Monday, December 24, 2012

A Little Look At Fat, Sugar and Carbohydrates

Addicted to Carbs

Here is a selection of articles - long, but definitely worth the read - about fat, sugar and carbohydrates.
Note: The headings are links to the articles from which the quotes are taken.

What If It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?
"... researchers point out that there are plenty of reasons to suggest that the low-fat-is-good-health hypothesis has now effectively failed the test of time."

"If you work out the numbers, you come to the surreal conclusion that you can eat lard straight from the can and conceivably reduce your risk of heart disease."

Is Sugar Toxic?
"What are the chances that sugar is actually worse than Lustig says it is?"

"In animals, or at least in laboratory rats and mice, it’s clear that if the fructose hits the liver in sufficient quantity and with sufficient speed, the liver will convert much of it to fat. This apparently induces a condition known as insulin resistance, which is now considered the fundamental problem in obesity, and the underlying defect in heart disease and in the type of diabetes, type 2, that is common to obese and overweight individuals. It might also be the underlying defect in many cancers."

Absolute Scientific Proof Carbohydrates Are Pathogenic
Here's just the introductory sentence to whet your appetite (no pun intended!).
"Carbohydrates cause nearly all age-related diseases."

"All carbohydrates are bad, but simple carbohydrates like sugar and white flour are killers. Complex carbohydrates cause debilitating age-related disease also. It just takes longer. There are no healthy carbohydrates."

What a wonderful era we live in - information at our fingertips.
What did I ever do without the Internet, without Google?!

I'd love to know what you think about fat, sugar and carbohydrates.





Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Reducing Stress in a Stress-Filled Life


Christine Cronau talks about stress in her book, The Fat Revolution. She tells how chronic stress releases too much of our stress hormone, cortisol, in response to all the stresses of our lives. Having a permanently elevated level of cortisol is likely to do a great deal of damage to our bodies and our minds.

Christine says, "I actually don't like discomfort and I listen to my body. If something is super hard, I don't do it."

So, today, I am thinking how I can slow down, how I can enjoy the moments, how I can let things go.

I found this article to be a totally sensible outline for stress management.

I'm off to have a nanna-nap!



Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Summarised


It has been 9 days since I went to the Low Carb Nutrition Seminar - that's how long it has taken me to get my mind somewhat around all the amazing information that went into my head!

I heard Jimmy Moore talk excitedly about "ketones, baby!" and a diet comprised of 85% saturated fat. Sarah Wilson talked about quitting sugar and I particularly connected with her because she mentioned her thyroid! David Gillespie talk about the effects of 'sweet poison' and how it is not fat that makes us fat but sugar. Christine Cronau talked about the revolutionary idea of saturated fat helping us to lose weight and the health benefits of cholesterol.

There were others, too: Dr Ron Ehrlich talked about health care vs disease management ; Dr Simon Thornley, an epidemiologist, showed us, with data and graphs, the relationship of sugar and heart disease; and Dr Rod Tayler talked about whether or not fats, protein and carbohydrates are essential in our diet. Interesting stuff!

Aaron McKenzie from Origin of Energy gave an overview of how he takes a lifestyle approach to nutrition and fitness training to get sustainable results. Suzanne Crawt gave us a short, but sweet (in a good way) biography of her change from a Western Diet to a Paleo Diet and told us how we can hook up with others who live the same way.

Having lived in Uralla for 20 years, I was particularly excited to hear Rob Blomfield, from neighbouring Walcha, tell us about healthy soil, which leads to healthy pasture, which leads to healthy animals, which leads to healthy humans.  He also told us about Omega-6 and Omega-3 and the proportions they are in healthy meat. On a similar note, Vicki Poulter talked about holistic management, in tribute to Bruce Ward, rather than mono-culture. She proclaimed the beauties and benefits of pasture-fed animals and eating grass-fed (to finish) meat and the dangers and disastrous effects of growing and eating grain-fed animals.

Finally, although he was not last to speak, Costa Georgiadis inspired me to get back into my garden, to make compost and grow some food. He talked about produce vs product, intimate vs industrial, farming vs agribusiness. Costa challenged me to question what I put in my mouth and where it came from, and prompted me to ask, "Who are my role models for food?"

The question time at the end probably could have gone on for hours! Questions on a variety of subjects were raised and answered, it was like a comfortable chat with friends about all the things we had heard and was a nice way to finish off the day.

Soon I will start recording the nitty-gritty of sugar withdrawal and saturated fat consumption in my family. I bet you can't wait!