The lessons science and pharmacology teach us about
achieving optimal health, vitality and maximal lifespan with a low net carb, high saturated fat, evolutionarily paleolithic-styled diet aligned with my ancestral heritage and how I lost 50 pounds of body fat. A sorta fairy story.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Primal Nutrition 101, B-A-B-Y !
Posted by hawwwwt bad*ss/ultramarathoner Sarah at DCF, vastly improving on Jeremy's Paleo and Primal pyramid.
The only thing we debate is where does 'lots of sex' belong? Top or bottom?
Maybe it's because I'm a bloke/have a dirty mind, but hovering the pointer over the picture and seeing the file name "Sarah's Triangle" made me snort! Nige. P.S. Ditto for your "crack" comment.
Not a fan of nuts and seeds, too high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. The one nut I eat is the macadamia nut, which has a fatty acid profile even better than olive oil.
Also, these primal food pyramids practically always fail to mention the need to avoid processed oils of any kind. (Vegetable oils are the ones most often processed to give them a long shelf life, such as corn oil, peanut oil, soy oil, etc.)
Basically, avoid these three things as best as possible and you are set: fructose, gluten, polyunsaturated fats.
I suppose I would chime in and say that the triangle ought to point to 'lots of sex' and the rest is just fill 'er.
Seriously, I do have a question that I just posted on Dr. D's site about cornstarch. My girlfriend is a fairly low carb, saturated fats are good for you kind of girl who doesn't particularly understand my disdain for grains (except those containing gluten), starches or vegetable oils (or Omega-6 PUFA for that matter).
As I search for refs on wheat, I get tons of info. Not so much for Omega-6 (saw your write-up on PUFA and narrowing of the arteries - thanks) or starches, certainly not cornstarch. Given your seeming library of knowledge, I wonder if you could comment of why I might have reactions to corn and potatoes?
I appreciate so much the video and sweet, SWEET considerate thoughts *BIG SMILE* I loved it!!! Reminds me too of the classic Saturday Night Live skits...
I think you are the big validator around here in the Paleo world!!
I love nuts/seeds too! But just realized 2 Tbs of Trader Joe's almond butter has 3000 mg PUFAs (mostly n-6, hardly any n-3 ALA). Gotta double up my fish oil when I eat that wonderful, convenient stuff. Gain wt rather quickly w/ nuts too... (esp w/ non-paleo BEER *LAUGH*).
Scott,
You are the MAN. My sister's getting me into macademias now (Trader Joes kinda s*ck but we like the Costco Hawaiian ones).
Steve,
Congrats on your transformation! You need to tell us your triangle!!
Sue,
I like KISS. (keeping it simple, silly) when I'm not ADD high on caffeine.
Personally I use cornstarch in chinese cooking -- yes it's probably not ideal but it tastes better than alternatives like snotty looking arrowroot or other gluten-free thickeners.
Corn -- genetically altered. Have you seen King Corn? Neither have I yet but the ideas are thought-provoking. Apparently the human genome contains corn DNA hypothesized to have been transferred from grain-raised cattle, pork, products, etc.
Potatoes -- these are nightshades. If you are not allergic, the main effect may be higher insulin and glucoses. Red, yellow and anything except white may be less insulin-provoking. The Fungenut study showed an increase in DNA expression of stress and inflammatory genes after white potatoes (as bad as the gluten/bread treatment arms).
n-6 vegetable oils -- these oppose n-3 fish oil which are longevity promoting, anti-arrhythmic and anti-inflammatory.
Control of insulin and other hormones is a nice goal for ultimate health, conditioning and endurance. The veggie oils promote high insulin states, insulin resistance and fat gain. High carb foods (gluten-free or not) also raise insulin excessively depending on the load. Dairy can also for many by triggering the immune system the same way that gluten does ('leaky gut'). Perhaps this is genetic?
Gluten, grains and corn also mess with our enzyme purification/metabolism systems (P450 cytochromes) including the vitamin D ones (thanks Don Metz) and I suspect many others too:
MacAuliffe T, Pietraszek A, McGinnis J: Variable rachitogenic effects of grain and alleviation by extraction or supplementation with vitamin D, fat and antibiotics. Poultry Sci 1976;55:2142-47.
Hidiroglou M, Ivan M, Proulx JG, Lessard JR: Effect of a single intramuscular dose of vitamin D on concentrations of liposoluble vitamins in the plasma of heifers winter-fed oat silage, grass silage or hay. Can J Anim Sci 1980;60:311-18.
Sly MR, van der Walt WH, Du Bruyn DB, Pettifor JM, Marie PJ: Exacerbation of rickets and osteomalacia by maize: a study of bone histomorphometry and composition in young baboons. Calcif Tissue Int 1984;36:370-79.
Clements MR, Johnson L, Fraser DR: A new mechanism for induced vitamin D deficiency in calcium deprivation. Nature 1987;325:62-65.
Batchelor AJ, Compston JE: Reduced plasma half-life of radio-labelled 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in subjects receiving a high fiber diet. Brit J Nutr 1983;49:213-16.
Cordain, Loren -- unpublished, he reports of cereal grains lowering serum vitamin D via increasing the rate of inactivation of vitamin D in the liver
off topic: my husband was born and raised in taiwan. he eats a lot of traditional chinese food as well as a lot of bread and sweets. i'm clear on trying to steer him away from the SAD foods, but what traditional chinese foods should he decrease or cut out? he says he can't go without rice. we got a soy milk maker and were making our own soy milk every morning from soy beans, but that seems to be one of the foods to avoid on paleo. also, do you consume any dairy, and if so, what kind? thx!! ps were you raised on traditional chinese foods?
*haa!* Taiwanese are stubborn (and I know coz I'm Taiwanese-Am). I spoke only Hakka until I was 6.
Soy is lamented because it is a legume full of phytic acid which unless soaked soaked soaked and fermented fermented fermented (or cooked cooked cooked), binds and prevents absorption of minerals and other downstream effects like negating thyroid activating enzymes as well as triggering auto-antibodies against thyroid hormones, enzymes, etc. Also most of the world's soy is GMO -- genetically modified. Globally 90+% of soy crops are drenched in Roundup, glyphosate-herbicide which is a embryonic neurotoxin and mitochondrial poison.
My dad used to make by hand soy milk for us as a kid so it is a uniquely special Asian food. Maybe that is why my sisters and I all have thyroid issues!
Anyway foods that I find acceptable are quite a few in fact! --pork belly (I have a pict and post coming up) --anything pork (esp if pastured, e.g. raised on grass and little grains) --roasted chicken and duck --stir fries w/saturated fats and veggies --white rice (soaked) aint too bad if the carbs are consistently not triggering high glucoses or insulin (brown rice has the phytic acid on the outside of the grain) --glutinous rice (wrappers on dim sum goodies) are ok but again the carb intake can be quite high --sweet potatoes/yams (favorite of Taiwanese) --duck quail eggs --sukiyaki (meat and veggies) --bamboo shoots --all the soups
None of the trad'l onion pancakes, fried donuts, cookies/cakes, Hello Kitty snacks, or flour-based noodles are NOT paleo (which my kids adore *sigh*).
Yam, mung bean, seaweed and rice noodles are little better. I'd love to hear how your diet works out later!
Mary, sorry, forgot dairy... I'm on/off. Off when I want to maintain or lose wt. On when I need to gain -- which can make me gain fat fast. I try to do the raw dairy or sheep/goat cheeses when I do it BUT often it ends up being Peet's coffee/Starbucks half-n-half.
thx dr. bg for you detailed post :) my husband is super super stuuubbooorrrnnn!!! i have 2 daughters, and one is exactly like him!! but stubborn is good too- you don't get pushed around as much. my husband is 46, but he has a lot of health issues. his diet is traditional chinese interwined with a sweet tooth and he is always trying to tempt me!!! i've lost 20 pounds since 8/09, though, so i am resisting the chocolate being waved in front of my nose. he did stop using the soy milk maker, so there have been victories. he eats a lot of bad SAD comfort food. we always have a lot of fruit around, which is OK if we don't overdose on it. my husband does fruit carving as a hobby. he has a youtube channel where he teaches people around the world how to do it (we haven't 'monetized' it yet ;) you can put in chefchang and fruit carving into the youtube search window to see his creations. thx again!!
And EDIBLE *haaa!* How challenging to have that around all the time!
Hope you continue to be blessed by small changes... eventually they'll add up to big changes :)
Also I do use Ghee frequently (purity farms is a great brand, at Whole Foods and many other vendors). It is clarified grassfed/pastured butter which is rich in vit K2.
Weston A Price referred to K2 as 'Activator X' which as potent anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, ant-rheumatologic and anti-heart disease benefits. Chris talks about it recently: http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/Cure-for-Cancer-Activator-X-May-Be-the-Missing-Link-1799.html.html
Thank you for taking so much time to answer my questions on starches, Omega-6 and veg oils, it is very helpful. My hsCRP has risen from 1.33 to 1.80 in the last six months, yikes! I need to understand better how the test works (as in, does one day of not feeling well raise the reading?), so plan to do some research on it. My food choices do cause some angst, so occasionally I find myself compromising to get to the bottom of the pyramid (sharing dessert is romantic to my honey)!
Great! Yes -- hsCRP can go up just by sneezing. J/k but any increased immune system involvement or minor/acute inflammation will raise it, e.g. a cold, allergies, sinutisit, upper respiratory infection and even elite endurance events/training.
Depends who it's with......
ReplyDeleteYou crack me UP!
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's because I'm a bloke/have a dirty mind, but hovering the pointer over the picture and seeing the file name "Sarah's Triangle" made me snort!
ReplyDeleteNige.
P.S. Ditto for your "crack" comment.
Nigee,
ReplyDeleteHey we can share gutter space... I'm generous in that way... *winky*
-G
I anticipate a deep heated discussion coming up on the ins and outs of climax change.
ReplyDeleteThat's it in a nutshell, huh? Not to hard to follow. And we all know where the "lots of sex" belongs ;)
ReplyDeleteDear Dr. B.G., thanks for a great blog, and for making us smile. You're great, you're amazing! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao
ReplyDeleteRight on... *haa* I CONCUR.
ReplyDeleteNuts and seed go together in the Sex triangle, too.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of nuts and seeds, too high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. The one nut I eat is the macadamia nut, which has a fatty acid profile even better than olive oil.
ReplyDeleteAlso, these primal food pyramids practically always fail to mention the need to avoid processed oils of any kind. (Vegetable oils are the ones most often processed to give them a long shelf life, such as corn oil, peanut oil, soy oil, etc.)
Basically, avoid these three things as best as possible and you are set: fructose, gluten, polyunsaturated fats.
I'll take top or bottom at this point... beggars can not be choosy. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, many many thanks!
Steve
Short and to the point - I like it.
ReplyDeleteHello Dr. B G,
ReplyDeleteI suppose I would chime in and say that the triangle ought to point to 'lots of sex' and the rest is just fill 'er.
Seriously, I do have a question that I just posted on Dr. D's site about cornstarch. My girlfriend is a fairly low carb, saturated fats are good for you kind of girl who doesn't particularly understand my disdain for grains (except those containing gluten), starches or vegetable oils (or Omega-6 PUFA for that matter).
As I search for refs on wheat, I get tons of info. Not so much for Omega-6 (saw your write-up on PUFA and narrowing of the arteries - thanks) or starches, certainly not cornstarch. Given your seeming library of knowledge, I wonder if you could comment of why I might have reactions to corn and potatoes?
O Primitivo,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate so much the video and sweet, SWEET considerate thoughts *BIG SMILE* I loved it!!! Reminds me too of the classic Saturday Night Live skits...
I think you are the big validator around here in the Paleo world!!
-G
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteNuts!! Which ones? *haa* j/k
I love nuts/seeds too! But just realized 2 Tbs of Trader Joe's almond butter has 3000 mg PUFAs (mostly n-6, hardly any n-3 ALA). Gotta double up my fish oil when I eat that wonderful, convenient stuff. Gain wt rather quickly w/ nuts too... (esp w/ non-paleo BEER *LAUGH*).
Scott,
You are the MAN. My sister's getting me into macademias now (Trader Joes kinda s*ck but we like the Costco Hawaiian ones).
Steve,
Congrats on your transformation! You need to tell us your triangle!!
Sue,
I like KISS. (keeping it simple, silly) when I'm not ADD high on caffeine.
Hey Nick,
ReplyDeletePersonally I use cornstarch in chinese cooking -- yes it's probably not ideal but it tastes better than alternatives like snotty looking arrowroot or other gluten-free thickeners.
Corn -- genetically altered. Have you seen King Corn? Neither have I yet but the ideas are thought-provoking. Apparently the human genome contains corn DNA hypothesized to have been transferred from grain-raised cattle, pork, products, etc.
Potatoes -- these are nightshades. If you are not allergic, the main effect may be higher insulin and glucoses. Red, yellow and anything except white may be less insulin-provoking. The Fungenut study showed an increase in DNA expression of stress and inflammatory genes after white potatoes (as bad as the gluten/bread treatment arms).
n-6 vegetable oils -- these oppose n-3 fish oil which are longevity promoting, anti-arrhythmic and anti-inflammatory.
Control of insulin and other hormones is a nice goal for ultimate health, conditioning and endurance. The veggie oils promote high insulin states, insulin resistance and fat gain. High carb foods (gluten-free or not) also raise insulin excessively depending on the load. Dairy can also for many by triggering the immune system the same way that gluten does ('leaky gut'). Perhaps this is genetic?
Gluten, grains and corn also mess with our enzyme purification/metabolism systems (P450 cytochromes) including the vitamin D ones (thanks Don Metz) and I suspect many others too:
MacAuliffe T, Pietraszek A, McGinnis J: Variable rachitogenic effects of grain and alleviation by extraction or supplementation with vitamin D, fat and antibiotics. Poultry Sci 1976;55:2142-47.
Hidiroglou M, Ivan M, Proulx JG, Lessard JR: Effect of a single intramuscular dose of vitamin D on concentrations of liposoluble vitamins in the plasma of heifers winter-fed oat silage, grass silage or hay. Can J Anim Sci 1980;60:311-18.
Sly MR, van der Walt WH, Du Bruyn DB, Pettifor JM, Marie PJ: Exacerbation of rickets and osteomalacia by maize: a study of bone histomorphometry and composition in young baboons. Calcif Tissue Int 1984;36:370-79.
Clements MR, Johnson L, Fraser DR: A new mechanism for induced vitamin D deficiency in calcium deprivation. Nature 1987;325:62-65.
Batchelor AJ, Compston JE: Reduced plasma half-life of radio-labelled 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in subjects receiving a high fiber diet. Brit J Nutr 1983;49:213-16.
Cordain, Loren -- unpublished, he reports of cereal grains lowering serum vitamin D via increasing the rate of inactivation of vitamin D in the liver
Does that help?
-g
Jim!!!
ReplyDelete*ha*
off topic: my husband was born and raised in taiwan. he eats a lot of traditional chinese food as well as a lot of bread and sweets. i'm clear on trying to steer him away from the SAD foods, but what traditional chinese foods should he decrease or cut out? he says he can't go without rice. we got a soy milk maker and were making our own soy milk every morning from soy beans, but that seems to be one of the foods to avoid on paleo. also, do you consume any dairy, and if so, what kind? thx!! ps were you raised on traditional chinese foods?
ReplyDeleteHi Mary,
ReplyDeleteGOOD LUCK.
*haa!* Taiwanese are stubborn (and I know coz I'm Taiwanese-Am). I spoke only Hakka until I was 6.
Soy is lamented because it is a legume full of phytic acid which unless soaked soaked soaked and fermented fermented fermented (or cooked cooked cooked), binds and prevents absorption of minerals and other downstream effects like negating thyroid activating enzymes as well as triggering auto-antibodies against thyroid hormones, enzymes, etc. Also most of the world's soy is GMO -- genetically modified. Globally 90+% of soy crops are drenched in Roundup, glyphosate-herbicide which is a embryonic neurotoxin and mitochondrial poison.
My dad used to make by hand soy milk for us as a kid so it is a uniquely special Asian food. Maybe that is why my sisters and I all have thyroid issues!
Anyway foods that I find acceptable are quite a few in fact!
--pork belly (I have a pict and post coming up)
--anything pork (esp if pastured, e.g. raised on grass and little grains)
--roasted chicken and duck
--stir fries w/saturated fats and veggies
--white rice (soaked) aint too bad if the carbs are consistently not triggering high glucoses or insulin (brown rice has the phytic acid on the outside of the grain)
--glutinous rice (wrappers on dim sum goodies) are ok but again the carb intake can be quite high
--sweet potatoes/yams (favorite of Taiwanese)
--duck quail eggs
--sukiyaki (meat and veggies)
--bamboo shoots
--all the soups
None of the trad'l onion pancakes, fried donuts, cookies/cakes, Hello Kitty snacks, or flour-based noodles are NOT paleo (which my kids adore *sigh*).
Yam, mung bean, seaweed and rice noodles are little better. I'd love to hear how your diet works out later!
-G
Mary, sorry, forgot dairy... I'm on/off. Off when I want to maintain or lose wt. On when I need to gain -- which can make me gain fat fast. I try to do the raw dairy or sheep/goat cheeses when I do it BUT often it ends up being Peet's coffee/Starbucks half-n-half.
ReplyDeletethx dr. bg for you detailed post :) my husband is super super stuuubbooorrrnnn!!! i have 2 daughters, and one is exactly like him!! but stubborn is good too- you don't get pushed around as much. my husband is 46, but he has a lot of health issues. his diet is traditional chinese interwined with a sweet tooth and he is always trying to tempt me!!! i've lost 20 pounds since 8/09, though, so i am resisting the chocolate being waved in front of my nose. he did stop using the soy milk maker, so there have been victories. he eats a lot of bad SAD comfort food. we always have a lot of fruit around, which is OK if we don't overdose on it. my husband does fruit carving as a hobby. he has a youtube channel where he teaches people around the world how to do it (we haven't 'monetized' it yet ;) you can put in chefchang and fruit carving into the youtube search window to see his creations. thx again!!
ReplyDeleteMary!
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely art and creations!!!
And EDIBLE *haaa!*
How challenging to have that around all the time!
Hope you continue to be blessed by small changes... eventually they'll add up to big changes :)
Also I do use Ghee frequently (purity farms is a great brand, at Whole Foods and many other vendors). It is clarified grassfed/pastured butter which is rich in vit K2.
Weston A Price referred to K2 as 'Activator X' which as potent anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, ant-rheumatologic and anti-heart disease benefits. Chris talks about it recently:
http://www.westonaprice.org/blogs/Cure-for-Cancer-Activator-X-May-Be-the-Missing-Link-1799.html.html
-G
Dr. B G,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking so much time to answer my questions on starches, Omega-6 and veg oils, it is very helpful. My hsCRP has risen from 1.33 to 1.80 in the last six months, yikes! I need to understand better how the test works (as in, does one day of not feeling well raise the reading?), so plan to do some research on it. My food choices do cause some angst, so occasionally I find myself compromising to get to the bottom of the pyramid (sharing dessert is romantic to my honey)!
Thanks again, and take care.
Nick,
ReplyDeleteGreat! Yes -- hsCRP can go up just by sneezing. J/k but any increased immune system involvement or minor/acute inflammation will raise it, e.g. a cold, allergies, sinutisit, upper respiratory infection and even elite endurance events/training.
-G