Carb cycling for runners

Carb cycling is something that I am playing with at the moment with the help of Andy at Ripped Body...but that is for another post.  Anyway, I saw this post on carb cycling for runners.  Good stuff:

Carbohydrate Cycling For Runners

Athletes learning from bodybuilders again.

Robb Wolf's Paleo Budget Shopping Guide

If just received a review copy of Robb Wolf's new ebook - a Paleo Budget Shopping Guide - and have been quickly skimming through it.  I like it.

Target

The book is aimed clearly at addressing one key complaint - "I can't afford it!".   People may be convinced that a paleo diet is wise and could solve  their health and performance issues, but it just seems like it would be beyond their wallet.  It is very much a book for this century when many have forgotten how to buy and cook real food.


You can afford it!

Robb sees this very much as an excuse - often it is about making time to shop and cook - and explains how you can improve your diet to adopt a Paleo template without going bankrupt. 

Cook, Plan, Save, Shop and Prepare

Across the ebook's 6 chapters, Robb deals with these key principles.

• Learn to cook - there are preparation methods that make things cheap and easy, like a pressure cooker or slow cooker.
• Plan your meals - a bit of planning will stop waste and allow you to pull together the maximum meal from minimum resources.
• Money Saving tricks - Robb outlines a few ideas on saving money on your shopping - buying in bulk for example and getting ingredients not products so that you are not paying someone else to do the preparation.
• Budget Shopping Priorities - the tweaks....if you can afford organic and grass-fed , what should you go for?
  
• Kitchen tricks - final ideas and hacks for saving time and money in the kitchen...freezing and cooking in bulk for example.

Not just for Paleo 

 Yes this is aimed at paleo adopters.....but I am convinced that there are lessons here that would help any of us...whatever your diet.  If you want to eat real food but are worried about affording it then this book will point you in the right direction.

The Voice

If you listen to Robb's podcasts you will recognise his voice in the writing - it is playful, witty and accessible.  Highly recommended!

Click on the images above or below to buy your copy.

I am not my diet

There is more to me than what I eat or what I believe about what I eat.

The whole debate about carbs is worrying me.   People are not getting it as Dr Kurt Harris says we need to be macro agnostic.  Remove the bad stuff - primarily gluten grains and vegetable oils - then you have a lot of leeway.  But people become so identified with their diets that change becomes a challenge at an ontological level

Real Food hits the Daily Mail

I normally can't stand the hypocrisy and self-righteousness of the Mail (plus its on going cancer chronicles) but this is an interesting account of someone that stopped being a vegan, started eating meat and got healthy.

Damn your low fat diet: How a reformed vegan gorges on all the foods his granny enjoyed... and has never felt better

Stephan on diet (at TED)

Stephan is on of the world's top diet bloggers and researchers.....and a very cool guy

Intermittent, Low-Carbohydrate Diets More Successful Than Standard Dieting

I saw that Jamie ( that paleo guy) had pointed to this study via Twitter

Intermittent, Low-Carbohydrate Diets More Successful Than Standard Dieting

They randomly assigned patients to one of the following diets: a calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet for two days per week; an "ad lib" low-carbohydrate diet in which patients were permitted to eat unlimited protein and healthy fats, such as lean meats, olives and nuts, also for two days per week; and a standard, calorie-restricted daily Mediterranean diet for seven days per week.

Data revealed that both intermittent, low-carbohydrate diets were superior to the standard, daily Mediterranean diet in reducing weight, body fat and insulin resistance. Mean reduction in weight and body fat was roughly 4 kilograms (about 9 pounds) with the intermittent approaches compared with 2.4 kilograms (about 5 pounds) with the standard dietary approach. Insulin resistance reduced by 22 percent with the restricted low-carbohydrate diet and by 14 percent with the "ad lib" low-carbohydrate diet compared with 4 percent with the standard Mediterranean diet.

"It is interesting that the diet that only restricts carbohydrates but allows protein and fats is as effective as the calorie-restricted, low-carbohydrate diet," Harvie said.

This is interesting given some of the material I've had on here before about using a ketogenic diet or intermittent fasting approach to treat cancer

Wise Traditions 2011

 Philip from Wise Traditions asked me to post this.  I am very sympathetic to the Weston A Price movement  which includes great thinkers like Chris Masterjohn





more videos here



Wise Traditions London 2011 - Conference DVD available now

The London Chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation held its second annual conference this year in London, England, featuring seven speakers from USA and Europe and a special movie preview of Trufflepig Film’s soon to be released “The Moo Man”.

We are pleased to announce that the full 14 hours of the conference, with live video and slides, are now available worldwide on four DVDs for the introductory price of just $40 / £25 + free shipping in the USA & Europe, making them the ideal treat for yourself and Christmas/Birthday present for friends and family!

Please visit westonaprice.org/london to purchase DVDs, view preview clips, watch free videos of the 2010 conference, to join our mailing list and find our contact details. Join our mailing list via the website to receive all future announcements about the annual conference and recordings.

Your purchase will help fund future conferences in England and we hope to see the message of the Weston A. Price Foundation continue to grow in the UK and Europe. This Foundation's message is important now more than ever, with the British Prime Minister yesterday proposing a punitive tax on products with greater than 2.6% saturated fat. A tax which has already been imposed upon Denmark and the ironically named Hungary and which is being discussed by some American lawmakers, all the while being surreptitiously promoted for the corporations by the World Health Organisation to impose the USDA's dietary guidelines upon the entire world.

Our next annual conference will be held March 17th 2012 at Epsom Downs Racecourse in London, featuring an exciting group of speakers including Sally Fallon-Morell. We hope to continue to promote familiar speakers to a new audience here and discover local speakers who can infuse our movement with fresh ideas, as has been achieved by the inspirational Wise Traditions conference in America.


Wise Traditions 2011 -- All Regions DVD -- Run time 810 mins on 4 discs

Speakers: Kaayla T. Daniel PhD CCN; Dr Malcolm Kendrick MD; Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, Barry Groves PhD; Zoe Harcombe MA; Graham Harvey & Jerry Brunetti.

Bonus Movie Preview: "The Moo Man", the story of Hook & Son, an English grass fed, dairy which secured its future selling raw milk, butter and cream. Includes discussions with the farmer & filmmaker.

DVD ROM with PowerPoint presentations for download.

Continuing Professional Development (11 hours), accredited by the British Association of Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy.

Purchase DVDs at: westonaprice.org/london

Sugar free products are not healthy.....EAT REAL FOOD!

just a quick one, from the Guardian.  A study in the British Dental Journal, indicates that some of the additives in sugar free products are harmful to teeth.

The literature review, by academics from the universities of Boston, Helsinki and Southern Nevada, concludes: "As the use of sorbitol and xylitol containing products increases, the public should be educated on the hidden risk of dental erosion due to acidic additives, as well as the adverse effects of gastric disturbance and osmotic diarrhoea. Especially in sugar-free products, these adverse effects may be more insidious because the public has blind confidence that they are oral health friendly."

Real food guys.  Eat real food.

multivitamins kill?

Weird - Certain dietary supplements associated with increased risk of death in older women

The authors found that use of most supplements was not associated with reduced total mortality in older women, and many supplements appeared associated with increased mortality risk. After adjustment, use of multivitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper, were all associated with increased risk of death in the study population. Conversely, calcium supplements appear to reduce risk of mortality. The association between supplement intake and mortality risk was strongest with iron, and the authors found a dose-response relationship as increased risk of mortality was seen at progressively lower doses as women aged throughout the study.

Less is more.....

"Dietary supplementation has shifted from preventing deficiency to trying to promote wellness and prevent disease," the authors write. "Until recently, the available data regarding the adverse effects of dietary supplements has been limited and grossly underreported. We think the paradigm 'the more the better' is wrong. One should consider the likely U-shaped relationship between micronutrient status and health."

"We cannot recommend the use of vitamin and mineral supplements as a preventive measure, at least not in a well-nourished population," the authors conclude. "Older women (and perhaps men) may benefit from intake of vitamin D3 supplements, especially if they have insufficient vitamin D supply from the sun and from their diet. The issue of whether to use calcium supplements may require further study."

Stay bad assed

A great post from Craig Z  Everything in Moderation - Diet

The ‘everything in moderation’ argument – which I have heard throughout my life – is the sole refrain of the underpowered. Those that lack the drive to change their situation, regardless of how much encouragement, information or horsepower you offer them.

Don’t listen to them. Never let them convince you to go nowhere.

Stay Badassed.

Danger of being too low carb

Paul of the excellent Perfect Health Diet (buy the book, it is fantastic) has had some posts on the dangers of zero carb diets:


Dangers of Zero-Carb Diets, I: Can There Be a Carbohydrate Deficiency?
Dangers of Zero-Carb Diets, II: Mucus Deficiency and Gastrointestinal Cancers
Danger of Zero-Carb Diets III: Scurvy
Dangers of Zero-Carb Diets, IV: Kidney Stones

All very interesting and challenging.

Here is another possible concern:

High-protein, reduced-carbohydrate weight-loss diets promote metabolite profiles likely to be detrimental to colonic health.

Another possible mechanism: the loss of beneficial compounds produced by gut flora feeding on plant foods.

With less fiber in the diet, there is less butyrate production - butyrate is beneficial. Apparently the high-protein low-carb low-fiber diet causes gut flora to shift to protein metabolism which causes release of toxic nitrogen compounds. Overall gut flora may become more pathogenic, less commensal.

Interesting.

In the last few months I have started eating more carbs.  Sweet potatoes, potatoes and some tapioca.  NO WHEAT, no beer, no bread.   I have started to feel better -  the grain free bit has sorted out my IBS - and am getting leaner.

Interesting that Kurt is also having more carbs recently.

Interview: Drew Baye .....it is about hard work and progression

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Vegan diets are bad for your teeth

Well that's what it seems to say in the results......

Oral implications of the vegan diet: observational study.

RESULTS: The study revealed greater incidence of demineralization and white spots in the vegan subjects compared to the omnivorous ones localized at the neck of the teeth and on the vestibular surfaces of dental elements

The Perfect Health Diet

One blog I am reading a lot of at the moment is Paul's Perfect Health Diet.  I have bought his book and it is excellent, really explaining some of the science behind food in a very accessible way.

It has been steering me more towards a different approach to eating, not paleo as such but simply avoiding toxic foods:  grains and beans mainly, but also vegetable oils and excess fructose.

There is a lot of good discussion on the blog too including around autophagy which I've mentioned here before.

Sugar sends you mad

first of a few posts highlighting some interesting news releases over the last couple of days:

Scientist shows link between diet and onset of mental illness

It is worth reading the report....and I know it is in mice etc but the bit that caught my eye was:

Garner's study raises questions of how diet might be affecting other behavioral or mental illnesses such as autism, Tourette syndrome, trichotillomania and skin-picking. He said that before now, a link between diet and the onset of mental disorders hadn't been shown.

"What if the increase of simple sugars in the American diet is contributing to the increase of these diseases?" Garner said. "Because we fed the mice more tryptophan than in the typical human diet, this experiment doesn't show that, but it certainly makes it a possibility."

Excess frutose again?  Imagine.....more sugar causing disease.  Whatever will they come up with next!

UPDATE see the excellent analysis of this article at Paul's Perfect Health Diet

Grass based health - diet presentation

This is superb!  It is from Peter Ballerstedt, PhD:

A discussion of the difference between the official dietary guidelines (and the "conventional wisdom" they've informed) and what the science has, in fact, shown regarding the importance of animal protein and animal fat in the human diet. The impact of the official dietary guidelines, and the scientific findings, upon animal agriculture is discussed.

Grasse Based Health - Food for Thought from Peter Ballerstedt on Vimeo.

"Food for Thought.” Peter Ballerstedt, PhD.

Emphasise animal fat....minimise carbohydrate.

The Healthy Hair Diet - Review

 What do you do about baldness?

This one may seem a bit different from the normal posts, but bear with me:   it is relevant and has lots of connection with the sort of diet and life principles that I tend to highlight here.   

The Healthy Hair Diet

The other day Danny contacted me to ask if I'd like to review his new book - The Healthy Hair Diet.  Now I've been reading Danny's blog for a while learning of how he had been seeking a valid and effective treatment for baldness.    I was interested in his research and recommendations so was happy to agree to review his new book on this blog.  He has been on quite a journey with stops at a carnivorous diet and also a paleo approach before he got here.

So what do you get?


THHD is sold as a pdf file, at 109 pages, 20 of which contain the 260 references which Danny uses to support the arguments he is making.  I used to be a bit ambivalent towards pdf books, finding paper easier to handle, but since getting an iPhone I've been uploading them into iBooks and reading them on the commute to work.

The 20 pages of references are pretty impressive - this is not just a quick file of plagiarised material he has dashed off to generate some cash - a lot work has gone into this.

So what is it about?

It is as it says on the cover - Danny is concerned with attaining and maintaining healthy hair through diet.   Now I am lucky in that I have not really started to lose my hair yet, but I know mates who have and I think you have 2 choices:  (a) shave it all off and carry on or (b) shave it all off and become depressed.

Danny talks about how he tried to address his premature balding with drugs, supplements and diet before his studies led him to certain conclusions about the causes of baldness and what to do about it.  Ultimately he sees baldness as a consequence - one of several - of a deranged metabolism caused by the usual suspects:  grains, (fructose) sugar and vegetable oils.  The effects of these on hormones coupled with systemic inflammation and stress can impact on hair loss:

Okay, so these foods cause health degeneration, but what does that have to do with your hair? Basically diet composition and hair are tied at the hip.9,10 Hormonal dysregulation, a nutrient-poor diet, excessive stress and low- grade inflammation all contribute to poor health, but guess what? They are all the key factors in the pathology of hair loss.8,11,12

The Prescription

Well on the basis of this position, you can guess what Danny's prescription is:  he wants you to sort out the causes of the metabolic problems.  Eliminate the damaging foods - mainly grains and sugar - and focus on taking in nutrient dense foods - meat and tubers - addressing inflammation and minimising stress.

I slipped the spuds in there didn't I?  Yes tubers!  If you have been following the "paleo" blogs you will have seen a fair discussion of spuds recently.  Stephan has had a masterful series on his blog and a few months ago Don at Primal Wisdom also addressed their use - see Primal Potatoes.   Robb Wolf also sees a role for tubers - sweet potatoes, yams, squash etc.

It is an interesting debate - some see the spud as totally off the menu: either as a nightshade or as something which fails the sharpstick test - others point out the empirical observation that many healthy people groups eat a lot of tubers or that we maintain  salivary glands that produce amylase, which has the the sole function of digesting starch....so we seem to be built with an ability to digest starch....  (grains with their nasty lectins are something else)

What do I think?

I enjoyed it and learned a few things.  If you have read much of the sort of material that I recommend or point to these sort of ideas might not be new to you.   Sleep, minimise stress, avoid poisonous stuff.

To be honest much of the diet prescription is pretty close to what Kurt Harris recommends.  He has also spoken about tubers  and how the key is to get rid of the elements that cause damage - vegetable oils, fructose and lectin grains rather than to seek to recapitulate a Palaeolithic past.

It is good to see Danny pull all this together though and his diagnosis of premature baldness as a metabolic issue related to insulin and leptin resistance, systemic inflammation and stress is new.  If this is the case, the diet and approach he recommends (with IF included) would be an appropriate reaction.

If you are going bald I'd say this is worth reading.  However, if you are also generally interested in the sort of issues that are discussed here - sorting our a deranged metabolism with all of its consequences (obesity or autoimmune issues) for example- then you would also benefit from the material in the book.

You can buy the book here

Or have a look at Danny's Quick Start Guide

1. Get Rid of Poisonous Food
2. Go Shopping
3. Get Cooking
4. Go To Sleep

The Healthy Hair Diet

Is Organic Better?

I always find this debate quite interesting.  Is organic food "better".   I just saw this study that reckons that in terms of the antioxidants, organic carrots and onions are no better.

The study :  Effects of Organic and Conventional Growth Systems on the Content of Flavonoids in Onions and Phenolic Acids in Carrots and Potatoes  is here. 

Well, maybe.

Then again my motivation for organic is not really just about this.  I prefer organic for a couple of other reasons:

• what it means for the wider ecosystem
• avoiding eating too much in the way of pesticides etc

I might be deceiving myself on both I suppose!

More here

So now fat people are more stoopid?

Here is an interesting one.  I've watched a couple of important people in my life decline markedly through various types of dementia recently.  It is really sad to see once vibrant intelligent people so limited by changes in their brains.

Insulin Sensitivity as a Mediator of the Relationship Between BMI and Working Memory-Related Brain Activation

This study has a simple conclusions:  obesity in middle age was related to alterations in brain activation during a cognitive challenge and this association appeared to be mediated by insulin sensitivity.

Insulin sensitivity again.  What can we do to maintain insulin sensitivity?  It is all the regular stuff - low carb/paleo diet, sensible exercise, adequate sleep, minimal chronic stress.....

A high fat diet makes bones stronger.....

....in rats at least:

Influence of high-fat diet from differential dietary sources on bone mineral density, bone strength, and bone fatty acid composition in rats.


Does anyone have the full study?  It would be interesting to see the different diets