 |
 |
| Author |
Message |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:38 pm  |
| gretchen wrote: |
Balance, that's a 90s Oprahesque catch phrase- so over. Mostly just a bunch of mumbo jumbo b.s.
|
Balance has been around since time began. It's not a trend. It is the cornerstone of Chinese philosophies. In the US people are constantly trying to find balance in work/family/play. The best diet is one that has a variety of foods from all food groups. That is a balanced diet. It is also possible that having some junk food in your diet is OK as long as you eat plenty of good foods to keep the balance.
The b.s. is the "Bulletproof Executive." People who try to preach that an extreme diet is the best way to maintain health. |
|
|
|
|
|
Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:47 pm |
| jom wrote: |
| gretchen wrote: |
Balance, that's a 90s Oprahesque catch phrase- so over. Mostly just a bunch of mumbo jumbo b.s.
|
Balance has been around since time began. It's not a trend. It is the cornerstone of Chinese philosophies. In the US people are constantly trying to find balance in work/family/play. The best diet is one that has a variety of foods from all food groups. That is a balanced diet. It is also possible that having some junk food in your diet is OK as long as you eat plenty of good foods to keep the balance.
The b.s. is the "Bulletproof Executive." People who try to preach that an extreme diet is the best way to maintain health. |
BRAVO....WELL SAID!!!!! |
_________________
I'LL SEE YOU ON THE DARKSIDE OF THE MOON.... |
|
|
|
|
Wed Mar 07, 2012 9:57 pm |
Balance is imperative!
Thank you, Jom.  |
|
|
|
|
|
Wed Mar 07, 2012 11:01 pm |
| HippoMe wrote: |
Balance is imperative!
Thank you, Jom. |
Exactly! It's not only imperative, it's logical and has common sense. It applies to everything in our universe - in CTM it's the Yin/Yang combination.
A balanced diet is the cornerstone of sensible nutrition and good health - it is the furtherest thing from mumbo jumbo BS. |
_________________
Born 1950. There's a new cream on the market that gets rid of wrinkles - you smear it on the mirror!! |
|
|
|
|
Fri Mar 23, 2012 3:12 am |
There's an article on sugar and juicing in this month's Australian Madison Magazine. Here is an excerpt:
| Quote: |
Stopping by the juice bar each morning is a healthy way to start the day, right? "Studies show that we can handle the fructose level of about two pieces of fruit a day," says Wilson. "This is the amount of sugar our body can process without getting fatty liver and all of the ensuing issues." Wilson is thus particularly worried about our juice bar obsession. "Fruit juice is as bad as soft drink. You're drinking the equivalent of the sugar of perhaps five apples or oranges, which equates to the same amount of fructose as a glass of Coke - think 10-12 teaspoons of sugar!"
Professor Brand-Miller isn't a huge fan of juice. "It's easy to over-consume. And in studies that have associated soft drinks with a rise in obesity, fruit juice follows the same pattern." |
[i] |
_________________
Born 1950. There's a new cream on the market that gets rid of wrinkles - you smear it on the mirror!! |
|
|
|
|
Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:36 am |
And here all this time I thought it was:
"all things...in moderation" 
BFG |
|
|
|
|
|
Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:39 am |
Seriously,
I try to think of eating the way my great grandparents (and their parents did)...before corporations started tweaking and processing our foods.
My ancestors grew or raised their own foods, supplemented by a few staples they bought at a store (like salt, spices etc.)...preserved for the winter months - ate a fairly simple diet of meats, poultry, dairy, fruits and vegetables...
BFG |
|
|
|
|
|
Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:04 am |
| Barefootgirl wrote: |
Seriously,
I try to think of eating the way my great grandparents (and their parents did)...before corporations started tweaking and processing our foods.
My ancestors grew or raised their own foods, supplemented by a few staples they bought at a store (like salt, spices etc.)...preserved for the winter months - ate a fairly simple diet of meats, poultry, dairy, fruits and vegetables...
BFG |
Totally agree.
Have you also noticed that people who are always trying crazy diets have a history of illness. There was a guy on the TV yesterday promoting the raw food diet and eating mainly fruit and bananas. All his life he had been sick but claimed that since eating all the bananas he'd become well. Personally, I think these people are nutritionally unbalanced and are therefore prone to illness.
Did anyone see the Dr. Oz show on supplements. Apparently, many of them don't contain the amount of supplement stated on the bottle - rendering them useless. |
_________________
Born 1950. There's a new cream on the market that gets rid of wrinkles - you smear it on the mirror!! |
|
|
|
|
Fri Mar 23, 2012 6:51 am |
An information sheet for vegans on vitamin B-12,
also known as cobalamin.
What Every Vegan Should Know
About Vitamin B12
by Stephen Walsh, Ph.D., Trustee of The Vegan Society [U.K.],
and other members of the International Vegetarian Union
science group (IVU-SCI)
(Attention: see reproduction restrictions specified below.)
Very low B12 intakes can cause anaemia and nervous system damage.
The only reliable vegan sources of B12 are foods fortified with B12 (including some plant milks, some soy products and some breakfast cereals) and B12 supplements. Vitamin B12, whether in supplements, fortified foods, or animal products, comes from micro-organisms.
Most vegans consume enough B12 to avoid anaemia and nervous system damage, but many do not get enough to minimise potential risk of heart disease or pregnancy complications.
To get the full benefit of a vegan diet, vegans should do one of the following:
eat fortified foods two or three times a day to get at least three micrograms (mcg or mg) of B12 a day or
take one B12 supplement daily providing at least 10 micrograms or
take a weekly B12 supplement providing at least 2000 micrograms.
If relying on fortified foods check the labels carefully to make sure you are getting enough B12. For example, if a fortified plant milk contains 1 microgram of B12 per serving then consuming three servings a day will provide adequate vitamin B12. Others may find the use of B12 supplements more convenient and economical.
The less frequently you obtain B12 the more B12 you need to take, as B12 is best absorbed in small amounts. The recommendations above take full account of this. There is no harm in exceeding the recommended amounts or combining more than one option.
Good information supports vegan health, pass it around.
If you donāt read another word about B12 you already know all you need to know. If you want to know more, read on.
This information sheet was prepared by Stephen Walsh (Stephen_walsh@vegans.fsnet.co.uk), a UK Vegan Society trustee, and other members of the International Vegetarian Union science group (IVU-SCI), in October 2001. This information may be freely reproduced but only in its entirety (list of endorsers may be omitted). Endorsers include:
[List omitted.]
Vitamin B12 and Vegan Diets
Lessons from history
B12 is an exceptional vitamin. It is required in smaller amounts than any other known vitamin. Ten micrograms of B12 spread over a day appears to supply as much as the body can use. In the absence of any apparent dietary supply, deficiency symptoms usually take five years or more to develop in adults, though some people experience problems within a year. A very small number of individuals with no obvious reliable source appear to avoid clinical deficiency symptoms for twenty years or more. B12 is the only vitamin that is not recognised as being reliably supplied from a varied wholefood, plant-based diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, together with exposure to sun. Many herbivorous mammals, including cattle and sheep, absorb B12 produced by bacteria in their own digestive system. B12 is found to some extent in soil and plants. These observations have led some vegans to suggest that B12 was an issue requiring no special attention, or even an elaborate hoax. Others have proposed specific foods, including spirulina, nori, tempeh, and barley grass, as suitable non-animal sources of B12. Such claims have not stood the test of time.
In over 60 years of vegan experimentation only B12 fortified foods and B12 supplements have proven themselves as reliable sources of B12, capable of supporting optimal health. It is very important that all vegans ensure they have an adequate intake of B12, from fortified foods or supplements. This will benefit our health and help to attract others to veganism through our example.
Getting an adequate amount of B12
National recommendations for B12 intakes vary significantly from country to country. The US recommended intake is 2.4 mcgs a day for ordinary adults rising to 2.8 mcgs for nursing mothers. The German recommendation is 3 mcgs a day. Recommended intakes are usually based on 50% absorption, as this is typical for small amounts from foods. To meet the US and German recommendations you need to obtain sufficient B12 to absorb 1.5 mcgs per day on average. This amount should be sufficient to avoid even the initial signs of inadequate B12 intake, such as slightly elevated homocysteine and MMA levels, in most people. Even slightly elevated homocysteine is associated with increased risk of many health problems including heart disease in adults, preeclampsia during pregnancy and neural tube defects in babies.
Achieving an adequate B12 intake is easy and there are several methods to suit individual preferences. Absorption of B12 varies from about 50%, if about 1 mcg or less is consumed, to about 0.5% for doses of 1000 mcgs (1 mg) or above. So the less frequently you consume B12, the higher the total amount needs to be to give the desired absorbed amount.
Frequent use of foods fortified with B12 so that about one microgram of B12 is consumed three times a day with a few hours in between will provide an adequate amount. Availability of fortified foods varies from country to country and amounts of B12 vary from brand to brand, so ensuring an adequate B12 supply from fortified foods requires some label reading and thought to work out an adequate pattern to suit individual tastes and local products.
Taking a B12 supplement containing ten mcgs or more daily provides a similar absorbed amount to consuming one mcg on three occasions through the day. This may be the most economical method as a single high potency tablet can be consumed bit by bit. 2000 mcgs of B12 consumed once a week would also provide an adequate intake. Any B12 supplement tablet should be chewed or allowed to dissolve in the mouth to enhance absorption. Tablets should be kept in an opaque container. As with any supplement it is prudent not to take more than is required for maximum benefit, so intakes above 5000 mcg per week should be avoided despite lack of evidence for toxicity from higher amounts.
All three options above should meet the needs of the vast majority of people with normal B12 metabolism. Individuals with impaired B12 absorption may find that the third method, 2000mcg once a week, works best as it does not rely on normal intrinsic factor in the gut. There are other, very rare, metabolic defects that require completely different approaches to meeting B12 requirements. If you have any reason to suspect a serious health problem seek medical advice promptly.
Symptoms of B12 deficiency
Clinical deficiency can cause anaemia or nervous system damage. Most vegans consume enough B12 to avoid clinical deficiency. Two subgroups of vegans are at particular risk of B12 deficiency: long-term vegans who avoid common fortified foods (such as raw food vegans or macrobiotic vegans) and breastfed infants of vegan mothers whose own intake of B12 is low.
In adults typical deficiency symptoms include loss of energy, tingling, numbness, reduced sensitivity to pain or pressure, blurred vision, abnormal gait, sore tongue, poor memory, confusion, hallucinations and personality changes. Often these symptoms develop gradually over several months to a year before being recognised as being due to B12 deficiency and they are usually reversible on administration of B12. There is however no entirely consistent and reliable set of symptoms and there are cases of permanent damage in adults from B12 deficiency. If you suspect a problem then get a skilled diagnosis from a medical practitioner as each of these symptoms can also be caused by problems other than B12 deficiency.
Infants typically show more rapid onset of symptoms than adults. B12 deficiency may lead to loss of energy and appetite and failure to thrive. If not promptly corrected this can progress to coma or death. Again there is no entirely consistent pattern of symptoms. Infants are more vulnerable to permanent damage than adults. Some make a full recovery, but others show retarded development.
The risk to these groups alone is reason enough to call on all vegans to give a consistent message as to the importance of B12 and to set a positive example. Every case of B12 deficiency in a vegan infant or an ill informed adult is a tragedy and brings veganism into disrepute.
The homocysteine connection
This is not however the end of the story. Most vegans show adequate B12 levels to make clinical deficiency unlikely but nonetheless show restricted activity of B12 related enzymes, leading to elevated homocysteine levels. Strong evidence has been gathered over the past decade that even slightly elevated homocysteine levels increase risk of heart disease and stroke and pregnancy complications. Homocysteine levels are also affected by other nutrients, most notably folate. General recommendations for increased intakes of folate are aimed at reducing levels of homocysteine and avoiding these risks. Vegan intakes of folate are generally good, particularly if plenty of green vegetables are eaten. However, repeated observations of elevated homocysteine in vegans, and to a lesser extent in other vegetarians, show conclusively that B12 intake needs to be adequate as well to avoid unnecessary risk.
Testing B12 status
A blood B12 level measurement is a very unreliable test for vegans, particularly for vegans using any form of algae. Algae and some other plant foods contain B12-analogues (false B12) that can imitate true B12 in blood tests while actually interfering with B12 metabolism. Blood counts are also unreliable as high folate intakes suppress the anaemia symptoms of B12 deficiency that can be detected by blood counts. Blood homocysteine testing is more reliable, with levels less than 10 mmol/litre being desirable. The most specific test for B12 status is methylmalonic acid (MMA) testing. If this is in the normal range in blood (<370 nmol/L) or urine (less than 4 mg/mg creatinine) then your body has enough B12. Many doctors still rely on blood B12 levels and blood counts. These are not adequate, especially in vegans.
Is there a vegan alternative to B12-fortified foods and supplements?
If for any reason you choose not to use fortified foods or supplements you should recognise that you are carrying out a dangerous experiment - one that many have tried before with consistently low levels of success. If you are an adult who is neither breast-feeding an infant, pregnant nor seeking to become pregnant, and wish to test a potential B12 source that has not already been shown to be inadequate, then this can be a reasonable course of action with appropriate precautions. For your own protection, you should arrange to have your B12 status checked annually. If homocysteine or MMA is even modestly elevated then you are endangering your health if you persist.
If you are breast feeding an infant, pregnant or seeking to become pregnant or are an adult contemplating carrying out such an experiment on a child, then donāt take the risk. It is simply unjustifiable.
Claimed sources of B12 that have been shown through direct studies of vegans to be inadequate include human gut bacteria, spirulina, dried nori, barley grass and most other seaweeds. Several studies of raw food vegans have shown that raw food offers no special protection.
Reports that B12 has been measured in a food are not enough to qualify that food as a reliable B12 source. It is difficult to distinguish true B12 from analogues that can disrupt B12 metabolism. Even if true B12 is present in a food, it may be rendered ineffective if analogues are present in comparable amounts to the true B12. There is only one reliable test for a B12 source ö does it consistently prevent and correct deficiency? Anyone proposing a particular food as a B12 source should be challenged to present such evidence.
A natural, healthy and compassionate diet
To be truly healthful, a diet must be best not just for individuals in isolation but must allow all six billion people to thrive and achieve a sustainable coexistence with the many other species that form the "living earth". From this standpoint the natural adaptation for most (possibly all) humans in the modern world is a vegan diet. There is nothing natural about the abomination of modern factory farming and its attempt to reduce living, feeling beings to machines. In choosing to use fortified foods or B12 supplements, vegans are taking their B12 from the same source as every other animal on the planet ö micro-organisms ö without causing suffering to any sentient being or causing environmental damage.
Vegans using adequate amounts of fortified foods or B12 supplements are much less likely to suffer from B12 deficiency than the typical meat eater. The Institute of Medicine, in setting the US recommended intakes for B12 makes this very clear. "Because 10 to 30 percent of older people may be unable to absorb naturally occurring vitamin B12, it is advisable for those older than 50 years to meet their RDA mainly by consuming foods fortified with vitamin B12 or a vitamin B12-containing supplement." Vegans should take this advice about 50 years younger, to the benefit of both themselves and the animals. B12 need never be a problem for well-informed vegans.
http://www.beyondveg.com/walsh-s/vitamin-b12/vegans-1.shtml |
_________________
I'LL SEE YOU ON THE DARKSIDE OF THE MOON.... |
|
|
|
|
Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:55 am |
| jenp7 wrote: |
| As for me, I still wonder if meat is needed in this whole foods diet. |
You don't have to wonder, though. The American Dietetic Association reviewed the science on this years ago and concluded that well-planned vegan diets (with a couple of supplements like B12) are nutritionally adequate for ALL people through all stages of life:
| ADA wrote: |
| t is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat (including fowl) or seafood, or products containing those foods. This article reviews the current data related to key nutrients for vegetarians including protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, and vitamins D and B-12. A vegetarian diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients. In some cases, supplements or fortified foods can provide useful amounts of important nutrients. An evidence-based review showed that vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate in pregnancy and result in positive maternal and infant health outcomes. The results of an evidence-based review showed that a vegetarian diet is associated with a lower risk of death from ischemic heart disease. Vegetarians also appear to have lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes than nonvegetarians. Furthermore, vegetarians tend to have a lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. Features of a vegetarian diet that may reduce risk of chronic disease include lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, soy products, fiber, and phytochemicals. The variability of dietary practices among vegetarians makes individual assessment of dietary adequacy essential. In addition to assessing dietary adequacy, food and nutrition professionals can also play key roles in educating vegetarians about sources of specific nutrients, food purchase and preparation, and dietary modifications to meet their needs. |
And remember that the ADA is the professional organization for dieticians in the U.S., and they are over 90% meat-eaters, so this is a conservative and scientific group.
Like Keliu says, I wonder if some small part of you has lingering doubts of some sort. Because rather than trust what trained scientific professionals have stated in reviewing the scientific literature and case studies, you repeatedly keep bringing up anecdotal stories to try to counter this...I'm not sure why you wouldn't trust people who have devoted their entire lives to studying nutrition and reviewing the scientific literature??
Again, I will say that there will always be a difference between theory and practice--that is, even though a well-planned vegan diet is nutritionally adequate, there will always be people who eat a vegan diet without sufficient planning. These people who not plan sufficiently run into deficiencies and hence do better when they eat meat. This is not proof that a vegan diet does not work, but rather it indicates that many people are not eating a balanced vegan diet.
Finally, I don't think that a vegan diet is automatically nutritionally superior or inferior to a diet that includes meat. There is amazingly broad diversity even within the category of vegan diets that you can always design a vegan diet that is far better or fat worse than a diet that includes meat.
I hope this helps. |
_________________
34 y.o. FlexEffect and massage. Love experimenting with DIY and botanical skin care products. Appreciate both hard science and natural approaches. Eat green smoothies + lots of raw fruit and veggies. |
|
|
|
|
Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:35 am |
And for the record, I am vegan, am a real and not fault-less person, and absolutely have made a few mistakes.
The difference is that I didn't assume that I was doing things perfectly and then just start eating meat or dairy to solve my problems.
Rather, I sought to figure out what what was going on through blood tests, further reading, etc., and in every case, I fixed the problem and it wasn't hard to (e.g., vitamin B12 supplement because fortified foods ended up not being enough for me, vitamin D when I lived in the UK and wasn't getting enough sunlight, eating enough greens for minerals).
The unfortunate difference is that when a majority of people make mistakes--whether in attempting a vegan diet or in trying to lose weight unsuccessfully--they assume that they did things perfectly and that it's not their fault. The fact is that the majority of us, myself included, make accidental mistakes that we are unaware of. For example, studies have shown that a significant fraction of overweight people consistently underestimate how many calories they consume and hence think that they have slow metabolisms.
That's why it's always better to get to the bottom of what's really going on rather than to make assumptions that we are always doing things correctly. Sometimes we are doing things correctly, but sometimes we aren't.
Just my 2 cents |
_________________
34 y.o. FlexEffect and massage. Love experimenting with DIY and botanical skin care products. Appreciate both hard science and natural approaches. Eat green smoothies + lots of raw fruit and veggies. |
|
|
|
|
Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:57 am |
| cm5597 wrote: |
And for the record, I am vegan, am a real and not fault-less person, and absolutely have made a few mistakes.
The difference is that I didn't assume that I was doing things perfectly and then just start eating meat or dairy to solve my problems.
Rather, I sought to figure out what what was going on through blood tests, further reading, etc., and in every case, I fixed the problem and it wasn't hard to (e.g., vitamin B12 supplement because fortified foods ended up not being enough for me, vitamin D when I lived in the UK and wasn't getting enough sunlight, eating enough greens for minerals).
The unfortunate difference is that when a majority of people make mistakes--whether in attempting a vegan diet or in trying to lose weight unsuccessfully--they assume that they did things perfectly and that it's not their fault. The fact is that the majority of us, myself included, make accidental mistakes that we are unaware of. For example, studies have shown that many overweight people consistently underestimate how many calories they consume and hence think that they have slow metabolisms.
That's why it's always better to get to the bottom of what's really going on rather than to make assumptions that we are always doing things correctly.
Just my 2 cents |
I don't judge which diet anyone chooses, I mainly posted the B-12 information because many vegans seem to believe there are non-meat or supplement sources eg. spirulina ect. that provide the needed B-12 yet don't provide the necessary B-12 the body needs and worse can give false readings.
Also my dad had what was called precocious anemia, now just called anemia? It is a dangerous form of anemia where the body cannot absorb B-12 from any food sources properly, and without monthly B-12 injections death is the ultimate outcome. |
_________________
I'LL SEE YOU ON THE DARKSIDE OF THE MOON.... |
|
|
|
|
Fri Mar 30, 2012 2:36 pm |
Whilst I agree that extremes and very limited diets are dangerous, great examples do exist of people who embrace the raw vegan lifestyle.
Here is a raw vegan family. The father is 62 and his wife is 44. They have 5 children and not only do the adults appear to be years younger than their chronological ages, the whole family appear to be absolutely thriving...
http://thegardendiet.com/ |
_________________
40 years old. Safetox, Ageless, Green Smoothies |
|
|
|
|
Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:42 am |
For most people carbs are going to be one of the causes of aging due to their shortening effect on *telomere length*. In fall, winter and early spring anyway..... 
A lower carb/less refined diet is better for everyone and sure, raw is a good way to go.
Lights Out by T.S. Wiley explains a lot of the nuances of sugar/carbs that people don't seem to understand:
http://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-Sleep-Sugar-Survival/dp/0671038680/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1333215467&sr=8-2
Mainstream article:
http://www.thebodywellusa.com/blog/telomeres-hormones-and-aging/
An inflammatory diet, or one that increases oxidative stress, will shorten telomeres faster. This includes refined carbohydrates, fast foods, processed foods, sodas, artificial sweeteners, trans fats and saturated fats. A diet with a large amount and variety of antioxidants that improves oxidative defense and reduces oxidative stress will slow telomere shortening. Consumption of 10 servings of fresh and relatively uncooked fruits and vegetables, mixed fiber, monounsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, cold water fish, and high quality vegetable proteins will help preserve telomere length.
Not just refined carbs but carbs in general. |
|
|
|
|
|
Sat Mar 31, 2012 11:05 am |
I don't think being a vegetarian, vegan or Paleo really automatically makes you healthier than a meat-eating, dairy consuming person. Being a vegetarian you can still consume processed, high-in-sugar foods (which aren't good for the skin). I think the guidelines of a healthy diet include:
Dairy free (not meat, mind you)
Gluten free (I've read quite a few books on this)
No modified foods
Low sugar
That is a good diet, in my opinion. |
|
|
|
|
|
Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:15 pm |
| gretchen wrote: |
For most people carbs are going to be one of the causes of aging due to their shortening effect on *telomere length*. In fall, winter and early spring anyway.....
A lower carb/less refined diet is better for everyone and sure.
An inflammatory diet, or one that increases oxidative stress, will shorten telomeres faster. This includes refined carbohydrates, fast foods, processed foods, sodas, artificial sweeteners, trans fats and saturated fats. A diet with a large amount and variety of antioxidants that improves oxidative defense and reduces oxidative stress will slow telomere shortening. Consumption of 10 servings of fresh and relatively uncooked fruits and vegetables, mixed fiber, monounsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, cold water fish, and high quality vegetable proteins will help preserve telomere length.
Not just refined carbs but carbs in general. |
FWIW, my two cents on this issue...
It's refined carbs, not whole-food carbs (e.g., fruits) that are positively associated with chronic disease and shortened telomeres. "Good" carbs like fruits and whole grains (even though I'm not a big fan of the latter for digestive reasons) are usually associated with reduced cancer risk, cardiovascular disease risk, etc., or are at least neutral.
In addition to the source posted above, here's another study showing that increased fruit composition is correlated with longer telomeres:
The association between leukocyte telomere length and cigarette smoking, dietary and physical variables, and risk of prostate cancer
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19493248
So whole-food carbs tend to be great for health--not all carbs are bad.
What is confusing is that because sugar can do damage in the body (e.g., glycosylation of proteins), it seems to make sense that consuming sugar or carbs must be bad for you. But what really matters is the kinetics of glucose in your blood--e.g., both how high your blood sugar is over the course of the day and how quickly that sugar is transported out of your bloodstream and into your cells.
The way you can think about it is that the longer the sugar is in your bloodstream knocking around and causing damage, the worse off you are. So what you care about are both how much sugar and how quickly you are putting it into your bloodstream AND how quickly your body's insulin is able to remove sugar from your bloodstream and deliver it to the cells where it is needed. Both the input and output steps are important in the process, but in the lay press, you mostly hear about the input step.
So this means that to improve your blood sugar, you can consume sugar more steadily throughout the day (the input step) AND/OR optimize your body's ability to transport sugar from your bloodstream into your cells (the output step, known as your insulin sensitivity).
The former can be done through eating small regular meals with high amounts of fiber and low glycemic load portions of foods. But what about the latter and how does this relate to diet? In the scientific literature, if you inject sugar directly into the bloodstream, while you can temporarily increase blood sugar, insulin is still going to be able to quickly move that sugar out of the bloodstream and into the cells. As a result, after the temporary spike in blood sugar, your blood sugar levels return to normal. However, if you inject fat directly into the bloodstream, you impair the ability to transport sugar from the bloodstream into the cells, which therefore keeps your blood sugar levels elevated for much longer. In these studies, often palmitate (a saturated fat) is used, but other lipid combinations have been used as well. (As an aside, this is where I think that intermittent fasting is particularly effective as it makes your body's insulin very sensitive--i.e., good at transporting sugar out of the blood stream and into the cells. This may explain why people see good results with both small, frequent meals, spaced throughout the day OR with intermittent fasting.)
So what this suggests is that while things like refined carbs or a high-calorie meal may spike your blood sugar, it's the high fat that will keep your blood sugar levels elevated and allow the sugar to knock around in your bloodstream for longer and hence do more damage (i.e., "insulin resistance").
So it seems like the solution is not favor fats over carbs, but to focus on whole food carbohydrate sources with a much lower but still healthy level of healthy fats. |
_________________
34 y.o. FlexEffect and massage. Love experimenting with DIY and botanical skin care products. Appreciate both hard science and natural approaches. Eat green smoothies + lots of raw fruit and veggies. |
|
|
|
|
Sun Apr 01, 2012 11:19 am |
No fruit is mostly just filled with sugar. Berries are probably the healthiest fruit to eat year round; I only eat sugary fruit in the summer. Eating a banana in December, for example, makes no sense. Fruit is definitely something to be cautious with.
| cm5597 wrote: |
| gretchen wrote: |
For most people carbs are going to be one of the causes of aging due to their shortening effect on *telomere length*. In fall, winter and early spring anyway.....
A lower carb/less refined diet is better for everyone and sure.
An inflammatory diet, or one that increases oxidative stress, will shorten telomeres faster. This includes refined carbohydrates, fast foods, processed foods, sodas, artificial sweeteners, trans fats and saturated fats. A diet with a large amount and variety of antioxidants that improves oxidative defense and reduces oxidative stress will slow telomere shortening. Consumption of 10 servings of fresh and relatively uncooked fruits and vegetables, mixed fiber, monounsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, cold water fish, and high quality vegetable proteins will help preserve telomere length.
Not just refined carbs but carbs in general. |
FWIW, my two cents on this issue...
It's refined carbs, not whole-food carbs (e.g., fruits) that are positively associated with chronic disease and shortened telomeres. "Good" carbs like fruits and whole grains (even though I'm not a big fan of the latter for digestive reasons) are usually associated with reduced cancer risk, cardiovascular disease risk, etc., or are at least neutral.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sun Apr 01, 2012 6:20 pm |
Whatever happened to the old adage of "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"?!!
It's a shame to see a whole food such as fruit thought of as something to be cautious of. If everyone would substitute a piece of fruit instead of eating a processed snack bar, we'd all be better off.
As for not eating bananas in December - I'm not even going to go there. |
_________________
Born 1950. There's a new cream on the market that gets rid of wrinkles - you smear it on the mirror!! |
|
|
|
|
Sun Apr 01, 2012 6:45 pm |
| Keliu wrote: |
Whatever happened to the old adage of "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"?!!
It's a shame to see a whole food such as fruit thought of as something to be cautious of. If everyone would substitute a piece of fruit instead of eating a processed snack bar, we'd all be better off.
As for not eating bananas in December - I'm not even going to go there. |
LOL. You can come visit me here in South Florida, my Banana trees by the pool bear fruit all year long.....Yummy.  |
_________________
I'LL SEE YOU ON THE DARKSIDE OF THE MOON.... |
|
|
|
|
Sun Apr 01, 2012 7:56 pm |
| Keliu wrote: |
As for not eating bananas in December - I'm not even going to go there. |
 I  you Keliu. That's exactly what I thought when I read that, I'm not even gonna go there. Bananas are good for you 12 months a year! They are one of the best sources of potassium.
On the subject of diet, my favorite quote from stuff I read on the Internet this week was from Karl Lagerfield, he said in a Harper's Bazaar interview that I read on a blog I drink Diet Coke from the minute I get up to the minute I go to bed. I can even drink it in the middle of the night, and I can sleep. It's good to know that you can be rich and famous and fabulous and still have a bad nutritional habit. I can relate all too well to his quote. Maybe Diet Coke is a great equalizer. I go through phases with Diet Coke. I've been able to go cold turkey and not drink any and then there are times when my consumption is the same as Karl's. Fortunately I also drink enough water each day to try to balance out the Diet Coke. But I know I have to stop drinking it.
On another note, I am going to really try to cut down on my intake of added sugar after watching 60 Minutes tonight. Excess sugar consumption has been linked to heart disease and the growth of tumors. Turns out sugar is as addictive as cocaine and the more you eat the more you have to eat to feel satisfied.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57407128/preview-is-sugar-toxic/?tag=pop;stories |
|
|
|
|
|
Mon Apr 02, 2012 5:44 am |
sugar sweetened foods and beverages are the only items that I find addictive...I have to limit them. It's a struggle.
BFG |
|
|
|
|
|
Mon Apr 02, 2012 5:55 am |
| jom wrote: |
| Keliu wrote: |
As for not eating bananas in December - I'm not even going to go there. |
I you Keliu. That's exactly what I thought when I read that, I'm not even gonna go there. Bananas are good for you 12 months a year! They are one of the best sources of potassium. |
LOL I had the same reaction jom, for Keliu and all in OZ I suppose she can't partake of Bananas in  June as that is winter there, December is summer. |
_________________
I'LL SEE YOU ON THE DARKSIDE OF THE MOON.... |
|
|
|
|
Mon Apr 02, 2012 10:34 am |
I'd rather reduce carbs/sugar and be wrinkle free than glycate myself another decade. It all adds up!
Going radical against carbs seems to have a profound effect- I've been low carb for years but lately have been eating no carbs at all for days- people have started guessing my age as young as 25. No, I'm not gonna eat sugary fruit out of season. Why this doesn't make sense to you isn't clear to me....
I learned about eating seasonally 20 years ago in macrobiotics. |
|
|
|
|
|
Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:25 am |
Carbohydrates are a macronutrient that your body needs in high doses on a daily basis for proper functioning. When you eat carbohydrates, they get converted to glycogen and either used immediately for energy, providing a steady dose of blood sugar, or they are stored in the muscles and liver for energy at a later time. Simple carbs, by contrast, cause a spike in blood sugar that quickly dissipates. For sustained energy, eat foods rich in complex carbs.
WHOLE GRAINS
Whole grains are high in fiber, have moderate protein levels, are low in fat and are also a good source of complex carbs. Specific examples include millet, oats, wheat germ, barley, wild rice, brown rice, buckwheat, oat bran, cornmeal and amaranth. Any product that is made from these grains is also complex as well. Whole grain bread, bagels, buns and rolls are examples of these. Also pasta, macaroni and breakfast cereals that are made from whole grains are complex carbohydrates.
FRUITS
Fruits are high in water content, fiber, vitamins and they have virtually no fat at all. Fruits packed with complex carbohydrates include apricots, oranges, plums, pears, grapefruits and prunes.
VEGETABLES
Vegetables are high in water, low in fat, have multiple vitamins and minerals, and most varieties are complex carbs. Broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, turnip greens, eggplant, potatoes, yams, corn, carrots, onions, all types of lettuce, celery, cucumbers, cabbage, artichokes and asparagus are all examples of these.
LEGUMES
Legumes are oftentimes called pulses. These are characterized by seeds that have an exterior pod surrounding them. Beans are a type of legume that is a complex carbohydrate. Specific examples include lentils, kidney beans, black beans, peas, garbanzo beans, soy beans and pinto beans.
MISCELLANEOUS
Dill pickles are made from cucumbers and they are complex carbs. Soy milk made from soy beans is a complex carb and dairy products like low-fat yogurt and skim milk are also complex carbs.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/27398-list-complex-carbohydrates-foods/ |
_________________
I'LL SEE YOU ON THE DARKSIDE OF THE MOON.... |
|
|
|
| Sat May 18, 2024 11:47 am |
If this is your first visit to the EDS Forums please take the time to register. Registration is required for you to post on the forums. Registration will also give you the ability to track messages of interest, send private messages to other users, participate in Gift Certificates draws and enjoy automatic discounts for shopping at our online store. Registration is free and takes just a few seconds to complete.
Click Here to join our community.
If you are already a registered member on the forums, please login to gain full access to the site. |
|
 |
|
|
