Nell Stephenson's Blog, page 3

Things We Think Are Normal That Are Not… And That Can Be Fixed Through Food

When you see a young adult with braces, a teen with acne, or a women dealing with debilitating cramps every month, do you even blink an eye?

Or do you just shrug it off as a normal part of life?

If so, perhaps a perspective shift is in order, and for the better.

While there are certainly components of what ails us that may be genetic, the contribution of what we eat is far too tremendous to overlook… especially if you’re suffering.

In modern day tribal societies, many of the sub-clinical illnesses we see regularly do not even exist, nor do the common corrective treatments we do not even bat an eyelash at.

Dental Health
Dental health is directly related to how much we brush and floss, right?

But what if there is more to it than that? The traditional groups that Dr. Weston A. Price (1) visited many years ago did not have wonderful dental hygiene, yet their teeth were perfectly straight and free of decay.

The difference was their diet; they only ate food. These populations were eating a diet devoid of processed foods and extremely rich in minerals and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K.

More than sixty years ago, Weston A. Price, a dentist based in Cleveland, was disturbed by what he found when he looked into the mouths of his adult patients: rampant decay, often accompanied by serious problems elsewhere in the body such as arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, intestinal complaints and chronic fatigue.

But it was his findings in younger patients that gave him most cause for concern: crowded, crooked teeth were becoming more and more common, along with what Price called “facial deformities”–overbites, narrowed faces, underdevelopment of the nose, lack of well-defined cheekbones and pinched nostrils.

Such children invariably suffered from one or more complaints that sound all too familiar to mothers of the 1990s: frequent infections, allergies, anemia, asthma, poor vision, lack of coordination, fatigue and behavioral problems (2).

Price’s book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (3) is a literal tomb of knowledge, a comparison of the health of those who consumed only local whole foods and those who had begun to include processed foods in their diet.

A must read for a deep dive into the vast impact the diet of the mother has, beginning even in preconception on setting up their baby for optimal health later in life.

Of course, brushing and flossing are important (unless, perhaps, you are following a true Inuit diet and literally eating nothing processed) but they’re only part of the picture.

Acne

Acne is the ‘most common skin condition in the US, affecting 50 million Americans annually (4). We chalk it up to hormonal changes, stress or a women’s cycle. All plausible causes… but are any the root cause?

In some less developed areas of our world, call them rural areas, untouched by the influence of the US, and subsequently, other ‘civilized’ nations, acne is not nearly as common, even rare: 5.37% of the population in some villages have acne (5).

In addition, a study published in 2011 in the journal, Human Immunology, the authors asserted, “There are even isolated populations where acne is nonexistent, including the inhabitants of the island of Okinawa before World War II, the Bantus in South Africa, the Eskimos, isolated South American Indians, and Pacific Islanders.” (6)

Our highly refined American diet does not help; high in sugar, it can lead to overproduction of insulin, which in turn may cause excessive growth of skin cells and proteins that contribute to clogging pores. Too much insulin also may result in oily skin: this is because high levels of insulin may increase male sex hormones. High levels of male sex hormones translates into increased sebum (skin oil) production, and clogged pores and greater amounts of sebum contribute to acne formation (7).

You can do an easy experiment yourself if you, or a family member is suffering from acne: cut out the refined foods in your diet for a month and see what happens. Replace all those nutrient-lacking calories with nutrient rich source of abundant organic, local leafy greens, ample natural fats, properly sourced proteins and plenty of clean water and watch your skin transform without harsh medication and chemicals!

Monthly Painful Menstrual Cramps

In the US, More than half of women who menstruate have some pain for 1 to 2 days each month. Usually, the pain is mild. But for some women, the pain is so severe that it keeps them from doing their normal activities for several days a month (8).

Primary menstrual pain refers to the ‘normal’ monthly discomfort many women have while secondary menstrual cramps are caused by an underlying problem deeper than the cramps themselves such as uterine tumors, endometriosis, or fibroid. Any symptom out of the ordinary can be best helped by a check in with your functional medicine doctor.

Eating inflammatory foods, such as those omni present in the Standard American Diet, such as processed ‘lunch meats, foods full of sugars and trans fats, an imbalance of fatty acids (as in too much of the inflammatory Omega 6s which body ultimately breaks them down into arachidonic acid also lowers the body’s pain threshold (9) by increasing the amount of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins that help the uterus contract.

Dietary changes may ease menstrual symptoms and help you stay healthy during your period. For example, eating iron-rich foods can help replenish iron stores when a person is losing blood. Other minerals such as magnesium and zinc may help ease symptoms (10).

Properly sourced protein is essential for your overall health, and it can help you stay full and sated during your period, curbing cravings (11). Focus on wild, local, in season fish with a rich Omega 3 content as well as grass-fed and finished game meats. Omega-3s can reduce the intensity of period pain (12). Subjects who took omega-3 supplements found that their menstrual pain decreased so much that they could reduce the amount of ibuprofen they took.

Three examples of many health concerns which we see all too often in our day to day; things that we assume are just part of life and perhaps things that we cannot do much about other than take a pill to address the symptoms.

No matter what ails you, looking at what you’re eating and where it came from is a crucial part of the healing process and one you can get started upon right away.

 

 

(1) https://www.westonaprice.org/podcast/...
(2) https://www.westonaprice.org/health-t...
(3)Price, Weston. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. The Price-Pottenger Nutrition, 1970.
(4) https://www.aad.org/media/stats-numbers
(5) https://www.acne.org/why-dont-hunter-...
(6)Szabó, K. & Kemény, L. Studying the genetic predisposing factors in the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris. Hum Immunol 72, 766 – 773 (2011). (7) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2...
(8) Cordain, L. et al. Acne Vulgaris. Arch Dermatol 138, 1584 – 1590 (2002). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...
(9) https://www.acog.org/womens-health/fa...
(10) https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/12/health...
(11) https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/arti...
(12) https://www.healthline.com/health/wom...

 

 

The post Things We Think Are Normal That Are Not… And That Can Be Fixed Through Food first appeared on Paleoista.

The 3 Best Plant Fats and The Dangerous Ones to Steer Clear Of

Don’t let the seemingly pleasant image of perfectly packaged oils fool you.

It’s quite simple: if we find it in nature, or as some might say, “If God made it”, it’s far more likely to be something we can eat, digest and assimilate properly, in a manner which benefits our body.

If not, not only are the nutrient density and bioavailability are significantly lessened, the chances of the man-made item you’re about to consume can be more likely to cause harm to the body.

When it comes to choosing the best fats, the top three that many people can healthfully eat each and every day, regardless of whether they’re opting to follow a Paleo, Vegan, Keto or Mediterranean (or any of the many interpretations thereof) are all found in nature:  olive oil, coconut oil and fresh avocado or avocado oil.

Collectively, these three provide a balance of polyunsaturated, saturated (yes, we do need some of this type) and monounsaturated fats.

Let’s start with the simplest, least (or zero) processed:  a fresh, local avocado.   If you’re in an area where these amazing fruits grow and they’re in season, this is the best of the best as all you need to do is pick it an eat it.

Coconut, olive and avocado oils are processed in the sense that something must be done to each in order to extract the oil, but all can be done without adding anything untoward or degrading the food so much that the residual nutrition become negligible.

Exactly the opposite of seed oils.

In 1911, Proctor and Gamble, originally a soap and candle company, introduced Crisco, originally made off cotton seed oil, as a substitute for lard and butter.    Although their initial intent was to completely harden oils for use as raw material for making soap, these processes ensured that the fat would remain solid at normal storage temperatures and could find use in the food industry. (1)

This process forms trans fats, considered the worst type of fat to eat. Unlike other dietary fats, trans fats — also called trans-fatty acids — raise “bad” cholesterol and also lowers “good” cholesterol. A diet laden with trans fats increases the risk of heart disease, the leading killer of adults (2)

And while Crisco is now not made with just cottonseed oil, the ingredient label containing soybean oil,  fully hydrogenated palm oil and TBHQ, which, according to the National Library of Medicine (3), cases of vision disturbances have been reported when humans consume TBHQ as well as studies that have found TBHQ to cause liver enlargement, neurotoxic effects, convulsions, and paralysis in laboratory animals (4).

Let’s consider some more examples of toxic seed (or ‘vegetable’ which in this case just means not animal derived) oils:

In a typical edible oil processing plant oil is extracted from the seed first using mechanical extraction (expeller press) followed by chemical extraction (hexane extraction). By using both methods less than 1% of the oil is left in the meal that is produced (5).

What’s hexane?

A chemical made from crude oil, chronic (long- term) exposure to hexane in air is associated with polyneuropathy in humans, with numbness in the extremities, muscular weakness, blurred vision, headache, and fatigue observed.  (6)

But that’s only one part of the process; the industrial seed oils, like soybeans, corn, rapeseed (the source of canola oil), cottonseed, and safflower seeds undergo other steps including bleaching and deodorizing.

So what’s the benefit of consuming seed oils?

Absolutely none from a health standpoint; in fact, consuming these toxic oils, especially soybean oil, is linked to many health concerns including obesity, diabetes,  autism, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression. Add now to this growing list ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, characterized by chronic inflammation of the large intestine (7).

There is but one benefit – that being for Big Ag, who benefits tremendously, as seed oils are a way to turn a profit from what would otherwise be waste. Cottonseed oil would have just been thrown out if Crisco had never been invented; turning it into “food” made that trash into a gold mine. Today, subsidies for corn and soybeans make the supply of these foods much greater than the demand, and oil is one way to turn this otherwise-unprofitable surplus into “food.”

Because they’re made from agricultural surplus, seed oils are very cheap for the consumer – just compare a bottle of canola oil to a bottle of olive oil (9) .

One more example of how incredibly crucial it is that we prioritize food not in packages as the mainstay of what we eat, and that we diligently go through labels with a fine tooth comb in order to ensure we’re avoiding these harmful, yet perfectly legal additives. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisco#https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/trans-fat/art-20046114https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/potential-tbhq-dangershttps://crisco.com/product/all-vegetable-shortening/https://extension.psu.edu/processing-edible-oilshttps://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/hexane.pdfhttps://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/widely-consumed-vegetable-oil-leads-unhealthy-guthttps://paleoleap.com/whats-wrong-industrial-oils/The post The 3 Best Plant Fats and The Dangerous Ones to Steer Clear Of  first appeared on Paleoista.

Chicken or Beef: Which is the “Healthier” Protein?

How many times have you heard it?

“Don’t eat too much red meat, it causes cancer”, or “Make sure not to have meat more than twice per week, in order to ensure you will not get too much saturated fat and risk heart disease” or whatever the recommendation may be.

Indeed, the assumption often tends to be that by default, a skinless, boneless chicken breast is the ‘healthier’ option versus beef.

Mainstream sources, such as WebMD, have recommendations such as “Chicken has well-documented health benefits, but different parts and preparation methods factor into how healthy your chicken-based meal turns out. Darker cuts like the thigh and drumstick contain higher caloric content than lighter cuts like the breast. Keeping the skin or frying chicken will also add saturated fat. If you’re switching out red meat for chicken, you’ll want to stick with chicken breast, as it’s the healthiest cut of the bird.” (1)

The World Cancer Research Fund (2) states: “If you eat red meat, limit consumption to no more than about three portions per week. Three portions is equivalent to about 350–500g (about 12–18oz) cooked weight.”

And the American Heart Association, on their site (3) advises: “n general, red meats (such as beef, pork and lamb) have more saturated fat than skinless chicken, fish and plant proteins. Saturated fats can raise your blood cholesterol and  increase your risk of heart disease. If you eat poultry, pork, beef or other meats, choose lean meat, skinless poultry, and unprocessed forms. Note: Eating a lot of meat is not a healthy way to lose weight, especially if you have or are at risk for heart disease.”

But not a one mentions the sourcing of the protein which, to say is an important factor is a gross understatement.

Placing all meat, and chicken for that matter, under one category without separating pasture-raised, grass-fed and finished, and of course, organic, which is important but not the end all, means a burger from McDonalds would be on the same list as a locally and properly sourced steak.

Kind of like listing ketchup in the same group as a garden fresh tomato.

It’s not just the impact that raising animals humanely has on their own lives, it’s the effect that a proper, natural diet to the animals has on the environment as well as the result ingesting their meat has on our bodies.

Let’s start with some MUST KNOW statistics:

Factory farming, for both cattle and chickens, as well as pigs is growing in number, according to the Environmental Working Group. (4) “A concentration of livestock in larger numbers produces more animal waste, which often pollutes our water and air. These environmental damages are also dangerous for public health, with toxins from animal manure sickening people and poisoning wildlife; the largest livestock operations are also bad for the climate. Cows release methane to the atmosphere through their burps, and cattle and hog manure releases methane and nitrous oxide, two greenhouse gases more powerful than carbon dioxide. “
An average broiler chicken diet is composed of 42.8% corn and 26.4% soybeans for protein, and about 14% bakery meal. Egg-laying hens get more corn in their diet, about 53%, and about 30% comes from soybeans and bakery meal (5).
Grass-fed labeling for beef on its own is not enough; sustainable meat is grass fed AND FINISHED. “Grass-fed’ is a term that can be applied to cattle raised for meat when they are raised in pastures for the first few months or first year of their lives, but 96% are soon moved to feedlots to live in crowded pens with hundreds, or thousands, of other cattle. They are fed diets of corn and soy, which are highly fermentable and carbohydrate-rich, and often medicated with antibiotics, growth hormones, and buffers. Beef cows are fed around 57% corn, and dairy cows around 39% corn, rather than forage as their main source of feed (6).
In the “what will they think of next” category, feedlot nutritionists have been experimenting with substituting kitchen pot scrubbers for hay. Feedlot cattle need some roughage in their diet in addition to the grain concentrate or they will become sick and gain weight more slowly. But why bring in all that bulky hay, reasoned investigators, when pot scrubbers might do the trick? To test this novel idea, the scientists fed a group of steers a high-grain diet and then inserted either zero, four, or eight plastic scrubbers into each animal’s rumen (stomach). The experiment appeared to work. “From day 113 to 152, steers provided with pot scrubbers had 16% greater average daily gain than those fed the 100% concentrate diet without pot scrubbers.” (7).

You get the idea. The chances of the chicken, beef and pork on your plate, unless you’ve purchased them directly from a local farmer you know, being treated deplorably, to say the least is extremely high.

So is the answer to become vegan? To each their own, of course, but simply shifting to foods labeled as vegan is far from the solution. It’s a choice I made and followed for a solid two years, much to my own detriment.

Until I learned how crucial it is to source properly. To boycott ALL meat does not solve the problem – that in itself does not allow the support of the farmers and ranchers who are doing things consciously, who are in great need of our support.

On a more positive note:
Chickens and cattle can be of great benefit to each other when raised together on pasture. Ideally, the cows graze the pasture first, followed by the chickens a few days later. The chickens eat the fly larvae that are just emerging from the fresh cattle manure, reducing or eliminating the need for chemical fly control. In addition, the chicken manure increases the protein content of the pasture. Glen Fukomoto from the Cooperative Extension Service on the Big Island of Hawaii found that four weeks after being grazed by chickens, the grasses were 37 percent higher in protein. (20 percent versus 14 percent.) The cows were treated to this extra helping of protein the next time they grazed the pasture. And since the chickens were raised drug-free, their manure was free of toxins. The cattle got no hidden surprises (8).

So what’s the answer to the original question?

To compare beef versus chicken simply by calories, fat, and cholesterol per serving in an attempt to qualify which is healthier is an incomplete analysis.

Many more factors must be considered, most importantly, where the animal came from, what it ate and how it was treated.

And then it needs to be individualized. Culture, religion, availability and diversity in terms of what foods cycle in and out of your family’s diet must be considered.
And don’t forget one very crucial input: what is your body asking for?

We often unlearn to listen to the very signals that, if we were to tune in, would guide us so perfectly to choosing the specific food that our body needs right at that time.

Source well, stay local and seasonal and keep it varied.’

Steer clear from mass-produced, highly refined and processed foods as well as ingredients you cannot pronounce.

All else can go by the wayside, to the benefit of our bodies, our animals and our planet, regardless of which, or if, you opt to align yourself with any particle diet approach.


(1) https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-ben...
(2) https://www.wcrf.org/diet-activity-an...
(3) https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-livi...
(4) https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/new...
(5) https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/...
(6) https://www.newrootsinstitute.org/art...
(7) (Loerch, S. C. (1991). “Efficacy of plastic pot scrubbers as a replacement for roughage in high- concentrate cattle diets.” J Anim Sci 69(6): 2321-8.)
(8) https://www.eatwild.com/animals.html

The post Chicken or Beef: Which is the “Healthier” Protein? first appeared on Paleoista.

Paleo, Keto or Carnivore: Eating FOOD is Far More Important Than Choosing a Label

When I think back to the early days of teaching my clients how to implement a Paleo Approach, I was, admittedly, quite dogmatic.

Maybe not as much compared to my two-year stint as a hard-core vegan ten years prior, but still, far from flexible to say the least.
When I think back to the early days of teaching my clients how to implement a Paleo Approach, I was, admittedly, quite dogmatic.

Maybe not as much compared to my two-year stint as a hard-core vegan ten years prior, but still, far from flexible to say the least.

And while I’ve continued to follow an authentic Paleo approach for nearly twenty years, I’ve learned that to not incorporate and at least consider other points of view when it comes to my work, something may be missed.

There was the client who felt strongly inclined to continue to follow a raw, vegan diet, even though she was suffering terribly from SIBO. Those who’ve experience SIBO are well aware that in order to properly treat it, a rather strict protocol is often the most successful, sometimes combined with an antibiotic such as erythromycin. To add another element of restriction – no animal protein, left this person with no protein sources unless she were to add legumes.

Or the woman who was referred to me by her functional medicine doctor for help with her eating regime; a long time pescatarian, she was been treated for off the chart levels of Mercury and advised to avoid fish for the foreseeable future. Unwilling to consider incorporating even small amounts of properly sourced proteins, she felt strongly that the only protein she would be willing to ingest would be protein powders.

The man, a cyclist, who initially reached out wanting to change his diet to address mysterious fatigue he was experiencing. He included in his intake paperwork some recent labs, all of which he had reviewed with his doctor, including his EBV number in the 800+ range ( Western Medicine (1) considers an optimal result to be between 0 – 18 U/mL; for functional medicine, the window is narrower), which his doctor advised was nothing to be concerned with. It turned out he was willing to make some changes to his diet, but unwilling to touch any of his ‘training’ nutrition which included sugar cereals marketed to children and gatorade and also unwilling to see a functional medicine doctor who would have been able to treat the EBV.

Point being: had I approached any of the three clients above with a dismissive ‘you’ve got to follow a strict paleo approach’., chances are, they’d have walked out the door.

This is not to say I no longer believe in Paleo, quite the opposite, I do! However, what I’ve learned along the way, in addition to the importance of meeting people where they are and in some cases, even starting with small steps, is that there’s one thing that supersedes following any specific diet label: knowing where your food is coming from and what exactly is in it.

You could chose Paleo, or Keto, or Pescatarian or even Vegan, but if the only standards being applied are the ‘rules’ of any of the many variations of any of the above (and more), the crucial thing that is not being considered is whether or not what is being consumed is actually food.

Food: material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy (2).

How much of what you eat is food?

Today, ultra-processed foods make up 73% of the US food supply, according to Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute (3).

Where has that gotten us?

Just a handful of some staggering statistics (including one for our furry friends, too):

More than 2 in 5 adults (42.4%) have obesity (4).
About 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 (16.1%) are overweight. Almost 1 in 5 children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 (19.3%) have obesity. About 1 in 16 children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 (6.1%) have severe obesity (4).
An estimated 9.8% (almost 6 million) of U.S. children ages 3 to 17 years old have ever been diagnosed with ADHD, compared to 8.7% (over 5 million of U.S. children with a current ADHD diagnoses (5).
According to an article in the journal Pediatrics, about half a million children and adolescents in the United States each year receive prescriptions for SSRIs (6).
In North America, obesity is the most common preventable disease in dogs. The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention reports that more than 50% of dogs are overweight (7)

If you’re scratching your head wondering what on earth is going on here and how can we even begin to address such grandiose issues… good! Having a clear and honest understanding of just how dire the situation truly is, is the crucial first step.

There are several ways to begin – and while looking at the big picture can surely seem insurmountable, here’s the good news: not everyone has to address it in this manner.

Some will ,and some can make just as much of an impact by doing their individual parts, however small they may seem.

EDUCATION – non-negotiable. Find your reliable resources to stay in the know and as you learn, share with your family, your friends and your community. Podcasts are a great resource; of course, there are millions these days but choose a few and stick to them. My own personal favorites include:

The Doctor’s Farmacy : https://drhyman.com/blog/category/pod...
Art of Being Well : https://drwillcole.com/podcast
The Resetter Podcast https://drmindypelz.com/resetter-podc...

BACK TO BASICS
It may seem like a stretch, and often this suggestions is quickly countered with ‘I don’t have time’ – but consider doing some of your own food growing and cooking. Take the time to go to the farmer’s market each week, or investigate joining a CSA. Most importantly, think about how odd it is that for many, procuring food and preparing it for ourselves and family has somehow ended up on the list with cleaning the toilet and mopping, the latter of which could certainly be delegated out to someone else to do (- no housekeeper? Give the kids a job! I did it! I won;’t say it was fun but our bathrooms and floors were sparkling clean!). But grouping everything surrounding the entire dining experience as an inconvenience is simply something that needs to be flipped upside down, no matter how busy we might be. We all need to eat. Busy parents who take the time and show kids that this is the priority, not an afterthought, are making further reaching change than can be measured.

COMMON SENSE

When it comes to choosing any particular diet, don’t forget to put on your thinking hat, as my mom used to say. What are the promises of the approach and does it make common sense? And can you do it for a long time, or is it severe, restrictive, fear-based and unsustainable? Does it include overlooking nutrition and going for supplements instead? Or worse, prescription medication? Ozempic drug prescriptions hit 9 million, a surge of 300% in under three years. U.S. health care providers wrote more than nine million prescriptions for Ozempic (8), despite high risk side and sometimes irreversible side effects, including gastroparesis and bowel obstruction (9).

A few months ago, Will Cole said on an interview with Mindy Pelz:

“The problem is when people when you have this toxic tribalism which I don’t know what the heck, we’re having toxic tribalism and wellness, like we’re talking about health and wellness and food, like leave it to the politicians, I think the strange politic political stuff, we shouldn’t be like coming together and saying like, okay, that works for you. That doesn’t work. For me. That’s the bio individuality. That’s the heart of functional medicine. Let’s be okay with differences. Yeah, and be okay, with a lot more in common than we have a difference. Because we all agree that factory farming isn’t good. We all agree that processed refined stuff isn’t good. So let’s just focus on that. And then the details of the types of macros we focus on, or the types of foods that we eat. It should not create such a toxic tribalism.” (10)

Such a great point.

Those who make the effort to choose ANY diet are at the very least trying.

Let’s rise above putting forth negativity in the diet space and instead, join together to educate, empower and HEAL!

(1) https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/w...
(2) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...
(3) https://www.theguardian.com/environme...
(4) https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-info...
(5) https://www.addrc.org/2023-adhd-stati...
(6) https://www.webmd.com/depression/feat...
(7) https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pe...
(8) https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/27/ozemp...
(9) https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/health...
(10) https://drmindypelz.com/the-art-of-in...

The post Paleo, Keto or Carnivore: Eating FOOD is Far More Important Than Choosing a Label first appeared on Paleoista.

What’s Hiding In Natural Flavors?

Natural Flavors. What comes to mind when you read this term? Perhaps a freshly squeezed lemon added to your mineral water, or a sprig of mint served as a garnish on your afternoon tea?

While those two examples are indeed flavors we can find in nature, oftentimes when we see this term on the ingredient label of a packaged ‘food’ (if we can even call it that), it’s anything but.

For example, guess what one of the most common natural flavors is?

MSG, an excitotoxin, a type of harmful chemical which tricks our brain into overeating while creating addiction, and linked with obesity, metabolic disorders, Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, neurotoxic effects and detrimental effects on the reproductive organs (1)

Another one you’ve probably seen is HVP, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein.

What is it?

A flavor enhancer made from plant-based protein sources, such as soy, corn, and wheat. It’s widely used in many food items, such as soups, seasonings, snack foods, instant and frozen food products, and many other processed foods.

The adverse effects of hydrolyzed protein include anxiety, asthma, attention deficit syndrome, bloating, burning sensations, carpel tunnel syndrome, chest pains, depression, diarrhea, confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, infertility, insomnia, and heart diseases (2).

Ready for a few more surprising ones?

Shellac – used on Skittles and other candies to make them shiny, comes from the sticky secretion of the Kerria lacca beetle in East Asia.
L-Cysteine, an amino acid and flavor enhancer in pizza and crackers, is extracted from human hair or duck feathers.
Castoreum, aka “natural raspberry flavor” comes from the anal glands of beavers, secreted to mark their territory.
Carrageenan is a starch extracted from various types of algae such as Eucheuma, Kappaphycus, or Irish Moss. However raw, unprocessed Irish Moss is very different, and is also called carrageenen (3)

Also on the natural flavors list?

The omnipresent corn syrup.

“The FDA has concluded that “natural” flavors include those products derived from processes such as those used in corn refining. Corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and crystalline fructose are made from corn, a natural grain product, and are therefore consistent with the definition of natural.” (4)

You get the idea… anything goes.

Per the FDA, Natural Flavors are means: “ the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional. Natural flavors, include the natural essence or extractives obtained from plants listed in subpart A of part 582 of this chapter, and the substances listed in § 172.510 of this chapter (5).

Note the section which states that the function is flavoring rather than nutritional.

In fact, not only is the function not nutritional, any given natural flavor may have just the opposite effect.

Why?

The use of natural flavorings is Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the FDA and does not require premarket approval, but manufacturers must ensure that the flavoring is safe for consumption and properly labeled.

In other words, it is up to the companies which use the over 2,500 natural flavors in the US to ensure that their ingredients are safe.

And while food processors must list all of the ingredients on a food label, flavor manufacturers do not have to disclose their ingredients. They can add synthetic solvents, preservatives, emulsifiers, carriers and other additives to a flavor that qualifies as natural under current regulations (6).

“Natural flavors” are a far cry from what consumers might expect, as they can contain both artificial and synthetic chemicals (often used as processing aids). Nonetheless, without a legally binding Natural regulation, there has been little opportunity to contest the naturalness of natural flavors in the past (7).

The FDA states on their site (8), “ Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, a food additive must be authorized by the FDA before it can be used in food on the market”.

However, if an additive happens to fall into the category mentioned above, “GRAS”, it is NOT included in the definition of a food additive and therefore does not require pre-market review by the FDA.

In some cases, additives may be completely legally added to natural flavors until proven harmful; case in point: Brominated Vegetable Oil. 

Just last month, California was the first state to ban 4 food additives for cancer, other health risks Brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and red dye 3, which can be found in candy, cookies and more, will be banned starting in 2027 due to links to cancer other health effects.

Are you feeling confused yet?

It is indeed a bewildering conversation, yet with a somewhat less puzzling solution: the easiest way to eliminate these sneaky and harmful chemicals from entering our bodies is to just stop eating them.

Yes, it may feel inconvenient to cease buying ready to go everything, but since when did food in all of its phases fall into the category of something we need to get done quickly?

Food, REAL food, as a foundational staple not only for the health of an individual, but also for that of the local community and planet is where it’s at.

The more we can actually purchase real food and prepare it, the more we can ensure we’re not getting a lot in our diet that we never intended to.

(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
(2) https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/...
(3) https://janeshealthykitchen.com/bewar...
(4) https://corn.org/wp-content/uploads/2...
(5)https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/script...
(6)https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/01/we...
(7)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29140...
(8)https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additiv...
(9)https://www.npr.org/2023/10/10/120483...

The post What’s Hiding In Natural Flavors? first appeared on Paleoista.

Seaweed and Sulfur

Yes, you read it correctly!

Both are parts of a healthy, Paleo Diet.   One is a food, obviously, and one is a mineral, but the alliteration got the better of me.

Yet another example of why we need to balance our all our lovely fruits and veggies is to make sure we don’t let ourselves overdo foods that could potentially impair thyroid function, especially if you are already dealing with any sort of auto immune condition.

Some raw foods, such as too large portion sizes of sea vegetables and cruciferous vegetables, can overstimulate or slow down your thyroid.

The raw vegetables and fruits that can affect your thyroid include:

Brussels sproutscabbage of all kindscauliflowerkalekohlrabipeachespearsrapinispinachstrawberriesradishesrutabagasturnips

Does that mean you should nix all the lovely produce? Not in a million!  By adding a good source of iodine, like seaweed, you can create a better balance; in addition, consider that the following foods can also help stimulate the thyroid:

caffeine (coffee, tea, cola, and chocolate)avocadococonutsaturated fat

Of course, this is a general post and not meant to come across as a medical directive suggesting that all anyone who is dealing with thyroid issues needs to do is balance their veggies. Yes, that’s part of it, but certainly be sure and check with your doctor (functional med doc, hopefully) for a collaborative approach.

The one message that does apply to all, however, is eat a lot of colorful veggies, keep them varied and keep ’em comin’ at all meals during the day.

 

 

The post Seaweed and Sulfur first appeared on Paleoista.

Glyphosate: A Hidden Toxin in Our Food… And It’s Totally Legal

When I first began grocery shopping, I thought I was doing the right thing by simply buying “Organic.”

Initially, I paid no attention to where any of it was coming from, be it near or far, nor whether or not it was in season.

A function of how spoiled we are in our country, with access* to literally any fruit, vegetable, meat or fish, any time of year, regardless of any of those would naturally have grown or lived in the same, local areas that we do.

As I became more educated, I began to look deeper than the Organic Certification into where the produce was coming from, just as I learned about the importance of making sure my beef was grass fed (and finished), fish was wild and local and so on.

Then, as I became a vendor in the local farmer’s markets and immersed myself in learning about and supporting what was being sold, I took it one more step by purchasing nearly everything at the farmer’s markets, save the occasional trip to the ‘regular’ store because I needed toilet roll or toothpaste.

But then it became even more complex; some vendors had signs indicating they were “Organic”, while others did not.

Knowing that simply having an organic certification is far from enough, I began to wonder what else might be in the food I was buying for myself and my family, since the labeling (and the legislature) seemed intentionally so confusing.

And then I began to learn about Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, most widely used herbicide in agriculture.

Monsanto developed and patented the use of glyphosate to kill weeds in the early 1970s and first brought it to market in 1974, under the Roundup brandname (1)

I’d never thought much about Roundup, other than having heard mention of it as a chemical weed killer.

I pictured small, gallon-sized containers of this product I’d seen at the large ‘home and garden” shops and homeowners popping into buy some in order to treat annoying weeds that might pop up in their small, backyard gardens.

I knew that it sounded toxic; our home gardening teacher had taught us that much, but I reasoned that if I was buying and eating only what I then considered to be well-sourced produce, it wasn’t of concern to my health, or my family’s.

To say I was ignorant is a gross understatement.

While one might argue that eating a diet completely devoid of processed and refined foods puts me in a different demographic that someone following a typical ‘SAD’ (Standard American Diet), in which an average of 70% of the diet consists of “food” products, classified as ultra-processed (2), to make the assumption that glyphosate wouldn’t be affecting me would be far from accurate.

Why?

Because of the impact it has on the very soil our food is grown in as well as the food itself.

Over the last decade, about 6.1 billion kilograms of the herbicide glyphosate have been sprayed on the world’s farms, gardens and public spaces. Although previously thought harmless, in 2015 it was classified as ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ by cancer experts at the World Health Organization (3).

Glyphosate alters the soil texture and microbial diversity by reducing the microbial richness and increasing the population of phytopathogenic fungi (4).

“In the 1990s, Monsanto launched their genetically modified Roundup Ready® soybeans and carried out a very active and aggressive campaign to get more farmers to use these seeds. The purpose of these seeds is to allow everything else around them to be sprayed with pesticides without killing the cash crop. Roundup® could then be used liberally on fields without the GMO crops dying. Over time, the emergence of glyphosate-resistant weeds has become widespread, and this has led to farmers using greater volumes of Roundup® to try to maintain crop yields.” (5).

So… the GMO crops can thrive, while everything else (including the soil ) is degraded and killed.

And to top it all off, we’re ingesting this chemical, and it’s far from being without consequence: Glyphosate is linked to cancer as the chemical is an endocrine disruptor in humans, it causes hemolysis and hemoglobin oxidation in human blood cells and even at low levels, glyphosate may increase the risk of oxidative damage to DNA, raising the likelihood of cellular mutations (6).

So how can we avoid this toxin?

Best scenario? Learn to grow our own foods. While it may seem like an impossible stretch, it wasn’t that long ago that each family growing their own food was the norm. And with an estimated 35% of U.S. households, or 42 million households total, grew vegetables, fruits, and other foods in 2021, an increase of 6 million from five years prior (7), it’s something that clearly is not that far fetched.

Next best? Shop locally, as in, at your local farmer’s markets or with your local CSA, and ASK the questions. What questions? First up is the most obvious: ask if glyphosate is used. If your question is greeted with a blank stare, that may be your answer right there. In my own personal experience, having these questions directly with the grower has proven incredibly effective.

If neither are options you can integrate right now, at the very least, there are some foods you can choose to avoid which are most likely to have high levels of glyphosate.

Look for products that feature the Detox Project’s “Glyphosate Residue Free” label. This label offers extra assurance that a product does not contain glyphosate (8).

The EWG offers a free guide on their site on what foods are the worst offenders (9). Some of the well-known brands listed on their site include Mueller’s, Barilla, Kellogg’s and General Mills.

Glyphosate was also found in 39 out of 44 restaurant food samples tested at chains like Panera Bread, Dunkin’ Donuts, Papa John’s, McDonalds, Olive Garden, and more. The highest glyphosate levels were found in conventional “Whole Grain” or “Multigrain” foods, usually considered to be a healthy choice by consumers (10).

You get the picture, and may not be surprised at some of the highly processed and oh-so-readily available ‘foods’ (if we still want to call them that) are some of the worst culprits.

Keep in mind, though, that even seemingly healthy foods like some fruits and vegetables, as well as oat-based cereals and product, further underlining the importance of knowing where your food comes from and making the most informed decision you can.

Dr. Mark Hyman, Medical Director at Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Functional Medicine and bestselling author said, “The unregulated use of GMO seeds and the herbicide glyphosate is a significant uncontrolled experiment on the human population. Glyphosate is being used in increasing quantities and shows up in our food and water. It has been linked to cancer, disturbances in the microbiome and the depletion of our bodies’ ability to detoxify.” (11)

While it may seem dire, the ray of light is that if we start to re-take control of our food supply, we can slowly begin to create health at the most fundamental level, though the very food we grow and then eat.

There are exciting ways to get involved, in your community, such as programs like The Market Gardener Institute, which offers an online course that you can do at your own pace. (12)

Do we have a long way to go? Yes, absolutely, and there are millions who are far from being in a place of being able to start growing their own food tomorrow, whether due to economic or other practical issues.

However, whatever small step we can each take NOW will be a enough to start the momentum.

access in general, not access to all superseding socioeconomic barriers; for the purpose of this blog, just a statement that in the US, we have food coming in from everywhere

(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyphosate
(2) https://www.npr.org/sections/health-s...
(3) https://www.soilassociation.org/media...
(4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
(5) https://www.mygenefood.com/blog/why-g...
(6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...
(7) https://www.rubyhome.com/blog/gardeni...
(8)https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/new...
(9) https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/glyp...
(10)https://detoxproject.org/certificatio...
(11)https://www.biospace.com/article/rele...
(12)https://themarketgardener.com/

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Grass Fed… AND FINISHED!!

When we go food shopping, there are lots of things to keep in mind, well above what is on your grocery list.

Perhaps we look for the word ‘organic’, the label ‘gluten-free’, the food we feel might be the healthiest, not to mention what the cost is.

Granted, in today’s world where time feels limited and perhaps budget does, too, it can begin to feel overwhelming when we add in confusion of the whole labeling conversation.

Let’s take a look at just one of many of these hot topics:   

Grass fed.. and finished meat.

Many have at least heard of grass-fed and may have an idea of what it means, but when it comes to the ‘and finished’ part, often times the jaw drops and the face goes blank.

Firstly, this is no fault of the consumer; keep in mind that food labeling is misleading, and intentionally so.

Seeing the words ‘organic’ and ‘grass fed’ on a package of ground beef at your local grocery store with a cartoon of a cow on the label can present as though it’s a great option, for you, the animals, the planet and your wallet.

And maybe it is… but maybe it isn’t.

Here’s what you need to know in order to make the most informed choice:

Per the USDA, grass fed means: “The diet shall be derived solely from forage consisting of grass (annual and perennial), forbs (e.g., legumes, Brassica), browse, or cereal grain crops in the vegetative (pre-grain) state. Animals cannot be fed grain or grain byproducts and must have continuous access to pasture during the growing season.” (1)Meat that is labeled organic but not grass fed can lead to confusion too; The main difference in the organic label vs. the grass fed label on beef is that organic is specifically referring to the ways that the cattle cannot be raised. Organic means that the cattle may not be raised in feedlots for extended periods of time, and cannot be over-crowded or kept in dirty or unsanitary conditions (2).  (Notice the ‘ for extended periods of time’ portion).If you’re not finding grass fed and finished beef, there’s an easy reason why:  only 4% of beef produced in the USA is Grass-Fed, and raised on pasture. Intensive feedlot operations or CAFOss are the preferred methods of producing beef in the US. Australia has more Certified Organic land than any country in the world, and is the largest farm producer of Organic Beef in the world (3).Grass-fed beef, which is the product of cows who spent their whole lives grazing on grass, can cost as much as $4 more per pound. That’s because it takes longer for grass-fed cattle to reach their processing weight on all all-grass diet (4).    Another illustration of cash being the bottom dollar for many outfits, superseding living conditions for the cows and subsequent negative impact on the environment as well as the people who consume the meat.Grass-finished beef comes from cattle that ate nothing but grass and forage for their entire lives. Grass-fed, on the other hand, may be used to label meat from cattle that were started on a grass diet but have either received supplemental grain feed or are finished on a fully grain-based diet.   In fact, many “grass-fed” cows spend the last few months of their lives eating grain in feedlots to help them quickly gain weight (5).Grass-finished beef has higher overall nutritional value. Why? Part of it has to do with the nutrients grass-finished beef has more of. Grass finished beef can have up to five times the amount of Omega 3 fatty acids that grain-finished beef has, and double the amount of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) (6).Gras finished beef can boost the nutrient content and flavor of livestock and plants. And because grasses trap atmospheric carbon dioxide, the grass-fed system can also help fight climate change. But it does require more land to produce the same amount of meat (7).   Which is exactly why we need not only to source properly but eat smaller portions!  Bring on the veggies and the natural fat!

Ask the questions.   If the grocery manager stares at you blankly when you ask if something is grass finished, go one step further and research the brand you’re considering purchasing.

A company who is doing this the right way will be proud of this (as they should be) and will be fully transparent.

Better yet head to your local farmer’s market and speak with the ranchers themselves.

Can’t find what you’re looking for locally?   One great resource is Eat Wild (8).

Eatwild.com is now the #1 clearinghouse for information about pasture-based farming and features a state-by-state (plus Canada) directory of local farmers who meet Eatwild’s criteria and sell their products directly to consumers. Many can also ship or deliver their products to you.

Shopping locally, educating ourselves, buying small amounts of properly sourced proteins along with in season produce and keeping it as simple as we can are all crucial steps not only in creating the healthiest options for ourselves and our families, they are essential in making change on a greater scale.

The most impactful way to use our voices is to simply not support inhumane farming.  

Each choice we make may seem small on its own, but imagine the possibilities as we all come together in unity for a healthier planet, healthier, humanely treated animals, healthier humans, less of an economic weight due to pretend food -induced illness… the list goes on and on.

Let’s do this!!

https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Grass%20Fed%20FAQ.pdfhttps://certifiedhumane.org/meat-labels-like-organic-grass-fed-actually-mean-whether-care/https://www.southernliving.com/food/meat/difference-between-grass-fed-and-grain-fed-beefhttps://extension.sdstate.edu/grass-fed-beef-market-share-grass-fed-beefhttps://www.verdefarms.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-grass-fed-and-grass-finished-beef/https://rafterwranch.net/grass-finished-beef-vs-grain-finished-beef-whats-difference/https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/08/13/746576239/is-grass-fed-beef-really-better-for-the-planet-heres-the-sciencehttps://www.eatwild.com/The post Grass Fed… AND FINISHED!! first appeared on Paleoista.

Seasonally Significant

It’s springtime!   That means even for parts of the country that tend to be more limited in variety during colder months,  we are heading into an abundance of choices when it comes to fresh veggies and fruit.

And while we are spoiled; we have access to pretty much any food we can dream of, from anywhere in the world, keeping it local is a better choice for many, many reasons.

Seasonal fruits and vegetables are fresher and tastier than out-of-season produce. In addition, they’re healthier, more affordable, and better for the planet. Produce bought out-of-season is picked before it has had the chance to ripen fully due to the demands of long shipping times.

Consider picking an apple from your backyard tree versus buying a buying a plastic bag full of apples at Walmart that have been flown in from afar; roughly 75% of the apples and cherries Walmart sells across the country comes from Washington (1).    Interesting to note, Walmart also exports quite a bit of produce; about $45 million of apples, pears and cherries from Washington State to their retail markets in Mexico, Canada, India, China and the U.K. (2).

From a nutritional perspective, there is a significant change in nutritional value as a fruit or vegetable ripens.  For example, a 2004 study of blackberries in The Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry found that the level of anthocyanin pigments, which may have antioxidant benefits, increased more than fourfold as Marion blackberries went from underripe to overripe (to 317 milligrams per 100 grams, from 74.7 milligrams) (3).   In addition, antioxidant activities also increased with ripening and another nutrient class, phenolics, actually decreased slightly.

And on the environmental angle, let’s take a peek at tropical fruit; For each ton of fruit, the results in 43.92 kilograms of CO2 (or 44 grams per kg of fruit). But by far the largest emissions component is the contribution from keeping the fruit at 8°C in the refrigerated containers (4).

Now, what about cost?  Dollar cost, that is?  This is perhaps the trickiest of all, as buying mass produced fruit may actually appear to be cheaper.   Setting aside the concept of ‘ you get what you pay for’, here’s a look into why this is the case.

Large scale farms that manufacture crops like corn and soy receive government subsidies to mass produce animal feed which leads to overproduction of these crops. This creates a surplus of corn and soy, which industrial food manufacturers use to produce cheap ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil—for highly processed foods (5).   In addition, consumer tax dollars help keep corn and soy prices low which allows corporations to create highly processed foods on the cheap, leading to rising food-related public health crises, such as rising obesity rates. 

Net takeaway; remember that purchasing cheaper, mass-produced commodity food comes at a cost to your wallet, the local economy, and our planet. If we increase demand of local food, supply will rise, prices will come down, our economy will thrive, and all Vermonters can enjoy what they deserve: access to affordable, healthy, local food.

Just as it’s crucial to pay attention to where we are sourcing our meat, our fish, our poultry and our game, it’s equally as important to be mindful of where our produce is coming from.

And our chocolate, our tea, our coffee… basically everything!   Knowledge is power and it behooves us all to dig in and learn where every single thing we are supporting ( as in by purchasing) is coming from and what else we are supporting when we make that purchase.

It’s so much bigger than just choosing an apple as a healthier snack than a bag of candy.

https://seattlebusinessmag.com/retail/feeding-walmart/https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/business/20140416/did-you-know-walmart-exports-washington-apples-around-the-worldhttps://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/science/08qna.htmlhttps://www.treehugger.com/ask-pablo-whats-the-impact-of-imported-tropical-fruit-4856815https://learn.uvm.edu/foodsystemsblog/2017/01/24/true-cost-of-local-food/The post Seasonally Significant first appeared on Paleoista.

Refined Sugar-Based Fueling + Inflammation in Athletes

As a long time endurance athlete, I’ve eaten (and drank) my share of maltodextrin.

Maltodextrin Is a type of carbohydrate that comes in the form of a white powder from rice, corn, wheat, or potato starch. Its makers first cook it, then add acids or enzymes to break it down some more. The final product is a water-soluble white powder with a neutral taste. The powder is used as an additive in the foods above to replace sugar and improve their texture, shelf life, and taste. Its glycemic index is higher than table sugar (1) and is one of the most popular sweeteners used in sports nutrition products.

For many athletes, myself included for a long time, a carb-based fueling model is implemented.

All one has to do is a quick search for any search parameters pertaining to fueling for sport and they’ll have a plethora of products, and peer reviewed studies at their fingertips, all pointing not only to the accolades of using carbs as their preferred fuel choice, but the purported risks of not doing so.

If we pause for a moment and glimpse at another population, one who chooses a sedentary lifestyle, there’s no question that a high carbohydrate diet would be an unwise choice, especially given that most Americans are not eating a high ‘good’ carb diet (such as vegetables, for example), but a highly refined carbohydrate diet.

An alarming statistic from the USDA tells us that American eats (or drinks) 34 teaspoons of sugars a day, which is equal to 500+ calories. This averages more than 100 pounds of sugars per person each year (2).

To that end, no one is likely to be surprised at the notion that that same average American would be best not leaning into a high carb approach.

Which begs the question: if someone is not sedentary, and in some cases quite the opposite, such as an endurance athlete, and their calories are coming from maltodextrin and other sugars such as glucose, maltose, fructose as well as the popular sugar alcohols like erythritol, does the simple act of being an athlete somehow preclude them from developing the health conditions associated with a high refined carbohydrate diet?

Is anyone studying this?

How did we get started on this high carb path in the first place?

The first high-carb protocol was developed in the 1960s when Swedish scientist, Gunvar Ahlborg, used new muscle-biopsy techniques to observe carb storage in the body. He found that athletes who consumed excess carbs stored the surplus of resulting glycogen (the stored form of glucose) in their muscles and liver. He hypothesized that these glycogen stores created a bountiful source of fuel that would improve athletic performance. Since then, athletes have been trying to stuff their muscles with as much glycogen as possible before a performance (3).

When we look at the recommendations for the “average” American population (not athletes), we often turn to the guidelines provided by governing bodies we view as ‘experts’.

Who is funding these organizations? And who’s partnering with them?

The School nutrition association (SNA) strongly encourages partnerships with food and beverage companies (4).

Companies on the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) list of approved continuing education providers include Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Nestlé, and PepsiCo (5).

Similarly, if we look into governing bodies in sport, we see that the American College of Sports Medicine, the very “gold standard” of personal training certification, that I earned, back in the day, is a partner of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (6).

Looking solely at these examples as a business model, it makes perfect sense. A company sponsors another company to conduct research demonstrating why their product is something someone must have.

Let’s imagine for a moment, the idea that humans are actually best suited to go back to their primal roots and lean into the natural physiology to use fat as their primary fuel.

Not dietary fat, but body fat, which is something a human body can be trained to access, whether they start from a healthy percentage of it or not.

From a cognitive perspective, four million years ago, our hominin ancestors’ appetite for fat could be what delivered the energy needed to develop big brains and evolve into modern humans, anthropologists suggest (7).

More and more research is now showing that rchronic consumption of refined carbohydrates has been linked to relative neurocognitive deficits across the lifespan (8).

Because humans evolved in a world where food was available only intermittently, survival required that we have the capacity to store ingested energy for times when none was around (9). Translation: incorporating an intelligently curated IF regime as part of a human diet supports what our bodies inherently know what to do.

A high carbohydrate diet, on the other hand, increase serum triglyceride and insulin resistance, having the greatest adverse effect in insulin-resistant states, such as type 2 diabetes or pregnancy (10) and contribute significantly to the growing obesity rate we are seeing.

High sugar diets have been linked to high blood pressure, which, in turn, increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Chronic inflammation in the body can be caused by sugar, which leads to excess stress on the heart and blood vessels, which, in turn, increases the risk of premature death and stroke (11).

Yet studies looking at whether or not these risks associated with high sugar diets, even if it is solely during the ‘training window’ that many athletes may opt to approach their regime, in which higher quantities of carbs are eaten only before, during and after training, seem to be few and far between.

The work of Drs Finney and Volek, who’ve done extensive research on sugars and starches and their effect on overall health as well as on athletic performance is one example of an area which, in my opinion needs far more attention.

This article is not intended to do anything other than encourage the proverbial thinking outside of the box.

An athlete who eats an abundance of local, in season produce, mindfully sourced proteins and ample natural fats most of the time yet fuels his running with carbohydrate gels may actually be quite healthy… or he may not be.

I look back at my own training, which for years, was one I’d created with the premise of being completely paleo all the time… but utilizing sports gels during ironman and marathoning.

They did the trick in the sense that I did not experience GI distress and was able to compete at a very high level, but all the while, I just didn’t like the principle of the fueling for myself as it felt like the complete antithesis of what I was (and am) all about.

This was my impetus to dive into learning about fat as my fuel source, back in 2015 and it has served me quite well.

We are all different indeed and what I intend you to take away as a reader is well written in this quote taken from Drs. Phinney and Volek’s site:

“To inspire you to think more carefully about sugars and starches in your diet, and empower you with essential knowledge to help you achieve long-lasting health and well-being.”

Know that your body will know what to do if you do choose to let it remember what its ancient wisdom already knows.

Do the research, add a sprinkle of common sense and as always, tune into what your body is telling you about how you’re feeling and how deeply that is connected to what you are eating, and where it came from.

(1) https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-is-ma...
(2) https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/...
(3) https://www.levelshealth.com/blog/new...
(4) https://schoolnutrition.org/about-us/...
(5) https://www.eatdrinkpolitics.com/wp-c...
(6) https://www.acsm.org/about/corporate-...
(7) https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/bi...
(8) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29851...
(9) https://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
(10) https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/...
(11) https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heart-...
(12) https://www.artandscienceoflowcarb.com/

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