Low-carbohydrate diets improve blood flow

Published in Metabolism. 2009 Dec;58(12):1769-77. Epub 2009 Jul 25.

Effects of dietary carbohydrate restriction versus low-fat diet on flow-mediated dilation.
Volek JS, Ballard KD, Silvestre R, Judelson DA, Quann EE, Forsythe CE, Fernandez ML, Kraemer WJ.
Department of Kinesiology and the Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1110, USA. jeff.volek@uconn.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19632695

The findings of the study show that a low-carbohydrate diet improves post-meal blood vessel flow more than a low fat diet in overweight men and women.

AMAZON UK Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life
AMAZON USA Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life

High fat dairy consumption LOWERS the risk of diabetes

Published in the Ann Intern Med. 2010 Dec 21;153(12):790-9.

Trans-palmitoleic acid, metabolic risk factors, and new-onset diabetes in U.S. adults: a cohort study.
Mozaffarian D, Cao H, King IB, Lemaitre RN, Song X, Siscovick DS, Hotamisligil GS.
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. dmozaffa@hsph.harvard.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21173413

The study found that whole fat dairy consumption was most strongly associated with higher trans-palmitoleate levels.

Higher levels of trans-palmitoleate were associated with a lower BMI, a lower waist circumference, lower total cholesterol and lower levels of C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation).

In people who did not have diabetes at the start of the study, greater levels of trans-palmitoleate were associated with a lower risk of new-onset diabetes over the subsequent 10 years.

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AMAZON USA The Milk Book: The Milk of Human Kindness Is Not Pasteurized

Older men with lower cholesterol have a 54% higher death rate

This study was published in the JPEN Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition 1988 Mar-Apr;12(2):155-8

Study title and authors:
Prognostic significance of serum cholesterol in nursing home men.
Rudman D, Mattson DE, Nagraj HS, Feller AG, Jackson DL, Caindec N, Rudman IW.
Medical Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center, North Chicago, Illinois.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3129590

The study investigated the association of cholesterol levels and death rates in 129 men (average age 70.6; range 41-96).

The study found:
(a) Men with cholesterol less than 150 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/l) had a death rate of 63% during the 14 months after the cholesterol analysis, compared to a death rate of 9% in men with cholesterol greater than 150 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/l).
(b) The death rate during the year after the analysis was 52% if cholesterol was below 160 mg/dl (4.1 mmol/l), compared to 7% if it was above this threshold.

The results of the study show that lower cholesterol levels are associated with higher death rates.

AMAZON UK The Cholesterol Hoax
AMAZON USA The Cholesterol Hoax

Carnitine should be considered a nutritive substance

This post includes a synopsis of a study published in Z Ernahrungswiss 1982 Dec;21(4):257-65 and a recipe for albondigas soup.

Study title and author:
Carnitine in human nutrition.
Bach AC.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6758382

The human body needs carnitine to be able to utilize long-chain fatty acids for energy production.
                                                                                                                                          Books:

Bach states that: "A diet rich in meat supplies a lot of carnitine, while vegetables, fruits, and grains furnish relatively little". He also notes "that the diet of the adult human need not necessarily furnish carnitine..... if it is sufficiently rich in lysine and methionine" (found in eggs and fish), and that "carnitine should be considered a nutritive substance".

For mothers with new born he advises: "dietary carnitine is more important during the neonatal period. The transition from fetal to extrauterine life is accompanied by an increased role of lipids in meeting energy needs. This change is accompanied by a rise in the body of the levels of carnitine, which is mainly supplied in the maternal milk".

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Websites : Videos : Food Mall

Recipe of the day

Albondigas Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 quarts of chicken stock or beef stock OR water OR a mixture of both
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
1/2 lb of string beans, strings and ends removed, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup of ground almond
1 pound ground beef                                                                                    Food Mall: Ground Beef

1/4 cup of chopped fresh mint leaves

1/4 cup of chopped parsley
1 raw egg
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
A dash of cayenne (optional)
1 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh peas
1 teaspoon of dried oregano, crumbled, or 1 Tbsp fresh chopped oregano
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Method:
1 Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot (5-qt) over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Add broth mixture and tomato sauce. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add carrots and string beans.

2 Prepare the meatballs. Mixground almond into meat, adding mint leaves and parsley, salt and pepper. Mix in raw egg. Form mixture into 1-inch meatballs.

3 Add the meatballs to the simmering soup, one at a time. Cover and let simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the peas towards the end of the 1/2 hour. Add a few pinches of oregano and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and a dash of cayenne, to taste.

Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Low cholesterol is associated with marked increase in mortality in heart failure

Books:

This post includes a summary of a study published in the Journal of Cardiac Failure 2002 Aug;8(4):216-24 and a recipe for tender beef tongue with onions and garlic.

Study title and authors:

Low serum total cholesterol is associated with marked increase in mortality in advanced heart failure.

Horwich TB, Hamilton MA, Maclellan WR, Fonarow GC.
UCLA Department of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12397569

The study investigated the relationship between cholesterol levels and heart failure. Cholesterol levels were measured in 1,134 patients with advanced heart failure.

The study revealed that those with the lowest cholesterol had over double the risk of dying from advanced heart failure compared to those with the highest cholesterol.

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall

Recipe of the day

Tender Beef Tongue with Onions and Garlic

Ingredients:

■1 beef tongue

■1 medium onion, finely chopped

Food Mall: Tongue

■1 shallot, finely chopped

■2 cloves garlic, minced
■1 jalapeno (optional), sliced in half or minced
■Pinch of red chili flakes
■1 bay leaf

Instructions:
Put all ingredients into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer for about 3 hours until tender. Let cool until you are able to handle. Peel off skin and slice.



High cholesterol is a marker for longevity

This study was published in Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care 2007 Jul;10(4):433-42

Study title and authors:
Risk factor paradox in wasting diseases.

Kalantar-Zadeh K, Horwich TB, Oreopoulos A, Kovesdy CP, Younessi H, Anker SD, Morley JE.

Harold Simmons Center for Kidney Disease Research and Epidemiology, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Center at Harbor-UCLA, Torrance, California 90509-2910, USA. kamkal@ucla.edu

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17563461

Kalantar-Zadeh reviewed the literature concerning cholesterol levels and wasting diseases and found that having high cholesterol leads to higher survival rates in people with chronic kidney disease, chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive lung disease, cancer, AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, and in the elderly.

High fat diets can help relieve constipation

Published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2011) 65, 240–246; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2010.235;

Gastrointestinal transit, post-prandial lipaemia and satiety following 3 days high-fat diet in men
M E Clegg1,2, P McKenna1, C McClean3, G W Davison3, T Trinick4, E Duly4 and A Shafat1
1Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland, UK
2School of Life Sciences, Functional Food Centre, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
3Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Institute, University of Ulster, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
4Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, Northern Ireland, UK

This study can be accessed at: http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v65/n2/abs/ejcn2010235a.html

The study found that high fat diets in as little as 3 days will accelerate gastric emptying and improve your cholesterol profile.

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AMAZON USA Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats