We need to grow a pair!

Hi Everyone!

Yes. I'm walking the line of crudeness because I'm fed up!  Honestly, if I hear one more client say that it's okay that they're having the bag of chips because they are made with whole grains, I'm going to lose it! Honestly, how do you expect to achieve your goals if you're not willing to take out the garbage?

I'm not even sure who to be mad at any more!  I think we all have some culpability in this mess. Let's take a look at how each group plays a role in the obesity epidemic (both creating it and not helping to solve it).

Consumers/Clients

I think that the current food system is the way it is, because we (the consumers/clients) are a bunch of pushovers (not my first choice of words) who are so terrified to give up our vices like junky foods that we know are killing us that we choose to believe the BS claims that are made by food companies about said food items. For instance, these chips are okay because they are made from whole grains, or these cookies are organic.  I mean, PLEASE!

Message: We vote with our dollars, so don't buy processed food anymore & eventually there will be no market for it and similarly, the cost of good quality, real foods will decrease.

Government

The governments who supposedly police the food industry are absolutely culpable & they are made of educated people, so they are not stupid, therefore, I can only conclude that they are driven by money and secondary gain.  There is no other logical reason why in the face of clear evidence that TRANS fats kill humans by well known cardiovascular mechanisms, that they would impose a law to require that the amount of trans fats within a food product be shown on the label rather than make it illegal for the food company to use that item in the foods they make!  WHAT THE HECK!?  Think about it, governments make money on allowing poor quality foods into the market place & people get sick & then there's money to be made on the treatment of those illnesses (preventable ones).  So tell me then, where is the motivation to stop the cycle.  Nowhere for the governments regulators.

Message: Nobody has your back, other than you.  You need to take responsibility for your own lifestyle choices.  Don't you put your health, life & vitality in the hands of people with more to gain if you are sick than if you are healthy.

Nutrition Professionals

Practioners

The nutrition profession including Dietitians, Nutritionists (practitioners), Researchers & Professors.  All of which work very hard (I know I am one) to tow the company line (i.e. the food groups or pyramids or whatever), and most of them (this is where I consider myself different) do NOT question those concepts, they just keep teaching them.  This is where things become ugly for me.  I have a real Masters degree (thesis-based) & am pursuing a PhD all in Human Nutrition, so I believe I can read, interpret & critically appraise the research.  Unfortunately, many of the practitioners in the profession can not, do not or are not willing to do this.  This has lead to the promotion of the low fat diet for instance for the last fifty years or so.  You can see my post on some of my issues with the low fat diet and why that's a huge problem.  And the thing is, the evidence is out there to lead practitioners away from this but most are either too busy or just don't bother to review it.

Researchers

This brings us to researchers and professors. Researchers & Professors are, for the most part positions that are research driven and depend upon production & publications for their institution.  Unfortunately, Western medical research practices are based on supposed gold standards (i.e. randomized clinical trials) that really only work for pharmaceutical drugs, no coincidence that the majority of medical research is funded by these companies and that most medical decision trees produced for physicians and psychiatrists either end at or have as a major part of their treatment a pharmaceutical drug (that's for another rant, though).  I have many research colleagues and friends who consider the current state of nutrition research a joke.  I unfortunately have to agree with them.  They are mostly in the physical sciences like chemistry and physics, both of which I have minors in.  The major difference in my opinion is that those physical sciences have a unifying theory, which guides all research in that discipline to be in line with those principles.  In medical & health research it's more of a crap shoot of random trials & outcome measures.  Many will argue that there is no medical unifying theory, but that is crap!  The unified theory of biology should be and is EVOLUTION!  I talk about that unifying theory in a prior post here.  If nutrition researchers would simply ask does this study/finding/research question that I am proposing make sense in light of evolutionary biology, then this would prevent millions of dollars from being wasted on stupid projects that provide zero insights into human health & disease.  And by the way, food companies are also spending billions of dollars to fund research projects.


Professors

Professorships are research-dependent and therefore all of the research criticisms discussed above apply.  Additionally, however, most of the time there is a regulating body (i.e. college or other guiding body) that dictates the competencies and content that are required to become a certified health professional.  Unfortunately, these practice recommendations are based on the assumption that the last fifty plus years of lifestyle based research has been sound and that the principles of many of the early low fat proponents was correct (which is now known to be false).  Yet, each new generation of nutrition, health and medical practitioner are taught the same strategies to prevent and manage/treat cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, etc... without any regard to human evolutionary biology.  This is absolutely a critical mistake and the most frustrating part of all is that this is a relatively easy one to fix.

Message: You can't always put your faith in credentials.  Just because someone has a certification or degree, doesn't mean they're good at what they do or even know about or truly understand the current research, it just means they were able to complete coursework & do well on a test. I am a certified health professional, I have many colleagues and only some of them truly understand the current research. Be sure to do your own research and then discuss it with your certified health professional.  If they are completely closed, fire them & find another who is more open and versed on the research.

So. What the heck can we do about it?

It's an easy fix, but not a quick one.  I learned everything I could (and still am by the way) about evolutionary biology and then use these principles to filter all of the latest research findings through and see which ones still make sense or try to figure how they might fit.  Also, I use these evolutionary principles to adjust my prevention and treatment protocols so that they are more in line with evolutionary biology.  There are many non-certified Western and Alternative medical practitioners that have been doing this for some time, I applaud the honest ones for doing this.  I think it's time that we in certified Western medicine caught up!

Message: It's through this practice of selecting professionals that are more open-minded & versed on the literature, that health professionals will ultimately expand their knowledge and be accountable to you, the client.  Also, we have to stop always citing old studies as the basis for our current treatment practice, research question or curriculum and seriously attempt to integrate the evolutionary biology approach.


Thanks for reading my rant!  I hope you found it useful as well as entertaining!  Honestly, I feel better for having wrote this, so thanks for giving me an audience.

Have a great week!

Take care,

Dan T

What is the Real Deal behind Preventing Cardiac Risk?

It's been quite a while since my last post.  I am neck deep in preparing for my PhD Comprehensive exam (early Dec 2013), working full time & caring for my almost 2 year old daughter as my wife and I have another child on the way (due Feb 2014).

I have to tell you honestly, that I am constantly disappointed by the current medical profession specifically when it comes to dealing with chronic diseases! As a registered dietitian I see it as my duty to constantly review the literature to see what new innovations might show promise. It's my responsibility to understand these novel studies so that when clients inevitably ask about them, I will be able to give them legit advice & not just tow some antiquated party line!

Okay, enough venting!  Let's dive into some of the newer evidence on Heart Disease Risk!


The Popular Dogma is Not Supported by Current Evidence

1)      Saturated Fat

a.       The current dogma is that eating too many saturated fats increases blood cholesterol, which in turn increases risk for heart disease.

b.      A few studies have shown that there increased levels of LDL increase risk for CHD.

c.       But, recent research concluded that there was in fact no association between dietary cholesterol and CHD.

d.      As of 1977 AMA/CMA recommended lowering fat intake to 30% or less in diet – result=significant change in diet composition - ­ Carb/­ PUFA (specifically vegetable oils – all ­ omega 6).

e.      If we oversimplify and just ask two basic questions, we start to see the challenges that have arisen: i) What about evolution? Did we evolve eating more carbs and seeds & nuts or animal & coconut fats? ii) What about inflammation? Which is more inflammatory in nature: SFA or omega 6 + refined carbs?

2)      Apo lipoprotein Changes

a.       This change in diet comp – resulted in changes to our circulating lipoproteins that actually increase our risk for CHD (specifically - ­ Triglycerides/ ¯ HDL particles).

b.      New technology explains why LDL amount is not as telling as once believed.  Particle size of   Think of cholesterol as the passengers in a car and the particle number is the number of cars on the road.  If there are more particles around then they are more likely to crash into the arterial linings and become trapped (atherosclerosis).  If LDL particles are smaller, there will be more of them present, when they are fluffy and big, and then there will be less of them.  Theoretically, the amount of LDL could be the same in both scenarios, but it’s the small, dense LDL particles (that are more abundant) that increase the risk for CHD.
LDL particle size is far more predictive of atherogenic risk.

3)      The Role of Carbohydrates in CHD

a.       Carbohydrates were pre-farming available in unrefined forms (vegetables & fruits) and only in the late summer and fall.  Today, we have year round access to the most highly refined carbohydrate sources we’ve ever seen.

b.      High carbohydrate intake shuts down fat burning & promotes fat storage.  This increased fat storage leads to an increased production of triglycerides.

c.       Hypertriglyceridemia is accentuated in people with abdominal obesity/insulin resistance.

d.      This insulin resistance occurs in the face of high carbohydrate diets & is now considered a protective measure by the liver to prevent substrate overload.

4)      The Role of Inflammation

a.       Athersclerosis does not occur in a vacuum (so to speak).  Inflammation and oxidation are required to promote infiltration of lipids within the arterial walls and the binding of minerals to them (plaque formation).

b.      High carbohydrate diets & especially refined carbohydrates are highly pro-inflammatory.

c.       Omega 6 fats are essential (small amounts) but in excess are highly pro-inflammatory.  They are highly available in Western diets (corn, soy & wheat oils) as well as most nuts & seeds.

d.      Recent studies have shown that low carbohydrate diets are effective at reducing cardiovascular risk factors.

Citations:

http://www.stlawrencedentistry.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/heart-disease.jpg

Djousse, L and Gaziano, JM, 2009.

German, JB and Dillard, CJ, 2004.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/news2011-mchi/6264.html

http://chriskresser.com/the-diet-heart-myth-why-everyone-should-know-their-ldl-particle-number

http://www.longevitytesting.com/pub/images/PARTICLES_web.jpg

http://img.springerimages.com/Images/ImagesMD/AHD/10/10/WATER_AHD1004-10-032.jpg

Agius, L, 2013.

http://www.realw8site.com/images/brochureillustration_clr.jpg

The Best all natural appetite suppressants

Hi Everyone,

Let's face it when we are working on changing our nutrition to decrease our calorie intake and limit our exposure to processed food, we can use some help overcoming cravings & the natural increase in appetite that some people feel in response to a lowering in calorie intake.

Remember, the first thing is to never drop your calories more than 20-30% of your needs.  Whichever end you can handle, stay there.  Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for failure.

The Best all natural appetite suppressants

1) Pure Water - drinking 1-2 cups 15-20 minutes before each meal can help hydrate the digestive system and also decrease the appetite going into a meal.

2) Low carb vegetables especially leafy greens - These are extremely low in calories, but are very high in micro nutrients & fiber.  As a result they are the most nutrient dense food.  These do not have to be counted (carbohydrate or calorie wise) but obviously contribute to your 10 fists of fruits & vegetables daily.




3) Soluble fiber - this can be either in the form of a fiber supplement (Benefiber, etc...) or a specific supplement like PGX (soluble-fiber like). Guar gum, Xanthan gum or Pectin could all work individually or combined together (and mixed with liquid).  These will essentially swell up in the stomach and hold the food in the antrum (lower part of the stomach) longer before emptying. This ensure that your satiety (fullness felling) lasts longer.  Again, doing this 15-20 minutes before a meal can significantly reduce your appetite at meal times.

4) Fresh apples or pears - these fruits contain a high amount of soluble fiber (pectin) and water.  So eat one of these 15-20 minutes before a meal and combine with 1) to see maximal results.  Remember to count the carb and calorie content of this choice.







5) Broth, - this combines number 1) (water) with the flavor of chicken or beef and some of the nutritional content if made from scratch that help decrease appetite.  Choose chicken or beef broth that is lower in sodium (if store bough it will still be relatively high).

6) Green tea or lemon in hot water - these provide an astrigent/sour flavor which override the taste buds and effectively shut down our perception for sweet and salty for a period of time following consumption.  These are great strategies not only to use at meal times but also for times when you might be struck with cravings for sweet or salty foods (i.e. junk foods), for example in the evening.


 I hope you find these strategies useful!  Try them and see what they do for you!

Follow me on Twitter and friend me on Facebook for more useful tips & motivation.

www.twitter.com/dietitiandant

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Also, subscribe to my YouTube channel for more cutting edge nutrition information delivered to your home for free!

https://www.youtube.com/chizlefuel

Have a great day!

Dietitian Dan T

Limit your Exposure to Food Processing for a Longer & Leaner Life

Limit your Exposure to Food Processing for a Longer & Leaner Life.

Food processing includes any additives or technique that extends shelf life, therefore increasing profit margins for food companies.  Unfortunately, not much research is done into the long term effects on human health of these techniques.  Examples of the worst offenders include: sugar, refined flour and Trans fatty acids, which have all been implicated in several long term health challenges. Therefore, to optimize our health we must do our best to limit our exposure to them.

Food processing techniques are so widely used now that it is next to impossible to avoid them!  Many of these put us at risk for long term heath complications including overweight/obesity, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cancer, depression, cognitive decline, etc…)

Most of our genes have been theorized to have evolved during the hunter-gatherer time frame. Therefore, let’s structure our diet as we did back then. Let’s look at a simplified breakdown.

1)      Vegetables & Fruits

-          One consistent finding over the years has been that people who eat adequate vegetables & fruits per day live longer and healthier than those who don’t.

-          Aim for 10 (of your) fists of vegetables & fruits daily!!! Remember if you are attempting to lose fat, then be sure that about 6-8 of those fists are low carb vegetables and the other 2-4 are fruits and/or cooked starchy vegetables.

-          As Canadians we have a few choices for the best quality vegetables and fruits.

o   1) Fresh vegetables and fruits - You can enjoy locally grown fresh produce, so TAKE ADVANTAGE.  You can even join a local CSA program (http://csafarms.ca/index.html).

o   2) Frozen vegetables and fruits – a good second option, most of the nutrition is still present.

2)      Meats, Poultry, Fish and Eggs

-          The best choices are grass fed meats and free range poultry and eggs as these provide good levels of omega 3 fats, which are essential and are anti-inflammatory in nature.

-          A good second choice is to choose the leanest cuts of regular farmed/mass-produced meats and poultry that you can.  Also omega 3 eggs are a good second option to free range eggs.

-          Wild caught fish and seafood are the best options.

3)      Nuts & Seeds

-          Use raw nuts & seeds whenever possible.

-          If you experience digestive upset with raw nuts, soak in water for 1-3 hours before eating.

-          If you are attempting to lose weight, limit your portions of nuts & seeds as these can easily lead to high calorie intakes.

-          Grinding nuts & seeds yourself can create very tasty & healthy nut butters that are excellent for spreading or dipping.

4)      Grain products

-          Technically, all grain products are processed.  Therefore, if you can’t live without these, then be sure to choose the least processed forms of grains that you can.

-          Choose “whole grain” whenever possible (legally only “whole grain” in the ingredients list means anything).

-          If you are getting your 10 fists of vegetables & fruits then you don’t need grain products, despite what you might read/hear.

5)      Dairy products

-          We don’t really need these products either, if we are getting enough quality animal proteins, oils & dark green vegetables.

-          If you consume dairy, choose certified organic or <2% products.

6)      Water

-          Drink 2 cups before each meal & in between.

-          Remove chlorine from water before drinking – using a filter system (e.g. Brita) is usually good enough.

7)      Supplements

-          The only two supplements that we most likely need are:

• A) Vitamin D – if we don’t get access to adequate sunlight.
•  Ideally we get 10-15 minutes of unprotected (no sunscreen) sun exposure a few times per week.
•  Discuss supplementation with your health care provider (often doses of 2000 IU are used).

•  B) Omega 3 (DHA + EPA) – on days when we don’t consume high omega 3 fish or other animal products.
• Usually 1-4 g per day of DHA+EPA total are prescribed to optimize liver metabolism.

8)      Physical Activity

-          Daily activity and consistency is key.  There’s no better time to start than right now!

-          Once to twice per week – lift heavy things!

-          Once per week – move really fast!

-          The rest of the time move slower but move & very often!!!

Best portion tool for Health & Fat Management

Hi Everyone,

I've been away from blogging for a while.  We've been shooting for both my Youtube channel (Chizle Fuel & for a new reality Youtube series on which I'm the lead Dietitian (Transformation King). Links are in my Google+ profile below so you can check those out and subscribe today!

I wanted to take a minute to quickly share some insights that I have gained over my 8 years as a Dietitian on the topic of portion tools for optimal fat loss!  Having worked in the Weight management and Obesity fields for 8 years, I have noticed trends in which portion tools tend to do better for most clients.

There are tonnes of portioning guides out there and honestly in my experience some do work well with some clients, depending on that person.  Some people are numbers people and they love to have calorie and grams of carbs, proteins and fats targets and work well with those.  Others, hate numbers and just want to use their fists and add those up to approximate targets each day!  Interestingly though, one of the most effective methods of portion control don't really control portions (within reason) but do limit exposure to the high risk offenders of the eating world... namely they reduce exposure to refined carbohydrates.  As you will see below, this is my take on what I consider the best portion tool for managing your health & fat loss!  Give it a try for 3 months and see how it works for you!

As always please leave comments & please send me your questions for nutrition issues/concepts that you would like to know more about and I will address them in the future.

Sample Plate for most of your meals

Animals = Quality Protein & Healthy Fats

Plants = Low carbohydrate vegetables

Sample Plate for most of your meals

Add in Starchy vegetables or Fruit for your post workout meal.

1)      PROTEIN & HEALTHY FATS

-          Choose naturally raised (exercised & no drugs given) animals that are fed their natural diet.

-          Choose animals fed leaves (i.e. grasses) whenever possible.

-          If you have to choose conventionally farmed meats, choose the leanest you can.

2)      The optimal targets for fat intake are as follows:

A)    Trans fats – None – check the label and be sure it states truly zero.

B)     Saturated fats – limit to < 25 g / day.  Eliminate those from conventional animal products because often toxins are stored here and sick animals would have higher levels of bad fats.  Whenever possible try to choose exercised, naturally fed animals and even certified organic if you can.

C)     Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats.  Choose somewhere between 1:4 or 1:1 ratio between these respectively.  Decide where you will fall in that range based on your inflammation levels.  If you have more inflammation in your body then target closer to 1:1 ratio vs. 1:4.

Optimally we need the follow for each:

Omega 3- minimum of 2-3 g/day, with 2-4 servings/week coming from animal sources (i.e. oily fish (above) or seafood).  The rest of the week, choose them from plant sources (i.e. ground flax seed or walnuts).

Omega 6 – If you are taking in 1:4 ratio relative to omega 3, then shoot for 8-12 g/day of these (otherwise increase omega 3 and meet in the middle somewhere).

D)    Monounsaturated fats – these will be the primary focus of your fat intake after you know that you’ve eliminated trans fats, are limiting your saturated and are getting your appropriate target for omega 3 and omega 6 fats.  Most people require between 50 and 100 g of fat/day, depending on your calorie target.  So these will make up the difference in your fat intake goal.

3)      Fruits

-          Contain loads of beneficial fibers and other compounds.

-          Significant source of natural fruit sugars.

-          Flavorful and can be ++ beneficial to creating fruit smoothies – caution with amounts.

-          If you are managing your weight, remember to use a) whole fruits, b) smoothies c) dried fruit.

4)      Vegetables

-          Contain loads of beneficial fibers and other compounds.

-          Some are significant sources of natural starches.

-          Some tend to be bland, others with bitter flavors.

-          If you are managing your weight, remember to use a) fibrous vegetables, then b) starchy vegetables,

Five things you can do tonight to get more Vegetables into your daily diet

1)      Fill your plate at lunch and supper as above with Vegetables.  If you are trying to manage weight, eat these first with your healthy protein to maximize your satiety.

2)      Keep pre-cut and pre-washed vegetables in your fridge as snacks.  You can pair with healthy dips (i.e. hummus, peanut butter, etc…).

3)      Steam vegetables for 5-10 mins (maximum) when preparing.

4)      Use vegetables in smoothies with fruit and water in order to get more in your diet.

5)      Aim for 5 or more servings of vegetables as part of your 7-10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.  Remember to focus on the non-starchy vegetables which are fibrous and very low calorie.

5)      Hydration

-          Consume between 3-5 L of fluid per day unless on restriction.

-          This amount is from all sources.

-          If you are hitting your target for vegetables & fruits (10 fists/day), you can aim for the 3 L target.

-          Best way to judge your hydration is to look at your urine color (light yellow is best).

Citations

http://flywheelfit.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/this-is-my-plate-440x455.jpg

http://www.myhealthblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/MyPlate-green1300x273-1.jpg
The Paleo diet revised edition. Dr. Loren Cordain. 2011.
8 years of my own clinical experience.

I hope you have enjoyed my take on things!  Please click the link below and subscribe to my Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/chizlefuel).
 
Have a great week!

Dan