Mark Sisson's Blog, page 129

Dear Mark: Saunas and Finnish Longevity, Saunas and Sperm, What About Ambient Temperature?

For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering three questions from readers. There was some good feedback after last week’s sauna post, and I want to address a few of the comments. First, does the fact that Finns don’t live as long as some of the other more storied “blue zone” populations despite using saunas negate the utility of the sauna? Second, what should we make of the recent study showing negative effects of sauna on sperm health? And third, isn’t it more “natural” and Primal to seek out smaller ambient temperature fluctuations, rather than brief exposures to extreme temperatures?

Let’s go:

Lots of Finnish references but the Fins are not one of the Blue Zone populations. Of the 5 BZ populations, the Okinawans may use a sauna/hot springs – not sure about the the other 4 though.

Finnish men do have the lowest life expectancy among Nordic countries. It’s still pretty good globally—84 years for women, 79 for men—but for being in one of the more developed areas of the world, it’s not great. Yet they use saunas, a supposedly life-extending practice. What gives?

The biggest killers of Finnish men are diabetes, heart disease, and alcohol. Some combination of diet, genes, environment, and lifestyle are contributing to those deaths—that’s what the Finns are up against. Most of the Blue Zones don’t have these issues:

They tend to be in milder climates with better access to sunshine.

They have lower levels of social isolation than Nordic countries like Finland.

They have more “longevity genes” than other areas. The Blue Zone Sardinians, for example, are the subjects of a major ongoing study into the genetics of longevity.

To say nothing of the diet differences.

Sauna usage may very well be keeping life expectancy higher than it should be, given the other risk factors. Research indicates that using a sauna 4-7 times per week confers a 40% reduction in all-cause mortality and even greater reductions in heart related deaths among middle aged Finnish men, which is the cohort most at risk of dying. These numbers, coupled with the numerous protective mechanisms outlined in the last sauna post, lead me to believe that saunas are helping, not hurting Finnish mortality.

Stefan pointed out:

One conundrum is that daily sauna use will sabotage your ballsack precisely because of the heat. Check this old nut-of-a-study:

https://academic.oup.com/humrep/artic...

Sadly, yes. This is a real issue.

What happened in this study?

10 men were recruited to participate. They were in their 30s, generally healthy, and, at baseline, had normal sperm parameters. For 3 months, they each used the sauna at 80-90?C twice a week for 15 minutes per session. Sperm parameters were tested at the start of the sauna use, after 3 months of sauna, and at 3- and 6-months post sauna. They included:

Sex hormones (testosterone, estradiol, FSH, LH, sex hormone binding globulin)

Sperm count (absolute number of sperm)

Sperm motility (ability of sperm to move independently and perform necessary functions)

Sperm histone/protamine ratios (indicative of sperm quality; smokers’ sperm more likely to have dysfunctional ratio, for example)

Sperm mitochondrial function

After three months of sauna, almost every parameter was negatively affected. Sex hormones remained the same, but sperm count and motility were greatly reduced. The proportion of sperm with dysfunctional histone/protamine ratios increased. Sauna increased the number of sperm with poor mitochondrial function. Luckily, everything returned to normal 6 months after sauna use stopped. But still, that’s a big effect.

This seems like a strong mark against using saunas when you’re trying to conceive. The doses were realistic (15 minutes a day, twice a week) and the effects significant. Not only do saunas appear to lower sperm count and motility, they may decrease the genetic fitness and quality of the surviving sperm. This could increase the risk of miscarriage and even have long term effects on the offspring,

If you’re an older guy uninterested in conceiving, this study shouldn’t affect your sauna habits. Sauna doesn’t affect your sex hormones, which have an outsized effect on the quality of your life. It just reduces the viability of your sperm.

If you’re a younger guy interested in having kids, don’t ignore these results. Avoiding saunas for 3-6 months before trying to conceive might be a good idea.

So, in the name of being seasonal and living naturally, what about just getting out in the heat (and not having an air conditioner–but yet cooking a lot) in the summer and being out in the cold in the winter and keeping the house temp low? Is that enough heat/cold exposure to have beneficial effects? (Might be harder to study.) Instead of taking the time to do something extra that takes up natural resources to create, get the exposure through living. Spend half the year hot and half the year cold. (Plus the cold exposure of going to the grocery store in hardly any clothes in the summer, and the heat exposure of going to someone’s house or the local school dressed for cold in the winter.) (Of course this only works in places that have different weather in the seasons.) Isn’t that more along the lines of Grok-ness?

This is ideal, yes. It’s a great point.

There’s actually some evidence that exposing oneself to cold and hot ambient temperatures, rather than maintaining a steady 70º at all times, is good for us.

As I pointed out in an older post, the general trend is that the more people are exposed to predictable, constant ambient temperatures through central heating, the more likely they are to gain weight. In mice, keeping all other variables (diet, activity, etc) the same while switching to a “thermoneutral” ambient temperature (the temperature at which organisms can maintain body temperature without expending any extra energy) triggered inflammation, increased atherosclerosis, ruined blood lipids, and made the mice obese.

Mild cold exposure (just a few degrees’ worth) was enough to activate brown fat (the metabolically active form that kicks in to keep us warm, burning calories in the process) in people. They achieved it by setting the thermostat a bit lower than normal—nothing extreme like ice baths.

I see saunas and cold baths as extreme stressors that address extreme deficiencies. Just like intense workouts can mitigate the effects of sitting around all the time and failing to get the constant low-level movement our physiologies expect, intense heat or cold exposure can mitigate the effects of indoor climate control. But they’re probably not enough. It’s probably better—and certainly more Primal—to also keep the heat down in the house, walk around in the cold in short sleeves, and get comfortable with hot weather.

One thing I’ve been experimenting with is limiting the amount of time I use the AC. I’m trying to just deal with hot days, whether by walking around in as little clothing as possible or creating air flow with open doors and windows. AC has always felt”stale” and “artificial.” I still use it when it’s unavoidable, but I’m beginning to almost enjoy the sensation of low level heat.

That’s it for today, folks. What’s your take on all this? Anyone conceive despite using the sauna? Anyone else trying to vary the ambient temperature in their life? Let me know down below.

Thanks for reading!

Tanskanen J, Anttila T. A Prospective Study of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Mortality in Finland. Am J Public Health. 2016;106(11):2042-2048.

Laukkanen T, Khan H, Zaccardi F, Laukkanen JA. Association between sauna bathing and fatal cardiovascular and all-cause mortality events. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(4):542-8.

Garolla A, Torino M, Sartini B, et al. Seminal and molecular evidence that sauna exposure affects human spermatogenesis. Hum Reprod. 2013;28(4):877-85.

Giles DA, Ramkhelawon B, Donelan EM, et al. Modulation of ambient temperature promotes inflammation and initiates atherosclerosis in wild type C57BL/6 mice. Mol Metab. 2016;5(11):1121-1130.

Chen KY, Brychta RJ, Linderman JD, et al. Brown fat activation mediates cold-induced thermogenesis in adult humans in response to a mild decrease in ambient temperature. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013;98(7):E1218-23.

The post Dear Mark: Saunas and Finnish Longevity, Saunas and Sperm, What About Ambient Temperature? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekend Link Love — Edition 519

Research of the Week

A few potential drivers of brain aging.

“People who consumed a diet emphasising fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, fish, dairy products and meat had the lowest risks of cardiovascular disease and early death.” This quote was so good I even left the terrible British English spelling of “emphasizing” intact.

Cave bear DNA found in modern brown bears. Also, cave bears were mostly vegetarian.

Psychiatric diseases are a potentially unavoidable byproduct of our large, complex brains.

Mushrooms are excellent prebiotics.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 275: Dr. Mona Morstein: Host Elle Russ chats with Dr. Mora Morstein, a naturopathic physician who specializes in integrative approaches to diabetes.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Interesting Blog Posts

How will modern medicine’s promise to find cures and stop disease before it starts square with the fact that it makes all its money off wealthy, unhealthy, pill-popping patients?

Both stress and recovery are essential to a long, well-lived life.

Media, Schmedia

How to make friends.

Be careful where you source your sushi, especially if you’re over 70 with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and end-stage kidney disease.

Everything Else

Lierre Keith drops an interesting tidbit in this podcast: All the big-name vegans secretly eat salmon.

What 150 billion hours of FitBit data reveal about human health.

British and French scallop catchers try to out-mussel each other.

The FDA approves magic mushrooms for depression.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

I can’t wait to find out: Last year, she barely missed the world record. This year, she’ll try again, this time on ketones. Will Vittoria Bussi break the one-hour cycling record?

Contest I’d enter if I didn’t make the stuff myself: Lara loves Primal Kitchen® Unsweetened Ketchup, in addition to a bunch of other great products. Enter to win them all.

Older concept I’m pondering: The rise of “sleep coaches” for professional athletes.

Article I’m reading: Why modern medicine is a major threat to public health.

Question I’m pondering: Should we allow performance-enhancing drugs?

Recipe Corner

It’s somewhat of an indulgence, but this chocolate protein ice cream is fantastic.
This Golden Glow smoothie would be even better with Primal Kitchen collagen (but I’m biased).

Time Capsule

One year ago (Aug 26– Sep 1)

How to Find Mental Strength When Dealing with Illness and Injury – Don’t let your mortal coil get you down.
2 Final (and Favorite) Adaptogens: Rhodiola Rosea and Bacopa Monnieri – No, these aren’t underrated Italian directors from the 70s.

Comment of the Week

“I use a far infra red Matt. The generic name is bio mat. It makes me sweat, it’s like a poor man’s sauna.”

– This Matt fella sounds like he has super powers. Think he’d do a guest post, Ned?

Want to make fat loss easier?

Try the Definitive Guide for Troubleshooting Weight Loss for free here.

The post Weekend Link Love — Edition 519 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Almond Banana Pancakes

Try as we might, many of us find the temptation of pancakes too hard to resist. Maybe it’s the sweet, buttery aroma of the batter on the griddle or the soft doughy texture, or that eating something with the word “cake” in it for breakfast just feels so deliciously naughty. But it doesn’t have to be. There are decent Primal substitutes. Pancakes made with almond meal or coconut flour are a good option, but can be pretty heavy and, for some, overly filling. And then there’s this dish sent in by Jack Etherington for the Primal Cookbook Challenge. His Almond Banana Pancakes contain just three ingredients: banana, egg and almond butter. You can whip up a batch in five minutes flat and top the pancakes with a pat of butter, a scoop of nut butter, or fresh berries.

Almond Banana Pancakes are slightly delicate so you’ll want to keep the size fairly small (or add an extra egg) and wait until the edges are nicely browned before flipping them. This shouldn’t deter you from trying the recipe—the delicate texture of Almond Banana Pancakes is the very thing that makes them so irresistible. If you’ve tried pancakes made from almond or coconut flour and find them slightly grainy, you’ll really love the silky, airy texture of these cakes. The flavor is sinfully close to banana bread; add a little vanilla and cinnamon to the batter if you really want to get decadent.

As is evident from the comment board of last week’s recipe, this (very similar) recipe may be too carb-centric for some of you. For those who are keto or are restricting carbs for weight loss purposes this recipe might not fit into your personal Primal plans. For others, it might be part of your 20%. And for others that are extra active or have already achieved your preferred body composition, this recipe might be a perfect fit. (Kids tend to love it, too, by the way.) Enjoy!

Ingredients:

 

2 ripe bananas
1 egg (or 2 if pancakes aren’t holding together well)
1 heaping tablespoon of almond butter

Instructions:

Mash the bananas, add the egg and mix well.

Stir in the almond butter, adding more than a tablespoon if you want a more pancake-like texture.

Warm butter in a pan and pour batter into small cakes.

Brown on each side and serve warm.

The post Almond Banana Pancakes appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

All Of That Struggle, and Such a Simple Solution

It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark’s Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’s Daily Apple community please contact me here. I’ll continue to publish these each Friday as long as they keep coming in. Thank you for reading!

I found Mark’s Daily Apple through a fortuitous and random conversation one morning with the guy I was seeing sometime around 2010. We were lying in bed, dreaming up delicious Sunday breakfast ideas and started talking about bacon, which then led to a heated argument about bacon, cardiovascular disease, dietary fat… oh boy! He name-dropped yours and MDA, and it made me step down from my high horse (I was a recent doctor of physical therapy graduate) and take a whole new look at nutrition that has- no exaggeration- completely changed my life.

Here is my story:

I had been swimming competitively since age 10, so I knew my body. I had always been tall, thin, and full of enthusiasm for whatever I pursued. Back in 2002, as a senior in high school, I started to feel something quite different. If I approached my physical limits, I would feel sluggish and weak and there was no way to push through. Each week, I swam slower. A few months later, I started noticing more and more of my hair falling in the shower drain and in my hair brush. As someone who had always been a night owl, I found it strange that even during matinee movies the second I sat down I would feel tired and fall asleep, like turning a switch. I could sleep ten to twelve hours and still would wake up exhausted. I even passed out a few times for no apparent reason. At this point I felt fatigued constantly, was having trouble finding enough energy to pay attention in class, and I knew something was wrong. I told my mom (a nurse), and we decided to wait out the end of the school semester. After graduation, I took a solid week off and basically slept and rested all day, after which I felt completely normal. I shrugged it off, and headed off to college a few months feeling healthy.

As a frame of reference, my diet at this time was atrocious. I didn’t like most meat, so I would eat processed meat approximately once a week. I hated eggs. I didn’t have much of a taste for any vegetables, so again, maybe once a week one would make it to my plate. I liked bananas, kiwis, and a few fruits. I loved processed food and would primarily eat cereal, bread, crackers, cookies, and pasta. I also struggled with having very little musculature on my body despite being active. At 5’10” my calves were so narrow that speciality narrow boots looked like fishermen’s boots on me! My abdomen fluctuated between being completely concave and sunken or distended to the extent that people would ask me if I was pregnant. My face had a constant red rash and break outs of both acne and rosacea. All of these things made me self-conscious.

When I went off to college, unexplained symptoms struck again. Except this time once I got to the point where I was passing out and fatigued, I kept going. My immune system went nuts. I acquired very bad strep throat, pink eye in both eyes, an ear infection, and a bad UTI all at once. Every week for the rest of the semester I felt worse despite several courses of antibiotics. Fast forward to end of semester: I finished finals, I rested for our 2 week holiday—100% better.

This became the pattern. Three more semesters exactly like this. It started to take a toll on my endurance, and I could not even walk up the stairs to get to my classes without stopping and resting for several minutes. I was embarrassed to be in social situations because I couldn’t focus and didn’t feel like myself physically and mentally. I was struggling in my classes for the first time in my life. I decided that fall semester my junior year would be different: no matter how sick I felt, I would push even harder.

That didn’t go well. I crossed into the next threshold of bodily rebellion. I started feeling sharp abdominal pains as if I were being poisoned followed by bouts of vomiting after taking my birth control, drinking milk, eating anything fatty, taking even a sip of alcohol, and sometimes after indecipherable aggravations. I stopped getting my period. One morning I woke up and could barely open my eyes. I felt confused to the point where I was staring at people talking and pretending to understand what was going on. Morning classes were a blur, and as I sat in my French class, I somehow fell asleep in the front row. My professor woke me up—not too happy—and sent me to the school doctor. Even though there was an entire waiting room full of students, she took me right away. I didn’t question it, but the second she sat me down she explained why: I had yellow skin, yellow eyes, and that awful, unmistakable death-like look of jaundice. She diagnosed me with mono (many of the other times I had been to the health center they suspected mono but the test was always negative). I was put on immediate bed rest until my liver started to cooperate. I could barely stomach eating, so I would munch on saltine crackers and eat unseasoned ramen but little else. My liver enzymes actually tested worse and worse, despite the rest. I got to the point where I could barely eat anything, but then slowly, I started feeling better. Hallelujah.

Spoiler alert, that’s not the end of my story. The very next semester it started happening. Again. Despite being told that you could only get mono once. I was emotionally devastated, scared, and yet determined. I gathered all of my medical records and went to see a doctor off-campus. He was dismissive and cold and told me that I was a woman, and women get depressed. That was his medical advice. End stop.

I was embarrassed to the point I didn’t seek further medical attention and tried to make some changes on my own, this time being a bit kinder to my body. I cut my work hours to almost zero, my class schedule in half, my workouts out altogether, and I just tried to get by. I was able to finish my last few semesters of college with fatigue, constant infections, and poor mental clarity, but I finished! I started working as a physical therapy aid full-time and teaching swim lessons to make money before grad school, and suddenly I was thrown off balance again. I could feel my body crashing as it had before, and I ended up making the radical decision to take 3 months off before physical therapy school to convalesce. This seemed to work, because I made it through 3 years of graduate school with only occasional and much less dramatic periods of illness.

That brings me to 2010, lying in bed, chatting about bacon. This little argument inspired me to read from the amazing Michael Pollen and delve into the wonders of the MDA blog. Mark’s words hit home as I had already begun to understand the importance of rest and recovery, listening to my body instead of overriding its messages (a work in progress), and the way food could make me feel. I drank the kool aid. I was inspired by the large body of evidence in the primal diet and primal lifestyle. Little by little, I started learning how to love vegetables and to prepare them well, to embrace fats, to eliminate grains, and to enjoy delicious meat and eggs. I started eating real food. Relationships don’t change over-night, so neither did mine with food. I had a long way to go, but I could feel a difference in my digestion and my energy. My acne and rosacea disappeared completely, and I felt like I had at least some control in my health.

Unfortunately though, my health continued to decline. It was not exactly the same as it had been before. I was constantly fatigued, but rarely did I have the ear/eye/throat/bladder infection extravaganzas as I had in the past, nor would the symptoms go away anymore with a little extra rest for a week or two. Instead, I started having random, scary symptoms. Over the course of the next four years, several times I would develop excessive water retention, followed by coughing up liquid deep in my chest, followed by pneumonia, followed by waking up in the middle of the night barely able to breathe. I would prop myself up on four pillows so that I was almost sitting up so that I could breathe. I would have fevers in excess of 104 degrees sometimes every Friday after a long week of work and would lie in bed until Monday morning. One time I felt desperately thirsty and was drinking water by the liter until I collapsed with squeezing in my chest. My left arm would randomly swell up. I had strange ulcers in my mouth. Other times my right eye would randomly start dilating, once to the point where I could not see anything out of it for hours. I would have sharp abdominal pain every time I was on my period that caused me to double over. I could keep listing crazy symptoms all day. I lived in fear. In addition, the years of being ill had led to metabolic damage. I could barely eat 1000 calories a day without gaining weight, so I slowly started gaining more and more weight. I had prided myself on being fit, so this crushed my self-confidence.

Doctors led me down many rabbit holes. Some were dismissive, cold, and made me feel embarrassed or crazy for telling them what was happening. Others were compassionate and did what they could to help, but they could only put small pieces of the puzzle together. I tested positive for several antibodies that suggested autoimmune disease and was told it was likely lupus, and steroids seemed to help my “infections” better than antibiotics which was quite telling, but my symptoms never stopped recurring and every day was a struggle.

I also attempted to conquer my body by running marathons, hiking mountains, and portraying a life of a “healthy woman.” These outward goals always led to me being very sick, sometimes for months, but for some reason I continued to fight my body every step of the way. I climbed Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States (with a broken tailbone no-less). Two weeks later I came down with a kidney infection that wouldn’t respond to antibiotics or steroids and kept me in bed for 2 months with fever, fatigue, and brain fog as well a complete loss of appetite. I kept frozen salmon, avocado, fresh orange juice, and almond butter in my kitchen and if I ate ONE of those things each day, I felt accomplished. I became scared that I was losing too much weight, but surprisingly, I felt stronger each day. Slowly, my appetite returned.

Finally, two months later I felt completely healthy, and I decided to go out to celebrate my birthday. My first day out. My first day with food outside of my kitchen. I ate fried chicken, drank beer, and polished it off with a birthday cupcake.  The next morning I woke up with 104 fever, vomiting, the works. It started all over again, and I had an emotional break down.

All of these years I had tried to be patient and to trust my doctors, my body, God, and the universe to somehow fix this, but I could no longer handle living my life in constant fear and confusion, and I had reached a breaking point. The merry-go-round of looking for outside help, finding no clear solution, giving up, and then starting all over again was getting old. I truly believed I needed to accept that I  would never have the health and energy of a “healthy” person, so I should start adapting my life to live with my limitations as best as possible. I started tracking every symptom each day, I started dialing back my work hours, my social time, and my exercise, and this seemed to help. I started eating much cleaner according to the Primal Blueprint, maybe 90/10. I slept 10 hours every day. I felt “ok,” but I was depressed at the outlook of my future.

One fateful day, June 21, 2014, I decided to try keto, which I had recently read about on Mark’s blog. It was actually easy for me to get into ketosis for the first time, because my diet had been consistently clean for the six months preceding it. I woke up on day 3, and it was crazy. I could see clearly. I felt well-rested in a way that I didn’t remember existed. I felt boundless energy. I was strong. I could breathe better. I still remember that feeling so clearly. I actually feel healthy! Even when I felt “ok,” I didn’t realize I was never actually feeling well.  It had been so long. I peed on the stick, and it was purple: ketosis was achieved. After a week of eating keto, which I had never intended to maintain permanently, I decided that I would add one half piece of whole wheat pita bread to my diet (I know not primal at all but I feel lucky I made that random exception to my diet) every other week and to attempt to cycle into and out of ketosis. The next morning I woke up with mouth ulcers, a fever, brain fog, and the beginnings of a UTI.

It hit me. The writing had always been on the wall but I hadn’t I seen it. This was clear, objective measures I couldn’t ignore: Do I have celiac disease? I got back into ketosis over the next few days, and all of the symptoms cleared. Like magic. I grabbed a beer, walked down to my hot tub, and cracked it open. This would be my test (and with bittersweet sadness my final beer). As I enjoyed the crisp, cool refreshing beverage, all of the things I had been through over the past 12 years ran through my mind. Even if you reread my story, it seems so obvious once you know. All of that struggle and such a simple solution. Yes, the ulcers and the fever came back the next day. I did a week of completely primal, gluten free, but not keto to test out my theory. I remained healthy. (I have the genetic marker and antibody for celiac but am unable/unwilling to do a 12 week challenge).

Over the next four years, I gained muscle I never knew I could gain. I can wear narrow boots quite well now, and I have muscle in my core and arms. I live a completely normal life. I can run, jump, and play, so I do! I have slowly forgotten the feeling of that daily struggle and fear. I have continued to change my relationship with food. While I am always gluten-free, I am 90/10 with primal eating and cycle in and out of keto. I can finally say that when my body tells me something, I listen. Whether it’s to fully recover between workouts, to limit chronic cardio, to sleep, to get fresh air and daylight, to eat more, or to reach out and connect socially, I no longer try to fight those impulses for my own ego’s sake. I preach this to all of my patients and all of my friends.

Here is a picture of me on Halloween dressed as the iconic Leia finally with some lean muscle!

Most importantly, I have learned to open the discussion of this diet and lifestyle to people around me.  Not everyone has celiac disease, but 1% of the population does and most are not diagnosed. Many people have autoimmune conditions, and we have connected deeply on how similar food journeys have changed their lives. Many people simply have weight to lose and insulin resistance. My next goals in my personal journey are to gain a six pack (something that symbolizes both inner and physical strength to me) and to share this lifestyle with as many people as I can.  Keep spreading the light Mark!

– Maureen

 

The post All Of That Struggle, and Such a Simple Solution appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

How to Throw a Low-Carb Barbecue Party—With 20 Recipes

As we move toward September, we might be thinking of Labor Day parties or fall tailgating weekends—events perfect for a barbecue spread. But when you’re eating Primal, keto or otherwise low-carb, traditional barbecue fare isn’t always the ideal choice. Even when you’re throwing a party centered on grilled meat, it’s all too easy for carbs to sneak into the mix. Buns, pasta salads, chips, cheese and crackers, beer, sweet tea, sodas and desserts often make up the bulk of a typical buffet. So, what’s a Primal type to do (or serve)? Here’s how to throw a low-carb barbecue feast everyone will love.

Drinks

Avoid high sugar drinks like juice, soda and tonic, and keep the ice chest filled with refreshing, sugar-free or low-sugar beverages.

Sparkling water, either plain or flavored
Sparkling water with flavored ice cubes
Low sugar kombucha
Unsweetened ice tea
Cold brew coffee

Appetizers

Skip the chip and cracker aisle when shopping for a low-carb barbecue party. Instead, serve platters of cheese and nuts, raw vegetables with dip, and protein-rich appetizers.

Spicy Chorizo Keto Stuffed Jalapeños

Marinated Olives and Nuts 

Chipotle Lime Avocado Bacon Dip

Almost Deviled Eggs

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog Bites

Side Dishes

Side dishes at a barbecue can be carb-loaded landmines. Instead of standard barbecue fare like pasta salad, potato salad, fruit salad and corn, load up the buffet up with crunchy coleslaw, colorful green salads and grilled or roasted vegetables.

Don’t ruin healthy low-carb salads with salad dressing or mayonnaise made from unhealthy industrial seed oils and sugar. Instead, whisk together homemade salad dressings. Better yet, make low-carb life easier by keeping Primal Kitchen® dressings and marinades and Mayo varieties on hand.

Keto Cole Slaw

Sausage and Veggie Skewers

Roasted Vegetable Salad

Baby Kale Rainbow Salad

Grilled Kale

Sesame Ginger Slaw

Meats

The most obvious way to avoid carbs at a barbecue is to serve hamburgers and sausages without buns. Even better, serve grilled meat that doesn’t need a bun, like steak, ribs or pork roast.

But beware of carbs lurking in the rubs, marinades and sauces that flavor meat. Sugar is usually the culprit. Read labels to avoid store bought rubs and marinades with sweeteners, or make your own rubs and marinades at home (or use any of the Primal Kitchen® Marinades).

Lime and Basil Marinaded Beef Kebabs

Low Carb BBQ Ribs

Coconut Marinated Short Ribs

Charcoal Roasted Pork Loin

5 Steps to the Perfect Steak

Condiments

Just try hosting a barbecue without ketchup, and wait for the outcry. Luckily, now there’s Primal Kitchen® Unsweetened Ketchup, Spicy Brown Mustard and Mayo to the rescue. Condiments that pack tons of flavor with very few carbs, like pickles, sauerkraut, and hot sauce, are also a must.

Desserts

A bowl of brightly colored berries (perhaps with unsweetened whipped cream on the side?) is an easy summer treat. If you’re willing to put in a little more work, then serve a decadent low-carb dessert.

Keto Coffee Popsicles

Keto Cheesecake Parfait

Avocado Matcha Dairy Free Ice Cream

Feeling inspired yet? Share your favorite barbecue fare below.

The post How to Throw a Low-Carb Barbecue Party—With 20 Recipes appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

What Can Heat Do For Your Health?

A few months ago, I explored the benefits and applications of cold therapy. Today, I’m going to talk about the benefits and applications of heat therapy—one of the most ubiquitous and ancestral therapies in the history of humankind. You name a culture and—as long as they didn’t live in perpetual tropical heat—they probably had some form of heat therapy. Native Americans had the sweat lodge, those of Central America the temazcal. The Romans had the thermae, which they picked up and refined from the Greeks. Other famous traditions include Finnish saunas, Russian banyas, Turkish hammams, Japanese sentó (or the natural spring-fed onsen), and the Korean jjimjilbang. People really like the heat.

Right off the bat, that’s one major benefit to heat therapy compared to cold: It’s an easy sell. “You can luxuriate in a sauna for half an hour or lower your naked body, genitals first, into a bathtub filled with ice water. Your choice.” People are far more likely to sit in the hot room for 20 minutes than they are to sit in an ice bath for 3 minutes or even take a cold shower. Short-term heat exposure is generally regarded as pleasant. Cold exposure is generally regarded as torture. If heat therapy offers legit health benefits, this is a major point in its favor. So, does it?

Oh, yes.

In a recent review of the available observational studies, controlled trials, and interventions, researchers found evidence that sauna usage has an impressive array of beneficial effects on health and wellness:

Increased lifespan and decreased early mortality.
Reduced cardiovascular disease.
Lowered blood pressure.
Improved cognitive function and reduced the risk of neurodegenerative disease.
Improved arthritis symptoms.

What’s going on here? How could sitting in a hot room do so many good things?

Stress, in a word. One of the coolest things about us is that encountering, facing down, and then growing resistance to one type of stress tends to make us better at dealing with stress from other sources. A 30-minute sauna session at 174 ºF/80 ºC raises body temperature by almost 1 degree C, spikes your flight-or-flight hormones, raises cortisol, and triggers a powerful hormetic response by the rest of your body. That’s a stressor. After such a session, subjects report feeling “calm” and “pleasant.” This isn’t a surprise. Intense exercise also raises cortisol in the short term. And like regular exercise, longer term sauna usage (daily for four weeks in one study) actually reduces stress hormones.  It’s a classic hormetic response, where acute doses of the stressor increase oxidative stress enough to provoke a compensatory adaptation by the organism.

What does this sauna-induced hormetic stress do for us?

Benefits of Heat Therapy

It reduces oxidative stress. Short term, it increases stress (that’s why we see the transient spike in cortisol and other stress hormones). Long term, it reduces oxidative stress. Long-term sauna use has an inverse association with levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a “catch-all” biomarker for oxidative stress and inflammation. The more often you use the sauna, the lower your CRP.

It may reduce mortality. The more frequently a person visits the sauna, the lower his risk of premature death from heart attack and all causes. There is a dose-response relationship happening here, which has me leaning toward “causal.” Those using the sauna two to three times a week had a 23% lower risk of fatal heart attack compared to men who used it just once a week. Men who used the sauna four to seven times a week had a 48% reduced risk of fatal heart attack compared to once-a-weekers. The more frequently men used the sauna, the greater the protection (for other causes of mortality, too).

It improves vascular function. A single bout of sauna (or exercise, for that matter) reduces vascular resistance—the amount your blood vessels “resist” blood flow—in hypertensive patients for up to two hours.

It’s good against type 2 diabetes. Sauna use has been shown to improve almost every marker related to type 2 diabetes, including insulin sensitivity, fasting blood sugar, glycated hemoglobin, and body fat levels.

It can improve depression scores. Patients with depression who underwent heat therapy saw improvements in their Hamilton Depression Rating.

If you’re an athlete, or exercise at all, you should try the sauna. Training magnifies the benefits of the sauna.

Finally, pairing exercise and heat therapy together is a boon for cardiovascular health. For instance, people who frequent the sauna and the gym have a drastically lower risk of heart attack death than people who do either alone. That combo also reduces 24-hour blood pressure in hypertensive patients and confers special protection against all-cause mortality above and beyond either variable alone.

Post-Workout Benefits

Post-workout sauna sessions improve endurance performance in runners: For three weeks, endurance runners sat in 89° C (+/- 2° C) humid saunas for 31 minutes following training sessions. This amounted to an average of 12.7 sauna sessions per runner. Relative to control (no sauna), sauna use increased time to exhaustion by 32%, plasma cell volume by 7.1%, and red cell volume by 3.2% (both plasma cell and red cell volume are markers of increased endurance performance).

Post-workout sauna use increases plasma volume in male cyclists: Following training sessions, cyclists sat in 87° C, 11% humidity saunas for 30 minutes. Just four sessions were sufficient to expand plasma volume. This is important because increasing plasma volume improves heat dissipation, thermoregulation, heart rate, and cardiac stroke volume during exercise.

Post-workout sauna—either dry or steam—can also alleviate muscle fatigue.

How About Pre-Workout?

The effects are more mixed. In one study, pre-workout sauna reduced strength endurance and 1 rep max leg press, had no effect on 1 rep max bench press, and improved maximum power (vertical leap). Another study found that in female athletes but not in males, maximum power decreases after sauna use. It’s possible that these performance disturbances are caused by dehydration rather than the heat itself, so make sure you rehydrate if you’re planning on training after a sauna session.

If you want to apply heat pre-workout without overdoing it, I’ve always liked a nice hot bath to help limber up, mobilize my joints, and clear out any stiffness for the coming workout session.

Oh, and It Can Help You Detox

I was going to write the full word “detoxification,” but I figured I’d write “detox” just to trigger the hardcore skeptics reading this…. Heat exposure can augment your natural detoxification capacities by at least two mechanisms.

First, exposure to extreme heat increases something called heat shock proteins, or HSPs. HSPs are responsible for many of the benefits of heat therapy, including enacting beneficial hormetic effects on our detoxification capacity. They trigger compensatory adaptations and activate antioxidant defenses in the blood of healthy volunteers. They even increase regeneration of the body’s main detoxifying organ—the liver—after it’s been damaged.

Second, contrary to popular belief, sweating can aid detoxification. Sweat itself contains bioaccumulated toxins, including BPA—even when it doesn’t show up in the blood or urine. Sweat also contains certain phthalate compounds and their metabolites, none of which we want. Sweat also contains arsenic and lead in people exposed to high levels of the metals. Sweating may even improve the function of another important detoxification organ—the kidney—by restoring nitrogen excretion in people with kidney disease. In one study, police officers with chronic illnesses caused by exposure to high levels of meth lab chemicals experienced major improvements after sauna therapy.

What If You Don’t Have Access To a Sauna?

There are other options.

Steam rooms work. Only problem with them is it’s difficult to remain in one long enough to trigger the necessary stress response. Saunas, with their dry heat, are easier to stick with. Steam rooms feel different enough that I wonder if there’s something unique about them. Not enough evidence to go on, unfortunately. Perhaps I can revisit this later.

Jacuzzis and hot baths work. A recent paper found that taking regular hot baths at home improved insulin sensitivity and increased nitric oxide synthase activity about as much as working out. Another found that, compared to showering, bathing improved mood, perceived stress, blood flow, and accumulation of metabolic waste products.

You could probably sit in a black car on a hot day with the windows rolled up and get an effect.

Just get hot, as hot as you can stand. Then stay a little longer. (As always, be sure to talk to your doctor. Certain conditions and scenarios, like pregnancy, require extra caution with saunas or other forms of heat therapy.)

Have you used the sauna? Are you a regular attendee? Or do you use other means of heat therapy? I’m curious to hear your experiences, tips, and stories below.

References:

Laukkanen JA, Laukkanen T, Kunutsor SK. Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence. Mayo Clin Proc. 2018;93(8):1111-1121.

Leppäluoto J. Human thermoregulation in sauna. Ann Clin Res. 1988;20(4):240-3.

Sutkowy P, Wo?niak A, Rajewski P. Single whole-body cryostimulation procedure versus single dry sauna bath: comparison of oxidative impact on healthy male volunteers. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:406353.

Laukkanen JA, Laukkanen T. Sauna bathing and systemic inflammation. Eur J Epidemiol. 2018;33(3):351-353.

Laukkanen T, Khan H, Zaccardi F, Laukkanen JA. Association between sauna bathing and fatal cardiovascular and all-cause mortality events. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175(4):542-8.

Krause M, Ludwig MS, Heck TG, Takahashi HK. Heat shock proteins and heat therapy for type 2 diabetes: pros and cons. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2015;18(4):374-80.

Laukkanen JA, Laukkanen T, Khan H, Babar M, Kunutsor SK. Combined Effect of Sauna Bathing and Cardiorespiratory Fitness on the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Deaths in Caucasian Men: A Long-term Prospective Cohort Study. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2018;60(6):635-641.

Kunutsor SK, Khan H, Laukkanen T, Laukkanen JA. Joint associations of sauna bathing and cardiorespiratory fitness on cardiovascular and all-cause mortality risk: a long-term prospective cohort study. Ann Med. 2018;50(2):139-146.

Gayda M, Paillard F, Sosner P, et al. Effects of sauna alone and postexercise sauna baths on blood pressure and hemodynamic variables in patients with untreated hypertension. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2012;14(8):553-60.

Hedley AM, Climstein M, Hansen R. The effects of acute heat exposure on muscular strength, muscular endurance, and muscular power in the euhydrated athlete. J Strength Cond Res. 2002;16(3):353-8.

Gutiérrez A, Mesa JL, Ruiz JR, Chirosa LJ, Castillo MJ. Sauna-induced rapid weight loss decreases explosive power in women but not in men. Int J Sports Med. 2003;24(7):518-22.

Genuis SJ, Birkholz D, Rodushkin I, Beesoon S. Blood, urine, and sweat (BUS) study: monitoring and elimination of bioaccumulated toxic elements. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2011;61(2):344-57.

Genuis SJ, Beesoon S, Birkholz D, Lobo RA. Human excretion of bisphenol A: blood, urine, and sweat (BUS) study. J Environ Public Health. 2012;2012:185731.

Khodarev VN, Zhemchuzhnova NL, Olempieva EV, Kuz’menko NV. [The influence of general infrared sauna on the antioxidant systems in the blood of volunteers]. Vopr Kurortol Fizioter Lech Fiz Kult. 2013;(5):10-3.

Shi Q, Dong Z, Wei H. The involvement of heat shock proteins in murine liver regeneration. Cell Mol Immunol. 2007;4(1):53-7.

Mccarty MF, Barroso-aranda J, Contreras F. Regular thermal therapy may promote insulin sensitivity while boosting expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase–effects comparable to those of exercise training. Med Hypotheses. 2009;73(1):103-5.

Goto Y, Hayasaka S, Kurihara S, Nakamura Y. Physical and Mental Effects of Bathing: A Randomized Intervention Study. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2018;2018:9521086.

The post What Can Heat Do For Your Health? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Are Your Children Sleep-Deprived?

It’s about that time: the start of the school year. Bleary-eyed kids everywhere are dragged from bed, thrown into clothing, handed an energy bar and glass of juice, and shuttled off to spend hours sitting at a desk. They come home, do hours of homework, squeeze in some screen time, squeeze some vaguely edible goo into their mouths, update their Facebook status, post a few Instagram pics, and climb into bed by 10 PM sharp, Snapchatting their way to the land of Nod. Then it starts all over again.

I’m exaggerating, a bit. Things aren’t this bad—childhood Facebook usage is actually down! But too many children aren’t getting enough sleep.

How Much Sleep Do Kids Need?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that:

Infants 4 months to 12 months should sleep 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

Children 1 to 2 years of age should sleep 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

Children 3 to 5 years of age should sleep 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

Children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep 9 to 12 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

How Are Kids Doing?

According to a 2004 study of American kids’ sleep habits commissioned by the National Sleep Foundation:

Infants get 12.7 hours—low end of normal.
1 to 3 year olds get 11.7 hours—low end of normal.
Preschoolers get 10.4 hours—low end of normal.
Elementary school kids get 9.5 hours—low end of normal.

That was 2004, before smartphones, tablets, and the meteoric rise of digital technology. Seeing as how the presence of technology in the homes and bedrooms of our children can reduce the amount of sleep they get, I’d wager that sleep has only gotten worse. It has.

But just because kids are getting less sleep on average doesn’t mean your kids are. The average of the population doesn’t say anything about the individual. It’s just an indication that the problem is widespread—and that it’s something you should honestly assess to make sure you’re not contributing to the trend.

What you can do short of tracking their sleep with an Oura ring is to watch for the obvious symptoms of inadequate sleep.

They shouldn’t be yawning all the time, or blatantly drowsy and exhausted.

They should be alert, engaged. Not every kid will bounce off the walls or be a constant blur of energy, of course.

They shouldn’t have trouble getting up in the morning.

They shouldn’t fall asleep immediately.

They shouldn’t be prone to meltdowns over nonsense.

Parents know when their kids haven’t had enough sleep. Deep down, they know.

Just How Important Is Sleep?

We adults know. If we don’t get enough sleep, we get horrible brain fog. We have trouble forming complete sentences. We feel confused and anxious for no apparent reason. We forsake the gods of our ancestors to prostrate ourselves before coffee. In fact, the most serious consequences and symptoms of sleep deprivation are all mental and psychological.

During sleep, we clear out old memories to make room for new ones. Without sleep, we forget what we’ve just learned. We arguably don’t learn without sleep. The memories simply don’t take.

During sleep, we prune errant connections between neurons. Without sleep, we can’t prune the brain plaque that can eventually lead to Alzheimer’s and dementia.

If sleep deprivation interferes with an adult’s brain function to such a degree, what does sleep deprivation do to a brain that’s still developing?

It can cause profound neuronal loss. When a kid is sleep deprived for long enough, their brains actually shrink.

It promotes aberrant connectivity patterns in the fronto-limbic, a region of the brain involved in emotion regulation (tantrums, anyone?).

It impairs performance in the classroom.

Because that’s the most important part of childhood. Heck, it’s why human childhood takes so long—we need time to develop that impressive brain. A baby giraffe might pour out of his mother and instantly clamber to his feet, able to walk. He’s clumsy, but he can walk.

As humans, our brains are almost everything. They’re our most powerful tools. They allow us to manipulate language, numbers, reality itself. Without our brains, we’re rather unimpressive relative to other animals. Our strength, agility, explosiveness, and speed can’t compare. Your average black bear could outrun Usain Bolt, outfight Conor McGregor, and outswim Michael Phelps. We need our brains. As a parent, it’s important that you do everything you can to encourage and enable your kid’s brain development, or at least remove the barriers that impede it. Bad sleep is the biggest impediment there is.

Sleep doesn’t just affect brain development and function. There are metabolic effects, too. Just as poor sleep can increase insulin resistance and lead to obesity in adults, poor sleep can make your kids insulin resistant and overweight.

What Can You Do?
Limit Their Blue Light Exposure At Night

This could take the form of candles and warm lighting. This could mean no TV or screens at night. This could mean buying a pair of child-size blue blocking shades. Or maybe it’s all three at once. Whatever you do, make sure your kids aren’t bathing in blue light toward the end of the day—it can throw off your circadian rhythm and make getting to sleep at a reasonable time harder.

Candle lighting could be a great way to expose your kids to safe fire behavior, by the way. Letting them light the candles will get them involved, get them enthusiastic about the new practice, and teach them how to handle themselves around fire. Win, win, win.

Increase Their Blue Light Exposure During the Day

The flip-side of blue light avoidance at night is the fact that our bodies expect it during the day, and that getting a lot of natural light (which includes significant portions of blue) in the morning and afternoon also establishes a healthy circadian rhythm. In fact, daytime light exposure increases their resistance to blue light at night. 

With recess taking a huge hit these days, kids are spending fewer and fewer hours outside immersed in natural light. That should change.

Give Your Kids a Diet High In Carotenoids

Certain carotenoids don’t convert to retinol, instead making their way to the eye to protect against blue light absorption. They are astaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin.

Salmon, shrimp, and krill oil for astaxanthin. Wild salmon astaxanthin is more bioavailable than farmed, but farmed is still pretty good.

For lutein and zeaxanthin, you’ll want to incorporate leafy greens and orange egg yolks. Kale, spinach, collards, chard, and mustard greens are among the best sources, while darker yolks are also great sources. Eat both; I suspect yolks might be easier to incorporate into a picky kid’s diet than kale.

Give Your Kids Plenty of Opportunities To Move, Play, Exercise, and Be Engaged With the World

Although the research is mixed on this topic, with some studies finding that the most active kids actually sleep a little less than the most sedentary kids, I’m going with a parent’s intuition. Whenever my kids were particularly active, they had no trouble getting to bed at a reasonable time. It wasn’t just physical, either. If we had a party at the house and the kids spent all day interacting with friends and other children, they were very easy to put to bed.

Have a Bedtime Routine

The routine itself doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you have one and stick to it. That alone has been shown to reduce problematic sleep behavior in babies and toddlers, improve night waking, help children fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, and—not insignificantly—reduce maternal stress.

Be Consistent

The human body is made of biological clocks. Everything you do, from eating and exercising to sleeping, works better when you have a schedule. That way, your cellular clocks know what to expect and can assemble the physiological mise en place rather than rush around in panic mode because you’re completely unpredictable.

Set a bedtime and stick to it. Studies show that kids with parents who establish bedtimes and actually enforce them get more sleep. Furthermore, irregular sleep habits make it harder to establish a healthy circadian rhythm.

Exceed the Minimum

Common isn’t normal. Many things are common, like cooking with seed oils and watching five hours of TV every day. But they aren’t normal—they aren’t congruent with our biology. Kids deserve the opportunity to sleep as much as they can. If they’ll go an hour more than what the experts say they need, so be it. They probably need it.

Let Sleep Ensue Naturally

If you’re doing everything right (proper light exposure, good sleep hygiene, good diet, plenty of activity during the day, a routine), your kid will probably get sleepy at about the right time. The beauty of establishing a consistent bedtime and bedtime routine is that it will train your kid to naturally get sleepy at the around the same time each day. What you establish becomes the “right time.”

What you should avoid are struggles over sleep.

Naps Count

Naps count toward a child’s daily sleep requirement, so let them happen. Just be cautious about timing. In my experience, under-2s can take a nap whenever without ruining their bedtime; after age 2, nap timing becomes very crucial.

If you were paying attention, you probably noticed that most of the content in today’s post applies equally well to adults. By all means, take these tips and apply it to your life, too. But definitely make sure your kids are getting enough sleep. It could quite literally help determine their trajectory through life and realize their potential. Good sleep is foundational.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Do your kids (or you) get enough sleep? What methods, tips, and tricks have worked for you and your family?

References:

Hale L, Guan S. Screen time and sleep among school-aged children and adolescents: a systematic literature review. Sleep Med Rev. 2015;21:50-8.

Jan JE, Reiter RJ, Bax MC, Ribary U, Freeman RD, Wasdell MB. Long-term sleep disturbances in children: a cause of neuronal loss. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 2010;14(5):380-90.

Robinson JL, Erath SA, Kana RK, El-sheikh M. Neurophysiological differences in the adolescent brain following a single night of restricted sleep – A 7T fMRI study. Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2018;31:1-10.

Beebe DW, Field J, Milller MM, Miller LE, Leblond E. Impact of Multi-Night Experimentally Induced Short Sleep on Adolescent Performance in a Simulated Classroom. Sleep. 2017;40(2)

Schalch W, Cohn W, Barker FM, et al. Xanthophyll accumulation in the human retina during supplementation with lutein or zeaxanthin – the LUXEA (LUtein Xanthophyll Eye Accumulation) study. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2007;458(2):128-35.

Pesonen AK, Sjöstén NM, Matthews KA, et al. Temporal associations between daytime physical activity and sleep in children. PLoS ONE. 2011;6(8):e22958.

Mindell, J. A., Telofski, L. S., Wiegand, B., & Kurtz, E. S. (2009). A Nightly Bedtime Routine: Impact on Sleep in Young Children and Maternal Mood. Sleep, 32(5), 599–606.

Phillips AJK, Clerx WM, O’brien CS, et al. Irregular sleep/wake patterns are associated with poorer academic performance and delayed circadian and sleep/wake timing. Sci Rep. 2017;7(1):3216.

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Dear Mark: Is Coconut Oil Pure Poison?

It appears that we’re well into “outrageous media frenzy over terrible or misleading claims by nutrition scientists” season….

Last week I covered the “low-carb” and mortality study, and for this week’s edition of Dear Mark I’m covering the (latest) coconut oil controversy. A Harvard professor recently launched a dramatic harangue against coconut oil, calling it “pure poison.” Is it true this time? Are we indeed killing ourselves?



Let’s find out:

Speaking of fat, I’d be interested in Mark’s take regarding the latest attempt to put the kibosh on consumption of coconut oil–specifically, a Harvard professor saying it’s pure poison, probably because it’s so heavily saturated.

I can’t stand the stuff, personally. I don’t like anything made with coconut, and it doesn’t like me either, possibly because I’m sensitive to the overload of lauric acid. However, this and many other websites tout coconut products as being super healthful.

So is there any truth to these new claims that coconut oil is actually bad for us? Is there any hard evidence that points to related health issues? Or is this just more of the same-old, same-old that we saw with eggs, red meat, etc.?

Here’s what Shary’s talking about.

I won’t even talk about the Tokelau, a Pacific Island people who obtained most of their calories from coconut. Or the Kitavans, who ate a relatively low-fat diet but got most of their fat from coconuts. Both showed pristine metabolic health, and in the case of the Tokelau, they actually got incredibly unhealthy after switching from their coconut-rich diet to one rich in mainland foods, including seed oils.

Nor will I talk too much about the animal studies, most of which have found favorable effects on health as a result of eating coconut oil.

Let’s just focus on the human trials—the intentional studies in which actual living humans ate coconut oil and then underwent lab tests to determine the health effects. Concrete, objective effects. If coconut oil is as toxic as this Harvard professor claims, the evidence should be overwhelmingly negative. A Harvard professor would never misrepresent the evidence, right?

First, there is 2017’s Effect of a Diet Enriched with Fresh Coconut Saturated Fats on Plasma Lipids and Erythrocyte Fatty Acid Composition in Normal Adults. Healthy adults either added coconut oil or peanut fat to their diet for 3 months, and researchers examined how the different fat sources affected their biomarkers. Coconut oil increased HDL levels and the proportion of an anti-inflammatory lipid subfraction in red blood cell membranes. All told, coconut oil had a neutral to beneficial effect on health.

2017 also had Physical Form of Dietary Fat Alters Postprandial Substrate Utilization and Glycemic Response in Healthy Chinese Men. As far as coconut oil’s toxicity goes, this one was a dud. Whether the men ate coconut oil or sunflower oil made no difference in their metabolic response to meals (though when the fats were in gel form, there was an effect).

Oh, but this one sounds negative: Coconut Oil Has Less Satiating Properties Than Medium Chain Triglyceride Oil. Finally! We’ve found a kink. Unfortunately, this one isn’t bad for coconut oil either. Although MCTs proved more satiating than coconut oil, the latter was still more satiating than the control oil—vegetable oil. This is actually a strong counter to the Harvard professor’s main contention that coconut oil is bad because it’s so high in saturated fat; MCTs are pure saturated fat and performed very well here. Also, most MCT oil products come from coconut oil.

Next is The Impact of Virgin Coconut Oil and High-Oleic Safflower Oil on Body Composition, Lipids, and Inflammatory Markers in Post-Menopausal Women.  There were no differences in body composition. Coconut oil raised total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL, but it was a wash. Both groups ended up with the same TC/HDL ratio (one of the best markers of overall heart health we have). One person had increased inflammation due to coconut oil, but most of the others had lower inflammation. Overall, though, the “impact of VCO and SO on other [inflammatory] cytokines varied on an individual basis.” The implication is that different people had different responses to the different oils. This is known, and it’s good to see researchers admit that people are different and the individual response arguably matters more than the statistical average of the responses.

In 2016, this came out: Postprandial serum endotoxin in healthy humans is modulated by dietary fat in a randomized, controlled, cross-over study. At first glance, it doesn’t look good for coconut oil. Compared to fish oil (which reduced it) and high omega-6 oil (which was neutral), coconut oil eaten with the meal increased the levels of serum endotoxin. Endotoxins are produced by bacteria in our guts and tend to increase systemic inflammation when they make it into our bodies. Coconut oil was pretty good at helping endotoxin make it past the gut and into the body. The good news is that this did not increase systemic inflammation—but keep in mind that these were “healthy humans.” An increase in serum endotoxins may have stronger effects on inflammation in unhealthy or obese humans. Another bit of good news is that pairing coconut oil with, say, fatty fish should mitigate any rise in serum endotoxins.

There’s also A Randomized Study of Coconut Oil Versus Sunflower Oil on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients with Stable Coronary Heart Disease. The title tells it: patients with heart disease added either coconut oil or sunflower oil to their diets for two years. Researchers tracked basic risk factors and the number of “events,” or heart attacks. Despite people with actual heart disease eating the “worst” oil possible, “there was no statistically significant difference in the anthropometric, biochemical, vascular function, and in cardiovascular events after 2 years.” No difference.

Heck, according to 2016’s The Effect of Coconut Oil Pulling on Streptococcus Mutans Count in Saliva in Comparison to Chlorexidine Mouthwash, the coconut oil “myth” all the “experts” love to malign—that swishing coconut oil in your mouth can reduce harmful bacterial colonization—is actually true.

It’s obvious just from looking at these very recent studies, even some of the ones with negative or neutral effects, that coconut oil is far from poison. “Experts” do themselves no credit when they ignore and misrepresent the evidence like this.

Luckily, we can read for ourselves. And we can try for ourselves.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Thoughts on this coconut oil controversy—or other health related media hype? Other studies you’d like me to look at? Have a great week.

References:

Nagashree RS, Manjunath NK, Indu M, et al. Effect of a Diet Enriched with Fresh Coconut Saturated Fats on Plasma Lipids and Erythrocyte Fatty Acid Composition in Normal Adults. J Am Coll Nutr. 2017;36(5):330-334.
Tan SY, Peh E, Lau E, Marangoni AG, Henry CJ. Physical Form of Dietary Fat Alters Postprandial Substrate Utilization and Glycemic Response in Healthy Chinese Men. J Nutr. 2017;147(6):1138-1144.
Kinsella R, Maher T, Clegg ME. Coconut oil has less satiating properties than medium chain triglyceride oil. Physiol Behav. 2017;179:422-426.
Harris M, Hutchins A, Fryda L. The Impact of Virgin Coconut Oil and High-Oleic Safflower Oil on Body Composition, Lipids, and Inflammatory Markers in Postmenopausal Women. J Med Food. 2017;20(4):345-351.
Lyte JM, Gabler NK, Hollis JH. Postprandial serum endotoxin in healthy humans is modulated by dietary fat in a randomized, controlled, cross-over study. Lipids Health Dis. 2016;15(1):186.
Vijayakumar M, Vasudevan DM, Sundaram KR, et al. A randomized study of coconut oil versus sunflower oil on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with stable coronary heart disease. Indian Heart J. 2016;68(4):498-506.
Kaushik M, Reddy P, Sharma R, Udameshi P, Mehra N, Marwaha A. The Effect of Coconut Oil pulling on Streptococcus mutans Count in Saliva in Comparison with Chlorhexidine Mouthwash. J Contemp Dent Pract. 2016;17(1):38-41.

The post Dear Mark: Is Coconut Oil Pure Poison? appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Weekend Link Love — Edition 518

Research of the Week

Olympic gold medalists die earlier than silver medalists (on average).

Despite increased HPV vaccine uptake, HPV-related cancers are on the rise.

Cardio and weight lifting have different effects on our hormones (so do both).

If you’re sensitive to alcohol, you might be sensitive to sleep deprivation, too.

Sun exposure alters gut bacteria independent of vitamin D.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 273: Seamus Mullen: Host Elle Russ chats with Seamus Mullen, an award-winning New York chef and cookbook author who used diet to cure his rheumatoid arthritis.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Interesting Blog Posts

Parenting an infant can be scary, but at least you know not to give your teething kid opium.

An interesting hypothesis for why those paleolithic Venus statues were so curvaceous.

Don’t count out Monsanto just yet.

Media, Schmedia

Veganism isn’t the answer.

Is a diverse diet actually important (or helpful)?

Everything Else

A Denisovan and a Neanderthal, sittin’ in a cave…

Kanye gets it.

It works in monkeys. Now, researchers are going to try reprogrammed stem cells in human Parkinson’s patients.

“Army of ticks…”

Teens prefer texting to books.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Study I’m reading: Health coaching works.

Analysis I enjoyed: Regarding the effects drinking (and not drinking) has on mortality.

Concept I’m pondering: Does purported longevity drug rapamycin slow down time?

Announcement I’m pleased to, well, announce: PETA has liberated the animals!

Interesting line in a study’s conclusion: “Hyperlipidemia is not an important cause of coronary atherosclerosis.”

Recipe Corner

Keto caprese salad, just like what your keto Italian mama would have made.
Got an air fryer? Try these coconut shrimp.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Aug 19 – Aug 25)

Is Keto Bad for the Thyroid? – Well, is it?
CrossFit Training: How Primal Enables Elite Performance – Upgrade your game without hurting your health.

Comment of the Week

“I know the ‘and his dog’ was meant as a joke, but our dog has bone cancer in her humerus. Rather than the recommended amputation, chemo and radiation treatment path, we have her on several holistic treatments and changed her diet to Keto. No glycogen to feed her cancer cells, and cancer cells (which need lots of energy) don’t do well on ketones. We are just months in, but she is enjoying life everyday.”

– That’s dogs for ya, Jan. Good luck!

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Bacon Pancakes

Bacon pancakes sound like a sinful breakfast treat, but these slightly sweet, mostly savory cakes require no repentance. Fluffy, moist and salty with just hint of sweetness, bacon pancakes can be served with a light drizzle of maple syrup, or a dollop of sour cream and a hit of hot sauce.

Peruse the list of ingredients for these Primal pancakes and you’ll see the usual suspects (coconut flour, eggs, butter) mixed with bacon and chives. But this recipe also has something completely new: gelatin. Why add gelatin to pancakes? Because you can, without affecting the flavor or texture.

Anecdotally, gelatin can benefit bone, joint and skin health and improve sleep quality. This recipe shows how easy it is to work unflavored gelatin into your diet. Add granular gelatin to other types of Primal pancakes and baked goods, soups and stews, meatloaf, smoothies, whatever. (Ideally, dissolve the gelatin in a little water or other liquid when adding it to a recipe).

But let’s get back to these delicious bacon pancakes. Serve them in a stack, or use two as buns for an egg and sausage breakfast sandwich. You really can’t go wrong.

Servings: 2 (6 small pancakes)

Time in the Kitchen: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

6 slices of bacon
3 egg whites*
1/4 cup coconut flour (30 g)
1 tablespoon purified granular gelatin (like this) (15 ml)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (30 ml)
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives (30 ml)
1/2 cup water (120 ml)
Optional: 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream for topping

Instructions:

Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat. Leave the bacon fat in the pan. Crumble or finely chop the bacon and set aside.

Whisk egg whites into soft peaks (an electric mixer works well for this). Set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the coconut flour, gelatin, butter, chives and bacon. Add the water and mix well then gently fold in the egg whites until combined. The batter will be thick and lumpy.

Re-heat the bacon fat in the frying pan over medium heat. Scoop small amounts (about 2 tablespoons) of batter into the pan, gently smoothing the batter out with a spoon to form small pancakes. Better yet, set a 3-inch biscuit cutter in the frying pan, drop the batter in the middle and then smooth out the batter to form perfectly round cakes.

Cook about 3 minutes on each side. Serve warm.

*Using the entire egg instead of just the whites can be done but it makes a heavier, less fluffy pancake

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