Monday, December 27, 2010

Walter Willett: Do 2 Wrongs Make a Right?

Do 2 wrongs make a right?


Toast to the Scumbags
Kanye feat. Pusha T
Courtesy Youtube.com




It is often funny all the things that so-called brilliant Harvard chairpeople say... Dr. Willett MD **like me** studied 'conventional' food science as an undergrad (him, Michigan State; me, UC Berkeley). I would guess that both our studies taught us nothing except he didn't get the low-fat agenda because that was prior to 1977. At least I believe I learned how to read nutritional studies... or in other words learned how to read between the lines. Mmmhh... Willett?? I'm not certain he would recognize 'bad science' since he is a premier epidemiologist... Is epidemiology a lost field?

That Paleo Guy aka Jamie Scott at his (newer) blog recently talked about Dr. Willett's apparent reversal on carbs when he was quoted in the LA Times HERE. I like Jamie's points of contention.

On one hand Dr. Willett defends tropical (fruit) saturated fats like coconut oil recognizing that 'coconut oil has a powerful HDL-boosting effect' (see HERE Harvard letter response #3) yet in half of an instant later he proposes that we 'fatten up our diets' to 40% with [HDL-lowering] PUFAs and monounsaturated oils like soybean, corn and canola and VEHEMENTLY eschews saturated fats to no more than a threshold level of maximum 8% daily. He's a strong proponent of replacing 5% of carbs with more PUFAs like corn, sun, soy, safflower oils and trans-fat free M-A-R-G-A-R-I-N-E. Yes. Lowering carbs will raise HDL. PUFAs on the other hand raise inflammatory and blood thickening markers and LOWER HDL-cholesterol levels. Omega-6 veggie oils are associated with death, all-cause mortality, cancer, infertility, obesity and chronic disease in epidemiology studies (if you are into those).


Eh? OMG Margarine isn't food!!! Even my children can tell you that.

COG DISSONANCE?

Let's blow up his pyramid which he describes in both Harvard literature and in his book 'Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy.' The pyramid on the L-side is from GILLIAN, a paleo blogger; the R-side, Dr. Willett, his book and Harvard propaganda. See below.

[Edit: credits, fixed grudgepudge -- Thank you gilliebean and Sean]


What do you notice?

Things I did enjoy, admittedly, about the Willett The Healthy Eating Pyramid:
--inclusion of alcohol (yes, and not for everyone)
--inclusion of micronutrients and vitamin D supplementation
--daily play and exercise as the base and foundation of good health
--sparing use of sweets, candy, sugar
--mod to heavy use of fish, poultry, eggs (for CHOLESTEROL, CHOLESTEROL, CHOLESTEROL, taurine, omega-3, choline, B-vits, iodine, selenium, minerals, other vital nutrients)



What I vehemently disagree with and that the scientific evidence backs up:
--lack of saturated fats and the brain building block, cholesterol
--lack of saturated fat sources which contain CLA, vitamin A, carotenoids, vitamin D, stigmasterol, and vitamin K2 (e.g. organ meats, red meat, fermented dairy, palm oil, etc)
--lack of saturated fats which raise HDLs and support the nervous and immune systems
--lack of red meat which our carnivore-like hunter-gatherer forebears thrived on
--excessive use of industrial mono- and polyunsaturated fats ('X' WRONG) which are industrial, overheated, over-solvented, pesticide-ridden crop byproducts
--reliance on whole-disease-inducing, gut-dysbiosing, phytate-, lectin-toxic grains ('X' WRONG)



In an article titled Time to Fatten Up Our Diet (Sept 2007), Dr. Willett advocates a higher fat diet of 40% with a maximum 8% saturated, leaving the rest monoun- and poly- (therefore I'd guestimate ~16% and ~16% respectively). WTF 16% OMEGA-6 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS?? I'd consider max 4-6%/day and mostly omega-3s ALA EPA DHA.



Other resources:

o Epidemiological studies (which I don't like but hey here they are here):

--Higher omega-6 associated with insulin resistance in ACS, omega-3 better HOMA (insulin resistance)

--Higher omega-6 associated with more mental retardation

--Rural Okayama women: in city girls higher omega-6 (lower omega-3) associated with lower HDLs compared with rural women



o Prospective human clinical trials (good studies -- macronutrients carbs and protein held generally constant unless noted):

--n=41 healthy men and women: higher dietary omega-6 oils lower HDLs dramatically, saturated fat raises HDLs (see table 3)

--n=10 septic shock patients in the ICU: n-6 lipid infusion impaired and worsened neutrophil function compared with n-3 lipid infusions. Not good in non-septic individuals either...

--n=26 healthy men: increasing omega-6 (linoleic acid, LA) increases CRP and IL-6 (inflammatory markers) though not statistically significant this time. Raising dietary omega-6 also lowers omega-3 RBC EPA levels (e.g. this is a BAD thing). The high n-6 diet produces the lowest protective HDL2 subfractions compared with n-3 and saturated fat. See table 3, 2nd column is I believe n-6 diet. HDL2 are the large, fluffy HDLs and most disease-protective 'good cholesterol' subfraction. Raising HDL2 is always good (unless it's a drug like the lethal torcetrapib and its cousins). The high saturated fat diet produced the lowest Lp(a) and von Willebrand factor (pro-inflammatory) levels. Omega-3 specifically raises HDL2.

--n=11 healthy men: @constant calories, low fat diet v. high fat raised VLDL and Triglycerides HERE. Low fat however did lowered omega-6 (LA) blood levels which may be the only perceived benefit if you discount the negative consequences (higher sdLDL and Trigs).

--n=58 healthy men and women: high n-6 diet (12.7% sunflower oil) produces the lowest HDL2 subfraction (p < 0.05). Wheras, baseline high saturated fat (19.3%) diet produces the best, highest HDLs. Isn't that a surprise. Authors conclusions [LOVE THIS] 'Both diets [15.1% mono-/rapeseed and 12.7% polyunsaturated/sunflower] lowered the level of HDL cholesterol in men but not in women.' *haa aha!* Sunflower oil will kill men faster than women! These authors are advanced. They also measured stigmasterol dietary content (see Table 2). Yes rapeseed contains stigmasterol. However. I'd prefer to obtain my stigmasterol pre-digested from grass-fed, pastured bovine, porcine and poultry sources (ghee, meat, egg yolks, etc), thankyouverymuchyoudietaryMORONS. See WAPF about stigmasterol=Wulzen Factor: the skinny on fats.

--n=15 Free living, college female students: both mutant soybean and commercial soybean oil diets significantly diminished HDLs compared with coconut oil in 3wk staggered feedings. 35% fat diet; did carbs go down? I dunno can't tell from the abstract. Trigs did so I suspect so. High fat usually translates to lower carbs (which should RAISE HDLs unless you are pounding soybean oil at 10% of dietary energy wtf).


o Good Calories, Bad Calories by G. Taubes -- description of Harvard, a playing field for the stalwarts of the low saturated fat dogma-drama that began with Ancel Keys (and his falsification/omission of critical data) and continuing with Harv-tard Dr. Frederick J. Stare MD, whose bed partners included all the big, refined, processed food industry leaders and lobbyists (Nabisco, Kellogg, etc).

o Interview by Taubes of Walter Willett for ScienceWatch

o Prior animal pharm in support of saturated fats from animals and tropical oils (hey our HDLs increased >> 100 mg/dl -- pharmaceuticals cannot compare) : Benefits of Sat Fats series

Monday, December 13, 2010

Advantages Going Paleo (No Grains): Improved Stool Quality (less wiping), Odorless Flatulence, More 'Spurty' and More SUPER S*X


Xavier Naidoo:
Dieser Weg
[The Way...stony and hard]


Love love LOVE Paleohacks.com, Patrik's site and all the stunning and ridiculously incredible friends and threads there...

My favorite threads:
o Some Small and Quirky Changes Noticed Since Going Paleo
o Hemachromatosis (see Melissa's notes)
o Known Neolithic Adaptations to Food
o Paleo Sex Questions (naturally)



Is paleo easy? Well. Sometimes the way may be stony and hard but you may see the advantages are often worthwhile trying to pursue... *ha aha* Or. It's. Stony. And. Hard.
ALSO, yes. Night vision is cool.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Food P*rn: Hamburg, Germany

Food P*orn in Hamburg

Staying off the harbor in Hamburg, Germany (with the big Disney cruise within sight from the restaurant) we had one of the best breakfast buffets I've ever had. Steak tartare appeared only once the 4 days we were there but it was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. I have to limit eating raw meat in front of my husband too frequently (it grosses him out (and I don't get laid)) ...but risking happiness is sometimes worth other joys in life! Generous lox and cream became a superb morning ritual. A bright chopped beet cream sauce and relish were awesome accompaniments. The coffee and espresso in Europe was like extra strong CRACK, I dunno why. Dig the yogurt (yeah with muesli -- yes it's grain -- kick me off paleo-island?). German yogurt ROCKS and about 8 varieties were available. It appeared full fat to me. No where could I translate 'low fat' at the buffet bar. Look at the deep, carotenoid-rich-pumpkin-orange egg yolks!

On Thanksgiving eve of all places at the hotel restaurant, we had a traditionally roasted German duck which is only available seasonally during the fall/winter. WOW. Succulent, rich and earthy. Duck is one of the birds of I love because it is ALL LOVELY DARK MEAT. Wish I had pictures but the ducky didn't make the cut *haa* (my kids deleted).

P.S.
BTW Very rare did I see anyone IN EUROPE APPEAR OVERWEIGHT, OBESE, OR MORBIDLY OBESE COMPARED TO THE UNITED STATES. Just an empirical, clinical observation.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Transcendance: Practicing Evolution (Bruce Lipton PhD)



Agri-Dynamics: Jerry Brunetti

I have no idea who this is but I've researched topics lately and his name popped up numerous times. Melissa discussed briefly in her Wise Traditions Recap: HERE. Brunetti is doing some kind of wonderful work regarding meat sourcing and good pastured livestock.

Two excellent slide presentions I happened to flip across by Brunetti are below, which scintillate down why good gut flora maintenance is of the utmost importance and how DIET DIET DIET and nutraceuticals can cure/reverse/improve gut imbalances caused by drugs, antibiotics, bad-nonpastured-meat, modern living, S.A.D. high carb/high grain diets. The value of digestive, pancreatic enzymes are also discussed.





What I Liked About Brunetti's Slides

In the first slide these are the points I enjoyed the most below and in the second, the list of resources and books is fantastic.

--slide 22 and 23 are EXCELLENT
--slide 42 explains indicanuria -- intestinal toxemia on sophisticated diagnostic lab testing (neurologic, GI, skin, and every organ system with chronic conditions described)
--slide 61 treatment strategies incl pre- probiotics, betaine, digestive enzymes (previously I discussed the value and role enzymes under NEOLITHIC CHEATING)
--slide 63 Brent's relative Dr. Pottenger mentioned -- adding gelatin for glycine which is gut healing/improves glutathione/anti-inflammatory, etc




Role of Politics: Food Business

WAP-Pottenger are great -- I wish I had known about the value of traditional eating before I had my children and given them the epigenetic benefits of our Hakka and asian genes. Though I know it is not too late, what we all fight against as parents is indeed the government. This is a common theme to paleo parents I've had the opportunity to talk in depth with. We fight sanctioned USDA food choices in the school cafeteria and the all pervasive USDA grain-based-6-to-11-servings-daily food pyramid of TOXIC POISON which are then perverted and pimped by food processing companies and television commercials. Even well-intentioned family and friends try to push their CRACK on my children. Yes. Expected but yet annoying.

As a parent, hard to be challenged against all that... not to mention the frequent cake, pizza and juice/soda parties and social events. Yes my kids will say 'no' to illegal drugs but legalized P I Z Z A, which is more addictive than CRACK ??!


Government Solutions? Not Holding Breath

The permanence of the current food policies are cracking but will it happen soon enough? Even Andrew Weil is pushing a more grain-free diet approach that is lower in dangerous refined carbohydrates. Yes. See his July HuffPo post: "The saturated fat lauded in this menu [of an establishment in Arizona known as the *chuckle* Heart Attack Grill] won't kill you. It may even be the safest element of the meal... If you visit, I implore you to steer clear of the white-flour buns, the sugary sodas and the piles of "flatliner fries..."

Yes. Additionally in the HuffPo, Weil promotes and advocates Gary Taubes and the body of evidence in GCBC.

This is exciting because as far as I am aware Dr. Weil is involved with the only integrative medicine program in the medical academic training program. R U Considering med school and being indoctrinated in prescribing gluten CRACK?? Even Weil's program is mutating to reason and SANITY. *haa ah!*



Bruce Lipton and Steve Bhaerman: Transcendent Solutions, Practicing Evolution

In one of the last chapters in Bruce Lipton's recent seminal work, co-authored with Steve Bhaerman, called 'Spontaneous Evolution,' negotiations and problem solving become the core focus. He puts it succinctly 'A primary function of politics is to develop policies that preempt conflict. Conflict is a natural part of human lfe and social interactions and should not be confused with violence, which is the most dysfunctional way to handle conflict. Conflict derives from incompatabilities between two or mroe opinions, principoles or interests. Because conflict usually involves contradictory goals, resuoltuion can occur when something -- the goals or expectations regarding those goals -- is changed.' Obviously he states 'careful and respectful listening by all participants is required...' and how to arrive at ideal problem solving he consults negotiation experts like Norwegian Johan Galtung who seek 'the fifth way' or 'fivers'. Galtun was the mediator in the Peru-Ecuador border negotiations (solution: no borders). Galtung pushes that each conflict has 5 potential remedies:

1. I win. You lose
2. You win. I lose.
3. Negative Transcendence in which the problem is solved by avoiding it entirely
4. Compromise in which each wins by agreeing to lose a little
5. Transcendence, which produces a resolution above and beyond the problem.




Indiana Farmer and His Sheep

Lipton and Bhaerman tell wonderful, clever stories. They recount how an Indiana farmer found the neighbor's dogs killing all his herds of sheep. 'Too often the way of solving such problems involved confrontation, threats, lawsuits, barbed wire fences, and, potentially, shotguns. This particular farmer had a better idea. He gave his neighbor's children lambs as pets. This out-of-the-box solution established a win-win proposition: for the sake of the children's adorable pets, the neighbors voluntarily tied up their dogs, and the families became friends.'



Collectively We Face Exciting Times

Paleo people want change. Fat people want change (because they (and previously ME) eternally keep buying 'diet books'). Unhealthy people want change. Right? Maybe...

Something is changing (*haa ah* Dr.Oz with polyps is useless and Oprah has gained weight again) and hopefully we won't have to wait forever.

I've found paleo people to be extremely transcendant and clever... Thoughts... solutions?


Shawn Mullins and The Thorns:
No Blue Sky

Monday, December 6, 2010

Blog-asm II: More Bloggers Disrupting 'the Fabric of Society'



Shawn Mullins
Can't Remember Summer

Yes.

YESSS...

YYYYYEEEES...!! [emphatically slam table moan] *haaa aha*



More BLOGGERS... including the masterful GARY TAUBES!

Please ck out new additions to the blogroll and booklist on R-side column...







Evolutionary Biologist Michael Rose and His Secret of Non-Aging/Immortality

Do you follow Ray Kurzweil? He's a G-E-N-I-U-S. Had a chronic condition and beat it.

A writer at Kurzweil's site recently posted on evolutionary biologist Michael Rose from UC Irvine (picture courtesy of KurzweilAI.net). Prof Rose believes aging is a byproduct of evolution however can be halted or plateaued.

I agree.

The paleo diet is a cornerstone to his evidence-based strategies.


How To Achieve 'Biolgical Immortality' Naturally: Michael Rose

He believes also Euroasians have a special buffer capacity to aging however still need to adhere to a hunter-gather diet and lifestyle for optimal non-aging after age 35 to 40. I thinks explains partly why some people do neoLETHAL diets and are still fine physiologically but others big failures. Our ancestral past determines much...




Rose’s Natural Recipe for Immortality: 4 Keys

“With this recipe, I feel, many of you could be alive, basically, indefinitely,” Rose said.

o Adopt a hunter-gatherer lifestyle after 35 to 40 if Eurasian, earlier if ancestry is less Eurasian. If younger than 30 and Eurasian, continue on a post-agricultural revolution diet (or Andrew Weil-style diet).

o Use the best modern medicine

o Use autologous (from your own cells) tissue repair as it becomes available in five or more years

o Use next-generation pharmaceuticals in the next 10 or more years







See prior animal pharm:

** MAGIC OF MELATONIN: Melatonin increases stem cells in Bone Marrow (stem cells are your own autologous repair machines)... now... not 5 yrs from now...
** Bone Marrow


Thank you to SWEET SWEET SWEENEY for the initial inspirations and understanding of melatonin...

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

'Candy Cigarettes' and Turkey Awesomeness

Candy Cigarettes: Thanksgiving 2009

Had no idea last year 2009 was/maybe our last Thanksgiving feast but actually I don't miss this holiday when we were abroad (Hamburg, Amsterdam and Paris -- no we didn't bump into Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt or the brood).

What is Thanksgiving?? Were we celebrating the lost civilization of Native Americans in essence to some degree? Anyway. Ck out our candy cigarettes from last Thanksgiving -- my beautiful lil' sis 'M' and her ginger, cinnamon, raisin YUMMMICOUS GFCF cakelettes. The pharmacotemptress is holding the cakelettes, CANDY CIGARETTES. *ha*






Ming Tsai's Asian Spiced Turkey Recipe

Like every year, the turkey on the side was roasted by moi... Diesel, free range, fresh from WholeFoods and brined to a perfection with asian spices with Ming Tsai's recipe of PERFECT TURKEY AWESOMENESS. (Did add some cut orange/lemon slices to the cavity to maintain moisture and added strategically placed double folded foil according to Alton Brown to prevent charred, burning).

See recipe upper left.


New Paradigms


Nouvelle Vague:
In a Manner of Speaking





Bruce Lipton PhD: SPONTANEOUS EVOLUTION

Been reading a lot of books lately... I'll share later but first and foremost is Dr. Bruce Lipton, PhD that friends and readers Brent, Todd and Nima linked to earlier or recommended. Sincere and kind thanks!

I was lucky enough to meet Dr. Lipton recently at a talk near his local town near Santa Cruz. Amazingly humble, brilliant and down to earth, Dr. Lipton connected the dots for me regarding linking biological sciences, environmental sciences and how the universe may just be a FRACTAL AMPLIFICATION of our trillions of cells (not including the other trillions of our symbiotic bacteria and biofilms), from his new book Spontaneous Evolution released last year with comedian Steve Bhaerman. Life is quantum, not strictly Newtonian. Darwin was mildly off, spontaneous and egalitarian evolution trumps survival of the fittest. Lipton energetically explains the new brave world.


New Paradigms

Principle One: Wealth is well-being
Principle Two: Ecology and economy are the same
Principle Three: Efficiency is the key to thrival
Principle Four: Currency must represent real wealth (ATP=wealth!! *haa ahaaa!*)


In Principle Two, wealth is actually explained in agricultural terms by weighing chloroplasts/photosynthesis (e.g. Calvin Cycle biochemistry) as the measurable metric. Yes. This makes sense. 'In the words of scientist-turned-economist Frederick Soddy, "Chlorophyll was the original capitalist." Chlorophyll molecules are responsible for photosynthesis, the process through which the sun's energy transforms water and carbon dioxide [e.g. AIR!!! see prior animal pharm posts] into nutritional sugar molecules. Plant cells harvest their solar-powered sugar molecules and use them for both metabolic building blocks and life-sustaining energy. The growth of a cornstalk, from a sprout to the eight of an elephant's eye is made possible by the accumlated nutritional wealth manufactured by the plant's chlorophyll. Almost all life on this planet, including our own, is dependent upon photosynthesis-create sugar molecules.'




True Farmers Almost Extinct?

A book I've ordered and can't wait to dig into is about a sassy, New York gal transformed into a small town, sustainable, HAWWWWWWWT, farmgrrrrrl named Kristin Kimball A Dirty Life. Where are the true farmers are are tied to the deep, moist, fertile soil, growing plants of diverse genetic variety and biodiversity and raising pastured, sun-drenched farm animals? Kimball and her husband are first generation farmers who raise produce and animals for 100 members ($2800 per member per year). They milk their own cows by hand and till the fields by horse-drawn equipment, no machinery. The milk and cream are 'taxicab yellow'. Kimball's writing is so fun to read (in the excerpt) and carries warm alacrity and urban sharpness. It's about as dirty as her herbicide-free, pesticide-free, compost rich soil on their rich, wealth-providing, nutrient-dense acreage.

Lipton discusses Charles Walters who has a book Unforgiven and a magazine called Acres which serves the almost extinct population of small farmers. Walters 'has seen in his lifetime, the virtual disappearance of family farms. In their place, more and more factory farms operate monoculturally outside the rhythms of Nature, producing de-natured food and toxic waste. Meanwhile, science and technology have given civilization the opportunity to wantonly mine Gaia's wealth in order to support the excesses of monetary economy.'




Ecosphere Wealth = Reflection of Our Collective Health

Lipton's argument is that 'our ignorance of the planet's fragile web of life has blinded us to the profound damage and havoc we wreak by pillaging the environment's resources and then, adding insult to injury, contaminating that environment with discarded waste.'

'The wealth of the ecosphere, like that of any living organism, is a direct reflection if its health. Decimated rain forests, festering open-pit mines, species harvested to exctinction, toxic smog, pharmaceutically poisoned waterways, discarded radioactive waste, and many other man-made catastrophes have compromised the environment's well-being and devalued its ability to produce health and wealth. Our misperceived efforts to dominate and control Nature have unwittingly disturbed the ecosphere's natural balance and exacerbated environmental crises that now threaten our survival.'




Jenni Vartiainen:
Missä muruseni on
(Toinen HERE)