Around the Web: Mid-Winter Edition

Posted by on January 26, 2013 15 comments

It’s been a long time since we’ve done an Around the Web, but we’re ready for some fun. The days are lengthening, spring is getting closer, and though there hasn’t been much time for reading, a few items caught our eye.

[1] Music to read by:

[2] Interesting Items on the Web:

SparkPeople has a PHD team. Thanks gopintos!

Low Carb Friends has a PHD thread that’s currently at eleven pages. Here’s one person’s post:

I am losing! And I am super happy. You know how people always say, “I can see myself doing XYZ way of eating forever” Well, I have NEVER been able to say that until now with absolute certainty. I LOVE the PHD and I love knowing I will eat each day.

Amy Kubal has the top 9 ‘BLOW YOUR MIND’ reasons to attend Paleo FX 2013. I can’t wait!

Even in northern Europe, Stone Age hunter-gatherers liked carbs: “The starch sources that the archaeologists have so far found include acorns and sea beet, the latter of which is the ancestor of both the beetroot and the sugar beet.” And their dogs liked carbs too.

But Paleolithic diets were lower carb than the Neolithic: Not only the onset of cavities with the Neolithic, but the evolution of cavity-causing oral bacteria, tell us that starch eating greatly increased with the invention of agriculture.

John Ioannidis has argued that most biomedical research is wrong, and he was supported by pharmaceutical company studies: Amgen reported in Nature that its oncology and hematology researchers had failed to replicate 47 out of 53 highly promising results, the German drugs giant Bayer reported that it could not replicate about two thirds of published studies identifying drug targets. Via Mike the Mad Biologist, a new statistical study finds that if published p-values are to be believed and if the number of positive and negative results published are unbiased (both big ifs), then only 14% of biomedical research is wrong.

Seth Roberts believes two things about teaching.

Kamal Patel is quantifying himself.

The flu virus doesn’t just cause the flu: it’s been implicated in ear infections and pancreatic infections leading to diabetes.

Norovirus deserves our respect, but there’s a way to reduce risk: wash your hands, and don’t eat out.

Via @cillakat, a primer in infectious disease.

A new blog: “Perfect Health Party.”

Andrew Badenoch had to abandon last summer’s fatbike-packrafting journey through the Arctic. His account.

Do restaurants in China pass off pork rectum as calamari? This is a concern because of hepatitis E in pork intestine. If you visit China, make sure your “calamari” is well cooked!

Jamie Scott embraces the economic analysis of nutrients.

Why do our fingertips wrinkle in water? So that we can better grasp wet objects.

True facts about sloths. (Via Yoni.)

A surprising therapy for digestive tract blockage: Coca Cola.

The key to a long life: Don’t fall!

[4] Cute animals:

Via Yves Smith.

[5] Not the Weekly Video: Arthur Haines discusses myths of the Paleo Diet:

[6] More Cute Animals:

Via Yves Smith.

[7] Shou-Ching’s Photo Art:

[8] Monthly Video: Via Scott Sterling, the story of Susannah Cahalan’s descent into madness from an autoimmune disease:

Ask The Low-Carb Experts & AskBryan Podcasts

Posted by on January 25, 2013 32 comments

Jimmy Moore has posted our “Ask the Low-Carb Experts” show podcast, and will have show notes up shortly. The topic was “All Things Hunger (Satiety 101).” Over the course of the show I discussed four significant drivers of appetite:

  1. Malnourishment leading to “nutrient hunger”;
  2. Immune system reactions and inflammatory pathways to hunger;
  3. The role of gut bacteria and gut dysbioses in promoting hunger;
  4. The role of circadian rhythm disruption in increasing appetite.

These are all pathways that can be modulated to minimize appetite and make weight loss easier.

The callers had a number of challenging questions, so it was an interesting show.

Meanwhile, I also recorded an “AskBryan” podcast with Bryan Davis. AskBryan is also known as “Doc Fermento Discovers the World”. Bryan brings a different perspective and it was a fun show.

Enjoy!

Chicken, Why Art Thou So Mediocre?

Posted by on January 22, 2013 129 comments

Chicken is the most popular meat in the United States; in 2010, 8.6 billion chickens were killed to provide Americans with 37.2 billion pounds of chicken, compared to 26.4 billion pounds of beef, 22.5 billlion pounds of pork, 5.8 billion pounds of turkey, and only 0.3 billion pounds of veal, lamb, and mutton.

The popularity of chicken has grown steadily over the last century. Here is a chart from the USDA Economic Research Service:

Increasing chicken consumption followed the development of cheaper chickens in the 1940s, which led to greater use of chicken into prepared and fast foods. It was further encouraged in the 1970s by the widely promulgated idea that red meat might be unhealthful and that chickens were comparatively healthful.

Yet in fact chicken may be the least healthful of the popular meats!

In our book (p 171) we give industrially raised chickens and their eggs a grade of C, eggs and meat from organically raised heritage chickens a B+/B. By comparison, beef gets an A. Why the difference?

Unhealthy Chickens

The methods that created cheaper chicken meat do not produce healthy chickens. Chickens were bred for rapid growth, but the modern Cornish Rock hens develop arthritis around age ten weeks, are often infertile, and prefer not to walk. (See “Local Farming and The Fight for Quality Food,” October 25, 2011.)

Factory farmed chickens are also fed arsenic, antibiotics, antihistamines, and, in China, antidepressants. [1] [2] (See Chapter 23 of the book.) It has recently been realized that these compounds may remain present at low levels in chicken meat. UPDATE: In the comments, Rachel Virden points out flaws in the studies cited above; chicken meat may be more healthful than these studies would suggest.

Omega-6 Fats and Obesity

Chicken have a moderately high omega-6 content; a whole chicken provides about 13% of all calories (about 20% of fat calories) as omega-6 fats. Because omega-6 toxicity begins at about 4% of energy (see chapter 11 of the book), replacing low-omega-6 foods like beef and seafood with chicken can help generate toxic levels of omega-6 in the body.

This has a variety of unfortunate consequences, including obesity. In my recent Q&A with Latest in Paleo readers, I gave six reasons why omega-6 fats promote weight gain. The last reason was that “omega-6 fats are precursors to endocannibinoids which increase appetite (see this article).”

The article in question shows an interesting figure which notes that chicken consumption is, after vegetable oils and with pork, the major contributor of omega-6 fats to the American diet, and is correlated with obesity prevalence (Figure 5):

Omega-6 Fats and Cancer

Omega-6 fats promote cancer growth and metastasis, and so we might expect that chicken consumption will also promote cancer.

It may. A study of men in remission from prostate cancer found that, “Intakes of processed and unprocessed red meat, fish, … and skinless poultry were not associated with prostate cancer recurrence or progression.” [3] However, the fatty parts of chickens – the skin and the eggs – were:

Greater consumption of eggs and poultry with skin was associated with 2-fold increases in risk in a comparison of extreme quantiles: eggs [hazard ratio (HR): 2.02; 95% CI: 1.10, 3.72; P for trend = 0.05] and poultry with skin (HR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.36, 3.76; P for trend = 0.003)…. Men with high prognostic risk and a high poultry intake had a 4-fold increased risk of recurrence or progression compared with men with low/intermediate prognostic risk and a low poultry intake (P for interaction = 0.003).

Our results suggest that the postdiagnostic consumption of processed or unprocessed red meat, fish, or skinless poultry is not associated with prostate cancer recurrence or progression, whereas consumption of eggs and poultry with skin may increase the risk. [3]

We recommend three egg yolks per day for their nutrition, but the poor quality of industrial chickens is a real concern. If you can find a place in your budget for only one naturally raised food, make it your eggs.

Badly Cooked Chicken

Much chicken is bought in industrially produced forms or as fried chicken cooked in vegetable oils at high temperatures. High temperatures and peroxidizable vegetable oils are not a good way to treat any meat; as we note in the book (Chap 23), harsh cooking methods increase the toxicity of foods.

It seems to work that way with chicken. Another cancer study found that fried chicken consumption was associated with higher prostate cancer risk. They write:

Potential mechanisms include the formation of potentially carcinogenic agents such as aldehydes, acrolein, heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and acrylamide. [4]

Conclusion

I think most of the health problems with chicken are probably attributable to its omega-6 content, and in the context of a low omega-6 diet there is probably little harm to consuming gently cooked chicken or eggs. So I think most of the known concerns with chicken consumption should not frighten Perfect Health Dieters. Ironically, what makes chicken healthful is consuming red meat or seafood most of the week!

However, because eggs are such a significant part of our micronutrient recommendations, I think it is desirable to find an egg producer who lets the hens roam and eat insects and other natural chicken foods. Healthy chickens produce more healthful eggs; healthful eggs produce healthy people.

References

[1] Nachman KE et al. Arsenic species in poultry feather meal. Science of the Total Environment 2012 Feb 15;417–418:183–8, http://pmid.us/2224435.

[2] Love DC et al. Feather meal: a previously unrecognized route for reentry into the food supply of multiple pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Environmental Science & Technology 2012 Apr 3;46(7):3795–802, http://pmid.us/2243597.

[3] Richman EL et al. Intakes of meat, fish, poultry, and eggs and risk of prostate cancer progression. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Mar;91(3):712-21. http://pmid.us/20042525.

[4] Stott-Miller M et al. Consumption of deep-fried foods and risk of prostate cancer. Prostate. 2013 Jan 17. doi: 10.1002/pros.22643. [Epub ahead of print]  http://pmid.us/23335051.

 

Pan-Seared Scallops

Posted by on January 20, 2013 18 comments

Scallops are probably our favorite seafood. Living in Boston, we’re fortunate to have access to fresh scallops at reasonable prices most of the year.

One nice aspect of scallops is that they can be cooked very quickly. In fact, they do not need cooking at all – they can be eaten raw – but it is generally a good precaution to cook the surface, where bacteria are most likely to be present. Thus, seared scallops.

We make them two ways, with and without a flour coating, for a slightly different taste.

Classic Seared Scallops

The main trick to cooking scallops is preventing water from escaping the flesh. With loss of water, scallops become smaller and tougher and much less pleasant to eat.

The classic way to keep the water in is to sear the scallops at high heat. To achieve this, the surface of the scallops must be dry. (If the surface is wet, the water with its high heat capacity will prevent the surface from reaching high temperatures before the interior of the scallop has warmed enough to release its water.)

So pat your scallops thoroughly dry with paper towels, then season them with salt and pepper:

Warm the pan to high temperatures, and add oil; we prefer ghee (clarified butter) or beef tallow. Olive oil can also work. If you use butter, which has water, then you should heat the butter long enough that its water evaporates before adding scallops.

When the hot oiled pan is ready, place the scallops in the pan with space between each.

The reason for spacing the scallops is to maintain a high temperature at the scallop surface. If the scallops are too close together, they will cool the pan and prevent the surface from being properly seared.

The above pictures shows a minimal amount of oil. You can use more oil – as much as 3-4 tablespoons – which will cook the scallops faster.

The ideal pan temperature is the lowest temperature at which water doesn’t accumulate in the pan. Water released from the scallops should immediately turn to steam, so you see no liquid water, but this evaporation will prevent the scallops from burning. With a little practice you’ll find the right temperature; on our gas stove it is a medium-high heat.

It typically takes about a minute and a half to sear one side of the scallop. After 90 seconds, flip the scallop over and sear the other side for 90 seconds. You can also turn them on their side briefly to sear the sides.

Remove them from the pan and serve:

Crispy Seared Scallops

For a slightly different flavor, lightly coat the scallops in a safe starch flour (rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, or mixture) as well as salt and pepper.

You can add sliced garlic or other flavoring vegetables to the oil to alter the flavor; the flour coating will pick up flavors from the oil.

Typically the flour-coated scallops will retain water better and the flour will burn more easily, so they should be cooked at a lower temperature for a bit longer – say 2 minutes per side at a medium setting on our stove.

Dipping Sauce

Once they are done, remove and make a dipping sauce. The recipe for PHD sauces is:

  • Oil – such as olive oil.
  • Acid – such as rice vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice.
  • Flavorings – such as mustard, salt, pepper, or herbs.

Here we made a sauce from olive oil, rice vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and cilantro, and drizzled it over the scallops:

Conclusion

Because they are barely cooked, almost raw inside, time from refrigerator to dining table can be as little as 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with a safe starch and vegetable, and you have a complete meal.

Here are a few other perspectives on scallops. Here is Ming Tsai, a chef from suburban Boston:

And here’s Chef John from FoodWishes.com. His sauce is the same as ours, but with jalapeno and orange slices added: