Archive for the ‘Nutrition’ Category
The ketogenic diet can be good for the brain >> Read why
Question: Hi, I was wondering if and how enzymes supplements that break down fat and protein impact the efficiency of a ketogenic diet? At first I thought they might be a good supplement for me to aid in the weight loss, but now I’m not sure.
Answer: Different enzymes digest different foods, so, you are right, on a low-carb diet you need different enzymes than on a high-carb diet.
Here is what major enzymes do:
- Protease – Breaks protein
- Amylase – Breaks carbohydrates
- Lipase – Breaks fat
The enzymes are found in saliva, the stomach, pancreas, and intestines. Digestive enzymes break down food into its basic components, which are then absorbed and used for body needs.
Do we have enough enzymes of our own?
The main reason we don’t is the processed food prevailing on or tables. Modern food processing techniques and cooking destroy much if not most of the enzymes naturally present in food. Poor digestion leads to poor nutrition and can cause a weakening of the immune system. Dr. Atkins developed the “Basic Enzymes Formula” containing more protease (helps digest proteins) and lipase (helps digest fats) enzymes and fewer amylase enzymes than standard enzyme formulas.
Here are the components:
- Atkins Proprietary Enzyme Blend 840 mg
- Proteolytic (Protein) Enzymes 378 mg
- Protease (50000 HUT)
- Protease ll (28500 PC)
- Bromelain (180000 PU)
- Protease lll (150000 PU)
- Protease lV ( 15 SAPU)
- Lipolytic (Fat splitting) Enzymes 378 mg
- Lipase l (1400 FCCLU)
- Lipase ll (600 FCLU)
- Amylolytic (preventing carb absorption) Enzymes 84 mg
- Amylase l (1100 DU) Amylase (5 GA)
Message: Thou Shalt Not Overeat
Fighting stalled weight loss, or a weight-loss plateau, is not an easy business; nor is it easy to advise on troubleshooting because there are many reasons for this plateau.
What is overeating?
It depends. For one person, overeating means that she eats in excess of her energy expenditure, which may be due to the sedentary needs. For another person, it’s because of sluggish metabolism. For yet another, it can be a plain old cheating on his diet.
In this article, I’ll talk about the weight-loss plateau and one of its aspects that is rarely discussed: taste and calories.
There are two issues in the weight-loss plateau problem that concerns low-carb dieters. First, what is this plateau – ; is it anything real or all in our heads? Second, is low-carb stalled weight loss different from any other diet stalling?
A Look at the General Problem of Plateaus
A weight-loss plateau is when you were losing weight and then stopped losing, without changing your diet, exercise or other lifestyle factors. You eat the same diet and exercise as much as before, but your bathroom scales are frozen at some mysterious point, sometimes referred to as the body-weight set point.(Just think of your refrigerator: it’s the point you set to maintain the temperature you want. Though different in details, basically the same parts make up the human body’s “thermostat” or “fatostat,” for that matter.)
Body-weight set point is nature’s idea of what amount of fat you need. If we deviate from nature’s, it forces us to eat more – ; even when our fat stores are huge. Luckily, a low-carb diet allows your body to recognise your stored fat as legitimate fuel and uses it instead of storing it (as it does on any other diet.) However, there is another danger that is often overlooked by low-carb dieters:
The Sweeter, the Heavier
It seems that our body-weight set points are not carved in stone. Clinical studies revealed links between taste and the amount of food we eat.
Tastier foods make the set point of body weight shift up proportionally, that is: the tastier the food, the greater the set point. Researchers even showed that foods with negative taste qualities, (in the study, researchers added quinine) do the opposite: the more bitter the food, the lower the set point.
Artificial Sweetners Are Not the Answer
Sweet taste – ; even from artificial sweeteners – ; causes an increase in calories coming from fat and protein. Why does this happening?
Sweet taste, even coming with artificial sweetener, raises glucose concentration in the blood before the food has a chance to be digested. Your body knows that eventually, it will have all the carbs you’ve swallowed and it doesn’t wait until it that happens. Instead, it releases some glucose from the carbohydrate depots and hopes to get it all back. When the sweet food is real, the carbohydrates eventually get into the blood. If they’re not? Well, nature never counted on us inventing artificial sweeteners. Being fooled, your body reacts rather vindictively: it forces you to want more sweet food plus eat more next time, no matter what food you agree to have.
So, you’d be better off without artificial sweeteners. There are other tasty foods you can have on a low-carb diet.
Some Clinical Data on Fats:
* Preference for high-fat foods appears to be a universal human trait.
* How much fat we eat appears to be determined simply by the amount of fat available.
* Fats are especially provocative in the obese, who tend to overeat fatty foods more than the lean.
Clinical Data on Other Tasty Foods:
* Good tasting foods increased so-called diet-induced thermogenesis (heat production after meals) and reduced food efficiency (how many calories are used and how many pass through the intestines).
* Good tasting foods increase energy expenditure. It seems like a paradox, but when you eat what you really enjoy, you body gets less of this particular food’s calories.
Message: A low-carb plan is your ideal “celebrity diet” if you don’t mind:
1. living on meat, fish, eggs, and cheese
2. cutting back on white bread, potato, rice, pasta, and pizza
3. snacking mostly on nuts
Many if not most of the stars limit pasta, bread and refined carbohydrates to quickly shape up for movies: Ben Affleck was known to stick with his low carb foods while losing weight for his role in Pearl Harbor. Many musicians and pop stars also enjoy low carb diets that help them to prepare for concerts and tours and maintain energy levels while slimming down.
If you decide to choose this way of eating, you’ll join the Friends’ star Jennifer Aniston, Ellen DeGeneres, Natalie Maines, Bill Clinton, George Michael, Ben Affleck, and Renee Zellweger who keep their plates packed with “good” fats and lean protein while cutting down on “bad” carbohydrates and “bad” animal fat. Simpson has said she likes the lifestyle approach of the South Beach, while Jennifer Aniston prefers the 40:30:30 ratio of the Zone Diet. But how do you know if this celebrity’s choice is right for you? Here’s a tip.
Message: With seemingly endless amount of diets in the world, it all boils down to only three principal types of them: limiting calories, fats, or carbohydrates. Which one is best for you?
- Limiting calories is a very beneficial approach, health benefits-wise. It also requires self-discipline, so the best results are achieved with programs offering planning, support, and psychological services, online or offline.
- Limiting fats works well for physically very active people, not obese, and spending high amounts energy including calories from food carbohydrates.
- For obese people and those with insulin resistance, the best way of eating is limiting carbohydrate total intake and/or the kind of carbs in their foods (complex versus simple, fast absorbing versus slowly absorbing).
Reading:
Thirty Percent Less Calories = Thirty Percent Better Memory
Dietary Restriction and Life Span
Can Adults Benefit from Calorie Restriction?
Beware of Western Diet!
Two energy sources: carbohydrates vs fatty acids
Carbohydrate-Biased Control of Energy Metabolism: The Darker Side of the Selfish Brain.
Age gracefully
Message: It is shown that the Western environment pushes calories into our bodies through the sweet-addiction gateway
“There is evidence that the brain favors consumption of carbohydrates (CHO) rather than fats, this preference resulting in glycolysis-based energy metabolism domination. This metabolic mode, typical for consumers of the “Western diet” (Cordain et al., 2005; Seneff et al., 2011), is characterized by over-generation of reactive oxygen species and advanced glycation products both of which are implicated in many of the neurodegenerative diseases (Tessier, 2010; Vicente Miranda and Outeiro, 2010; Auburger and Kurz, 2011). However, it is not CHO but fat that is often held responsible for metabolic pathologies.”
Source: Carbohydrate-biased control of energy metabolism: the darker side of the selfish brain
>> Read why: click here (it’s not too technical).
Most fats seem to be protective against Alzheimer disease
In 1989-99, an association was found, between dietary fat composition and cognitive performance in later adult years: the higher intake of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and the lower intake of saturated fat — the higher cognitive performance. Another, epidemiologic study conducted in 1997 suggested that high intake of total fat, saturated fat, and dietary cholesterol may increase the risk of dementia.
However, researchers at St Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, Ill found increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease among people with high intakes of saturated and trans-unsaturated fats and decreased risk with high intakes of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Consumption of vegetable fat and a high ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fats were also protective, whereas total fat, animal fat, and dietary cholesterol had no association with Alzheimer disease.
Sources
Brain Res. 1989;505:302-305
Behav Neurosci. 1996;110:451-459
Behav Brain Res. 1999;101:153-161
Am J Epidemiol. 1997;145:33-41.
Arch Neurol. 2003;60:194-200
Message: Do not fear the fat
In 1989-99, an association was found, between dietary fat composition and cognitive performance in later adult years: the higher intake of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and the lower intake of saturated fat — the higher cognitive performance. Another, epidemiologic study conducted in 1997 suggested that high intake of total fat, saturated fat, and dietary cholesterol may increase the risk of dementia.
However, researchers at St Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, Ill found increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease among people with high intakes of saturated and trans-unsaturated fats and decreased risk with high intakes of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Consumption of vegetable fat and a high ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fats were also protective, whereas total fat, animal fat, and dietary cholesterol had no association with Alzheimer disease.
Sources
- Brain Res. 1989;505:302-305
- Behav Neurosci. 1996;110:451-459
- Behav Brain Res. 1999;101:153-161
- Am J Epidemiol. 1997;145:33-41.
- Arch Neurol. 2003;60:194-200
Why is fat so tasty?
Most animals, including humans, prefer high-fat food to low-fat food. Fatty foods are very palatable though the fatty acids, which make these foods fatty, are tasteless. On the other hand, sweet, sour, salty, or bitter foods are recognized by the corresponding receptors of the taste buds. The receptors then send information to the brain areas responsible for positive or negative sensations called hedonic or aversive. But how the tasteless fatty acids manage to make fatty foods so tasty?
Recently, it was suggested that long-chain fatty acids attaching to their specific transporter in the tongue. These long-chain fatty acids are recognized on the tongue, and then neuropeptides and neurotransmitters such as the famous “reward chemical” beta-endorphin is released in the brain.
Source: J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2007 Feb;53(1):1-4.
Message: Avoid meals that are high in both fats and carbs
Most animals, including humans, prefer high-fat food to low-fat food. Fatty foods are very palatable though the fatty acids, which make these foods fatty, are tasteless. On the other hand, sweet, sour, salty, or bitter foods are recognized by the corresponding receptors of the taste buds. The receptors then send information to the brain areas responsible for positive or negative sensations called hedonic or aversive. But how the tasteless fatty acids manage to make fatty foods so tasty?
Recently, it was suggested that long-chain fatty acids can attache to their specific spots on the tongue and be recognized by specific transporters; the brain receives the signal and releases (along with many neuropeptides and neurotransmitters) the famous “reward chemical” beta-endorphin (1)
Another story is, what metabolic consequences these process have comparing with well known effects of the sweet taste of carbohydrates. Turns out that without carbs, fat fails to be fattening. This is exactly what happens on the ketogenic diet having well known neuro-protective and metabo-protective effects (2).
Sources
- J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2007 Feb;53(1):1-4.
- Frontiers in Neuroenergetics, 2011, 3:8.
Intermittent fasting is popular today. One of the aspects of this calorie restriction techniques is periodic ketosis, which is proved to be neuroprotective. Another aspect is periodic interruption of glycolysis, which is also good for the brain. However, the Hellers were first to empirically formulate the idea and make it very dieter-friendly: Rachael F. Heller, Richard F. Heller. The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet: The Lifelong Solution to Yo-Yo Dieting. Signet (1993)
<– Carbohydrate Addict Diet Food Pyramid
This diet is for you if you have:
• forceful hunger
• craving for carbohydrate-rich foods
• need for starches
• desire for snack foods, junk food, or sweets?
Do you have problems:
• staying away from food between meals
• staying away from snacks at night
• stopping a meal containing starches and sweets
• eating tasty food while not being hungry
• staying alert after a large meal
• staying alert early afternoon
• keeping your weight off after losing weight due to dieting
Do you tend to overeat these foods:
• Breads
• Bagels
• Cakes
• Cereal
• Chocolate
• Cookies
• Crackers
• fruit
• juice
• ice cream
• potatoes
• pasta
• rice
• popcorn
• sodas?
Do you indulge in:
• sugar substitutes
• alcohol
• monosodium glutamate?
If you answered “yes” to at least one of the questions in each category, the CAD might be right for you.
The diet prescribes two meals, called Complementary Meals, which limit carbohydrate generally same way most low carb diets do. Most people choose breakfast and lunch for their complementary meals. The diet allows one Reward Meal not limiting carbohydrate content but limiting this meal’s duration to strictly one hour. It is believed that with this meal planning you body is tricked into releasing less insulin. Thus, it better controls blood sugar levels and therefore stores less fat.
The diet starts with the Entry Plan. You eat two complementary meals and a reward meal, no snacks, for a week, then you weigh. Your plan for the next week will depend on your weight loss and your weight loss goal. For instance, if you loss was around 2 pounds, you go to the Plan A, which is essentially same plan, but you are allowed to have a low carb snack.
If after following the Entry Plan for a week you lost 0.5 lb. To 2 lb., you go to the Plan B, which is in fact staying on the Entry Plan for one more week.
If you didn’t lose any weight on Entry Plan, you go to the Plan C and this is an interesting part. All you do differently comparing with the Entry Plan, is eating two big salads made of leafy green vegetables before both of your two daily complementary meals.
There’s also the Plan D, for the most stubborn body weight, where you add one more salad, before your Reward Meal. This planning goes on every new week.
From the book:
Reprinted with permission
Among those shared with me their weight loss results while on Atkins diet, 347 dieters reported effects beyond weight loss (or its absence):
- Hunger disappearance or appetite decrease – 178
- Diabetes improvement – 169
- Mood improvement, energy level increase – 158
- Absence of cravings – 149
- Physicians approval for the diet – 129
- Joint and muscle improvement – 125
- Headache disappearance – 121
- Exercise improvement – 115
- Muscle gain decrease – 112
- Fungal/yeast infection disappearance – 111
- Heartburn, bloating disappearance – 110
- Thyroid condition improvement – 119
Reported negative results:
- Cravings for high-carb foods increase – 16
- Inability to exercise – 15
- Low-carb foods dissatisfaction – 14
Mood/energy
This particular effect is perhaps the most controversial because it is against the observations, including those conducted in controlled clinical settings, that carbohydrate-rich meals improve mood and energy levels. Apparently, the positive influence reported by the dieters, were due to Atkins diet long-term effects, because during first several days on the diet there were effects consistent with clinical observations on short-term effects of direct intra-gastric infusions of nutrients:
“Hedonic tone was greater and tension lower after the saline and sucrose infusions than after the lipid infusion. From 3 to 3.5 h after ingestion, subjects felt significantly more sleepy after the lipid infusion than they did at these times after the saline infusion, and significantly more dreamy after the lipid infusion than they did after the sucrose infusion. (Physiology & Behavior. 63(4):621-8, 1998)
Another article reporting the influence of nutrients on mood, stress that there were acute and not long term effects:
“Mood improved (a decline in fatigue/dysphoria) following the low-fat/high carb breakfast compared to medium-fat/ medium-carbohydrate or high-fat/low-carbohydrate meals.” (“Acute effects on mood and cognitive performance of breakfasts differing in fat and carbohydrate content. “Appetite. 27(2):151-64, 1996)
The short-term positive effects of high-carb meals can be used, for example, for alleviating the PMS syndrome:
“The experimental carbohydrate intervention significantly decreased self-reported depression, anger, confusion, and carbohydrate craving 90-180 minutes after intake. Memory word recognition was also improved significantly.” (Obstetrics & Gynecology. 86(4 Pt 1):520-8, 1995)
It is interesting that not all of the clinical studies came to the above conclusion. Study conducted by University of Sheffield, demonstrated that meals, particularly when rich in fat, significantly reduced pain perception in healthy human subjects.( Physiology & Behavior. 65(4-5):643-8, 1999)
Carbohydrate craving obese patients do not improve their mood states through ingestion of a carbohydrate-rich snack. (International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders. 21(10):860-4, 1997)
There were no differences in mood between the groups receiving high-carb drink or water during performance of the military tasks. (Aviation Space & Environmental Medicine. 68(5):384-91, 1997)
The ingestion of sucrose failed to have any substantial effect on mood (Physiology & Behavior. 58(3):421-7, 1995)
“The carbohydrate-supplemented group had a greater total energy intake and carbohydrate intake. No significant differences between carbohydrate were observed in remaining psychological, physiological, or performance-related variables.” (International Journal of Sport Nutrition. 5(2):125-35, 1995)
These are rather typical messages:
- I feel great and my energy level has increased. I don’t feel sluggish anymore.
- No more mood swings, brain fog, confusion, or depression.
- I feel healthier, more energy (can keep up with the kids, yeah!) and smarter.
- I have a much higher energy level as well as a much more pleasant disposition.
- I have lots of energy and a lot more self esteem.
- I am sleeping like a teenager, and I had sleep apnea before starting the diet.
- I sleep better and I have more energy than my 16 year old daughter
- I’m so infused with energy that I climb the stairs at work without huffing and puffing.
- My energy had increased! Muscle tone had improved even though I wasn’t going to the gym.
- When I am eating according to program I feel so much better, sleep better and have more energy
- After the first 3 days the increase in energy was unbelievable, the mental fog and Monday morning blues were gone.
- I have more energy, not so tired anymore, and feel like I’m in control of my appetite.
- I have had a sense of inner peace that I simply can’t explain.
- My mood swings have lifted and I’m a much happier person overall.
- I felt better, had more energy, no more brain-fog and I did not feel tired and worn out at the end of the day.
Parkinson’s disease, though having some genetic forms, is thought to be largely life style-related and since no treatments exist to prevent or slow the disease down, environmental factors are of great interest to scientists. Earlier, in Germany (1) and Sweden, (2) consumption of coffee or caffeine have been shown to lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. However, there were some problems with interpretation of the results: coffee drinking was positively associated with smoking and alcohol consumption (3).
The Harvard School of Public Health followed up 183267 healthy people (free of Parkinson’s disease, cancer or stroke) during 10 years, watching their caffein intake with coffee, tee, chocolate and adjusting the results for age since and smocking since these two were strong risk factors in themselves (3). 288 cases of Parkinson’s disease were registered during this time. Women were more active coffee drinkers: the lower quintiles of caffein intake (taken as the reference point) in their population was 7 times higher than in men’s population.
Every other quintile in men had a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, however, in women, the highest quintile was not associated with risk decrease – women consuming the largest amounts of caffein have had the same risk as those consuming the least caffein and for some of them the risk increased up to 1.8 times. The average highest caffein intake was 1.3 times higher in women than in men but the authors hesitate contributing the U-shaped of intake/risk curve to this difference and argued that “plausible biological basis for a protective effect of caffeine” should be established before making conclusions.
Read also:
Sources
- Hellenbrand W, Seidler A, Robra B-P, et al. Smoking and Parkinson’s disease: a case control study in Germany. Int J Epidemiol 1997; 26: 328-339. Links
- Fall P-A, Frederikson M, Axelson O, Granérus A-K. Nutritional and occupational factors influencing the risk of Parkinson’s disease: a case-control study in southeastern Sweden. Mov Disord 1999; 14: 28-37. Links
- Ascherio A, Zhang SM, Hernán MA, Kawachi I, Colditz GA, Speizer FE, Willett WCProspective study of caffeine consumption and risk of Parkinson’s disease in men and women. Ann Neurol. 2001 Jul;50(1):56-63.
