Around the Web: Preparing to Give Thanks Edition

Posted by on November 18, 2012 22 comments

I’ve just touched a finished copy of our new book for the first time: it is gorgeous! This picture is a poor substitute, but here’s a view of the cover.

[1] Cute animals:

Via Yves Smith.

[2] Semi-cute animal: K-pop is so hot, even the Oregon Duck can’t stop dancing Gangnam style:

[3] Interesting Items:

Peter Dobromylskyj of Hyperlipid has been looking at how different dietary fatty acids help or hinder mitochondrial control of cellular metabolism. He has two intriguing posts today:

–          In the first, he proposes that saturated fats make long fasts more tolerable by enabling better control of energy utilization; polyunsaturated fats make long fasts intolerable and trigger hypoglycemia, stimulating appetite. This would be the second known pathway by which omega-6 fats upregulate appetite: omega-6 fats can also degrade to endocannibinoids which stimulate eating.

–          In the second, he suggests that an omega-6 rich ketogenic diet would promote diabetes by creating conditions of cellular energy excess. Saturated fats protect against that scenario. Perhaps Peter and CarbSane can agree: There is such a thing as “nutty ketosis”!

Meanwhile, Jimmy Moore is doing well on nutritional ketosis, but Neely Quinn of Paleo Plan had trouble.

CarbSane finds another zero-carb danger: thiamin deficiency neuropathy.

Mark’s Daily Apple has a 204-page forum thread on the “Potato Diet.” Tatertot asked me what I thought of a potato-only diet as a weight loss tactic, and I gave my thoughts here. I might add: Safe starches have come a long way, if the hot new Paleo/Primal weight loss fad is 100% safe starch!

Dr Weil is behind the times; he thinks Paleo doesn’t include starches.

Kaleigh Laventure, The Paleo Angel, talks to Abel James about the trouble she had on Leangains. It seems like the junk-food binging part of the protocol was a big problem.

Hey, what does Stephan Guyenet have against bacon egg doughnut burgers?

If you want a starch-free breakfast, Laura at This Felicitous Life has a recipe: banana and egg pancakes. She writes:

Well, we’re starting our fifth week here of the Perfect Health Diet.  Pat is down about 8 pounds and has noted that he now has to wear a belt to keep his pants from sliding down.  He’s been overheard marveling, “I can’t believe I’m losing weight by eating steak and nuts and cheese and butter!”  So far I’ve refrained from socking him in the schnozz.

I’m stuck at starting weight – 1lb.

Figures.

Razib Khan subscribes to a rather unusual version of Paleo.

Sean at PragueStepChild has good parenting advice.

Ray Medina looks at foods that can affect sleep.

Stefani Ruper has a manual for overcoming PCOS. Sol Orwell offers supplement advice at Examine.com.

Prof Dr Andro reports that frying creates peroxides and destroys vitamin E; and that the more fat toddlers eat at age 2, the less fat is around their waist at age 20.

Is fish oil a toxin whose benefits come through hormesis?

Chris Kresser reports another reason we’re undernourished:  we eat foods long after harvest.

David Despain has plenty to say about the diet of lemurs.

[4] Not the Weekly Video: Primal Chef has a cookoff between Sarah Fragoso of Everyday Paleo and Cindy Anschutz of Cindy’s Table:

[5] Reader Results: Our last roundup of reader results was two months ago, and a number of reports have rolled in since.

Conor says:

First of all – thank you. I started on the PHD a couple of years ago after buying one of the earliest copies of your book (you were kind enough to ship it to New Zealand). I’ve found it extremely successful, with a couple of nagging issues (rosacea for example) resolving totally. I also noticed greatly increased energy.

Evan had the high LDL on Paleo problem and after following our suggestions – safe starches and mineral supplements – says, “WOW, Feeling great in just 3 weeks.”

Laura has also had good results.

Jonathan cured his restless leg syndrome:

Hi Paul, just wanted to let you know that after approximately 2 months on PHD and taking the recommended supplements, my restless leg syndrome has completely disappeared. I was a bit hesitant at first to believe it could be true, but it’s been a few weeks now so I can say it’s officially gone. This is something I remember having since I was a young child, maybe 6 or 7 so it’s pretty neat to resolve the issue through diet.

An email:

Incredible book! The most fascinating book I’ve ever read. It has helped me cure all my health issues and I can’t thank you enough for writing this book. I pass it on to everyone I meet. This book can definitely put chronic diseases in the past.

Johnny reports PHD is working well for weight loss:

Hi Paul,

At 235lb I started a low carb diet and went to 198 but my loss stalled.

I changed to the Perfect Health Diet: Weight Loss Version, consuming at least 600 daily calories combined protein and carbs, with overall calories of 1,200-1,500 per day.

My weight loss restarted, although at about 1 lb. per week, and I’m now at 188.

Mike C had a similar experience:

Hey Paul, Just want to thank you for taking the time to research and write a book that makes sense in every aspect. I am a 44 year old male who started this journey at 405lbs with LC/Atkins but after losing the inital water weight I then proceeded to lose and gain the same 3 pounds over and over again during the next 4 months. I was strict, ate no more than 20 net carbs per day and felt ok, but no weight loss….

Eating by PHD rules, the weight has begun to come off again!! I don’t count anything, but always ensure to eat by the guidelines you suggest and I find I eat less calories and feel full longer naturally and the “IF” that I really did not want to do as part of the plan has come naturally and not eating till noon from the night before is really no problem. I have dropped weight and a few pants sizes since started this plan and more importantly I am really enjoying my food again. Adding 300 to 400 calories in potatoes or rice each day has really opened up the dishes I can make again. I feel better, less hungry and more satisfied eating PHD and real food. French fires made in grass fed tallow are my new health food and we have them 3 or 4 times a week! I wanted a way I could eat for life and I found it. Thanks again and I look forward to the new version of the book!

FYI: I would guestimate I eat around 2300 calories a day. I am losing 2 pounds per week and am down to 372lbs.

Paloma reports that intermittent fasting cured her insomnia:

Thanks for this post! I have been doing this for a week now and it works!

I was desperate because I wasn’t able to get asleep… I have two small kids so imagine how tired I was! But I was doing it all wrong. Now I skip breakfast, have an early lunch, some merienda at 17 h and dinner at 20:30. Then a cold bath at 22h and get asleep in 5 minutes! Thanks!

Linda Wyatt has eliminated her migraines:

I started a ketogenic diet for other reasons, but the first and most obvious change was that my migraines stopped. I had no idea this would be a possible benefit, but now, it is my primary motivation for staying on the diet. I have no interest whatsoever in going back to frequent, debilitating, migraines.

Allison is recovering from hypothyroidism:

Hi Paul,

You may remember I commented about a month or so ago that I’d started following PHD after a year of struggling with debilitating hypothyroidism (despite supplementation with compounded thyroid and cytomel), along with low testosterone, low DHEA, underfunctioning adrenals, and a vitamin D deficiency. Less than two months ago, I was unable to drive, and was having trouble walking due to the fatigue and trouble with muscle coordination.

The results of my most recent blood work are in, and there are great improvements: my vitamin D levels have returned to optimal levels, my DHEA is normal, my testosterone has increased (although its not at a normal level yet), and my free T3 has increased to 3.1. Before, it was so low it wasn’t even on the chart and only my total t3 could be reported (which, obviously, was mostly reverse t3). My adrenals have yet to show any improvement.

I still have a way to go, but what a huge improvement! Most days, I feel pretty good. I’ll keep at it.

Dave Baird was one of those who had a brief weight gain before losing weight on PHD:

When I first started following the Perfect Health Diet I gained 1.5 kilos – this has since been lost again and I’m consistently losing about a kilo per week.

Jack Cameron improved his cardiovascular health:

After reading “Perfect Health Diet” I increased my intake of saturated fats and reduced intake of grains and legumes. After a few months on the improved diet I had an echocardiogram and a VAP test. The echo showed that my ejection fraction had increased from 65 two years earlier to 75 which is about as good as it gets. The VAP test showed by TG dropped from 66 to 60 and HDL increased from 80 to 88. Apo B dropped from 98 to 90. Blood pressure is now 110 over 60.

Ana Cheeseman noticed something odd – a new eye color:

I have been following your diet for the past months and I have been feeling amazing!!! My acne has cleared up, my periods are normal, I have lost weight, everything’s been great!! What I have noticed however is a change in my eye colour. My eyes used to be dark brown but now they are hazel.

Cindy Rosenberg left a nice comment on Facebook:

this way of eating is changing my body and my life, and that of many of my patients. thank you so much for your wisdom and guidance. so so grateful

Nora is also happy:

I love PHD. It makes me feel great, I am always satisfied at the end of a meal. I don’t have to eat as much anymore because I don’t have cravings.

Finally, a case of recovery from tortilla poisoning:

Thank you so much for writing the Perfect Health Diet book!

I have lost 20 pounds in six months by simply reducing the amount of tortillas I was eating. I used to eat up to 15 tortillas a day. Now I eat about five for the whole week. Like you guys said; the dose is the poison!

[6] Shou-Ching’s Photo Art:

[7] Video of the week: The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3D:

via Jennifer Fulwiler.

Did the Health Environment Stop Getting Better in 1950?

Posted by on November 13, 2012 29 comments

That’s the rather provocative idea set forth in our latest post at Psychology Today, “The Rise — and Fall? – of American Health.”

We look at data on life expectancy and disease rates and ponder whether the era of improving public health may be ending. Here’s one of the key figures:

This is the first post in a series looking at the major factors in health and longevity, so if you’re interested in that topic, check out our Psychology Today post!

About Our Two Blogs

I have decided that I’m going to post distinct content on our two blogs. There will be no duplicate posts, though I will post a teaser here when I put something up on Psychology Today.

This blog will primarily be about personal health – how can each of us achieve the best possible health. It will continue to have research and speculative science in which we explore the causes of disease and tactics for becoming healthier, food posts, Around the Web posts, and in general the same type of content it’s always had. The audience we’ll try to speak to will be the Primal/Paleo/PHD/Ancestral Health community that most of us know and love.

Our Psychology Today blog will be addressed to people outside the Ancestral Health community. It will try to offer an ancestral health perspective on issues and controversies of widespread interest. We’ll be advocating an ancestral diet and lifestyle, but what we advocate will rarely be PHD-specific and most posts will seek to engage people who are not in the Ancestral Health community on topics of general public interest. We hope that this approach will help draw new people into our (to quote Mark Sisson) “new (yet ancestral), radical (yet reasonable) movement.”

The Safe Starches Panel from AHS 2012

Posted by on November 6, 2012 78 comments

I discussed it in AHS 2012: The Safe Starches Panel, Aug 18, 2012. The Ancestral Health Symposium Facebook page gives this summary:

The Ancestral Health movement—often known as “paleo”—has generally favored low-carb dieting with an emphasis on vegetables and sugary fruits rather than starchy tubers, roots, and grains. In 2010, however, Paul and Shou-Ching Jaminet with their Perfect Health Diet argued for an ancestral diet with more starchy plants than fruits and with a moderate carb intake; they popularized the term “safe starches” to describe starches that are low in toxins after cooking, such as white potatoes and white rice. This panel brings together Dr. Ron Rosedale, author of The Rosedale Diet; Dr. Cate Shanahan, author of Deep Nutrition; Chris Kresser, blogger at chriskresser.com and integrative medicine practitioner; and Paul Jaminet to extend a discussion initiated on Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb blog. The issues: What is healthier – low-carb or moderate-carb? sugary fruits or starchy tubers?

Here’s the video:

Safe Starches: Are they Essential to an Ancestral Diet? — 2nd annual Ancestral Health Symposium 2012 (AHS12). from Ancestral Health Society on Vimeo.

Chocolate: What is the Optimal Dose?

Posted by on November 3, 2012 146 comments

Bret asked us how much chocolate is needed for good health:

I have a question about having dark chocolate daily. Does it need to be every day or what is the mininum grams per day. I have been having around 35g a day of 70% but I wondered if less would be ok or not having it at all.

This is a great time for this question, since Halloween candy will be running out soon, and those on tight budgets may be tempted to skimp on their chocolate. Should they?

Chocolate Is Not Considered Essential … Yet

Chocolate has not yet been recognized by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academies as an essential nutrient. We haven’t either: Our food plate lists it among “pleasure foods,” which are healthful but optional.

However, we are becoming ever-more chocolate friendly. In the new edition of our book, we list chocolate among our “supplemental foods” which we recommend consuming regularly. But our suggested dose is “as desired.” Perhaps we should narrow that down a little.

Chocolate Against Cardiovascular Disease

We’ve previously warned of the danger of chocolate deficiency, based on a systematic review that found: “The highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke.” [1]

Here’s a visual summary of their findings:

The review authors report that every study accounted for chocolate intake in a different way, so they could only compare the groups with highest and lowest chocolate consumption in each study, not specific doses of chocolate.

Chocolate Against Diabetes

Bret was concerned about the sugar in chocolate, but if this is a problem, it’s outweighed by the benefits of chocolate. A Japanese study found that the rate of diabetes was reduced by 30% in those who consume the most chocolate. [2]

Chocolate Against Dementia and In Support of Cognitive Function

Several studies [3, 4] have found that chocolate consumption reduces risk of dementia and enhances performance on tests of cognitive function.

One of them found that cognitive function was optimized with a relatively low dose of chocolate – ten grams per day:

The associations between intake of these foodstuffs and cognition were dose dependent, with maximum effect at intakes of approximately 10 g/d for chocolate and approximately 75-100 mL/d for wine, but approximately linear for tea. [3]

The other found that cognition improved with intake of cocoa flavanols up to quite high doses – elderly given 1 g/day cocoa flavanols performed significantly better on cognitive tests than those given lower doses. [4]

Unfortunately I don’t know what fraction of chocolate is made of flavanols. I’m guessing it’s not more than a few percent, in which case this research suggests the optimal dose of chocolate may be 50 g/day or more.

Chocolate in Support of Circadian Rhythms

Most authors attribute the benefits of chocolate to their flavanols, which are thought to improve endothelial function and increase blood flow to the brain, among other effects.

However, there are other active compounds in chocolate, include peptides that interact with the opioid receptor. The opioid receptor has a role in circadian rhythms, which is one reason low-dose naltrexone (which blocks opioid function at night) works. It’s possible that eating chocolate during the day may support circadian rhythms via opioid receptor stimulation, especially if the peptides can reach the systemic circulation.

Indirect evidence that this may be beneficial comes from a Russian study in which exorphins (opioid receptor ligands) were injected into rats:

The chronic intraperitoneal administration of the peptide at the same dose of 5 mg/kg significantly increased exploratory activity, decreased anxiety, and improved learning. [5]

I don’t know how much chocolate would have to be eaten to achieve a similar exorphin dose in humans, but I imagine it’s large.

Chocolate in Support of Nobel Prizes

So how shall we resolve the issue of optimal chocolate dose? For me, the decisive evidence comes from a recent study by Franz Messerli published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Based on chocolate’s support for cognitive function, he decided to see if chocolate consumption was related to another measure of cognition – Nobel Prize awards per capita. He counted Nobel Prizes and compared them to the recipient’s country’s chocolate consumption. These were his findings [6]:

There is clearly a strong correlation. The correlation coefficient is .79; p < 0.0001.

The correlation coefficient if Sweden is removed increases to .86 – which is suspicious:

Given its per capita chocolate consumption of 6.4 kg per year, we would predict that Sweden should have produced a total of about 14 Nobel laureates, yet we observe 32. Considering that in this instance the observed number exceeds the expected number by a factor of more than 2, one cannot quite escape the notion that either the Nobel Committee in Stockholm has some inherent patriotic bias when assessing the candidates for these awards or, perhaps, that the Swedes are particularly sensitive to chocolate, and even minuscule amounts greatly enhance their cognition. [6]

Those dastardly Swedes! Giving themselves more Nobel Prizes than their chocolate consumption warrants!

But I apologize, I’ve been diverted. The key point is, is there an optimum chocolate consumption?

the dose–response curve reveals no apparent ceiling on the number of Nobel laureates at the highest chocolate-dose level of 11 kg per year. [6]

11 kg/yr is an average of 30 g/day. So benefits are still increasing at that dose.

Of course, this was only a population level study. We still need to measure the doses in individual laureates to gain confidence. But anecdotally, there appears to be a correlation:

“I attribute essentially all my success to the very large amount of chocolate that I consume,” said Eric Cornell, an American physicist who received the Nobel Prize in 2001. “Personally I feel that milk chocolate makes you stupid. Now dark chocolate is the way to go. It’s one thing if you want like a medicine or chemistry Nobel Prize…but if you want a physics Nobel Prize it pretty much has got to be dark chocolate.”

Dark chocolate is, indeed, the PHD-approved form of this highly beneficial food.

Conclusion

This dose-response data might not be strong enough to define an RDA, but I’m going to take a stand: Bret’s intake of 35 g/day is healthy. Indeed, it’s right in line with the Nobel Prize-maximizing chocolate intake of the Swiss.

In regard to your last question, Bret – can you eat less chocolate, or none at all – the answer is clear. Yes, you can. But you must accept the consequences. You probably won’t be winning the next Nobel Prize for Physics.

References

[1] Buitrago-Lopez A et al. Chocolate consumption and cardiometabolic disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2011 Aug 26;343:d4488. doi: 10.1136/bmj.d4488. http://pmid.us/21875885.

[2] Oba S et al. Consumption of coffee, green tea, oolong tea, black tea, chocolate snacks and the caffeine content in relation to risk of diabetes in Japanese men and women. Br J Nutr. 2010 Feb;103(3):453-9. http://pmid.us/19818197.

[3] Nurk E et al. Intake of flavonoid-rich wine, tea, and chocolate by elderly men and women is associated with better cognitive test performance. J Nutr. 2009 Jan;139(1):120-7. http://pmid.us/19056649.

[4] Desideri G et al. Benefits in cognitive function, blood pressure, and insulin resistance through cocoa flavanol consumption in elderly subjects with mild cognitive impairment: the Cocoa, Cognition, and Aging (CoCoA) study. Hypertension. 2012 Sep;60(3):794-801. http://pmid.us/22892813.

[5] Belyaeva YA et al. Effects of acute and chronic administration of exorphin C on behavior and learning in white rat pups. Moscow University Biological Sciences Bulletin Volume 64, Number 2 (2009), 66-70, DOI: 10.3103/S0096392509020035. http://www.springerlink.com/content/qt537481061656gt/?MUD=MP.

[6] Messerli FH. Chocolate consumption, cognitive function, and Nobel laureates. N Engl J Med. 2012 Oct 18;367(16):1562-4. doi: 10.1056/NEJMon1211064. Epub 2012 Oct 10. http://pmid.us/23050509.