The Barrage of Media
Submitted by David Weaver on Mon, 02/01/2010 - 11:28am
This weekend, my wife and I were at the book store. Since we are obviously interested in health, we headed over to the health, nutrition and exercise section to see what the latest books were. I can't really say that I'm surprised at what I saw, but it still pains me to see what is there. The nutrition section in particular was very painful.
It's time for some education. Let's start with this one:
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The title alone for this book is a problem. The focus in general for this book is towards type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is chronically high insulin levels. What types of food cause high insulin? Carbohydrates. In particular, high density forms of carbs such as whole grains, pasta, rice, and sugar to name a few. Now don't get me wrong, all carbohydrates are not bad, BUT when you have type 2 diabetes, the type and amount GREATLY matter. So if someone is making a cookbook consisting of low-fat meals, obviously those calories need to be replaced by something else. Since most books (including this one) discount the incredible power of protein, that leaves only one macronutrient to make up the bulk of the meals. Carbohydrates.
Here is an excerpt I was particularly appalled by:
There's alot here to discuss, but let's stick with the basics of the blood sugar issue. The problem is that this is a very all encompassing statement that leads us to believe that all whole grains are good for us. While some whole grains do enter the blood stream slower that refined sugar, did you know that pizza dough enters the blood stream FASTER than refined sugar? Also, we still have the problem of recommending a very high carbohydrate food for someone who's problem is too many carbohydrates to begin with.
Here is a food pyramid from another book: (sorry for the blurriness)
The title of this book is, "The Cancer Prevention Diet." On the left it has daily, weekly and monthly categories. Under the daily section we can see a recommendation of about 90% carbohydrates. Under weekly we've got a pretty good mix of foods, but we're only to eat them once a week or so. Finally at the top we've got most of our protein recommendations that we are to consume monthly. Sweets are priority over seafood, eggs and beef (according to this).
This is a big, big problem. It is also a pretty good way to possibily develope type 2 diabetes and/or cancer. Eating like this will turn our insulin on overdrive. High insulin means storage and growth promotion. If we have our bodies constantly turned on to growth, it inhibits our ability to destroy BAD cells. In addition, the lack of protein will cause other problems. Protein is ESSENTIAL for the body to function. (essential amino acids anyone?)
So beyond the science of it, let's look at one more example. This one comes from msnbc.com in today's news. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35107271/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/
An active, 14 year old, girl named Paris went on a 20 month program to help take control of her weight. Her parents had to also take part in it since they too, were overweight. The program did not require that they go on any particular diet, but recommends "healthy grains, fruits and vegetables and avoiding unhealthy fats." The family decided to go vegetarian. She has some early successes from eating less and getting plenty of exercise. By the end of the program, the results were that she ended up GAINING 12 pounds from when she started almost 2 years ago! (I'd also be really curious to see how her biomarkers changed.)
So she ate less protein and more carbohydrates. She could not stick with the diet and things actually got worse. She believes that all she needs to do is try harder. What do you think? Is just trying harder really what this girl needs?
It's time for some education. Let's start with this one:
The title alone for this book is a problem. The focus in general for this book is towards type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is chronically high insulin levels. What types of food cause high insulin? Carbohydrates. In particular, high density forms of carbs such as whole grains, pasta, rice, and sugar to name a few. Now don't get me wrong, all carbohydrates are not bad, BUT when you have type 2 diabetes, the type and amount GREATLY matter. So if someone is making a cookbook consisting of low-fat meals, obviously those calories need to be replaced by something else. Since most books (including this one) discount the incredible power of protein, that leaves only one macronutrient to make up the bulk of the meals. Carbohydrates.
Here is an excerpt I was particularly appalled by:
There's alot here to discuss, but let's stick with the basics of the blood sugar issue. The problem is that this is a very all encompassing statement that leads us to believe that all whole grains are good for us. While some whole grains do enter the blood stream slower that refined sugar, did you know that pizza dough enters the blood stream FASTER than refined sugar? Also, we still have the problem of recommending a very high carbohydrate food for someone who's problem is too many carbohydrates to begin with.
Here is a food pyramid from another book: (sorry for the blurriness)
The title of this book is, "The Cancer Prevention Diet." On the left it has daily, weekly and monthly categories. Under the daily section we can see a recommendation of about 90% carbohydrates. Under weekly we've got a pretty good mix of foods, but we're only to eat them once a week or so. Finally at the top we've got most of our protein recommendations that we are to consume monthly. Sweets are priority over seafood, eggs and beef (according to this).
This is a big, big problem. It is also a pretty good way to possibily develope type 2 diabetes and/or cancer. Eating like this will turn our insulin on overdrive. High insulin means storage and growth promotion. If we have our bodies constantly turned on to growth, it inhibits our ability to destroy BAD cells. In addition, the lack of protein will cause other problems. Protein is ESSENTIAL for the body to function. (essential amino acids anyone?)
So beyond the science of it, let's look at one more example. This one comes from msnbc.com in today's news. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35107271/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/
An active, 14 year old, girl named Paris went on a 20 month program to help take control of her weight. Her parents had to also take part in it since they too, were overweight. The program did not require that they go on any particular diet, but recommends "healthy grains, fruits and vegetables and avoiding unhealthy fats." The family decided to go vegetarian. She has some early successes from eating less and getting plenty of exercise. By the end of the program, the results were that she ended up GAINING 12 pounds from when she started almost 2 years ago! (I'd also be really curious to see how her biomarkers changed.)
So she ate less protein and more carbohydrates. She could not stick with the diet and things actually got worse. She believes that all she needs to do is try harder. What do you think? Is just trying harder really what this girl needs?
So what is the take away from all of this?
- - Controlling your insulin really, really matters.
- - It DOES in fact matter the TYPE of food you eat.
- - Type 2 diabetes is reversible and avoidable.
- - Books and media can be very misleading and even false.
- - Education of PROPER nutrition is extremely important.
Recipes
Baked Stuffed Tomatoes
1 can tuna (or fresh crab or shredded chicken, etc...)
2-3 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
dashes of cayenne pepper
squeezes of lemon
bunch of basil
fresh ground black pepper
half of avocado
stalk of celery
Combine in food processor! Stuff hollowed out tomato. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Health Tips
Buy Organic
Foods that were once thought to be very good for your health, are still good for your health. BUT, many of them also have added problems and dangers associated with them that they never had before.
There are some more commonly known problems such as the use of pesticides, toxins and other dangerous chemicals that now exist in non-organic foods. These can lead to various health problems and conditions. Just do a search for "side effects of pesticides" and see what you come up with.
But aside from these issues, there is a very big problem even worse than pesticides; Genetically Modified Foods. The US does NOT require labeling of GMO foods. Fruits and vegetables are some of the most commonly modified foods. They are created in labs and then patented as something the said company owns. There are no laws about the safety of these foods being put into distribution. They are only required to have a patent. Some foods that are VERY likely genetically modified are soy, corn and it's products (canola oil, high fructose corn syrup, etc.) and wheat.
So just by eating the way our pre-agricultural ancestors ate, we can avoid some of our present day dangers all together. We already know that grainfed animals are the "protein equivilant of cardboard." We also now know that there are some potentially dangerous effects of the other foods we are eating as well. So if we are trying to live as healthy and disease-free as possible, let's think more carefully about what we put in our bodies. Buying organic, grassfed, local products is good for the local community, good for your health, and good for future generations.
"A plant, fruit, or animal grown without the administration of artificial pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics or growth hormones (in the case of animal products), most closely replicates wild or untampered-with growing conditions" - Mark Sisson
“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” ~ Thomas Edison
