![]() Kenny you definitely provided some on this. Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health. Articles, research, diet advice, and free guides from IF-expert, Martin Berkhan. ![]() Nutrition The Transformation Meal Plan Shedding serious pounds means sticking to a serious diet. This sample eating plan can help inspire food choices for your own. Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health. It's been a good while since I last wrote about intermittent fasting. I guess largely because there's only so much to say about the topic and because I feel like I've said most of it. ![]() Unless you're going to make inferences based on animal studies, there's only so much you can extrapolate from the human experience and write about. Another part of it is that I've lost interest. Once your understanding of nutrition is complete, more or less, you reach a point of radically diminishing returns - at this point, expanding your knowledge further in this realm, won't make an iota of difference for your level of fitness. It's much more fruitful to improve your training regimen and understanding thereof. A rich body of research on the topic has been published since then. The ongoing interest in IF is not surprising, given its mystique that’s wrapped in ancient spiritual origins, all the way to its modern applications to clinical and aesthetic goals. The aim of this article is to bring the reader up- to- date on the scientific findings, with a particular focus on comparing IF regimes with conventional/linear dieting. After all, the question is not whether IF works – it obviously does, as does any mode of caloric restriction. The question is whether it works better than conventional dieting for improving body composition, and if so, to which contexts can we apply it. Article continues.. ![]() ![]() Importantly, they compared the effects of intermittent energy restriction (IER) to continuous energy restriction (CER) on bodyweight, body composition, and other clinical parameters. Their review included 4. IER with a CER condition. They found that overall, the two diet types resulted in “apparently equivalent outcomes” in terms of bodyweight reduction and body composition change. ![]() ![]()
In addition, neither IER or CER was superior to the other at improving glucose control/insulin sensitivity. No different effects on thyroid, cortisol, and sex hormones were seen between IER and CER, though the authors concede that there’s insufficient research comparing neuroendocrine effects of the two diet types to draw definitive conclusions in this area. Interestingly, IER was superior at suppressing hunger. The authors speculated that this might be attributable to ketone production in the fasting phases. However, this effect was somewhat immaterial since it failed to translate into superior improvements in body composition or greater weight loss. MB: Well, that's not quite true. These studies didn't have a suitable control group, as the participants served as their own controls. Thus, you can't say that it didn't translate into . That's the problem with these systematic reviews Like it says in the paper. Only 1. 2 of the 4. IER with CER: the lack of direct comparison makes it difficult to determine whether IER is superior to CER, or for whom. Limitations of the review included the standard ones – relatively small sample sizes, relatively short trial durations, and heterogeneous study designs making comparisons outside of the same study difficult. An acknowledged limitation worth highlighting was that 1. Varady et al, University of Illinois at Chicago). Ideally, a more diversified and less concentrated set of labs is less likely to repeat the same errors or preserve the same biases. Speaking of the potential for bias, Varady has published a lay- directed book titled, The Every- Other- Day Diet (1. I’m not claiming that Varady is destined to make sure her ADF study results will always square up with her book, but it’s one of the potential caveats nevertheless. I would add to these limitations that there’s a severe lack of IER (and IER vs CER) studies that include a structured training component. MB: I agree wholeheartedly. I'm glad Alan brought this up. The opportunities for fuckery in the scientific literature are endless. Usually, industry is the culprit - you know, studies praising the benefits of snacks or breakfast (sponsored by Kellogg's or General Mills) or studies on the tremendous muscle- building effects of protein powders (sponsored by supplement companies) and the like. These studies can't fully be trusted and needs to be scrutinised more than the rest. They're suspect, because their funding comes from a source that would benefit from a positive result, and the results should always be taken with a grain of salt. And very often, almost always in fact, these studies arrive at a positive result. They seemed more like marketing than science. That's more than 9. Here's how to stop them. If you want to read more about this topic as it pertains to nutritional science, check out Marion Nestle and her writings. She's quite brilliant. Why Calories Count by Marion Nestle. I found this book in a large box of bullshit that I ordered from Amazon two years ago. It was the only thing worth scavenging and I intend to read it after I'm done with a few horror novels. I figure that I'd be properly warmed up by then. A book about food politics and marketing shenanigans can get quite dark and depressing no doubt. But food companies are as unlikely to fund research on intermittent fasting, as Coca Cola is unlikely to fund research on ketogenic diets. What Alan brings up is the potential for bias on the researcher's part, Krista Varady to be specific. Aside from researching intermittent fasting, she is also involved in selling books, namely books based off of the research she is doing. While I haven't read The Every- Other- Day Diet, but I have mixed feelings about Krista Varady. She does try a bit too hard for my liking. I covered her work* before in . Note that I'm wrongfully referring to Varady as . In short, she published a pretty shitty review of the subject, but then again, there weren't that many data points around in 2. Five years later, it's gotten a little better, but there's still not enough good data around to draw any definitive conclusions - and like Alan says, a lot of that data comes from the same lab (Varady's). It's worth mentioning that Varady appeared in a laughable infomercial documentary called . In it, Michael Mosley - the show host and soon- to- be- author, interviews researchers working in the field of intermittent fasting and Varady is one of them. After rewatching the segment she appeared in, I found her to be matter of fact and professional even though she dutifully suffered through all the TV show gimmicks thrown at her - they gorged on hamburgers and fries to show that you could stuff your face and still lose weight on ADF, for example. By the way, this . Seems like there was some kind of falling out between Varady and Mosley after that. Don't waste your money. If you want a book on intermittent fasting, pick up Eat Stop Eat. Now, speaking of Varady, there's nothing wrong with pushing your agenda, but don't shove it down peoples throats by publishing bad research and doing shady shit like failing to disclose your conflicts of interest, because that makes you suspect in my eyes. That said, there's nothing fishy about her recent work, as far as I can tell. It's entirely possible that Varady and her colleagues got together one night and decided amongst themselves to doctor the results, but I find that very unlikely. It's kind of spooky, but a client just sent me this two minutes ago. I'm mentioned on the same page as Mosley and Varady, and I'm reading it just as I finish up this paragraph. I believe he was reading a book by his doctor, Robin Willcourt. I'll have to ask about the title, so I'll add it here later for those interested. Update: Name of the book is Chasing Antelopes: Why All This Caused All That. When fuckery strikes in science, it's usually a lot more subtle and sinister. I would know, because years ago, I approached Alan with this subject. See, I had uncovered some sophisticated tampering with the results of a study that received a lot of spin on social media and the mainstream news. I was slightly distressed over the fact that he had missed it - the studies appeared in the AARR, not only once, but twice - and presented my findings. I needed a second opinion, because maybe I was making a hen out of a feather. Nope. Alan agreed, it was some shady shit. In fact, it was a case study in deceit. Career- ending, if you ask me. But to this day, no one has debunked the findings, and the researcher is still active; polluting the journals with more bullshit for every new study that gets published. Who knows, maybe one day I'll put an end to it. The key point of all this, is that science can't be trusted for shit, unless you do your due diligence and read the fine print. But in this particular case, concerning Krista Varady, I'm not worried. Article continues below.. This limitation also plagues the body of research comparing various within- day meal frequencies. Readers familiar with my work know that Brad Schoenfeld, James Krieger, and I did a meta- analysis on the effect of meal frequency on body composition, and found that higher meal frequencies were associated with greater losses of fat mass and greater retention of lean mass (2. However, sensitivity analysis revealed that the removal of a single study (2. It’s worth noting that the studies in our analysis (and in this entire body of literature) lacked sufficient protein. An exception was Arciero et al (2. Furthermore, 6 meals per day increased lean mass despite hypocaloric conditions. MB: Sure thing. Something like that only happens in a study sponsored by EAS, Alan. Article continues below.. However, the question of muscle gain via IF remains unanswered since the investigative focus of IF research has been on weight/fat loss and accompanying clinical effects. No IF studies in the current literature have focused on the goal of gains in muscle size and/or strength. As such, No IF studies to- date (at least none that have passed peer review) have included a structured, progressive resistance training program. This is untreaded ground fresh for the taking by researchers with the desire to do so. The truth about alcohol, fat loss and muscle growth. I've been getting tons of questions relating to alcohol and fat loss lately. Happens every time summer rolls around. Outdoor parties, clubbing, vacations and the whole shebang. Alcohol is a key ingredient. What people want to know is basically how fattening alcohol is, how it affects protein synthesis, how to make it work with their diet, and what drinks to go for at the club. I think this is very good topic to cover today, since we're right in the middle of summer and all, because most people involved in the fitness and health game tend to miss out on a lot of fun due to avoiding alcohol. I know a lot of peeps who'd rather stay home and manage their diet than go out and have a few drinks. Sad, really, because it's all for the wrong reasons. I don't blame them though. Read the mags or listen to the . It's mostly bullshit, of course. No big surprise when we're dealing with the alarmist fitness mainstream that can't seem to put things in the right perspective if their life depended on it. This is a definitive primer on the effects of alcohol on all things someone interested in optimizing body composition might be interested in. At the end of this article I'm also going to show you how a hopeless drunk like myself can stay lean while drinking on a regular basis. C'mere and lemme me tell you my secretz..*hick*Alcohol and thermogenesis. There's been an ongoing debate for years whether alcohol calories . This debate has been spurred on by the fact that drinkers weigh less than non- drinkers and studies showing accelerated weight loss when fat and carbs are exchanged for an equivalent amount of calories from alcohol. The connection between a lower body weight and moderate alcohol consumption is particularly strong among women. In men it's either neutral or weak, but it's there. How can this be explained, considering that alcohol is a close second to dietary fat in terms of energy density per gram? Not to mention the fact that alcohol is consumed via liquids, which doesn't do much for satiety? Alcohol is labeled as 7. TEF) which is 2. 0% of the ingested calories. This makes the TEF of alcohol a close second to protein (2. The heightened thermogenesis resulting from alcohol intake is partly mediated by catecholamines. Is higher TEF a reasonable explanation for lower body fat percentage in regular drinkers? We need to consider that alcohol does not affect satiety like other nutrients. The disinhibition of impulse control that follows intoxication may also encourage overeating. Ever come home from a party in the middle of the night and downed a box of cereals? That's what I mean. It's unlikely that the effect of alcohol on body weight in the general population can be attributed solely to the high TEF of alcohol. An alternative explanation is that alcohol consumption decreases food intake in the long term. Another explanation is that regular alcohol consumption affects nutrient partitioning favorably via improvements in insulin sensitivity. Alcohol, insulin sensitiviy and health. Moderate alcohol consumption improves insulin sensitivity, lowers triglyceride concentrations and improves glycemic control. Not only in healthy folks, but also in type 2 diabetes. There is no clear consensus on the insulin sensitizing mechanism of alcohol, but one viable explanation may be that alcohol promotes leanness by stimulating AMPK in skeletal muscle. It's not a stretch to assume that this might have favorable effects on nutrient partitioning in the longer term. If the effect of alcohol consumption on insulin sensitivity doesn't impress you, then consider the fact that studies have consistently shown that moderate drinkers live longer than non- drinkers. This can be mainly attributed to a lowered risk of cardiovascular disease. However, alcohol also contributes to a healthier and disease- free life by protecting against Alzheimer's disease, metabolic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, the common cold, different types of cancers, depression and many other Western diseases. The list goes on and on. It can almost be said beyond doubt that moderate alcohol consumption is healthier than complete abstinence. With this in mind, it's strange that the fitness and health community shun alcohol. This irrational attitude seems to be grounded in the beliefs that alcohol is fattening and will hamper muscle gains. So let's take a look at that. Alcohol, hormones and training. You've probably heard that alcohol intake lowers testosterone. While this is true, the actual impact has been widely exaggerated. A three- week study that had men and women consume 3. That's three beers a day for three weeks and a measly 6. What kind of an effect would you think a few beers on an evening once or twice a week would have? Hardly any. For alcohol to significantly lower testosterone, you need to do some serious drinking. If you drink so goddamn much that you are admitted to the hospital, you get a similar effect with a reduction of about - 2. A few studies have looked at alcohol consumption in the post- workout period. One study examined the hormonal response to post- workout alcohol consumption using 7. Anyway, despite this hefty post- workout drinking binge, no effect on testosterone was found and only a very modest effect on cortisol was noted. The latter is as expected, considering the effect of alcohol on catecholamines. Citing directly from this paper, this quote sums up the scientific findings regarding the effects of alcohol on testosterone. Well, no big surprise there. We've been through this many times before with meal frequency and countless other diet myths. When it comes to recovery after strength training, moderate alcohol consumption (6. However, the research is a bit mixed on this topic. One study, which used a very brutal regimen of eccentric training only, followed by alcohol intakes in the 8. I should note that eccentric training is hard to recover from and the volume used here was pretty crazy. Another study looked at exhaustive endurance training followed by post- workout alcohol intakes in the 1. The common denominator among these two studies is either extremely tough training or unusually high alcohol intakes in the post- workout period. Unless you're in the habit of going bar- hopping after 5. Yet it's studies like these that gets the attention among the alcohol- alarmist fitness crowd. What about protein synthesis? Strangely enough, the acute effects of alcohol on muscle protein synthesis in normal human subjects are non- existent in the scientific litterature. It has only been studied in chronic alcoholics, which have reduced rates of muscle protein synthesis. Chronic alcoholic myopathy, which causes muscle loss, is one unfortunate side- effect of alcohol abuse. However, this study showed that alcoholics without myopathy had lower body fat percentage and the same amount of lean mass as non- drinkers. So much for the argument that alcohol makes all your muscles fall off. If you put any stock in rat studies, it's clear that alcohol affects protein synthesis negatively. Then again, results from rat studies are almost never directly applicable to human physiology. There are profound differences in how humans and rodents cope with macronutrients and toxins. Absolut Turnover is is my favorite drink right now. You need a shot of Absolut Vanilia and one lime wedge dipped in cinnamon and brown sugar. Drink, bite and enjoy. Alcohol and fat storage. Let's quickly review how nutrients are stored and burned after a mixed meal. Carbs and protein suppress fat oxidation via an elevation in insulin. However, these macronutrients do not contribute to fat synthesis in any meaningful way by themselves. Since fat oxidation is suppressed, dietary fat is stored in fat cells. As the hours go by and insulin drops, fat is released from fat cells. Fat storage is an ongoing process and fatty acids are constantly entering and exiting fat cells throughout the day. Net gain or loss is more or less dictated by calorie input and output. If we throw alcohol into the mix, it gets immediate priority in the in the substrate hierarchy: alcohol puts the breaks on fat oxidation, but also suppresses carb and protein oxidation. This makes sense considering that the metabolic by- product of alcohol, acetate, is toxic. Metabolizing it takes precedence over everything else. This quote sums up the metabolic fate of alcohol nicely. There's simply no metabolic pathway that can make fat out of alcohol with any meaningful efficiency. Studies on fat synthesis after substantial alcohol intakes are non- existent in humans, but Hellerstein(from quotation) estimated de novo lipogenesis after alcohol consumption to ~3%. Out of the 2. 4 g alcohol consumed in this study, a measly 0. The effect of alcohol on fat storage is very similar to that of carbs: by suppressing fat oxidation, it enables dietary fats to be stored with ease. However, while conversion of carbs to fat may occur once glycogen stores are saturated, DNL via alcohol consumption seems less likely. Summary* Moderate alcohol consumption is assocoiated with an abundance of health benefits. The long- term effect on insulin sensitivity and body weight (via insulin or decreased appetite) may be of particular interest to us.* The thermic effect of alcohol is high and the real caloric value is not 7. However, it's still easy to overconsume calories by drinking. Calorie for calorie, the short- term effect of alcohol on satiety is low. Adding to this, intoxication may also encourage overeating by disinhibition of dietary restraint.* The negative effects of alcohol on testosterone and recovery has been grossly exaggerated by the fitness mainstream. Excluding very high acute alcohol consumption, or prolonged and daily consumption, the effect is non- significant and unlikely to affect muscle gains or training adaptations negatively.* The effect of alcohol on muscle protein synthesis is unknown in normal human subjects. How to Reduce Puffy Nipples (Gynecomastia) Without Surgery. Download my bodyweight training program for skinny- fat guys (6. PDF)If you’re a guy and you have puffy nipples, it’s embarrassing. It’s embarrassing to take off your shirt in front of a girl or even to go to the beach when your chest looks soft and feminine. I know this because I had puffy nipples throughout all my teenage years. Having puffy nipples destroyed my confidence and they made it difficult to enjoy simple experiences such as going to the beach or even dating a girl. I can safely say that having puffy nipples was the main driver behind my 3 year physique transformation from skinny- fat to ripped: In this article, I will teach you how you can make your chest look better by changing your eating habits and doing diamond push ups and low cable flyes. However, before we get to the “puffy nipples solution”, you need to understand the underlying reason behind why you have puffy nipples. The #1 Reason to Why You Have Puffy Nipples. Most of us develop puffy nipples around age 1. To be specific, two hormones undergo a massive change: Testosterone: The male hormone of vitality which is responsible for important functions such as your ability to gain muscle mass, your sex drive and your daily energy levels. Estrogen: The female hormone which causes a more soft and puffy looking physique. What happens during puberty is that testosterone increases and you start developing male characteristics such as: Bigger chest and arm muscles. Deeper voice. Higher sex drive. This is all good stuff and we want as much testosterone as possible during puberty. The issue is that increases in testosterone are followed by increases in the female hormone, estrogen. When estrogen increases disproportionally to testosterone, you start developing female characteristics such as: Puffy nipples and man boobs. Wider hips and lower waist. This means that having high estrogen levels negates the positive effects of testosterone and actually makes a man develop female characteristics such as puffy nipples and even breasts. Therefore, the solution to get rid of puffy nipples is to first and foremost reduce your estrogen levels. This will not only help you improve the aesthetics of your chest, but also free up more testosterone so you can build some rock hard muscle on your upper chest, arms and shoulders. The #1 way to decrease estrogen is to follow a High Testosterone Diet that includes testosterone boosting foods while reducing your intake of foods that are estrogenic. You want to minimise your intake of estrogenic foods such as: Wheat products: Bread, pasta, pizza, burgers, noodles, beer. Dairy products: Milk, cheese, yoghurt, milk chocolate. Refined sugar: Candy, juices that aren’t 1. Soy: Soybeans, soy sauce. Low quality meats. Alcohol. I could spend an entire day listing studies that support my arguments in order to try and convince about why you should minimise your intake of these foods but that’s pointless because when it comes to training and nutrition, you can find studies that support almost anything you want them to. Therefore, instead of me convincing you, I suggest you convince yourself. Try cutting these foods out for just 4 days and see for yourself how you feel because that’s the ONLY real way to evaluate how diet changes work for YOU. I’ve had countless readers and clients cut out these foods from their diet and here are some of the benefits they experienced: Getting rid of puffy nipples (had several guys in their teenage years completely LOSE their puffy nipples after removing these foods from their diet). Losing 1. 0- 2. 0 pounds in the first 4- 8 weeks. Clearing up acne on the face. Correcting digestive issues such as constipation. Less bloating and gas in the stomach. Feeling lighter and more energised throughout the day. Once you’ve cut out these foods, you want to increase your intake of testosterone boosting foods such as High grade Omega- 3 fatty acids, green vegetables, fruits and nuts. High grade Omega- 3 fatty acids and green vegetables are by far the most important for your natural testosterone production because: Close to 9. Omega- 3 Index. When you correct your Omega- 3 Index, you will reduce the production of the hormone SHBG which binds to testosterone while boosting the hormone LH which triggers testosterone production. This results in an increase in your free testosterone production. Green vegetables have a variety of vitamins and minerals that boost testosterone. For example, when you increase your intake of spinach, you will get more magnesium through your diet and magnesium is one of the minerals that boosts your natural testosterone production. And remember, Popeye wouldn’t be that strong if he didn’t eat his spinach!! The easiest way to ensure that you get enough Omega- 3 fatty acids and green vegetables is to supplement with HIGH GRADE supplements. For more information on my top recommended supplements, read my post “Why You Should Take Omega- 3 and Greens”. Sculpt Your Chest With the Diamond Push Up and Low Cable Fly. In addition to diet, it’s crucial that you sculpt the chest with my favorite chest exercise, the diamond push up. The diamond push up is a staple exercise in my free bodyweight program for skinny- fat guys and it’s by far the best beginner exercise to sculpt your chest. The reason to why diamond push ups work so well is because it targets the upper and inner chest, while the puffy nipples are located in the lower chest. When you build up the upper and inner chest, you will make your chest look more masculine and your puffy nipples will look smaller. A good beginner goal to aim for is to achieve 3. The other exercise that is great for the upper chest is the low cable fly. The benefit of the low cable fly is that it contracts your chest from the bottom to the top. This movement cannot be replicated by any other exercise! One of the most popular lower chest exercises is that flat barbell bench press and any other flat variation of benching. Dips also develop the lower chest. These exercises will only make your puffy nipples look worse, so don’t do them. Only include exercises that work the upper and inner chest. Some of You Will Need Surgery Because There are 2 Types Of Puffy Nipples. While proper training and diet will help most of you get a sculpted chest you’re proud of, for some it will not be enough. The reasoning is that there are 2 types of man boobs: 1) Gynecomastia and 2) “Regular” man boobs. If you’re +2. 0 pounds overweight you most likely have regular man boobs as a result of fat tissue. If you’re lean all over your body but you have man boobs, it’s most likely gynecomastia. Gynecomastia = Man boobs as a result of GLANDULAR TISSUE.“Regular” man boobs = Man boobs as a result of FAT TISSUE. Gynecomastia cannot be fixed through diet and exercise because it consists of glandular tissue in the lower part of your chest and not fat. You can burn fat through diet and exercise, but you can’t burn the gland. Gynecomastia comes in different degrees ranging from minor to severe and the gland is located in the lower part of your chest. This gives your chest the appearance of man boobs, since the gland “pushes” out your nipple and makes it puffy. The puffy nipples are especially visible when you wear a tight t shirt, sit down or when you are in humid or hot weather. In contrast, they are barely visible when it’s windy, cold or you have just been in the water. To check for gynecomastia, simply put two of your fingers around your nipple and squeeze. I couldn’t be happier with the results!(For those of you from Denmark, here’s a link to my surgeon’s clinic)Conclusion. Some of you reading this, cannot afford to take out 3,0. This will often make you tempted to look for a “quick fix” such as drugs or hormones that will remove your gynecomastia. Be sure to follow my daily updates on my facebook page and instagram and check out my You. Tube transformation video. Be proud but stay hungry,Oskar Faarkrog. Download my bodyweight training program for skinny- fat guys (6. Top 7 Most Common Reactions to Your High- Fat Diet (and How to Respond)A couple weeks back, I wrote about the top 8 most common reactions you get when people hear you don’t eat grains, and I offered up some concise responses to those reactions. It was well received, so I thought I’d do the same thing for “your high- fat diet.” If you thought having to explain your grain- free diet was tough, explaining a high- fat diet – in particular, a high- animal fat diet – may seem even harder. At least with a grain- free diet, you’re merely removing something that many hold near and dear to their hearts. It’s “healthy” and “delicious,” sure, but at least you’re not adding something that will actively kill you. Fat is that deadly thing, for many people. It’s “fat,” for crying out loud. It’s bad for you, practically a poison. I mean, have you seen what fat down the kitchen drain does to your plumbing? Actually, like the grain- free diet, explaining the high- fat diet is not that hard. I’ll even promise you that there are ways to do it, explanations and answers that don’t make you seem like a crazy person who hates his heart (I make no such promises for those of you with a stick of butter with bite marks and a tub of coconut oil with a greasy spoon beside it on your office desk, however). Now let’s get right to their questions and responses you can use: “Isn’t all that fat gonna glom onto your arteries?”That isn’t how it works. Atherosclerosis is caused by oxidized LDL particles penetrating the arterial wall, inciting inflammation, and damaging the arterial tissue. It is not caused by fat mechanistically attaching itself to the surface of the arteries like fat in a kitchen pipe. Also, it’s not like you eat some butter and that butter gets directed straight into your bloodstream. Your blood doesn’t have oil slicks running through it, or congealed droplets of grease gumming up the passageways. You are the product of millions upon millions of years of evolution, and I think our bodies can do better than trying to ape modern plumbing. Response: “My arteries are not pipes. Fat is not solidifying in my blood like it can in the plumbing. Atherosclerosis is a complex process with dozens of factors beyond what’s in your diet, let alone the fat content.”“Isn’t all that cholesterol gonna raise your cholesterol?”If I were a rabbit, sure. When you feed cholesterol to an herbivorous animal, like a rabbit, whose only encounters with dietary cholesterol occur in a lab setting, their blood lipids will increase and they will usually develop atherosclerosis. For many years, the “cholesterol- fed rabbit” was a popular model for studying heart disease and gave rise to the now- popular idea that dietary cholesterol also elevates blood lipids in humans (thus immediately condemning them to a heart attack, naturally). Except it isn’t the case. Save for a select few who are “hyper- responders,” the vast majority of people can eat cholesterol without it affecting their cholesterol levels. And even when dietary cholesterol affects blood lipids, it’s usually an improvement, increasing HDL and the HDL: TC ratio while leaving LDL mostly unchanged. Boy, between “staying local” and “only making as much as we need,” our livers are downright green. I bet our HDL is GMO- free and organic to boot (not so sure about those sneaky LDL particles, though). Response: “Dietary cholesterol does not affect total blood cholesterol. In fact, when we do eat cholesterol, our bodies make less of it to keep our blood levels in balance.”“Isn’t all that fat gonna make you fat?”Fat doesn’t make you fat. While you can technically overeat enough fat calories to accumulate adipose tissue, thus getting fat, this is a difficult feat, for two primary reasons: Fat is very satiating, especially when paired with low- carb eating. Grass- fed pot roast, ribbed with yellow fat, connective tissue, and ample protein is far more filling than some crusty bread spread with butter. You’ll eat a decent slice of the former and be done, but you could easily polish off half a loaf of the latter with half a stick of butter and still be hungry. It’s difficult to overeat on a high- fat, low- carb diet. Dietary fat in the presence of large amounts of dietary carbohydrates can make it difficult to access fat for energy, while dietary fat in the presence of low levels of dietary carbohydrates makes it easier to access fat for energy. Couple that with the fact that fat and carbs are easier to overeat together, and you have your explanation. That means it’s fat that’s being lost (rather than the nebulous “weight”), which is what we’re ultimately after. Response: “No. Eating a high- fat, low- carb diet is the easiest way to inadvertently eat less without sacrificing satiation or satisfaction. It also improves your ability to access stored body fat rather than lean mass, which is helpful for fat loss.”“But Dean Ornish/my mom/Walter Willet/the AHA/my doctor said saturated fat will give you heart attacks.”They all may say that, and sound pretty convincing as they say it, but the science says differently. I tend to listen to the science, rather than what I think the science is saying: A 2. CHO with high glycaemic index is more effective in the prevention of CVD than reducing SAFA intake per se.”From a 2. At 9 calories per gram, fat is the densest source of energy. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but humans tend to store it on their bodies. That’s not just for show, you know. We actually store it in our bodies as energy for later, for leaner times, for when food isn’t available. Fat is the ideal energy source for life’s daily activities; walking, working, even going for a hike or a light jog all access the oxidative, or fat- based energy pathway. Carbs only really come into play when you’re doing repeated bouts of intense exercise, like sprint intervals or high- intensity endurance training. But for just about everything else? Fat is king. Response: “Fat is the body’s preferred and most reliable form of energy, which is why we store excess energy as fat on our bodies. Unless you think we accumulate body fat just to make pants fit tighter.”“But isn’t fat totally free of nutrients? How do you get your vitamins if you’re eating all that fat?”The richest source of natural tocotrienols (vitamin E), potent antioxidants, is red palm oil – a fat. One of the richest sources of choline, a vital micronutrient for liver function, is egg yolk – a fat. One of the better sources of vitamin K2, an oft- ignored nutrient involved in cancer prevention, arterial health, and bone metabolism, is grass- fed butter – a fat. The best dietary source of vitamin D, a nutrient most people are deficient in, is cod liver oil – a fat. See what I mean? Also, even when you’re cooking with a fat that doesn’t contain many vitamins, that fat is still going to improve the bioavailability of the fat- soluble vitamins (like A, D, E, K, K2) in the food you’re cooking. Response: “Certain fats, like egg yolks, palm oil, extra virgin olive oil, cod liver oil, and grass- fed butter, are some of the most nutritious foods in existence. And without fat in your meals, you often won’t absorb all the nutrients that are present in other foods like leafy greens, since many of them require fat for full absorption.”“Doesn’t the brain run on carbs, not fat?”Yes, the brain requires glucose. However, the brain is more of a gas/diesel hybrid. It can run on both fat and glucose. Ketones, derived from fatty acids, can satisfy the majority of the brain’s energy needs, sparing the need for so much glucose. And, best of all, your brain will run more efficiently on a combination of ketones and glucose than on glucose alone. That improved efficiency means you can actually function without food. Since you have ample brain energy stores on your body (even the lean among us have enough body fat to last for weeks), and a high- fat diet allows you to access that body fat for brain energy, you’ll no longer suffer brain fog just because your afternoon meeting went a little long and you missed lunch. Instead, you’ll enjoy steadier, more even energy in mind and body. Additionally, your body, through a process know as gluconeogenesis, can make up to 1. Response: “While it’s true that the brain requires some glucose for energy, using fat- derived ketones as well can make the brain run more efficiently and reduce its glucose requirements. On top of that, your body can probably create more glucose than your brain even requires.”Compared to last week’s grains post, there were fewer entries today, the simple reason being that while grains are hyped beyond belief, people have but a few scant – albeit robustly defended – justifications for fearing dietary fat. The backlash almost always revolves around the visceral fear of “fat.” It’s a scary word, after all, but it shouldn’t be. No one should fear something so vital to life, so crucial for nutrient absorption and hormonal function, and so delicious with roasted vegetables. Hopefully, these responses will help curb some of that fear. So, what’d I miss? What else have you heard, and how did you respond? Let me and everyone know in the comments! Prefer listening to reading? Get an audio recording of this blog post, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast on i. Tunes for instant access to all past, present and future episodes here. Subscribe to the Newsletter. If you'd like to add.
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May 2017
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