms pathways in mitochondria which results in production of more hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). And that "emission of H2O2 from the mitochondria provides a means of initiating an appropriate counterbalance response — shifting the redox state and <b>decreasing insulin sensitivity in an attempt to restore metabolic balance</b>." This response to a high-fat diet is a <a href="http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/2013/10/insulin-resistance-normal-adaptation-to.html" target="_blank">natural adaptation</a>.
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-riLIpnELSXs/UlqTxymcmLI/AAAAAAAAHTA/b6AUQ7vUkx4/s1600/FatsVisibleInvisible2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-riLIpnELSXs/UlqTxymcmLI/AAAAAAAAHTA/b6AUQ7vUkx4/s1600/FatsVisibleInvisible2.jpg" width="265" /></a>Here's a more recent review. It describes the same mechanism:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/ijosup/journal/v2/n2s/full/ijosup201220a.html">High-Fat Load: Mechanism(s) Of Insulin Resistance In Skeletal Muscle</a>, International Journal of Obesity Supplements, December 2012
<br />
<blockquote>
"Skeletal muscle from sedentary obese patients is characterized by depressed electron transport activity, reduced expression of genes required for oxidative metabolism, altered mitochondrial morphology and lower overall mitochondrial content. These findings imply that obesity, or more likely the metabolic imbalance that causes obesity, leads to a progressive decline in mitochondrial function, eventually culminating in mitochondrial dissolution or mitoptosis.
<br />
<br />
<b>A decrease in the sensitivity of skeletal muscle to insulin represents one of the earliest maladies associated with high dietary fat intake and weight gain</b>. Considerable evidence has accumulated to suggest that the cytosolic ectopic accumulation of fatty acid metabolites, including diacylglycerol and ceramides, underlies the development of insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. However, an alternative mechanism has recently been evolving, which places the etiology of insulin resistance in the context of cellular/mitochondrial bioenergetics and redox systems biology.
<br />
<br />
<b>Overnutrition, particularly from high-fat diets, generates fuel overload within the mitochondria</b>, resulting in the accumulation of partially oxidized acylcarnitines, <b>increased mitochondrial hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) emission</b> and a shift to a more oxidized intracellular redox environment. Blocking H2O2 emission prevents the shift in redox environment and preserves insulin sensitivity, providing evidence that the mitochondrial respiratory system is able to sense and respond to cellular metabolic imbalance.
<br />
<br />
Mitochondrial H2O2 emission is a major regulator of protein redox state, as well as the overall cellular redox environment, raising the intriguing possibility that <b>elevated H2O2 emission from nutrient overload may represent the underlying basis for the development of insulin resistance</b> due to disruption of normal redox control mechanisms regulating protein function, including the insulin signaling and glucose transport processes."</blockquote>
In sum, a high-fat diet contributes to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. It does so by a natural response of mitochondria to overnutrition.
<br />
<center>
________</center>Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8472697.post-23458322849044061652013-10-11T08:48:00.000-04:002013-10-11T08:48:05.245-04:00High Dietary Protein Reduces Exercise Endurance<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ypEK3sC3JVk/UlfxU6dwMhI/AAAAAAAAHSw/Y0hjKq7fvpk/s1600/FaujaSingh2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ypEK3sC3JVk/UlfxU6dwMhI/AAAAAAAAHSw/Y0hjKq7fvpk/s1600/FaujaSingh2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fauja Singh is 102 years old. At the age of 100 he set 5 world running<br />
records for his age group in one day. He attributes his physical fitness<br />
and longevity to abstaining from smoking and alcohol and<br />
to following a simple vegetarian diet.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Well, this is interesting:
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/305/7/E776" target="_blank">Dietary Protein Decreases Exercise Endurance Through Rapamycin-Sensitive Suppression Of Muscle Mitochondria</a>, American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, October 2013
<br />
<blockquote>
"Loss of physical performance is linked not only to decreased activity in daily life but also to increased onset of cardiovascular diseases and mortality. A high-protein diet is recommended for aged individuals in order to preserve muscle mass; however, the regulation of muscle mitochondria by dietary protein has not been clarified.
<br />
<br />
We investigated the long-term effects of a high-protein diet on muscle properties, focusing especially on muscle mitochondria. Mice were fed a high-protein diet from the age of 8 wk and examined for mitochondrial properties and exercise endurance at the ages of 20 and 50 wk.
<br />
<br />
Compared with normal chow, <b>a high-protein diet significantly decreased the amount of muscle mitochondria, mitochondrial activity, and running distance</b> at 50 wk, although it increased muscle mass and grip power. Inhibition of TORC1-dependent signal pathways by rapamycin from 8 wk suppressed the decline in mitochondria and exercise endurance observed when mice were fed the high-protein diet in association with preserved AMPK activity.
<br />
<br />
Collectively, these findings suggest a role for dietary protein as a suppressor of muscle mitochondria and indicate that <b>the age-associated decline in exercise endurance might be accelerated by excessive dietary protein</b> through rapamycin-sensitive suppression of muscle mitochondria."</blockquote>
I wonder if this is related to the anecdotal evidence that people who remove meat and other animal food from their diets experience more energy:
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.details.com/culture-trends/news-and-politics/201008/interview-boxing-mike-tyson" target="_blank">Details</a>: I hear you're vegan now.
<br />
Mike Tyson: Yeah, it's been eight months with this vegan stuff, but I get these explosions of energy. I don't know how long they last, but they're like explosions. So powerful.</blockquote>
<center>
________</center>
Bixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06263963508785739508noreply@blogger.com7