Skip to main content

synthetic vitamins and carbs bad....fat good....

Here is just a quick couple of tit-bits for the weekend:


Serious Dangers of Synthetic & Unnatural Vitamins (pdf) - Phil Maffetone looks at the same issue that I have pointed to recently. I really like Dr Maffetone. While I do not always agree with him, especially with respect to exercise, I think he was ahead of his time on things like shoes (simple, cheap and flat) and diet (low carb, higher fat).

Animal foods linked with reduced risk of breast cancer, while starch found to be associated with enhanced risk - Dr Briffa highlights "a piece of research which supports the notion that animal foods, even those rich in saturated fat, are not the dietary spectres they are so often made out to be. In addition, and I do think this is very important, it again supports the notion that the oh-so-health starchy carbs we are generally encouraged to have are fill of may have serious negative consequences for our health."


Comments

Stephan Guyenet said…
I agree with Dr. Maffetone on this. Synthetic and isolated nutrients are just as unnatural to our metabolism as refined carb.

We just don't know the long-term effects of these things because no one's ever looked. And no one ever will, because you can't study every single different multivitamin to see how these things act in concert over a long period of time.

The same goes for non-vitamin antioxidants. At least we know vitamins can cure deficiencies. There's no good evidence in humans to support taking antioxidant supplements that I know of. There's not even any reason to seek out antioxidant-rich food. Most of those compounds get broken down in a hurry anyway.
Chris said…
Thanks for the comment. From what I'm reading I would agree with every word!
Dr. B G said…
I just discovered your blog from Heartcipher and Hyperlipid... you ROCK! I totally agree on the fake synthetic analogue vitamins (and other hormones horse-estrogen, provera, etc).
THank you for sharing your insights on articles and fitness. I've been doing mini-tri's and gonna do a real tri this summer. I think your advice will help my performance!

Have you ever had your vitamin D level checked? deficiency is a lot more common (even in athletes outdoors) than imagined.
http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/search?q=athlete

Respect, G

Popular posts from this blog

Dry January

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was taking part in "Dry January".  I didn't make a big song and dance about it, but I decided to go for a calendar month or so with no alcohol.  A few people have asked me about my experience, so here are a few points. Why take a break from drinking? Alcohol is an interesting topic.  As a drug it is widely accepted in society, central to so much of our socialising and leisure.  There seem to be lots of health benefits - so we are told - yet there are also a lot of problems in terms of health, relationships and lifestyle that come from drinking. Over a few years I'd begun to become aware and then concerned that I was drinking too much and too regularly.  I am in a busy and stressful job and sometimes a glass of wine after work to relax is really helpful.  But over time, one glass became two.  Two glasses became ....I might as well finish the bottle.  A habit got established....and was starting to get too e...

So where have I been?

You will have noticed that this blog has been quiet for a while....  There are a few reasons for that, reasons that I thought I'd list here: WORK -  my day job has been incredibly busy and stressful this year. Working 10-14 hour days the last thing on my mind when I got home was putting something on here.  FACEBOOK/TWITTER - I suppose I've been using other channels to do some of what I used to do here. Quick fire posts pointing to interesting studies or news etc tend to get posted to Twitter (@chrishighcock) or to the Facebook Hillfit group http://www.facebook.com/groups/263083947097000/  REASSESSMENT - I've found myself less comfortable with some of the positions I've taken in the past. Sometimes I'm embarrassed by some of the things I've promoted. I'm not Paleo or low carb. I think Tabata and intervals are misunderstood and misapplied. I cannot really claim to be HIT.   I find myselfunable  honestly to post things on here and pretend that I am some sort o...

Taking up space for a brief update

I've a couple of posts in draft that I will get up soon -  an update / reflection on Dry January and some thoughts on the scheduling benefits of short workouts if your life is busy.  Before that though, I am pointing to something else. However, I wanted to highlight something that is coming this weekend that I've been involved in.   Amber Rogers (Gokaleo and author of Taking Up Space ) has been pulling together a bundle of books from various authors with a common theme, one that I've been pushing here recently.   Keep it simple, avoid the hype, be patient, be consistent and flee the gurus.   I've talked before about how we get obsessed with pushing for more and more, when enough is OK.  I've given my view that so much of the health and fitness internet world is more like a gnostic religion than something that will benefit your life. There are other voices out there saying similar things and I'll be pointing to a bundle of books later this week ...