Dr. Michael Eades of Protein Power fame thinks he knows why we’ve gotten fat starting 35 years ago (at least in the U.S.:
Click the link for the details of his hypothesis, which involves the effects of various dietary fats and carbohydrates on intracellular energy metabolism and insulin resistance.
Two diet books in one
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Posted in Overweight & Obesity
Tagged cause of obesity, cause of overweight, Dr. Michael Eades, Protein Power
I’m going to start doing Turkish get-ups again. I fell out of the habit a couple years ago. Turkish get-ups promote flexibility, balance, joint range of motion, and strength. If you’re just doing the Big Five exercises, TGUs will strengthen some of the smaller muscles (and portions of major muscles) you may be neglecting.
Below are a couple YouTube examples. They are not complete tutorials. You can use a dumbbell or kettlebell. Start with either no weight in your hand, or just a small one. Then work up to higher weights as you get stronger.
These videos may only show how to work one side of the body; you work both sides, of course, and call it a pair. I used to do only five pairs with a 25-lb dumbbell. In weightlifting lingo, you’d call that 1 set of five reps (repetitions). It was exhausting.
Do enough reps and it will be both strength and aerobic training.
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Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged exercise, Turkish get-ups, weight training
What fits your busy schedule better, exercising 30 minutes a day or being dead 24 hours a day?
—Randy Glasbergen in a 2008 cartoon
So easy to over-eat! Is it the insulin release?
No, insulin probably isn’t the cause of constant hunger, according to Dr. Stephan Guyenet. Dr. G gives 11 points of evidence in support of his conclusion. Read them for yourself. Here are a few:
An oft-cited explanation for the success of low-carbohydrate diets involves insulin, specifically the lower insulin levels and reduced insulin resistance seen in low-carb dieters. They often report less trouble with hunger than other dieters.
Here’s the theory. When we eat carbohydrates, the pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream to keep blood sugar levels from rising too high as we digest the carbohydrates. Insulin drives the bloodstream sugar (glucose) into cells to be used as energy or stored as fat or glycogen. High doses of refined sugars and starches over-stimulate the production of insulin, so blood sugar falls too much, over-shootinging the mark, leading to hypoglycemia, an undeniably strong appetite stimulant. So you go back for more carbohydrate to relieve the hunger induced by low blood sugar. That leads to overeating and weight gain.
Read Dr. Guyenet’s post for reasons why he thinks this explanation of constant or recurring bothersome hunger is wrong or too simplistic. I tend to agree with him on this.
The insulin-hypoglycemia-hunger theory may indeed be at play in a few folks. Twenty ears ago, it was popular to call this “reactive hypoglycemia.” For unclear reasons, I don’t see it that often now. It was always hard to document that hypoglycemia unless it appeared on a glucose tolerance test.
Regardless of the underlying explanation, low-carb diets undoubtedly are very effective in many folks. That’s why I offer one as an option in my Advanced Mediterranean Diet. And low-carbing is what I always recommend to my patients with carbohydrate intolerance: diabetics and prediabetics.
front cover
Two diet books in one
front cover
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Posted in Low-Carb Eating, Overweight & Obesity
Tagged Advanced Mediterranean Diet, Conquer Diabetes and Prediabetes, hunger, insulin, low-carb diets, Paleobetic Diet, satiety
Not the police, firemen, or EMTs. They are second responders.
So as the Boy Scouts say, “Be prepared.”
Learn first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Keep first aid supplies in your home and vehicle. Have at least one fire extinguisher in your home. If you’ll be out in extremes of weather, know how to survive, whether or not something goes wrong. Learn how to protect yourself when confronted by a violent criminal. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
Etc.
Two diet books in one
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Tagged emergencies, first responder
Evolutionistx thinks so. She started pondering this in view of the fact that 25% of women in the U.S. are on medications for depression or anxiety. Why so many drug users? A quote:
People seem to do best, emotionally, when they have the support of their kin, some degree of ethnic or national pride, economic and physical security, attend religious services, and avoid crowded cities. (Here I am, an atheist, recommending church for people.) The knowledge you are at peace with your tribe and your tribe has your back seems almost entirely absent from most people’s modern lives; instead, people are increasingly pushed into environments where they have no tribe and most people they encounter in daily life have no connection to them. Indeed, tribalism and city living don’t seem to get along very well.
RTWT.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged anxiety, depression, Evolutionistix, Mental Illness, Modern Life
For most of my medical career, stroke was the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease and cancer. Just a few years ago, chronic lower respiratory tract disease surpassed stroke.
Even non-fatal strokes can be devastating.
Reduce your risk of stroke by maintaining normal blood pressure, not smoking, exercise regularly, living at a healthy weight, limiting your alcohol consumption, don’t get diabetes, and limit your age to 55. It’s also important to seek medical attention if you have a TIA (transient ischemic attack).
I also think the Mediterranean diet helps.
Two diet books in one
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Tagged causes of death in U.S., Mediterranean diet, stroke, stroke prevention
Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
– Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
Two diet books in one, and both require persistence and determination
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Posted in Shameless Self-Promotion
Tagged calvin coolidge quotation
…according to an article at MedPageToday.
Band Gastric Bypass Surgery
Self-harm emergencies rose by 50% after gastric bypass surgery in the Canadians in this study.
Folks on my diets lose weight without an increase in suicide risk, as far as I know. Click on my name for the diets.
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Tagged bariatric surgery, gastric bypass, self-harm, suicide
Overweight and obese women who habitually drank diet beverages lost more weight if they substituted water for the diet beverage. Over the course of 24 weeks on a reduced calorie diet, the water drinkers lost an extra 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) compared to those who continued their diet beverage habit.
Furthermore, the researchers found that the water drinkers had healthier values on insulin levels, HOMA-IR (a measure of insulin resistance), and after-meal blood sugar levels.
It was a small study with only about 30 in each experimental group. Whether similar results would be seen in men is unknown to me.
In the past, I’ve advised dieters it’s OK to drink diet drinks in moderation while trying to weight. I may have to revise my recommendations. On the other hand, if diet drinks help keep you happy and on a successful weight-loss journey, they may be helpful. The diet beverage consumers still lost 7.6 kg (16.7 lb) compared with 8.8 kg (19.4 lb) in the abstainers. But diets don’t work, right?
PS: I haven’t read the full text of the article; just the abstract.
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Posted in Weight Loss
Tagged artificial sweeteners, diet beverages, diet drinks, weight loss
Click the pic to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book versions also available at Smashwords.com.
Advanced Mediterranean Diet 