For the sake of convenience: Commercial sources of prebiotic fibers

3. May 2015 William Davis (0)
Our efforts to obtain prebiotic fibers/resistant starches, as discussed in the Cureality Digestive Health Track, to cultivate healthy bowel flora means recreating the eating behavior of primitive humans who dug in the dirt with sticks and bone fragments for underground roots and tubers, behaviors you can still observe in extant hunter-gatherer groups, such as the Hadza and Yanomamo. But, because this practice is inconvenient for us modern folk accustomed to sleek grocery stores, because many of us live in climates where the ground is frozen much of the year, and because we lack the wisdom passed from generation to generation that helps identify which roots and tubers are safe to eat and which are not, we rely on modern equivalents of primitive sources. Thus, green, unripe bananas, raw potatoes and other such fiber sources in the Cureality lifestyle.

There is therefore no need to purchase prebiotic fibers outside of your daily effort at including an unripe green banana, say, or inulin and fructooligosaccharides (FOS), or small servings of legumes as a means of cultivating healthy bowel flora. These are powerful strategies that change the number and species of bowel flora over time, thereby leading to beneficial health effects that include reduced blood sugar and blood pressure, reduction in triglycerides, reduced anxiety and improved sleep, and reduced colon cancer risk.

HOWEVER, convenience can be a struggle. Traveling by plane, for example, makes lugging around green bananas or raw potatoes inconvenient. Inulin and FOS already come as powders or capsules and they are among the options for a convenient, portable prebiotic fiber strategy. But there are others that can be purchased. This is a more costly way to get your prebiotic fibers and you do not need to purchase these products in order to succeed in your bowel flora management program. These products are therefore listed strictly as a strategy for convenience.

Most perspectives on the quality of human bowel flora composition suggest that diversity is an important feature, i.e., the greater the number of species, the better the health of the host. There may therefore be advantage in varying your prebiotic routine, e.g., green banana on Monday, inulin on Tuesday, PGX (below) on Wednesday, etc. Beyond providing convenience, these products may introduce an added level of diversity, as well.

Among the preparations available to us that can be used as prebiotic fibers:

PGX

While it is billed as a weight management and blood sugar-reducing product, the naturally occurring fiber--α-D-glucurono-α-D-manno-β-D-manno- β-D-gluco, α-L-gulurono-β-D mannurono, β-D-gluco-β- D-mannan--in PGX also exerts prebiotic effects (evidenced by increased fecal butyrate, the beneficial end-product of bacterial metabolism). PGX is available as capsules or granules. It also seems to exert prebiotic effects at lower doses than other prebiotic fibers. While I usually advise reaching 20 grams per day of fiber, PGX appears to exert substantial effects at a daily dose of half that quantity. As with all prebiotic fibers, it is best to build up slowly over weeks, e.g., start at 1.5 grams twice per day. It is also best taken in two or three divided doses. (Avoid the PGX bars, as they are too carb-rich for those of us trying to achieve ideal metaobolic health.)

Prebiotin

A combination of inulin and FOS available as powders and in portable Stick Pacs (2 gram and 4 gram packs). This preparation is quite costly, however, given the generally low cost of purchasing chicory inulin and FOS separately.

Acacia

Acacia fiber is another form of prebiotic fiber.  RenewLife and NOW are two reputable brands.

Isomalto-oligosaccharides

This fiber is used in Quest bars and in Paleo Protein Bars. With Quest bars, choose the flavors without sucralose, since it has been associated with undesirable changes in bowel flora.

There you go. It means that there are fewer and fewer reasons to not purposefully cultivate healthy bowel flora and obtain all the wonderful health benefits of doing so, from reduced blood pressure, to reduced triglycerides, to deeper sleep.

Disclaimer: I am not compensated in any way by discussing these products.

How Not To Have An Autoimmune Condition

20. April 2015 William Davis (0)

Autoimmune conditions are becoming increasingly common. Estimates vary, but it appears that at least 8-9% of the population in North America and Western Europe have one of these conditions, with The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association estimating that it’s even higher at 14% of the population.

The 200 or so autoimmune diseases that afflict modern people are conditions that involve an abnormal immune response directed against one or more organs of the body. If the misguided attack is against the thyroid gland, it can result in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. If it is directed against pancreatic beta cells that produce insulin, it can result in type 1 diabetes or latent autoimmune diabetes of adults (LADA). If it involves tissue encasing joints (synovium) like the fingers or wrists, it can result in rheumatoid arthritis. It if involves the liver, it can result in autoimmune hepatitis, and so on. Nearly every organ of the body can be the target of such a misguided immune response.

While it requires a genetic predisposition towards autoimmunity that we have no control over (e.g., the HLA-B27 gene for ankylosing spondylitis), there are numerous environmental triggers of these diseases that we can do something about. Identifying and correcting these factors stacks the odds in your favor of reducing autoimmune inflammation, swelling, pain, organ dysfunction, and can even reverse an autoimmune condition altogether.

Among the most important factors to correct in order to minimize or reverse autoimmunity are:

Wheat and grain elimination

If you are reading this, you likely already know that the gliadin protein of wheat and related proteins in other grains (especially the secalin of rye, the hordein of barley, zein of corn, perhaps the avenin of oats) initiate the intestinal “leakiness” that begins the autoimmune process, an effect that occurs in over 90% of people who consume wheat and grains. The flood of foreign peptides/proteins, bacterial lipopolysaccharide, and grain proteins themselves cause immune responses to be launched against these foreign factors. If, for instance, an autoimmune response is triggered against wheat gliadin, the same antibodies can be aimed at the synapsin protein of the central nervous system/brain, resulting in dementia or cerebellar ataxia (destruction of the cerebellum resulting in incoordination and loss of bladder and bowel control). Wheat and grain elimination is by far the most important item on this list to reverse autoimmunity.

Correct vitamin D deficiency

It is clear that, across a spectrum of autoimmune diseases, vitamin D deficiency serves a permissive, not necessarily causative, role in allowing an autoimmune process to proceed. It is clear, for instance, that autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes in children, rheumatoid arthritis, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis are more common in those with low vitamin D status, much less common in those with higher vitamin D levels. For this and other reasons, I aim to achieve a blood level of 25-hydroxy vitamin D level of 60-70 ng/ml, a level that usually requires around 4000-8000 units per day of D3 (cholecalciferol) in gelcap or liquid form (never tablet due to poor or erratic absorption). In view of the serious nature of autoimmune diseases, it is well worth tracking occasional blood levels.

Supplement omega-3 fatty acids

While omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, from fish oil have proven only modestly helpful by themselves, when cast onto the background of wheat/grain elimination and vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids compound anti-inflammatory benefits, such as those exerted via cyclooxygenase-2. This requires a daily EPA + DHA dose of around 3600 mg per day, divided in two. Don’t confuse EPA and DHA omega-3s with linolenic acid, another form of omega-3 obtained from meats, flaxseed, chia, and walnuts that does not not yield the same benefits. Nor can you use krill oil with its relatively trivial content of omega-3s.

Eliminate dairy

This is true in North America and most of Western Europe, less true in New Zealand and Australia. Autoimmunity can be triggered by the casein beta A1 form of casein widely expressed in dairy products, but not by casein beta A2 and other forms. Because it is so prevalent in North America and Western Europe, the most confident way to avoid this immunogenic form of casein is to avoid dairy altogether. You might be able to consume cheese, given the fermentation process that alters proteins and sugar, but that has not been fully explored.

Cultivate healthy bowel flora

People with autoimmune conditions have massively screwed up bowel flora with reduced species diversity and dominance of unhealthy species. We restore a healthier anti-inflammatory panel of bacterial species by “seeding” the colon with high-potency probiotics, then nourishing them with prebiotic fibers/resistant starches, a collection of strategies summarized in the Cureality Digestive Health discussions. People sometimes view bowel flora management as optional, just “fluff”–it is anything but. Properly managing bowel flora can be a make-it-or-break-it advantage; don’t neglect it.

There you go: a basic list to get started on if your interest is to begin a process of unraveling the processes of autoimmunity. In some conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatica, full recovery is possible. In other conditions, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and the pancreatic beta cell destruction leading to type 1 diabetes, reversing the autoimmune inflammation does not restore organ function: hypothyroidism results after thyroiditis quiets down and type 1 diabetes and need for insulin persists after pancreatic beta cell damage. But note that the most powerful risk factor for an autoimmune disease is another autoimmune disease–this is why so many people have more than one autoimmune condition. People with Hashimoto’s, for instance, can develop rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis. So the above menu is still worth following even if you cannot hope for full organ recovery

Five Powerful Ways to Reduce Blood Sugar

4. April 2015 William Davis (0)
Left to conventional advice on diet and you will, more than likely, succumb to type 2 diabetes sooner or later. Follow your doctor’s advice to cut fat and eat more “healthy whole grains” and oral diabetes medication and insulin are almost certainly in your future. Despite this, had this scenario played out, you would be accused of laziness and gluttony, a weak specimen of human being who just gave into excess.

If you turn elsewhere for advice, however, and ignore the awful advice from “official” sources with cozy relationships with Big Pharma, you can reduce blood sugars sufficient to never become diabetic or to reverse an established diagnosis, and you can create a powerful collection of strategies that handily trump the worthless advice being passed off by the USDA, American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, or the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Among the most powerful and effective strategies to reduce blood sugar:

1) Eat no wheat nor grains

Recall that amylopectin A, the complex carbohydrate of grains, is highly digestible, unlike most of the other components of the seeds of grasses AKA “grains,” subject to digestion by the enzyme, amylase, in saliva and stomach. This explains why, ounce for ounce, grains raise blood sugar higher than table sugar. Eat no grains = remove the exceptional glycemic potential of amylopectin A.

2) Add no sugars, avoid high-fructose corn syrup

This should be pretty obvious, but note that the majority of processed foods contain sweeteners such as sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup, tailored to please the increased desire for sweetness among grain-consuming people. While fructose does not raise blood sugar acutely, it does so in delayed fashion, along with triggering other metabolic distortions such as increased triglycerides and fatty liver.

3) Vitamin D

Because vitamin D restores the body’s normal responsiveness to insulin, getting vitamin D right helps reduce blood sugar naturally while providing a range of other health benefits.

4) Restore bowel flora

As cultivation of several Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria species in bowel flora yields fatty acids that restore insulin responsiveness, this leads to reductions in blood sugar over time. Minus the bowel flora-disrupting effects of grains and sugars, a purposeful program of bowel flora restoration is required (discussed at length in the Cureality Digestive Health section.)

5) Exercise

Blood sugar is reduced during and immediately following exercise, with the effect continuing for many hours afterwards, even into the next day.

Note that, aside from exercise, none of these powerful strategies are advocated by the American Diabetes Association or any other “official” agency purporting to provide dietary advice. As is happening more and more often as the tide of health information rises and is accessible to all, the best advice on health does not come from such agencies nor from your doctor but from your efforts to better understand the truths in health. This is our core mission in Cureality. A nice side benefit: information from Cureality is not accompanied by advertisements from Merck, Pfizer, Kelloggs, Kraft, or Cadbury Schweppes.

Cureality App Review: Breathe Sync

7. March 2015 William Davis (0)


Biofeedback is a wonderful, natural way to gain control over multiple physiological phenomena, a means of tapping into your body’s internal resources. You can, for instance, use biofeedback to reduce anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure, and achieve a sense of well-being that does not involve drugs, side-effects, or even much cost.

Biofeedback simply means that you are tracking some observable physiologic phenomenon—heart rate, skin temperature, blood pressure—and trying to consciously access control over it. One very successful method is that of bringing the beat-to-beat variation in heart rate into synchrony with the respiratory cycle. In day-to-day life, the heart beat is usually completely out of sync with respiration. Bring it into synchrony and interesting things happen: you experience a feeling of peace and calm, while many healthy phenomena develop.

A company called HeartMath has applied this principle through their personal computer-driven device that plugs into the USB port of your computer and monitors your heart rate with a device clipped on your earlobe. You then regulate breathing and follow the instructions provided and feedback is obtained on whether you are achieving synchrony, or what they call “coherence.” As the user becomes more effective in achieving coherence over time, positive physiological and emotional effects develop. HeartMath has been shown, for instance, to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure, morning cortisol levels (a stress hormone), and helps people deal with chronic pain. Downside of the HeartMath process: a $249 price tag for the earlobe-USB device.

But this is the age of emerging smartphone apps, including those applied to health. Smartphone apps are perfect for health monitoring. They are especially changing how we engage in biofeedback. An app called Breathe Sync is available that tracks heart rate using the camera’s flash on the phone. By tracking heart rate and providing visual instruction on breathing pattern, the program generates a Wellness Quotient, WQ, similar to HeartMath’s coherence scoring system. Difference: Breathe Sync is portable and a heck of a lot less costly. I paid $9.99, more than I’ve paid for any other mainstream smartphone application, but a bargain compared to the HeartMath device cost.

One glitch is that you need to not be running any other programs in the background, such as your GPS, else you will have pauses in the Breathe Sync program, negating the value of your WQ. Beyond this, the app functions reliably and can help you achieve the health goals of biofeedback with so much less hassle and greater effectiveness than the older methods.

If you are looking for a biofeedback system that provides advantage in gaining control over metabolic health, while also providing a wonderful method of relaxation, Breathe Sync, I believe, is the go-to app right now.

Amber’s Top 35 Health and Fitness Tips

7. November 2014 Amber B (0)
This year I joined the 35 club!  And in honor of being fabulous and 35, I want to share 35 health and fitness tips with you! 

1.  Foam rolling is for everyone and should be done daily. 
2.  Cold showers are the best way to wake up and burn more body fat. 
3.  Stop locking your knees.  This will lead to lower back pain. 
4.  Avoid eating gluten at all costs. 
5.  Breath deep so that you can feel the sides or your lower back expand. 
6.  Swing a kettlebell for a stronger and great looking backside. 
7.  Fat is where it’s at!  Enjoy butter, ghee, coconut oil, palm oil, duck fat and many other fabulous saturated fats. 
8.  Don’t let your grip strength fade with age.  Farmer carries, kettlebells and hanging from a bar will help with that. 
9.  Runners, keep your long runs slow and easy and keep your interval runs hard.  Don’t fall in the chronic cardio range. 
10.  Drink high quality spring or reverse osmosis water. 
11.  Use high quality sea salt season food and as a mineral supplement. 
12.  Work your squat so that your butt can get down to the ground.  Can you sit in this position? How long?
13.  Lift heavy weights!  We were made for manual work,.   Simulate heavy labor in the weight room. 
14.  Meditate daily.  If you don’t go within, you will go with out.  We need quiet restorative time to balance the stress in our life. 
15.  Stand up and move for 10 minutes for every hour your sit at your computer. 
16. Eat a variety of whole, real foods. 
17.  Sleep 7 to 9 hours every night. 
18.  Pull ups are my favorite exercise.  Get a home pull up bar to practice. 
19.  Get out and spend a few minutes in nature.  Appreciate the world around you while taking in fresh air and natural beauty. 
20.  We all need to pull more in our workouts.  Add more pulling movements horizontally and vertically. 
21. Surround yourself with health minded people. 
22. Keep your room dark for deep sound sleep.  A sleep mask is great for that! 
23. Use chemical free cosmetics.  Your skin is the largest organ of your body and all chemicals will absorb into your blood stream. 
24. Unilateral movements will help improve symmetrical strength. 
25. Become more playful.  We take life too seriously, becoming stress and overwhelmed.  How can you play, smile and laugh more often?
26.  Choose foods that have one ingredient.  Keep your diet simple and clean. 
27.  Keep your joints mobile as you age.  Do exercises that take joints through a full range of motion. 
28. Go to sleep no later than 10:30pm.  This allows your body and brain to repair through the night. 
29. Take care of your health and needs before others.  This allows you to be the best spouse, parent, coworker, and person on the planet. 
30.  Always start your daily with a high fat, high protein meal.  This will encourage less sugar cravings later in the day. 
31. Approach the day with positive thinking!  Stinkin’ thinkin’ only leads to more stress and frustration. 
32. You are never “too old” to do something.  Stay young at heart and keep fitness a priority as the years go by. 
33. Dream big and go for it. 
34.  Lift weights 2 to 4 times every week.  Strong is the new sexy. 
35.  Love.  Love yourself unconditionally.  Love your life and live it to the fullest.  Love others compassionately. 

Amber B.
Cureality Exercise and Fitness Coach

To Change, You Need to Get Uncomfortable

25. September 2014 Amber B (0)
Sitting on the couch is comfortable.  Going through the drive thru to pick up dinner is comfortable.  But when you notice that you’re out-of-shape, tired, sick and your clothes no longer fit, you realize that what makes you comfortable is not in align with what would make you happy.   

You want to see something different when you look in the mirror.  You want to fit into a certain size of jeans or just experience your day with more energy and excitement.  The current condition of your life causes you pain, be it physical, mental or emotional.  To escape the pain you are feeling, you know that you need to make changes to your habits that keep you stuck in your current state.  But why is it so hard to make the changes you know that will help you achieve what you want?  

I want to lose weight but….

I want a six pack but…

I want more energy but….

The statement that follows the “but” is often a situation or habit you are comfortable with.  You want to lose weight but don’t have time to cook healthy meals.  So it’s much more comfortable to go through the drive thru instead of trying some new recipes.   New habits often require a learning curve and a bit of extra time in the beginning.  It also takes courage and energy to establish new routines or seek out help.  

Setting out to achieve your goals requires change.  Making changes to establish new habits that support your goals and dreams can be uncomfortable.  Life, as you know it, will be different.  Knowing that fact can be scary, but so can staying in your current condition.  So I’m asking you to take a risk and get uncomfortable so that you can achieve your goals.  

Realize that it takes 21 days to develop a new habit.  I believe it takes triple that amount of time to really make a new habit stick for the long haul.  So for 21 days, you’ll experience some discomfort while you make changes to your old routine and habits.  Depending on what you are changing, discomfort could mean feeling tired, moody, or even withdrawal symptoms.  However, the longer you stick to your new habits the less uncomfortable you start to feel.  The first week is always the worst, but then it gets easier.

Making it through the uncomfortable times requires staying focused on your goals and not caving to your immediate feelings or desires.  I encourage clients to focus on why their goals important to them.  This reason or burning desire to change will help when old habits, cravings, or situations call you back to your old ways.
Use a tracking and a reward system to stay on track.  Grab a calendar, journal or index card to check off or note your daily successes.  Shoot for consistency and not perfection when trying to make changes.  I encourage my clients to use the 90/10 principle of change and apply that to their goal tracking system.  New clothes, a massage, or a day me-retreat are just a few examples of rewards you can use to sticking to your tracking system.  Pick something that really gets you excited.  

Getting support system in place can help you feel more comfortable with being uncomfortable.  Hiring a coach, joining an online support group, or recruiting family and friends can be very helpful when making big changes.  With a support system in place you are not alone in your discomfort.  You’re network is there for you to reach out for help, knowledge, accountability or camaraderie when you feel frustrated and isolated.  

I’ve helped hundreds of people change their bodies, health and lives of the eleven years I’ve worked as a trainer and coach.  I know it’s hard, but I also know that if they can do it, so can you.  You just need to step outside of your comfort zone and take a risk. Don’t let fear create uncomfortable feelings that keep you stuck in your old ways.  Take that first step and enjoy the journey of reaching your goals and dreams.  

Amber Budahn, B.S., CSCS, ACE PT, USATF 1, CHEK HLC 1, REIKI 1
Cureality Exercise Specialist

The 3 Best Grain Free Food Swaps to Boost Fat Burning

25. September 2014 Lisa G (0)
You can join others enjoying substantial improvements in their health, energy and pant size by making a few key, delicious substitutions to your eating habits.  This is possible with the Cureality nutrition approach, which rejects the idea that grains should form the cornerstone of the human diet.  

Grain products, which are seeds of grasses, are incompatible with human digestion.  Contrary to what we have been told for years, eating healthy whole grain is not the answer to whittle away our waists.  Consumption of all grain-based carbohydrates results in increased production of the fat storage hormone insulin.  Increased insulin levels create the perfect recipe for weight gain. By swapping out high carbohydrate grain foods that cause spikes in insulin with much lower carbohydrate foods, insulin release is subdued and allows the body to release fat.

1. Swap wheat-based flour with almond flour/meal

  • One of the most dubious grain offenders is modern wheat. Replace wheat flour with naturally wheat-free, lower carbohydrate almond flour.  
  • Almond flour contains a mere 12 net carbs per cup (carbohydrate minus the fiber) with 50% more filling protein than all-purpose flour.
  • Almond flour and almond meal also offer vitamin E, an important antioxidant to support immune function.

2. Swap potatoes and rice for cauliflower

  • Replace high carb potatoes and pasta with vitamin C packed cauliflower, which has an inconsequential 3 carbs per cup.  
  • Try this food swap: blend raw cauliflower in food processor to make “rice”. (A hand held grater can also be used).  Sautee the “riced” cauliflower in olive or coconut oil for 5 minutes with seasoning to taste.
  • Another food swap: enjoy mashed cauliflower in place of potatoes.  Cook cauliflower. Place in food processor with ½ a stick organic, grass-fed butter, ½ a package full-fat cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add optional minced garlic, chives or other herbs such as rosemary.
3. Swap pasta for shirataki noodles and zucchini

  • Swap out carb-rich white pasta containing 43 carbs per cup with Shirataki noodles that contain a few carbs per package. Shirataki noodles are made from konjac or yam root and are found in refrigerated section of supermarkets.
  • Another swap: zucchini contains about 4 carbs per cup. Make your own grain free, low-carb noodles from zucchini using a julienne peeler, mandolin or one of the various noodle tools on the market.  

Lisa Grudzielanek, MS,RDN,CD,CDE
Cureality Nutrition Specialist

Not so fast. Don’t make this mistake when going gluten free!

25. September 2014 Lisa G (0)
Beginning last month, the Food and Drug Administration began implementing its definition of “gluten-free” on packaged food labels.  The FDA determined that packaged food labeled gluten free (or similar claims such as "free of gluten") cannot contain more than 20 parts per million of gluten.

It has been years in the making for the FDA to define what “gluten free” means and hold food manufactures accountable, with respect to food labeling.  However, the story does not end there.

Yes, finding gluten-free food, that is now properly labeled, has become easier. So much so the market for gluten-free foods tops $6 billion last year.   However, finding truly healthy, commercially prepared, grain-free foods is still challenging.

A very common mistake made when jumping into the gluten-free lifestyle is piling everything labeled gluten-free in the shopping cart.  We don’t want to replace a problem: wheat, with another problem: gluten free products.

Typically gluten free products are made with rice flour (and brown rice flour), tapioca starch, cornstarch, and potato flour.  Of the few foods that raise blood sugar higher than wheat, these dried, powdered starches top the list.

 They provide a large surface area for digestion, thereby leading to sky-high blood sugar and all the consequences such as diabetes, hypertension, cataracts, arthritis, and heart disease. These products should be consumed very rarely consumed, if at all.  As Dr. Davis has stated, “100% gluten-free usually means 100% awful!”

There is an ugly side to the gluten-free boom taking place.  The Cureality approach to wellness recommends selecting gluten-free products wisely.  Do not making this misguided mistake and instead aim for elimination of ALL grains, as all seeds of grasses are related to wheat and therefore overlap in many effects.

Lisa Grudzielanek MS, RDN, CD, CDE
Cureality Health & Nutrition Coach

3 Foods to Add to Your Next Grocery List

25. September 2014 Lisa G (0)
Looking for some new foods to add to your diet? Look no further. Reach for these three mealtime superstars to encourage a leaner, healthier body.

Microgreens

Microgreens are simply the shoots of salad greens and herbs that are harvested just after the first leaves have developed, or in about 2 weeks.  Microgreen are not sprouts. Sprouts are germinated, in other words, sprouted seeds produced entirely in water. Microgreens are grown in soil, thereby absorbing the nutrients from the soil.

The nutritional profile of each microgreen depends greatly on the type of microgreen you are eating. Researchers found red cabbage microgreens had 40 times more vitamin E and six times more vitamin C than mature red cabbage. Cilantro microgreens had three times more beta-carotene than mature cilantro.

A few popular varieties of microgreens are arugula, kale, radish, pea, and watercress. Flavor can vary from mild to a more intense or spicy mix depending on the microgreens.  They can be added to salads, soup, omelets, stir fry and in place of lettuce.  

Cacao Powder

Cocoa and cacao are close enough in flavor not to make any difference. However, raw cacao powder has 3.6 times the antioxidant activity of roasted cocoa powder.  In short, raw cacao powder is definitely the healthiest, most beneficial of the powders, followed by 100% unsweetened cocoa.

Cacao has more antioxidant flavonoids than blueberries, red wine and black and green teas.  Cacao is one of the highest sources of magnesium, a great source of iron and vitamin C, as well as a good source of fiber for healthy bowel function.
Add cacao powder to milk for chocolate milk or real hot chocolate.  Consider adding to coffee for a little mocha magic or sprinkle on berries and yogurt.




Shallots

Shallots have a better nutrition profile than onions. On a weight per weight basis, they have more anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins than onions. Shallots have a milder, less pungent taste than onions, so people who do not care for onions may enjoy shallots.

Like onions, sulfur compounds in shallot are necessary for liver detoxification pathways.  The sulfur compound, allicin has been shown to be beneficial in reducing cholesterol.  Allicin is also noted to have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal activities.

Diced then up and add to salads, on top of a bun less hamburger, soups, stews, or sauces.  Toss in an omelet or sauté to enhance a piece of chicken or steak, really the possibilities are endless.  

Lisa Grudzielanek,MS,RDN,CD,CDE
Cureality Nutrition & Health Coach

3 Band Exercises for Great Glutes

15. August 2014 Amber B (0)
Bands and buns are a great combination.  (When I talk about glutes or a butt, I use the word buns)  When it comes to sculpting better buns, grab a band.   Bands are great for home workouts, at gym or when you travel.  Check out these 3 amazing exercises that will have your buns burning. 

Band Step Out

Grab a band and place it under the arch of each foot.  Then cross the band and rest your hands in your hip sockets.  The exercise starts with your feet hip width apart and weight in the heels.  Slightly bend the knees and step your right foot out to the side.  Step back in so that your foot is back in the starting position.  With each step, make sure your toes point straight ahead.  The tighter you pull the band, the more resistance you will have.    You will feel this exercise on the outside of your hips. 

Start with one set of 15 repetitions with each foot.  Work on increasing to 25 repetitions on each side and doing two to three sets.



Band Kick Back

This exercise is performed in the quadruped position with your knees under hips and hands under your shoulders.    Take the loop end of the band and put it around your right foot and place the two handles or ends of the band under your hands.  Without moving your body, kick your right leg straight back.  Return to the starting quadruped position.  Adjust the tension of the band to increase or decrease the difficulty of this exercise. 

Start with one set of 10 repetitions with each foot.  Work on increasing to 20 repetitions on each side and doing two to three sets. 



Band Resisted Hip Bridge

Start lying on your back with feet hip distance apart and knees bent at about a 45-degree angle.  Adjust your hips to a neutral position to alleviate any arching in your lower back.  Place the band across your hipbones.  Hold the band down with hands along the sides of your body.  Contract your abs and squeeze your glutes to lift your hips up off the ground.  Stop when your thighs, hips and stomach are in a straight line.  Lower you hips back down to the ground. 

Start with one set of 15 repetitions.  Work on increasing to 25 repetitions and doing two to three.  Another variation of this exercise is to hold the hip bridge position.  Start with a 30 second hold and work up to holding for 60 seconds.

Indian buffet

Indian buffet

24. February 2011 William Davis (56)
I took my family to a local all-you-can-eat Indian buffet. It was delicious.

I confined my food choices mostly to vegetables and soups. Within about 30 minutes, I started to get that odd buzz in my head that usually signals a high blood sugar.

When I got home, my fingerstick blood glucose: 173 mg/dl. Darn it! Must have been cornstarch or other sugars in the sauces.

I got on my supine stationary bike and pedaled for 40 minutes at a moderate pace while I played Modern Warfare on XBox. (A great way, by the way, to fit in some low- to moderate-intensity exercise while occupying your brain. My wife often has to yell at me to get off, it's so much fun.)

Blood glucose at the conclusion of exercise: 93 mg/dl-- a nice 80 mg/dl drop.

This is a useful strategy to use in a pinch when you've either been inadvertently exposed to more carbohydrate than you can tolerate, or if you'd like to blunt the adverse glucose effects of a bowl of ice cream or other carbohydrate indulgence.

Should we explore the idea of a "morning-after" pill, or actually a "meal-after" pill, a supplement pill or liquid that blunts or eliminates the blood glucose rise after a meal? I've considered such an idea, but have been fearful that people would start to use it habitually. Thoughts?
Tags :

Comments (56) -

  • Flavia

    2/24/2011 4:42:00 PM |

    That's why the European tradition of walking after a meal is best. On weekends I always walk to and from the restaurants I frequent, which results in a 30 minute walk each way (or more).

  • Steve

    2/24/2011 4:54:39 PM |

    If we had a pill for that folks would definitely abuse it.

  • reikime

    2/24/2011 4:59:29 PM |

    If memory serves...doesn't taking a shot of apple cider vinegar after a high carb/sugar meal do just that?

    Diluted with some water, of course, to spare the esophagus.

    Steve, you are so right!  we would be starting rehab services for such a pill!

  • Chuck

    2/24/2011 5:00:48 PM |

    interesting strategy.  bet the fitness purists would have other ideas about your exercise choice.  it got the job done though.

    honestly, i have not been as physically active as i should be and i wonder if that is why my fasting glucose is not low.  it can be over 90 some mornings.  not outrageous but not low for someone habitually eating low carb.

  • Ari

    2/24/2011 5:48:20 PM |

    That post makes me wonder what food choices should be for athletes?  Should they stick to a higher carb diet with the knowledge that they're going to burn it off with a few hours of intense exercise?

    (I'm not an athlete, but I'm curious as to your answer).

  • praguestepchild

    2/24/2011 5:52:20 PM |

    Thank you, Dr Davis, I can now ask my wife to buy an Xbox and a stationary bike for my, ehrm, our, health.

  • semsons.group

    2/24/2011 6:12:38 PM |

    L-carnosine, l-arginine, l-lysine don't have anti-glycation properties?. They might help after lunches.

  • Kent

    2/24/2011 6:13:08 PM |

    I like to have, dare I say Pizza 2-3 times a year. It has been shown to have the biggest spike in my blood sugars, so I time it before a work out.

    I eat my Pizza usually at lunch not dinner, then do something like pushups and running up and down the stairs.

    The first time I tested after pizza, I was shocked. I started the pushups, then the stairs. Within 20 minutes of working those muscles blood sugar dropped more than 80 points.

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 6:17:22 PM |

    My name is Maureen and I have been reading your blog since last fall and I have found it very interesting and informative.  I have not fully incorporated paleo diet but understand its merits.  I try to follow the Mediterranean diet with some "cheating" for the past year and a half.

    I have had a weight isssue most of my life with a few times of successful dieting. I am happy to say that I have never regained all the weight  back and then some like you hear most people do. I currently want to lose 15lbs and for me the best way to do that is with structure, ie a specific diet plan that tells you what to eat and how much such as so many carbs, proteins and fats.

    My question to you is if I were to follow this way of eating and I gain the weight  back would it be better than if I were to follow the Mediterranean  diet?

    I would appreciate your feedback.

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 6:20:57 PM |

    Is there such a thing as an emergency glucose lowering pill?

  • Berny3

    2/24/2011 6:37:42 PM |

    As background, I'm not diabetic, but I am glucose-impaired, as they say, and follow my blood sugars fairly often.  I don't know why I don't see this more often, but I've found that drinking wine (I drink red) can help keep blood sugars down on a questionable meal.  For instance, if I eat potatoes without wine, my sugars will go high.  If I drink wine with a meal with potatoes, my sugars behave themselves.  If I remember correctly from my reading, apparently alcohol prevents the liver from pushing out sugars into the bloodstream.

  • Chuck

    2/24/2011 6:43:55 PM |

    fyi, this is no magic pill but dietary fat is known to blunt blood glucose spikes.

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 7:01:18 PM |

    Such a thing exists. It is called insulin. Just kidding of course. By the way, I used to love Indian food, great way to get a good low-carb meal, but now I worry that most indian places use lots of vegetable oil and I don't need the omega 6.

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 7:05:40 PM |

    Berny3, my understanding is that alcohol simply gets in front of carbs, and is digested first.  But eventually your potato will get its turn to raise your sugar levels. So could it be just a matter of timing your glucose measurements to catch that delayed spike?

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 7:07:40 PM |

    Anti-glucose pill = Pycnogenol.

    http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200702/ai_n17168252/

  • Pascal

    2/24/2011 7:18:48 PM |

    You mentioned "a 'morning-after' pill, or actually a 'meal-after' pill, a supplement pill or liquid that blunts or eliminates the blood glucose rise after a meal".

    Doesn't Alpha Lipoic Acid already do just that?

  • John

    2/24/2011 7:58:50 PM |

    There isn't likely to be much (or any) cornstarch in Indian restaurant food. Do you tend to have problems with lentils, chickpeas, and/or dairy?

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 8:05:19 PM |

    (Kenneth - I'm not anonymous for the sake of it, but because I can't remember the 500 passwords I need for all these sites)

    There IS a pill for this. Acarbose. It's an alpha glucosidase inhibitor which prevents, or at least slows the hydrolysis of small to mid size sugars into glucose. It would be entirely possible to design even more potent inhibitors or ones that target multiple pathways on the route to carb absorption. However, there is no free ride. That undigested sugar isn't going to go away. It's going to ferment in the gut and cause gas and may act as an osmotic laxative.

    GI complaints are quite common with acarbose, and anyone who is lactose intolerant knows firsthand the downside of carbohydrate malabsoption. Remember that lactose is half glucose. They can gorge themselves on dairy and not get a blood sugar spike, at least from the lactose - if they don't mind spending the rest of the day in the toilet.

  • Anne

    2/24/2011 8:14:31 PM |

    @ Steve "If we had a pill for that folks would definitely abuse it" and @ anonymous "Is there such a thing as an emergency glucose lowering pill?"

    Yes, it's called Repaglinide or Prandin - you take it just before your high carb meal and it makes your pancreas produce a bit more insulin to cover the carbs in that meal and that meal only. It works just for the meal so it's not like other oral hypoglycaemic meds. Not that that is a good thing - it could stress the pancreas and some would say it could lead to beta cell burnout, but if you only took it occasionally when you wanted an Indian buffet ?

  • Eric

    2/24/2011 8:40:28 PM |

    Doesn't cinnamon taken with a meal lessen the spike?

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 8:55:33 PM |

    LifeExtension's CinSulin may provide modest lowering of blood glucose:
    http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2010/ss2010_Protect-Your-Body-from-a-Silent-Killer_01.htm

  • Anya

    2/24/2011 9:17:38 PM |

    40 minutes on a stationary bike ?

    Just place 4 - 5 all out sprints for 10 seconds each, spaced 2 minutes apart.
    Done in less then 10 minutes, same result.

    But this is the caveat, the sprints must be all out/as fast as you possibly can sprint.

    Your muscles are like a giant glucose sink when they are empty.
    The most efficient way to get them to  empty quickly is by explosive complete all body movements.

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 9:36:01 PM |

    Kenneth again. The more I think about it, I suspect that none of the pharmacological strategies proposed would do much good in terms of truly offsetting a high-carb lifestyle or heavy binge. I already mentioned the problems inherent to blocking absorption.

    Raising insulin directly or indirectly will drive down the glucose spike, but to what end? For non-diabetics, the glucose bump is temporary and likely doesn't do much direct damage - maybe some extra glycation. The real problem for the purposes of this blog is atherogenic problems - fat storage and triglyceride formation and all of the bad things that happen with lipoproteins as a result. Using insulin will lower the glucose spike by ramming it into those processes faster. Lots of diabetics who have decent control still have awful lipid panels, especially those following the standard diet.

    Maybe supplements which enhance insulin sensitivity might help. Or metformin, which lowers liver production of glucose and helps sensitivity somewhat. But at the end of the day, the only solution is probably not to abuse carbs in the first place and to stay active.

  • Dr. William Davis

    2/24/2011 11:05:41 PM |

    In response to several commenters:

    Apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, acarbose, fats/proteins can indeed blunt postprandial glucose rises, as can a number of other strategies.

    However, I believe that lipoic acid and l-carnosine are better blockers of glycation than of glucose excursions, a bit different.

    Also, I did not mean to suggest that riding a stationary bike while playing Xbox was somehow superior to, say, jogging or dancing. It just happened to be what I felt like doing that day.

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 11:06:38 PM |

    Anya is right on the money!

  • Dr. William Davis

    2/24/2011 11:06:44 PM |

    Flavia--

    Excellent point.

    Don't you love when traditional or intuitive practices seem to provide real benefit?

  • Dr. William Davis

    2/24/2011 11:08:12 PM |

    Hi, Ari--

    I am not a believer in "carb loading." I believe that most athletes overdo carbs and pay the health price for it down the road.

    Most people who engage in serious exercise may need to ingest carbs during exercise, particularly during extreme efforts. But I believe the notion of carb loading is overblown, particularly if you are already on a low-carbohydrate restriction.

  • Anonymous

    2/24/2011 11:23:23 PM |

    The closest thing I can think of to a magic pill would be Ortho Glucose from AOR..

    http://www.aorhealth.com/html/products.php?id=204

    and Mito Charger

    http://www.aorhealth.com/html/products.php?id=194

  • Gretchen

    2/25/2011 1:42:55 AM |

    I don't trust any restaurants anymore. A lot of "ethnic" restaurants think Americans want food sweet and salty and amend traditional recipes appropriately.

    I ate in an Indian restaurant that adds potatoes to their raita, which is supposed to be just yogurt and cucumbers and spices.

    So I always ask about ingredients.

    Question: How long would it have taken you to come down from 170 or so *without* the bike? Sometimes a spike from carbs comes down quickly if you don't eat a lot of fat.

  • Scott

    2/25/2011 2:23:43 AM |

    GUAR GUM CAPS BEFORE, pectin would probably work also.  I've taken 6 guar gum caps before and lowered the measured peak glucose after e.g. oatmeal.

  • Anonymous

    2/25/2011 2:24:16 AM |

    Dr Mirkin says that you will improve your athletic performance by eating high carb/high sugar at the beginning or during an intense endurance race....but he adds, not to eat that way when not exercising.

  • revelo

    2/25/2011 3:27:51 AM |

    Here's an compromise between Anya's all out effort sprints and 40 minutes on the stationary bicycle. Try some deep knee bends. Once you get the rhythm down (squat down, rising on your toes and placing your hands behind your heels to stabilize you, then stand up, lowering your heels back to the ground and raising your arms straight out in front of your chest), these comfortable, but very effective at getting your heart rate up and opening the muscles to take up glucose. Also, you can perform deep knee bends anywhere and while wearing any sort of clothing.

    The real problem, I suspect, is not being lean (body fat over 15% for a man). All it takes is being a few pounds overweight and metabolism changes dramatically for the worse.

  • Nancy

    2/25/2011 6:54:07 AM |

    Wow!  After YEARS of studying the effects of carbohydrates on the body in an effort to prevent diabetes, I never knew that simply exercising after a meal would lower your blood sugar.  This is news to me!  I have NEVER heard this, not even from my doctor.  I have heard exercise is good of course, and I have heard that walking can lower your blood sugar overall, but not so directly as you say.  I will definitely not be getting diabetes now.  My mom got it at age 30, but I'm 43 and still have kept blood sugar low.  I guess its now about to get lower.  Thanks.

  • Nancy

    2/25/2011 6:54:54 AM |

    Also, laptop on treadmill is fun too, and has a way of keeping me walking for up to 4 miles.

  • Dr Liz Miller

    2/25/2011 7:20:56 AM |

    The danger is in fructose which is converted directly to fat, because the body has no mechanism with which to use fructose.

    Fructose comes from starch, bread, pasta - anything made from grains and leads to increased fatty acids in the blood.

    A healthy diet means you don't need to worry about eating too much!

  • Anonymous

    2/25/2011 8:37:18 AM |

    I always eat a high carb/sugar meal before I run, and since I've been training for a half marathon, I can use the extra energy from glucose spikes.

  • Anonymous

    2/25/2011 8:42:04 AM |

    My main criticism of this article is: why are you not playing Black Ops!!!!!1

  • RC

    2/25/2011 10:35:40 AM |

    C'mon, Dr. Davis! When was the last time the pharmaceutical industry invented a new drug then chose NOT to sell it? But if they did come up with a pill to reverse the blood sugar spike from eating hi-carb foods, would it be able to reverse glycation, inflammation & all the other damage that sugar does to to our bodies?

    Too many Americans would definitely abuse a pill like that unless it was prohibitively expensive. But the side effects from the pill would prolly be worse than the damage from the sugar.

    My suggestion: Do what the French & the Italians have always done: Have a glass or 2 of wine with your high-carb meals. I've been a low-carber for more than a decade now & it's a lifestyle (not a 'diet') that I swear by. But I have yet to find a medical professional who can explain how the French can eat baguettes & croissants every day, how the Italians can have pasta at practically every meal, yet they remain thin & gorgeous & Syndrome X is practically unknown in those countries.

    Maybe there's some truth to that Blood Type Diet business, but I say it's gotta be the wine. Smile

  • Terry

    2/25/2011 1:00:11 PM |

    If memory serves, there are test strips you can dip in sauces or soups ahead of time to detest the presence of sugars (presumably starches as well?)

  • Larry

    2/25/2011 3:41:16 PM |

    In the January 2011 issue of LEF magazine they address this matter.
    They talk about Glucose...the Silent Killer.
    They also recommend/sell two supplements for this very subject.
    One is for Glucose Absorption Control.
    The other is a Calorie Control Weight Management Formula.

  • Anonymous

    2/25/2011 3:41:24 PM |

    @RC:  Wine won't necessarily correct a starch centered diet in the long-run.  Obesity is not unheard of in Italy -- quite the opposite -- about half the men and over a third of the women. Huge amounts of obesity in Southern Italy and even in places where my father's relatives hail from -- Rome -- kids start out slender but decades of  pasta result in the common pot belly (pregnant looking men) and plump women by middle age and beyond.  Sicily -- another pasta and wine loving country has plenty of obese adults as well as children.  Even if pasta doesn't result in fat -- it does its damage in other ways such as the type 2 diabetes my thin father had. The benefits to the diet there is that pasta is merely a course of many courses and can be skipped.  Also, this is changing now but families used to cook meals at home -- no junk food meals.  Fresh veggies and meats, cheeses, plus of course the pasta and bread etc.  Modern times have made junk/convenience foods invade Italy -- McDonalds, fast-foods, packaged frankenfoods...ugh.

  • Anonymous

    2/25/2011 3:41:39 PM |

    Yes, I wish that there was such a pill. Better yet, I wish that there was a pill that one could take that would provide for world peace and tranquility ...

    It is disappointing to watch this once informative blog descend to its current level of mediocrity.

    Count me as another reader that is finished with this blog.

  • Berny3

    2/25/2011 5:26:35 PM |

    Going back to my item about using red wine at dinner to keep blood sugars down, one of the Anonymous people said that the "alcohol simply gets in front of carbs, and is digested first. But eventually your potato will get its turn to raise your sugar levels."  Well, last night I didn't have potatoes, but I did have quite a bit more carbs than I normally would think wise, and had approximately 2 glasses of wine.  I then took my blood sugars three times at one hour intervals (I had to go to sleep, you see).  The first reading was 97, an hour later it was 92, an hour later it was 90.  I got up out of bed 2 hours later and it was down to 86.  Now, I'm the type where when I eat something that has too many carbs, my sugars go way up in the first 45 minutes to an hour.  By the second hour, the sugars come down into a decent range.  So I'm wondering – does the alcohol really go first, with the carbs waiting in the wings, or does the wine work to slow things down — allowing some carbs to be processed and delaying others?  If I had taken my blood sugar again 2 or 3 hours later, would I see the spike then?

  • Anonymous

    2/25/2011 5:47:25 PM |

    Hey "Anonymous" know exactly how you feel about the blog. Its sad.

  • Dr. William Davis

    2/25/2011 5:57:23 PM |

    Red wine does indeed reduce blood sugar, though the effect I've seen tends to be no more than 5-10 mg/dl.

    I was thinking more along the lines of, say, American ginseng. Several gram doses have the potential to reduce postprandial blood sugar by 20-40 mg/dl. However, I am uncertain of the long-term safety of such a practice due to effects on the pancreas.

  • Might-o'chondri-AL

    2/25/2011 7:39:59 PM |

    A mediocre thought to keep this
    on life support without the irreplaceable infusion from the blogosphere tribe of Annonymous. If they'd gone back just one entry of Doc's they'd have been able to read 2 comments of mine related to some of the science behind Doc's obsession with blood sugar.

    As a disclaimer, I personally don't just say no to carbs - even though my old knees won't cooperate on wind sprints or deep bends to bail me out.

    Circadian rhythm is widely known, and erroneously construed merely relate to wakefulness. There are also distinct circadian cycles involved in the liver, heart and lungs.

    Not having the time now to detail the relevant liver circadian dynamic I'll just highlight some. In short,
    blood glucose and insulin, et. al. is not always a linear reaction; a spike is not always just another bad spike for everyone everytime of day.

    O.K., for you researchers, in circadian involvement of liver up/down regulation phases
    here are some leads(in no particular order): impact on glucose and lipid balance; transcription of insulin metabolism phases; mitochondrial fat burning; gluconeogenesis; gluco-corticoid receptors; triglycerides; glucose phosphate isomerase and 6-phosphofructokinase-2; HmGCoA lysase and reductase; S-transferase theta-2 and more.

  • fatfree

    2/25/2011 7:40:05 PM |

    Sounds like chronic cardio to me.

  • Anonymous

    2/25/2011 7:49:21 PM |

    I take 500 mg metfomin each night
    I am not diabetic
    It's my "glucose lower pill"

  • support@sunstatevitamins.com

    2/25/2011 10:47:45 PM |

    I think that cinnamon capsules, GTF chormium or CLA / omega-3's would do the same thing.  It all depends on if these nutrients would cause a hypoglycemic response in some people.

  • Sarah

    2/26/2011 12:09:52 AM |

    Serious question: what would a shot of vodka do in a scenario like this? (i.e., after carbs have been accidentally consumed, and after blood sugar has consequently risen).

  • Sarah

    2/26/2011 12:11:30 AM |

    Oops I see the same question about alcohol was already raised vis a vis red wine. Though I'm still not 100% clear on the answer!

  • Davide

    2/26/2011 2:02:43 AM |

    Supposedly, pine bark extract taken with a meal supposedly keeps blood sugar from spiking. Then again, the conclusive evidence was only found in animal studies:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15925302

  • Anonymous

    2/26/2011 5:08:38 PM |

    As a glucose intolerant, I have tried all kinds of things to keep my blood sugar under control. My biggest disappointment was vinegar before meal. It did nothing for me. I am of Indian origin and used to be a vegetarian. Tried Basmati rice which some claim has a more favorable glucose response. Again no effect on me. Tried fermented Indian dishes (dosa and idly) which also didn't help. I have now given up eating rice/wheat entirely and eat a lot of eggs and fish. It may just be that I am not meant to consume carbs.

    BTW, potato in Raita is quite common in India. To me, Indian cooking in the US is characterized by a very limited set of dishes with blunted flavors. But, I do wonder what was in Dr Davis' soups and vegetables. Some Indian dishes use sugar or jaggery (cane juice boiled into unrefined sugar) but the dish would be detectably sweet. Another possibility is indiscrimate use of tomato sauce or ketchup added as shortcut to flavor sauces which of course contains HFCS!

  • Daniel

    2/27/2011 3:36:27 PM |

    Playing Modern Warfare while pedaling away on the bike?  Your stock just went way up in my book good sir.

  • Contemplationist

    3/2/2011 8:18:37 PM |

    You people are right about the vegetable oil. Its really deplorable - our ancestors in India all used Ghee (clarified butter) heavily. Then the cholestrol propaganda from the West started a few decades ago and now everyone cooks with one or other vegetable oil.
    Original Indian dishes made with ghee are much more delicious, especially non-vegetarian ones.

  • Anonymous

    4/27/2011 7:56:46 PM |

    -Fructose comes from starch, bread, pasta - anything made from grains and leads to increased fatty acids in the blood.-

    I pity those who are in care of this ignorant british MD. Starch breaks down to a glucose in the body - never a fructose. Also fructose increases liver fat more than fatty acids in the blood.

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Calcium chaos

Calcium chaos

23. January 2008 William Davis (30)

Imagine that I'm planning to build a wall of bricks. I start by throwing cement at a pile of bricks, hoping that it forms a nice, orderly brick wall.

Fat chance, you say.

I believe that is what appears to be emerging as the situation with calcium supplementation.

A recent study from New Zealand reported an experience with 1,471 postmenopausal women, mean age of 74 years, who were randomized to treatment with either calcium supplements or placebo. Calcium was supplied as calcium citrate (Citrical) to provide 1000 mg of (elemental) calcium per day (400 mg morning, 600 mg evening).

(Bolland MJ, Barber PA, Doughty RN et al. Vascular events in healthy older women receiving calcium supplementation: randomised controlled trial. Brit Med J BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.39440.525752.BE; published 15 January 2008)

Over 5 years, women taking calcium had twice the risk of having a heart attack compared with women taking the placebo; women taking calcium had a 47 percent higher risk of having any one of three "events" (heart attack, stroke or sudden death) than women in the placebo group.

The findings of this study run counter to what we've been telling people all these years: Calcium supplementation, usually taken to halt deteriorating bone health and osteoporosis, modestly reduces blood pressure, reduces LDL and raises HDL cholesterol. At first blush, we might thereby presume that it also reduces cardiovascular events.

This study suggests that calcium supplementation does not result in reduction of cardiovascular events, perhaps even increases risk.

Certainly, this new finding will serve to confuse the public even more than it is already, particularly when it comes to strategies that modify risk for heart attack. However, this may make more sense once we stop and think for a moment.

Calcium supplementation inarguably slows, occasionally halts, calcium resorption from bone (through suppression of parathyroid hormone). Calcium also accumulates as part of atherosclerotic plaque in coronary and other arteries.

How does oral calcium know where to go--bones, not arteries or kidneys, in addition to serving all its other crucial functions?

Keep in mind that, in many roles, calcium is passive, something that responds to control exerted by some other factor. Vitamin D is that factor. Vitamin D controls the absorption of calcium in the intestinal tract (calcium aborption quadruples when vitamin D is restored to normal), it controls whether calcium is deposited in bone or extracted from arteries. It is the master control over the fate of calcium. Calcium just goes along for the ride.

Bone and arterial health do indeed intersect via calcium, but not through calcium supplementation. Instead, the control exerted by vitamin D (and vitamin K2, another conversation) connects the seemingly unrelated processes.

At what calcium dose threshold do the benefits stop and the adverse effects begin? That remains unanswered, particularly in light of this new study. However, this study calls into serious question the wisdom of supplementing calcium at a dose of 1000 mg, particularly when taken without normalization of vitamin D.

Calcium is therefore emerging as an important player in artery health. But just taking calcium makes no more sense than our brick wall and cement analogy. You might regard vitamin D as the mason that skillfully lays down both brick and cement in a neat, orderly way.
Tags :

Comments (30) -

  • Anne

    1/23/2008 7:47:00 AM |

    Dear Dr Davis,

    Sometimes I think I must be living in the Matrix - I thought this article so interesting as I have been prescribed calcium supplements for osteoporosis, but just a few weeks ago I had to stop taking them because I discovered they were the cause of severe diarrhoea I had been having for nearly a year. Stopping the calcium supplements halted the diarrhoea straight away, trying it again, even a different make, brought it back even on low dose. Anyway, it was just then that I read a lot about vitamin D3 on your blog and Dr Eades, just at that very time, so I upped my D3 intake to 5,000iu in the hopes it will help me absorb as much of my dietary calcium as possible. I cannot take dairy products so I get my calcium from leafy green veggies, nuts, seeds and fish. And now you wrote on your blog to look at vitamin D3 for aortic valves (I'm the one with bicuspid aortic valve) too. The Matrix ! Or I've found the best doctors on the internet Smile

    all the best,
    Anne

  • Anonymous

    1/23/2008 5:23:00 PM |

    I'm taking Vit D3 in gel form for my bones, heart, and to help prevent cancer, until it warms up here so I can get some sun. I'll be getting plenty of direct sun while gardening and bike riding, but the rest of the time outside, I'll sit in the the shade so I won't get too much UVA, since my family had a few skin cancers (caught early).

    I'm going to look for natto when I finally make it to the Asian store. I've heard it tastes pretty bad for people that have never eaten it, so I'll have to try to mix it in with something else probably. I've also read that some people compare it to blue cheese, so maybe I'll start with blue cheese recipes to try to mellow the natto taste.

    S

  • Red Sphynx

    1/23/2008 6:50:00 PM |

    Granted, calcium supplements leave a lot to be desired.

    But this article didn't cast any light on the problem.  Read Sandy Szwarc' excellent Fisking of this study over at JunkFoodScience.

    Adam Becker Sr

  • Anonymous

    1/23/2008 8:53:00 PM |

    Doesn't calcium compete with magnesium for absorption from the gut?  In which case, supplemental magnesium in addition to the calcium would be indicated

  • Anonymous

    1/24/2008 12:49:00 AM |

    I am so confused about this whole chotesterol/ heart attack risk argument. I've been reading your blog for months now and follow everything you say because it sounds like it all makes great sense. So whats the problem? We keep hearing more and more that total cholesterol, as was once thought, is not a very good indcator of impending heart attack. So how come Dr.William Castelli, the one time director of the famous Framingham Study says in over 60 years following thousands of people, they have NEVER had a heart attack in ANYONE with a total cholesterol below 150 regardless of what the HDL may be? If that doesn't indicate that total cholesterol CAN be a strong indicator I don't know what can. I understand if your cholesterol is higher than 150 this may not tell you anything, but for those of us below doesn't it? Or does no heart attacks in a 60 year period with thousands of people tell us nothing?

  • Dr. Davis

    1/24/2008 2:44:00 AM |

    I do not agree with Dr. Castelli's observation. I have seen MANY heart attacks with total cholesterols <150 mg/dl. I do not understand the discrepancy.

    For instance, an HDL of 23 mg/dl--very high risk--can easily be concealed within a low total cholesterol, as can smoking, diabetes, and Lp(a).

  • Peter

    1/24/2008 9:05:00 AM |

    Anonymous, even the most cursory glance at any of the aggressive LDL-C lowering trials will give you the information about the accuracy of Dr Castelli's statement. Let's not be too explicit.

    Peter

  • donnyrosart

    1/24/2008 1:33:00 PM |

    It looks like going into the study, the authors suspected the opposite (calcium prevents heart disease) was true. They mention speculation that calcium supplementation might be heart healthy by increasing malabsorption of fat, and quote a study where calcium supplementation doubled fecal fat and bile. Personally, I try to eat things I'd like to absorb.
    The first study they reference to (I think it's their own study) showed calcium supplementation increased Hdl, and decreased ldl, but had no effect on triglycerides. If ldl decreases, but triglycerides remain the same, does that suggest anything about ldl particle size?
    Really like your blog.

  • Dr. Davis

    1/24/2008 4:19:00 PM |

    Good question.

    I've not looked specifically for a LDL size effect from calcium, nor am I aware of any specific literature to this effect. However, I do believe that many of us are trending towards less and less calcium supplementation, particularly in light of vit D supplementation.

  • Anonymous

    1/24/2008 7:59:00 PM |

    I apologise maybe I worded my question incorrectly. Dr. Castelli doesn't claim that if you have a total cholesterol under 150 you will not have a heart attack, he says in The Framingham study ( involving 3 generations and over 10,000 people ) there has never been one. I suppose we could blow this off and claim he's lying ( I doubt it ) or try to learn something from it. Thats a VERY large long lasting study and once again he has said "under 150 REGARDLESS of HDL score" there HAS to be a reason for this, I was just wondering if anyone had a guess.

  • brittany lady

    1/24/2008 10:59:00 PM |

    This now has me totally confused.  My doctor recommended I take 1,000 mg. of Calcium in supplement form every day, and to make sure I get 800 mg. of Vitamin D.  I have done so faithfully plus drinking about 10 oz. of calcium added Lactaid fat free milk. I also learned after an x-ray, stress test and heart imaging that I have calcification at the base of my aorta, but my heart is not enlarged.  This has happened since 1999, and I have only been taking Vitamin D for the past year and a half. Now I wonder if large doses of Calcium before having my vitamin D levels tested might have caused this. On another note, I had very high triglycerides and started taking 2000 mg. of fish oil capsules daily.  My triglycerides dropped from 375 to 160 in 6 months.  That might be a solution to someone with these concerns.

  • Anne

    1/25/2008 8:23:00 AM |

    Since being diagnosed with osteoporosis last year I have done a lot of research on it and on various therapies. I am, btw, only 54 so it was a big shock. Anyway, looking at things logically, there is no way that someone my age would have got osteoporosis from lack of calcium, so why do they prescribe it ? It seems based on research done on elderly ladies in nursing homes. I've got osteoporosis because of health issues when I was younger yet, I was still told the usual to take 1000mg calcium and 800iu vitamin D. I refused bisphosphonates and have been prescribed Strontium Ranelate instead. I hope Strontium doesn't cause calcification, I don't think they know enough about it so I feel rather a guinea pig. Now that I can't tolerate calcium and have stopped taking it and upped the Vitamin D3 to 5000iu I feel more confident that this will help not only my bones but also my heart health. I also take 2,000mg of fish oil.....my triglycerides are currently 0.6 (53).

    Anne

  • Anne

    1/25/2008 1:39:00 PM |

    Something else to make one realise that calcium may not be as important as we have been told - if you look at countries in Africa where some people have sub-optimal diets and low in calcium, you usually don't often find osteoporosis ! I would hazard a guess that the reason they don't get osteoporosis is because they have plenty of Vitamin D from the sunshine and they probably do a lot of physical work.

    Anne

  • Dr. Davis

    1/25/2008 1:51:00 PM |

    Great thought.

    I am impressed that many of the "holes" in our thinking about health and nutrients is filling in with greater understanding of the role of vitamin D.

  • Rick

    1/25/2008 5:19:00 PM |

    Dr. Castelli also made the following observation:

    "For example, in Framingham, Mass, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person’s serum cholesterol."

    For Dr. Eades's typically insightful take on the issue, go here:

    http://tinyurl.com/2d7bzw

    and here:

    http://tinyurl.com/24uqj2

  • Dr. Davis

    1/26/2008 5:05:00 AM |

    I couldn't agree more.

    Cholesterol (total and LDL) are lousy predictors of heart disease. They are, indeed, factors. But in the long list of factors causing heart disease, cholesterol is way down.

    But cholesterol is, no doubt, the most profitable. Revenues for statin drugs topped $27 billion last year.

  • Anonymous

    1/26/2008 3:05:00 PM |

    Great articles Rick, read them both and found them quite interesting however a little disappointed neither had anything to do with why after 60 years and following over 10,000 people NOT ONE of them with a total cholesterol under 150 ever had a heart attack. I eat low carb, loved Taubes book explaining the myths about eating fat, big proponent of Track your plaque and think Dr. Davis is brilliant and well ahead of his time. And yet either we think Dr. Castelli is a liar or anybody with ANY interest in preventive cardiology would want to know why no heart attacks in anyone with tot cholesterol under 150 in over 60 years in such a large group of people. My god we hear all the time about the stunning results of the HATS Trial which included a grand total of 161 people.

  • MAC

    1/26/2008 5:38:00 PM |

    Dr. Davis,
        Found this study while perusing Science daily today. Not sure how or if this intersects at all with the good results you get with Vit D.

    Vitamin D Deficiency May be a Sympton of Disease: Supplementations may make it worse:

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases
    /2008/01/080125223302.htm

    "Low blood levels of vitamin D have long been associated with disease, and the assumption has been that vitamin D supplements may protect against disease. However, this new research demonstrates that ingested vitamin D is immunosuppressive and that low blood levels of vitamin D may be actually a result of the disease process. Supplementation may make the disease worse."

  • Dr. Davis

    1/27/2008 2:18:00 AM |

    It refers to the so-called "Marshall Protocol." Having read his arguments, he mixes science with conjecture and enormous leaps of speculation, all with zero experience in real, live humans. (He's a "bench" researcher with experience that doesn't extend beyond mice and cell cultures.)

    It reminds me an awful lot of the pseudo-scientific tangent that misled Linus Pauling and Mathias Rath.

  • Rick

    1/27/2008 7:40:00 AM |

    Anonymous,

    No need to be disappointed.  Here's the relevance.  Dr. Eades quoted Dr. Kannel, who preceded Castelli as director of the Framinham study as saying:

    "...it is not possible to select a critical lipid value that separates potential CHD candidates from the rest of the population."

    That appears to contradict the implications of Castelli's quote.

    Dr. Eades also made the case that sometimes the pronouncement of the researchers is not supported by the evidence.

    What percent of the population had cholesterol lower than 150?  What was their age distribution?  These would be important things to know.

    In looking at a graph of the distribution, it appears that less than 5% of the population were in that category.  

    BTW, can you you provide a citation for your quote of Dr. Castelli?  Thanks.

  • Stan

    1/27/2008 3:32:00 PM |

    anonymous,

    Castelli said that there was no heart attack at all in the sub-population below 150mg/dl of cholesterol, and he said also
    that, quote:

    "For example, in Framingham, Mass, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person’s serum cholesterol."

    This is a speculation but one possible explanation behind those two seemingly contradictory informations is that the
    subpopulation of people who had naturally low cholesterol in Framingham, were all young and/or  were all eating more animal fat and less carbohydrates than the other groups!  Younger people are more active and eat more calories too. Both factors (young age and a higher animal fat lower carbohydrate nutrition) tend to associate with low cholesterol
    and are simultanously cardioprotective.

    Is it improbable? I dont' think so. Dr. Davis's own results on vitamin D3 and essential fatty acids supplementation (naturally present in animal food, dairy, eggs, meat and fish!) also seem to point in the same direction.

    It would also fit another observation: I remember some published data on Masai population who also have or had very low total cholesterol (I think about 160 mg/dl on average), follow a high fat low carbohydrate nutrition and have very little heart disease!

    Stan (Heretic)

  • Anonymous

    1/28/2008 3:38:00 PM |

    http://tinyurl.com/24uqj2, Rick try this one but any search on google brings many citataions.

  • Anonymous

    1/28/2008 3:41:00 PM |

    Rick heres another better one.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3987/is_20070409/ai_n19031299/pg_2

  • Rick

    1/29/2008 12:32:00 AM |

    Anon,

    Thanks for the links, but the first one is the link I gave you, and the second is truncated.  

    If it's the article by the chiropracter, I've already seen that, but was hoping for  a primary source so I could read the context.  I've done a fair amount of googling but haven't been able to find it.

    Your quote speaks of 60 years of research, yet the artcle you cite (at least I think it's the same artcle) speaks of 40 years and the Framingham website is proudly celebrating 50 years of research.

    This is not to nitpick but it does make me wonder if this isn't one of those internet quotes that takes on a life of its own.

    I agree with you that it is confusing because so much of what I have read, along with my own experience renders his observation, whether true or not, meaningless.

  • Anonymous

    1/29/2008 12:51:00 AM |

    http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3987/is_20070409/ai_n19031299/pg_2
    This article explains Dr. Castelli's position well.

  • Anonymous

    1/29/2008 12:55:00 AM |

    http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3987/is_20070409/ai_n19031299
    Read this one Rick.

  • Anonymous

    1/30/2008 3:07:00 PM |

    The Framingham Study was begun in 1948. That seems to be the one point that is a fact.

  • Rick

    1/30/2008 7:14:00 PM |

    Thanks for the link.  That is one of the articles I'd already seen. ( Not to put too fine a point on it, but he does refer to 40 years, not 60 as in your quote.)

    The data I've seen confirms his statement.  People whose TC was below 150 didn't evidence CHD.  But, as I mentioned above, the number of those people was extremely small, less than 5% of the population. It may be true the nobody who's run a sub 2:10 marathon has suffered a heart attack, but so what?

    For the vast majority of the population in the study, those between 150 and 370, some did have CHD, some didn't.  The correlation was not strong except on the edges.  

    So what can we take away from this?  Get your TC below 150 and you're immune from CHD?  The same research shows correlation with low levels of TC and all cause mortality.  So choose your poison.

    And if, despite your best efforts, your numbers creep up above 150, are all bets off?  My TC over the years, has ranged from 140 to 180, most recently 160, yet my plaque burden put me in the 50th percentile for my peer group.  So the importance of Dr. Castelli's observation is lost on me.

    As pointed out by Dr. Davis, and many others, total cholesterol alone is not a very useful indicator. Check out the post on the Vytorin study. Those whose cholesterol dropped the most experienced a greater increase in plaque.

    So, while Castelli's statement is based in fact, there is a lot of room for interpretation.  And most of the rest of what is attributed to him in that article is speculation.

    Yes, Framingham was begun in 1948, but I doubt the data is available instantaneously.

  • Anonymous

    6/4/2008 1:31:00 PM |

    My sister and I got in argument at a picnic about whether calcium supplements are a good idea.  Afterward she sent me an article in favor, and I sent her one against.  Then I realized you wrote both articles!

  • ccruby

    8/17/2008 1:30:00 AM |

    Mayo Clinic diagnosed me with fluid around my heart.  I could feel it sloshing around.  Stopped calcium/mag and estrogen supplements and I could no longer feel it; I also kept telling it to go away.  Went back a couple of months later for MRI--Mayo said I had fat around my heart.  I know the original diagnosis was correct.

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