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Friday, January 30, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Is Meat Unhealthy? Part VII
Looking at individual diseases is informative, but it can cause us to become myopic, making broad health-related decisions based on narrow information. It can cause us to miss the forest for the trees. In this case, the "trees" are individual diseases and the "forest" is total mortality: the overall risk of dying from any cause. Does eating meat increase total mortality, shortening our lifespans?
Non-industrial cultures
Traditionally-living cultures such as hunter-gatherers and non-industrial agriculturalists are not the best way to answer this question, because their mean lifespans tend to be short regardless of diet. This is due to ~30 percent infant mortality, which drags down the average, as well as a high risk of death in adulthood from infectious disease, accidents, and homicide/warfare. It can also be difficult to accurately measure the age of such people, although there are reasonably good methods available.
However, there are semi-industrialized cultures that can help us answer this question, because they feature a somewhat traditional diet and lifestyle, combined with modern medicine and the rule of law. The so-called Blue Zones, areas of exceptional health and longevity, fall into this category. These include Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and Icaria, Greece.
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Non-industrial cultures
Traditionally-living cultures such as hunter-gatherers and non-industrial agriculturalists are not the best way to answer this question, because their mean lifespans tend to be short regardless of diet. This is due to ~30 percent infant mortality, which drags down the average, as well as a high risk of death in adulthood from infectious disease, accidents, and homicide/warfare. It can also be difficult to accurately measure the age of such people, although there are reasonably good methods available.
However, there are semi-industrialized cultures that can help us answer this question, because they feature a somewhat traditional diet and lifestyle, combined with modern medicine and the rule of law. The so-called Blue Zones, areas of exceptional health and longevity, fall into this category. These include Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and Icaria, Greece.
Read more »
Friday, January 23, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Does high protein explain the low-carb "metabolic advantage"?
In 2012, David Ludwig's group published a paper that caused quite a stir in the diet-nutrition world (1). They reported that under strict metabolic ward conditions, weight-reduced people have a higher calorie expenditure when eating a very low carbohydrate diet (10% CHO) than when eating a high-carbohydrate diet (60% CHO)*.
In other words, the group eating the low-carb diet burned more calories just sitting around, and the effect was substantial-- about 250 Calories per day. This is basically the equivalent of an hour of moderate-intensity exercise per day, as Dr. Ludwig noted in interviews (2). The observation is consistent with the claims of certain low-carbohydrate diet advocates that this dietary pattern confers a "metabolic advantage", allowing people to lose weight without cutting calorie intake-- although the study didn't actually show differences in body fatness.
In Dr. Ludwig's study, calorie intake was the same for all groups. However, the study had an important catch that many people missed: the low-carbohydrate group ate 50 percent more protein than the other two groups (30% of calories vs. 20% of calories). We know that protein can influence calorie expenditure, but can it account for such a large difference between groups?
Read more »
In other words, the group eating the low-carb diet burned more calories just sitting around, and the effect was substantial-- about 250 Calories per day. This is basically the equivalent of an hour of moderate-intensity exercise per day, as Dr. Ludwig noted in interviews (2). The observation is consistent with the claims of certain low-carbohydrate diet advocates that this dietary pattern confers a "metabolic advantage", allowing people to lose weight without cutting calorie intake-- although the study didn't actually show differences in body fatness.
In Dr. Ludwig's study, calorie intake was the same for all groups. However, the study had an important catch that many people missed: the low-carbohydrate group ate 50 percent more protein than the other two groups (30% of calories vs. 20% of calories). We know that protein can influence calorie expenditure, but can it account for such a large difference between groups?
Read more »
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Make these 4 simple changes to get in shape this year
Looking to get in shape this year? You can #startTODAY — even if you've never been inside of a gym before. Here are four simple steps you can add to your daily routine to see significant changes in 2015, plus a workout perfect for beginners.
1. Drink 20 sips of water as soon as you wake up in the morning. (Over the course of the day, aim to drink half your body weight in ounces of water.)
2. Walk 10,000 steps a day. Purchase an inexpensive pedometer at your local drugstore and get walking.
3. Cut out all carbs after 6pm. That's when we tend to do the most damage — big dinners, bread basket, pasta, etc.
4. Keep an extremely detailed food diary with one or more friends also looking to lose weight and email it to each other at the end of the day. You'll be surprised how quickly you change your habits and begin to make smarter food choices.
Do these tips require a little bit of work? Yes. A little effort? Yes. A slight bit of discomfort? Yes. But I've said it once and I'll say it a million times, if it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you. If you're ready to make a change, you can expect to see results!
If you're a newbie to the gym, don't be intimidated! Here's a beginner workout I crafted for TODAY's Jeff Rossen, our resident investigative correspondent who says he's never been to the gym before. If he can do it, so can you!
1. Apple pickers / jogging in place
Alternate these two moves so that you count down the apple picker from 20, and after every round of apple pickers, do 20 jogs in place. So, start with 20 apple pickers, then 20 jogs in place. Then 19 apple pickers, 20 jogs in place. Then 18 apple pickers, 20 jogs in place. Count your way down to 1 apple picker, 20 jogs in place.
2. Squats / jumping jacks
Alternate squats and jumping jacks. Start with 10 squats / 10 jumping jacks, then 9 squats / 9 jumping jacks, and count your way down to 1 squat / 1 jumping jack.
3. Set of push-ups off wall: 40 total
TODAY
These off-the-wall pushups are great for your arms.
You are going to do 4 rounds of these pushups, 5 reps at a time. Each time, you will move your hands an inch wider.
Start by doing 5 reps with your hands touching, then 5 reps an inch wider, then 5 reps an inch wider, and 5 more reps an inch wider. Then, you're going to go back the other way: Start wide and end up with your hands touching. That will add up to 40 total pushups.
4. Bear crawls
Crouch down so that you can put your hands and your feet on the floor. Then, walk your hands and feet forward 20 paces. Repeat 3 times with no breaks.
5. Run 20 yards, then do 2 burpies. Repeat 5 times.
TODAY
This complete motion is 1 burpie.
6. 100 shoulder circles forwards
Stand with your arms at your sides, and your shoulders relaxed. Gently roll your shoulders forward 100 times.
7. 100 shoulder circles backwards
Roll your shoulders up and backwards, with your arms held loosely at the sides.
8. 100 tricep pulses
TODAY
The tricep pulse is like the chest clap, but in reverse.
9. 100 chest claps
TODAY
In these chest 'claps' bring your arms together but don't actually touch your hands.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Is Meat Unhealthy? Part VI
In this post, I'll examine the possible relationship between meat consumption and cancer risk.
Is cancer risk even modifiable?
Cancer is caused by the uncontrolled division of a population of rogue cells in the body. These cells essentially evolve by natural selection to escape the body's multiple anti-cancer mechanisms.
To a large extent, cancer appears to be a numbers game. The human body contains about 37 trillion cells. To get cancer, all you need is one cell that develops key mutations that allow it to shed its built-in restrictions on cell division. The older you are, the more time you have to accumulate mutations, explaining why cancer risk rises sharply with age.
Unlike other common non-communicable diseases, we don't know to what extent cancer is caused by modifiable diet and lifestyle factors vs. bad luck that's completely outside our control. Some cancers, such as lung cancer, are typically linked to lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking-- yet the majority of cancers aren't so easily understood.
Read more »
Is cancer risk even modifiable?
Cancer is caused by the uncontrolled division of a population of rogue cells in the body. These cells essentially evolve by natural selection to escape the body's multiple anti-cancer mechanisms.
To a large extent, cancer appears to be a numbers game. The human body contains about 37 trillion cells. To get cancer, all you need is one cell that develops key mutations that allow it to shed its built-in restrictions on cell division. The older you are, the more time you have to accumulate mutations, explaining why cancer risk rises sharply with age.
Unlike other common non-communicable diseases, we don't know to what extent cancer is caused by modifiable diet and lifestyle factors vs. bad luck that's completely outside our control. Some cancers, such as lung cancer, are typically linked to lifestyle factors like cigarette smoking-- yet the majority of cancers aren't so easily understood.
Friday, January 2, 2015
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