Low Carb High Fat

Low-carb, high-fat diets add no arterial health risks to obese

2011-08-02T05:35:00.001-04:00

Good news, I would say:

Low-carb dieters showed no harmful vascular changes but also on average dropped 10 pounds in 45 days, compared to an equal number of study participants randomly assigned to a low-fat diet. The low-fat group, whose diets consisted of no more than 30 percent from fat and 55 percent from carbs, took on average 70 days, nearly a month longer, to lose the same amount of weight. [...]

However, Stewart does contend that an overemphasis on low-fat diets has likely contributed to the obesity epidemic in the United States by encouraging an overconsumption of foods high in carbohydrates. He says that high-carb foods are, in general, less filling and that people tend to get carried away with how much low-fat food they can eat. More than half of American adults are estimated to be overweight, with a body mass index of 26 or higher; a third are considered to be obese, with a BMI of 30 or higher.

Full article here.

3 simple weight loss tips

2011-06-14T07:19:00.003-04:00

What is the main cause of failed dieting?

I'd say it is hunger. And cravings. Also our body adapts to diets and weight-loss tends to plateau.

3 simple tips I used when the above happened:

Eat a good breakfast. A heavy whipping cream omelette and bacon has worked best for me. Keeps me full late into the afternoon.
Follow the 80/20 rule. Eat "right" 80% of the time and indulge 20% of the time. I had some ice-cream or other treat on the weekend. Keeps you sane and it's easier to stay motivated. Nobody likes to feel like their "life is over" and they will never be able to eat what they like the most again. Just don't go overboard, all in moderation.
When and if you plateau in your weight-loss, the body needs a wake-up call. When I first started with Low Carb High Fat, I plateaued after about 2.5 months. I did some research and decided to do the opposite of what I was doing. So for 3-4 days, I ate nothing but High Carb food, pasta, potatoes, sugar and so on. Then back to Low Carb High Fat. It worked. I started losing weight again.

List of fruit from low to high in sugar

2011-05-06T05:56:00.000-04:00

Pretty handy list for those who crave fruit, but still want to keep down the carbs.

Fruits Lowest in Sugar
Small Amounts of Lemon or Lime
Rhubarb
Raspberries (more about berries on low carb diets)
Blackberries
Cranberries

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatfruit.htm

Diet may ’reverse kidney failure’ in diabetics

2011-04-28T09:52:00.000-04:00

Researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York found a "ketogenic diet" could reverse the damage caused to tubes in the kidneys by too much sugar in the blood.

For their study, the researchers used laboratory mice with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Once kidney damage had developed, half the mice were put onto the ketogenic diet, which is 87 percent fat and mimics the effect of starvation.

After eight weeks, the researchers noted that kidney damage was reversed in those rodents which were on the highly controlled diet, the leading news channel reported.

http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=178316

Florida outlaws journalism

2011-03-09T08:32:00.002-05:00

http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2011/1246

- Will it be a favorable article?
- Um....

A person who enters onto a farm or other property where legitimate agriculture operations are being conducted without the written consent of the owner, or an authorized representative of the owner, commits a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, Florida Statutes.

Anyone seeing Monsanto headquarters moving to the corporation friendly state of Florida?

Some inspiration for those in doubt...

2011-02-03T04:50:00.002-05:00

Amazing job:

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/main-lowcarb-lobby/708566-before-during-pics.html

Cleaning up your carb act

2010-12-19T10:22:00.002-05:00

LA Times article.Awareness is step 1 in any change.

Joanne Slavin, professor of nutrition at the University of Minnesota, member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee:

"Americans have to eat fewer calories. But I see no value in making a hit list for carbs. There are many healthy eating patterns, and potatoes, pasta, white bread and rice surely fit into many of these."

Slavin mentions rice which is empty calories with almost no nutritional value. Rice is true junk food as far as carb and nutrition goes.For those inclined to read nutrient tables here's detailed info on rice.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5707/2

And white bread & pasta. How white bread and pasta can fit into any diet is beyond me.Ask yourself what it is you like about pasta. I doubt it is the actual pasta, but the sauce, vegetables or proteins that go with it. The pasta is just there to make you full. When did you last eat pasta on it's own?

I eat pasta, but without the pasta. Normally I replace the pasta with either cooked or pan fried vegetables. Cauliflower ground down to the size of rice is delicious. And it takes on an interesting flavor when fried in a pan.

In a world of increasing obesity I find it careless for a professor in nutrition, who is also a member of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, to say rice, pasta and white bread aren't that bad. But that's just me...

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to recognize the power of Big Food lobbyism and their wallet.

Entire article here:
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-carbs-tips-20101220,0,4380325.story

Cracked heels

2010-12-18T15:54:00.002-05:00

I just saw this commercial on TV. About cracked heels and some "wonder oil" that the actors say fixed their cracked heels in a jiffy.

Not my heels, but pretty close to what they looked like. Let me tell you, it HURT. No matter how much oils, lotions I used, no matter how much I scrubbed my heels, they just kept cracking. No more. Same thing with cracked elbows. And fingers. And.. and... The list goes on. In general my skin has become very healthy compared to when I ate tons of carbs.

The more research I read about how carbohydrates changed mankind as far as what diseases we suffered from, the more convinced I get carbs make us sick. Not just fat, but sick as well. There are numerous studies showing indigenous people did not suffer from western diseases until they adapted western diets.

Why low carb diets must be high fat, not high protein

2010-12-15T04:29:00.001-05:00

Great article by Barry Groves, PhD.

We now know that we should eat a diet that is low in carbohydrates. But a plethora of books published in the last decade have been low-carb, high-protein, or low-carb, high-fat, or low-carb, high-'good'-fats, or all sorts of other mixtures. In other words, the real confusion lies in what we should replace the carbohydrates with: for example, should it be protein or fats? And if fats, what sort of fats? This article, I hope, will answer the question and put any doubts out of your mind. In a nutshell, carbs should be replaced with fats, and those fats should be mainly from animal sources.

http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/fat-not-protein.html

Saturated fat dangerous?

2010-10-04T03:58:00.008-04:00

Maybe not.

''Carbohydrate intake has been intimately linked to metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of risk factors that can increase CVD risk,'' said Jeff Volek, PhD, RD, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut. His research showed that very low carbohydrate diets can favorably impact a broad spectrum of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors, even in the presence of high saturated fat intake and in the absence of weight loss.

A recent meta-analysis of epidemiological and intervention studies of milk fat conducted by Peter Elwood, DSc, MD, FRCP, FFPHM, DUniv, Hon DSc, Honorary Professor at the School of Medicine, Cardiff University, found that milk and dairy consumption actually was associated with a decrease in CVD risk."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/gg-tsf100110.php

Consumer choice is a mighty force

2010-04-01T02:01:00.000-04:00

The consumer interest in Non-GMO labeled foods is skyrocketing. In 2009, this micro market segment was worth $60.2 Million and grew at 67% over 2008, making it the #1 healthy eating trend in store brands for 2009.

[...]

This happened in the recent past with RBGH or RBST, the bovine growth hormone developed, not suprisingly, by Monsanto to increase the milk output from cows. It created many other problems, such as increased infections in the milk and disease in the cows. The FDA stated RBGH did not alter the milk, and sued several dairies that labeled their milk RBGH free.

Enough consumers found out the truth and started requesting RBGH free milk. Not long afterwards, the major players saw the movement in the market and made the switch to RBGH free suppliers. Surprisingly, this didn’t take a majority of consumers, only 5-7% of Americans, as they represent several hundred millions of dollars to the major national brands. This is money they will not lose when they can make a switch in suppliers and keep their customers happy.

Full article

Pink bollworms beat Monsanto

2010-03-31T15:58:00.002-04:00

Evolution beats Monsanto

Monsanto has revealed that a common insect pest has developed resistance to its flagship genetically modified (GM) product in India. The agricultural biotechnology leader says it "detected unusual survival" of pink bollworms that fed on cotton containing the Cry1Ac gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which codes for a protein that's toxic to many insect pests. In a statement to Science, Monsanto claims that the finding from western India "is the first case of field-relevant resistance to Cry1Ac products, anywhere in the world."http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5972/1439

Disgusting GMO trout

2010-03-30T18:40:00.002-04:00

I don't even know what to say about this. I'll just let the photo speak for itself.

While the fish aren't going to win any beauty contests, the genetically engineered rainbow trout could hold some appeal at market, because they each provide 15 to 20 percent more flesh than standard tout, researchers say.

Monster Trout

The transgenic trout incorporate genes modeled on myostatin-inhibiting proteins found in powerfully built Belgian blue cattle, a beef breed noted for its "double muscled" appearance.

Belgian Blue

Article in National Geographic.

Does biotech make you worried?

Are the leaders of Japan complete idiots? So it seems.

2010-03-28T17:39:00.005-04:00

I normally like to stay civil when I post, but this really pisses me off.

The latest two-week long meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) saw bureaucrats sweep aside expert advice on how to save the bluefin tuna.

The bluefin tuna is close to extinction.

Years of research by marine and fisheries experts have concluded that the bluefin tuna's days are numbered, and unless there is an immediate ban it will become extinct in the very near future.

Some experts fear its population in the Atlantic has already fallen below sustainable levels.

A bluefin tuna can go for as much as $175.000 for one fish in Japan. So it is a matter of status to be able to afford to eat the bluefin tuna.

A vote was taken at CITES to put a temporary ban on bluefin tuna to help it recover. Sounds reasonable, don't you think?

Leading opposition to the ban was Japan, where most of the world catch is consumed in sushi restaurants.

Japan argued that a ban would be unfair, but the science supporting reasoned analysis was pushed to one side by politics, amid claims that Japan was trading promises of donor aid to developing countries in exchange for votes.

Unfair in what way? Unfair to those who simply can not live without eating the bluefin? Unbelievable.

Japan prevailed and the bluefin tuna may be doomed.

Good job, Japan! How much tuna do you think you will eat when there is no tuna?

BBC News article on the subject: How bureaucrats decided not to save the bluefin tuna.

The Butterfly Effect

2010-03-27T17:34:00.009-04:00

Comic courtesy of Savage Chickens

Genetic mutation happens for a reason, evolution. What is the reason for companies changing DNA?

Do scientist really know the longterm effects, on an ecosystem, when altering a plants or an animals DNA?

The director of UK’s prestigious Rowett Research Institute has stated: “The perception that everything is totally straightforward and safe is utterly naive. I don’t think we fully understand the dimensions of what we’re getting into.”

And:

We have such a miserably poor understanding of how the organism develops from its DNA that I would be surprised if we don't get one rude shock after another." -Professor Richard Lewontin, professor of genetics, Harvard University.

Not very comforting if you ask me. What do you think?

A novel idea

2010-03-26T05:56:00.004-04:00

Here is a novel idea for all foodies out there. There is veganism, vegetarianism, fruiterianism, low carb, paleo, Atkins, Ornish, South Beach, Zone, LEARN, Mediterranean and God knows what. Despite having different ideas on what to eat and how to eat it, we all have one thing in common:

We all care about what we put in our body.

We all want to eat fresh, natural, high quality food.

When a nation is attacked by a common foe, the people of that nation join ranks to survive. Survival of the whole becomes more important than the individual beliefs.

Food lovers, also known as humans, are under attack. You might not know it, but we are. The common foe is Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).

The effects of GMO are devastating.

Brazil are deforesting Earth's lungs; the rain forest, to plant GMO soy.
Monsanto, the worlds biggest biotech company, owns around 90% of all the soybean seeds in the USA, their goal being monopoly. All of that seed is Roundup resistant, a toxic pesticide, which kills everything living when applied. Roundup is a Monsanto product.
They also own the larger part of the US corn production.
In India Monsanto's products and business methods have led to thousands of Indian farmers committing suicide.
There are studies showing kidney and liver failure in rat populations fed Monsanto's GMO corn. In experiments animals are fed large quantities of the corn. So the effects are visible much faster than among humans. Does the Monsanto corn have the same effect on humans? We don't know. Yet the same governments put in office by the people, approve these products for human consumption. Despite not knowing the effects.
Monsanto has offices in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech , Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand,, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, South , Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United , United , Venezuela, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. So far...
BASF is the European equivalent of Monsanto. The recently had their GMO potato Amflora approved for production in the EC. The potato is not to be used for food production nor fodder, but it is a starting point for giants like Monsanto and BASF to gain acceptance for their products.
BASF writes the following on their website: "Seed treatment is a business area with growth potential: Genetically modified crops are playing an increasingly important role worldwide."
When a company like BASF or Monsanto develop a GMO they patent the product. If i.e. a Monsanto soybean spreads, intentionally or unintentionally, to a neighboring farmer, Monsanto can sue the farmer for patent infringement.
Farmers buying Monsanto product are not allowed to save seed for next years production. They have to buy new seed. If they save seed they can be sued for breach of contract. In effect the farmers are made dependent on Monsanto's product.
Monsanto's latest venture is to patent pigs.
Their agenda? Control food, control everything.

Is this a common enemy, food lovers can join ranks against? You tell me.

Proven: Vitamin D Prevents the Flu -- Throw Out Your Tamiflu

2010-03-25T05:14:00.002-04:00

"Well, technically we only "prove" things in math and logic, when we assume our premises. But the most recent study on vitamin D and the flu, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, gets as close to proving anything as we can get in nutritional and medical science."

The Daily Lipid: http://bit.ly/autPy3

The Health Dangers of Genetically Modified Foods

2010-03-24T12:08:00.003-04:00

Playlist continued here.

Please stop GMO in Europe

2010-03-22T20:30:00.006-04:00

We say no to Monsanto, and change our mind 12 years later?

New York Times: E.U. Approves First Modified Crop for Planting in 12 Years

The European Union today approved the first new genetically modified (GM) crop for domestic growing in more than a decade, ending what has been a long stalemate over a backlog of GM crops awaiting cultivation approval.

The decision by the European Commission, the E.U.'s executive arm, will allow farmers to grow Amflora potatoes, a controversial GM crop developed by the German chemical giant BASF. The potatoes can be used solely for industrial or animal feed purposes, the bloc said.

The potatoes, engineered to produce high levels of starch for use in paper production or textiles, are the first crop to be approved for farming since a strain of Monsanto's insect-resistant corn 12 years ago. That decision set off a storm of protest from European countries, some of which, like Austria and Germany, have invoked science-based protection clauses to prevent the corn's growth (Greenwire, Oct. 21, 2009).

http://nyti.ms/9RXvxG

***

Monsanto's GMO Corn Linked To Organ Failure, Study Reveals

In a study released by the International Journal of Biological Sciences, analyzing the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers found that agricultural giant Monsanto's GM corn is linked to organ damage in rats.

http://huff.to/bYojbQ

A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health

Effects were mostly concentrated in kidney and liver function, the two major diet detoxification organs, but in detail differed with each GM type. In addition, some effects on heart, adrenal, spleen and blood cells were also frequently noted. As there normally exists sex differences in liver and kidney metabolism, the highly statistically significant disturbances in the function of these organs, seen between male and female rats, cannot be dismissed as biologically insignificant as has been proposed by others [4]. We therefore conclude that our data strongly suggests that these GM maize varieties induce a state of hepatorenal toxicity.

http://bit.ly/cZeQ94

***

Please sign the petition to STOP GMO in Europe once and for all.

GM Food: get the facts first

The EC has just allowed GM crops into Europe, ignoring the concerns of the public. I've signed a petition for independent research and a moratorium on GM crop development. With 1 million citizens' signatures, we can make an official legal request to the European Commission. Sign below and let's get to 1 million:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_health_and_biodiversity/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Thanks!

------

Dear friends,

The European Commission has just approved growing genetically modified crops in the European Union for the first time in 12 years!

Caving to the GM lobby, the commission has ignored 60% of Europeans who feel we have to get the facts first before growing foods that could pose a threat to our health and environment.
A new initiative allows 1 million EU citizens to make official legal requests of the European Commission. Let's build a million voices for a ban on GM foods until the research is done; they will be delivered to the President Barroso of the European Commission. Sign the petition and forward this email to friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_health_and_biodiversity/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

Consumers, public health, environmental and farmers groups have long rallied against a few international GM companies having such significant influence over European agriculture. Concerns about growing GM crops include: contamination of organic crops and the environment; their impact on climate due to the excessive need for pesticides; the destruction of biodiversity and local agriculture; and the effects of GM food on public health.

EU member states have voiced strong opposition to last week's decision to authorise BASF's potato and Monsanto's maize -- Italy and Austria are opposed, and France said it would ask for further scientific research.

There is still no consensus on the long-term effects of GM crops. And it is the GM industry, pursuing profits not public well being, that is funding the science and driving the regulatory environment. That is why European citizens are calling for more independent research, testing and precaution before crops are unleashed onto our land.

Now, the "European Citizens' Initiative" gives 1 million EU citizens the opportunity to submit policy proposals to the European Commission and offers us a unique chance to drown out lobbyists' influence.
Let's raise 1 million voices to put a moratorium on the introduction of GM crops into Europe and set up an independent, ethical and scientific body to research and determine the strong regulation of GM crops. Sign the petition now and then forward it widely:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/eu_health_and_biodiversity/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

With determination,

Alice, Benjamin, Ricken, Luis, Graziela and the entire Avaaz team.

More information:

Last Eurobameter Survey 2008 'Attitudes of European citizens towards the environment', page 66:
http://bit.ly/aMkeVJ

The Independent, Fury as Brussels authorises GM potatoes:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/fury-as-eu-approves-gm-potato-1915833.html

Reuters, France blasts GM crop approvals by EU agency:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6241ZQ20100305

New Report: GMOs Causing Massive Pesticide Pollution:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-kimbrell/new-report-gmos-causing-m_b_362888.html

Summary of the International Assessment on Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, including critics of GMOs use in agriculture:
http://globalpolicy.org/social-and-economic-policy/international-trade-and-development-1-57/genetically-modified-organisms.html#key

--------------

If there ever was a time when you could make a difference, this is it.
Please sign petition here: http://bit.ly/c55DIq

Signed when posting this: 269,356

Update 2010 March 25th: Total signatures 300,925
Update 2010 March 26th: Total signatures 315,553
Update 2010 March 30th: Total signatures 342,852

Help us get to 1,000,000

Making ends meet

2010-03-21T19:19:00.004-04:00

Not the kind of foods I would recommend, but still an amazing mother. She feeds a family of 6 with 4 dollars a week.

Interview with an ex-vegan

2010-03-21T18:42:00.002-04:00

I discovered I was deficient in a multitude of different nutrients that are readily available in animal products. (b12, zinc, iron, magnesium, vit D, Retinol Vit A). I also found out I had hypothyroidism, and when I did some research I found the link between raw cruciferous vegetables and soy blocking thyroid function. Protein and pre-formed Vitamin A from animal products are critical for thyroid health. When you have a slow thyroid you cannot convert beta carotene into Retinol Vitamin A, the form you need for healthy thyroid function.

Entire interview.

Oh, and one more thing: Why do vegans eat fake meat? You don't see carnivores eat fake vegetables. Honest question.

Women from a Male Perspective

2010-03-21T09:27:00.003-04:00

I have a friend. Her name is Helene. She has four children and she is single. Two of them are now adults, and two around ten or so. Helene has been one of my heroes for a long time. Being a single mother of four is something almost unimaginable for a man. To succeed in bringing up four children alone is an admirable feat. Her children are great. Some parents can't even manage one child. And they are twice as many.

I know another mother. Her name is Heather. She has three children. Her life has been hell to say the least. But her children are fine and she has struggled like an beast to make ends meet and to raise her children well. She is another of my heroes.

I listened to a radio show a while ago. Four mothers were talking. One said:

"The mother is always the dumpster. She always stays. The children know a mother never abandons. Fathers are away so much the children are grateful for what little they get from him. The father must not be pressured, questioned or intimidated. If he is, he might leave for goodThen maybe he abandons the kids forever. The mother's reward for her loyalty, kindness and love is - she gets to be the garbage can. "

We live in a so-called equal country. An equal country where women still face discrimination daily. Equal pay for equal work is probably not even worth mentioning. Nor that typical "female professions" are lower paid than typical "male professions".

When you go shopping together, it does not matter if it's the woman who starts off the negotiations with the salesman. The salesman sooner or later turns to the man to conclude the sale. I have personally experienced this multiple times and every time I shake my head: Don't look at me, talk to her.

Women give birth. They have their period. When they give birth, they get stretch marks. They go through menopause. Men shave. Poor men.

In the United States, a single mother over thirty is as attractive on the relation market, as that moldy thing in the back of the fridge you know you should throw away, but you think is too disgusting to touch, so you wait a little longer to toss it.

On the coast of West Africa, there is an indigenous tribe ruled by women. Their language has no word for war. That says everything needing to be said about women. And men.

Men are not really worthy of women's love. Men rape, murder and pillage. Women love, educate and nurture.

Women deserve all our respect. I love women. Because they exist and because they tolerate us men. Thank you.

Nature is fantastic

2010-03-20T07:27:00.006-04:00

Another speech by renowned chef Dan Barber. This time about foie gras, fat liver from duck or goose, which is considered to be an exquisite delicacy. The controversy of foie gras is gavage, or force feeding the animal. However, Barber's speech show that, if we cooperate with nature instead of try to overcome it, nature rewards us.

-Why don't you sell the foie gras to world class chefs?
-They don't deserve my foie gras.
-What do you think of conventional foie gras?
-An insult to history.

Great and inspirational stuff.

Now THAT is sustainable!

2010-03-19T20:03:00.003-04:00

Amazing speech by Dan Barber, How I fell in Love with a Fish.

Barber speaks of a fish farm off the coast of Spain:

Which does not feed their fish
The fish feeds a population of 600 000 birds
The farm acts as a huge water purifier

På svenska

2010-03-19T05:37:00.002-04:00

Kör en svensk blogg här: http://lchf-peter.blogspot.com/

Gary Taubes Interview on Underground Wellness

2010-03-18T20:54:00.003-04:00

Excellent interview with Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories. Originally broadcasted by Underground Wellness Radio.

Judge sides with Monsanto on beet ban

2010-03-16T19:12:00.002-04:00

A federal judge denied a request by organic seed growers and conservation and food safety groups seeking a temporary ban on Monsanto Co.’s genetically engineered beets.

Article

Eating Low Carb makes you stupid

2010-03-14T14:17:00.008-04:00

There is a diet in Sweden callled the ISO-diet. It is basically a diet which divides protein, fat and carbohydrates into equal parts.

At the homepage of the ISO-diet, the founder Fredrik Paulun with a Masters in Nutrition, compares six different diets. He claims the following about low carb:

"Ketone bodies are formed in the body when on a low carbohydrate diet. Ketones are acidic and makes the environment in the body more acidic, which increases the risk for brittle-bone disease, inflammation, constipation and pain. The brain also doesn´t function as well, with a lower carbohydrate intake and you lose interest in exercise. Simply put, it makes you stupid."

Link for those who read Swedish: http://www.isodieten.se/Publikt/Dietjamforelse

NOTE: This is not satire, even though it might make a few people laugh.

Also note that his claims are pure fabrication except for the constipation part which could be a transitional side effect of switching to a low carb diet.

The ISO-diet is Paulun´s baby - one of his businesses. Let´s all wish him best of luck with his business and his business methods. When a business owner has so little faith in his own method he relies on slandering the competition, well, that´s all that needs to be said of the owner and the method.

Quote of the Day

2010-03-14T07:22:00.003-04:00

Our health depots require far more careful eating than that! It requires that you eat food not based on refined food with nutrient lacking carbohydrates. Food which humans have consumed for a very long time. Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, nuts, fruit, oils and other food which doesn´t get any room on your plate after the flour-mafia has occupied your entire meal with sticky pasta.

- Jonas Colting, Ultraman World Champion

Are you scared of fat?

2010-03-14T04:58:00.007-04:00

Saw this video today. Love this dietitians fear of fat. Dietitians in Sweden are the same. Still live in a world were fat is the demise of mankind. People cut down on fat, yet obesity is going up. Time to wake up and smell the coffee?

According to this woman you should not eat: meat, fat, sugar, white flour and pasta or "anything that spikes your blood sugar." So what should you eat?

Love that woman at 2:28.

"Is it possible to eat healthy when you live a life on the go? Please don´t tell me to pack snacks or my own lunch, because I know that´s not gonna happen."

The World According to Monsanto

2010-03-13T19:09:00.001-05:00

The Monsanto Monstrosity

2010-03-12T17:06:00.001-05:00

Choose the next part among the thumbnails at the end.

And finally som good news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8308903.stm

Oatmeal healthy? If you like high blood sugar.

2010-03-12T13:32:00.009-05:00

Oatmeal = Tons of carbs (52% carbs)
Tons of carbs = Raised blood sugar
High blood sugar = Insulin production
Insulin = Prevents fat burn
Insulin = Instrumental in fat storage
Insulin = Falling blood sugar
Falling blood sugar = Hunger
Hunger = Eat more
Eat more = Overeating
Overeating = Obesity

Simply put. ;)

I meet a lot of people eating oatmeal believing it is healthy. I am from Sweden and we have a long, long tradition of oatmeal.

The grain industry has been sponsoring Swedish athletes for a very long time.

Apparently, kids who get into sports get a brochure, from sponsored by one of the biggest grain producers, AXA in Sweden, loaded with propaganda about how athletes must eat a lot of carbohydrates. If nothing else the AXA executives can afford new Beamers.

Fortunately there are more and more athletes breaking away from traditional diets. One of the main reasons being, that top athletes get sick a lot. Björn Ferry, who won a gold in Vancouver, is on a low carb diet. No oatmeal whatsoever for him.

Dr William Davis at The Heart Scan Blog writes:

I now no longer recommend any oat product due to its blood sugar-increasing effects.

The Açaí MLM scheme

2010-03-12T02:03:00.007-05:00

Read a critical breakdown of the wonders of antioxidants, which I have heard to boredom by now, at Alan Aragon´s blog. Apparently regular cheap red wine has more antioxidant capacity than the Açaí juices.

Acai has become a household name, due in part to best-selling author Dr. Nicholas Perricone proclaiming it to be the #1 superfood.

And here are the study results Aragon references to:

Each of the 6 tests was equally factored into determining overall antioxidant potency. Here’s how the beverages ranked:

Pomegranate juice
Red wine
Concord grape juice
Blueberry juice
Blackberry juice
Acai juice
Cranberry juice
Orange juice
Iced tea (green, black, & white tea collectively)
Apple juice

So - from now on please don´t try and get me aboard on the Açaí MLM schemes. Selling a product which cost 40 dollars for two weeks consumption is a tall order for most normal folks, and now there is actually research showing it is a tall order to convince someone Açaí at $40 is better for you than Blueberry Juice at $3 or red wine at $2.

Full article at Alan Aragon's blog.

More about Pomegranate juice.

What is happiness?

2010-03-11T04:13:00.004-05:00

Happiness my style is:

Waking up 6 in the morning fresh as a daisy after being used to wake up around 11 dead tired.
To be able to run for 8 minutes after having a record of 2 minutes.
When your special one texts "<3".
When your long friend decides to try that whacky diet of yours.
Sun in your face a Sunday morning.
The promise of a trout in my favorite river.
Losing 20 lbs in 6 weeks without dieting.
Eating everything you wanted to eat, but never could because it was too fat.
Seeing people protest against old and false dogma.
Not having to smoke again, ever again.
When you realize your self esteem is at an all time high.
When you realize your life has changed in a direction better than ever before.

Help me out here. :)

Many of the antimicrobials given to livestock are important in human medicine

2010-03-09T18:21:00.001-05:00

Approximately 13.5 million pounds of antimicrobials prohibited in the European Union are used in agriculture for nontherapeutic purposes every year by U.S. livestock producers.

The European Union has prohibited nontherapeutic agricultural use of antimicrobials that are important in human medicine, such as penicillins, tetracyclines, and streptogramins. Total U.S. agricultural use of these banned antimicrobials is enormous.

http://bit.ly/bqi478

They ain´t getting my money

2010-03-09T17:56:00.003-05:00

- Did you vote for the new clean air bill?
- Sure.
- How did you vote?
- I voted for it.
- What? I voted against it.
- Why?
- Taxes, man. They ain´t getting my money.
- We live in a town which has had the worst air in America for a couple of years now.
- I don´t care.
- You have kids don´t you?
- So?
- Your kid´s health isn´t worth 7 dollars a year for two years?
- But...

Rushes off bright red faced.

Leg of lamb - heaven on a plate

2010-03-09T12:12:00.000-05:00

Today´s dinner was absolutely delicious.

Rosemary and garlic marinated leg of lamb, cooked on the bone in foil, so no goodness escaped. The juice was the base of a sauce made of heavy cream, philadelphia cheese, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. A side of green salad and fresh spinach.

Heaven on a plate. The lamb was so moist it melted in the mouth.

Did I tell you I am on a diet? A diet of natural food and heavenly goodness every day. :)

Food in America. A retrospect.

2010-03-07T08:20:00.195-05:00

When I grew up I was very active, soccer and high jumping being my favorite sports. My proudest moment was being the best 13 year old in the Donald Duck Swedish Nationals or Kalle Anka as he is called in Sweden. I was a tall, lean teenager. When I moved to Gothenburg in 8th grade I started dancing and taking karate lessons as well. The years when I danced and did karate at the same time was probably the most fit years of my life. I felt good, I looked good and the world was my oyster.

I lead a very active life in my late teens and my early twenties. But things took a turn for the worse at one point in my life and I stopped being as active. A lot of bad eating habits combined with poor self esteem put me at 227 lbs (103 kg) when I was 25. I had been around 180 since my early teens. I am 6 foot 2, by the way.

I had a monster of an unintentional weight loss one summer when I lost around around 44 lbs (20 kg) in 2 months. By that time I was an avid fly fisherman, so I lost all that weight from eating wild brown trout every day. And living in a tent in the woods for two months at my favorite river in northern Sweden.

But all that lost weight came creeping back slowly but surely and by the time I was heading to America in 2001 I was weighing around 209 lbs (95kg), which was an overweight of about 22 lbs (10kg) for me.

I went to Utah, (No jokes about Utah, please. Its painful enough to live there) to study. My years in school were great, albeit with some strange educational rules forcing me to take classes like Statistics 101 and Human Development Across the Lifespan (which basically was a class on how to become a good mother.) The reason a lot of students took that class was it covered three requirements. 3 credits and 3 requirements. Strange but true.

I remember going to the supermarket for the very first time. Smith's on 400 East. I had never seen a supermarket that size before. You better not forget something from aisle 2 because it is a long way back from aisle 19. The first thing that struck me was that vegetables were so expensive. And the bread available was far from what I was used to. I ate dark or sourdough bread, so the hordes of wheat and sugary bread in the bread aisle was just not for me.

I was used to fruit juice, I didn't know any better back then, but couldn't find any juices without added sugar. I asked an employee and he confirmed they didn't carry non sweetened juices. I looked for mineral water, but real mineral water, like Perrier was a bit pricey for me, and sodas has never been part of my regular diet so I skipped that all together.

Back home I always had yogurt for breakfast. Yogurt is a bit of religion in Sweden. In the US I did find "low fat" or "fat free" yogurts like Dannon, but they all had a lot of sugar added. And the ingredients were shady to say the least:

Dannon Activia Strawberry yogurt:

Cultured grade a reduced fat milk, strawberry, fructose syrup, sugar, contains less than 1% of fructose, whey protein contentrate, corn starch, modified corn starch, kosher gelatin, natural flavor, carmine (for color), sodium citrate, malic acid

(Contents are normally written in upper case, but I converted it to lower case to make it easier to read. Graphic designers know ALL UPPERCASE WRITING IS HARD TO READ. Is this intentional by the companies? Of course it is.)

First of all, anything with reduced fat is compensated with sugar or artificial sweeteners. If you remove fat from milk and add nothing to compensate the milk will be tasteless. Ingredients are listed proportionally, most of the ingredient, first to last. In the above example, the least of total content is malic acid and reduced fat milk the most.

Natural flavor is a tricky one. The flavors and aromas are so concentrated they seem like a small part of the ingredients, but it only takes a very small amount to achieve the desired result. Think of it as perfume, the most concentrated one. Big Food does this to save on real flavor, in the above case strawberries.

A very recent study about fructose claims fructose could be a reason behind child diabetes. MD Robert Lustig's, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology lecture about sugar and fructose is excellent for anyone interested. If you know of additional studies showing dangers of HFCS, please post them in the comments or mail them to me. For more information on high fructose corn syrup and corn in general, do watch the movies Food Inc. and King Corn.

Let's move on to the confusing nutrition facts. Illustrated by the below comparison of US and European nutrition facts. I have used Wonderbread to illustrate the differences.

Now, if all products where based on 28 gram portions it would be easy to compare products, but of course they aren't. A few examples:

113 grams - Dannon: Activia Strawberry Yogurt
177 ml - CapriSun: Fruit Dive 6 Oz Pouch 100% Juice
12 oz - Tropicana: Pure Premium - Some Pulp Orange Juice
84 grams - Tyson: Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast
28 grams - Wonder Classic White Bread

Below are the nutrition facts of Swedish whole milk.

Click the image for larger version

Now let's assume you want to buy bread for breakfast. You find three kinds of bread which are to your liking:

Portion size: 28 grams - Wonder Classic White Bread
Portion size: 38 grams - Thomas': Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Breakfast
Portion size: 85 grams - Western Bagel: Original Recipe Blueberry Bagels

Now you want to find out which one is more healthy. Based on the information available in the nutrition facts, how do you figure out which has the least i.e. calories? Unless you have a calculator with you or you are a savant with mad math skills, you can't. I used an Excel spreadsheet to calculate the facts I used in the illustrations.

My point? All food in Europe is marked the same, per 100 grams. No matter if it is a liquid or solid food. So when you compare two products you compare per 100 grams, not by portion size.

The politicians in EU are however trying to make Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) standardized in Europe. Big Food are having a blast of course. An example was OLW Chips, a Swedish brand of potato chips. One of their chips packages said the chips had 135 calories based on a portion size of 25 grams. 25 grams is about 13 pieces of chips. Do you know anyone who eats 13 chips and then says:

Thanks, I'm good.

Me neither. The Swedish FDA approved OLW's portion size. However if you eat the whole thing, 300 grams of heart attack artery clogging goodness, you consume about 1500 calories. 135 vs 1500. No wonder Big Food hearts GDA.

Since nutrition facts have been like this for a long time, people have gotten used to them and have accepted them. Why does the FDA allow this?

Some time ago the FDA changed the limits on how much trans fat a product could contain in order to use the words "Trans Fat Free" on the packaging. Big Food of course was annoyed by this, but they are ingenious, so they found a solution very quickly. Change the portion size to a smaller one. Trans fat fell below the limit with the new portion size and voilà - it's legally Trans Fat Free, without changing the actual trans fat content of the product.

Ok, I got way off topic there. Back to my retrospect of American Food. As you can tell, the culture shock was severe. I tried eating healthy, but it was hard. And once school was seriously under way late nights in the studios became more and more common. Late nights mean hunger, means food, means available food, means vending machines. My sweet Jesus, I ate a lot of junk food during those late nights. Coke, candy, chocolate bars, burritos heated in the disgusting microwave used by everyone and not cleaned since before America put a man on the moon, hamburgers, Powerade, cookies, pop tarts, pies, chips, pizza and tons of the watery crap called coffee. The coffee did have a very vague flavor of the real thing and it did wake me up, so I suppose it had caffeine in it and got the required job done...

I have no idea how much sugar I consumed the first few years, but after 2 years I had gained 37 lbs (17 kg) and had become officially obese. By that time I had pretty much given up. I didn't really care how much I weighed anymore. Given it is socially accepted in Utah to be obese, nobody else really cared either. Strange thing is I didn't gain more as far as I recall. Maybe part of it was I starved myself long periods of time. I simply didn't eat.

Recalling the vending machine food, I don't really want to know how much sugar I consumed. Out of sight out of mind.

My staple food was Domino's, Burger King, a local Mexican joint, which was infamous for all food poisonings, Chili's, an Indian place, Subway and occasionally the local diner for a "regular" warm dinner. I never cooked at home anymore. Not that I really ever had.

I recall visiting home during those years. My friends were kind enough not to say anything, but I could tell. Their eyes said:

"Peter , what on earth have you done with yourself?"

I had no answer for them. I knew. There was nothing to say. No excuses. I had officially become a fat guy.

Looking back at it today, I could have eaten low carb in America and stayed in shape. I eat what a lot of Americans eat for breakfast i.e. Bacon and eggs, sans the bread.

Unfortunately I wasn't aware of low carb then. Upon returning to Sweden I fought with my weight until last Christmas. Then I decided to change my habits. And it sure has paid dividends. Reading contents and nutrition facts requires some practice, but boy is it worth it.

So you think you're a night person

2010-03-06T02:05:00.008-05:00

Since I changed my diet I´ve been having a harder and harder time to maintain my self image of being a night person. I think one thing - my body another. I am losing the battle. Last night I fell asleep at ten.

The time is 6.58 a.m. I woke up about half an hour ago. The sun is barely rising. I would not get up at half past six on a Saturday earlier, even if I got paid. Now I am starting to like it. Everything is quiet and peaceful.

Within a not too distant future the ice will be gone and the snow will only be a memory. The time to dig out my equipment will have arrived. The best time to fool a silver bullet is sunrise and sundown. A silver bullet is a sea trout. If you never had spring sea trout, you are missing out. A delicacy.

Sean Croxton of UndergroundWellness.com speaks a lot of sleep and hormones. Below I´ve posted a video of his about sleep, stress and cortisol. Your body produces cortisol naturally in the morning. It´s to get us started and wake us up.

In the evening melatonin is produced. It´s to make you sleepy and to put the body in sleep mode. The best way to stay awake in the evening is to drink caffeine or eat carbohydrates to raise your blood sugar levels. You force the body to stay awake when you do that. Of course, it´s not healthy to counteract your natural need to sleep. It didn't matter if I slept 5, 8 or 10 hours before. I would wake up tired no matter when I got up or how long I slept. Since I changed my diet I sleep less and wake up energized. Energized in a way I haven't felt in a very long time. It's a wonderful feeling. I feel 20 years younger.

Have a great weekend everyone. :)

Truffle oil? No such thing.

2010-03-05T10:47:00.016-05:00

I am reading a book called "The Secret Chef" (Den hemlige kocken) by Mats-Eric Nilsson.The book has not yet been translated into English.

What we think is balsamic vinegar, in fact is, ordinary wine vinegar blended with grape juice and brown caramel color. That would be Aceto balsamico di Modena. The real deal is called Aceto balsamico Tradizionale delicious and very expensive.

Truffle Oil, a popular oil added to a lot of dishes in many homes, is not truffle oil. You can not produce truffle oil at all. The only thing that would happen if you put truffles in oil is they would eventually rot. This is because the truffle does not contain essential oils which can be extracted. Thus, it is impossible to produce truffle oil. Truffle oil is an oil with chemically produced aromas which mimic the taste and smell of truffles.

Zeta, a major oil manufacturer writes on their product page:

"Olive oil flavored with truffle aroma. Like all the best truffle oils it gets its flavor from thoroughly tested aromas. The white truffle aromas are volatile and difficult to resolve in oil."

In plain English? Chemists made flavors which taste and smell like truffles, but is everything but truffles.

The Secret Chef is an incredible eye opener. Japanese researchers have found a way to extract vanillin (one of the ingredients of real vanilla, but far what gives vanilla its characteristic flavor) from cow dung. The cow dung vanillin is supposed to go into production sometime this year. It will probably not be used for food production since you have to state the source of origin with food, but it will be used for perfumes and skincare products.

Smoked ham of lesser quality is not smoked at all. It has never been near smoke. It gets its smokey taste from smoke aroma. The world leader in smoke aromas is Red Arrow.

Bayer sold HIV contaminated medicine in Spain, France and Japan

2010-03-04T03:19:00.004-05:00

Not related to diets, I know, but I still think this is important so here goes.

Bayer corporation is an offspring of IG Farben, the company responsible for human genetics testing in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. High coporate officers of IG Farben were indicted during the Nurnberg trials and convicted. They were however released before their sentence was complete and some of them returned to corporate positions within the German business world.

Link to New York Times article.

Carbs and exercise Part II

2010-03-04T03:04:00.002-05:00

It is well known that adaptation to a fat-rich carbohydrate-poor diet results in lower resting muscle glycogen content and a higher rate of fat oxidation during exercise when compared with a carbohydrate-rich diet.The net effect of such an adaptation could potentially be a sparing of muscle glycogen, and because muscle glycogen storage is coupled to endurance performance, it is possible that adaptation to a high-fat diet potentially could enhance endurance performance.

Conclusion: Low carb diets result in higher fat burn (fat oxidation) compared to High carb diet, when exercising.
Link to publication.

Myths exposed: Training does not require carbohydrates

2010-03-04T02:16:00.006-05:00

Just read a study where a carb diet and a high fat diet was compared in relation to endurance in exercise. Quote from the study:

Exercise time to exhaustion during HIE was not significantly different between trials: nor were the rates of muscle glycogen utilization during HIE different between trials, although starting muscle glycogen content was lower [...] after the HIGH-FAT diet. Despite a lower muscle glycogen content at the onset of MIE [...], exercise time to exhaustion during subsequent MIE was significantly longer after the HIGH-FAT diet [...].

In plain English? The difference in time from start to exhaustion is not significant, despite the glycogen storage being lower in the high fat group.

Conclusion? The body needing carbs for training is a myth.

Codex Alimentarius explained

2010-03-04T01:12:00.005-05:00

The rest of the lecture can be found here: http://bit.ly/dhhKqR

About Ian Crane:

An ex-oilfield executive, Ian now lectures and writes on the geo-political webs that are being spun; with particular focus on US Hegemony and the NWO agenda for control of global resources. Since 2007 Ian has focused his efforts on raising public awareness of the pernicious attack on the global population in the name of corporate globalisation and harmonisation; with particular focus on the excesses of Codex Alimentarius. Ian is an independent researcher; he is completely self-funded. The views expressed in his talks and DVD's are based entirely upon his personal knowledge and research. Prior to his retirement from the corporate arena, Ian enjoyed a career of 25 years in telecommunications and international oilfield services, a career that provided the opportunity to live & work in the U.K., Continental Europe, the Middle East & Houston, Texas.

Website: http://www.ianrcrane.co.uk

Codex Alimentarius - why?

2010-03-02T19:57:00.000-05:00

I found out about Codex Alimentarius today. Had never heard of it before. To be honest it scares me. Few things do, but Codex does. I emailed my national Codex representative asking how the EU can allow this. Let´s see if I get an answer.

Free food at McDonalds

2010-03-02T16:41:00.001-05:00

Ok, I don´t recommend anyone to do this, nor do I think McDonalds actually serve anything which could be called food. But this is perty funny. :)

Sugar the Bitter Truth, the short version

2010-03-02T01:16:00.000-05:00

Sean Croxton of Underground Wellness, summarizes Professor Lustig´s lecture on sugar.

Great role model?

2010-02-28T13:37:00.002-05:00

Michael Phelps, shame on you.

I don´t care how much money McDonald's spend to improve their image. They poison people all over the world. Period.

On another note. What are those fries made of?????

I am tempted to try this myself, just to find out how long they will last. Scary, scary "food."

146 reasons why sugar is ruining your health

2010-02-28T11:53:00.002-05:00

By Nancy Appleton, PhD.

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases).
6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose.
7. Sugar reduces high-density lipoproteins.
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.
9. Sugar leads to cancer of the ovaries.
10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.

That´s ten. 136 more at Nancy Appleton´s site: http://www.nancyappleton.com/NA144reasons.html

Omega 3 - The miracle medicine

2010-02-28T09:17:00.003-05:00

Unreal triglyceride story at the Heart Scan Blog.

bit.ly/3ajj31

Taubes' Tidbits No.1

2010-02-27T11:19:00.010-05:00

In the beginning of chapter 4 of Taubes' book Good Calories, Bad Calories, Taubes writes about Albert Schweitzer who in 1913 arrives in Lambaréné, Gabon, West Africa. Schweitzer was a missionary surgeon.

"Schweitzer estimated that he saw almost two thousand patients in the first nine months."

After the first nine months he averaged 30-40 patients a day for most of the coming 40 years. 41 years later and a year after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize he encountered the first case of appendicitis. When first arriving to Gabon,

"[he] was astounded to encounter no cases of cancer."

During the years more and more cancer appeared. Schweitzer attributed this to the locals living "more like the whites."

Birds are snobs

2010-02-27T04:29:00.004-05:00

I have a bird house in the garden. A month ago, when I began with LCHF, I didn't want to throw away my muesli. So I gave it to the birds. A rather substantial amount, as you can tell by the images.

But it would seem muesli isn't on the menu as far as birds go. They haven´t touched any of it. I couldn't help laughing when I saw it.

"The USDA recommends fiber, don't you stupid birds know that?"

I have added some real bird food on top of it all. I don't want the poor things to starve to death. :)

I gained 30 lbs from one cracker

2010-02-26T16:11:00.002-05:00

Love The Heart Scan Blog by Dr William Davis, Cardiologist. Found a story today about a patient of his, a woman who, yes you read it right, gained 30 lbs from one lousy cracker...

Let me tell you a story, a tale of a woman who gained 30 lbs by eating one cracker. [...]

This time, a tray of whole wheat crackers was laid on the buffet table, covered with some sort of sweetened cheese. She had just one. She savored the taste that she'd missed. "Maybe one more. I'll be extra good this weekend,'" she told herself.

Enjoy the the read.

Unilever Loves Your Heart

2010-02-25T12:51:00.002-05:00

New design

2010-02-25T05:14:00.002-05:00

So I decided to redo the design of the blog. The old one was a bit too, well, messy.

Tell me what you think. :)

Anxious sugar rats

2010-02-23T16:05:00.004-05:00

October 17th, 2009 Professor David Diamond from the University of South Florida presented his findings about rats and sugar.

"Professor David Diamond, in the Departments of Psychology, Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, and a career scientist at the Tampa VA Hospital, investigated the effects of a typical American diet, which is high in fat and sugar, compared to an Atkins-type diet, which is high in animal and vegetable fat but low in sugar, on the physiology and behavior of rats."

They found that rats which eat a typical high-fat, high carb diet are more anxious and gained more weight than the Atkins diet group of rats.

All groups were exposed to a traumatic event, a mild electric shock, and later when faced with the same circumstances, the American diet group showed signs of anxiety and fear, while the low carb group was less fearful.

"These [the American diet] animals also demonstrated other evidence of anxiety, such as greater startle responses and fear of a novel place. The Atkins diet rats, by contrast, exhibited no signs of anxiety when they were in the novel environment. The researchers also found that the American diet group gained significantly more weight than the groups fed the Atkins and control diets."

A connection was made between sugar in combination with fat, as being the primary factor to obesity. However, the low carb Atkins diet, also with a high fat intake, was found to be an effective strategy to lose weight and, findings suggest, a reduction in anxiety and better performance under stress.

Full artice.

My new old belt

2010-02-22T16:28:00.002-05:00

Had to punch new holes in my belt today. It was just sitting there, not doing anything in particular. So I punched two new holes. One for now and one for the future. Dang, that felt good! :)

Month 1: Waist - down 4.7 inches. (12 cm)

Obesity on the rise as cause of death in the UK

2010-02-22T04:35:00.003-05:00

"About a quarter of adults in the UK are now obese.

Obesity and problems caused by being overweight are thought to cost the NHS more than £3bn a year.

The Scottish government said 40% of Scots could be classed as obese by 2030, if things do not change."

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the Faculty of Public Health says:

"We have to take obesity seriously."

More low fat diet advice, Professor Maryon-Davis? Same advice, different result?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8524510.stm

Walking the stairs can be fun

2010-02-22T02:06:00.006-05:00

I couldn't help smiling when I saw this. The stairs are in Stockholm, Sweden.

Click the arrow icon at the bottom to the right to get a fullscreen view. (No not everyone hangs at Youtube every day. ;P)

Skip the bananas, lose weight

2010-02-21T08:38:00.009-05:00

Read an article in Dagens Nyheter (the biggest newspaper in Sweden) today.

"A 64 year old woman had been treated for diabetes type 2 and high blood pressure and weighed 273 lbs."

She was recommended, in January 2007, by her doctor do quit eating bananas, which she did twice a day. Without making any other lifestyle changes or diet changes she lost 26 lbs the first year, simply by not eating bananas. By spring 2009 she had lost a total of 60 lbs.

She had ended her insulin treatment as a result and her blood pressure medicin had been reduced by 50%. Her husband who also quit eating bananas, lost 22 lbs during the same time.

"A 42 year old man had a habit of drinking half a gallon of soda every day. He had been doing so for a long time."

When recommended by his doctor to stop this habit, he lost 17 lbs in a few weeks.

"An office removed the bowl of fruit from the staff room by mistake."

Within a few weeks, almost all employees had lost a few pounds, which surprised them in a good way. Some employees suspected the fruit, but nobody said anything.

More on fructose:

If fructose is a Villain, what about juice?
L.A. Times

Consuming fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans
Journal of Clinical Investigation

Livsmedelsverket mörkar att du blir fet av frukt
Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish)

Robert Lustig, MD - Sugar the Bitter Truth

2010-02-20T09:03:00.007-05:00

A 1.5 hour long lecture on sugar, by Robert Lustig, MD. If you have the time to watch it, please do. You will think of sugar in a completely different way after watching it.

An article from University of California, San Francisco describes Lustig's work as follows:

The rise of obesity is usually blamed on too much eating and not enough exercising, but Robert Lustig, MD, a UCSF pediatric neuroendocrinologist, asks us to look beyond the obvious.

[...]

More specifically, it is fructose that is harmful, according to Lustig. Fructose is a component of the two most popular sugars. One is table sugar — sucrose. The other is high-fructose corn syrup. High-fructose corn syrup has become ubiquitous in soft drinks and many other processed foods.

Full article: "Sugar is a poison"

Those of us who follow LCHF by the letter avoid fruit completely, however a lot of us eat an occasional fruit and still have great results on the scale.

Photo from http://sugarstacks.com

An orange is in principle; water, fibers, sugar and vitamin C. A much better alternative to i.e. an orange, which contains the equivalent of 6 sugar cubes, is sweet peppers (paprika). You only need 40 grams (1.5 oz) of paprika to get the recommended daily value of vitamin C. Paprika holds 4 times more vitamin C, then an orange.

Paprika falls well within the philosophy of LCHF, with 5.6% carbs. Personally I eat my 40 grams in the morning with my cream omelet and bacon. Since I want to keep my carb intake as low as possible. Paprika adds a nice crispiness and freshness to my breakfast.

Other good low carb sources of vitamin C are:

parsley
kale
Brussel sprouts
broccoli (probably a favorite among LCHF people)
cauliflower (try grating it and pan frying it, very tasty and acts as starch to get all the delicious sauce off the plate)

Statins increase occurence of diabetes

2010-02-19T14:38:00.006-05:00

Statins are a class of drugs that lower cholesterol levels.

In an article in The Lancet a study of 13 statin trials with a total of 91 140 participants, shows an 9% increased occurrence of diabetes compared to the control group. Of the 91 140 subjects, 4278 developed diabetes during a mean time of 4 years. Of these 2226 were assigned statins and 2052 a control treatment.

Interpretation:

"Statin therapy is associated with a slightly increased risk of development of diabetes, but the risk is low both in absolute terms and when compared with the reduction in coronary events."

Full article here.

Perhaps eating low carb natural food is a better cure to coronary events? What we need are long time studies and effects of low carb high fat diets compared to traditional high carb diets.

In Statin Drugs Side Effects and the Misguided War on Cholesterol by Dr. Duane Graveline, M.D., he claims Statins are the "Thief of Memory", or in plain english, Statins fry your memory.

Uffe Ravnskov MD. PhD, who has written The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy that Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease - the book was burnt on Finnish National TV in 1992 - is reviewed as:

"It convincingly demonstrates that there is something seriously wrong with the mainstream theory of heart disease. It destroys the diet-heart hypothesis, and makes a compelling case against the use of cholesterol-lowering drugs."

Full review here.

In Sweden four professors in the last year have claimed saturated fat has absolutely nothing to do with cardiovascular disease.

See you later 100 kilo...

2010-02-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

...or actually goodbye forever!

Cracked the hated 100 kilo (220.4 lbs) limit today! And with style - 99.5kg (219.3 lbs).

I haven't weighed this little since the late 90's. I was dancing around like a rabbit on an overdose of caffeine.

This is absolutely nuts. I eat good food. I eat when I am hungry. And I am still losing weight. Life couldn't be better!

I've lost almost 30% of my target loss. 7.3 kg (16lbs) down, 16.5 kg (36lbs) to go. 12 centimeters (4.7inches) around the waist. 2 clothes sizes. And all this in only 1 month!!!!

The Great Separation Day

2010-02-18T14:58:00.000-05:00

Today was the Great Separation Day.

Gave away all things which I won't be needing anymore.

jam
margarine
processed oils
spreads
flour
sugar
vanilla sugar
vanilla creams
strawberry pudding
syrup
parsnip
potatoes
onions
rutabaga
rice
pasta
hard bread

... and so on. Felt great and I won't be missing it. The best? All the space in the cupboards and in the fridge. :)

Gary Taubes lecture on obesity

2010-02-17T17:23:00.006-05:00

Big Fat Lies, lecture on fat.

One hour an eleven minutes. All worth it. Taubes brings the calories in and out theory to a whole new level.

Soy milk + Hexane = True

2010-02-17T05:54:00.003-05:00

Last May NaturalNews.com published an article on soy and how it's produced.

(NaturalNews) Virtually all "protein bars" on the market today are made with soy protein. Many infant formula products are also made with soy protein, and thousands of vegetarian products (veggie burgers, veggie cheese, "natural" food bars, etc.) are made with soy protein. That soy protein is almost always described as safe and "natural" by the companies using it. But there's a dirty little secret the soy product industry doesn't want you to know: Much of the "natural" soy protein used in foods today is bathed in a toxic, explosive chemical solvent known as hexane.

Hexane is a neurotoxin.

In the industry, hexanes are used in the formulation of glues for shoes, leather products, and roofing. They are also used to extract cooking oils from seeds, for cleansing and degreasing all sorts of items, and in textile manufacturing.

Full article by Mike Adams: http://www.naturalnews.com/026303_hexane_soy_food.html

There is NO connection between saturated fat and cardiovascular (heart) disease

2010-02-16T07:48:00.011-05:00

Swedish doctor Andreas Eenfeldt posted on his blog, Kostdoktorn, today (in Swedish):

"There is no connection between consumption of saturated fat and cardiovascular diseases.
- Peter Nilsson.
Professor of Cardiovascular Research. January 2010

”Two generations of Swedes have been misinformed about what they should eat, and Swedes have been trying to decrease fat intake in vain. It is time to overlook today's dietary advice and base them on modern science."
- Göran Berglund,
Professor of Internal Medicine, Lund, Sweden. 2009.

”Scientists have been nagging us about low-fat diets for 30 years, and it turns out to be completely wrong. There is no evidence connecting saturated fat with cardiovascular disease.”
- Fredrik Nyström,
Professor of Internal Medicine. 2009.

”We have underestimated the danger of carbohydrates and overestimated the danger of fat.”
- Johan Frostegård,
Professor of Medicine at The Karolinska Institute. 2010.

To quote the famous Ancel Keys who is the main reason most westerners are terrified of saturated fat:

"People should know the facts. Then if they want to eat themselves to death, let them."

That Ancel Keys' research got such a hold of Western diet is shameful.

Paleo - Modern Day Flintstones

2010-02-14T16:19:00.003-05:00

"A modern-day Stone Age subculture is developing in the United States, where wannabe cavemen mimic their distant ancestors. They eat lots of meat, bathe in icy water and run around barefoot. Some researchers say people led healthier lives in pre-historic times."

In an article in Der Spiegel, Johnny Durant and the Paleolithic movement in the United States are described as - "A Stone Age Subculture Takes Shape in the US." Groups meet and eat exotic dishes like roasted boar and home made jerky. The underlying philosophy is that humans led healthier lives as hunter-gatherers. They grew taller, stronger and had perfect teeth with no signs of caries.

The different parts of the philosophy includes; spending time in the sun every day to get a healthy dose of vitamin D, sprinting short distances at max capacity to emulate the hunt for a prey, eating only what can be killed, picked of trees, plants or the ground, lifting heavy things occasionally, playing a lot (after the hunt there was a lot of free time) and walking around either barefoot or with five-finger shoes to exercise the foot and legs the natural way (shoes are not an ideal environment for the foot).

The nomad life is likened to a never ending camping trip. Carbohydrates are avoided completely with few exceptions. A Paleo diet is high on protein, moderate on fat and extremely low on carbs.

"Muesli? An abomination in the eyes of this modern-day Fred Flintstone. Spaghetti? "A plate full of sugar," Arthur De Vany counters."

Full article: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,677121,00.html

Ann Cooper and Jaime Oliver

2010-02-13T19:37:00.000-05:00

There is not much to say about these two videos. They speak for themselves.

"The generation growing up will live shorter lives than their parents."

Low-Carb Diets Work -- and They're Healthy

2010-02-13T16:46:00.010-05:00

Go ahead, have the steak, but skip the potato and the pasta.

In an article at Men's Health a study is presented, which indicates what most Low Carb High Fat dieters already know. It is the most effective way of dieting. And it is healthy.

"[]he said the study showed the Atkins diet may be more healthful than many of its critics have said. After a year their cholesterol and blood pressure readings were slightly better than those on the other three diets."

The bad cholesterol LDL, remained at the same level with all diets.
The good cholesterol HDL increased the most with the Atkins (LCHF) diet.
The triglyceride levels, a measure of saturated fat in your blood, decreased the most with LCHF. Double the closest diet and 7 times more than the "worst" diet.

Strange how propaganda can make us believe what is not true. We can all thank the "great" Dr Ancel Keys for making us scared of fat. Below is a chart of the weight change achieved with the different diets.

MEAN WEIGHT CHANGE

Full article at Men's Health

Full study can be read at The Journal of American Medical Association.

Obesity 'often set before age of two'

2010-02-13T13:24:00.007-05:00

BBC NEWS reports:

"A [US] study of more than 100 obese children and teenagers found more than half were overweight by 24 months and 90% were overweight by the age of five.

Although the reason for rapid weight gain in early life is not well understood, contributing factors are likely to be poor diet, early introduction of solid food, and not getting enough exercise, the researchers said."

When I see these kind of reports I always ask myself the same question:

If Health Departments give advice on how to eat and exercise, and people still become obese, does the problem lie with the people or with the advice?

Full article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8512102.stm

* * *

"16% of American youth 6-19 are now overweight and 34% are at risk for becoming overweight."

--Centers for Disease Control, August 2007

Wonderful dinner

2010-02-13T12:40:00.006-05:00

Just finished dinner.

M    E    N    U    E

* * *

Pork chop, marinated in garlic, rosemary and lemon, pan roasted in butter.

Cheese baskets with coleslaw with side of roasted tomatoes with Parmesan.

Heavy cream sauce with rosemary and red wine.

* * *

Who said dieting is boring? Delicious!

The Gym Shock

2010-02-12T19:25:00.006-05:00

I went to the gym yesterday. The first time since I started with LCHF. I know I have more energy but, I was shocked. It took me 3.5 minutes to row what I used to row in 5 minutes (in calories). And I ran twice as much as I normally do. I could've kept going, but my legs were burning. My lungs were fine though. So I left the gym after a 45 minutes workout with more energy than when I got there. :)

LCHF Day 22 - down !

2010-02-12T05:09:00.015-05:00

Down 0.88 lbs today. Feels great! 15lbs total in 22 days.

Time	Weight lbs	Waist inches	Hips inches	Weight kg	Waist cm	Hips cm	BMI
Start	235	45.3	45	106.8	115	110	30.2
Day.22	220	41	43	100.2	104	105	28.2
Total	-15	-4.3	-2	-6.6	-11	-5	-2

Soon I'm below 100 kilos. Great to weigh in both kilos and pounds for me, that way I can have new goals all the time! Reached 15 pounds today! Next goal double digits in kilos! Should reach that either tomorrow or on Sunday.

15 lbs in 22 days. Sick! And I don't even feel like I'm on a diet. If anything, I have to force myself to eat my daily calories. The general advice is to eat when you are hungry with LCHF, but I noticed I eat too little when I do. Much too little. The scale tells me it doesn't like when I "starve" myself. When I do, I either don't move or gain. The body knows better then my brain. And, I don't work out at all. I wanted to get past the initial transition period. Fatigue is a common side effect initially, when the body adjusts to fat instead of carbs. I'm starting to feel like I have passed that stage and have a lot more energy. Time to hit the gym!

I haven't been this excited or felt this good since I was in my early twenties!!!

Weight of the Evidence - Blast from the Past

2010-02-11T18:30:00.002-05:00

"The diet compositions of each group, each consuming 1800-calories per day, were:

Group A = 115g protein (25.5%), 104g carb (23.1%), 51.4g fat (51.4%)
Group B = 115g protein (25.6%), 60g carb (13.3%), 122g fat (61.1%)
Group C = 115g protein (25.5%), 30g carb (6.7%), 135.5g fat (67.8%)

(snip)

Let's see what happened...

Group A lost 11.5kg (25.3 pounds)
Group B lost 12.78kg (28.11 pounds)
Group C lost 16.18kg (35.6 pounds)

Are you scratching your head yet?"

Full article here:
http://weightoftheevidence.blogspot.com/2006/02/blast-from-past.html

LCHF Day 21: Weight loss today - none

2010-02-11T04:48:00.009-05:00

Am I going to be worried? No. The first week I freaked out if the scale stood still, but I have learned now my body will do this in its own pace. Stick to the plan and my body will start trusting me. The body is not an oven, it doesn't burn at a 100% every day. The worst thing a dieter can do is cut down drastically on the calories to lose more. The body goes into starvation mode and you might even gain weight.

During World War II, in the Warsaw ghetto, the jews got rations of about 700-800 calories per day. If we go by the calories in calories out rule, they needed about 2000-2500 calories per day to maintain their weight if they had a sedentary lifestyle. The energy deficiency was therefore about 1700 calories. After about two years they should have lost about 375 lbs. Of course they didn't. They lost about 33 to 44 lbs. This proves the body has defense mechanisms against starvation. So those who think you will lose weight quicker if you go on a starvation diet, think again. Will not happen.

What will happen though, is that you will lose weight and most of it will be muscle. When the body goes in to starvation mode, it uses that which costs more energy first - the muscles. Muscles cost a lot of energy for the body - fat doesn't. Fat just sits there saved up for a rainy day or famine. And when you leave starvation mode, you regain your weight, but this time you regain fat, unless you work out to rebuild muscle. So you are back to square one, with the same weight and less muscle.

My advice? Eat healthy, and don't starve yourself.

Chicken and tzatziki

2010-02-10T18:46:00.005-05:00

Not only am I losing weight and getting healthier. I have become quite the decent cook as well. Started cooking almost every day about a year ago. And now I've become pretty decent at cooking. Eating LCHF has made food almost a religious thing to me. I eat every meal as if it was my last.

Today's dinner was beautiful, whole grilled chicken with oven baked tomatoes and tzatziki. Super yummy. And after marinating the chicken one day in advance, without using salt (don't marinate chicken with salt, it will make it dry when done) of course, with garlic, lemon, thyme and some olive oil, the chicken came out with the skin as crispy as you could wish. Moist beautiful meat and delicious with the tzatziki. Super simple food, yet super tasty.

Also, great knives make cooking so much easier. Wüsthof being the knives of my choice.

Tuna Fish mix

2010-02-10T09:50:00.007-05:00

Ingredients
1 can of tuna with oil
6 tbsp creme fraiche (sour cream works as well, or natural yoghurt)
1 tbsp mayonnaise (the full fat one 80-90% fat)
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 tbsp dill, chopped

Do this:
Drain the excess oil from the tuna. Mix it all together. Done!

Eat with omelet or in a salad.

Fear of bakery shops

2010-02-05T18:16:00.004-05:00

I went to a bakery shop today. With a friend. He was buying "Wiener semlor." They looked sooooooooo delicious. Imagine a semla but without the soggy wheat bun with a danish (without the filling) as a cap and bottom. But in the shap of a bun of course. I freaked out when I saw it.

I entered the bakery shop. I saw rows upon rows of semlor. In cold sweat I mumbled to my friend I'd "better step outside." They were out of Wiener semlor and my friend doesn't like regular semla. So he left the bakery empty handed. Na-na-na-naaaaa-na!

I made it safely out of the store. Pheeew!

I was thinking I could go home and celebrate with olives and Gorgonzola. Every day! :)

Sugar Stacks

2010-02-05T15:09:00.000-05:00

Fun site with the sugar content of common food. Link to the site: SugarStacks

Kind of scary to see how much sugar Coke contains. And fruit too, which is supposed to be so healthy.

LCHF Day 14: I don't eat breakfast.

2010-02-04T02:07:00.004-05:00

That has always been my "slogan". I can't really tell you why. If I have been too lazy or if I thought eating in the morning was making me feel sick. With LCHF I have started having breakfast again, and honestly, I wonder how I have made it all these years without breakfast.

Before I could eat a bowl of oatmeal or muesli with milk. And a cup of coffee. Who gets happy from a breakfast like that? Not me. If I recall, without romanticizing LCHF too much, I don't even know if I felt I had had breakfast at all when I had eaten my poor muesli.

Nowadays I eat a hearty breakfast with an omelet made of eggs and heavy cream and fried bacon with some vegetables. I always eat peppers (paprika) in the morning because only a small piece covers my daily need for vitamin C. Every day I get up, I look forward to breakfast. No matter if I compare breakfast with before or not, I feel like a prince after breakfast nowadays.

The other day I overslept and didn't have time to eat breakfast. I couldn't have gotten a worse start of the day. I walked around grumpy for 4 hours, until I finally had my first meal. That's a mistake I won't repeat.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Are fruit juices healthy?

2010-02-03T17:42:00.001-05:00

Bacon and eggs

2010-02-03T10:30:00.004-05:00

Yummy. Love my breakfast. Used a little less cream today, so the calories came down a bit from what it usually is.

579 calories, including coffee and milk.

Excellent way to start the day. :)

Yo-yo dieting

2010-02-03T10:18:00.000-05:00

Been there done that. Not too fun...

Does pasta grow on trees?

2010-02-03T08:23:00.016-05:00

Marlene Olivares-Dahlby is a dietician at The Central Hospital in Sweden. She and colleague Christina Svanström reported Dr Annika Dahlkvist to The Social Department. They belive Dahlqvists advising her patients to eat an extremely low-carbohydrate diet jeopardize patient health.

- The body can not withstand high levels of fat or protein at any time by either fat or protein. Carbohydrates are the body's natural energy source, "says Marlene Olivares-Dahlby.

This makes me wonder what naturally occured in nature 10 000 years ago: Pasta, bread or perhaps danish?

LCHF Day 11

2010-02-03T04:15:00.002-05:00

Ive been thinking about the positives of LCHF, except the brutal weight loss of course.

Daily headache gone.
No sugar craving
Very good food, love my heavy cream sauces
Less hunger, no snacks at all
Smoother joints. They feel like I greased them with some motor oil.
No gases. Thank goodness!
Less toilet visits (is there a kosher way to talk about #2? Lol.) LCHF means you eat more natural food, so there is less excess products the body has no use for.
Better sleep. I don't wake in the nights as I used to.
More energy. After my breakfast with eggs and bacon I feel like I could climb Mount Everest.
My taste buds or palette have gotten far more sensitive. I enjoy food more because of it.
I can tie my shoes without wondering if there is something else I can do while I am down there.
No more snoring. That can drive anyone crazy, both the sleeper and the person forced to listen to it.

Thats all I can think of right now. Life is beautiful!

Carpe your weight!

2.2 lbs just today

2010-02-03T04:13:00.001-05:00

WHAT ON EARTH???

I 've been losing about 0.6 lbs per day. Today I lost 2.2 lbs exactly and that despite consciously eating exactly what I should eat. Normally I'm a few hundred calories below what I should eat. The target calorie count, not the maintenance calories.

I read about a woman the other day. She did this. She started off with eating what she normally eats and then she cut 100 calories per day until the weight loss got to a level she felt comfortable with. After that she stuck to that amount calories. Perhaps I lose less weight if I fall too low. The next few days will have to show that.

But losing 2.2 lbs in a day?? That's nuts. I measured my waist as well. I've lost 2.36 inches in the first 11 days. Makes me so happy I want to cry.

A lion in a circus cage

2010-02-03T04:08:00.004-05:00

"A human who lives a modern life can be seen as a lion in a circus cage. Much alike the lion she is confined to her cage and deprived of her natural life. The cage may be called an apartment, car, subway or office. Let us study how the lion and the human functions in its captivity.

A lot of experts say, lack of exercise leads to obesity. But if this was true the lion should grow in all directions. But the lion stays fit, as long as it is fed meat. Meat is the natural food of a lion. With meat as a nutrient the lion regulates its body weight, even in a cage. But give the lion factory made fodder and its stomach will soon touch the ground."

"The only thing which has been constant through the years are the warnings of saturated fat. It is always as dangerous. This is a worrying message since breast milk contains large amounts of saturated fat. Thus, don't breastfeed!"

From Ät dig ner i vikt by Sten Sture Skaldeman.

+++++

And a study about carbohydrates and fat:
http://weightoftheevidence.blogspot.com/2006/02/blast-from-past.html

Day 4 with LCHF

2010-02-03T04:03:00.005-05:00

Day 4 with LCHF. I've lost 5.9 lbs (2.7kg) in four days. My joints feel smoother. My daily headache is gone. Goodbye forever to carbs!

Had a tasty moussaka yesterday. And a beautiful omelet with a baconmush for breakfast. Yummy!

Just started this blog so and I am moving some posts from another place so there will be a bunch of posts in the same day.