This topic contains 991 replies, has 70 voices, and was last updated by Cinque 2 years, 3 months ago.
Fat-regulating ‘switch’ in brain may not work on obese people:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-02/fat-regulating-switch-in-brain-may-not-work-in-obese-people/8764876
This relates to research which has been ongoing by the Garvan Institute for a while now:
https://www.garvan.org.au/news-events/news/growing-2018brown-fat2019-might-help-us-fight-obesity
I found this article interesting. If contains some references to scientific papers that support some of the content, but not all of it.
However, I found much of it interesting. I knew that not all calories were equal (mainly due to gut flora differences) and I also knew that the higher fibre content in unprocessed foods meant that you absorb fewer calories from them than their refined alternatives. What I didn’t know was that this phenomenon goes well beyond unprocessed carbohydrates and their fibre content. I found their comparison of the fat absorbed from peanut butter and whole peanuts quite surprising. Although I already mostly choose whole foods with as little processing as possible I may have to consider the ones I still use. I love my nut butters, but I may have to choose the whole nuts instead.
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/metabolic-damage
http://www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-fad-diets-that-work
5:2 is the last diet talked about, but it references some research.
A look at the research into the gut biome.
Not sure if this has already been posted as it’s 2 years old.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4290017/
The main purpose of this article seems to be to bring together different research into the gut to see what we know so far and which diseases might be affected by the gut biome.
Summary:
– The known sequences of the human microbial metagenome likely contain the vast majority of common bacterial species.
– An individual’s microbiome is quite stable over time, but there is variability at the extremes of age and among different individuals. Diet and other environmental factors also affect the composition of the microbiome.
– In comparison to healthy controls, alterations in the microbiota are recognized in a growing number of disease states, but, outside of Clostridium difficile infection, the role of these microbiota alterations in the pathogenesis of disease is uncertain.
– A better understanding of the functional interactions between the human host and the microbiome is very likely to lead to new diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic capabilities.
The diseases specifically discussed in this article are : Clostridium difficile infection, irritable bowel disease, inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease.
The only thing in this article that I can’t remember being discussed in the recently released books on the gut biome is the connection to cardiovascular disease.
I found this article a reminder of how our society keeps wanting simple, magic bullet solutions to health issues. Whether wanting a single thing to blame for obesity or a superfood that will cure all ills.
I think it comes down to people not wanting to change. Giving up the quick processed food options and going back to a diverse, unprocessed diet, that includes lots of plants is way too much trouble.
Unfortunately the way scientific research is conducted these days is partly to blame. Even scientific studies that are conducted rigorously usually only investigate one thing at a time as it’s difficult to design tests for complex interactions between multiple factors, and unless there’s the possibility of a marketable magic bullet at the end, who’s going to fund it?
https://theconversation.com/health-check-eat-food-not-blockbuster-nutrients-28404
A couple of articles that remind me it’s time to get off the couch and go for a walk.
https://theconversation.com/health-check-in-terms-of-exercise-is-walking-enough-78604
https://theconversation.com/could-too-much-sitting-be-bad-for-our-brains-79413
I had to chuckle when I read this article because we sell yogurt covered raisins in the health food shop where I occasionally work! Not that I can remember munching on them though is interesting to find that a mere 1/4 cup provides 20 grams carbohydrates 19 of which are derived from sugar! None of the other options really surprised me except that I didn’t realize how many carbs/sugars are in those fancy coffee drinks. …Glad I’m not a coffee drinker though I’ll have to rethink my ‘treat’ chai latte drinks that I order when out with other lady friend coffee drinkers!
http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/carbs-without-cause-8-foods-worse-white-bread
Our MEMORY of food eaten affects our hunger and subsequent eating. Can be used to reduced our hunger
http://www.alphagalileo.org/ViewItem.aspx?ItemId=178664&CultureCode=en
Hi:
Update on Dr. Longo’s FMD, and long term calorie restriction:https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/20/science-diet-fasting-may-be-more-important-than-just-eating-less.html
Benefits of drinking coffee
http://time.com/5022060/coffee-health-benefits-heart/
Also interesting that machine intelligence was used in this research to automate the identification of previously unnoticed patterns in old research data. Possible big research growth area?
Hi:
Many on this site already understand this, but it is a good reminder that fats are good, refined carbs are bad: https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/weightloss/a-professor-of-medicine-explains-why-eating-fat-wont-make-you-fat-—-but-sugar-will/ar-BBFc09j?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp
Does anyone have links to good research on sweeteners and the affect on insulin and blood sugar?
I’ve had a look online and the studies seem to contradict one another. Most of the studies seem to test the affect of sweeteners with food rather than in a fasting situation.
Some of the studies show no affect of sweeteners on blood sugar, but for a healthy person fasting and trying to lose weight, surely we are also interested in not spiking the insulin? I understand the body will not burn fat when insulin is raised above base level so this seems important if you want to lose the most weight with intermittent fasting.
You may say don’t use sweeteners but my OH has a sweet tooth that needs taming!
Hi cornish-jane,
I put the query “effect of sweeteners on insulin” into google and these are the first three seemingly reliable results to pop up:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/261179.php
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/artificial-sweeteners-blood-sugar-insulin
Results aren’t definitive, but seem to suggest artificial sweeteners are a health risk, albeit seemingly a lesser risk than sugar.
An alternative to artificial sweeteners is to change taste preferences from sweet to bitter. Works for me! But I guess we all have to find our own paths.
Thanks @onel for the links on sweeteners and insulin/blood sugar. I am going to look at Stevia as an alternate to mainstream sweeteners for my OH.
Thanks Onel, interesting article.
I did wonder about why the study parameters were chosen. Adding 2 tablespoons of oil to a mouse’s diet sounds like an awfully large increase in calories for such tiny creatures. (I wouldn’t consume this amount daily and I’m a great deal larger than a mouse.) I think it leaves open the possibility of the outcome also being connected to calories, body weight or fat content of diet.
Good point. I like your critical analysis LJoyce.
Maybe I’m mistaken? My reading: this study was related to an earlier one where the mice diet was enriched with extra virgin olive oil instead of the canola oil – and this comparison to the earlier study was the basis of the conclusions. i.e. both studies added oils to the normal diet. The olive oil study, in contrast to the canola oil study, indicated reduced rather than increased Alzheimer’s risks.
The assumption in much dietary advice is that canola oil is as healthy as olive oil because both are high in monounsaturated fats. This research challenges that assumption.
Thanks for the above video link @cinque. Very interesting. I realise the more I read the science of nutrition the less I know. Eg some researchers focus on insulin and sugar, but don’t look dietary fat or gut biome. To get the full picture you need to then go down the rabbit hole of gut health. And then that leads you to reading about fasting and that leads you to ketogenic and so on and so on…
I read a lot and come up with lots of different answers to being healthy and lean. But the scientists and other experts often contradict one another! I try to filter out views based on vested interest and poor science and mostly come back to intermittent fasting and a Mediterranean style diet with lots of fruit & veg. At least until our doctors can offer the average person a personalised diet based on our genes, gut biome and health status. Wouldn’t that be great?
Cinque, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to such a long video on youtube before. Well worth my time, though not because it really answered any of my questions. It’s just confirmed that we don’t know enough and we don’t do enough quality research. It’s unfortunate that each little bit of research gets lots of fan-fare and the latest magic bullet gets lots of publicity. It will take a lot more evidence than I’ve seen to convince me that the answers are simplistic – I still believe they are holistic. There is still so much disagreement and confusion and conflicting data. One of the few things they all seemed to agree on was the need to vastly reduce processed foods.
If I was being cynical I’d say that what most of them have in common is a personal theory that they’ve tried to find research to support and they are all trying to flog books on the topic. Is it any wonder I feel confused and cynical about all this.
I think I’ll stick with my current approach to a healthy balanced low processed diet.
@ljoyce – i think you were watching the video with me! We agree on reducing processed food. I find it interesting the way the GP’s views about people not wanting to take advice on eating unprocessed food and not buying the healthy baby food were unheard. How can a GP encourage people to stop fad diets and eat healthy when we’ve stopped listening?
cornish-jane, Unfortunately I think the way nutrition health research works these days, it actually forms a vicious cycle with the way human beings behave. Few people want to upend their way of life, most either secretly or openly want simple solutions that mean few changes. As long as most research focuses on single factors it just feeds this cycle and I don’t think we really make progress, we just get more confused and less trusting as the pile of disproved fads grows ever higher.
I agree with your comment about the GP not being adequately heard. I also think that the researcher who said you do have to change your life and question not just what you eat but why you do it, needed to be better heard. He was shot down for talking about emotional health. In the support group I was in when I was morbidly obese and on a strict weight loss program, you’d have been hard pressed to find anyone without either metal illness (mostly depression) or emotional trauma. I expected the emotional health issues as I already knew it was part of my unhealthy eating pattern, but the number of people with depression shocked me.
You could look at the current state of the population’s health from a historical perspective and ask what’s changed. Over the last century people have gotten much less healthy and much fatter. Yes life expectancy is longer but that’s primarily due to less infant mortality, vaccinations and heroic emergency care. Even looking back 50 years to when I was in HS We had two obese kids in a class of 200. That’s 1%
So what changed: then people ate whole foods with lots of animal fats (omega 3’s). Now people eat high carb processed foods with lots of vegetable fats (omega 6’s). Then no snacking ( this one was big in our house) now constant eating. Then, plenty of human movement, now almost none. Then little pollution. Now countless chemical pollutants in the food, water, air and consumer products we use. Then, plenty of sun exposure, now, little sun exposure
I’d suggest that history has a lot of clues to point us in the correct direction.
@ljoyce and @diverdog – the obesity crisis is probably complex and the factors that seem to lead one person to overeat and gain weight (eg emotional distress) are different in someone else (eg snacking) and someone else (eg genes) and we are all affected by our changing environment. And if you are affected by lots of factors you are in deep trouble! We need publically funded scientists to get together and agree on something – probably personalised advice.
In the video i felt for the dietician who berated the experts for advising low fat, then low carbs, no eggs, then eggs, no avocados, then avocados….she was at the end of her career and said a lot of patients don’t trust her anymore!
Our newspapers and TV have had three health related headlines in the last week – two scientific miracles and a scare. That is unusual; I would expect two scares for every miracle. In the last year I have read that losing weight cures diabetes, asthma and arthritis. That corn oil is good for me and bad for me. That rape seed oil is better than olive oil and that rapeseed oil causes dementia. That olive oil cures everything but if it gets too hot when cooking it is carcinogenic. That a Mediterranean diet is the answer to all of our prayers, but they do it better in Okinawa. That coconut oil is really healthy and that it is a major cause of obesity. That we should eat more fish, but most of them have dangerous levels of heavy metal. That eggs raise your cholesterol level and that they don’t. That I should take statins, but they could kill me. That my grand children should take more exercise but that could do premature damage to their joints. That diets are good for you, but none of them work.
The one I want to believe I read yesterday. Apparently women are naturally pre-programmed to favour tall, physically strong, preferably slim males. I am working on the slim. OH thinks that may be a good idea.
Cornish -Jane, although we may have different reasons for becoming obese, the root cause is almost always the same. Eating way too many calories. I think very few scientists would disagree with that. Sure there are a few genetic outliers but there always have been. Those that have genetic and medical conditions such as thyroid do need a MD’s help.
On my 17 year journey of learning to control my body comp I’ve tried many different “diets”. I’ve eaten 6 times a day and I’ve fasted, high protein, High fiber, high fat and high “good” carbs. I’ve lost or controlled my weight with all of these strategies as long as I limited calories
As penguin has pointed out there sure is a lot of conflicting advice out there and it would be great if we could get some unbiased guidance from our governments too.
Penguin, men are pre- programmed too. If a woman is breathing he favours her! LOL
Lignans and fasting: Everything in veggies may not be good for us.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/12/17/fasting-minimize-lectins-can-benefit-health.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20171217Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM172918&et_rid=154420887
I am trying to remember a passage from Pratchett which describes the ideal meal as having “meat, fat and burned crunchy bits” . The only part of that I am sure of is the burned crunchy bits. On Sunday we spent a couple of hours walking through Gloucester Quays (formerly the canal docks, now cafes, shops etc) and the City centre. We lost count of the opportunities to eat unhealthy things, all emitting tempting smells. We walked a total of 2.5 miles and were never away from the smell of food.
Below is an excellent article on the health benefits of generating ‘brown fat’ in the body and how to do just that…
…And if for some reason ‘The Telegraph’ decides to charge for content to access the article, here’s another with some of above info…
https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20141009/body-may-change-bad-fat-to-good-after-exposure-to-cold
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