Fertility Diet?

Here is an interesting post about a doctor in the Jacksonville, FL area who has had success treating infertile women with a low carbohydrate diet. He states that saturated fat is probably the best fat for humans and that we have been brainwashed against saturated fat.

A change in diet would definitely be a lot cheaper than drug therapy or in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Monkey Business

I was reading a recent article in the NY Times about using monkeys and mice/rats as an experimental model for obesity and diabetes research and ran across this statement:

"Dr. Hansen, who has been doing research on obese monkeys for four decades, prefers animals that become naturally obese with age, just as many humans do. Fat Albert, one of her monkeys who she said was at one time the world’s heaviest rhesus, at 70 pounds, ate “nothing but an American Heart Association-recommended diet,” she said."

Maybe the American Heart Association diet is not so healthy after all.

I just finished reading . . .

Once a Spy by Keith Thomson. This is his first novel. If you like lots of action I highly recommend it. The action starts early and keeps up throughout the entire novel until the very end. The main characters are a father and son duo. The father was a spy unbeknownst to his son. The son likes to gamble on the horse races and is deep in debt. The two do not have a close relationship and never have. Although the father is still fairly young, he has developed some early symptoms of Alzheimer's and this brings him and his son together.

Unfortunately, the bad guys are out to get the former spy for what he knows. And then the action begins. The father and son basically run for their lives throughout the novel. In addition to the action there is plenty of witty dialogue. I recommend checking it out from your local library.

Are You Taking A Statin?

Just ran across this post concerning muscle damage and statins on the Fat Head blog which I found interesting. 

We Need More Vitamin D!

The Institute of Medicine recently recommended an increase in the amount of vitamin D that we should get daily. Back in 1997 the Institute recommended 200 IUs and they have now tripled their recommendation to 600 IUs (800 IUs for adults over 70). Many doctors have been recommending much more than that--up to 4000 or 5000 IUs a day.

Vitamin D is important for building and maintaining strong bones. Also, if you have osteoporosis, it is essential that you get enough vitamin D in order for your body to absorb calcium. When vitamin D was first discovered it was labeled a "vitamin". It has since been discovered that it is actually a hormone that affects pretty much every organ in the body. According the the Vitamin D Council, "Current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more. "

You can get vitamin D from food, sun and supplements. Our skin makes vitamin D when exposed to the sun. This is not a very practical way for most of us to get our daily dose, especially if we live in a northern climate. If you do want to get your vitamin D from the sun, you need to remember that using sunscreen will block absorption. One tablespoon of cod liver oil or 3 ounces of sockeye salmon will provide your daily amount; most milk is fortified with vitamin D, but you'll need at least a quart a day. D3 seems to be the recommended form of supplementation and it is cheap. Since vitamin D is fat-soluble you should look for a supplement in gel-cap form or take it with some fat at mealtime.

How do you know if you are getting enough? Many doctors are now ordering blood tests (25-hydroxy vitamin D) to check current levels. When I asked my doctor about checking my vitamin D level she told me that it cost $300 and that my insurance wouldn't cover the cost. I found an online lab (Direct Labs) that would run the test for $59. You just order and pay online and then take the paperwork to one of their affiliated labs.

Fats are a Combination of Different Types of Fats

Learned something new about fat. I always thought that animal fat was pure saturated fat. Guess I had better go back to school! Actually all fats and oils are a combination of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. The chart below shows the percentages of the three main types of fat

(data comes from here).

Percentage of Types of Fat in Oils and Fats (based on 1 oz. of fat and rounded)
	Saturated	Monounsaturated	Polyunsaturated
Animal
Beef Tallow	50	42	<1
Bacon Grease	39	45	11
Chicken Fat	30	45	21
Mutton Tallow	47	41	8
Duck Fat	33	49	13
Goose Fat	29	57	11
Turkey Fat	29	43	23
Butter	63	26	4
Plant/Seed Oils
Coconut Oil	86	6	2
Olive Oil	14	73	10
Canola Oil	8	61	26
Corn Oil	13	28	55
Soybean Oil	16	23	58

The amount of saturated fat in animal fat actually varies widely, with goose and turkey being the lowest. Most of the animal fats are actually higher in monounsaturated fat than they are saturated fat, butter being the main exception. Also, the type of fat that is highest in saturated fat actually doesn't come from an animal at all--but from a coconut!

Link of the Week

Check out this great flow chart (with a sense of humor) on how to find real food at the grocery store.

20 Potatoes a Day . . .

Chris Voigt, Executive Director of the Washington State Potato Commission, decided to go on a diet of nothing but potatoes. He did include some seasonings and oil for cooking, but no supplements. He wasn't trying to lose weight, but wanted to show how healthy potatoes are and that you could live off them for 60 days with no negative health effects. The federal WIC program has recently removed potatoes from the list of vegetables it will pay for.

He blogged regularly about his experience, posted videos and ran a weekly contest.

The average potato is 5.3 oz and 110 calories, therefore, he determined that he needed to eat 20 potatoes a day to maintain his current weight. That's almost 7 pounds a day. He actually had a hard time eating all 20 potatoes every day because they were so filling. A wide variety of potatoes (russets, yukon, fingerlings, purple, red, yellow) were included in his diet and he ate them fried, boiled, steamed, roasted, baked, microwaved, and mashed.

Did you know that 20 potatoes supply 942% of daily vitamin C requirements? They also provide over 100% of vitamin B6, potassium, fiber, maganese, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, thiamin, niacin, iron, protein, and folate. You can check out the nutrition facts here.

Chris' wife reported an unexpected effect of the diet. Although Chris is a snorer, while on the potato diet his snoring stopped. It started back up again after he went back to his regular diet. He lost 21 pounds, his cholesterol dropped by 67 points and triglycerides dropped by 60 points. His fasting blood glucose was ten points lower at the end of the diet. Stephan Guyenet does an interpretation of the diet on his blog.

I'm craving a baked potato with some real butter.

Enjoy your potatoes!

Every Drop Counts

Have you ever thought about donating blood? I got started over 30 years ago when I was at work. One of my co-workers was recruiting others in the office to donate at the blood drive on campus. The American Red Cross sets up blood drives all over the country or you can make an appointment at their local office.

In order to donate you must be healthy, be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. You may donate a pint of blood every 56 days. Gee, that means you could donate almost a gallon a year or 4 gallons over 5 years, or 8 gallons over a 10-year period. Adds up fast! More in-depth information on eligibility is available here.

It is really very easy to donate blood. It will take about an hour of your time. Make an appointment or just walk in. You will need to present a photo ID and read some general information about donating blood. Then someone will check your blood pressure and pulse, prick your finger to get a couple of drops of blood to check your iron level and take your temperature. If you pass all those tests, they will ask you some questions about your health history and places you have traveled.

OK, the next part is where we separate the men from the boys. You will move on to the donation area where they will cleanse your arm and insert a brand new sterile needle for the blood draw. (It only hurts for a second.) They will give you a rubber ball to squeeze every few seconds to help pump out the blood. It only takes about 10 minutes to draw a pint of blood.

Next you will be directed to the refreshments area to refuel after all that hard work. Personally, I think they had the best snacks at my first donation site in Vermont--Vermont cheddar cheese. But, usually there will be cookies, crackers, nuts and that sort of thing, along with water or juice to drink. You will stay in the refreshment area for 10-15 minutes to start replacing the fluid that you lost plus to make sure you are feeling alright. I find as I get older I really need to sit there for a few minutes otherwise I am a little lightheaded. Now see, that wasn't hard.

Want to learn more about donating? Click here.

I have donated blood in several areas of the US. The American Red Cross collects blood in most areas of the country. Although, in the Tampa Bay area, the Florida Blood Services is the place to go. The Florida Blood Services gives away a T-shirt to all donors and they also check your cholesterol. There may be other freebies depending on the time of the year and where you go to donate.

According the the Red Cross web site only 3 out of 100 Americans donate blood. It is really easy to do so why not try it out? And bring a friend! You will get juice and cookies afterward and YOU could save a life.