THE MEATRIX - DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT IS?

THE LEPTIN RESET DIET

I've done the lower protein thing for two weeks now, and I gained body fat the second week.

Dr. Jack Kruse

Someone posted on the Atkins Community Forum about Dr. Jack Kruse, who is doing a lot of blogging about Leptin Resistance.  He has his Leptin Prescription up on his website, and I have decided to try it, and I started this morning.

Here are the basics:

1.  First, make sure you really are Leptin Resistant (LR) to begin with.

The easiest way to do so, if you're heavy, is to look in the mirror.  If you're overweight, you definitely are LS.  If you still have a large appetite and crave carbohydrates, especially at night, these are also signs that you are likely LR.  If you are fit or in decent shape and not sure based upon the above symptoms I would tell you to go get a blood test and check your Reverse T3.  If you are LR, it will be elevated.  I also recommend simultaneously checking a salivary cortisol level.  With LR, you will always see higher cortisol levels later in the day.

2.  To regain LS follow a strict paleolithic diet as outlined in The Paleo Solution or the Primal Blueprint.

The type of fuel is important in eliminating the foods that cause Leptin receptors to become nonfunctional.  These two books clearly outline a solid reference point to achieve this.

A.  Try to eat as soon as possible upon rising in the morning.  Make sure that breakfast has little to no carbs and has a lot of protein and fat.  I use, as a general rule, 50-75 grams of protein with most patients.  Some patients can use less and some need more.  The key point of knowing how much for you is your hunger later in the day.  If you remain ravenous you need to eat more protein in the morning.  If you can hold off eating until dinner, you probably are at homeostasis for you.  If you can skip both meals your likely are overdoing it at breakfast.  As for sources of protein, I suggest pastured or organic eggs first, then leftover dinner scraps of grass fed meats/poultry/fish and a third option would be whey protein or protein shakes.

B. Try to limit carb intake to 25 grams if your are overweight by greater than 30 lbs.  If you are fit and have a small amount of weight to loss (less than 30 lbs) you can titrate up your carb loads.  Even then, I do not advocate potatoes or rice as some paleo diets allow for.  You will be able to eat them eventually, but try to avoid starches until you have mastered your cravings and hunger.  Do not count calories.  It is not needed at this point.  Any time I eat carbs, I use liberal amounts of butter, heavy cream, coconut oil and palm oil.  I do not recommend other oils initially like olive oils or industrial seed oils.  I would also avoid nut oils at the initial stages.  My personal favorite is coconut oil because of the great metabolic effects of MCT and how it helps heal the guts of LR folks.

3.  How you eat that fuel is MORE IMPORTANT than any other factor including the food itself.

A.  Never snack at all.  This is meant initially and forever.  Snacking completely stresses the liver’s metabolism and is just not recommended.  Your liver needs to relearn how to use gluconeogenesis normally again when you sleep and awake.  Snacking just destroys timing and circadian clocks that work in unison with Leptin.

B.  Try to eat three meals per day initially, but as your hunger and cravings fade, you can adapt to two meals per day.

C.  Try to eat breakfast as early as possible from rising.

D.  Do not work out before or after breakfast.

E.  Try to allow 4-5 hours between dinner and bedtime.

F.  If you decide to incorporate working out, do it after 5 PM.

G.  Within an hour of sunset try to make your surroundings as dark as possible.

H. If you have trouble falling asleep, I suggest 3-5 minutes of body weight exercises right before bed (push ups or air squats are fine).  Avoid this if your PM cortisol are high.

I.  If you're inclined to, try becoming mindful when you first lay down.  I use transcendental meditation techniques to help me clear my mind and concentrate on improving my thinking.  (Optional, but is awesome if your PM cortisol are high)

4.  Most people will notice a change in their cravings and hunger within 4-6 weeks.

Other changes I ask of my patients is to supplement with prescription-grade fish oils.  The dose depends upon their HS CRP and salivary cortisol levels.

5.  Signs that you are becoming  Leptin Sensitive (LS) again:

Men will notice quick weight loss.  Women will notice mood changes first (calmer/sleepy), and their sleep will improve.  Their clothes will fit differently, but weight may not change drastically initially because of effects on the pituitary.  This will change, too, if they continue moving forward.  Both men and women:  You will notice a change in your sweating pattern.  You will also notice you have better recovery from exercise and your energy levels seem to have risen.  Your hunger is gone and so are your cravings.  And when you awaken you will feel very refreshed like you slept well.  Generally, when the signs are all present, I then really push HIIT exercise with heavy weights.

**********

I had a couple of questions of Dr. Kruse, so I posted them on his blog.  Here was my first post:

My reverse T3 is elevated, but my cortisol is not elevated in the evening, by blood and saliva tests recently. I have 15 pounds to lose that just won’t budge even after eating low carb for 2 years and Paleo for the past year. My body fat is 35%. I am a 55 year old female, peri-menopausal and on bio-identical thyroid, progesterone and testosterone. With elevated T3 and normal cortisol, could it still be LR?

Here is his answer:

If your Reverse T3 is up and you have 35% body fat, there is no doubt that you're Leptin Resistant. I'll bet that you likely have Pregnenolone Steal at the same time to get that result. 25 grams of carbs it is until your Reverse T3 falls and weight loss starts.

I also asked him this, but I have not had an answer yet:

Thank you so much! I guess that 25 carbs is total carbs and not net carbs. Lately, I have only been eating 80 grams of protein per day, split evenly between lunch and dinner – I have been skipping breakfast all together. I see that you say not to do that.

I have been thinking that it was too much protein that was causing the high body fat, and that is why I have cut it down to 80 grams. (I am only 5’3″ tall). I have never eaten more than 25 net carbs per day. I noticed that you said that people should eat 50 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking, but that some people need less than that. I’m afraid that if I start eating higher protein, I will gain weight. By the way, I do not have carb cravings. I do, however have a huge appetite for a woman my size. I always feel like I want more to eat. I do not snack – I only eat at meals. I do not eat after dinner.

I already lift weights (HIT), but I only do it once a week and I will start doing that after dinner per your suggestion.

I guess my main concern is that if I increase my protein I will start gaining again. How is a person to know if they are one of the ones who needs less than 50 grams of protein at breakfast? Do you suggest that I just jump in and give it a try with the 50 at breakfast and then lunch and dinner without counting grams except for carbs to keep it under 25?

**********

So here is what I am going to do, and I'm going to try to stick with it for eight weeks:

Eat 50 grams of protein with liberal fat and little to no carbs for breakfast, immediately upon rising.
Eat a normal lunch, limiting total carbs to 12.
Eat a normal dinner, limiting total carbs to 13.
Eat nothing between meals.
Eat dinner no later than 6 pm.
On weight lifting days, do it after dinner.
Try really hard to be in bed reading by 9-9:30 pm and lights out by 9:30-10 pm.

********

As I mentioned, I did this for the first time today.  I have not been hungry.  I will post my menu tomorrow as part of my Daily Stats and Menu.

GOING PALEO

 Yesterday was our first day of pure Paleo eating.  We were disappointed when we woke up this morning to find that Bill had gained 1.8 pounds and I had gained 0.6 pounds.  As much as I hated to do it, I put what we ate onto Fitday to see if there was any glaring problem.  As it turned out, we ate way too much!

Here is the breakdown from Fitday:

2113 calories

166.8g fat (71.1%)

122.4g protein

30.5g total carbs

13.2g fiber

17.3g net carbs

2687g sodium

An obvious problem is that it is WAY too much fat, although the carbs were low.  So I did my menu for today and I'm hoping that we have better results tomorrow morning.

One of the good things about eating paleo, supposedly, is that you listen to your body and eat when you are hungry, and you should not overeat and gain weight.  Animals in the wild do not count fat grams or protein grams or carb grams, and neither should we have to.  And yet, if I don't, I overeat every time.

I went into this thinking that I would not track my food, and I would either maintain my weight or lose weight without tracking.  Now, on the first day, I blew it and overate and gained weight, and Bill gained three times more than I did.  It's pretty sad and disappointing.  But, onward and downward.  I'll do what I have to do to make it work, even if it means tracking my food.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

I have been giving careful thought to what I am going to do after stopping the HCG Diet on Tuesday night.  Wednesday morning, there needs to be a plan, and I have decided to go Paleo.  I went out this evening and bought this book:




The book is awesome and is filled with recipes.  I started reading each recipe this evening, and each one I saw looked like something I would want to eat.  Usually, when you buy a cookbook, you know there are recipes you will probably never use, but these all look great, as you can see in the video above.

Basically, we will be eating meats, poultry, fish, eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lots of healthy fats and a small amount of fruit.

We will not be eating processed foods, dairy (with the exception of grass-fed butter), sugar, legumes or grains.

Aside from stopping the dairy, this is pretty much the way we have been eating for the last couple of years, so it should not be too much of a change.  I will miss cheese, sour cream and Greek yogurt, though.  But I am willing to do this and see if it has a positive impact on my overall health and body fat percentage.

Starting Wednesday, we are also going to start taking all of our supplements again, which we quit all together for this past three weeks.  I'll be glad to get all that good stuff in me again, but it was kind of nice not to have to worry about it for a while. 

I'm also going to start the BCAA again, to see if I can start putting on some muscle.  Since injuring my shoulder in December, I have lost about 9 pounds of muscle, believe it or not.  That needs to come back, which is why I am going to start lifting again, now that my shoulder is getting better.

Now, here is my fear...

When you eat Paleo, most people teaching this way of life say to just eat until you are satisfied and don't stress about the numbers.  Don't track your food, your grams of protein, fat and carbs.  Every time I have gone on a diet that says to not worry, just eat until you are satisfied, I have gained weight.  I truly believe that whatever process goes on in the brain that tells you how much to eat is broken in me.

So what I will do is basically eat bacon and eggs cooked in coconut oil or butter and maybe a small piece of fruit or some veggies for breakfast, around 5 ounces of some sort of protein with added fat and veggies for lunch, and the same thing for dinner, and maybe have an ounce of nuts for a snack during the day or as part of a meal.

Doing this, I will know, without tracking, that I will be getting around 120g of fat, around 100g of protein and around 30g of carbs.  It will probably be around 1600-1700 calories all together.  On the days that I lift, I will have a little extra protein right before and right after lifting.

I'm nervous about this whole thing, being afraid that I will just gain the weight back, but the HCG people say that as long as you do not eat sugar or starch, this will not happen.

THE PALEO FOOD PYRAMID - FRED HAHN

JACKIE EBERSTEIN DEBUNKS THE CURRENT CROP OF ATKINS MYTHS

This from Jimmy Moore and The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show:

The Atkins diet enjoys a rather odd position in the world of health and nutrition–you either love it or you hate it! There are very few people who kinda like it or kinda dislike it. And I suppose this has a lot to do with the misconceptions and myths that pervade about it in our culture. But the fact is most of these perceptions about the Atkins low-carb lifestyle are easily combatted with the facts that have been borne out by the experience of real life low-carbers and the science that backs them up. Today’s podcast interview guest is arguably the most knowledgeable expert on the Atkins diet today after working directly with the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins for nearly three decades.

 In Episode 389 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we welcome back to the show registered nurse Jackie Eberstein from Controlled Carbohydrate Nutrition and co-author (with Dr. Mary C. Vernon) of Atkins’ Diabetes Revolution. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve had Jackie with us on the podcast (listen to my June 2008 interview with her–listen to Part 1 and Part 2) and she’s been a regular keynote speaker on The Annual Low-Carb Cruise the past few years. But I wanted to bring her back on the podcast to address many of the lingering myths about the Atkins low-carb diet that still pervade in our culture. Listen to Jackie share what she thinks Dr. Atkins would say about The New Atkins For A New You, her attempts to correct the ongoing Atkins myths over the years, her typical low-carb menus, why she has to personally stay very low-carb, why reactive hypoglycemia is not caused by low-carb eating, the impact of sweeteners on hypoglycemia, whether you should count calories on the Atkins diet, why “calories in, calories out” is totally bogus, why Atkins won’t raise your lipids to unhealthy levels, why high triglycerides are not caused by fat but by insulin (stoked by carbohydrate consumption), which is more important–LDL particle number or particle size, why red meat is not the great harm it is purported to be in studies, why pigs are better animal studies than rats and worms, why there are no kidney damage concerns for people eating the Atkins diet (because it’s NOT a high-protein diet, it’s a moderate protein diet), why getting adequate protein is so vital to your health, her reaction to what the 2010 Dietary Guidelines will include and whether low-carb will even be considered, whether the Paleolithic diet jives with the Atkins diet, why free-range, organic meats are best, her response to the “one golden shot” theory that you can only lose weight on Atkins low-carb once, why there is a lot we don’t understand fully about fat cells, why cutting fat while consuming a low-carb diet is not wise, why the scale is not an accurate measuring stick for your weight loss progress, why regular exercise is an important companion tool with low-carb living, why some people are continually tired on the Atkins diet and what they can do to overcome it, the research links she provides on her web site, why Atkins does not lead to osteoporosis, why low-carb is not lacking in nutrition because you need to take supplements while on it, how consuming carbohydrates actually depletes nutrition from your body, and what she wishes more people would understand about the Atkins diet. For anyone who thinks low-carb is harmful to some aspect of their health, then this interview with Jackie Eberstein is one you don’t want to miss!

To listen to the interview, right click here.

GRILLED STUFFED PORK CHOPS - UNDERGROUND WELLNESS

2 – 8 oz. butterfly pork chops
Garlic and chives goat cheese
3-4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Garlic powder and pepper, to taste

Preheat grill to medium. For two 8 oz. chops: Cut pockets in each pork chop where they are butterflied; for four 4 oz. chops: cut each pork chop in half and then cut a pocket in each. Stuff each pocket with bacon and cheese. Secure with toothpicks, if needed. Sprinkle with garlic powder and pepper. Grill for about 20 minutes on the top rack, turning once.

( Right click here to see a video demonstration of this recipe.  Right click here to visit U.S. Wellness Meats.)

BEWARE LOW CARB PROPOGANDA - DR. BRIFFA

UK doctor John Briffa has some nice things to say about Atkins:

There was a nice piece in The Times here in the UK on Saturday about my latest book Waist Disposal (see here). This piece, and a small piece that ran in another publication did seem to have some impact: Waist Disposal ended up rocketing up the amazon.co.uk ranking and spent a couple of days in the number 4 slot. It’s com down a bit today, but nevertheless there’s positive signs that some have an appetite for low-carb eating and are keen to dispense with their excess fat in a healthy and sustainable way. A big and genuine thanks to all of you reading this who have invested in a copy of the book!

Any time low-carb eating gets some positive press, doubts about its safety resurface. So let’s get something clear, compared with standard diets and in particular low-fat diets low-carb ones generally outperform in terms of weight loss as well as improvements in markers for chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

But, we are reminded that the safety of these diets in the long term is not assured. The main issue? – the saturated fat in the all the steak and butter some imagine a low-carb diet to be full of. Well, first of all low-carb diets are not necessarily high in saturated fat. And secondly, there is no evidence that saturated fat has the heart-stopping properties many say it has. See here for more about this.

Moreover, there is some recent evidence that replacing saturated fat with supposedly ‘healthy’ carbohydrate is more likely to do more harm than good where our heart health is concerned.

And then we hear that all that protein is not good for our kidneys or our bones. For those with normal kidney function, high protein diets do not appear to pose any risk whatsoever. Plus, the balance of evidence suggests that protein-rich diets are generally good for bone health. See here for more on this.

Some also suggest that by eschewing grains we are somehow missing out on something vital in the diet. This is nonsense. There is nothing ‘vital’ found in grains that can’t be obtained more healthily elsewhere in the diet. Don’t forget that grains are a very recent addition to the human diet – for most of the 2.5-odd million years we’ve been evolving for we just didn’t eat them. And don’t forget too that the absolute requirement for carbohydrate in the diet is none at all (we can make it from other dietary elements).

I’m writing this as a backdrop to an email I received today, and my response to it. First, the email:

Dear Dr Briffa,
Following a recent radio interview I decided to purchase your book Waist Disposal and am delighted to report that after following its recommendations for four weeks I have managed to lose 8lbs and, more importantly, am really enjoying what I have been eating and feeling on top of the world..  As delighted as I am with my results so far I do have friends who are concerned about your weight loss programme and sceptical about its health benefits.They have likened it to the now discredited high protein low carbohydrate Atkins diet and the health problems that it was found to encourage. In what way does your programme differ from the Atkins and can you really have too much protein and too little coarbohydrate?

Yours Sincerely,
XXXXXXXX

And now my response to it:

Hi XXXXXXXXXX
Thanks for your email and I’m delighted that WD is doing the trick for you.
The Atkins diet is only ‘discredited’ in the mind of people who either:
1. are not aware of the science regarding low-carb eating
2. are aware of the science, but studiously choose to ignore it anyway
The unpalatable (for some) truth is that Atkins is/was right.
The book, I think, refers to the relevant science. If your friends have concerns, perhaps they might like to produce the science to support their case? My experience is that people have been scared out of eating a low-carb diet on the basis of nutritional propaganda and folklore (nothing more).
Best wishes
John Briffa

The point I was seeking to make (if it’s not obvious) is that there really isn’t a good case to be made against low-carb, hgher-protein diets. I neglected to point out, however, that there is a compelling case against the high-carb, low-fat diet that has been touted as ‘healthy’ for 30-odd years. If anything, such a diet appears to be fuelling burgeoning rates of obesity and chronic disease including type 2 diabetes.

With a new Atkins book out and Waist Disposal getting some press, I think there’s a good chance we’re going to see some mobilisation of the low-carb naysayers. Should it come, do be on the look out for actual science (not mere assertions, however oft-repeated).

(Right click here to read the full article and more by Dr. John Briffa.)

PRIMAL DIET OUTPERFORMS MEDITERRANEAN DIET - DR. BRIFFA

This from Dr. John Briffa:

The 'primal diet' on which The True You Diet is based tends to get very good results in practice, but has not been subjected to much in the way of formal study. Recently, though, this diet was pitted against a 'Mediterranean' diet-inspired regime. The results of this study are good news for those of us who are choosing to eat more in accordance with our nutritional past... The True You Diet posits that the best diet for us is essentially one based on the foods that we’ve been eating the longest in terms of our evolution – after all, these are the foods we are going to be best adapted to. A ‘primal’ diet is one that is devoid of grain and dairy products, as well as nutritional newcomers such as refined sugar and refined vegetable oils: what’s left is, basically, fruit, vegetables, root vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and nuts.

It is my experience that such a diet tends to work very well for enhancing wellbeing and optimising weight. However, while elements of this diet (e.g. its lower-carbohydrate nature) have been studied, the diet itself has not been subjected to much formal research.

So, I was interested to read this week of a study where the primal diet, also known as the ‘Palaeolithic’ or ‘Old Stone Age’ diet was pitted against a diet which was more ‘Mediterranean’ in nature (this diet included grains, low-fat dairy products and margarine) in a group of individuals suffering from heart disease and either type 2 diabetes or ‘impaired glucose tolerance’ (a precursor of type 2 diabetes). Each diet lasted for 12 weeks.

One of the measurements assessed in this study was blood sugar (glucose) levels. In the group eating the primal diet, glucose levels were found to drop by 26 per cent – a statistically significant result. In contrast, those eating the Mediterranean-inspired diet did not see any significant drop in blood sugar levels. The group eating the primal diet also saw a shrinking in average weight circumference of 5.6 cm, which was significantly greater than the reduction seen in the other group (average reduction 3.3 cm).

Experience and scientific evidence show that for optimal health and wellbeing, a degree of ‘dietary individualisation’ is important: physiological studies show that we have differing abilities to handle foodstuffs such as fat and carbohydrate that dictate our ‘ideal diet’ (this concept is explored in depth in The True You Diet).

What this very recent study very clearly shows is that there can be real health benefits for individuals who adopt a more ‘primal’ way of eating. This study provides some science which supports what I regard as common sense: that the best diet for us is one based on the foods which bee eating the longest and are therefore best adapted to.

References:

Lindeberg S, et al. A Palaeolithic diet improves glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischaemic heart disease. Diabetologia. 2007 Jun 22 [Epub ahead of print]

(Right click here to read the full article and more from Dr. Briffa.)

HOMEMADE LOW CARB CONDIMENTS FROM MARK'S DAILY APPLE

 Right click here for recipes for:

Ketchup

Mayo

Mustard

Faux Honey Mustard

Barbeque Sauce

Almond Butter

BREAD ALTERNATIVES FROM MARK SISSON (MARK'S DAILY APPLE)

Here are some thoughts on bread by Mark Sisson, author of Mark's Daily Apple: 

I'll admit that bread can be a difficult vice to give up. Even I'll partake on occasion, when it's particularly crusty and there's real butter nearby. For most, it features prominently at breakfast (toast), lunch (sandwiches), and dinner (rolls), and it can make a tempting vehicle for any number of delicious toppings (cheese, dips, butter). Waiters often bring a warm basket of it with the menus, and, along with water, bread figures into the standard archetypal prisoner's meager meal. Bread is modern Grok's constant temptress - and some of us have less willpower than others.

If you're having trouble giving up the grainy stuff entirely (or are about to give in to temptation), why not try out some homemade low-carb, grain/gluten-free bread options to tide you over? My first bit of advice to people looking to adopt the PB is to just stop eating bread altogether - eventually including even the grain-free bread approximations, if you can - but that can be a tall order. The low-carb, Primal bread options are certainly better than the real thing, but they are still hyper-caloric modifications of what Grok would have actually eaten, so I'd advise against making them daily staples.

In my recent spinach bread post, readers chimed in with their own favorite low-carb, grain-free bread-ish recipes. Most of them involve either nut or seed meals or coconut flours and lots of eggs as the base. These are all delicious, wholesome, Primal ingredients, but in bread form they can be extremely dense and addictive. Use caution when you make these! Don't eat a loaf a day; even though they're made with Primal ingredients, you can still overdo it.

Without further ado, here's a quick roundup of the best bread alternatives I've come across. Most are meant to replace bread, but some of them aim to replace pizza crusts and other baked goods.

Medicine Woman's Roots: Golden Flax Bread
Gluten-Free Bread
Focaccia-Style Flax Bread

Oopsie Rolls (Gluten-Free Buns)
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Sunflower Seed Pizza Crust
And a nice compendium of paleo baked recipes, most of which should align nicely with the PB

Oh, and just in case you've been eyeing that crusty baguette sitting on the counter for the past hour and telling yourself, "Hey, maybe grains aren't so bad after all," check out my Definitive Guide to Grains for a reality check.

THE LOWDOWN ON LECTINS BY MARK SISSON (MARK'S DAILY APPLE)

The Lowdown On Lectins

Little known to the public at large. Little understood by the health community. Omnipresent in our conventional food culture. Proven to be at least mildly detrimental for everyone and downright destructive for the more sensitive (and often unsuspecting) among us. We’re talking lectins today: common natural agents on the one hand, cloaked thugs of the anti-nutrient underworld on the other. Our popular health media, if they’ve heard of lectins, certainly never make mention of them. Famous health gurus never deign to speak of them. In short, lectins thrive in the American diet basically unfettered, unscrutinized. Make no mistake, however. They’re a menacing power to be reckoned with. I’ve addressed them on Mark’s Daily Apple in the past (Why Grains Are Unhealthy) and in my book (The Primal Blueprint), but I still get a fair number of emails and forum questions asking for more info. As I always say, let’s break it down….

What Are They?

Before Monsanto, Mother Nature had her own pesticide strategy. (Humans being among the “pests” to be warded off.) In order to avoid being completely decimated by insects, foraging animals and Groks, plant species evolved assorted anti-nutrients that would make said pests regret their gorges with a variety of mostly digestive related ailments. Low grade toxins, in a sense. A workable balance developed between plants that were able to safeguard their species’ survival and the “pest” patrons that were able to benefit from the plants’ nutrition but learned to partake more sensibly from their supply. Given that our primal forefolk foraged widely and ate a surprisingly diverse diet, the system worked.

Lectins are essentially carb-binding proteins universally present in plants (and animals). Just as they protect plant species from Grok-sized predators, lectins also support other immunological functions within plants and animals (against pathogense, parasites, etc.) They also assist in other functions like protein synthesis and delivery in animals. They’re relatively sticky molecules, which makes them effective in binding with their sought after sugars but undesirable for our digestion, in which their binding powers can lead them to attach to the intestinal lining and wreak havoc. (More on this in a minute…)

Given their omnipresence in nature, a certain amount of lectin consumption has always been inevitable. To the benefit of the plants, lectins are also hard to break down. Regular old digestive enzymes only do about half the job. Human ingenuity evolved across traditional cultures to “predigest” lectins through food preparation practices (fermenting, soaking, etc.). In our contemporary dietary culture, however, we too commonly skip these practices yet rely on the highest lectin-containing foods for our primary food sources.

What Foods Contain Them?

The short answer here is basically all plants and animal products (PDF) to varying degrees. Nonetheless, lectins are concentrated more in some sources than others. Foods with the highest lectin activity include: grains of all kinds (especially wheat), legumes (especially soy), nuts, dairy, and nightshade plants (e.g. eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, etc.). Add to this list the oils and other derivative products from these food sources. And yet another, lesser known category: GMO food, since lectins are often spliced into modified varieties in order to enhance “natural” pest and fungal resistance.

What Do They Do To The Body?

Let’s go back to the intestine again. (Some field trip, eh?) Lectins’ stickiness allows them to bind with the lining, particularly the villi, of the small intestine. The result? Intestinal damage (with impaired cellular repair potential), cellular death as well as compromised intestinal villi, which means reduced absorption of other nutrients, including minerals and protein. Add to this altered gut flora, which can allow certain harmful bacterial strains like E. coli to run rampant. Furthermore, because the body is now responding full-time to the needs of the injured gut lining, proteins and other resources are redirected from other basic growth and repair processes. Furthermore, lectins have been associated with leptin resistance (PDF), a pre-diabetic condition linked to obesity.

Perhaps the most insidious impacts lectins can leave in their wake is this: leaky gut. Leaky gut is a term for the breach in the intestinal lining created by lectins hand in hand with other antinutrients. Once the intestinal breach exists, lectins and other particles (like partially digested food, toxins, etc) can “leak” into the bloodstream.

Once lectins open the door, so to speak, out of the small intestine, they and other fugitive particles are now free to move about the body and bind to any tissue they come across (anything from the thyroid to the pancreas to the kidneys). Of course, the body reacts to these invaders by directing an attack on these particles and the otherwise perfectly healthy tissue they’re attached to. Enter autoimmune mayhem. That’s why lectins are linked with autoimmune disorders like IBS, Crohn’s, colitis, thyroiditis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and arthritis. Specific lectins have been associated with particular ailments (like wheat with rheumatoid arthritis), but more research is needed to trace and confirm these connections. What is clear, however, is the potent autoimmune destruction that can result when the intestinal lining experiences this level of damage.

Primal Advice For Limiting Lectins

As mentioned, lectins are literally everywhere. Although it’s impossible to eliminate them altogether, you can significantly reduce your intake.

• Purge the worst offenders. That means grains and soy more than anything, but I’d add other legumes to the list as well. Eliminating the foods that contain the highest lectin activity will slash your overall lectin intake – and impact.

• Cut back on other higher lectin sources. Not everyone wants to nix every dairy or nightshade option. Look at how you can reduce your overall intake of these items while keeping enough to enjoy their flavor and nutrient advantages.

• Gauge your sensitivity. For those of us who are most sensitive to lectins, more dramatic measures might be needed. If you know or believe that you’ve already suffered some serious intestinal damage, you might do well to steer clear of as many high and moderate lectin level foods as possible. That means perhaps forgoing nightshades, dairy, legumes and even nuts and eggs in addition to all grains and processed foods. Reintroduce desired foods back into your diet by “family” (e.g. dairy, etc.) and be mindful of any physiological effects (however minor) that accompany them.

• Take up old traditions like soaking, sprouting and using bacterial fermentation techniques for any moderate/high lectin foods like beans you choose to keep in your diet. Fermentation methods are especially effective, virtually eliminating lectins in one study of lentils. All those kitchen rituals you remember from Grandma? They’re adaptive, essentially pre-digestive techniques practiced by traditional cultures around the globe. Going old school on your favorite nut varieties, for example, cuts those lectin levels dramatically.

• Don’t go wholly raw. Yes, there are legitimate reasons to enjoy raw plants in your diet, but I don’t support the practice as a movement or exclusionary principle for eating. Humans have been cooking for well over a hundred thousand years. Some nutrients are enhanced by heat. Some anti-nutrients (like lectins) are at least partially “disarmed” by it. Cooking methods with a mind toward maximizing overall nutrient value and bioavailability make good Primal sense and can lower your exposure to lectins.

• Diversify! Restrictive diets make us even more susceptible to the downsides of our foods. (Soy formula fed babies being a dramatic example of this principle.) Make Grok proud and forage more widely for your dinner. Research shows that simply rotating primary foods was enough to limit lectin-related damage in rats that were given rounds of soy feed. A healthy, mostly low lectin diet will offer enough balance and protective nutrition to blunt the impact of the occasional moderate level lectin sources.

• Avoid GMOs. Hidden lectin is just one more reason to leave GMO products on the shelf.

• Maintain good overall gut health. Our modern existence sometimes seems like one giant assault against our digestive tracts. Minimize cumulative negative effects and increase positive, protective factors. Eat a healthy diet with Primal doses of probiotics, prebiotics and good fats. Limit stress and the use of medications like aspirin, NSAIDs and antibiotics (as well as secondary exposure through antibiotic-administered livestock). A healthy gut will be better equipped to weather the effects of inevitable but reasonable lectin intake.

(To read the full article and comments, right click here.)

MARK SISSON EXPLAINS PRIMAL EATING ON THE NEWS

Right click here to see Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple explain the basics of his book The Primal Blueprint.

WHY GRAINS ARE UNHEALTHY BY MARK SISSON (MARK'S DAILY APPLE)

Why Grains Are Unhealthy

Apart from maintaining social conventions in certain situations and obtaining cheap sugar calories, there is absolutely no reason to eat grains. Believe me – I’ve searched far and wide and asked everyone I can for just one good reason to eat cereal grains, but no one can do it. They may have answers, but they just aren’t good enough. For fun, though, let’s see take a look at some of the assertions:

 

“You need the fiber!”

Okay, for one: no, I don’t. If you’re referring to its oft-touted ability to move things along in the inner sanctum, fiber has some unintended consequences. A few years back, scientists found that high-fiber foods “bang up against the cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, rupturing their outer covering” which “increases the level of lubricating mucus.” Err, that sounds positively awful. Banging and tearing? Rupturing? These are not the words I like to hear. But wait! The study’s authors say, “It’s a good thing.” Fantastic! So when all those sticks and twigs rub up against my fleshy interior and literally rupture my intestinal lining, I’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s all part of the plan, right?

Somehow, I’m not convinced that a massive daily infusion of insoluble grain fiber is all that essential. And that “lubricating mucus” sounds an awful like the mucus people with irritable bowel syndrome complain about. From personal experience I can tell you that once I completed my exodus from grains, the IBS completely stopped. If you’re not yet convinced on the fiber issue I’ll refer you to Konstantin Monastyrsky’s Fiber Menace. Anyway, there’s plenty of fiber in the vegetables and fruit I eat. Which takes me to the next claim:

 

“You need the vitamins and minerals!”

You got me. I do need vitamins and minerals, like B1 and B2, magnesium and iron, zinc and potassium. But do I need to obtain them by eating a carb-heavy, bulky grain? No, no I don’t. You show me a serving of “healthy whole grains” that can compete – nutrient, vitamin, and mineral-wise – with a Big Ass Salad. What’s that? Can’t do it? Thought so.

 

“But it forms the foundation of the governmental food pyramid!”

You know, I should have just started the entire post with this one. I could have saved my fingers the trouble of typing and your eyes the trouble of reading. Governmental endorsements are not points in your favor, grain-eater; they are strikes against you. An appeal to authority (unless that “authority” is actually a preponderance of scientific evidence, of course) does not an effective argument make. Conventional Wisdom requires consistent, steady dissection and criticism if it is to be of any value.

There’s a reason grains are first and foremost on the list of foods to avoid when following the Primal Blueprint: they are completely and utterly pointless in the context of a healthy diet. In fact, if your average unhealthy person were to ask for the top three things to avoid in order to get healthy, I would tell them to stop smoking, to stop drinking their calories (as soda or juice), and to stop eating grains. Period. Full stop. They really are that bad.

I’ve mentioned this time and again, but the fundamental problem with grains is that they are a distinctly Neolithic food that the human animal has yet to adapt to consuming. In fact, cereal grains figured prominently in the commencement of the New Stone Age; grains were right there on the forefront of the agricultural revolution. Hell, they were the agricultural revolution – einkorn wheat, emmer, millet, and spelt formed the backbone of Neolithic farming. They could be stored for months at a time, they were easy enough to grow in massive enough quantities to support a burgeoning population, and they promoted the construction of permanent settlements. Oh, and they were easily hoarded, meaning they were probably an early form of currency (and, by extension, a potential source of income inequality). And here’s the kicker: they were harsh, tough things that probably didn’t even taste very good. It also took a ton of work just to make them edible, thanks to their toxic anti-nutrients.

 

Toxic anti-nutrients? Do tell.

Living things generally do not want to be consumed by other living things. Being digested, for the most part, tends to interrupt survival, procreation, propagation of the species – you know, standard stuff that fauna and flora consider pretty important. To avoid said consumption, living things employ various self defense mechanisms. Rabbits, for example, with their massive ears, considerable fast-twitch muscle fibers, and nasty claws, can usually hear a predator coming, outrun (out-hop?) nearly anything, and (in a pinch) slash a tender belly to shreds. Blue whales are too big to fit into your mouth, while porcupines are walking reverse pincushions. Point is, animals have active defense mechanisms. They run, fight, jump, climb, fly, sting, bite, and even appeal to our emotions (if you’ve ever seen a puppy beg for a treat with sad eyes, you know that isn’t just accidental cuteness) in order to survive. All the while, predators are constantly evolving and generating adaptations.

Plants, though, are passive organisms without the ability to move, think, and react (for the most part). They must employ different tactics to ensure propagation, and they generally have to rely on outside forces to spread their seed. And so various methods are “devised” to dissuade consumption long enough for the seed to get to where it’s going. Nuts have those tough shells, and grains have the toxic anti-nutrients, lectins, gluten, and phytates. (Of course there are some obvious exceptions. Fruits are tasty, nutritious, and delicious so that animals will eat them whole and poop out the seeds, preferably into some fertile soil. The seed stays intact throughout the digestive process; it is indigestible by design. No seed “wants” to be digested, because this would defeat the purpose. They “want” to be swallowed, or borne by the wind, or carried by a bee to the next flower, but they do not want to be digested.)

Some animals are clearly adapted to grain consumption. Birds, rodents, and some insects can deal with the anti-nutrients. Humans, however, cannot. Perhaps if grains represented a significant portion of our ancestral dietary history, things might be a bit different. Some of us can digest dairy, and we’ve got the amylase enzyme present in our saliva to break down starches if need be, but we simply do not have the wiring necessary to mitigate the harmful effects of lectins, gluten, and phytate.


Lectins are bad. They bind to insulin receptors, attack the stomach lining of insects, bind to human intestinal lining, and they seemingly cause leptin resistance. And leptin resistance predicts a “worsening of the features of the metabolic syndrome independently of obesity”. Fun stuff, huh?


Gluten might be even worse. Gluten, found in wheat, rye, and barley, is a composite of the proteins giladin and glutenin. Around 1% of the population are celiacs, people who are completely and utterly intolerant of any gluten. In celiacs, any gluten in the diet can be disastrous. We’re talking compromised calcium and vitamin D3 levels, hyperparathyroidism, bone defects. Really terrible stuff. And it gets worse: just because you’re not celiac doesn’t mean you aren’t susceptible to the ravages of gluten. As Stephan highlights, one study showed that 29% of asymptomatic (read: not celiac) people nonetheless tested positive for anti-gliadin IgA in their stool. Anti-gliadin IgA is an antibody produced by the gut, and it remains there until it’s dispatched to ward off gliadin – a primary component of gluten. Basically, the only reason anti-gliadin IgA ends up in your stool is because your body sensed an impending threat – gluten. If gluten poses no threat, the anti-gliadin IgA stays in your gut. And to think, most Americans eat this stuff on a daily basis.

Phytates are a problem, too, because they make minerals bio-unavailable (so much for all those healthy vitamins and minerals we need from whole grains!), thus rendering null and void the last, remaining argument for cereal grain consumption.

What, then, is the point to all this grain madness? Is there a good reason for anyone (with access to meat, fruit, and vegetables, that is) to rely on cereal grains for a significant portion of their caloric intake?

The answer is unequivocally, undeniably no. We do not need grains to survive, let alone thrive. In fact, they are naturally selected to ward off pests, whether they be insects or hominids. I suggest we take the hint and stop eating them.

And with that, I’m done. I don’t think I could eat another bite.

(To read the full article plus comments from other readers, right click here.)

MAY 23 - MARKS'S DAILY APPLE "WEEKEND LINK LOVE"

Lots of good stuff from Mark's Daily Apple: training advice, the “answer to cancer” may lie in eating the right foods, a beginner's guide to barefoot running, recipes and more.

Right click here to visit Mark's Daily Apple.

MAY 16 - ATKINS AND THE PRIMAL BLUEPRINT

I have been reading the website and I just got the book. The Primal Blueprint and Atkins are almost identical. I would say about 90-95%, so there is not much I would change in order to "go Primal".

They both teach high fat, moderate protein and controlled carbs. They both teach against eating processed carbs, like sugar, flour, etc. They both teach to eat in the same calorie range.

You have to look pretty hard to see even minor differences. Here are some minor differences, as I see them:

Atkins starts with around 40-50 total carbs (20 net carbs) per day to get into ketosis. PB starts with 50-100 total carbs per day and is not necessarily ketogenic. But PB does say that you can stay under 50 total carbs per day so that you can enter ketosis for faster weight loss if you choose to. Mark Sisson does not say that ketosis is wrong. He believes that ketosis was the way humans were designed to burn fuel.

Atkins says to eat at least 3 regular meals per day, if not more, and that if you skip meals, you will or may slow down your metabolism. However, the new book does say that some people do better with less than 3 meals a day. PB says to eat when you are hungry, and that might only be twice a day, without risking a metabolic slowdown.

Atkins emphasizes diet and talks less about exercise, although it is encouraged. PB emphasizes diet and exercise equally, and there is a lot of info on doing low level cardio, and stopping the "Chronic Cardio".

Atkins has options for eating some processed foods, although they recommend eating real, whole, fresh food as much as possible. PB has no options for eating processed foods. To do it right, you must eat only real, whole, fresh foods.

Atkins says to eat organic and grass fed, etc., when you can, but you can still do Atkins "right" if you eat non-organic, grain fed, etc., foods. PB says to eat organic and grass fed, etc., and this is necessary to do PB "right".

So all in all, aside from a few minor things, I don't see anything that different in PB. It sounds like Atkins, if you want to take it the extra mile and eat all organic, grass fed, etc. It's the way I have been wanting to do Atkins from the beginning, but could never quite get the gumption to follow through.

Just for the record, I will always recommend that people follow Atkins here on the forum. If I choose to fine tune Atkins a little within recommedations, that is my choice and I would never push that on anyone else.

For me, personally, I feel that Atkins has been what I have needed to overcome my eating problems. I just know that I am ready to take it the the next level of eating organic, etc. I don't see it as stopping Atkins and starting PB, or something else new. The way I see it, this is still Atkins, and I still really believe that Atkins is a great way to go.

MAY 9 - WEEK 60 RESULTS AND "MARK'S DAILY APPLE"

This week I gained 0.8 pounds.
Beginning weight – 141.0 pounds
Ending weight – 141.8 pounds

Here is an average of my daily food intake for this past week:

1993 Calories
150.3g Fat (67.9%)
110.3g Protein
49.9g Carbs
24.3g Fiber
25.6g net carbs, of which 12.5g came from veggies

It is a comfort to think that there are people "out there" who care about me enough to comment or lend advice or send a hug.

I have already been deciding (today, before I read your comments) that I am going to take a break from tracking, at least for a week, if I can stop myself!

I've been doing some reading on a website called “Mark’s Daily Apple” (right click here to visit that webiste) which I highly recommend) and have found that it agrees with Atkins about 95% or so, and one of the things that it says is to try not tracking and just eating right. Mark Sisson, the author of the website, has a new book out, called “Primal Blueprint" (right click here to check out the book), and I ordered it online. It should be here in several days.

So, starting tomorrow, I am going to attempt that. The only problem (don't laugh!) is that I want to track what I am eating so that later on, I can see what the results of my "not tracking" are!

It is so hard to not track! It is a pain sometimes, and I wish I did not have to do it, but I always find myself wanting to know the data, so that I can make decisions based on it.

I remember when I first started Atkins in March 2009, I did not track and just tried to follow the recommendations, and I did not lose weight.

Here is something else I am thinking, too, in response to all of your concerns: You say that I should not worry, because I recently had surgery, but this not-losing-weight thing (and actually, according to my doctor, I have been losing muscle and gaining fat since August 2009) has been going on for many months, so I don't think I can blame the surgery or my recovery on it. I was on a plateau for 8 months, then broke it several weeks ago, and now I have gained it all back and then some, and now I am steadily gaining just a little every day.

I am also anxious to start going to the gym again. It has been over 7 weeks since the last time I exercised in any way, due to severe pain and other unpleasantness for a few weeks before the surgery and then the surgery itself and recovery time.

I am going back to the doctor on May 25th and he will measure my body fat again. I've got a bad feeling about the results.

As long as I am telling you all about my stress, I will drop this little nugget on you: On May 31st, I am being interviewed by Jimmy Moore for his podcast. I was excited at first, because I was losing when he asked me, but now I am gaining and feeling like a failure and I'm not sure what to say on the show. I don't want to come off as saying "Atkins doesn't work." I guess right now, I just don't have a positive testimony.

I guess that is another reason I am so anxious to lose weight again, so that I can be in a "losing" state when I am on the show and do you all proud.

Someone said that it might be that my body has reached it's ideal weight. At 38% body fat, I think that is unlikely.

One of the reasons that my doctor wants me to get to 25% body fat (or so) is that estrogen is produced by adipose tissue (fat) and it is one of the reasons I am estrogen dominant, which causes additional weight gain.

So you can see that it is a vicious circle: The more body fat you have, the more estrogen you make, which causes you to put on more body fat, which produces more estrogen, which causes you to put on more body fat, which produces more estrogen... Well, I think you get the picture!

I had very lovely dinner last night at my son's house. I was delighted to see that my daughter-in-law fixed roasted chicken leg and thigh quarters and roasted veggies, including carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, red bell peppers and potatoes. It was yummy! I had all the veggies, and two bites of the potatoes. I declined the Diet Coke and drank water. Then, for dessert, she served homemade puff pastry with whipped cream filling with fresh strawberries and drizzled with just a little chocolate. It looked like it came out of a magazine! WOW!

So it was an Atkins-friendly dinner and a sinful dessert.

I also managed to get in bed reading by 10 pm and lights out around 10:30. I'll try to do better tonight - my goal is in bed by 9 pm and lights out by 10.

I woke up in the middle of the night to tinkle, and when I got back in bed, I heard birds singing! It was later than I though - 4:50 am. I tried to go back to sleep, but my husband kept breathing in my direction and keeping me awake. I usually wake up and get up around 7:30 each morning.

After 30 minutes of listening to all the various vocalizations and nose whistles my husband was making, I got the crazy idea to get up and go for a walk. I got up and looked at the thermometer (40 degrees) and got back into bed. I still couldn't sleep. All I could think of was that I wanted to go for a walk. It was as though I was being compelled to do it, and at 6:00, I gave in to the urge and got bundled up and headed out.

It didn't seem as cold as I thought it would be, and by the time I had walked briskly for 45 minutes, my coat was tied around my waist and I had worked up a sweat. It was so lovely to be out at that time of morning, listening to all the birds and knowing that most of the houses I walked past contained sleeping people.

There are a few new houses being built in my neighborhood, and I took the opportunity to sneak into two of them and look around. Then back home to weigh and measure.

While I have been gaining weight this past week, some people have said that I may not have gained inches. Sadly, I did. It seems like everything is going south!

In the past 7 days:

I lost 1/4” from my bust
I gained 1/2” around my navel
I gained 1/2” around my hips
I gained 1/4" around my thighs
I gained 1/4” around my calves

Here are my measurements today:

12.5" - neck
12" - bicep
9" - forearm
36" - bust
30" - midriff
29.5" - waist
34" - navel
39" - hips
22.25" - thighs
13.75" - calves

But, I am happy to report, I have lost weight this morning - 1.2 pounds! That makes me feel better, which it shouldn't, because my body size is bigger, but I'll take what I can get!

According to the scale, I have gained 1 pound in the last 7 days.
According to my 1-week average, I gained 2.2 pounds in the last 7 days.
According to my 4-week average, I have lost 0.1 pounds in the last 7 days.

According to the scale, I have gained 0.6 pounds in the last 4 weeks.
According to my 1-week average, I have lost 0.2 pounds in the last 4 weeks.
According to my 4-week average, I have gained 0.5 pounds in the last 4 weeks.

I have decided to go off of dairy for awhile and see what happens. But I'll have to start that tomorrow, because I already had the ingredients to make Eggs Florentine with Cheese Sauce for breakfast this morning, and it contains both cheddar cheese and heavy cream.

Due to the amount of stress I have been under as of late, I'm thinking about going back to my yoga class that meets once a week. I was going last summer, and I really liked it, but I had a bad shoulder and the poses were aggravating it, so I quit.

Now the other shoulder is inflamed, so I don't know whether yoga will work out or not, but I think I'm going to go tomorrow.

Today, Bill and I just went out and about, to the mall and the bookstore. Although today is Mother's Day, there is no celebration for me, because I had that yesterday at my son's house, and my sweet daughter is so far away. I spent today pretending that we were together. Bill went out before breakfast, and bought home flowers and a card.

I made no plans on what to eat today, except that it was Atkins-friendly. I did not measure and weigh or put it on Fitday.

I usually weigh in the morning at 7:30. This morning I weighed at 6:00. After my walk, I weighed again at 7:30. I lost another 0.2 pounds. Guess which weight I'm going to use for my official one? LOL!

141.0 - 05/02
142.0 - 05/03
141.8 - 05/04
142.8 - 05/05
142.6 - 05/06
142.8 - 05/07
143.2 - 05/08
141.8 - 05/09

I am still at the point where I am heavier than I was 4 weeks ago, so I can't tell what my goal date is, because if my weight does what it has done in the past 4 weeks, I will steadily gain weight, not lose weight.

After my walk, I sat down at the computer for about 20 minutes, and when I stood up, every muscle in my body screamed, "Sit back down!!!" Then, a minute later, one of my toes decided to fold down under my foot. Ouchy ba ba ba.

I need to get more active! HA!

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

I had lunch at Culver's. A double bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo, without bun, and a small side salad with blue cheese dressing.

While we were at the bookstore, I saw Mark Sisson’s book, so I sat down and read it for about 20 minutes. I did not buy it, because mine is ordered and on the way.

I splurged and had a piece of sugar-free dark chocolate with pecans at the mall.

Dinner is a grilled ribeye with butter, garlic powder and sea salt, and roasted asparagus with my butter/mayo sauce.

Dessert is about 4 oz. of fresh strawberries. Yes, I weighed them, to make sure I did not go crazy, but I did not put them on fitday.

It is 9 pm and I am going to bed to read until I get sleepy, just like I planned.

Good night, Neverland!