the-psoriasis-treatment

The graph below (from Wikipedia) plots body fat percentage (BF) against body mass index (BMI) for men. The data is a bit old: 1994. The top-left quadrant refers to men with BF greater than 25 percent and BMI lower than 25. A man with a BF greater than 25 has crossed into obese territory, even though a BMI lower than 25 would suggest that he is not even overweight. These folks are what we could call skinny-fat men. The data is from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), so it is from the USA only. Interesting that even though this data is from 1994, we already could find quite a few men with more than 25 percent BF and a BMI of around 20. One example of this would be a man who is 5’11’’, weighing 145 lbs, and who would be technically obese! About 8 percent of the entire sample of men used as a basis for the plot fell into the area defined by the top-left quadrant – the skinny-fat men. (That quadrant is one in which the BMI measure is quite deceiving; another is t...

A great deal of discussion has been going on recently revolving around the so-called “carbohydrate hypothesis of obesity”. I will use the acronym CHO to refer to this hypothesis. This acronym is often used to refer to carbohydrates in nutrition research; I hope this will not cause confusion. The CHO could be summarized as this: a person consumes foods with “easily digestible” carbohydrates, those carbohydrates raise insulin levels abnormally, the abnormally high insulin levels drive too much fat into body fat cells and keep it there, this causes hunger as not enough fat is released from fat cells for use as energy, this hunger drives the consumption of more foods with “easily digestible” carbohydrates, and so on. It is posited as a feedback-loop process that causes serious problems over a period of years. The term “easily digestible” is within quotes for emphasis. If it is taken to mean “refined”, which is still a bit vague, there is a good amount of epidemiological evidence in support...

The first living wall as it's constructed in South Africa. My friend Warren Te Brugge has taken on a project that deserves the attention of all who are interested in the ideals of sustainable communities and food security in all parts of the world. His new foundation  My Arms Wide Open®  is building the first-ever living food walls with the objective of providing fresh fruits and vegetables to disadvantaged youth in both Vancouver Downtown Eastside and in rural South Africa. The sister walls will be constructed based on the design of South African artist, Dylan Lewis, who created the exhibition "Untamed" (pictured above) at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens (see more pics of the living plant wall construction  here ). The exhibition was originally constructed in celebration of the country's hosting of the 2010 World Cup. The two identical vertical gardens -- one in Vancouver and the second in Cradock, South Africa -- will yield several harvests througho...

Jeff O’Connell is the Editor-in-Chief for Bodybuilding.com , a former executive writer for Men’s Health , and former Editor-in-Chief of Muscle & Fitness . He is also the author of a few bestselling books on fitness. (Source: Bodybuilding.com) It is obvious that Jeff is someone who can write, and this comes across very clearly in his new book, Sugar Nation . Now, with a title like this, Sugar Nation , I was expecting a book discussing trends of sugar consumption in the USA, and the related trends in various degenerative diseases. So when I started reading the book I was slightly put off by what seemed to be a book about a very personal journey, written in the first person by the author. Yet, after reading it for a while I was hooked, and literally could not put the book down. Jeff has managed to write something of a page-turner, combining a harrowing personal account with carefully researched scientific information, about a relatively rare form of type 2 diabetes. Jeff has a genetic...

Dr. Lindeberg weighing a Kitavan man.  While training in family medicine, Staffan Lindeberg , M.D., Ph.D., read a paper (published in 1985) in the  New England Journal of Medicine  that would alter the course of his future research. It was entitled "Paleolithic Nutrition" and one of the authors was Boyd Eaton, M.D. It was about the same time Dr. Lindeberg had heard from a neighbor that humans had the guts of vegetarian -- to which he responded, "Oh yeah?" His neighbor was  influenced by one of a number of nutrition "stories," as Dr. Lindberg calls them, and not based on actual scientific investigation. "People like John Harvey Kellog [inventor of corn flakes and strong proponent of a vegetarian diet] has had more influence on thinking about a healthy diet than Darwin has," Dr. Lindeberg says. So began his journey to discover more about evolutionary biology's connections to human health, diet...

At a time when our ancestors existed as hunter-gatherers in the Paleolithic, it's clear that food was not always available and that the fluctuation of feast and famine was probably more apparent. The theory of thrifty genes has it that our metabolic function is dependent on these fluctuations for optimal insulin function. So, it's hypothesized that since intermittent fasting may have been instrumental in the selection of our genes, its practice may have lasting benefits on insulin sensitivity. Findings to date in humans are that fasting does improve insulin sensitivity by inducing increases in circulating adiponectin along with changes in plasma leptin. By these mechanisms, intermittent fasting acts on increasing insulin's action differently than physical activity. Now, new research is showing that fasting one day each month may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, according to research cardiologists from Salt Lake City. They observed 200 subjects, most being members o...

It is often pointed out, at least anecdotally, that potassium deficiency is common among low carbohydrate dieters. Potassium deficiency can lead to a number of unpleasant symptoms and health problems. This micronutrient is present in small quantities in meat and seafood; main sources are plant foods. A while ago this has gotten me thinking and asking myself: what about isolated hunter-gatherers that seem to have thrived consuming mostly carnivorous diets with little potassium, such as various Native American tribes? Another thought came to mind, which is that animal protein seems to be associated with increased bone mineralization, even when calcium intake is low . That seems to be due to animal protein being associated with increased absorption of calcium and other minerals that make up bone tissue. Maybe animal protein intake is also associated with increased potassium absorption . If this is true, what could be the possible mechanism? As it turns out, there is one possible and somew...

For as long as diets existed there have been influential proponents, or believers, who at some point had what they thought were epiphanies. From that point forward, they disavowed the diets that they formally endorsed. Low carbohydrate dieting seems to be in this situation now. Among other things, it has been recently “discovered” that the idea that insulin drives fat into body fat cells is “wrong”. Based on some of the comments I have been receiving lately, apparently a few readers think that I am one of those “enlightened”. If you are interested in what I have been eating, for quite some time now, just click on the link at the top of this blog that refers to my transformation. It is essentially high in all macronutrients on days that I exercise, and low in carbohydrates and calories on days that I don’t. It is a cyclic approach that works for me; calorie surpluses on some days and calorie deficits on other days. But let me set the record straight regarding what I think: there is no ...