-FATS MISC…-
Please refer to the following article(s) for complete pieces on this topic:
CONSTIPATION
A high fat diet has also been associated with:
- Constipation
DIABETES
A diabetic diet is geared towards lowering blood sugar and reclaiming stability within the body. Jenna starts out by offering three ways to effectively lower blood sugar:
- Diet
- Fat doesn’t affect blood sugar.
When eaten with a lot of fat, carbs tend to digest at a slower rate. This holds true for pizza and ice-cream which can display deceptively good readings on your glucometer. Pastas, which seem to be resistant to digestion, even the low carb variety, will raise your blood sugar four to five hours later. “Healthy whole grains,” when compared to sugary cereals, do win the fight outright, but they still raise your blood sugar to dangerously high levels.
“There is growing evidence that lifestyle change is in many cases more effective than drug therapy, particularly in Western degenerative diseases, of which MS is one.”
- “For instance, research published in Diabetes Care in 2006 showed that a low-fat vegan diet was not only better than the currently recommended diabetic diet, but also more effective than standard diabetes drugs.”
-Multiple Sclerosis: tREASONS for Lesions
DRY EYE SYNDROME
With a dual attack, dry eye syndrome and allergies accumulate to fester increased dry eye symptoms and a more potent allergic reaction. A lack of tears, due to dry eye syndrome, prevents the washing out of allergens which then amass and produce the above effect. To touch further on the preservative issue, they have been found to: dissolve the lipid layer of the tear and to build up in the lens itself.
-Dry Eye Syndrome: Eye Do Matter
FRUCTOSE
Jenna also mentions fructose and purports that all fructose is bad for diabetes. Fructose is found in all fruits, honey, and most notably in products that contain high fructose corn syrup. She writes that fructose enters the body then “beelines for the liver” and becomes fat, a process that leads to increased insulin resistance and decreased leptin, a protein responsible for the regulation of appetite and body fat levels. Although she recommends low carb berries, she rather recklessly groups all fructose-containing foods together. With a little common sense, one can see why a piece of fruit and a manufactured product high in high fructose corn syrup should not be grouped together.
HEART DISEASE – FATTY DEPOSITS
“For the great majority of this planet’s population—the 4 billion who do not participate in the Western lifestyle—it simply does not exist.”
During the Korean and Vietnam wars, studies were performed on the lifeless bodies of young soldiers who had both endured the regularities of life and the struggles of a large-scale conflict. In 80% of the very young Americans, it was clearly evident that they had begun developing heart disease as evidenced by the fatty deposits’ undeniable presence within their arteries. As for the Asian soldiers, who also inhabited the younger side of the spectrum, they were practically “clean and free” of these fatty residuals.
I have stated this time and time again—we must be at the helm our dietary choices and avoid the traditionary influences that lead to the inevitable digression of our health—but when there is overwhelming evidence, accompanied by the compelling arguments made thus far, pointing to little or no presence of chronic ailments in Asian and African countries, only we can be left to blame.
Yes it is true, America is a residence to the peoples of Asian and African countries too, but when they adopt our lifestyles, they too adopt our chronic ailments.
-Heart Disease: Moderation Kills
HEART DISEASE – LIFESTYLE CHANGES
Healthy Heart Trial—low-fat vegetarian diet, exercise, and medication led to a reversal of CAD.
- Cholesterol dropped by 24%
- Stroke volume per beat increased by 30%
-Multiple Sclerosis: tREASONS for Lesions
HYPERTENSION
Along with its buddies—high cholesterol, diabetes, aging, and genetic hypertension—hypertension is not a dormant out-of-sight-out-of-mind feature because you cannot feel, hear, see, or taste it—it betrays your body by continually damaging it. As pressure rises, smalls cracks and lesions will form and endothelial dysfunction will be the end result after an often flawed immune response appears on the scene to begin the repair process. This crime scene is perfect for the development of plaque, a sticky combo of cholesterol, fat, calcium, and cellular debris. The immune cells burrow in and “set up camp”, and…
-Hypertension: Duck, Duck, DASH
HYPERTENSION – EXERCISE
5. Burns Calories & Reduces total body fat
-Hypertension: Duck, Duck, DASH
HYPERTENSION – OVERDRIVE FACTORS
2. Being Overweight
- Fat = tissue = needs blood supply too.
- “…a pound of fat contains about a mile of capillaries.”
3. Physical Stress
- “Yet too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.”
- Exercise
- Pain
- Heat/Cold
- Lack of Sleep
- Illness
- When done appropriately, the heart pumps more efficiently:
- Decreased atherosclerosis
- Decreased blood fats
- Decreased vascular resistance
-Hypertension: Duck, Duck, DASH
IBS – CANDIDA
Candidiasis exists harmoniously as part of the natural flora of the digestive tract, in fact, these natural bacteria keep each other in check. But when problems arise and only the symptoms of these problems are treated, yeast infections can grow roots into the intestinal wall and other mucous linings. In doing so, it poisons the bloodstream with mycotoxins—toxins given rise by the fermentation of glucose, proteins, and fats. As it continues to be a menace, our body eventually makes an antibody to the candida. You may not see it yet, glance back a few sentences and let it be re-revealed to you that candida exists naturally, harmoniously, and plays a vital role in digestion.
IBS – FOODS TO EMPLOY
12. Fats
IBS – PANCREAS
Thirty minutes of travel, “…depending on the composition of the meal.”
- Main digestive organ
- Chemical breakdown of food is completed.
- Most nutrients absorbed into bloodstream.
- Gets digestive juices from:
- Pancreas—carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
KETOGENIC DIET
“Dr. Freeman says that several children have died as a result of unsupervised ketogenic diets.” “The diet is not nutritionally adequate, so multivitamins and mineral supplements…” I do share these quotes from this book in order to scare you and I urge you to recognize and acknowledge the seriousness of nutrition and your dietary choices.
Ketones are the residue or waste products of metabolized fats. In school, I learned about ketones and their relation to diabetes (DKA: diabetic ketoacidosis). DKA is a condition that is not sought after in the diabetic community, it is feared and treated as an emergency. So, how can epileptics profit where diabetics would shrivel?
Unlike diabetics, those with epilepsy do not have a diagnosed blood sugar condition and they may be able to more appropriately handle this emergency situation. That is my highly speculative opinion and it likely overshoots by quite a bit. My theory rattles the rim because this diet does indeed put the body in an overly awkward situational crisis.
Awkward because it seems to dissipate seizure activity while encouraging unhealthy consumption simultaneously. Some studies do back this diet up though: One from the 1930s: “completely controlled seizures in 50% of children on diet and markedly improved seizure control in 75%.” Another followed children aged 1-16 years for one year and found that 50% had greater than a 50% reduction while 27% of the studied population experienced a 90% reduction (Children averaged 410 seizures/month and tried six medications on average, prior to the study).
This diet lost a ton of grounding with the introduction of anticonvulsants, but is this the classic swap one evil for another? Our lives and our health should not be compromised due to our inability to negotiate our needs.
The ketogenic diet consists of:
- Getting 90% of your calories from fat
- Butter, oil, heavy/whipped butter
- Entertaining a low protein and low carb appetite
- Avoiding all sugar
- Restriction of fluids – 1 oz/lb of body weight
A high fat diet has also been associated with:
- Stunted growth
- Constipation
- Elevated cholesterol
If I haven’t scared you yet, it may benefit you to reread the last few paragraphs.
Patricia also mentions that children fare better with this diet because children have a greater ability (4-5x) to extract ketones from the blood to the brain.
“…forced to burn fat instead of sugar.” To me, this diet is like trying to fix your mother’s most cherished and recently chipped vase with a sledge hammer. You cannot force your body to do anything without some kind of consequence. Seizure activity may diminish, but other illnesses are surely sneaking their way in. I do not know much more about this diet than what was presented in the book, but it would be interesting to see how different diets affect epilepsy (vegetarian, vegan, etc…). In short, I do not find this option to be very appealing, let alone healthy.
KIDNEY STONES – IBS
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) causes fluid loss and dehydration due to inflammation and diarrhea. This fluid loss leads to a loss a bicarb (a base) and thus gives rise to an acidic environment. Another vital role intermingled with the coupling of calcium and oxalate, is the need for fat absorption. IBS has poor fat absorption and thus disallows this coupling.
KIDNEY STONES – WEIGHT LOSS
“The best way to lose weight is to combine a nutritionally balanced diet with exercise and behavior modification.”
This is that WOW moment that I mentioned earlier. As you try to lose weight as quickly as you possibly can, it results in an “infusion of the same substances in your system as the digestion of meat.” When you lose weight, it doesn’t just go poof, as many informercials may misleadingly promise. Instead, your body, especially your kidneys, are left to clean up the mess left behind by that fat-loss pill you take now. As you do burn this fat off, it is utilized as energy (ketosis) and acidifies your urine.
“In other words, the kidneys have the same job to do whether you are metabolizing your own excess tissue or a large steak.”
Diets such as the Atkins’ Diet which promote a low carb, high fat, and high protein regimen, force the body to utilize ketosis or fat burning for energy. John and crew mention that the initial rapid weight loss experienced by these unfortunate dieters, is due to water depletion alone. In the end though, this type of diet leads to:
- Decreased citrate (natural inhibitor)
- An acidic environment
- Increased urinary calcium
LIVER
“Imagine a machine that converts food into energy; stores nutrients, fats, and vitamins; makes proteins for blood plasma; and detoxifies poisons. Your liver does all this and more—much more.”
Essentially, your liver is a chemical factory with many intricate and very important functions, all of which support life and help maintain a balance within…
- Stores Nutrients
2. “Some of the fats you eat build new cells.”
- Extras are sent into circulation and stored as adipose (fat).
3. Proteins are made by the liver.
- Clotting
- Transport fat & nutrients
- Control hormone levels
- Maintain blood volume in arteries and veins (Albumin)
The Liver’s Job:
1. Metabolize carbohydrates, proteins, and fats for energy.
3. Making bile
- Aids in the digestion and absorption of fats.
LIVER – CHOLESTEROL
Cholesterol is made by several cells within our bodies, but “when too much cholesterol accumulates, cells may alter their functions and even die.” Excessive cholesterol is how atherosclerosis and gallstones can become impediments to our health. We can prevent this though, if and only if we are willing to “eliminate excess cholesterol.” Read more about the damaging effects of excessive cholesterol and how to reduce it, here.
Your liver takes this cholesterol and metabolizes it into bile acid. Bile acid is then secreted in the bile and removed from the body. It is the bile that aids in absorbing fat and fat soluble vitamins.
LUPUS – HEART DISEASE
“Patients with lupus develop more hypertension, elevated lipid and blood sugar levels, coronary artery disease, heart attacks, strokes, and hardening of the arteries than healthy individuals for their age.”
-Lupus: The Girl Who Cried Wolves
LUPUS – LOW CALORIE & LOW FAT
Back to the mice again. High calorie diets within this rodent population has been shown to accelerate kidney disease. Daniel takes the opportunity here to mention that we lack sufficient evidence to declare that humans get this same boost too. “Star-vation” low-calorie or low-fat regiments tend to help mice with lupus, but Daniel seems to want to appease only the reader. He takes the safe side on both, and in the latter he claims that these diets can occasionally worsen the disease process in humans.
True. A low-calorie or low-fat diet can do as much harm to the body as a high-calorie and high-fat one can. As with the mice, there seems to be a middle ground, ground where our footing is steady and our body is in balance. I feel he misleads the reader by grouping low-calorie and low-fat eaters all into one subjective bundle. Without knowing it, he has produced a smear campaign. In short, a diet lacking in nutrition or one filled with non-nutritional fillers will obviously promote disease. It is finding that natural middle ground, an area nowhere near that of an obese individual and nor that of the bulimic model.
-Lupus: The Girl Who Cried Wolves
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
- CNS (brain and spinal cord) is predominantly fat—”The type of fat that is incorporated into the cells that make up the CNS depends on what we eat.”
- “It takes some months…”—different fats spark different changes in a membrane’s composition.
-Multiple Sclerosis: tREASONS for Lesions
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS – SWANK’S STUDY
George taps the plate with some intriguing facts…
- USA Fat Intake by Year:
- 1909—125g
- 1948—141g
- 1972—150g
- Calorie % Jump—of fat in diet—40%
-Multiple Sclerosis: tREASONS for Lesions
OSTEROARTHRITIS – DEPRESSION
Jason notes that 9.5% of the general population are depressed at some point during a given year and that in an anxiety study—”…the patients who felt the most anxiety had the highest levels of pain and disability, no matter how much joint damage was visible on the x-rays.” So here are some general recommendations:
- Avoid sugar, caffeine, and fat/sugar-laden foods and instead eat veggies, fruits, and grains.
-Osteoarthritis: Joint Carnage, I Mean *Cartilage
OSTEOARTHRITIS – LOSING WEIGHT
Common Weight Loss Characteristics
5. Watch fat intake.
-Osteoarthritis: Joint Carnage, I Mean *Cartilage
PHTHALATES
“Schetler says that as far as he knows, phthalates are not taken up by vegetables, but because they are fat soluble, they’ll get into meat, dairy and processed foods.”
This is good news for fellow veggie killers, but this article is still very young.
“Schetler mentioned a study from Japan, showing that phthalates in vinyl gloves worn by people handling and packaging food was one source of exposure for consumers.”
“…phthalates in milk products can also be traced back to the flexible vinyl tubing used in dairy barns to drain milk from milking machines into collection vessels.”
-Did You Know? (#2): Alphabet Soup
SUGAR – LIPID METABOLISM
Patricia terms sugar (refined/unnatural) as “antinutrition” because it uses up vitamin stores and corrupts lipid metabolism.
TRICLOSAN & ANTIBACTERIAL
“It tends to build up in animal and human fat tissues and has been detected in umbilical cord blood as well.”
