Health

The big sleep

October 28, 2016

(Part 8 of 12 in series, Stephan Guyenet's "Whole Health Source")

The term “adrenal fatigue”, which refers to the aforementioned disturbance in cortisol rhythm, is characterized by general fatigue, difficulty waking up in the morning, and difficulty going to sleep at night. It’s a term that’s commonly used by alternative medical practitioners but not generally accepted by mainstream medicine, possibly because it’s difficult to demonstrate and the symptoms are fairly general. Robb Wolf talks about it in his book The Paleo Solution.

~ Stephan Guyenet from, http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/10/big-sleep.html

I yap about sleep a lot, for a very good reason. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:

Improving my sleep was the single most important thing I’ve ever done for my health. The first small improvements in sleep led to further steps onward and onward.

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Maybe turn off the TV and go to bed

October 24, 2016

(Part 9 of 14 in series, John Briffa's "A Good Look at Good Health")

Six years ago I decided to dramatically reduce the amount of time I spent watching TV, and this single intervention (I believe) had a dramatic effect on my life. It liberated a significant amount of time that I could devote to perhaps more useful and rewarding pursuits. You may be thinking that I’m referring to things like writing or exercise. Actually, I’m referring mainly to sleep.

~ John Briffa from, http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/07/19/want-to-lose-weight-maybe-turn-off-the-tv-and-go-to-bed/

Sleep — specifically, learning about sleep, fixing my sleeping environment and getting more and better quality sleep — is the SINGLE most important thing I changed in my journey these last few years.

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The dirty little secret of the diet-heart hypothesis

October 20, 2016

(Part 7 of 12 in series, Stephan Guyenet's "Whole Health Source")

The diet-heart hypothesis is the idea that saturated fat, and in some versions cholesterol, raises blood cholesterol and contributes to the risk of having a heart attack. To test this hypothesis, scientists have been studying the relationship between saturated fat consumption and heart attack risk for more than half a century. What have these studies found?

~ Stephan Guyenet from, http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/12/dirty-little-secret-of-diet-heart.html

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The body fat setpoint, Part II: Mechanisms of fat gain

October 19, 2016

(Part 6 of 12 in series, Stephan Guyenet's "Whole Health Source")

Body fat produces a hormone called leptin, which signals to the brain and other organs to decrease appetite, increase the metabolic rate and increase physical activity. More fat means more leptin, which then causes the extra fat to be burned. The little glitch is that some people become resistant to leptin, so that their brain doesn’t hear the fat tissue screaming that it’s already full. Leptin resistance nearly always accompanies obesity, because it’s a precondition of significant fat gain.

~ Stephan Guyenet from, http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/01/body-fat-setpoint-part-ii-mechanisms-of.html

This part of his series is short and non-technical. But his whole series is, probably, the greatest explanation of why one gets fat which I have ever read.

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Is obesity all in the mind?

October 18, 2016

(Part 8 of 14 in series, John Briffa's "A Good Look at Good Health")

My position, and that of a growing number of researchers, is that there’s more to obesity than calorie balance, and that body weight and fat mass is regulated by a complex system that involves an array of hormones and feedback mechanisms.
In recent months I’ve become interested in the potential role of a hormone by the name of leptin in obesity.

~ John Briffa from, http://www.drbriffa.com/2011/03/10/is-obesity-all-in-the-mind/

It’s not “in the mind” in the sense that you can imagine your way to weight loss. But there’s definitely MORE to weight loss than the balance of calories. My experience is that the best way to lose weight is to simply reduce my calorie intakes slightly — no need to count everything and aim for a computed target intake. At the same time, include some strength training (a ton is not required, but walking/cardio is NOT what worked for me.)

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Animal models of atherosclerosis: LDL

October 15, 2016

(Part 5 of 12 in series, Stephan Guyenet's "Whole Health Source")

The bottom line is that experimental models of atherosclerosis appear to rely on overloading herbivorous species with dietary cholesterol that they are not equipped to clear. SFA does exacerbate the increase in LDL caused by cholesterol overload. But in the absence of excess cholesterol, it does not necessarily raise LDL even in species ill-equipped to digest these types of fats. Dietary cholesterol has a modest effect on LDL cholesterol in humans, and it has even less effect on LDL particle number, a more important measure. So there may not be a cholesterol overload for saturated fat to exacerbate in humans.

~ Stephan Guyenet from, http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/07/animal-models-of-atherosclerosis-ldl.html

In the context of actual amounts that you can actually consume (animal studies feed cholesterol to herbivores as if you eat 20+ eggs EVERY day) there is no evidence (not in animal studies and certainly not in human studeis) that cholesterol and saturated fat cause atherosclerosis. If you think eating cholesterol or saturated fat is bad, I hope you’ll investigate where you obtained that knowledge, and look into the factual basis of that knowledge. If you’re avoiding cholesterol and saturated fat, what are you replacing it with?

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It looks like our ancient ancestors ate a low-carb diet

October 14, 2016

(Part 7 of 14 in series, John Briffa's "A Good Look at Good Health")

Official recommendations are normally that about 60 per cent of the calories we consume should come from carbohydrate. That’s actually higher than the most carbohydrate-rich hunter-gatherer diet of all, and about three times the average carbohydrate percentage in such diets. The authors of this study conclude, ‘…the range of energy intake from carbohydrates in the diets of most hunter-gatherer societies was markedly different (lower) from the amounts currently recommended for healthy humans.’

~ John Briffa from, http://www.drbriffa.com/2011/10/11/it-looks-like-our-ancient-ancestors-ate-a-low-carb-diet/

Not “low carb” as in some wacky, extremist diet. I’d prefer to call it a “normal carb diet” where you simply try to get your carbs from tubors, fruits and veggies, not from added sugars and refined grains.

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Modern diet-health epidemiology: A self-fulfilling prophecy?

October 12, 2016

(Part 4 of 12 in series, Stephan Guyenet's "Whole Health Source")

Do whole grains prevent smoking too? An alternative explanation is that the women who were eating whole grains were all-around more conscientious and concerned about their health than those eating refined grains. And why not? They “knew” from mainstream diet advice that whole grains are healthier than refined grains. When is the last time you saw someone smoking a cigarette while eating whole grain muesli with skim milk and half a grapefruit for breakfast? Is it easier to imagine someone smoking while eating a donut and sweetened coffee?

~ Stephan Guyenet from, http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/04/modern-diet-health-epidemiology-self_09.html

I recommend reading everything on the Whole Health Source blog; Very science-intensive, but you’re life will be imrpoved. And, the above piece is a great explanation of things like “correletion”, “confounding factors”, and more. But, there’s also a HUGELY useful take-away that he doesn’t explicitly state:

By being health-conscious — reading, learning, making small changes — you’re going to have a huge affect on your health. In the long run, you don’t need to learn every little scientific nuance (because who has time for that, right?) Instead, you learn a little each day and continuously work to make small improvements.

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Growth hormone may rise 300 percent with exercise

October 11, 2016

(Part 3 of 3 in series, Ned Kock's "Health Correlator")

Growth hormone stays flat for about 40 minutes, after which it goes up steeply. At around the 90-minute mark, it reaches a level that is quite high; 300 percent higher than it was prior to the exercise session. Natural elevation of circulating growth hormone through intense exercise, intermittent fasting, and restful sleep, leads to a number of health benefits. It helps burn abdominal fat, often hours after the exercise session, and helps builds muscle (in conjunction with other hormones, such as testosterone). It appears to increase insulin sensitivity in the long run.

~ Ned Kock from, http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.com/2016/08/growth-hormone-may-rise-300-percent.html

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US fructose consumption trends

August 28, 2016

(Part 2 of 12 in series, Stephan Guyenet's "Whole Health Source")

1970: 42.5 lb/year of added fructose.
2007: 50.6 lb/year of added fructose.
At 19%, it’s not a staggering increase, but it’s definitely significant. I also think it’s an underestimate, because it doesn’t include fruit juice or total fruit consumption, both of which have increased. Other notable findings: grain intake has increased 41% between 1970 and 2005, due chiefly to rising consumption of processed wheat products. Added fats and oils have increased 63% in the same time period, with the increase coming exclusively from vegetable fats. The use of hydrogenated shortening has more than doubled.

~ Stephan Guyenet from, https://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/05/us-fructose-consumption-trends.html

And the amount of average exercise has INCREASED as well since the 70s. We [Americans] have not become sedentary… our diets is killing us, and we’ve been partly stemming the tide through exercise. Reduce your added sugar intake, reduce your processed grains intake. You don’t have to go to extremes… just make small changes. ‘Big ship, small rudder’ but you are still at the helm.

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Why is everyone so darned happy!?!

June 21, 2016

(Part 54 of 72 in series, My Journey)

I think it may be the sun exposure.

When I started Parkour, I wasn’t even aware that I was generally UNhappy. But I sure did notice that everyone I met WAS happy. At first I just marked this down to “everyone is young”, and I set about simply enjoying training and playing with a mob of fun people.

Then, slowly, I realized I was becoming happy.

Now sure, some of this has to be due to my changing — some life-style changes, some dietary, some weight, some exercise, etc. But the more I’ve been reading, the more I’m inclined to blame some of it on the sun.

You see, it’s been shown that Vitamin D supplementation works wonders, and I’d bet that getting my Vitamin D the natural way is even better.

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/supplements/sunshine-superman/
http://www.drbriffa.com/2007/09/12/vitamin-d-supplementation-appears-to-save-lives/
http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/04/29/can-sunlight-and-vitamin-d-help-to-preserve-physical-function-and-independence-as-we-age/
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/09/01/dealing-with-male-depression/

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Damaging my hands is not a good thing

March 22, 2016

(Part 49 of 72 in series, My Journey)

I used to think blisters, busted skin, and crusty scabs were badges of accomplishment. But now, I think that if my hands are wounded I have done something wrong.

If I have a bashed shin, a bleeding elbow, or a bruised rib then clearly I’ve done something wrong to damage those body parts. So why did I think that injuries to my hands were cool or something of which to be proud?

tl;dr: Hubris.

Almost everyone I know has soft hands. I know a very few people who work in trades who have tough hands, and I know some Parkour people with seasoned hands. So I thought it was cool that I could sometimes show off my “I worked hard hands.” Turns out that was just a way for me to brag. (Boo! Bad, old me! Time for me to re-read My Oath.)

Even worse, there were times where I’ve left parts of my hands, or even blood, on walls, obstacles, etc.. That’s actually pretty gross, and is the exact opposite of the leave-no-trace mentality that I want to cultivate in myself.

The light-bulb moment for me was the last time I went indoor bouldering. I climbed for several hours (at a leisurely pace and without damaging ANY body parts). When I was done I found myself thinking, “AWESOME! Look at my hands! All these pull-ups and scaf work are paying off!”

Lest I get pushed under the bus by hardcore people, I want to be clear: I train hard. I love “MDK”, “gauntlets” and mental/physical challenges. I do push parts of my body to their limits. Usually, I discover those limits were farther out than I expected. But, just as I do with the rest of my body, I am now going to do my best to take good care of my hands.

I’m happy with progressions for everything I do; Now I’ll try to also be happy with progressions for my hands. If it turns out that I have to stop doing something (or tape my hands, or *gasp* put gloves on) because my hands are going to give out, that tells me what I have to work on next: Toughening up my hands.

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A thought on health

November 21, 2015

(Part 37 of 72 in series, My Journey)

Of this I am certain: Unless you take the time to study how your body’s biology and chemistry work, you will never figure out what you should actually be eating. Your health is your number one priority — your children, your parents, your spouse/significant-other… you cannot help them if you don’t have your own health.

Take just a bit of time to start reading about metabolism, diet (the general idea of what you should consume, not a specific set of instructions to lose weight), biology, and chemistry. Just spend a little bit of time reading to investigate the things you believe are true, and to verify the things you believe are false.

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Metabolic advantage

July 21, 2015

(Part 6 of 14 in series, John Briffa's "A Good Look at Good Health")

The idea that a particular diet might have weight loss benefits that cannot be predicted utterly by the calories contained in that diet is often referred to as ‘metabolic advantage’. I’ve found it to be a vexed topic, with commentators on it belonging to one of two camps. On the one hand we have those that believe ‘a calorie is a calorie’, and that the form that calories come in have not bearing on their impact on weight. On the other hand, we have those who maintain that the form calories come in can influence body weight in a way that is independent of the number of those calories, or who are least open to the idea that his can be true. Just to be clear, I am in the latter camp.

~ John Briffa from, http://www.drbriffa.com/2009/10/19/is-there-such-as-thing-as-a-metabolic-advantage/

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What is “intermittent fasting”?

July 15, 2015

(Part 5 of 14 in series, John Briffa's "A Good Look at Good Health")

Quelling insulin will help protect against these conditions, and will facilitate fat loss too. One way to quell insulin levels is to eat a diet largely devoid of the foods that cause surges in blood sugar such as those [of] added sugar as well as starchy ‘staples’ like bread, potatoes, rice pasta and breakfast cereals. Another way, though, to moderate insulin levels is to extend the time between eating. This, in essence, is what intermittent fasting is about.

~ John Briffa from, http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/03/01/my-times-piece-on-intermittent-fasting/

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The calorie principle

July 9, 2015

(Part 4 of 14 in series, John Briffa's "A Good Look at Good Health")

There are a number of potential mechanisms that explain why nuts may not be fattening which were explored in a recent review that appeared in the Journal of Nutrition recently. I’ve summarised them (along with one mechanism that is not discussed but I think is important) below:

Studies show that nuts tend to be effective at satisfying the appetite, which can mean that individuals just end up eating less of other foods. The percentage of calories that come from nuts that are compensated for by eating less of other foods varies from study to study, but comes in at around 70 per cent.

~ John Briffa from, http://www.drbriffa.com/2008/10/06/why-the-evidence-on-nuts-and-weight-makes-a-mockery-of-the-calorie-principle/

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Restricting your eating times

July 4, 2015

The reasons for these health benefits relate to the fact that the human body appears to be designed to thrive in a cycle of “feast and famine.” By imitating the ancestral conditions of cyclical nourishment, your body enters into a state of optimal functioning. Three major mechanisms by which fasting benefits your health include:

Increased insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial energy efficiency. […] Reduced oxidative stress. […] Increased capacity to resist stress, disease and aging.

~ Jeff Roberts from, http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/02/05/why-restricting-your-eating-time-period-to-8-hours-will-transform-your-health-fitness/

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