Diabetics Improve Health with high fat/low carb diet, decade old evidence gone unnoticed!

SAN DIEGO, CA -- June 15, 1999 -- A very high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet has been shown to have astounding effects in helping type 2 diabetics lose weight and improve their blood lipid profiles.
The results of three studies involving such a diet, which is similar to, but has a few key differences from the famous "Dr. Atkins Diet", were presented today at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.
Dr. James Hays, an endocrinologist and director of the Limestone Medical Center in Wilmington, DE, admitted that the concept of a high-fat diet in people who are already at higher risk of cardiovascular disease might seem incongruous. Nonetheless, this study of 157 men and women with type 2 diabetes showed an impressive benefit in body mass index (BMI) triglycerides, HDL, LDL and HbA1c.
Most people are encouraged to reduce the amount of fat in their diets, particularly saturated fats, and diabetics in particular are advised to reduce their overall caloric intake, Dr. Hays explained in an interview in San Diego during the conference.
Whereas a normal diet would be in the order of 1800 to 2100 calories, with 60 percent of calories coming from carbohydrates and 30 percent from fat, patients in this diet were restricted to 1800 calories per day and were encouraged to get 50 percent of their caloric intake from fat, and just 20 percent from carbohydrates. The balance of 30 percent would come from proteins.
A whopping 90 percent of the fat content in their diets was saturated fat, compared with just 10 percent that was monounsaturated fat.
"I think this is at least worth considering for any diabetic," Dr. Hays said in an interview. "The thing many diabetics coming into the office don’t realize is that other forms of carbohydrates will increase their sugars, too. Dietitians will point them toward complex carbohydrates ... oatmeal and whole wheat bread, but we have to deliver the message that these are carbohydrates that increase blood sugars, too."
Higher-fat diets, on the other hand, seem to make the person feel full faster so they eat less; higher-fat diets also tend to reduce postprandial hypoglycemia so the patients feel better after eating.
“Every diabetic comes home from the doctor with instructions as to what their diet should consist of, but they’re not getting the information from dietitians about what complex carbohydrates they should eat,” Dr. Hays said.
“The important thing here is no ketosis. We absolutely don’t want people to become ketotic, and so we said they had to have so many exchanges of fresh fruits and vegetables and we specified the ones they could eat.”
They were able to eat all the meat and cheese they wanted, but as for carbohydrates, they are restricted to eating unprocessed foods, mainly fresh fruit and vegetables, he added.
Subjects recruited into the study (84 men, 73 women) were all type 2 diabetics and were required to undergo a standard American Diabetes Association modified diet for one full year before entry into the trial. Over the course of one year, the subjects achieved a mean decline in total cholesterol of between 231 and 190 mg/dl. Triglycerides declined from 229 to 182 mg/dl.
Low-density lipoproteins (LDL cholesterol) fell from 133 to 105 mg/dl, while HDL increased from 44 to 47 mg/dl.
HbA1c, which at the start of the study averaged 3.34 percent above normal, declined to the point that at one year, the mean was just 0.96 percent above normal.
The average weight loss among subjects in the study was in the order of 40 pounds, Dr. Hays said.
By the end of the one-year study, he added, 90 percent of the patients had achieved ADA (American Diabetes Association) targets for HbA1c, HDL, LDL and triglycerides.
Even among juvenile diabetics, he said, they might not be overweight and they might have more or less normal lipid levels, but when they are on this kind of diet it is possible to treat them with lower doses of insulin and make their lives a little safer, he said.
As for the response from cardiologists who see a high-fat diet as anathema to what they have been instructing their patients for years now, Dr. Hays said he has three cardiologist patients who are now on the diet.
"If you have a diet that results in weight loss, lower cholesterol, and a better lipid profile, eventually, everybody will be eating that way. It’s going to come whether we like it or not."

By Cameron Johnston for Doctor Guide News

This is essentially the Paleo Died with the exception of cheese

Wifey has seen the light

My wife finally succumbed to my requests to try to switch to my way of eating. She is a big Italian food and dessert girl. She agreed to go low carb for breakfast and lunch and have a "free meal" at diner. She will include dairy for now. Hey it's a start. She also agreed to have me train her using the Body By Science principles for 6 months.

new pants size!

After dinner we hit the mall. My jeans are so big on me now that I can only keep them up with a belt and they are getting really baggy. 3 months ago, when I started the Paleo Diet, I had to hold my breath to squeeze into these jeans. They were very uncomfortable, but it was the last pair I could wear without going up a size. I had to air dry them so they did not shrink. Now it looks like I am wearing a potato sack. I wound up buying a pair of jeans 2 sizes lower and there is a little room left. I probably could have gone down one more size. It felt so great!

today's eatings in Atlanta

Today breakfast was at the hotel. I had the buffet: wild mushroom and red onion omelet with bacon bits, a pork and a chicken/apple sausage, 3 strips of bacon, and mixed fruit.

Lunch was at Hudson Grill. I feasted on lemon/pepper chicken wings (not breaded) and a shrimp and field greens salad with a spicy vinaigrette dressing.

Dinner was a read culinary adventure. We went to TWIST, a hip restaurant in Buckhead area of Atlanta. They have an amazing tapas menu as well as sushi and an entree menu. You can sample a lot of different food for the price of a single meal. I stuck with the tapas, which are small appetizer size meals. This time I had enough sense to snap a few photos:

chopped salad with crumbled egg

chicken liver with onions - best I ever had!

baked cauliflower in a cream/Parmesan cheese sauce. (I let as much sauce drip of as possible)

asparagus in garlic and oil sauce. again, best I ever had

Korean bulgoki beef and kimchi (upper left)

BBQ pork ribs with red cabbage slaw (upper right)

Beef fillet medallions (bottom) I picked off the cheese

I drank so much unsweetened iced tea today, my teeth turned yellow!

When to eat organic

The cost of organic produce can be quite high. This is especially an issue during these tough economic times. The benefit of eating organic is to reduce the amount of pesticides we consume. But not all produce is laden with pesticides. Recently The Environmental Working Group rated pesticide residues of fresh produce. It claims that you can lower your pesticide exposure by 80% by avoiding the 12 most pesticide laden fruits and vegetables. So if you are willing to shell out bucks for organic produce do it for only these 12. Also referred to as "the dirty dozen":

1. peaches
2. apples
3. pears
4. nectarines
5. imported grapes
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. bell peppers
9. kale
10. celery
11. lettuce
12. carrots

There are vegetables that were rated as the cleanest in regards to pesticide contamination. Save your hard earned cash and forgo the organic versions of the "clean dozen":

1. avocados
2. pineapples
3. mangoes
4. papayas
5. tomatoes
6. eggplant
7. watermelon
8. kiwi
9. onions
10. asparagus
11. broccoli
12. cabbage

stikin' to paleo diet on vacation

I'm spending 4 days in Atlanta Georgia with my wife's sister and family. We'll be eating out every meal. It is tough to be super strict around all the southern food. Lunch was collared greens, grilled chicken over salad. Dinner was fried chicken, BBQ ribs, fried okra and boiled collared greens. Except for the breading I did well considering that dinner ended with ice cream, which I abstained from. finished the day with a pear and a plum. Going to the zoo tomorrow!

scored a new book

Although eaten by many cultures, Offal has literally fallen by the way side in the US today. There is no doubt that our Paleolithic ancestor wasted no part of the animal. I found this used book by chance. Published in 1974. Can't wait to explore it.

Preparing offal is making a comeback, even is some upscale restaurants.

Like executive chef, Chris Cosentino of Incanto Restaurant in California.
you can visit his blog: Offal Good at http://www.offalgood.com/site/

paleo eating at the fair

Its pretty easy to stick to paleo eating when eating out. We had dinner with friends at a steak house. my dinner consisted of tuna carpaccio (quickly seared sushi grade tuna), NY shell steak and escarole sauteed with garlic. Yesterday I took my son to a local carnival. for a snack I had a grilled smoked turkey leg and for dinner we went to a local Friday's. grilled shrimp skewers and steamed broccoli was on a low carb menu. I was able to stick to the diet despite a table full of french fries, burgers, brownies and ice cream.

Lamb chops

This is the last of my grass fed lamb stash. As you know grass fed meat is much higher than in Omega 3 than the grain fed variety.




Ingredients:

• lamb shanks (I happen to cook about 10 for the week)
• salt/ pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp dry oregano
• 1/2 tsp dry thyme
• 1/2 tsp dry sage
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dry rosemary (I omitted this as my wife hates rosemary)

Directions:

Heat a large cast iron skillet. while the skillet is warming up (3-5 min) pat the lamb chops dry. salt and pepper both sides. brown both sides on med-high heat , about 5-7 min. The second side takes a bit more as the skillet has cooled. You do not need to add oil as this meat gives off enough fat to cook in. heat oven to 350 degrees. combine herbs in a small bowl to mix well, sprinkle both sides liberally with herb mixture,( this is where metal tongs are your friend) cover loosely with aluminum foil shiny side down. and finish cooking in the oven for another 20 min. drain the fat (a lot will be rendered out)and save it if you like to cook with it. I love lamb!

Flattened chicken

This is my mom's best chicken dish. She used tons of fresh garlic and used to pound the chickens flat with a mallet. I ran out of garlic and did not use a mallet. This recipe is also known as "chicken under a brick"





Ingredients:

• Cornish game hen
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp dry thyme
• salt/pepper to taste
• canola oil

Butterfly the chicken: using kitchen scissors cut along the back bone on both sided removing it entirely along with the tail. clip off the end joint of the wings. (save these cuttings for stock) Flip the bird around and remove the keel bone by scoring along it with a boning knife. it takes some work but with care and patience this can be done without destroying the meat too much. Rub with canola oil and season with the spices on the breast side. be generous with the garlic powder. heat a non stick skillet on high. add oil to cover the base in a thin layer. Place the chicken breast side down. place a plate over the chicken so it covers it completely. lower the heat to med-low and place a heavy weight on the plate to flatten the chicken further. (I used a pot filled with water.) cook until browned. season the uncooked side, flip over and cover with a new plate to prevent cross contamination. Cook until browned and cooked through.

this can feed one or two people(half the chicken) depending on how hungry you are. As you can see I was very hungry.

HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING

Today was my first day of a training routine as outlined in Body By Science by Doug McGuff. I was very impressed by this book as it not only backed up by the scientific literature and is highly referenced it takes into account our body biology, our evolution and dispels some very common excises and fitness myths. If exercise is part of your health and fitness regimen then I highly encourage this book.

Today's workout consisted of 5 exercises and was completed in 13 minutes.

Horomones in our dairy

This excerpt is from the latest issue of The Paleo Diet News letter. to get your copy of the newsletter emailed to you as well as references to this article go to

http://www.thepaleodiet.com/newsletter/

HOROMONES IN MILK
The existence of hormones in cow's milk that could be problematic for humans. Before we discuss the potential adverse effects of each of those hormones, it is important to know that in order for any of these milk hormones to potentially cause or promote a certain disease, it must:
1. Survive the pasteurization and processing methods
2. Survive the human digestive processes intact
3. Cross the gut barrier intact

It is normally believed that protein shearing enzymes in the human gut breakdown proteins and hormones before they can get to the small bowel where absorption occurs. This is what happens when you eat protein-containing foods, such as beef or fish, and this is the reason why some diabetics have to take insulin intravenously and not orally.

Nevertheless, we should remember that milk's main purpose is to accelerate growth in weaning mammals, who have a low endogenous production of hormones. Milk contains not only the necessary hormones to promote growth, but also catalysts, transporters and stabilizers that ensure their maximum bioactivity. Cow's milk also contains peptidase inhibitors that could prevent proteolytic breakdown of various peptide hormones and growth factors, such as IGF-16 and the EGF family of hormones (like betacellulin).

The evidence suggests that most of the hormones mentioned last week fulfill, at least, the first two of the above requirements: surviving the pasteurization and processing methods, and surviving the human digestive processes intact.

Insulin:
Cow's milk, as well as human milk (and presumably milk from all mammals) contains insulin.
We know that bovine insulin (BI) (which differs from human insulin by three amino acids) survives pasteurization because immunity to this hormone is common in children who consume cow's milk or infant formulas containing cow's milk. This not only confirms that BI is present in commercially pasteurized milk, but also in infant formulas, and perhaps other dairy products (although direct evidence is lacking). These studies also provide evidence that BI survives the human digestive processes and crosses the gut barrier intact, although this could be related to the fact that infants have higher intestinal permeability than older children and adults. Nevertheless, var ious factors may cause the so called "leaky gut" in virtually everyone, so we shouldn't dismiss bovine insulin altogether.

IGF-1:
Cow's milk contains active IGF-1, but this has been largely dismissed as irrelevant since pasteurization and fermentation appear to reduce its content. Yet, cow's milk consumption is associated with higher plasma IGF-1 concentrations in humans (both children and adults). This could be due to the calcium in milk (that has been shown to increase IGF-1 in boys and girls), the effect of milk upon insulinemia (the high elevation of plasma insulin caused by drinking milk could lead to higher plasma IGF-1 ) or residual IG F-1 in milk

Betacellulin:
Betacellulin (BTC) belongs to the epidermal growth factor family of hormones, and it is found not only in cow's milk and whey, but also in cheese. It survives both pasteurization and processing. Although no direct evidence exists yet, bovine milk contains peptidase inhibitors that prevent human gut enzymes from degrading EGF5 and most likely BTC. Additionally, a low ph, such as may be found in the gut, does not impair or prevent BTC from binding its receptor.5 Finally, there is a luminally expressed EGF receptor in the gut through which BTC may enter circulation.

Steroid Hormones:
The major sources of animal-derived estrogens in the human diet are believed to be milk and dairy products, which presumably account for 70-80% of the total estrogens consumed. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that most milk for human consumption is obtained from cows in the latter half of pregnancy when estrogen metabolite levels are greatly elevated. To confirm this, US researchers Daniel Falow and colleagues have measured estrogen metabolites in various milks and have shown that buttermilk contains the highest total amount of estrogen metabolites, followed by skim milk, 2% milk, and whole milk. So, estrogen metabolites appear to survive pasteurization, but do they survive the other necessary steps? It is highly possible because estrone sulphate, which comprises 45% of the conjugated estrogen in Premarin and Prempro (the most frequently prescribed hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women), has high oral bioactivity, and it is the most prevalent form of estrogen in cow's milk.

There are also other steroid hormones in commercially pasteurized cow's milk, such as progesterone, 5α-androstanedione, and 5α-pregnanedione, which are dihydrotestosterone (DHT) precursors. Unfortunately, we aren't aware of any study that has looked at the absorption of these hormones, so we don't know if they can survive steps 2 and 3: surviving the human digestive processes intact and crossing the gut barrier intact.

Lauren Cordain Podcast

Here is an interesting podcast with Lauren Cordain the author of The Paleo Diet book and a long time researcher of the diet of our hunter gatherer ancestors.

http://www.podfeed.net/episode/Super+Human+Radio+Show+-++283+-+The+Paleolithic+Diet+Revisited/1744620

FORAGING IN MY BACK YARD

I just planted 3 trees: pear, cherry and apple.

I also planted blueberry, raspberry and blackberry and gooseberry bushes, and strawberries.

And I stared a garden on 3 plots. The garden is started from seeds. I think I bought every vegetable they had except for beans and tomatoes. Just finished the March plants. I will plant the April plants in 2 weeks.

Looking forward to foraging in my back yard!

No salt experiment

So I decided to try to eliminate salt completely from my diet for at least 1 week. I know that food may not taste the same. although I cut down on the use of salt already, I still add it too my cooking because its supposed to "bring out the flavor". I will focus on enjoying the taste of food that I eat for what it is. So far day 1 went well. Don't miss it much.

enlightening Podcast

I encourage you to listen to a wonderful podcast with Dr. McGuff on excersize and nutrition.

common excersize and fatloss myths debunked.

http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/dr-doug-mcguff-episode-239/

Liver in lemon-dill sauce

Decided to try a very different liver recipe. And no salt.




Ingredients:

• 8 oz beef liver
• 1 tbs duck fat
• pepper to taste
• juice of 1 lemon
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 tsp dry dill

Directions:


heat skillet and melt duck fat (the recipe called for rendering out bacon fat, but I did not have that, I did have rendered duck fat, which is also tasty.) Sprinkle liver with pepper and dill. Fry liver pieces until browned on both sides. ad juice of lemon and zest and allow to thicken to a sauce. ( the recipe calls for the crunchy bacon pieces to be added at this time).

Didn't miss the salt at all! I overdid it on the onions. The lemon sauce was interesting, not sure if I'd make this again. My favorite so far is the onion /apple/sage combo witht he liver.

SALT

According to Lauren Cordain, the author of The Paleo Diet, Paleolithic people did not consume salt. It was just not available.

I have been trying to use salt very sparingly in my cooking, Just a dash here and there as it does seem to enhance flavor. As the weeks go by I am trying to slowly eliminate salt form my diet and enjoy food for its natural taste. What I have noticed is that if I eat out, or eat any processed food such as chicken sausage that I eat occasionally (all paleo ingredients) I find these foods overwhelmingly salty. Sometimes unbearably salty.

There is new research that salt may have another deleterious side effect on our bodies. Besides playing a role in raising blood pressure, salt may also make our blood vessels stiffer. Blood vessel stiffness is linked to a higher risk of heart disease.

The Study:
Researchers put 29 overweight people with normal blood pressure on a diet with typical US sodium intake (3,450 milligrams a day) or a lower salt intake (1,115 milligrams a day). After 2 weeks on the lower salt diet, arteries were less stiff than after 2 weeks on the higher sodium diet. In addition , the lower salt group lowered their blood pressure.
source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 89: 485, 2009

So now there is yet another reason to lower your sodium intake, and another reason why eating the way our paleolithic ancestors ate is a good idea.

Pan seared sea scallops

Sea scallops are pretty pricey so I eat them on occasion. If you order them in a restaurant you are lucky if they give you more than 4. I buy mine frozen at Trade Joe's. A little more than a dozen costs about $9. that's good for 2 servings. The key to cooking sea scallops is not to over cook them you want the outside to brown and the very center to be practically raw. At least that's how I like mine.



Ingredients:

• 12 sea scallops.
• salt.
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• canola oil.

Directions:


Heat a non stick skillet. add oil. wash scallops and dry well with paper towel. A Light sprinkle of sea salt and a dusting of paprika is all they need. Fry on med heat for 2 min flip and fry for 3 more (it takes longer the second side due to heat loss in the pan) .

Served here with broccoli spears and crushed garlic.

Beef liver with onions and apple

Here is another liver recipe with as different flavor



Ingredients:

• 8 oz beef liver, cut into bite size strips
• 1 med onion, julienned
• 1 med green, apple quartered ans sliced thin
• 1 /2 tsp dry sage
• salt pepper
• oil

Directions:

salt and pepper the liver. Heat a non stick skillet, add oil and the remaining ingredients. saute on med-high until liver is browned.