2 questions

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Artificial Sweeteners, Low carb diet | 0 comments

Here is a comment that I made on a post about low carb diet at fattoskinny.net

 

maidmarian asked:

Do nuts or seeds play a role in a low carb diet?  Also, I chew a lot of Spry (xylitol) gum all day, is this ok?

 

My response:

Hi maidmarian,

Yes I have to admit nuts and seeds are one of my little passions as far as treats go and at certain times of the day I can often be seen rifling around the cupboard looking for a handful of nuts just to amuse my taste buds for a little while.

But like Andrea has said it’s good to be choosy about what types of nuts you eat, pecans and walnuts are indeed nuts that contain some of the lowest amount of carbohydrates but top of the list of those to stay away from particularly this time of the year are roasted chestnuts, they contain anything up to 20 times as many carbs as pecans and walnuts do.

As fro xylitol, well out of all the synthetic sweeteners, that is probably the one that gives us the least problem particularly in its purest form but if you have pets do remember to keep it away from them as it can be extremely harmful if not deadly for many pets but more so to dogs.

Hope that’s useful,

Mark

First day and so weak!

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Exercise, Low carb diet | 0 comments

Yet another comment of mine on a post about low carb diet at fattoskinny.net

 

Angie’ post:

First day.  Kept carbs to 30.  I’m very weak and just down right mean!  When will this awful feeling go away?

My poor family!      Your stories and photos are so inspirational.  I want this to work for me, but these jittery and weak feelings are about to get the best of me.  Should I not go so drastic and decrease the carbs more slowly?

Thanks in advance for amy words of wisdom!

 

My advice:

Hi Angie and welcome!

The advice that the others have given on this page is something that you should be sure to follow. I would particularly take notice of TooSweet’s advice to take a bit more salt and to make sure you drink a lot more than usual.

The salt would ensure that your electrolyte levels don’t go too far out of whack and drinking water will help you to detox more quickly, as well getting a lot more exercise simply because the more exercise that you can get particularly if it makes you sweat a little will increase the rate that your body processes the sugar out of your system, so to speak.

But do know one thing, you’re not alone; we’ve all been through it and the feeling that you get in your body when it comes to an end is absolutely marvelous.

Cheers,

Mark

Good Bacteria in the Intestine Prevent Diabetes, Study Suggests

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Diabetes | 0 comments

Another post from jimmy Moore about good bacteria that I have replied on

 

Jimmy Moore said:

Good Bacteria in the Intestine Prevent Diabetes, Study Suggests: 

Why is gut flora so important? This new research shows that keeping all those good buggers where they need to be is a great way to ward off diseases like Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis and even diabetes! And this isn’t just for adults–kids need to be feeding their gut flora well so they will not experience a lifetime of health issues. This damaged good bacteria system is very likely why diabetes has increased so rapidly in our world of Purel and a clean environment everywhere. To paraphrase Mark Sisson from my interview with him last week, we need to let kids start playing in the dirt again!

 

My thoughts:

It’s not so much that we as well as our children need to play in the dirt to build up our immunity. It’s more a case of that we need to eat the right types of food in order to ensure that the bacteria that does end up in our stomach is beneficial to the body rather than harmful. Obviously the easiest and the quickest solution to this is by taking a course of probiotics which may work for some people.

Another way of building healthy gut bacteria is of course by eating foods that have been fermented in a traditional way that promotes the presence of these bacteria when they’re eaten. Things like sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables are probably some of the richest sources that are relatively easily available to most people as are fresh yogurts that include the live bacteria needed to make them. That of course cuts out completely all commercially made yogurts as live bacteria are either killed off during the final parts of the manufacturing process or poisoned by other ingredients added to the yogurt in order to ensure a longer shelf life.

Whichever way you cut it we definitely need to build up the healthy bacteria in our digestive system and make sure that the food we eat in no way promotes harmful bacteria to grow and multiply as that can only lead to disease later on. When you consider that at anyone time, the number of bacteria in our intestine far out numbers the number of cells in our body then the phrase “you are what you eat” takes on a whole new meaning.

Cheers,

Mark

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Link to the Study

 

Gut Bacteria & Obesity – A Hidden Connection?

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Carbs, Obesity | 0 comments

Here is another of my comments on a post at Jimmy Moore’s about gut bacteria

 

Jimmy Moore’s post:

Gut Bacteria & Obesity – A Hidden Connection?: You’ve gotta read this outstanding column from a registered dietitian I’d never heard of before named Peter Curcio who says “the universal fear of dietary fat” is very likely “what’s behind the current obesity epidemic.” He notes our high-carb diet has caused our healthy gut flora to become “imbalanced” and that we should be looking at these “gut buddies” (as Dr. Steven Gundry describes them) as “an organ” in our bodies with specific functions. Cut the grains, flour, sugar and omega-6-rich vegetable oils from your diet to reduce inflammation and “keep our bacteria microflora happy and thriving.” It’s the way our bodies were meant to run optimally for controlling weight and health and it has nothing at all to do with calories.

 

My comment:

In part I would agree with Peter Curcio, the average carbohydrate rich diet surely has caused not just our stomach bacteria to become imbalanced but also the enzymes that our digestive system uses to further break down food. If it were just an imbalance between good bacteria that probably wouldn’t be that bad but unfortunately the high carbohydrate diet that most people consume in the west actually promotes the growth of harmful bacteria whose presence and toxins that they generate go on to poison the body in a whole host of ways giving rise to numerous symptoms that are unfortunately blamed on other things so the cause of the problem is never really tackled.

Another big problem that is very much a hangover from the high carbohydrate camp is the assumption that we must have lots of fiber in our diet in order for our digestive system to work properly. Various scientific writings have gradually trickling through that showed that we don’t actually need as much fiber as has been previously though and in fact the high consumption of fiber which I should add passes through the body and digested actually acts as a nice medium for those same bad bacteria to grow in and multiply as they pass through our digestive system. You can find more about this by visiting doctor-natasha.com.

All in all it’s not difficult to see that there is a definite connection between the quality of the bacteria we have in our digestive tract and not just obesity but many other health problems that beset a population whose diet is just far to high in carbohydrates and not rich enough in good quality proteins, fat, vitamins and minerals that can be easily obtained though a sensible low carbohydrate diet.

Cheers,

Mark

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Link to the article

 

Lard

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Fat Loss | 0 comments

Below is a copy of the post at Jimmy Moore about lard that I have commented on

 

ajcf1995 said:

Where do you get healthy lard? All the lard I ever find at the store is made from ‘hydrogenated’ lard and lard. I really want to avoid foods with the word ‘hydrogenated’ anywhere on the container.

 

I replied:

Hi ajcf1995,

Lard definitely makes the best pastry. In fact I can’t think of many things that can be cooked in oil that don’t taste better when cooked in lard.

Anyway to answer your question, if you’ve got 10 lbs of pig fat trimmings that’s without bits of meat on them, otherwise it will go brown, you should get around about 5 or so pounds of lard at the end of the process.

Hope that helps,

Mark