Processed food Archives

Jul

2019

Replace Red Meat And Processed Red Meat

By Ray Schilling | Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, diet, heart attack, Heart Disease, Nutrition, organic food, Processed food, Stroke

A new study has shown that you can save lives when you replace red meat and processed red meat. The replacement was with fish, poultry or protein from vegetables. The study appeared in the British Medical Journal on June 12, 2019. It involved 53,553 women nurses and 27,916 male doctors in the United States and ran from 1986 to 2010. Every 4 years comprehensive diet sheets were compiled on each of the participants. Death rates of all of the clinical trial participants were also recorded. The amount of red meat or processed red meat servings, which the participants consumed per day was recorded. One serving of red meat is 3.5 ounces or 100 grams.

Results of the BMJ study

People consuming ½ a serving (50 grams) of red meat more per day over 8 years, had an increased mortality. It was increased by 9% over the following 8 years. Similarly, people consuming ½ a serving (50 grams) of processed red meat over 8 years, were in trouble. They had an increased mortality of 13% over the next 8 years. The researchers also found that when people ate less red meat and processed red meat, things normalized. Their mortality returned to a normal rate. Also, when people replaced red meat with fish, poultry and vegetables, the mortality figures went down as well.

Red meat consumption in the literature

The researchers reviewed the literature regarding disease risk and mortality with meat consumption. In particular, the researcher had an interest in increased red meat consumption and consumption of processed red meat. Other investigators mentioned that there was an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and other cancers. In addition, cardiovascular disease and increased overall mortality were up with meat consumption. The worst variety of processed foods are bacon, hot dogs, and sausages. Certain lung diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart heart failure are directly related to consumption of red meat or processed red meat products. Hypertension also has a link to red meat consumption. Components of red processed meats such as saturated fats, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, preservatives and sodium can cause colorectal cancer and at the same time cause cardiovascular disease.

More details about the study

There were 8426 deaths among the nurses branch of the study. 3138 nurses died from cancer, 1774 from cardiovascular disease, 939 from neurodegenerative diseases, 751 from respiratory diseases, and 1824 from other causes. In the same time period (24 years) there were 5593 deaths among the males of the Health Professionals follow-up study. 1754 died from cardiovascular disease, 1754 from cancer. There were 434 deaths from respiratory diseases, 375 from neurodegenerative diseases, and 1276 from other causes.

Red meat consumption in women has decreased by 31% in the past 24 years. Men have cut back their red meat consumption by 11% in the same time period.

One subgroup of patients decreased their red meat consumption and replaced it with a higher intake of nuts, poultry (without skin), fish, dairy, eggs, whole grains and vegetables over 8 years. They had a lower death rate than the controls over the next 10 years.

Discussion of the BMJ study

The authors mentioned that a Japanese study found no increased mortality among 51,683 Japanese men and women eating red meat, poultry, processed meat and liver. There were 20,466 men and 31,217 women, aged 40-79 years. The study lasted for almost 16 years. There were 2685 deaths due 537 ischemic heart diseases and 1209 strokes. The investigators had traced how much meat the participants ate. They did not find any change in mortality up to 100 grams per day of beef or other meat consumption. I will discuss this further below.

Hormones and antibiotics may be partially responsible for higher mortality in the US

Dr. Valter Longo, professor of biological sciences at the University of Southern California and director of the USC Longevity Institute was not part of the study. He commented: “The lower or lack of association between red meat intake and mortality in other countries or areas of the world indicates that red meat may contribute to mortality in the United States by providing a high protein content but also because it may contain other factors that contribute to damage.“ He also questioned certain agricultural practices where hormones and antibiotics are in use in the raising of beef cattle in the US. This is not the case in Japan or Europe. He went on to say: “The reduced mortality, when red meat is replaced with fish, is consistent with this possibility since they contain generally similar levels of proteins”.

Use of antibiotics in cattle farming

The accepted practice of using antibiotics not only for treating infections, but also for accelerating growth in beef cattle has far-reaching ramifications. The problem is that use of antibiotics in milk cows produces milk with antibiotic residues. In beef cattle antibiotic residue are also in the meat of these cows.

The question arose whether or not the use of antibiotics in cattle would possibly cause resistance to antibiotics in humans. This publication examines this question. It comes to the conclusion that the probability of resistant strains of bacteria in humans as a result of the feeding of antibiotics to cows in the US would be small. However, there is another aspect that only recently has gained attention. It is the change of the gut biome in humans as a result of antibiotic residues from the standard agricultural practices of raising cattle.

Change of the human gut biome

Meat eaters have raised TMAO blood levels

The human gut flora can change for various reasons. But once it has changed, it often stays in an altered state. It is a permanent change in bowel flora that can cause chemical reactions in the gut with the consumption of beef and eggs. Beef contains carnitine, which can lead to the production of TMAO (trimethylamine N-oxide). Egg yolk contains choline, which also raises TMAO levels in the blood.

In the following study 113 healthy men and women consumed either a meat diet (beef), white meat diet or protein from non-meat sources. After one month the beef group had triple the amount of TMAO in their blood compared to the other two diets. Interestingly, when the diets were switched the TMAO levels normalized again in the former beefeaters when consuming white meat or protein from non-meat sources.

Changed gut flora causes raised TMAO levels

The use of antibiotics as growth promoters in the US beef industry is the standard practice for raising beef. But this has led to antibiotic residues that are detectable in the laboratory. When a person eats beef that is contaminated with antibiotic residues, the bowel flora loses its diversity of bacteria in the gut. This leads to an accumulation of other bacteria that produce TMAO in the presence of beef or egg yolk and can cause cardiovascular disease on the one hand and cancer on the other. This happens over time.

Discussion

The answer as to why US beef is causing colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease is directly related to the practice of using antibiotics as growth promoters. The use of antibiotics in the beef industry leads to a change in the gut flora in humans consuming this meat. Bacteria that can produce TMAO are now having the upper hand. In the US people produce more TMAO in response to beef consumption as the study mentioned has shown. The Japanese study cited above showed no sign of cardiovascular mortality when people consumed up to 100 gram (one serving) of meat per day over 16 years.

Antibiotics as growth promoters outlawed in Japan and Europe

The reason is that in Japan, as well as in Europe the use of antibiotics as growth promoters are illegal. When humans consume meat in Japan or Europe the original gut flora stays intact with no production of TMAO. Incidentally, the same is true for organic grass-fed meat in the US, which has no antibiotic residues in it. Recently there was a publication from Denmark that suggested to replace some of the beef consumption by low mercury fish.The authors of that study said that this will reduce mortality from cardiovascular disease.

Replace Red Meat And Processed Red Meat

Conclusion

A new study in the British Medical Journal showed that an increase in red meat consumption of only ½ serving per day for 8 years caused an increased mortality of 9% over the following 8 years. With regard to processed red meat the mortality was even bigger, namely 13%. The researchers replaced some of the meat with white chicken meat or vegetables and the mortality normalized.

In contrast, a Japanese study showed that there was no increase in cardiovascular disease with the consumption of up to 100 grams of beef or other meat products over 16 years.

Using antibiotics as growth promoters illegal in Japan and Europe

I pointed out before that there is literature explaining why there is a discrepancy: the beef industry in the US feeds the animals antibiotics as growth promoters. This changes the bowel flora in humans who eat the beef. The changed bacterial strains in the gut use carnitine from beef and make trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO). This is a toxin that causes both cardiovascular disease and cancer. This explains why in the US beef is one of the culprits that causes heart attacks and colorectal cancer. In Japan this is not the case. Both Japan and Europe do not use antibiotics as growth promoters in the cattle industry as it is prohibited.

In the US it is likely safe to eat organic meats (beef, chicken) as these meats will not contain antibiotics. Due to the numerous additives in processed red meat, it is still a sensible idea to skip these products!

Jun

2019

Ultraprocessed Food Kills

By Ray Schilling | food, heart attack, Heart Disease, Mortality, Nutrition, Processed food, Stroke

The British Medical Journal published two papers that showed that ultraprocessed food kills. The first paper showed that highly processed food causes heart attacks and strokes. Another paper in the same journal showed that mortality is significantly increased when people consume highly processed food. Both papers were reviewed by CNN.

Food categories

Food questionnaires were administered over 24 hours every 2 years from every participant using the NOVA classification system.

There were 4 categories.

Category 1 consisted of “unprocessed or minimally processed” food. This included legumes, vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, meats, poultry, fish and seafood, yogurt, grains and natural juice.
Next was category 2 of “processed ingredients”. This included salt, sugar, honey, olive oil, butter and lard.
Category 3 consisted of “processed foods“. This included breads, cheeses, beer, wine, and cured traditional ham and bacon.
Finally, category 4 consisted of “ultraprocessed foods”. This included sausages, flan, chorizo, mayonnaise, pizza, cookies, potato chips, chocolates candies, artificially sweetened beverages including whisky, gin and rum.

Study on cardiovascular risk

A study from France followed more than 105,000 people for 5.2 years. The participants filled out food questionnaires every 6 months. The foods consumed were classified according to the NOVA categories. The results showed that the men’s diet consisted to 17.6% of heavily processed foods while the diet of women consisted of 17.3% heavily processed food. Each 10% increment of highly processed food (called “ultraprocessed” food) had an association with 12% higher risk of cardiovascular disease, 13% more heart attacks and 11% more strokes. The researchers could also show that a decrease in ultraprocessed food was leading to less percentage of these diseases.

Mortality risk when consuming ultraprocessed food

A similar study involving close to 20,000 participants in Spain that had a long observation time of 15 years (from 1999 to 2014). The 4 food categories were as mentioned above.

A person eating more than 4 ultraprocessed items per day or more had a 62% increase of death rate in comparison to those who ate processed food less frequently. Each additional ultraprocessed food item added another 18% of mortality risk. Maira Bes-Rastrollo, professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at Universidad de Navarra, Medical School said: “These results are in agreement with other recent results based on populations in France and the United States. If all the different study results align, despite the separate research groups using dissimilar populations, diverse age ranges and different methodologies, then this lends support to a possible cause-effect relationship between ultraprocessed foods and poor health.”

Discussion

You may remember that your grandparents reminded you not to eat “junk food”. Often junk food is consisting of ultraprocessed foods. Both of these independent studies from France and from Spain have shown that there is a significant risk of heart attacks and strokes associated with the consumption of ultraprocessed foods. In addition, there is also a significant mortality risk when you consume ultraprocessed food. The key is to learn from this and cut down on processed foods; instead eat foods that are less processed and are wholesome for you. Eat vegetables, fruit, nuts and stay away from the grocery store’s shelves with processed foods.

Ultraprocessed Food Kills

Conclusion

What your grandparents used to tell you about processed foods is now available as two separate publications from the British Medical Journal. The less processed food you consume, the healthier your food intake is. You will enjoy better health. This is the simple message. Avoiding ultraprocessed food will help you to avoid heart disease, heart attacks and strokes. In addition you will have a longer life expectancy. It is up to us to translate these findings into reality for ourselves.

Jun

2019

More Obesity In Rural Areas

By Ray Schilling | exercise, Fitness, food, Obesity, Processed food, sugar, Weight loss

A new study was published May 2019 in the magazine Nature showing that there is now more obesity in rural areas. In the mid 1980’s when the first reports came out about obesity, this was not the case. It actually was the opposite: there were more cases of obesity in cities compared to rural areas. The study was also reviewed in Medical News Today.

The new worldwide obesity study was done by the Imperial College London in the United Kingdom. Researchers studied 112 million adults. The study population came from 200 countries and territories. The study covered 32 years from 1985 to 2017. More than 1000 scientists conducted this study worldwide.

Findings of the obesity study

Circumstances changed regarding obesity since the 1980’s

The previous finding in the mid 1980’s that the urban population was leading the obesity wave was now reversed. There is now more obesity in rural areas while the urban population is eating more balanced meals. The population in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries are now accounting for 80% of the word obesity.

Objective increase of BMI over 32 years

The degree of being overweight or obese is best determined by the body mass index. This is the person’s weight in kilograms, divided by the height in meters, but squared. On this scale a normal BMI is 20.0 to 25.0, being overweight is from 25.1 to 29.9 and obesity is 30.0 or higher. Women’s BMI has increased by 2.0 kilograms per square meter (kg/m²), while the men’s BMI has risen by 2.2 kg/m² for both sexes over the study period. In rural areas the BMI has risen by 2.1 kg/m²while in urban areas, the average BMI of women rose by 1.3 kg/m²and for men by 1.6 kg/m².

Healthier lifestyle in cities compared to rural areas

The BMI in high-income countries has grown particularly in rural areas. Prof. Ezzati commented to this: “In fact, cities provide a wealth of opportunities for better nutrition, more physical exercise and recreation, and overall improved health.”

More obese women in urban centers of sub-Saharan Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa there is an opposite trend compared to other countries. In Africa the women in urban centers are getting obese while their counterparts in rural Africa have less problems with obesity. The researchers thought that this is due to city women moving less and sitting at desks etc. In contrast women in the rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa are doing more physically demanding tasks.

What are the issues about obesity?

The problem is that people who turn obese eat the wrong foods. The problem is often that they eat too much sugar and too many starchy foods. Here is my remedy to prevent obesity.
1. Cut out sugar. Cut out highly refined starches. This prevents diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.
2. Avoid red meat and processed meats: this reduces the risk of colorectal cancer.
3. Eat clean foods: organic vegetables or your own vegetables grown in your garden; organic salad; grass-fed beef once per week (not more often); organic chicken and turkey; bison meat once every week or every two weeks; wild salmon two to three times per week.
4. If you exercise regularly on top of eating healthy foods, you can drastically reduce many illnesses and diseases compared to those who don’t.

Remove the majority of starchy foods from your diet

I wrote about avoidance of highly refined starches. I cut out starchy foods as they digested into sugar and give you an insulin response causing hyperinsulinism, inflammation in your arteries, strokes, heart attacks and Alzheimer’s. If you can do it and you don’t want those diseases: cut out wheat and wheat products especially white flour; pasta, bread, baked good. Potatoes, white rice and refined cereal are also problematical. I have avoided this since 2001 and lost 50 pounds. I kept my weight down since. My body mass index is between 21 and 22. I have energy, work out, and I don’t miss these items. Re-evaluate your food habits, and next clean out your pantry!

More Obesity In Rural Areas

Conclusion

An international study examined the rate of obesity in 200 countries, involving 112 million people over a long time span, namely over 32 years. While in the mid 1980’s most obese patients lived in big cities around the world, this pattern has changed. Now there is more obesity in rural areas. People in the cities are learning more about healthy nutrition and they have more access to fitness centers. In order to tackle the obesity problem people must learn the difference between nutritious food and junk food. You need to cut out sugar as much as possible. It is the biggest offender and contributes to a list of health problems. But you need to remove processed food from your diet, because it contains sugar and unhealthy fats. Red meat and processed meats are also unhealthy and should be removed.

What to eat

Eat clean foods such as organic vegetables or your own vegetables grown in your garden. Buy at farmers’ markets, if they are in your area. Consume organic greens. If you cannot live without red meat, limit your consumption to grass-fed beef once per week (not more often); organic chicken and turkey; bison meat once every week or every two weeks, and enjoy wild salmon two to three times per week. It is easier to do than you think, prevents obesity and keeps you healthy until a ripe old age.

May

2019

The Foods That Are Killing Us

By Ray Schilling | Alzheimer’s disease, Arthritis, breast cancer, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, Diabetes, diet, fish oil, gout, Health, heart attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, milk, Mortality, Nutrition, Obesity, omega-3 fatty acids, Processed food, Stroke, sugar, Vitamins and supplements

There is an article in a CNN report talking about the foods that are killing us. This review is based on an article in the Lancet. The Lancet study was based on a global review of eating habits in 195 countries. The question in the study was which of 15 food items caused the diseases that killed people. The answer was surprising. There are either omissions or unhealthy components of foods that kill us. Here is a list of 12 food groups that are problematical.

A dozen foods that were found to be problematical in the global review

Diet high in sodium (4 grams per day, which is 86% above the optimal level)
Low intake of whole grains (only 23% of optimal levels)
Low fruit intake
Diet high in trans fatty acids
Low omega-3 fatty acid diet (due to low intake of sea food)
Diet low in calcium
Diet low in fiber
High intake of sugar beverages or sugary foods (49 grams of sugar per day)
Processed meat intake too high (4 grams per day, 90% more than optimal)
Red meat consumption too high (27 grams per day, 18% higher than optimal)
Nut and seed intake too low (only consuming 12% of desired amount)
Diet low in milk (16% of desired amount)

Each of these components or several of them in combination create deficiencies in us or overburden us to the point where we can get sick and disabled.

Different countries have different eating habits

Globally there were 11 million deaths found in 2017 and 255 million years of disability because of various dietary inadequacies.

Here is the lineup of the leading causes of death:

cardiovascular disease with 10 million deaths and 207 million years of disability.
Cancers caused 913,090 deaths and 20 million years of disability.
Type 2 diabetes caused 338,714 deaths and 24 million years of disability.

This was broken down into statistics for each of the contributory countries. Here I am only citing some pertinent data that shows the importance of balanced meals for a healthy life expectancy.

Different death rates in various countries

There were big differences in terms of cardiovascular disease deaths according to various regions. Central Asia had the highest death rate with 613 deaths per 100,000 people per year. In contrast the high-income Asia Pacific group had only a cardiovascular death rate of 68 per 100,000 people per year.

Cancer deaths were highest in East Asia with 41 deaths per 100,000 people. The lowest cancer rate was found in North Africa and the Middle East with 9 deaths per 100,000 people.

Among the 20 most populous countries Egypt had the highest diet-related deaths, namely 552 deaths per 100,000 people. On the other hand Japan had the lowest of all diet related deaths with 97 deaths per 100,000 people.

Some highlights how unhealthy foods kill us

Globally people only eat 12% of the desirable amount of nuts and seeds. They only drink 13% of what they should consume in terms of milk. People worldwide eat 23% of the desirable amount of whole grains.

Nuts and seeds contain mono- and polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, which lower your risk of getting heart attacks and strokes.

Milk is a good source of calcium, protein, minerals and vitamins. However, milk, yogurt or cheese should be consumed as low fat varieties. Alternatively people who do not consume milk should look for protein carriers such as soy milk or pea milk.

If you eat nuts and vegetables you can largely compensate for low milk consumption. If you don’t get enough whole grains, you are missing a whole lot of nutrients. This makes you more vulnerable of getting cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, and obesity.

Other unhealthy foods can kill us

The WHO has labelled red meat and processed meat as being carcinogenic

Studies clearly showed a higher than normal rate of colorectal cancer in those who consumed larger amounts of red meat and/or sausages.

Sugar overconsumption

Sugar overconsumption leads to a variety of conditions. Weight gain with the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes are common when you eat too much sugar. But even cancer like colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer is more common in people who overindulge in sugar or sugary drinks. Sugar consumption raises your triglyceride and LDL level. This will eventually lead to hardening of the arteries, heart attacks and strokes.

Gout develops with purine containing foods

Gout can be caused by consuming a lot of red meat combined with copious amounts of beer. This is how royalty in the Middle Ages suffered from gout attacks. Gout had the nickname of “Disease of the affluent.” Both beer and red meat contain a lot of purines, which the kidneys cannot handle. The uric acid crystals that precipitate around joints cause excruciating pains.

What the global health study showed

Researchers of the global health study stated that improving the diet habits could potentially eliminate 1 in 5 deaths globally. Dietary risks for major diseases like heart attacks, strokes and cancer are independent from sex, age and socioeconomic status.

Three dietary factors stood out: too much salt, too little fruit and too little whole grain. These three items were responsible for 50% of diet-related deaths and 66% of “disability-adjusted life years”. The authors used this expression to describe how years of disability had their root in diet deficits (e.g. too little fruit) or overdoses of unhealthy food components (e.g. salt).

The leading dietary risk factors are too much salt, low whole grain, low fruit consumption, low vegetable intake and low omega-3 fatty acid consumption. On top of that come the previously established risks due to sugar overconsumption, excessive fat intake and consumption of red meat and processed meat.

Discussion of the meaning of these results

Deaths from heart attacks and strokes

We know for some time that high sugar and high starchy food intake cause elevated triglycerides and elevated LDL cholesterol. This leads to hardening of the arteries and eventually to strokes and heart attacks.

High sodium intake

Sodium intake of more than 2300 mg per day is considered high and can cause high blood pressure. heart attacks, strokes and aneurysms.

Eating not enough fruit

If you eat too little fruit, your system does not get enough vitamin C and other vitamins. Heart disease, cancer and anemia could develop from that.

Eating not enough vegetables

People who do not eat enough vegetables do not have enough antioxidants that protect them from free radicals. Free radicals are unstable chemicals that attack cells and DNA. Mutated cells can cause cancer. If you eat too little vegetables, you are at a higher risk of getting cancer. But there is another aspect of vegetables: phytonutrients protect from hardening of the arteries and blockages of heart and brain vessels. When someone does not eat enough vegetables, the risk for heart attacks and strokes is higher. Eating vegetables also protects you from diabetes and keeps the blood sugar more stable.

Not eating enough whole grain

Whole grain was identified as missing in a lot of people’s diet. When you incorporate whole grains into your food, you reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, and obesity.

There are vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and lignans in whole grain. Other nutrients are beta-glucan, several phytochemicals, phytosterols, phytin, and sphingolipids. All of these are necessary to maintain good health.

Low omega-3 fatty acid consumption

Omega-3 fatty acids are important for healthy skin, brain development (neurodevelopment of children) and prevention of heart attacks. Omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of cancer because of their anti-inflammatory action and inhibition of cell growth factors. In one study rectal cancer showed a 21% reduction comparing the highest omega-3 fatty acid intake to the lowest intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Colon cancer showed no effect to omega-3 consumption, but breast cancer showed a reduction with omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. Researchers showed that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation can slow down dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Protein deposits called amyloids were found less in the brain of patients with omega-3 fatty acid supplementation; in addition the brain volume was preserved more with the omega-3 supplement. Low omega-3 fatty acid consumption also has a detrimental effect on macular degeneration of the eyes and on joint pains of rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The Foods That Are Killing Us

Conclusion

I have reviewed a global health study that described various risks that led to deaths from different diseases. It was noticeable that death and disability rates varied significantly according to different countries. The authors also looked into food habits and could pinpoint certain food deficiencies that caused diseases that prematurely disabled or killed people. I have described the various one-sided food habits that led to specific diseases.

What we should all learn from this complicated study is that we all can strive to eat more balanced meals. You want to eat a low sodium diet, eat enough fruit and vegetables, to which you add some nuts. Eat enough whole grains and add omega-3 fatty acids. This way the risk of getting cancer, cardiovascular diseases or other problems can be significantly reduced.

Apr

2018

Where Does Fat Go With Weight loss?

By Ray Schilling | Anti-aging medicine, Cardiovascular disease, diet, exercise, Fitness, food, Nutrition, Obesity, Processed food, stem cells, telomeres, Weight loss

People often wonder where does fat go with weight loss? This question recently came up in a CNN conversation. The answer was originally researched by Dr. Ruben Meerman and Professor Andrew Brown.

Dr. Meerman is an assistant scientist at the University of New South Wales and author of “Big Fat Myths: When You Lose Weight, Where Does the Fat Go?” Professor Brown is the head of the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences at the same university.

When you lose 1 kilogram of fat, where does fat go with weight loss?

The interesting answer to this question is that fat gets metabolized. Dr, Meerman and Prof. Brown pointed out that originally Leifson et al. answered this question who used heavy oxygen and found out that this was metabolized into heavy water.

Technically these experiments are fairly complex, but they allow the researchers to see exactly where the body incorporates these chemicals and where they end up with breakdown of fat. The BMJ paper describes that the breakdown of 1 kg of fat follows the following pattern: It breaks down into 0.84 kg of CO₂ (carbon dioxide) and 0.16 kg of H₂O (water). In other words, the lungs are the primary organs that get rid of fat and the kidneys excrete the water. There is a bit of extra energy in this chemical reaction as well, which dissipates through the skin and through exhaled air.

What did health professionals think where the fat would go?

The health professionals were doctors, dieticians and personal trainers. About 65% of them thought fat would evaporate into energy/heat. About 10% thought fat would end up in the feces. 5% thought fat would turn into muscle. Another 5% thought fat would turn into sweat or urine. 8% were correct that fat would become CO₂ and H₂O. 7% said they did not know.

The chemistry of fat deposits and metabolizing fat

The body deposited triglycerides from the liver metabolism of sugar and fatty acids into fat cells and stored them as oleate (C₁₈H₃₄O₂), palmitate (C₁₆H₃₂O₂), and linoleate (C₁₈H₃₂O₂). Part of this are many chemical reactions, including a number of enzymes. These fatty acids form esters and turn into gigantic molecules with this chemical formula: C₅₅H₁₀₄O₆. The BMJ paper further says that an overall chemical description of metabolized fat would look like this:

C₅₅H₁₀₄O₆+78O₂→55CO₂+52H₂O+energy. In plain English it means that 1 molecule of fat ester (from fat storage) is metabolized together with 78 molecules of oxygen. This results in 55 molecules of carbon dioxide, 52 molecules of water and energy.

Fat turns into carbon dioxide and water

Based on this chemical reaction a calculation of the breakdown of fat into carbon dioxide and water was possible. The surprising result is that 84% of fat becomes carbon dioxide and only 16% of fat becomes water. We exhale the carbon dioxide from our lungs and it is mostly the kidneys that excrete the water. People who lose weight are aware that they have to urinate more often. But they do not notice that they get rid of a lot of carbon dioxide, as this is a subtle process.

Some observations from the fasting mimicking diet

The fasting mimicking diet (FMD) was at the center of the most recent anti-aging conference in Las Vegas I attended. This was the 25^th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine in Las Vegas, Dec. 14-16, 2017. Late in December 2017 I started 5 days of FMD and have just completed my 4^th round of it (FMD is done 5 days out of each month). My main interest in doing this is to prevent heart attacks and strokes and I like the idea of stimulating telomeres for anti-aging and increasing stem cell production. See more details under this link.

Personal experience of fasting mimicking diet

I keep meticulous records of my body measurements using daily body composition scales, which I record in a booklet. Between March 23, 2018 and March 28 I lost 1.5 kg from 64.8 kg to 63.3 kg. Fat composition was reduced from 14.1% to 12.2%. Visceral fat was reduced from 6% to 5%. My muscle percentage rose from 38.1% to 39.1%. The basic metabolic rate was 1471 Calories on March 23 and went down to 1449 Calories on March 28. My body mass index went from 22.0 to 21.5.

I definitely noticed the frequent urination, something I had noticed in the past in 2001 when I lost 50 pounds over 3 months. Of course it is understandable when you reduce your daily calorie intake to 600 Calories per day that you will lose this amount of weight. People have different metabolisms. It may be that you won’t lose as much as I did.

What causes mainly weight loss?

There are many people who think that extra exercise would help you lose weight. But a publication has established that only about 8% of weight loss is due to exercising. 92% of weight loss is due to dieting.

Regular exercise is important for conditioning of your lungs, heart, muscles and joints. But to keep things in balance a reasonable diet, like a Mediterranean diet, should also be part of the regimen.

Sugar overconsumption

The obesity wave in the US started to take off between 1976 and 1980. 40 years later it is still rising. It is interesting to note that both wheat flour and sugar consumption in the US were increasing parallel to the rising obesity figures. In the 70’s the old-fashioned wheat has changed into the force hybridized Clearfield wheat, which is now 100% of the commercially available wheat. Clearfield wheat contains 7-fold higher gluten amounts than the old-fashioned wheat that your grandparents consumed. Gluten stimulates your appetite, so you crave more wheat and you crave more sugar. This becomes a vicious cycle.

Excess calories are stored as fat

The liver metabolizes sugar from regular food and from processed food into triglycerides and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol that plugs up arteries). As I mentioned above, the body stores any excess triglycerides as fat and deposits the excess into fatty cells. You see from this that essentially sugar and wheat end up as fat deposits. I suggest you change your food intake into eating sensible food with fewer calories. Start by eliminating most of your sugar, wheat and processed food intake. This will help you to melt fat away as I showed with an example of my 5 day FMD.

Where Does Fat Go With Weight loss?

Conclusion

I reviewed facts about the chemistry of melting fat away. The question is where does fat go with weight loss? In the process of weight loss fat breaks down into carbon dioxide and water. I also documented how you can lose fat in just 5 days (1.1 kilogram) on a 600-calorie diet and reduce the body mass index from 22.0 to 21.5.

Most people do not recognize the importance of watching their diet to achieve weight loss. 92% of weight loss occurs as a result of dieting. Wheat and sugar consumption have a direct connection to the obesity wave that started between 1976 and 1980. I have cut out all wheat, all sugar and all processed food in 2001. This allowed me to lose 50 pounds then and my body mass index today is 21.5. It can be done, even if you are 73 years old.

Mar

2018

Prevent Plugged Arteries

By Ray Schilling | Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, Diabetes, diet, exercise, fish oil, Fitness, food, heart attack, High Blood Pressure, Inflammation, lifestyle, Mortality, Nutrition, Obesity, olive oil, omega-3 fatty acids, Prevention, Processed food, Stroke, sugar

There are several ways to prevent plugged arteries, which will translate into less heart attacks and strokes. The message is simple: if you get less heart attacks and strokes, you will live longer. Below I am examining ways to prolong life by various ways to prevent plugged arteries.

You probably heard of plaque formation in the arteries. This is the process where a combination of fat, calcium, cholesterol and cell waste forms a deposit (plaque) under the lining of the arteries.

The end result is that the blood won’t be flowing freely through the affected arteries. This can cause a heart attack or a stroke. Essentially, this is the point where a clot forms in the narrowed passage of the artery. It is also the point, when the clinicians make a diagnosis of a heart attack or a stroke.

Let’s examine what leads to plaque formation in the arteries.

Trans fats

Trans fats are contained in fried foods like French fries, in margarines and other butter substitutes. As margarine is a common ingredient of cakes, cookies, pastries and pies, these are all bad news for our heart health. I consider them off limits. If you eat those foods, you build up plaque in your arteries, which leads to premature heart attacks and strokes.

Lack of exercise

It has been common knowledge for a long time that being sessile leads to premature hardening of the arteries. In the late 1800s to the early 1900s physical exercise was promoted in various countries around the world.

The latter part of the 20^th century saw a renaissance of the fitness movement. It was trendy to go running, cycling, and swimming or working out at a gym. It is not only trendy but healthy: cardiologists support all of these sports to help people stay healthy and keep the arteries free from plaque formation.

Too many refined carbs

Sugar and processed foods, especially those with added sugar to improve flavor, have a direct relationship to heart attacks and strokes. It is known that sugar causes high LDL cholesterol and high triglycerides. In addition sugar also causes inflammation of the arterial walls, which causes plugged arteries. However, sugar is only part of the problem. Starchy foods like rice, noodles, cakes, cookies and other foods made with flour get broken down into sugar. Both lead to insulin production. And both lead to changes of the lining of the arterial walls.

In the 1980s and 1990s there was a school of thought that a low fat diet would be healthy in terms of heart attack and stroke prevention (the low fat/high carb diet). This turned out to be a nutritional disaster: the high carb content of such a diet was the problem. It led to weight gain, obesity and death.

Red meat is a problem

Several studies have documented that saturated fat from red meat is only part of the problem. The other part is carnitine, which is abundantly present in beef, pork, lamb and venison. But mortality of people eating unprocessed red meat is only marginally elevated. It is when people eat processed red meat that there is a significant rise in mortality from heart attacks and strokes. This study examined this. They found that gut bacteria were stimulated by red meat to produce substances that stimulate bacteria in your gut to secrete TMA and TMAO, which makes your platelets more sticky and contributes to plugging your arteries. This research paper from the Cleveland Clinic explains it in more detail.

What must I do to prevent plugged arteries?

Eat the right food

A Mediterranean diet is anti-inflammatory. It contains lots of vegetables, but little red meat. Fish and chicken that contain much less L-carnitine are more dominant in Mediterranean food. As mentioned above, you want to avoid trans fats. And you also want to avoid sugar and too many starchy foods. This includes sugar-sweetened beverages. Making these changes will keep your insulin levels in the normal range eliminating inflammation in your arteries. Avoid eating processed foods, because they contain food preservatives and lots of sugar that we want to avoid. Eat more unsaturated fats like avocados, walnuts, olives, trout, herring, and salmon. The last three contain marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids that are particularly helpful in preventing heart attacks and strokes by being anti-inflammatory and by elevating the protective HDL cholesterol. Drink lots of green or black tea, rooibos tea, or ginger tea. They contain antioxidants and bioflavonoids that prevent plugged arteries.

Regular exercise

Many publications have shown that regular physical exercise will lower blood pressure, condition your muscles including your heart and lower mortality.

Only 10 minutes of brisk walking every day reduced the death rate by 33% compared to those who did not exercise at all.

Regular physical exercise does not only prevent heart attacks and strokes, it also reduces the risk of getting another 35 chronic diseases, as the link shows.

Here are some common exercises: jogging, cycling, running, brisk walking, swimming, playing tennis and doing aerobics. All of them will strengthen your muscles and condition your heart and lungs.

Other ways to prevent plugged arteries

Smokers must quit smoking, as smoking has been identified as a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes.

Exposure to prolonged stress is a factor that leads to hardening of arteries. Stress management is possible by counseling, by self-hypnosis, yoga, tai chi and other relaxation methods.

Risk factors associated with plugged arteries

We already have mentioned the risk factors that are associated with clogged arteries. But for clarity I would like to repeat the major risk factors here.

Smoking
High blood pressure
Elevated LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol)
Reduced HDL cholesterol (HDL is increasing with exercise)
Obesity (often associated by ingestion of too many carbs)
Insulin resistance and diabetes
Lack of exercise (too much sitting in front of the TV or doing computer work)
Unhealthy diet (Standard American diet instead of Mediterranean diet)

Prevent Plugged Arteries

Conclusion

We often think that we have no input whether or not we get a heart attack or a stroke. This is completely wrong. If you adopt the solutions I have listed here, you can change things for the better. You will reduce your risk to get a heart attack or a stroke. Treat high blood pressure. Stop smoking. Cut out sugar and starchy foods to reduce triglycerides and LDL cholesterol. Exercise regularly and your HDL will protect you from heart attacks and strokes. Shed pounds, if you are obese by starting a Mediterranean diet and cutting out sugar. This will also improve your insulin resistance or diabetes. Start daily exercise as this reduces your risk of a heart attack or a stroke. In addition exercise reduces the risk of 35 chronic diseases that have also been mentioned in one of the links.

Mar

2018

Foods That Can Protect You From Cancer

By Ray Schilling | alcohol, breast cancer, Cancer, diet, fiber, fish oil, food, lifestyle, lung cancer, Nutrition, Processed food, prostate cancer

There are foods that can protect you from cancer. Generally speaking you want to remove cancer-producing substances from your diet. But diet is only part of your lifestyle that can contribute to cancer. I will list some of the more important dietary factors below and briefly also touch on important other factors.

Avoid burning your meat

When you use the BBQ, avoid burning your meat. As a matter of fact it is a lot better to use a slow cooker at low heat, and cook the meat for a longer time. In this way you won’t create carcinogens, which are cancer-producing chemicals. Healthy Grilling Tips to Minimize Carcinogens in Your Food. This is particularly important for the red meats (like beef, lamb, bison or pork).

Sugar can cause cancer

You never thought that sugar and an overabundance of starchy foods can cause cancer, but they do. What is the reason for this? The answer is found in the metabolism of cancer cells. Cancer cells use 10- to 12-times more sugar for their metabolism than normal cells. Over-consuming sugar is the worst thing a cancer patient can do. Replace sugar by stevia, which is a harmless sweetener. It does not lead to an insulin reaction. You need to avoid all other sugar substitutes as there are other health problems associated with them.

Avoid macaroni and cheese because of phthalates

Avoid macaroni and cheese: Phthalates are found in almost every sample of cheese powder used to manufacture macaroni and cheese. Phthalates can cause infertility and breast cancer. Toxic effects of the easily avoidable phthalates and parabens.

High fat diet

A high fat diet increases the risk for breast cancer: High-Fat Diet Increases Breast Cancer Risk, Study Finds. Limit your fat intake to about 10% of saturated fat. That is the recommendation of the FDA: New FDA Food Guidelines – Medical Articles by Dr. Ray. Increase your consumption of fish and seafood. Only one proviso: predator fish like shark, marlin, tilefish, swordfish and grouper are high in mercury. But wild salmon, sardines and oysters are low in mercury; so are shrimp and squid. Before You Buy Fish, Check This Mercury Level List.

Take high dose vitamin D3 supplements

In order to avoid cancer, take high dose vitamin D3 supplements to avoid cancer. Vitamin D3 in cancer prevention and therapy: the nutritional issue. Strong statistics exist showing that vitamin D3 is a powerful tool to lower your risk of developing cancer. Your family doctor should take a blood test called 25-hydroxy vitamin D level to monitor that you absorb enough vitamin D3. Some people absorb vitamin D3 slowly and fast absorbers absorb it more rapidly. The only way how to find out how well your gut is absorbing vitamin D3, is by doing this blood test. It is now generally accepted that a good range of the 25-hydroxy vitamin D level is between 50 and 80 ng/ml.

Also curcumin 500 mg per day is good for cancer prevention. Turmeric | Cancer in general | Cancer Research UK.

Take enough fiber

Make sure you take enough fiber, which does not only reduce colorectal cancer, but also many other cancers. Foods for Cancer Prevention. North Americans are not consuming enough fiber. Vitamin D3 in cancer prevention and therapy: the nutritional issue.

Avoid processed meat

The World Health Organization has determined that processed meat is causing a lot of cancer. They labeled processed meat as a probable carcinogen. Processed meat causes colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer.

Moderate amounts of fruit and vegetables

Eat moderate amounts of fruit and vegetables. The claim in the past that fruit and vegetables would protect you from cancer is not as solid as it was thought of in the past. Newer research has shown that a basic intake of fruit and vegetables is needed for essential nutrients, but consuming more than that will NOT protect you from cancer. Fruit and vegetables and cancer risk. This is a case where eating more vegetables or fruit beyond a certain point will not do harm, but it will not protect you further from cancer.

Drink green tea or black tea

Drink green tea or black tea, sweetened with stevia for cancer prevention: Winter Beverages for Cancer Prevention. Green tea contains polyphenols and antioxidants. One of the antioxidants is called catechin, which prevents cell damage. The antioxidants help to prevent breast cancer, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. In addition tea is heart healthy.

Avoid alcohol consumption

Avoid alcohol consumption as much as possible to prevent cancer: Drinking Alcohol Really Does Raise Your Cancer Risk, Doctors Warn. We were indoctrinated by cardiologists that one glass of wine per day for women and two glasses of wine per day for men would be a prevention against heart attacks. But these relatively small amounts of alcohol do have an effect on causing cancer. This British study showed that small amounts of alcohol indeed are cardioprotective. In contrast, these amounts and higher alcohol amounts can also cause cancer of the pharynx, larynx (voice box), esophagus, liver, breast, colon and pancreas.

Avoid too much red meat consumption

Beef, lamb and pork probably contribute to causing cancer according to the WHO. Use common sense, and eat more fish, chicken and turkey. Reduce your beef consumption. My grandmother said when I grew up in Germany that beef was a meal reserved for Sunday dinner only. The rest of the days we ate little in the way of meats, but lentils, beans, eggs or fish instead. Ask your grandmother, what she used to cook. Or ask your mother what she ate as a child.

Other lifestyle issues

Quit smoking, if you still do. This is by and large the biggest risk for developing lung cancer, throat cancer, esophageal cancer and pancreatic cancer. Watch your calorie intake: eat smaller meals more often. This way the production of your digestive juices will consume some calories and because you satisfied your hunger for foods, you will not gain weight. This will help prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes, both of which are established risks for developing cancer. Here is a review that shows you, which cancer types are caused by obesity: Obesity and Cancer . With regard to diabetes, there is a strong association with developing liver cancer, pancreas cancer and endometrial cancer (=uterine cancer). There is a lesser risk (only 1.2 to 1.5-fold) to develop colorectal cancer, breast cancer and bladder cancer. Diabetes and Cancer: A consensus report.

Pollution can also be a factor in causing cancer: How air pollution can cause cancer. If you can move to a less polluted city, do so.

Foods That Can Protect You From Cancer

Conclusion

As shown above there is strong evidence that certain foods can cause cancer. Others, including supplements like curcumin and vitamin D3, can help prevent cancer. If we avoid as many of the known cancer producing foods and eat more of the healthy foods that do not cause cancer, our cancer risk will decline significantly. In addition, if you quit smoking, avoid pollution as much as possible, reduce your alcohol intake and watch your calorie intake to prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes, you will move into the low-risk cancer group. We all need to work on this on an ongoing basis.

Nov

2017

Prevent Cancer, Cut Sugar

By Ray Schilling | Cancer, Inflammation, Nutrition, Obesity, Processed food, sugar, Weight loss

If you want to prevent cancer, cut sugar! This is the message of an Oct. 13, 2017 study. The research team had done experiments for 9 years, when they concluded that it was refined sugar that caused spontaneous mutations of RAS proteins. RAS proteins are responsible for cell growth. When a substance like sugar turns them on all the time, they can cause mutations that lead to cancer. In this article research concentrated on yeast cells, and the publication is in Nature Publication. The CNN publication describes this in simpler language. Essentially the research team found that a sugar molecule, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, was responsible in obese patients and in diabetic patients to mutate a RAS protein, which as a result can turn into an oncogene causing cancer.

Evidence that sugar causes obesity and type 2 diabetes

A September 2017 US study followed 41 children age 9 to 18 with initial fructose consumption of >50 g/d. The treatment of the children consisted of an isocaloric fructose restriction of only 9 days. Following that their liver fat content decreased from 7.2% to 3.8%. In addition intraabdominal fat decreased and new fat production was reduced from 68% to 26%. The authors pointed out that reduction of sugar consumption in obese children was a very effective treatment tool.
This August 2017 study from Helsinki followed 71 obese males for 12 weeks. They consumed 75 grams of added fructose every day in addition to their normal food intake. The liver fat content increased and cardiovascular risk factors worsened as blood tests showed. The investigators concluded that the adverse cardiometabolic effects were a result of the added fructose. They were not secondary to the weight gain (a theory in the past).
This February 2017 study from the US the Taiwanese Healthy Aging Longitudinal Study in Taiwan was also of interest. It consisted of a 5-year long study involving middle-aged and elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. The result was that patients with more physical activity, a better diet and a higher score regarding psychosocial health did much better with respect to managing their diabetes. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is particularly important for the elderly to prevent diabetes.

Evidence that obese patients and type 2 diabetics get more cancer

In this 2016 study from Poland the effect of diabetes causing various cancers was under investigation. The authors pointed out that worldwide in 2014 there were 387 million cases of type 2 diabetes and it was still rising. When they looked at correlation between various cancers and type 2 diabetes they found that diabetes had the strongest association between pancreatic cancer and liver cancer. But there was also an association between diabetes and breast cancer, bladder cancer and kidney cancer. Head and neck cancers were more frequent among diabetics. Some diabetic medications made cancer frequencies worse, others, like metformin made them better.
In this March 2016 article from the BJC (British Journal of Cancer) cancer frequencies were correlated to patients with obesity and to patients with diabetes. Researchers found that some types of cancer correlated with obesity, whereas others did with diabetes and not with obesity. They found that type 1 diabetes had its own set of cancer risks while type 2 diabetes had a different set of cancers that correlated to the disease

More on cancer risks in diabetics

A 2015 study from Malaysia with an 11-year follow-up describes that type 2 diabetes had increased in the population which researchers studied. The investigators concentrated on a female population where they found a strong correlation between diabetes and endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer. In a group of 860 cancer patients they found that 26.5% were diabetics. They were at a much higher risk of getting these cancers.
A 2016 study from the US examined 2,836 veterans who had problems with their esophagus. 1,704 received a diagnosis of esophageal adenocarcinoma, 1,132 of them had gastroesophageal reflux disorder. Among the cancer patients there were 30.8% diabetics. The researchers calculated that for diabetics there was a 2.2-fold higher risk of developing esophageal cancer. The only other risk factor they could identify was nicotine dependence, which showed an association with a 1.7-fold risk of to develop esophageal cancer.

Evidence that sugar causes cancer

As explained earlier research found that fructose-1,6-bisphosphate is responsible in yeast cells to lead to RAS mutations. Human cells have the same metabolism as yeast cells, and they also have RAS protein and fructose-1,6-bisphosphate. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate is important for cancer development in humans. Yeast cells are diploid cells as are human cells. But yeast cells are not human organisms, so the parallel stops at one point.

A 2014 study from China showed that fructose-bisphosphate aldolase was a marker for lung cancer metastases. This enzyme breaks down fructose-1,6-bisphosphate. Depletion of fructose-bisphosphate aldolase A reduces cell motility of cancer cells and the ability to cause more tumors. In other words, the key for cancer cells to thrive is the presence of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate.
In this 2013 study from Beijing gastric cancer biopsies research examined these samples for fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, the enzyme that breaks down fructose-1,6-bisphosphate.

The enzyme was under expressed in 86.2% of the gastric cancer biopsies. This meant that glycolysis was stimulated in the cancer cells. An overabundance of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate caused tumor cells to get into an active phase and to metastasize.

Discussion of why sugar causes cancer

I have previously discussed this topic in a blog 3 ½ years ago. At the time a few steps were missing from the knowledge we have today. Nothing has become different regarding the connection of sugar overconsumption and the risk of developing cancer. First of all, we have learnt that fructose overconsumption or sugar overconsumption leads to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate in the blood, which stimulates RAS proteins to mutate and stimulate oncogenes to cause cancer. In addition, people who are overweight, obese or have diabetes have too much insulin production, which can also lead to cancer causation. Finally, obese people have a lot of very active kinins in the blood that can cause cancer as well. In conclusion, what has changed between March 2014 and now is that we have a lot more detail why things happen the way they do. Connections that used to be obscure have now a rational explanation.

The message is that we need to cut out refined sugar from our diet, cut out starchy foods and cut out processed foods. This will improve our metabolism and reduce our risk of getting cancer. We will also lose weight, which I have experienced in 2011 when I lost 50 pounds over 3 months. What did I do? I was just doing what I described to you: cutting out sugar, starchy foods and processed foods.

Prevent Cancer, Cut Sugar

Conclusion

Want to reduce your risk for getting cancer drastically? Then cut out sugar and starchy foods along with processed foods (which have too much sugar in it). Strangely enough it was only now that researchers have found the missing link. The culprit is fructose-1,6-bisphosphate, a metabolic byproduct from sugar consumption. It stimulates a RAS gene, which can mutate, turn into an oncogene and eventually cause cancer. This fact was not known a few years ago. But the knowledge that cancer can occur due to diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance goes back a long time.

We need to learn from science: cut out refined sugar, starchy foods and processed foods. This will change insulin resistance into insulin sensitivity. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate will not accumulate, but get normally metabolized. This way fructose-1,6-bisphosphate does not pose a problem for RAS proteins. Your insulin level will normalize, the previous kinin overproduction will disappear and your risk for cancer will decrease.

We have allowed the sugar industry to undermine our health for too long. It is time to take back the control over our lives, assess our food habits and make the necessary changes.

Jun

2017

Lower Blood Sugar Prevents Diabetes

By Ray Schilling | Diabetes, exercise, Nutrition, Obesity, Prevention, Processed food, sugar, Weight loss

It seems like conventional medicine has ignored for several decades that lower blood sugar prevents diabetes. Medical researchers reevaluated the normal range for blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C, which is a 3 months average of blood sugar values.

In 2016 UCLA researchers reported that 46% of adults in California are either prediabetic or have diabetes.

In contrast 33% of young adults (age 18 to 39) also have prediabetes.

What is worse is the fact that even patients with prediabetes get complications. Normally only patients with diabetes suffer from these. These include kidney disease, retinal problems with loss of vision, neuropathy, hardening of the arteries and cancer.

Key to preventing this from happening is to recognize that prediabetes is already the beginning of diabetes. Not only is it important to prevent diabetes, but prediabetes as well.

Determination of prediabetes and diabetes

The conventional test for diabetes is a fasting blood sugar.

Prediabetes

In the past there was a consensus that patients with prediabetes had a fasting blood sugar between 100 and 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L).

Diabetes

126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L) or higher on two separate tests indicates that you have diabetes.

Glycated hemoglobin (A1C) test

This test gives an average of blood sugar over 2 to 3 months. Physicians thought that a hemoglobin A1C test below 5.7% would be normal, between 5.7 and 6.4 percent they considered it to be prediabetes and at 6.5 or higher on two separate tests meant a diagnosis of diabetes.

Re-evaluating normal ranges to diagnose diabetes and prediabetes

Many researchers have said that the normal values from the guidelines for blood sugar or for glycated hemoglobin A1C are too high. This is the reason why diabetic complications developed even with prediabetes.

At the 22nd Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine In Las Vegas (Dec. 10-14, 2014) Dr. Piliszek stated that the normal range for hemoglobin A1C is skewed in the medical literature. It should be: 3.8% to 4.9%. This is very important to know for diabetics and any caregiver who looks after diabetes patients. If you consider a hemoglobin A1C of 6.0 as “normal”, the diabetic patient has the risk of dying prematurely of a heart attack or a stroke. According to the new guidelines even a patient whose hemoglobin A1C is 5.5 has diabetes and needs aggressive treatment to prevent complications associated with diabetes. Conventional guidelines would have considered this patient to be normal.

A 1999 study made it clear that patients with a blood sugar of more than 85 mg/dL were at risk of developing diabetes complications. Researchers observed about 2000 patients with fasting blood sugars of more than 85 mg/dL over 22 years. About 40% of them died of heart attacks or strokes! Because of studies like this, physicians demanded the new diabetes guidelines.

The authors concluded that fasting blood glucose in the upper normal range was an independent risk factor of cardiovascular death.

New guidelines

Prediabetes is not a separate diagnosis, but is mild early diabetes, which is reversible with aggressive treatment. Dietary changes (cutting out sugar and refined carbs) are often effective. In some cases the addition of metformin may be required.

The new normal ranges are:

Fasting blood sugar of 85 mg/dL or less is normal.

Hemoglobin A1C of 3.8% to 4.9% is the new normal range.

These values are based on observing patients over a long period of time and seeing whether or not they develop complications from diabetes.

Most noteworthy, uncontrolled diabetes leads to complications like damage to the lining of the arteries in all the key organs. It is the cause for the following conditions: kidney damage (nephropathy), eye damage (retinopathy), brain and nerve damage (neuropathy), as well as heart attacks and strokes (vascular damage).

Certainly, patients often end up with dialysis when kidney failure has set in. Retinopathy causes blindness and neuropathy leads to excruciating pain. Heart attacks and strokes often cause premature death. Those who ingest a high-glycemic diet have a 49% higher risk of getting lung cancer than those with a low-glycemic diet as this link from the MD Anderson Cancer Center showed.

Calorie restriction

A research group found that calorie restriction reduced fasting insulin levels in a group of overweight men and women.

Another study showed that restrained eating patterns lower fasting glucose and postprandial (after meals) glucose. As a result it also improved insulin sensitivity in normal weight individuals.

Some practical hints about diets to treat diabetes

First of all, the obvious fact is that excessive sugar intake is harmful. But in addition a drastic reduction of refined carbs is also needed, as they just turn into sugar within half an hour of ingesting them. Cut out potatoes, pasta, and bread. You may have a slice of rye bread or full grain bread occasionally. This type of diet is called a low-glycemic index diet. Hence, as indicated earlier a study from the MD Anderson Cancer Center has shown that lung cancer is more common the higher the glycemic index is and is also more common in diabetics.
Also, a Mediterranean diet has been shown to be anti-inflammatory. As diabetes and prediabetes are associated with chronic inflammation, it is useful to go on a diet that counters inflammation. Similarly, the DASH diet, which was developed for high blood pressure patients, is also anti-inflammatory. Here are a few examples of snacks that may be helpful.
Finally, include fish and fish oil supplements in your diet. These contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory. Another useful piece of advice: eat lots of vegetables and salads as they contain healthy bioflavonoids and antioxidant vitamins. This stabilizes the lining of your arteries.

Lower Blood Sugar Prevents Diabetes

Conclusion

The old blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C guidelines need a significant revision. In contrast, new guidelines based on actual measurements and clinical trials that showed no complications of prediabetes on the long term have replaced them.

A fasting blood sugar of 85 mg/dL or less is normal. A hemoglobin A1C of 3.8% to 4.9% is now the new normal range.

Consequently, the doctor needs to be more aggressive about early nutritional intervention and probably include metformin as well to restore insulin sensitivity. It is no longer appropriate to allow complications of diabetes like nephropathy, retinopathy or neuropathy to develop. Unfortunately food manufacturers still overload processed food with sugar. Each patient needs to be vigilant about the food he/she eats. Therefore, low glycemic nutrition is the mantra to follow. Also stick to natural, unprocessed foods instead of the highly processed foods that populate the shelves of the supermarkets.

Apr

2017

When Food Causes Inflammation

By Ray Schilling | Abdominal Pain, Arthritis, autoimmune disease, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, depression, Diabetes, diet, heart attack, Heart Disease, immune system, Inflammation, lifestyle, Nutrition, Obesity, Pain, Prevention, Processed food

Dr. Hal Blatman gave a talk about when food causes inflammation. He gave his talk on Dec. 9 at the 24^th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas that I attended. The original title was “Food, Pain and Dietary Effects of Inflammation”.

Dr. Blatman is the medical director of Blatman Health and Wellness Center, Cincinnati and Batman Medical Services, Manhattan.

General remarks about nutrition

Dr. Blatman pointed out that mistakes of nutrition are often behind chronic diseases and illnesses. The physician’s task is to explain to patients how they can change their food intake to improve inflammation in the body and to allow the body to heal itself.

Hippocrates said 400 BC “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

In this context Dr. Blatman stated that nutrition could exacerbate symptoms or relieve symptoms and there must be rules for good nutrition. If we do not take care of our nutrition, the gut flora composition changes and causes leaky gut syndrome. But if we consume healthy foods all of this improves.

Mathematical formula for when food causes inflammation

To make it easier to understand the impact of food on our health the speaker offered this formula:

G-B+R=P

G = stands for good, beneficial things you can put into your body.

B = bad, toxic things that affect your body negatively.

R = reserves that your body has since birth (minus the amounts you have used up)

P = pain and problems you are going to experience

It is P (pain and other medical problems) what brings the patient to see the doctor. G and B is what the patient can change. When done right, the P value in the formula reduces and the pain or medical problems go away.

Nutritional rules

Dr. Blatman said there are three rules about nutrition.

Rule #1 is to not eat fake or toxic foods

He listed NutraSweet, Splenda, Saccharin, margarine and olestra.

Aspartame

Aspartame experiments on rats showed that it can cause cancer: Dr. Blatman said that aspartame causes multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma in man. Aspartame worsens depression, 10% is metabolized in the liver into methanol, a nerve poison.

Splenda

Splenda (sucralose) originates from sugar. However, several chlorine atoms were inserted into the sugar molecule. It reduces beneficial microflora in the gut. It also interacts with liver enzymes, which interfere with the bioavailability of oral drugs.

Saccharin

Saccharin alters gut bacteria and increases glucose tolerance.

Hydrogenated fat and margarine

Insects don’t eat margarine, mold will not grow on it, and it will not support life. Merchants like it because food does not turn stale on shelves. Hydrogenated fats like margarine are like poisons. They raise the bad LDL cholesterol levels and reduce beneficial HDL cholesterol levels. The prostaglandin balance changes so that inflammation occurs. There is increased evidence of diabetes and the cell membrane composition changes. Proinflammatory cytokines can cause pain in the dorsal root ganglions. It follows from all of this that it is best to cut out all hydrogenated fat and margarines.

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil

The cell membrane consists of two lipid layers at a specific ratio of omega-6 essential fatty acids and omega-3 essential fatty acids. It also contains triglycerides, phospholipids and protein. Cell membrane absorb nutrients to move into the cell and eliminate waste out of it. The cell membrane needs to remain flexible and within neurons needs to transmit electrical information. The membrane composition is critical for the cell membranes to perform optimally. It is here that the physician has to explain this to the patient. All the fats we eat are the raw material, which will make up our cell membranes. So what fat we eat that day travels into the cell wall that becomes part of it that day. The same process occurs with cell wall repair. If we eat hydrogenated fat that day, it travels into the cell wall. A membrane with hydrogenated fat will:

Not transmit nutrients inside the cell
Will not transmit waste out
Causes the membrane to lose flexibility
In a nerve cell there will be abnormal neuron transmission

If we eat hydrogenated fat, we become like a “genuine GM truck fixed with inferior parts”, so Dr. Blatman. The interesting observation is that it takes 4 months after eliminating hydrogenated oil from the diet to get it out from red blood cells. Be aware that French fries increase pain for 4 months, so why eat them?

Olestra

Olestra, an artificial fat: This fat, Olestra has been developed as an artificial fat and is used in chips. It can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps and weight gain with long-term use. Olestra belongs into the group of fake/toxic foods. Don’t eat Pringles or chips that are made with this.

Healthy oils

There are two types of essential fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids. Many processed foods contain only omega-6 fatty acids, because this is the cheapest way to produce them (they are based on vegetable oils). Instead you want to eat healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids contained in nuts and fish. You can also add molecularly distilled, high potency omega-3 fatty acids (purified fish oil) as a supplement to help restore the balance between omega-6 and omega-3 in your food intake. Avoid omega-6 fatty acids from corn oil, safflower oil, grape seed oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, canola oil and peanut oil.

Metabolism of omega-6 fatty acids versus omega-3 fatty acids

Compare the metabolism of omega-6 fatty acids with that of omega-3 fatty acids.

The linoleic acid of omega-6 fatty acids gets metabolized into arachidonic acid, which causes pro-inflammatory mediators, PGE2 and LTB4. On the other hand with omega-3 fatty acids alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is metabolized into EPA, DHA and the anti-inflammatory mediators PGE3 and LTB5.

It is easily understandable why a surplus of omega-6 fatty acids from processed foods will disbalance the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. This ratio should be 1:1 to 3:1, but many Americans’ omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is 6:1 to 18:1. Omega-6-fatty acids cause arthritis, heart disease and strokes. Be particularly careful in avoiding soybean oil, which is the most popular oil in the last few decades to foul up the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio through processed foods.

Balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids

When it comes to balancing omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in your diet, be aware that nutritional balancing can help you restore the ideal omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 1:1 to 3:1. An easy way is to cut out processed foods as much as possible. Supplement with molecularly distilled fish oil capsules to add more omega-3 fatty acids into your food intake. Dr. Blatman gave the example of rheumatoid arthritis patients that were put on omega-3 supplements. After 24 weeks their joint swelling and tenderness went down.

Rebalancing the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was able to treat depression as this research showed. This makes you wonder how much depression may be caused by overconsumption of processed food.

Suggested doses of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation

Dr. Blatman suggested the following doses of omega-3 supplementation for various purposes:

1 gram/day as supplementation for healthy adults with a good diet
1-3 grams/day for people with cardiovascular disease
5-10 grams/day for patients with an autoimmune disease, with chronic pain or with neuropsychiatric conditions

He mentioned that these doses are empirical, but in his opinion definitely help. Due to quality differences he suggested that you buy fish oil capsules in a health food store where the quality is best. Stay away from discount stores (the quality is the worst) and drug stores.

Other healthy oils are olive oil and coconut oil. They are also useful for cooking.

Rule #2 is not to eat inflammatory foods

Our body functions like a luxury car; it needs pure food to function. Anything less leads to inflammation, particularly when you eat sugar and processed foods.

Inflammatory foods are sugar, white flour, fruit juice and white/red potatoes. A medium potato=1/2 cup of sugar! Other problematic foods are wheat grain contained in breads, pasta, cereal and thickeners in soups and sauces.

What is the problem with these foods? They break down the zonulin proteins that are a bridge between the lining cells of the gut.

This leads to an increase of intestinal permeability, and leaky gut syndrome can develop. Inflammatory cytokines from visceral fat add to the gut inflammation, and cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure can develop.

Fried potatoes, in particular the consumption of French fries, have been identified as the cause of inflammatory bowel disorder (IBD). Countries with the highest consumption of French fries have the highest incidence of IBD.

A Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet are anti-inflammatory diets.

Rule #3 is to not disturb the bowel flora

A healthy bowel flora is symbiotic with the body. You achieve this by eating green leafy vegetables. A toxic flora from dysbiotic microbes comes from eating white flour, white sugar and red meat. Red meat leaves residues on which dysbiotic bacteria thrive.

Symbiotic gut bacteria produce vitamin K, cobalamin, pyridoxine, biotin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and short fatty acids. They also degrade metabolic toxins, prevent pathogens from colonization and they stimulate the immune system to mature.

Dysbiosis occurs when the wrong diet consisting of sodas, white flour, sugar and red meat is over consumed. There are toxins that are produced by the dysbiotic microbes. These injure the bowel wall and make the immune system work harder. Immune system dysfunction, fatigue and fibromyalgia can follow.

Dr. Blatman stated that gut dysbiosis that causes leaky gut syndrome could also cause ulcer disease, diabetes, heart disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain and even cancer.

When Food Causes Inflammation

Conclusion

This was a whirlwind tour through a talk given by Dr. Blatman during the 24^th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine (Dec. 9-11, 2016) in Las Vegas. What food we eat determines what gut bacteria we harbor, symbiotic ones or toxic ones. This in turn determines which way our health develops. But the content of what we eat is also important. If we consume processed foods we end up consuming way too many omega-6 fatty acids, which cause inflammation, arthritis and heart disease. This is happening in front of our eyes, if we start seeing things the way they are. I was aware of this since the mid 1990’s. In a lecture I attended at a continuing education conference a cardiologist pointed out that inflammation was the determining factor of whether or not our patients would get a heart attack.

Cholesterol concept being replaced by inflammation concept

The lecturer mentioned then that the older cholesterol concept would be replaced by the newer inflammation concept. He was right, but it goes even further! There is the important omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, and fish oil supplementation helps. At the same time it is necessary cutting out processed foods. But there is the newer insight that our bowel flora and red meat consumption can culture toxic bacteria in our own gut. It is in our power to start eating more vegetables and cut out sugar and starchy food. It is time to see chips and French fries not as a “convenience” but a hazard to your health. Food does not have to cause inflammation; right food choices will help us to stay well and live longer.

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