"Sirtuin proteins (SIRTs) are created when the body recognizes a caloric deficit, they do three things we are concerned with:
1) they run around the body cleaning up old, dead cells; and the innards of cells that are sickly. They send the detritus to be burned as fuel. And, in the process of cleaning up they can make great improvements in our health.
2) they support fat burning, in fact they appear to be critical to making the body burn fat and preserve muscle
3) for some of us, they reduce feelings of hunger
Sounds great, doesn't it? It is. The trick is that the body only generates them for a fairly short time. After an average of 40 hours, if the body is still in a calorie deficit, it stops producing SIRTs and changes over to burning fat and muscle.
By eating very low one day, we invoke the SIRTs and burn fat (and get a nice internal dusting and cleaning). By eating high the next day, we turn off the calorie deficit and prevent muscle being used for fuel. That is the magic to the rotation.
Gradually, over time, we accumulate enough SIRTs that they hang around and keep working on UD. At that point, weight loss usually speeds up a bit...even if it does not speed up, it becomes very stable and predictable.
When we have a - ahem - body-full of SIRTs, it takes about two weeks to burn them all away. That is why going on vacation for a week or so may cause a bounce, but returning to the rotation and losing the bounce is usually very easy.
I hope that helps."
-------------------------------
Taken from this blog
http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/juddd/794318-magical-gene-what.html
about halfway down
Monday, July 21, 2014
2 ways that grains actually can be "good for you"
I hesitate to use the phrase "good for you" about foods because usually foods have both good, bad, and neutral aspects to them nutritionally that depend on *you* specifically, your body, you metabolism, your allergies, your digestion, etc. So you have to weigh all of the above.
Grains are being knocked these days for having "no nutritional value" and even for having "anti-nutrients." But actually this is not true. Grains are often compared to vegetable sources of carbs and found to lack the same variety of vitamins and phytonutrients, but they have advantages of their own. I'm certainly not advocating chowing down on grains and bread all day as the SAD diet suggests (Standard American Diet). But here are two ways that whole grains (only whole grains) help reduce heart disease:
-Whole grains (ex. brown rice, whole wheat) have something called DMG which converts to something else called TMG in the body. Straight TMG is highly-valued in nutrition and found in greens like spinach. It is a key to preventing heart disease because it breaks down destructive homocysteine that comes from eating lots of protein. Homocysteine is one of the key markers of heart disease, it literally shreds your arteries in a way analogous to tiny bits of broken glass.
-Further, phytic acid is often called an "anti-nutrient" because it strips away iron from the blood stream by chelating it (binding to it). However, if you are trying to avoid iron overload, this may be just what you need. The "anti-nutrient" label comes mostly from people thinking about iron deficiency, but there are loads of people (more guys than women) with excess iron that they need to reduce. So one man's anti-nutrient is another man's nutrient. In fact, for people with real iron overload problems, rather than giving blood frequently which has been the only solution until recently, you can simply get something called IP6 which contains phytic acid and your iron will come down extremely fast without all the fatigue of having to lose blood. (see previous post)
So whole grains definitely have their good side. Imagine if you eat a side a brown rice with a steak: the phytic acid reduces the iron form the steak, which can be good because it prevents that iron from banging around in your arteries creating nicks, while the DMG reduces the homocysteine from the steak. So it is worth noting these big benefits to grains, while remembering to eat whole grains and to eat them in moderation, according to your own personal nutritional type.
Grains are being knocked these days for having "no nutritional value" and even for having "anti-nutrients." But actually this is not true. Grains are often compared to vegetable sources of carbs and found to lack the same variety of vitamins and phytonutrients, but they have advantages of their own. I'm certainly not advocating chowing down on grains and bread all day as the SAD diet suggests (Standard American Diet). But here are two ways that whole grains (only whole grains) help reduce heart disease:
-Whole grains (ex. brown rice, whole wheat) have something called DMG which converts to something else called TMG in the body. Straight TMG is highly-valued in nutrition and found in greens like spinach. It is a key to preventing heart disease because it breaks down destructive homocysteine that comes from eating lots of protein. Homocysteine is one of the key markers of heart disease, it literally shreds your arteries in a way analogous to tiny bits of broken glass.
-Further, phytic acid is often called an "anti-nutrient" because it strips away iron from the blood stream by chelating it (binding to it). However, if you are trying to avoid iron overload, this may be just what you need. The "anti-nutrient" label comes mostly from people thinking about iron deficiency, but there are loads of people (more guys than women) with excess iron that they need to reduce. So one man's anti-nutrient is another man's nutrient. In fact, for people with real iron overload problems, rather than giving blood frequently which has been the only solution until recently, you can simply get something called IP6 which contains phytic acid and your iron will come down extremely fast without all the fatigue of having to lose blood. (see previous post)
So whole grains definitely have their good side. Imagine if you eat a side a brown rice with a steak: the phytic acid reduces the iron form the steak, which can be good because it prevents that iron from banging around in your arteries creating nicks, while the DMG reduces the homocysteine from the steak. So it is worth noting these big benefits to grains, while remembering to eat whole grains and to eat them in moderation, according to your own personal nutritional type.
Encouragement for llama milk! How about a "milk zoo"?
In the article below the United Nations is encouraging developing countries to use more milk from underutilized (basically non-cow) sources--and there are a lot of them! I couldn't agree more; it baffles me that with all the great sources of milk we basically use one for over 99% of the market. They mention llama, donkey, yak, camel, sheep, goat, buffalo, reindeer, alpaca, moose, and mithun milk*. Great advice! That's a milk trip around the world. I would love to taste all of the above, as I currently drink about a 1/2 gallon of goat milk a day.
Here's an idea: start a "milk zoo" (or "dairy zoo") i.e. dairy farm that has as wide assortment of these animals from all over the world--and you get to hang out with the animals and buy all kinds of products made from their milk!
I visited Bolivia and Chile and one of my hopes was to drink llama or alpaca milk... but to no avail. No one seemed to know where to buy it. But it is out there, I was told it can be found more in some of the rural areas of the Altiplano like Oruro that I did not get to.
I did however get camel milk both in Dubai and Kenya. It is just recently has begun to be sold pretty commonly in major supermarkets, though in relatively small containers like pints. Vital Camel Milk is the big Kenyan brand (actually run by a German guy), they have their own little refrigerator in each location of Nakumatt the big supermarket chain in Kenya. Camel milk tastes good, it also has extra insulin in it which is good for diabetics but can also make you tired from low blood sugar. Kenya also has a big brand of goat milk products Togg's which also has their own refrigerators in Nakumatt supermarkets, with yogurt etc. http://www.toggskenya.com/
*Had to look up mithun, apparently it's also known as the gayal and is a sort of wild ox native to Bangladesh, India, and other areas of S and SE Asia.
Here's an idea: start a "milk zoo" (or "dairy zoo") i.e. dairy farm that has as wide assortment of these animals from all over the world--and you get to hang out with the animals and buy all kinds of products made from their milk!
I visited Bolivia and Chile and one of my hopes was to drink llama or alpaca milk... but to no avail. No one seemed to know where to buy it. But it is out there, I was told it can be found more in some of the rural areas of the Altiplano like Oruro that I did not get to.
I did however get camel milk both in Dubai and Kenya. It is just recently has begun to be sold pretty commonly in major supermarkets, though in relatively small containers like pints. Vital Camel Milk is the big Kenyan brand (actually run by a German guy), they have their own little refrigerator in each location of Nakumatt the big supermarket chain in Kenya. Camel milk tastes good, it also has extra insulin in it which is good for diabetics but can also make you tired from low blood sugar. Kenya also has a big brand of goat milk products Togg's which also has their own refrigerators in Nakumatt supermarkets, with yogurt etc. http://www.toggskenya.com/
Glass of llama milk? UN agency urges greater access to non-traditional dairy products
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46594*Had to look up mithun, apparently it's also known as the gayal and is a sort of wild ox native to Bangladesh, India, and other areas of S and SE Asia.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Every other day diet aka Alternate day fasting
This seems like a good approach in that you get long fasts and also don't have big "feast" blowout every day. I am currently trying something like the "Every other day diet" aka JUDDD diet except I don't eat "whatever you want" on the "up" or high calorie day but do eat carbs. Seems to be working. The idea is to switch on the SIRT1 gene also known as the "skinny gene." I have tried the Warrior Diet for several years on and off with a 20 hour fast and 4 hour eating window but it did not really work--and I was kind of baffled given the reasoning behind the diet. But the reason it did not work, as I am reading elsewhere, was the opposite of what I might have guessed: likley the problem was not that I fasted too long, for 20 hours, but that I did not fast long enough. The "every other day" diet has longer fasts, more along the lines of 36 hours with one small, solid meal thrown in.
Currently I am doing one day of full-on eating, then fasting all night and the next complete day except for a solid but small dinner. As the diet mentions, while you are definitely hungry, you don't want to just chow down on the eating day despite what you might think. And maybe best of all you feel like you are off the roller-coaster of constant eating and frequent meals, however "healthy" the food in those meals may be. You get off the up-down blood sugar loop, hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, caused by excessive insulin output by too-frequent eating.
Overall the idea is that while you can't just starve yourself all week, some people may really need to stretching out fasting times longer than 20 hours to give their body the "signal" for the SIRT1 gene to kick in. In a "hard loser" like myself, that may be what it takes!
Every other day diet
http://www.eoddiet.com/
Alternate day fasting
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/08/alternate-day-fasting.aspx
Here's a good FAQ
http://juddd.livejournal.com/44295.html
Currently I am doing one day of full-on eating, then fasting all night and the next complete day except for a solid but small dinner. As the diet mentions, while you are definitely hungry, you don't want to just chow down on the eating day despite what you might think. And maybe best of all you feel like you are off the roller-coaster of constant eating and frequent meals, however "healthy" the food in those meals may be. You get off the up-down blood sugar loop, hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, caused by excessive insulin output by too-frequent eating.
Overall the idea is that while you can't just starve yourself all week, some people may really need to stretching out fasting times longer than 20 hours to give their body the "signal" for the SIRT1 gene to kick in. In a "hard loser" like myself, that may be what it takes!
Every other day diet
http://www.eoddiet.com/
Alternate day fasting
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/06/08/alternate-day-fasting.aspx
Here's a good FAQ
http://juddd.livejournal.com/44295.html
Good summary of different fasting strategies
Good summary of different fasting strategies
by Mark Sisson author of the Primal Blueprint
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-fast-part-six-choosing-a-method/#axzz37ZHxd8FZ
by Mark Sisson author of the Primal Blueprint
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-fast-part-six-choosing-a-method/#axzz37ZHxd8FZ
Monday, July 14, 2014
ALEs - key indicator of heart disease, maybe a key to reversing it
ALEs are basically degraded fats. They are lipids that have degraded due to oxidation, hence the term Advanced Lipid Peroxidation End Products. They cause damage in the body, much like their cousins AGEs (Advanced Glycation End Products).
MDA (Malondialdehyde)-modified LDL is a key ALE.
Upshot: catechins (found in certain teas) and rosemary extract have been found to reduce ALEs.
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/1/122.abstract
The Effects of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Leaves Powder on Glucose Level, Lipid Profile and Lipid Perodoxation
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=44285#.U8Pl2haWdFQ
MDA (Malondialdehyde)-modified LDL is a key ALE.
Upshot: catechins (found in certain teas) and rosemary extract have been found to reduce ALEs.
Ingestion of a tea rich in catechins leads to a reduction in body fat and malondialdehyde-modified LDL in men
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/1/122.abstract
Circulating malondialdehyde modified LDL is a biochemical risk marker for coronary artery disease
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1768480/The Effects of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Leaves Powder on Glucose Level, Lipid Profile and Lipid Perodoxation
http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=44285#.U8Pl2haWdFQ
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Get into seeds
Simple way to vastly improve your diet: get into seeds.
Get hold of these three seeds and have them in your kitchen to sprinkle on just about anything:
-Chia (Omega 3)
-Pumpkin (Omega 6 & 3)
-Poppy (Omega 9)
It's better to keep chia and pumpkin seeds in the fridge because Omega 3s tend to go rancid fast unless refrigerated.
All seeds are very dense in phytonutrients, the plant nutrients that don't show up on "vitamins and minerals" lists and are most missing from the modern diet. Seeds help make you feel full so don't feel the need to eat as much, and give that crunchy feel to food. They also have hard-to-find vitamins like B17 which has been linked to curing cancer. You don't need a lot, even a sprinkle or half teaspoon makes a big difference.
In all cases, drink a lot of water with seeds because the insoluble fiber needs to soak up a lot of water to stay fluid.
Other seeds
-Sesame seeds are high in lignans and antioxidants
-Sunflower seeds are not my favorite because they are sky-high in Omega 6s which we usually get too much of anyway.
-Flax seed has special benefits for women, but otherwise for Omega 3s I would go with Chia seeds which taste way better
-Hemp seeds have many benefits including Omega 6 and 3 but for me they cause an allergic reaction, I have tried them several times
Special note: Apricot seeds/kernels are sky-high in B17 which is considered by some a cure for cancer.
Benefits
-Seeds are like little insoluble fiber bombs. Insoluble fiber can be hard to come by usually found in the skins of fruits and vegetables and in nuts. Seeds make it simple to get insoluble fiber.
-Chia seeds in particular are the best source of ALA Omega 3s (different from the Omega 3s in fish oil; ALA is the precursor to EPA and DHA in fish oil and some of the ALA from Chia will convert to EPA and DHA. You need both.)
Get hold of these three seeds and have them in your kitchen to sprinkle on just about anything:
-Chia (Omega 3)
-Pumpkin (Omega 6 & 3)
-Poppy (Omega 9)
It's better to keep chia and pumpkin seeds in the fridge because Omega 3s tend to go rancid fast unless refrigerated.
All seeds are very dense in phytonutrients, the plant nutrients that don't show up on "vitamins and minerals" lists and are most missing from the modern diet. Seeds help make you feel full so don't feel the need to eat as much, and give that crunchy feel to food. They also have hard-to-find vitamins like B17 which has been linked to curing cancer. You don't need a lot, even a sprinkle or half teaspoon makes a big difference.
In all cases, drink a lot of water with seeds because the insoluble fiber needs to soak up a lot of water to stay fluid.
Other seeds
-Sesame seeds are high in lignans and antioxidants
-Sunflower seeds are not my favorite because they are sky-high in Omega 6s which we usually get too much of anyway.
-Flax seed has special benefits for women, but otherwise for Omega 3s I would go with Chia seeds which taste way better
-Hemp seeds have many benefits including Omega 6 and 3 but for me they cause an allergic reaction, I have tried them several times
Special note: Apricot seeds/kernels are sky-high in B17 which is considered by some a cure for cancer.
Benefits
-Seeds are like little insoluble fiber bombs. Insoluble fiber can be hard to come by usually found in the skins of fruits and vegetables and in nuts. Seeds make it simple to get insoluble fiber.
-Chia seeds in particular are the best source of ALA Omega 3s (different from the Omega 3s in fish oil; ALA is the precursor to EPA and DHA in fish oil and some of the ALA from Chia will convert to EPA and DHA. You need both.)
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