BMAL1 and CLOCK, ‘positive’ regulators of circadian gene expression, activate transcription of the negative regulators Per, Cry, and Rev-erb. PER and CRY inhibit BMAL1 and CLOCK, whereas Rev-erb inhibits Bmal1. It is said that Rev-erb is “an important link between the positive and negative loops of the circadian clock.” You don’t really need to know any of that to follow this blog post.
Posted in Advanced nutrition, circadian, diet, Energy balance, fat, insulin, melatonin, muscle, resveratrol, TPMC, wine
Tagged body composition, calories, calories proper, circadian rhythm, energy balance, energy expenditure, fat, insulin
A randomized pilot trial of a moderate carbohydrate diet compared to a very low carbohydrate diet in overweight or obese individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus or prediabetes (Saslow et al., 2014)
Disclaimer: this study was not ground-breaking; it was confirmation of a phenomenon that is starting to become well-known, and soon to be the status quo. That is, advising an obese diabetic patient to reduce their carb intake consistently produces better results than advising them to follow a low fat, calorie restricted diet.
The two diets:
Moderate carbohydrate diet
In their words: “Active Comparator: American Diabetes Association Diet. Participants in the American Diabetes Association (ADA) diet group will receive standard ADA advice. The diet includes high-fiber foods (such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes), low-fat dairy products, fresh fish, and foods low in saturated fat.”
Very low carbohydrate diet
In their words: “Experimental: Low Carbohydrate Diet. Participants will be instructed to follow a low carbohydrate diet: carbohydrate intake 10-50 grams a day not including fiber. Foods permitted include: meats, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, cream, some nuts and seeds, green leafy vegetables, and most other non-starchy vegetables. Because most individuals self-limit caloric intake, no calorie restriction will be recommended.”
Both groups were advised to maintain their usual protein intake.
Posted in Advanced nutrition, diet, Dietary fat, fat, insulin, Ketosis, muscle, Protein, TPMC
Tagged Atkins, body composition, calories, calories proper, carbs, diet, energy balance, energy expenditure, fat, insulin, ketogenic, ketosis, muscle, nutrition, obesity, protein
From Slate: “Sausage made with bacteria from baby poop isn’t as gross as it sounds.”
and my favorite: “Pooperoni? Baby-poop bacteria help make healthy sausages.”
Much ado about: Nutritionally enhanced fermented sausages as a vehicle for potential probiotic lactobacilli delivery (Rubio et al., 2014)
The media seems to have missed the ball, but not by far. They focused on healthy microbes being incorporated into fermented meats, whereas the scientists seemed to want to make a “healthier” low-salt, low-fat sausage.
The low-salt part seems to partially make sense from a fermentation-perspective: using probiotics instead of salt to reduce the potential for pathogenic microbial contamination. However, I doubt reducing the sodium by 25% will have any appreciable impact on health outcomes. The effect of adding beneficial microbes, on the other hand, might.
They also mentioned making it lower in fat, but that doesn’t make as much sense; I don’t think there’s a big contamination risk of having a higher fat content. #lipophobia
Posted in Advanced nutrition, chocolate, Dietary fat, fat, fermentation, Protein
Tagged bifidobacteria, chocolate, fat, microbiota, nutrition, prebiotics, probiotics, processed food
Jane Plain recently wrote a great article about the relationship between insulin, dietary fat, and calories. There are a lot of data on this topic, which collectively suggest: context matters!
For example,
Insulin and ketone responses to ingestion of MCTs and LCTs in man. (Pi-Sunyer et al., 1969)
14 healthy subjects, overnight fasted; dose: 1g/kg.
In brief, MCTs
Posted in Advanced nutrition, coconut, Dietary fat, Energy balance, fat, insulin, Protein, TPMC
Tagged calories, calories proper, carbohydrates, carbs, diet, empty calories, energy balance, fat, insulin, nutrition, protein
The Optimal Diet
Low, lower, lowest: does it matter?
There are 4 relatively large, randomized ‘diet-induced weight loss’ studies that all reported fairly comprehensive food intake and body composition data. The studies ranged in duration from 24 weeks to one year and included anywhere between 50 and ~300 overweight and obese participants.
In general, participants assigned to the low fat intervention were advised to restrict calories and fat whereas those assigned to low carb were told they could eat as much as they wanted as long as it wasn’t carbs.
Your mileage may vary – but these studies cover a large number of subjects from a wide range of backgrounds, suggesting the results might be applicable across the board. Conclusion? the amount of body fat lost was much more strongly associated with the reduction in carbohydrates than calories. The only modestly surprising aspect was the magnitude… (see the figures below).
The four studies, in chronological order:
Brehm 2003: over the course of 6 months, those who consumed an average of 163 grams of carbohydrate per day lost 8.6 pounds of body weight while those who consumed 97 grams lost 18.7 pounds.
McAuley 2005: 24 weeks; those who ate 171 grams lost 10.3 pounds, while those who ate 133 grams lost 15.2 pounds, and those who ate 107 grams lost 15.6 pounds.
Maki 2007: 36 weeks; those who ate 186 grams lost 5.7 pounds, those who ate 131 grams lost 9.9 pounds.
Gardner 2007: 1 year – those who ate 138 grams lost 10.3 pounds, 181 grams lost 3.5 pounds, 195 grams lost 4.8 pounds, and 197 grams lost 5.7 pounds.
Posted in Advanced nutrition, diet, Dietary fat, Energy balance, fat
Tagged appetite, Atkins, body composition, calories, carbohydrates, carbs, diet, fat, nutrition, obesity, satiety
Nutritional ketosis is a normal, physiological response to carbohydrate and energy restriction. A ketogenic diet
In ketoacidosis, gluconeogenesis occurs at a very high rate and the lack of insulin prevents glucose disposal in peripheral tissues. Skeletal muscle protein breakdown contributes gluconeogenic substrates, exacerbating the problem. This can cause blood glucose to reach pathological levels, exceeding 250 mg/dL.
Posted in Advanced nutrition, diet, Dietary fat, fat, insulin
Tagged carbohydrates, carbs, diet, energy balance, fat, insulin, ketoacidosis, ketogenic, ketones, ketosis, nutrition, obesity, protein, sugar
NPR recently reported on a study where the participants ate either a meat-based, fiber-free ketogenic diet
Posted in Advanced nutrition, Dietary fat, Energy balance, fat, insulin, Ketosis, microbiota, Protein
Tagged carbohydrate, ketogenic, ketones, ketosis, microbiota, microflora, protein
“Dietary protein has a purpose, and that purpose is not carbs.” Nor is it to break ketosis or stall weight loss.
Drastically increasing protein intake may reduce the degree of ketosis in the context of a large energy surplus, but this is likely due more specifically to the large energy surplus than the protein. This would explain why Warrior dieters (1 meal meal per day) often report reduced ketones if they eat too much protein. It’s more likely that the 2000 kcal bolus is exerting it’s anti-ketotic effect by being a large energy surplus, such that anything other than 90% fat would blunt ketosis. It’s not the proteins… Want proof? Here’s an n=1 to try: give up Warrior dieting for a few days and try 3 squares. My bet is that you’ll be able to increase protein intake and still register ketones as high or higher than before. There are data to support this and reasons why it may not matter (below).
disclaimer: I don’t think “deep ketosis” is necessary to reap the benefits of carbohydrate-restriction. But if you love high ketone meter readings, then this might be a better strategy to maintain deep ketosis while getting adequate protein. win-win.
if I hear: “oh no, I was kicked out of ketosis!” one more time…
All of the studies below are confounded one way or another, but so are we humans.
Posted in Advanced nutrition, diet, Dietary fat, Energy balance, fat, insulin, Ketosis, Protein
Tagged Atkins, body composition, calories, calories proper, carbs, diet, energy balance, fat, insulin, ketosis, nutrition, obesity, protein
Ketosis. Happens during starvation and also by restricting carbohydrates (and protein, to a lesser degree)… might be important for epilepsy and bipolar disorder, too.
Ketostix
Conversely, when glucose levels decline and fatty acid oxidation increases, liver redox potential drops which reduces AcAc/bHB.
Posted in Advanced nutrition, circadian, depression, diet, Dietary fat, epilepsy, Exercise, fat, Ketosis
Tagged Atkins, calories proper, carbs, circadian rhythm, depression, diet, epilepsy, exercise, fat, ketogenic diet, ketosis
Seasonal eating proper
More on seasonal eating in what appears to be the primary model for its justification for use in humans – hibernating mammals.
How it goes, or so they say: in summer, hibernators massively overeat, including carb-rich foods, in order to generate muscle and liver insulin resistance, so as to promote body fat growth. The long light cycle reduces evening melatonin, which pushes back the usual nighttime peak in prolactin, which causes an abnormal resistance to leptin, which induces hypothalamic NPY and subsequent carbohydrate craving. Ergo, summer is fattening. In today’s day, increased artificial lights guarantee year-round pseudo-summer; and we no longer experience the benefits of the short light cycle: longer sleep times (akin to hibernation) and fasting – either complete fasting as in hibernation, or pseudo-fasting, ie, a ketogenic diet.
Posted in Advanced nutrition, Bromocriptine, circadian, diet, Dietary fat, Dopamine, empty calories, Energy balance, fat, Fructose, insulin, Leptin, TPMC
Tagged body composition, calories proper, carbohydrates, circadian rhythm, diet, energy balance, insulin, ketogenic, leptin, sugar, summer, winter