Sunday, October 18, 2015

Lymphedema is aided by systemic proteolytic enzymes

Proteolytic enzymes used systemically (taken on empty stomach) "Can effectively resolve lymphedema in upper and lower extremities because it removes fibrin and improves lymphatic flow."

Examples of proteolytic enzymes for systemic use include old-school pancreatin, serrapeptase, or nattokinase. They also destroy blood clots.

This is huge for many people with lymphedema, and really costs nothing except a few $15 bottles of serrapeptase or even cheaper pancreatin to try.


Systemic enzymes and also chelation are two of the most powerful weapons against modern diseases.

Systemic proteolytic enzymes - Dr. Michael Cutler
http://easyhealthoptions.com/systemic-proteolytic-enzymes/#_ednref19
-----
Dzupina A., Morvay P., Dzupina M. Proteolytic enzymes in lymphedema therapy. 41st Annual World Congress – ICA’99, International College of Angiology, Sapporo, Japan, July 3-10, 1999, Scientific Posters pp. 76. Kasseroller R., Wenning H.G. Efficacy and tolerability of proteolytic enzymes as an anti-inflammatory agent in lymphoedema after axillary dissection due to mammary cancer. The European Journal of Lymphology, 2002-2003, Vol. 10, No. 37-38, pp. 18-26,

Friday, October 2, 2015

2 meals a day

Two meals a day is ideal, but which two are up to you by Dr. Mercola
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/09/21/intermittent-fasting-calorie-restriction.aspx

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Super-fast twitch type iib muscle can have "profound effect" on metabolism and body fat

"the results from the current study indicate that modest increases in type IIb skeletal muscle mass can have a profound systemic effect on whole-body metabolism and adipose mass."

"increased type II muscle mass attenuates the pathological consequences of excess adiposity on whole-body metabolism."

"These findings indicate that type II muscle has a previously unappreciated role in regulating whole-body metabolism through its ability to alter the metabolic properties of remote tissues."

Fast/Glycolytic Muscle Fiber Growth Reduces Fat Mass and Improves Metabolic Parameters in Obese Mice

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2828690/

A diet you can stick to

Interesting point about: the diet you can stick to is the diet you should be doing.

It's not only true of yo-yo dieting, its also true with junk food, you know you can't keep eating it.

Mentions that the #1 factor in successful fat loss is being able to sustain it, which is not based on will power. Will power-based diets always fail.

Also good point that "eating clean" is an overused underdefined term.

Bottom line: learning how to eat healthy for you is the lifelong task, if you keep trying you will get better and better at it. It's a journey because people are extremely different in their metabolism speed and nutrient needs.

Layne Norton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhDnkrUEq6w

Monday, September 7, 2015

gyms today = health coffee shops

"gyms today are like health coffee shops"

Lee Priest on gyms today
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQMQsbiNV3Y

key chains that leads to fat burning

HSL burns stored fat
perlipin guards stored fat
so have to:
1. get rid of perilipin to allow HSL to work
2. increase HSL

Key chains in fat burning:

adrenaline and/or glucagon > cAMP > PKA > reduce perilipin
higher fat diet > higher HSL > burns fats faster (assuming perilipin is gone to allow access to stored fat)

-First, perilipin is the shield that keeps fat cells from being broken down (by HSL). To burn stored fat you have to get rid of perilipin otherwise HSL cannot access fat.

-So the question is, how to you get rid of perilipin? Through activating cAMP which triggers PKA (protein kinase A). PKA phosphorylizes perilipin i.e. gets rid of it, which is the goal.

-So then how do you trigger PKA? This is the big question. Best answers now: through triggering the hormones glucagon and adrenaline (epinephrine)

-So then how do you trigger glucagon and epinephrine?

-Trigger glucagon by eating protein

-Trigger adrenaline by exercising at higher intensities

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22429/

"glucagon / hsl axis" is really the [low perilipin] / hsl axis
http://www.unleashyourthin.com/eat-this-to-turn-on-your-fat-burning-switch/

Friday, August 28, 2015

Jackpot: A2 Milk finally hits the shelves in DC Whole Foods

I've been waiting for A2 cow's milk for years. It's basically the original cow's milk before modern farming practices mutated cow's milk proteins from A2 into A1 protein (casein).

Could not believe my eyes when I saw A2 milk on the shelf at Whole Foods today for the first time. For the past 8 years I have drunk goat milk, which has A2 protein and tastes good but costs twice what cow's milk costs.

I had first tried A2 milk last winter break in Cold Storage supermarket in Singapore--in long-life box form--but did not expect to see it in the US for another 5 or 10 years.

A1 protein causes allergies and phlegm and is linked to indigestion and autism. A2 has none of the side effects (although if you are lactose intolerant it does have lactose).
a2 Reduce Fat Milk

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Fat loss with a super high fat diet

By now if you still believe fat is bad and fat-free is good for you you are trapped in the 80s.

We don't talk enough in society as a whole about how to get good food sources that are high in fat.


This blogger did a super high fat diet of bacon and cream, coconut oil, etc. along with vegetables and lost 7 lbs:
http://www.vox.com/2015/1/6/7481067/high-fat-diet

In particular, I related to this quote:

"Fat is more satiating, per calorie, than carbs, and it curbed my otherwise ravenous appetite. I didn't even count calories; I just went with my hunger pangs.
I ended up learning a very important lesson: that carbs trick my body into consuming far more food than necessary."
Here's an interesting slice:
"But the real key to my diet was pork fat Boccalone, in San Francisco's historic Ferry Building
imports Italian pigs. Boccalone slices the fattiest cuts of pork I've ever seen. I tried to consume at least a third of a pound of their delicious bacon per week."


I do a lot of my best work after eating a couple coconut almond bars high in fat and fiber and low in carbs. Blood sugar/ketones remain steady.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

HSL is key to burning fat

HSL (hormone-sensitive lipase) is the hormone that does what everybody wants: it gets fat out fat cells.

"HSL is responsible for getting fat back out of fat cells by breaking triglycerides down into fatty acids that can mobilize out of fat cells and get used for energy elsewhere. Insulin shuts off HSL in fat cells."

Yet many of the major diets today actually deactivate HSL, sabotaging fat loss. Meanwhile, fat-burner drugs artificially stimulate HSL with the side effect of keeping people from really learning how to eat right. The moment they stop using the drugs, the fat comes back and they balloon out. There is a much better way--the natural way--to lose fat than becoming dependent on fat burning drugs.

How protein-heavy diets sabotage HSL and fat loss
I myself have long subscribed to the protein-heavy diet prescriptions that most strength-oriented diets suggest is necessary. Lift and eat a ton of protein, get big. The logic of the protein-heavy diets is that protein, espeically leucine, triggers mTor which is the muscle-building hormone, putting you in an anabolic state. Protein also breaks down into amino acides, the building blocks of muscle itself.

All this is correct and sounds great... except protein and mTor have additional effects:

High-protein problem #1: mTor inhibits HSL
"A chronic over expression of mTOR, though “anabolic,” can be detrimental. mTOR aids in the inhibition of certain hormones like hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), which impairs the body’s ability to break down stored triglycerides. So the "perma-bulkers" can now understand why they're always fat and have a hard time losing this fat. They're constantly force feeding themselves and are experiencing an over expression of mTOR."

Fat loss by Fred Duncan
http://www.elitefts.com/education/motivation/fasts-and-sprints-for-fast-fat-loss/

High-protein problem #2: Both insulin triggered by protein and amino acides themselves inhibit HSL
"Amino acids themselves can shut down HSL activity."

Eat fat to burn fat
by John Kiefer 2012
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/eat-fat-to-burn-fat-a-counterintuitive-approach-to-shredding.html

"Insulin shuts off HSL in fat cells."
"Amino acids themselves can shut down HSL activity."

Bottom line: applications for increasing HSL to lose fat
Understanding HSL brings a new level of clarity about how to lose fat.
1. Eating high fat will trigger HSL which by definition helps you lose fat.
2. Eating excessive protein is the achilles heel which keeps many lifters from losing weight even as they gain muscle. Excessive protein inhibits HSL in at least three different ways: insulin, mTor, and the amino acids themselves.
3. Eat high carbs triggers insulin which inhibits HSL, plus carbs turn into fat. High carbs never a good idea except post-workout.

So:
-Make good healthy fats your #1 source of calories by far. If you have a fast, heavy metabolism this could mean a lot of fat--that's OK.
-Eat protein but not excessive protein. Don't be a "perma-bulker" because in bulking you cannot lose fat.
-Make carbs your lowest source of calories from macronutrients. Post-workout is the best time to eat carbs.



Monday, June 15, 2015

Betting on Beta-Glucans - may be the best type of soluble fiber

While fiber is divided into soluble and insoluble, there are also many subdivisions within these.

Of the soluble types, beta-glucans are especially good for lowering blood sugar and increasing satiety,/decreasing appetite, the two big things dieters are looking for.


“'Beta-glucans are the new frontier in medicine,' Gregory J. Berry says, but 'much research still remains to be done.'”


Betting on Beta-Glucansby Densie Webb Today's Dietician
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/050114p16.shtml

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Excellent description of the importance of stimulating leptin the "fullness" hormone for all other processes to work

Excellent description of the importance of stimulating leptin the "fullness" hormone for all other processes to work

Fiber, leptin, and weight loss - Byron Richards
http://www.wellnessresources.com/weight_tips/articles/fiber_leptin_and_weight_loss/

Key points -
-soluble fiber is especially important although both are important
-overweight people need an extra amount of fiber to feel full because their leptin levels are out of whack
-fiber is a major stimulant of leptin
-without leptin stimulation the body produces too much insulin, thyroid does not run metabolism at full speed, and you stay hungry
-most American food is low fiber, does not stimulate leptin and fullness

My tips:
-If you eat out a lot, find some go-to restaurants which sell good high-fiber vegetable sides like green beans, beans, cole slaw, etc. For example all the fast-Mex places have beans and avocado/guacamole, both high fiber. Popeye's has pretty good green beans and so-so cole slaw, lots of barbecue places have good cole slaw and beans. Many pollo places have the best beans, the Latin touch has a flair for beans. Even add double mushrooms and onions at Five Guys. Double up and chow down on these the fiber sides. Even if you don't eat your main dish there you can get your two or three veggie sides and go somewhere else for chicken, tuna, beef, pork, etc.

-Increasingly companies are making higher-fiber bars. Certain KIND nuts and spices bars are high in fiber like Dark Chocolate Nut and Sea Salt. I found a new one recently at MOM's Organic market called Rawxies, their Mint Chocolate Chip is good with 5 g fiber and gluten free.

-Eat the skins on everything to get more fiber provided they are edible and clean (have to be organic). You can eat orange skin it is very good for you as long as it is pesticide-free. Potato skins are really good for you (although I don't eat potatoes because of a big nightshade intolerance).

-Also see which fibers you tolerate better than others for example fructooligosaccarides, raffinose, etc. have very different effects. Not all fiber is created equal. If beans make you bloated there are other fibers that won't.

-The problem with Whole Foods veggies for me personally is a lot of their salad bar is raw and they tend to put huge amounts of nightshades like peppers in everything, at least near me. The veggies behind the deli are cold and clammy and not all that good. I like hot cooked vegetables, that's why it's hard to beat restaurant side.

"Once your brain gets the leptin driven full signal, all other hormonal systems, such as thyroid, are given a green light, and energy production and metabolism run at an optimal pace (as your subconscious brain knows you aren’t starving). At the same time, the higher levels of leptin signal your pancreas to quit making insulin, thus completing the feeding and calorie transport process. This is the normal way your body handles a meal, transports the calories to needed places, and tells you that you are full.
...

If you eat less food, so that your brain doesn’t really get the leptin driven full signal, then your body thinks it is starving and your metabolism is not given a green light, again resulting in weight gain even though calorie intake is lower. People stuck in this rut are darned if they do and darned if they don’t. Any person who is overweight and cannot easily lose weight is stuck in one of these two patterns of insulin and leptin inefficiency.
Adequate soluble fiber can go a long way toward breaking you out of this metabolic rut, cut your desire for food, and help you get normal leptin driven full signals eating less food."

Friday, June 12, 2015

ADD diets for high concentrations vs. low concentration

On one hand, ADD is typically associated with low concentration. For this "Classic ADD" Dr. Daniel Amen prescribes a low carb high protein diet. He calls this a "low concentration diet," it would also be called a "fast oxidizer diet" in common Metabolic Typing.

On the other hand, Dr. Amen identifies a type of ADD called "Overfocused ADD" that he says needs the opposite type of diet, a higher carb, lower protein diet.

In other words

Diet to achieve higher concentration = high protein, low carb

Diet to achieve lower concentration = lower protein, higher carb

"High protein low carbohydrate diets are concentration diets. You do not want to put somebody who can't shift their attention on a high concentration diet. They actually do better with more simple carbohydrates in their diet."

Daniel Amen - Healing ADD - around 1 hr 2 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItieANAruo8

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Killer instinct pros and cons

Bomani Jones made a good point 2 nights ago on ESPN radio.

The discussion was about Shaq's comment that he would take Kobe as a teammate over Lebron in part because of Kobe's "killer instinct."


Similar comments have been made about MJ vs. Lebron, that MJ had the killer instinct. (At the same time, MJ and Lebron are also frequently said to both make their teammates better, so the killer instinct and lifting teammates are two separate issues.)


But Bomani made a good counter point: the guys who have the killer instinct are often also the guys who end up overshooting taking 7 straight shots in a row etc. ex. Iverson, Kobe, Carmelo, even early MJ.


I found this article from 1988 in which Pat Riley agreed that Jordan shot too much:

Jordan too much of a shooting star

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-11-22/sports/8802180834_1_bulls-charles-barkley-pat-riley

The author Jerome Holtzman notes at the beginning of the season


"And Jordan does seem to be making more of an effort to find the open man. But the Bulls won`t be a genuine contender until Jordan is among the league leaders in assists."
In Jordan's case, he seems to have channeled it into working without the total team concept, getting his teammates involved. Phil Jackson likely helped facilitate that change. Three years later in 1991 Jordan had his first championship.

Actually several of these guys who shoot huge amounts of shots also are NBA all-time assist leaders including MJ, Kobe, Iverson, etc.


NBA Career Assist Leaders

http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/ast_career.html

So my take is that the killer instinct is what it is and can be channeled for good or bad.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Herring is nature's richest source of creatine

Herring is nature's richest source of creatine
http://www.creapure.com/en/creapure-every-day/why-does-creapure-work/which-foods-contains-creatine

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Scientific overview of autophagy processes--a hot topic

Autophagy explained by a true expert

-says that the aging process is largely due to a decline in autophagy but that autophagy can be increased


-mTOR (increased by weightlifting) is the "master of autophagy"


-autophagy is controlled by numerous factors including many unrelated to diet


-makes connection between glucagon (protein-induced anti-insulin hormone) and autophagy I did not know about, says this connection declines with age



Autophagy – the housekeeper in every cell that fights aging
by James Watson

http://www.anti-agingfirewalls.com/2013/04/19/autophagy-the-housekeeper-in-every-cell-that-fights-aging-2/

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Interesting points on fasting, autophagy, SIRT1

Interesting points on fasting, autophagy, SIRT1

The Whiton Protocoal
http://joshwhiton.com/health/paleo-anti-aging/

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Good chat on eating 2 meals per day

Good chat on eating 2 meals per day
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread40848.html


"Neurologist Dr. Kruse [would say] it is essential to eat breakfast 1st thing in the morning, to preserve the Circadian Rythm in the brain [and] dinner by 6:00 PM."

Friday, January 23, 2015

The food calls out to you, not the packaging

Watching a travel show on PBS a few years ago, the host was touring a central market I think in Spain.

As they were walking among the stalls, the local guide pointed out the variety of colors and textures from all  of the bright fruits, vegetables and other produce piled and hanging all around the mercado. She noted that in a supermarket the bright colors of packaging call out to you: the bright orange Wheaties box, the red and white stripe of Coca-Cola, etc. But in the market, it is the natural colors of real food that call out to you, the bright red skin of the apples, the yellow bananas dangling, green stacks of avocados and limes.

Mercado Central, Valencia, Spain


 From https://isastudentblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/mercado-central.jpg
From https://isastudentblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/mercado-central.jpg

Sunday, January 18, 2015

10 second rule - good point about training type IIB muscle

Type IIB muscle is the fastest of the fast-twitch muscle with very short fatigue time of around 10 seconds.

Chad Waterbury makes a good point in the article below: if you just limit your sets to 10 seconds, regardless of whether you are lifting less than a heavy load, you will target type IIB. Another way is to stop a set when the speed slows down noticeably, for me this is easy I noticed the slow-down as my IIB muscles fatigue pretty clearly.

I personally have a lot of type IIB muscle, I am definitely a fast-twitch guy not an endurance guy. Having said that, it is easy to sort of "bypass" the type IIB muscle when lifting by doing sets that last longer than the IIB muscle can peform, namely longer than 10 seconds. If you go by many of the standard conventional recommendations which say to do 8-12 reps or 12-15 reps etc. this could easily put you over 10 seconds.

Prior to reading this I have had success hitting IIB muscle through heavy weight pullups and dips. But Waterbury is stressing that the weight does not have to be heavy, it can be lighter just lifted fast over 8-10 sets and still target IIB muscle.

I noticed and practiced this principle in running: just by doing it I realized that to hit the type IIB muscle you do *not* have to run all-out sprints like some would suggest, which blows your CNS out pretty quick. Sure, all-out sprints are an intense cardio workout, but we are talking about hitting IIB leg muscle not cardio muscle. In fact, if you just run all out sprints (as many suggest and as I have tried in the past) your CNS will be toast way before your leg muscles really get the workout you are looking for.

Instead, just running sort of "low-key" sprints--still sprints but not all out--but running a lot of them like 8-10 will work the type IIB muscle deep. The 10 second rule applies here, just run sprints for 10 seconds or less even if they are not all out, and do a lot of them.

In general, I find that most "muscle building" advice out there is *not* really geared toward the minority who have a large amout of IIB muscle but to the majority who have IIA. And then there are the running and biking magazines for the type I endurance guys...

10 second rule
http://chadwaterbury.com/the-10-second-rule/

Friday, January 16, 2015

Good mucle fiber type descriptions from Gatorade Sports Science Institute

Good mucle fiber type descriptions from Gatorade Sports Science Institute
http://www.gssiweb.org/Article/sse-54-muscle-adaptations-to-aerobic-training

Especially good point that training does two things:
-for red muscle, training increases the mitochodrial density allowing the

-for white muscle, training increases capillarity i.e. the # of capillaries surrounding the fibers, bringing more blood faster and creating more surface area between capillaries and fiber

The way I think of it, red muscle becomes harder and denser with training, while white muscle becomes fatter and juicier.

GLUT-4 powerpoint

Great powerpoint about GLUT-4 and other forms of glucose uptake ex. GLUT-2 in the liver.

by Elizabeth Neufeld, LSU Health Sciences Center

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CCwQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.medschool.lsuhsc.edu%2Fbiochemistry%2FCourses%2FBiochemistry201%2FScott%2F05Neufeldlectures123corrected.ppt&ei=-J-5VNCrNoOeggSL34LoBA&usg=AFQjCNEDztJMmzP2qFs77xrNYX1VQepUFg

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Cutting edge chelation breakthrough for mercury and other heavy metals



Novel Oral Detoxification of Mercury, Cadmium, And Lead with

Thiol-Modified Nanoporous Silica

http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/school-of-medicine/departments/basic-science-departments/biomedical-engineering/bme-labs/yantasee-lab/upload/am5007707.pdf

Interesting side note about fumed silica another powerful chelator:

"Fumed silica has been FDA approved for food and pill additives for up to 2% by weight."
 




  

Eating 1/3 calories in the morning

Eating 1/3 calories in the morning
http://www.livescience.com/45990-morning-meals-cut-evening-food-binges.html

I had experimented for a while with the Warrior Diet principles that you should not eat much during the day and similar diets that advise skipping breakfast altogether. They never really worked. I was always tired during the day.

Eating a lot of calories in the morning does not necessarily mean eating lots of carbs, it could be moderate carbs and more fats and proteins.

One of the biggest points in the article that rings true for me is that eating in the morning gives you much more "bang for the buck" in terms of satiety. I find I don't want to eat for a long time after eating big in the morning, whereas if I eat a big lunch or dinner I just want to keep eating on and on.

As always it is always personal and each person's genes are different.