Archive for December 2008
The Look of Success
How would you react if, instead of asking for a handout, the next bum you see -- smelly and dressed in rags -- approaches you and offers to be your "success coach" for a fee? Have you pondered anything quite so absurd in a while? Coronary heart disease prevention and reversal specialist, Dr. William Davis, wonders why it is, then, that people tolerate the advice of fat and even obese dietitians, who perhaps number in the thousands in hospitals and clinics around the country. When I go to the hospital, I am continually amazed at some of the hospital staff: 5 ft 4 inch nurses weighing over 200 lbs, etc. But what I find particularly bothersome are some (not all) hospital dietitians -- presumably experts at the day-to-day of healthy eating -- who waddle through the halls, easily 40, 50, or more pounds overweight. It is, to say the least, credibility-challenging for an obese dietitian to be providing nutritional advice to men or women recovering after bypass or stent while clearly not in command of nutritional health herself. I note the same thing in general, both when visiting a hospital and daily around a large medical clinic less that a...
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Vitamin Supplements – Part Two
This is part two of a three to perhaps four part series on vitamin supplementation. Click here to access Part One. I'm going to go off track here and diverge a bit, because I'm left unsatisfied in all of these discussions of vitamin supplementation, as well as the fact that I note that a lot of the people encouraging supplementation are also part of the general "Paleo Diet" movement, loosely defined. I suppose that what gives me the most heartburn -- more so than taking unnecessary supplements -- is the sort of unthinking, uncritical submission to authority that's often packaged with it, as though taking supplements is some sort of prima facie good, with the only question being quality. The first thing that ought to jump out at any Paleo adherent is that all of these studies are being performed on people eating Neolithic (post-agricultural) diets, not Paleolithic (pre-agricultural) diets and their close facsimiles (saturated / unsaturated fat ratios, presence of dairy, acidic / basic, and so on). How in the world can we possibly know that supplementation is beneficial when we're already getting 100-300% higher nutrition (I'll develop this specifically in Pt 3) already than the people these studies...
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All Diets Are High-Fat Diets
While driving down to the in-laws to spend the holidays, we listened to several of Jimmy Moore's podcast shows and one of them was a two-part Q&A with Dr. Mary C. Vernon, a physician who treats diabetes and other ailments by putting her patients on a low-carb diet. At one point, she pointed out that all diets (presuming fat loss is the objective) are high fat diets. Get it? Let's say you have 50 pounds of excess fat you'd like to lose in order to get down to around 15% body fat or thereabouts. Assuming you'll be successful, what does that imply? It means, necessarily, that you're going to metabolize 50 pounds of your own fat in order to accomplish your objective. So, even if you do this by means of a "low-fat" diet, it's still high-fat, as you've got 50 pounds or 175,000 calories worth of fat to burn through. If you do it in six months, that's almost 1,000 calories of fat per day. Presuming a basal metabolism of 2,500 calories, and what you do eat is 20% fat (a "low-fat diet"), then you'd be eating 300 calories of fat and 1,200 calories of protein and carbs combined,...
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A Suggested Christmas Gift
I just gave $100 to Wikipedia. I've heard all the stuff over the years about how it can be unreliable, or worse, to which I say: then go fix it! That's the whole point. If you don't like what you see, think it's inaccurate, plain false, or could be improved, then do something about it if you care. If you don't, then it must not be that important to you. For me, for the things I reference -- mostly historical or scientific things of import to non-trivial people -- I find it to be not only adequate, but frequently amazing. The idea is brilliant and I'm happy for my friend Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales whom I've never met in person, but had frequent email and USENET exchanges with from about 1995 - 1999 or so. Sadly, I lost touch with him after that (Diana, if you know how to reach him, could you clue him into this post -- and my pseudonym from back in the day?). Here's what Jimmy has accomplished. At its core, Wikipedia is driven by a global community of more than 150,000 volunteers - all dedicated to sharing knowledge freely. Over almost eight years, these volunteers have...
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Vitamin Supplements – Part One
I get asked a lot about supplements. With all my harping about supplementation of vitamin D, K2 (MK-4: menaquinone-4 or menatetrenone), and omega-3 essential fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) it may surprise you to learn that I have for some long time been generally opposed to vitamin supplementation. And here's a pretty decent synopsis of why, by Drucilla Dyess in Health News. I'm not going to quote it at length because, frankly, it's far too much to quote here and there's far too much gold-standard (randomized, controlled, intervention, double-blind) research to quote anyway. Just read it. It's not that long. Since I began to really understand evolution and its underlying mathematical logic of natural selection, I have understood one thing about biology above all else: biological systems are chemically complex. Really complex. Really interdependently and interrelatedly complex. Chaotically complex (plausibly the underlying reason that, even though we all have the same chemical composition, we nonetheless all respond differently to identical chemical inputs). With that in mind, I'll quote the third to last paragraph of the article I cited. According to one expert, a vitamin's benefit may become apparent only if people aren't getting enough of it,...
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Vitamin D Deficiency Speculation in the Increase in Cesarean Childbirth
I got up this morning to a new report showing a significant association between vitamin D deficiency and Cesarean deliveries of children. Vitamin D deficiency is common in pregnant women, and it may lead to an increased risk for cesarean delivery, early research suggests. Vitamin D researcher Michael Holick, MD, PhD, and colleagues from the Boston Medical Center report that women in their study who were severely vitamin D deficient during childbirth were about four times more likely to deliver by cesarean section as women with higher vitamin D levels. What's interesting to me is to connect dots, so here we go. The first thing this report reminded me of is how Weston Price, in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, frequently observed that many things go together, i.e., tooth decay, along with crowded teeth, along with susceptibility to tuberculosis and other diseases not encountered in primitives consuming their traditional diets, and on to heavily labored childbirth, among other afflictions. As an aside, and I haven't done any particular digging on this point (perhaps someone has who can lay down a comment and reference), but do wild animals existing in an environment adequate to their needs often experience undue problems birthing their...
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Jimmy Moore Interviews Arthur De Vany on the Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show
I haven't actually listened to it, yet. Today was spend driving from San Jose, CA down to Vista, CA for the holidays. Coincidentally, Bea and I listened to a number of Jimmy's shows that I'd loaded on my iPhone. I synced up yesterday, and, it turns out, mere hours prior to this latest episode. I feel quite confident recommending it to you even in advance of listening. I'll probably do so tomorrow. Here's the entry from Jimmy's main site, and here's the one from his show site.
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What You’re Up Against
Hey, anyone wanna up their HDLs by a whopping 1.7? So, for instance, if you're on the low end of what's considered acceptable (40 mg/dL), you might be able to get it all the way up to 41.7 on average, maybe even 42 is in your future if you respond to the advice of the authorities in an above average way. Stunning, exciting news. "Experts" in nutrition and diabetes are now considering changing the dietary advice for type 2 diabetics. People with Type 2 diabetes on a high-fiber diet kept their blood sugar under better control when they ate foods like beans and nuts instead of the recommended whole-grain diet, researchers have found. [...] Participants on the low-glycemic diet also saw significant improvements in cholesterol after six months, with increases in HDL, the so-called “good” cholesterol associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, the study found. It is to laugh. An average increase of 1.7 in HDLs is a "significant" improvement? Increasing your HDL by 1.7 is really measurably associated with a reduced risk of heart disease? The high-cereal high fiber diet emphasized “brown foods” such as whole-grain bread and breakfast cereal, brown rice and potatoes with the skin...
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Animal Fat, Protein & Paleo
Back when I answered some reader questions the other day, I forgot to address a couple of things. Trygve had asked: Also read that you eat less fat now? why is that? and how much are you eating now of the different nutrients? He also asked how to get down to 6-8% body fat, a question I'll answer in the immediate: I'll let you know when I get there. First I should clarify that I really don't know, for sure, that I'm eating appreciably less fat. It certainly seems so (I don't count anything), but it's also the case that I no longer obsess over it. That is to say: I just increasingly go with what I have an appetite for and I don't try to single out animal fat for consumption most times. Sometimes it's a ribeye smothered in melted butter -- or a fat-dominant sauce of my own creation -- and sometimes I slightly gorge myself on fruit. There's an aspect of this that takes time -- that is: a year to two. I have a clue on that score, which I'll save for a future blog. Hint: your body fat composition; i.e., what is your own body...
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Testimonial: Bryan Appleyard
Back in August, I alerted you to a Bryan Appleyard interview of Art De Vany in the UK Times Online (for a good laugh at lots of naïveté and idiocy, check out a lot of the comments to that article). Now here comes Bryan again, this time in a short TV interview. Here's a shot I clipped of his face from that interview. Here's an "older" photo I dug up. Looks like it should be the other way around -- by about 15 years or so. You see, it's not just about "losing weight." It's about losing fat, getting leaner, changing the composition of your body fat (i.e., the fatty acid profile), and above all, gene expression. They really are willing and able to do the heavy lifting. You just have to let them.
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New Banner Done
It's done. You may need to hit your reload button if it doesn't look any different than v1.0, below. My friend Justin Owings and I went through quite a number of iterations to get to what I consider the final. All other color schemes -- though nice -- didn't quite make it. More orange and red in the sky was a nice touch but in the end it appeared the guy ought to be holding a surfboard and not a spear. What's funny is that Justin pretty much hit it right on the nose on the first go. Trying a bunch of other stuff was necessary to be assured of that. Here are a bunch of other sites Justin is involved with and has done design work for. So, if you need any graphic design work, keep him on your list. Later: In an entry of his own, Justin demonstrates exactly why I commissioned him for this work. In fact, once I decided on this route, hiring Justin for the design was the first and easiest decision, as you'll see if you read his post.
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Reader Reactions; Q&A
I'm quite overdue on this, but here it is. I am increasingly overwhelmed by the great appreciation shown both in comments and emails. Here's some of the things that have been hitting the inbox, lately. Pauline rings in from England: I have been reading your blog/webpage since I discovered Art devany's and wanted to write that there are probably lots of us who go online to read and absorb your experiences and try to integrate them into our own lives. we don't necessarily add comments or feel ready to comment, your webpage is very easy to follow and is not too laden with scientific jargon which is hard for a layperson to follow. So, in a word, you are doing a fantastic job, even if we are marking your influence...we are listening and learning. I have been reading up on your archive material and have been wondering at what point you changed it to solely concentrate on the stone age diet EF/IF info, ie I am trying to catch up with you backwards from the start, if you know what I mean. Maybe other newcomers would like to do that and it would be nice to have a pointer to...
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The Front Lines
Let me first say that it is rather unbelievable that so many people email me for health / fitness advice -- and I'm working up a post to show you just exactly what I mean. Me? A gentleman I'm working with to eventually commercialize this project, somewhat, always tells me that I'm hugely underestimating my influence, impact, et cetera, et cetera. "Bla bla bla; bla...bla." But guess what? He has obviously obtained his predictive abilities via tried & true experience, because one of the most common themes in the emails I get (more and more, every day) is: you have no idea! Me! Go figure. For years I gave you the deepest political insights. ...Cutting analysis and reduction to first principles far removed from the bromide & slogan drivel of any news station or print rag. Almost nobody cared. But I get a bead on health, fitness, weight loss and demonstrate some credibility vis-à-vis my own personal progress, and suddenly, we're off and running. All that, simply to say that I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for someone like cardiologist Dr. Davis. I continue to see this in many, though not all, patients with aortic...
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November Review
I realized I didn't get up a report for November, so here it is. First, around 22,000 page views during the month. That's slightly down from October's 24,000; however, at the mid-point for December, we're at nearly 20,000 already. Most clicked to posts during November Periodic Photo Progress Update A Path in Pictures Vitamin K2, Menatetrenone (MK-4) Eggs: They're Trying to Kill You Bones & Fat Most referred visitors to Free the Animal during October Arthur De Vany (private blog) Conditioning Research Mark's Daily Apple Noodle Food My Paleo Kitchen
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Prime Rib: Low & Slow
Just so you know, it takes about 6 hours to cook a 20 pound prime rib to an internal temperature of 130 degrees fahrenheit at dead center. That is: if you go Low & Slow. Let's get into the benefits. Yep, that was dinner at dad & mom's last night, along with two of my brothers and their families. Everyone is headed off in separate directions for Newtonmas, so we decided to all get together and do up a prime rib. In case you're wondering: $150. Now, let me clue you into something I have found recently with respect to cooking roasts. Most commonly, I do tri-tips, and I do them on the grill. I like the meat medium rare, and it's very difficult on the grill, too easy to overcook. That is, by the time the center is warm enough (125ish for a thin tri-tip), it's brown/grey around the edges, often 1/2 to a full inch into the meat -- and with a relatively thin tri-tip, that doesn't leave a lot of tasty pink. So, I've begun doing them in the oven at 250 with amazing results. Tri-tips take under an hour, I rest them for 10 minutes, then...
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FA/RM: Free Agriculture – Restore Markets
Frequent commenter and newly minted PhD (biology) Monica Hughes has launched a new project. The group, Free Agriculture - Restore Markets (FA/RM), advocates agricultural and health policies based solely on the principles of individual rights. The protection of a person's basic rights to growing, producing, selling, buying, and eating the food of his or her choice -- which are applications of the fundamental rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness -- require a separation of economy and state. We support the right of producers and consumers to grow, sell, manufacture, and trade food supplies to mutual benefit without government interference. Based on objective fraud and tort laws, the courts can adjudicate cases of harm to consumers due to negligence or fraud. This is not anarchy. This is free-market capitalism. Also, check out the blog, where Monica reports on a lot of really shocking stuff, such as small family farmers being the target of SWAT raids right here in "The Land of the Free."
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New Design
I've hired someone -- which I'll get into later, when we're done -- to do some graphic design work and the first cut is pretty good. We'll be working with some changes, but likely not until first of next week, so in the meantime I thought I'd toss up what we have so far, invite comments and constructive criticism, and I can also work with the customization of fonts and layouts and such. It should begin to take shape momentarily.
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Genes Do The Heavy Lifting
My brother Dave emailed today asking if I knew anything about Dr. Jeff Life (cool last name, eh?) and Cenegenics? I haven't. But I know gene expression when I see it. Take a click on that picture and watch the linked-to video to better see the ripped and buffed Dr. Jeff''s picks from age 57, and what he looks like now, at age 69. Twenty year olds could easily covet that bod. Amazing. Good for you, doc. They don't give a lot of info, and I'm a bit unimpressed by the "find a physician" tack (as if hunter-gatherers needed physicians to express their genetic programming), so I don't have any idea of what consists their diet and exercise regimen. But they've got to be doing most of it right. Diet: pre-agricultural, i.e., dump the grains, heavy carbs, and certainly all the stinky shit (that's a metaphor, to include the sweet smelling-stinky shit) they put in boxes and bottles. Exercise: Brief, intense. All in, when you do it. An hour per week (2x30m) is sufficient. Simulating scarcity: Hunter Gatherers didn't have grocery stores, for millions of years. Hunger is primal and motivational. Get intimate with it. Intermittent fasting. Dr. Life is...
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More Reader Success
I direct you to Elliot's comment. He has dropped 20 pounds since implementing "Richard's blueprint" in September. Congratulations to you, Elliot. Good job. And, as I always say, if you do it right, it's only fun and satisfying. After acclimating, it becomes hard to cheat, because it makes you feel so crappy. This lifestyle gives you real resolution.
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Steroid Supplementation (Vitamin D); and A
I'm on a bit of a project at the moment, but I wanted to shoot off another few tidbits about vitamin D. One physician's post on an endocrinology blog ("vitamin D' is actually a steroid hormone) put it thusly: I have included the references to each of these observations [...] and draw to your attention that these have all been published in the last six months. An important exploding area of epidemiologic research. (emphasis added) He goes on to cite seven studies, all published in the last six months. Do you want an idea of how big this is becoming? Click on this link, scroll down, and scan the headlines. Also, you can set up a Google Alert for 'vitamin d' as I have, and I get alerted to a number of new articled every single day. You can, of course, wait until I bring the best of the best to you, but I might miss something. I probably already have. Still, you're up against a lot of idiocy, much of it from people with MDs and PhDs after their names. For instance: Conclusions: Calcium and vitamin D supplementation did not reduce invasive breast cancer incidence in postmenopausal women. In...
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