Interesting links

Monday Links

Published 12.12.2016
Interesting links found (mostly) over the weekend. It was a busy weekend around here, with far more socializing (and thus eating and drinking adult beverages) than typical. Standing on the scale this morning wasn't much fun, but it's most likely water weight. Today is "austerity" here, so some of the weekend's excesses will be offset. Unfortunately, I also seem to have picked up a cold, which stinks on ice.

Miserable maintenance

This is a miserable way to live. Congrats if it works for you, but I simply don’t want to live my life in this way. Seriously? Eat nothing at party so that you can go home to some horrid low fat ice cream? No thank you. This, though, might be even worse.

That is the false promise of low carb dieting. I get that holiday eating splurging needs to be regulated, certainly I still pay attention to what goes into my gob, and yes I weigh myself regularly. But to be this scared of eating a few carbs is nuts. You haven’t “fixed” anything. You’ve simply replaced poor habits with a new obsession. And you’re a self righteous pill at gatherings. Moderation can work, if you have the mindset to make it so. There is nothing moderate about eliminating a macronutrient. Needless to say, I don’t think food addiction is real.

We. Eat. Too. Much.

As noted above, I’m feeling under the weather today, so just don’t have the energy for a true rant, but FFS, this is ridiculous. Obesity is not a disease, let alone 59. Most people are not obese because of rare genetic disorders. Most people are obese for the same reason I used to be— I ate too much for the level of activity I had in my life.

Getting fat because of the drugs you’re taking makes me wonder too, though I suppose there are more people in that boat than in the genetic disorder boat. Still, do the drugs themselves make people obese, or do people eat more when on the drugs? Or is it a matter of retaining water? I don’t know, I’m not a medical professional. I know this, eating less in a way that you can adhere to for the rest of your life works for weight loss… every. single. time. The fact that the way I eat to lose and maintain weight isn't the same as someone else does not mean that we have separate diseases. It means we found a way to alter our habits that works for us.

Too much protein

You can eat too much protein. Hidden in the middle is this tidbit:

Short-term studies suggest that high protein, low carbohydrate diets may promote weight loss and help to preserve lean muscle, and that eating protein helps satisfy hunger. But a recent small trial found that older women who lost weight on a high protein diet did not experience one of the important benefits that usually follow weight loss, an improvement in insulin sensitivity, which reduces the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Large population studies also suggest an association between habitual high protein intake and a heightened risk of diabetes.

This is the study, and this is a podcast with Dan Pardi and Stephan Guyenet discussing it.

Eating high protein does not maintain muscle mass over time. To build muscle you have to use your muscles. To maintain muscle mass as you age, the same fact holds true. Use it, or lose it. Not to mention the extra strain excess protein puts on your kidneys. The body can only handle 20-40 grams (g) at a time. Total daily requirements is 46g for women and 56g for men.

Supplements should be unnecessary in a healthy diet and that includes protein shakes. Eating pure protein is not natural. Plus there’s a worry that it might raise cancer risk, especially animal based protein. Valter Longo did a study that showed:

It found that those who ate a high protein diet between the ages of 50 and 65 were four times more likely to die of cancer than those who consumed less protein.

Of course, not everybody thinks excess protein is dangerous. Certainly people pushing or selling protein supplements are invested in believing that there is no such thing as too much protein.

Of mice and fat

This may be a mouse study, but it does not portend good news for people who shove gobs of fat down their pie hole everyday. Fat intake boosts the growth rate of cancer cells. Here is a popular press article about the study.

Of fat and people

Maybe it’s time to get over seeing food as its nutrients (whether macro or micro) make up and instead just eat real food.

This year, the International Food Information Council quizzed 1,003 adults ages 18 to 80 for its annual Food & Health Survey. On the subject of fat, the confusion was clear: Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they were trying to avoid fats and oils, with 30 percent specifically saying they try to avoid monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — the types of fats that nutrition experts say we should be eating. Interestingly, the super-healthful omega-3 fats are polyunsaturated, but few respondents reported trying to avoid omega-3s. In fact, 37 percent said they were trying to include them in their diets.

With the push toward embracing more healthful fats, why is there still such a disconnect? David L. Katz, founding director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, said part of the problem may be researchers’ and book authors’ long-standing focus on how much carbohydrates, fat or protein we should eat, rather than on the types of foods we get those macronutrients from. “So, to the extent the public is confused about whether sugar or fat is public enemy number one, they are getting lots of help to remain that way,” Katz said.

Choline

Here's another reason not to be vegan. Too many vegans are deficient in choline, which can be gotten from plants, but only if you eat the plants that have it. Far too many vegans don't eat a wide variety of food— and that's not even referring to Youtube "celebrities" and their fad diets, but rather actual vegans I know in real life.

That said, the conclusion that, “everyone needs to supplement” is a huge red flag. If you eat eggs (ovo-vegetarian) you’re probably fine. Not having any choline in your diet (because you’re a raw vegan or fruitarian) is where issues will arise. Interesting that choline is another substance related to the homocysteine levels. Homocysteine levels are inversely related to brain health. Adequate B12 and choline keep homocysteine levels lower.

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