“Unh-Unh, arrrgh, unh aarrg ooh” translation from caveman speak: check out this study from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition concerning the metabolic and physiologic improvements from consuming a paleolithic, hunter-gatherer type diet.
Background: The contemporary American diet figures centrally in the pathogenesis of numerous chronic diseases—‘diseases of civilization’. We investigated in humans whether a diet similar to that consumed by our preagricultural hunter-gatherer ancestors (that is, a paleolithic type diet) confers health benefits.
Methods: We performed an outpatient, metabolically controlled study, in nine nonobese sedentary healthy volunteers, ensuring no weight loss by daily weight. We compared the findings when the participants consumed their usual diet with those when they consumed a paleolithic type diet. The participants consumed their usual diet for 3 days, three ramp-up diets of increasing potassium and fiber for 7 days, then a paleolithic type diet comprising lean meat, fruits, vegetables and nuts, and excluding nonpaleolithic type foods, such as cereal grains, dairy or legumes, for 10 days. Outcomes included arterial blood pressure (BP); 24-h urine sodium and potassium excretion; plasma glucose and insulin areas under the curve (AUC) during a 2h oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT); insulin sensitivity; plasma lipid concentrations; and brachial artery reactivity in response to ischemia.
“You Gonna Eat That?!” (funny re-tweet)
By March 2nd, 2010, underMore iPhone Love
By March 2nd, 2010, underQuick look: An iPhone App that scans bar-codes and yields nutritional information in your diet database.
.
I don’t “count calories” in the deprivation-diet sense of the phrase, but I like knowing my caloric intake. I, unlike a lot of people, am a utilitarian eater. I like foods of all kinds and appreciate that which is well prepared and tasty, but you don’t have to pry me away from the refrigerator, is all I’m saying.
This was not always the case, until I figured out the vicious insulin spike phenomenon. Once I started controlling intake of grains and sugars, and, thus, the up’s and down’s of sugar highs, I noticed a sea-change of difference. I started eating more slowly (which you should endeavor to always do) and in smaller portions. By offering myself preponderance fat instead of a preponderance of sugars and starches, the cravings abated.
Nonetheless, this app is really cool. I am going to try it out for a while and see if it is all that. Stay tuned.
Consistently Inconsistent, Chaos is Key!
By January 12th, 2010, under
What we do often, we make easy. That is the plan anyway. Our bodies are always looking for the easiest route; call it a system conservation oversight, or, better yet, survival.
In essence, our bodies are looking to do more with less. So, that elliptical routine is less effective tomorrow because your body is ready for it: mentally, chemically, physiologically. Heck, you may even begin to carbo-load the night before in anticipation for a great work-out.
There is the first symptom: planning and consistency. Regular schedules allow our bodies the foresight of regimentation. Your body hopes for that consistency, so it can allocate systems accordingly, so it can effectively do more with less. Survival mode. But look around, we are creatures that have lost survival mode attitudes and instincts. And, by the way, adding length to routines or increased weight or sets is actually counter-productive. This adds stress to the body which adds to the equation stress hormones and injury. You see you only need to increase weight and reps if the body is prepared for the attack. If the body is unprepared, work-outs are shorter and more intense.
For those that train regularly, work-outs can sometimes become these behemoths of effort that await you on work-out days. What is ironic is that they only get longer because so much is an anticipated step of this “process” towards an ideal self that may not even be right for you and your over-worked body.
Variety of movement and short, burst routines -anytime and anywhere. Add to that a diet low in processed foods and you’ll be keeping your body on its toes by not allowing a pattern to emerge. Because as soon as your body sees a pattern, it starts trying to save on its systems, trying to do less in order to survive.
Don’t survive..LIVE!
Yaboga uses music as its inspiration. Centeredness as its goal. Chaos as its core.
I want to know more about Yaboga:
Send mail!
Surprise! Less is truly more.
Good gracious, there goes my allostasis!
By October 5th, 2009, under
by: Tracy Thomas
The body is a collection of systems. Systems like neural, cardiovascular, autonomic, immune and metabolic; they all work in concert together for sustained health and, you guessed it, happiness.
Conventional wisdom has always held that stress kills. We all know (and feel) what stress is, right? But other than that ‘stressed out’ feeling, what else is going on, especially with these aforementioned systems?
Allostasis literally means “achieving stability through change”. When our bodies become stressed, system harmony is affected. This is called allostatic load.
A recent study from The Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University, NY, NY finds indicators that show that under stress, our brains change their ‘geography’, they shrink, if you will. That’s right, the brain, the very plastic organ that houses all of these systems, morphs under the load of our daily grind just like our backs, knees and feet.
I don’t know about you, but a sore back or feet are one thing, a brain, quite another.
The brain sees stress as a threat. So, that being said, the brain sees no difference between a bear charging toward your campsite or a bear-market charging at your 401K. The brain triggers the same set of chemicals to try and re-acquire allostasis. One chemical is a hormone called catecholamine. Catecholamines increase heart rate and blood pressure to aid the body in its fight (or flight). Looking back at the bear analogy, a charging bear may happen once and is over in moments. A bear-market may last for months. Whichever your predicament, catecholamines are going to do their thing. Chronically increased blood pressure and heart rate wear at cardiovascular system, taking it out of balance, or, increasing the allostatic load.
One system out of whack causes other systems to drift out of balance as well. This is because the body releases more chemicals to stabilize the ones that are over stimulated. This adds to more stress and increased allostatic load.
You see where this is going? No wonder the brain changes. It is trying to survive. To survive, it must adapt or evolve. This happens in animals as well. Environmental disruptions can affect mating and hibernation cycles due to elevated cortisol levels in ‘stressed’ animals. Cortisol is usually referred to as the “stress hormone” as it is involved in response to stress and anxiety. It increases blood pressure and blood sugar, and reduces immune responses. Freak, springtime snowstorms or being held captive at a zoo are stressors that can interrupt mating and hibernation cycles in animals; what if they added hyper connectivity, smoking, taxes, work place pitfalls and war? Well, humans adapt, right? Yes we do. Our brains change under undue loads of stress spewing out reactionary chemicals that shorten our lives in both quality and quantity. YUCK!
Our stress, or allostatic load, isn’t just a sensation we endure and lament to friends over coffee. It is an all-systems-go fight to reestablish balance. The victims of this fight are glucose response, sleep cycles, depression, memory, abdominal obesity, anxiety, learning, blood pressure and, oh yeah, a shrinking brain.
Less Is More (no, really)
By August 19th, 2009, under
It stands to reason that ‘healthy is as healthy does’, but as we all know: sometimes the doing is the hardest part.
Look at the lucrative industry of fitness that abounds, all backed by good intentions and guilt motivated impulse buying. How many of you have equipment in your home taking up valuable square footage, or gym memberships that somehow end up unused after 2-3 months? Yeah, that’s right; I am talking about burn-out.
What if told you that you could workout a fraction of the time you do now, but to an improved physiological (and psychological) response? Would you read on?
Well, it seems that re-thinking the fitness grind paradigm now has evidence backing it up.
A group of scientists published in January 2009 Bio Med Central; BMC Endocrine Disorders found that short, High-intensity Interval Training [HIT] showed significant improvements in glycemic control in its test subjects. HIT can also be used as a training strategy to reduce metabolic risk factors in young and middle aged populations who, like in the opening paragraph, have a hard time finding the time staying consistent with exercise regimes.
Let’s look more closely at the physiological benefits first. What exactly is glycemic response and why is it important?
The glycemic index, GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion, releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream, have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down more slowly, releasing glucose more gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI. For most people, foods with a low GI have significant health benefits. The concept was developed to find out which foods were best for people with diabetes.
Several lines of recent scientific evidence have shown that individuals who followed a low GI diet over many years were at a significantly lower risk for developing both type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease than others. High blood glucose levels or repeated glycemic “spikes” following a meal may promote these diseases by increasing oxidative stress to the vasculature and also by the direct increase in insulin levels. In the past, post –meal glycemic spikes has been considered a risk factor associated mainly with diabetes. However, more recent evidence shows that it also presents an increased risk for atherosclerosis in the non-diabetic population. So all those potatoes and bread you had for lunch place you firmly within the realm of glycemic spike. That sounds like a description that fits 90% of lunchtime America.
Currently it is thought that in order to improve glycemic response involves moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic and resistance exercise for several hours per week.
Sound familiar?
Worse than that, hours spent working out is hard to maintain in the real world of work, family and catching the latest episode of TrueBlood. I make this last point only because ‘down time’ is also needed for a balanced approached to overall health.
If you are stressing over the unused Super Glide 9000 that is now where you hang the dry cleaning, or the bank draft the gym pulls out of your account every month, you may want to consider re-thinking your approach to fitness. Because stressing over not exercising AND stressing over not using the things that are supposed to aid in that attempt is insult to injury.
Yaboga is an approach to health that considers the balance we all need.
Rather selling you on this idea that a piece of equipment or a gym membership is the only way to put in all the hard work required to get ideal looking body, Yaboga looks at what is needed to achieve improved health, not improved fitness industry sales.
You get healthy and your body will look great, guaranteed.
Aspartame On The Brain (is it sane?)
By August 10th, 2009, under
Read the following study from The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It is a technical read, but if you want the Cliffs Notes, then read the conclusion featured here.
When are we going to get over sugar? Fruit is an excellent choice when you are craving something sweet. Every time we try and dodge the sugar bullet by replacing it with some chemical usurper, we do far more damage.
As parents, we need to seriously look at aspartame on the developing mind. Remember, at one point in history conventional wisdom would bleed people out to rid the body of damaging ‘humors’ in the blood. We may be a little smarter, but we are still looking far a way around doing the right thing.
Conclusion
It was seen that aspartame disturbs amino acid metabolism, protein structure and metabolism, integrity of nucleic acids, neuronal function, endocrine balances and changes in the brain concentrations of catecholamines. It was also reported that aspartame and its breakdown products cause nerves to fire excessively, which indirectly causes a very high rate of neuron depolarization. The energy systems for certain required enzyme reactions become compromised, thus indirectly leading to the inability of enzymes to function optimally. The ATP stores in the cells are depleted, indicating that low concentrations of glucose are present in the cells, and this in turn will indirectly decrease the synthesis of acetylcholine, glutamate and GABA.
Yaboga about to be in BETA
By August 5th, 2009, under
Yaboga is about to start soliciting beta-testers! Be in on the coolest thing ever!
Contact
admin@yaboga.com
if you are interested in forging a new body by eating like a caveman and getting your groove on to your favorite playlists.
Friggin’ Flouride
By August 2nd, 2009, underThis is a very interesting article on mercola.com. .Check it out.
Dr. Mercola’’s Comments:
So, with all the evidence against fluoride, how did water fluoridation come about?
The key to understanding how fluoride was introduced into the public health system is to understand how most commercial fluoride is created.
So sit back into your most comfortable chair and let me enlighten you on the fraud, corruption and misrepresentation that has allowed fluoride to become common in most municipal water supplies, and how nearly every health care professional is convinced that it is a major public health benefit.
This is a classic example of how lies and deceptions are fostered on you and your family, at your health expense, so some large corporation can ultimately benefit.
How Commercial Greed Spawned a Hidden Health Disaster
It is first important to understand that most all fluoride is actually a toxic waste product of aluminum- and steel manufacturing. It is a HIGHLY toxic waste product.
When fluoride is produced it is so reactive it can eat through steel, glass, iron, aluminum, and most other substances. It rivals mercury for being one of the most poisonous substances on the planet.
The sordid beginning of poisoning the public water supply with fluoride began with Dr. Gerald Cox nearly 80 years ago.
Around 1930 Dr. Cox proposed that fluoride in small amounts of 1 part per million (ppm) could prevent dental cavities. He made his recommendations without any studies, human or otherwise, to suggest it would be safe or effective.
Interestingly, Dr. Cox was on the staff of the Mellon Institute, and the Mellon family owned the Alcoa aluminum company.
But that’s not all.
Andrew Mellon, the founder of Alcoa, was also the Treasury Secretary, and in 1930 the US Department of Public Health was under the direct control of the Treasury Secretary.
Did these ties between the aluminum industry and the Department of Public Health influence the chain of events that led to water fluoridation?
Absolutely!
Remember, the most dangerous and expensive waste product in the production of aluminum is fluoride. Because it is corrosive and toxic, it was extremely expensive to dispose of safely and was costing Alcoa millions of dollars in lost profits every year. By finding a “benefit” in this toxic byproduct, the industry was able to not only save money, but actually make money from their toxic waste!
AMA is on the Record Stating Fluoride is a Poison
Amazingly, more than 13 years later, in 1943, the American Medical Association stated that fluoride was a powerful protoplasmic poison, and because of its widespread occurrence in nature, toxic accumulation could be a major problem if the water supplies were fluoridated.
The following year the American Dental Association stated the potential for harm from fluoridation far outweighed any public good, and they also noted that fluoride in concentrations as low as 1 PPM could cause osteosclerois, spondylysis, osteoporosis, and goiter.
Despite these warnings, Dr. Cox convinced Dr. Frisch, a Wisconsin dentist, to actively promote fluoridation of the water supply. According to historians, Frisch led the charge with the frenzy of a religious zealot and turned it into a political crusade.
Water Fluoridation — One of the Most Successful PR Campaigns in U.S. History
In 1944 Alcoa hired a prominent attorney, Oscar Ewing, at an annual salary of $750,000 even though they were not facing any major litigation. A few months after being hired he left the company to accept a job as Federal Security Administrator that put him in charge of the US Public Health Service. Not surprisingly, very shortly after that Ewing launched a major national campaign to fluoridate the water supplies.
The fluoridation project was a massive undertaking and Ewing spared no expense to hire the absolute best marketing minds on the planet. He hired the best PR firm money could buy at the time, Edward, L. Benays, who was Freud’s cousin and had a notorious reputation as the original spin doctor.
Opponents to fluoridation were carefully labeled by the masterminds of Alcoa’s PR group as loonies and right wing extremists who saw fluoridation as a communist plot.
Despite the dire warnings by the AMA and ADA, and not a single shred of evidence that fluoride was safe or effective, fluoride was initiated into the water supply in an experiment in Michigan in 1945. But even before the Michigan study was complete there was a complete reversal in the ADA and AMA who both suddenly decided to endorse widespread fluoridation.
At that time any dentists that dissented from the new views of the ADA were either censored or lost their ADA membership as the dental societies were also controlled by grants from the US Department of Public Health.
Eventually the Michigan study was completed and used to prove that fluoridation helped prevent cavities, but the study had terrible controls, and never took into account that cavities were being reduced all across the country because of better hygiene and nutrition.
cholesterol myths
By July 28th, 2009, underDr. Ron Rosedale talks about common cholesterol myths.