Sweedish Study Causes Mayhem!

Recently a study was published in Sweden that has caused quite a stir in the nutrition-minded community.

Hell yeah Sweden

Since 2004, the Swedish have experienced a rise in the popularity in low carb, high fat diets.  The study that came out was a 25 year observational study that considered the diet of 140,000 Swedish people based on self reported surveys on what they ate, their body weight, and serum cholesterol. They conducted the study as a result of Sweden having the highest rate of heart disease of any country in the 1970s. In1985, the country introduced its intervention campaign. The study was designed to observe lifestyle and diet, and make connections to heart disease in an effort to help Sweden overcome it's high rate of heart disease.

To the bewilderment of the lower-carb minded community, the study seemed to show that when people cut their carb intake and replaced it with fat, over time their cholesterol levels went up, as well as their BMIs and therefore, risk for heart attack. As a result, there were a flurry of commentaries and articles such as Atkins diet found to be bad for the heart and this sassy article: Time to Retire the Low Carb Diet Fad. The study also noted that over the course of the 25 year study, BMI steadily increased along with alcohol consumption (something that I felt worth noting, but the articles above did not).

Another interesting point was that towards the beginning of the study the Swedish were leaning more towards a low fat high carb diet and then as low carb diets grew in popularity, they switched gears. However, the BMIs of the population studied went up (not exactly steadily, but up nonetheless) regardless of diet breakdown.

It's probably just because of the Swedish chef....

The study does not look at HDL vs LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, or even if the high levels of cholesterol observed in the study even led to heart disease. Current research suggests that total cholesterol alone is a pretty scant indicator of future heart disease, and the breakdowns and ratio's of these numbers are far more important. This population of Swedes could be enjoying great health with high levels of HDL and low numbers of the small sticky LDL, but we just don't know either way. There are no mortality statistics in the entire report, which is odd considering that the whole reason people fear heart disease is that essentially, it can kill you. The study even notes : “our study design does not allow a causal evaluation of the relationship between the increased fat intake since 2004 and the increased cholesterol values after 2007.”

So the question we must ask ourselves is: Why does the media see fit to alert the public to the dangers of a diet, when the diet itself was not extensively studied and a causal relationship was not established between a high fat diet and cholesterol? A commentary on the blog MarksDailyApple wisely even observed: "there was a four-to-six-year lag between the rise in fat consumption and the 2008 cholesterol jump – implying that Sweden’s fat-feasting took half a decade to affect blood values." The conclusion that the low carb craze that took over Sweden being the singular culprit for high cholesterol levels seems pretty sketchy to me.

I think that the main take away from all of this is that people need to be far more skeptical of what the mouthpieces in the media are touting. As we are all painfully aware, loud eye catching headlines are far more lucrative than "Study Shows That Cholesterol in Swedes Went Up--- We Don't Really Know Why." Before anyone decides to undertake a life changing diet plan, they need to do their own research and decide what is best and what is going to work for them. Unfortunately, the American public has gotten quite comfortable listening to the contradictory advice of the government and health guru media icons who seem to have a new mind blowing cure for metabolic diseases every few weeks. The best advice anyone can give is be skeptical, and be proactive towards your health goals, rather than letting others make choices for you.

Sources:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-it-time-to-retire-the-low-carb-diet-fad/#axzz1y9rF7flV
http://www.dietdoctor.com/the-swedish-low-carb-revolution

Home Made Mayo and Gluten Free Crab Cakes!

     It's always fun (for some of us) to cook big fancy dinners where you put a lot of thought and care into planning out a menu and shopping for ingredients. But where people really need help is cooking simple week night meals that satisfy and don't resort to compromising your health goals. Also not breaking the bank is an important requirement.

One helpful book that I picked up semi recently was Paelo Comfort Foods by  Julie and Charles Mayfield.

There are a lot of great recipes in here that make it possible for people to still eat their favorite foods (biscuits, bread, muffins, fried chicken.....) while not only staying gluten free but also keeping all other nasty ingredients out of the kitchen. The problem with a lot of gluten free products is that they are still highly processed and contain a lot of sugar, but this cookbook contains only clean foods that wont set you back.

One of the recipes I put to good use is their recipe for home made mayo. The problem I was having was that I could not find a mayo that was free of seed oil. All of them (even the "natural" or "organic" brands were based with canola or safflower oil. As I have said in previous posts, these oils are often pretty much rancid and will wreak havoc on your cells if we consume too much of them. The idea of making my own was daunting, until I realized how easy it is! All it really is is blending an egg with oil very slowly and adding some salt pepper, mustard and whatever else you want. It takes about five minutes.

A good oil to use is avocado oil because it is a very safe, healthy fat. It also has a very mild flavor. However, it isn't cheap, so the recipe calls for 1/2 cup avocado oil and 1/2 cup olive oil. I don't mind the olive oil flavor in mayo, but if you don't like it you can use all avocado oil. I don't want to give away the recipe in the book, but here is another good one from Nom Nom Paleo. I have seen a bunch of recipes (they are all more or less the same) but some of them say to only use the egg yolk and some say use the whole egg. I use the whole egg because it is easy and comes out great! So why waste the white?

 

 

And there it is. So easy. I think sometimes we get so used to convenience foods that we forget how easy it can be to make stuff ourselves. So try to make your own mayo, it's tastes a lot better too and keeps for about 2 weeks!

So after I made the mayo, I wanted to make something quick and easy. I remembered I had bought crab meat from Trader Joe's, so I looked in my Paleo Comfort foods book and saw that they had a recipe for crab cakes. I actually didn't have all the ingredients, so here is MY version of the crab cakes in the book

You will need:
around 1 lb crab meat (I had a little more)

1/4 cup Mayo
1 egg
Worcestershire sauce
Chives or Scallions
Bell Pepper
Parsley
1/4 cup Almond flour 
1/3 cup Almond flour (separately)


400 degree oven

First I took 3 cans of 6 oz of crab meat. You don't have to get the super expensive stuff, the 15% leg meat is fine (it's only crab cakes...) Drain it and put it in a bowl to the side. Make sure you drain it really well, I think I would have gotten even better results if I paid more attention to this step.

Then I chopped about 1/2 a red pepper, a bunch of chives, and a bunch of parsley and set it aside. Then, in a separate bowl I whisked together 1/4 cup of mayo, 1 whole egg, some Worcestershire sauce, and some salt and pepper.  Then pour the mixture over the crab, and gently using your hands add in the chopped ingredients. Blend in 1/4 cup of almond flour as a binder. Then, use your hands to press the crab cakes into little patties, and dredge them in the 1/3 cup of almond flour, then put on a greased cookie sheet. Pop them in the oven and 15-20 minutes later you have yourself a tray full of crab cakes!

 

Simultaneously, I was able to chop up some other veggies with some bacon, and roast them in the oven at the same time. Couldn't be simpler. 

Also, if you want more of a well documented recipe, here is another one from Nom Nom Paleo. Enjoy!

Why I Am Gluten Free: The Short Version

So gluten free options are all over supermarkets and are gaining popularity in the media in general. But there still seems to be a lot of resentment and misunderstanding around he whole idea of not eating gluten grains (there are several gluten grains, but the main one that people eat is obviously wheat). Honestly, I can understand why. Good bread is fluffy, wonderful, comforting, and really addictive.  

I wish bread made ME this cute

  As it turns out, bread actually IS addictive and according to Dr. William Davis of Wheat Bellies. It has an opiate- like effect on the brain, targeting both your opiate receptors (the same receptors that react to pain killers and heroin) as well as creating strong surges of dopamine in your brain, another feel good chemical that leaves you craving more. 

Another fun thing that gluten does, is create a chronic condition called leaky gut syndrome. The wheat germ of a gluten grain contains a protein called lectins. Many grains and legumes contain lectins, which is why people following a paleo diet avoid them. However, gluten grains have the most persistant and ugly lectans around. 

The Germ is where the lectans are contained. Ironically, isolated wheat germ is sold as a health food

Plants contain these lectans as a defense mechanism against animals who want to eat them. It is poisonous to small animals. Although it is not fatal, it is poisonous to us too. When we eat wheat, the lectan is able to disguise itself as any other protein and bind itself to our tissues. Eventually, our bodies figure out that the lectan is hurting us and creates an inflammatory response in an effort to save our cells. This constant inflammation is stressful to our bodies, and can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. If we eat lecan conaining grains often enough, they bind to our stomachs and break down our gut lining, literally causing small holes in our gut (hence the term leaky gut syndrome). 

Essentially, this leaky gut allows gluten, and any other food you eat, to enter the blood stream. Your body, knowing it doesn't belong there, attacks it. This again creates an inflammatory condition that can literally effect any organ in your body. This is why there is such a HUGE range of symptoms including Alzheimer's, auto immune diseases like Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoporosis, and even Autism! Often many times people who are really just allergic to gluten take tests that show they are allergic to many many foods. This is because when you have leaky gut, your body will attack anything you eat, making it hard for you to absorb nutrients, and leading to other ranges of problems.

In my case, my thyroid has been acting funny and since my blood work is pretty darn near perfect, no one really knows why. So for me, I hope that eliminating gluten will help me with my thyroid as well as prevent me from developing conditions in the future. Not to mention the fact that when you avoid gluten, you also happen to be avoiding a lot of carby foods that will make you fat.

The good news is that the human body is amazing and many people can heal themselves with diet alone. If you are kind to your body for long enough, cutting out the gluten grains can improve your life and be part of your long term health plan.

So I think that everyone should give it a try for at least a few weeks and see if they feel better. I know it can be hard if you are used to eating it all the time. But for a lot of people it is totally life changing.

Here is an example of an easy weeknight gluten free meal. It's basically just good easy wholesome food:

I'm not really even sure what I did with these chicken thighs. I caramelized some onions in coconut oil, chopped it up stir fry style,  and let it cook with Bragg Liquid Aminos (gluten free soy sauce), Worcestershire sauce, and then let some shiitake mushrooms and greens from my garden wilt in.

 

I also roasted some sweet potato and put it all on a big bed of greens. Easy, delicious, and perfectly grain free. 

Enjoy!

Oh How Time Flies!

Hello All!

I know I have not blogged in forever, but I am newly inspired to start again. Part of the reason I stopped was because I just didn't feel like I had the time....

We all feel like this sometimes

  I also just felt like there were so many other awesome food blogs out there that I really didn't need my voice to be heard. But I updated my blog list to what I am keeping up with now, and I feel like maybe there IS room and demand for my blog too (even if it is mostly from my mom)

Mom!

Since I last updated, I have definitely undergone some changes to my diet and lifestyle, all of which have been really positive. Since December 1st (when I had a consultation with Nutritional Weight and Wellness) I have been completely gluten free. I didn't have any hugely dramatic changes like you sometimes hear about, but I definitely have more energy and feel better. I have a slight abnormality in my thyroid, so I think that it is also helping me with that internally. If you want to read more about being gluten free and the many many reasons to cut it out of your diet, I highly reccomend the book Wheat Bellies by Dr. William Davis, which I will hopefully post more about later.

As of recently, I am also almost totally dairy free with a few exceptions, and that is also really benefiting my over all health (and I suspect weight loss). Although I haven't lost too much weight in lbs, I have been working out and look a lot less puffy than I used to, probably due to all of the anti- inflammatory foods I eat and the inflammatory foods like gluten and dairy I avoid. In general I try to stick to a primal way of eating (as you can see from my updated blog roll) and try to stick as closely as I can to what humans are really supposed to be eating

I basically feel like I do have a lot to share with my take on nutrition and what I eat, and I want to impact anyone who reads this with positive advice as well as my take on nutrition and health news. Although there are SO many great resources out there for nutrition advice and commentary, there is also such a sad epidemic of overweight and sick people. Even if you suffer from something as simple as low energy or occasional stomach aches, there are nutritional changes you can make to help. There is obviously a greater need for more soundpieces to be putting out the right message. So hopefullly I can get my act together to share everything I read and do with you!

So more to come!