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How to Distinguish Food from Food-like Products

INTRODUCTION: National dietary guidelines in both Canada and the US focus on the variety of foods available in each of several defined ‘food groups’ and make recommendations about “healthy eating” based on how much of particular nutrients are in specific foods.  In Canada for example, foods that are rich in saturated fat, sodium or sugar are said to undermine health. This type of classification results in dishes rich in cheese and fried chicken both being deemed as unhealthy, as both are high in saturated fat and sodium. 

This article outlines an internationally established way of classifying foods that is based on the degree of food processing they have undergone — which I believe provides a better framework to help people to choose which foods they should aim to eat most often.

Many of us have heard the alarming health statistics in both the US and Canada, but they are worth repeating.

Obesity has risen in Canada from < 10% in 1970-1972 to almost 15% in 1989, to over 23% in 2004 [1,2]. That is, in the early 1970s, only one in 10 people in Canada was obese and now almost 1 in 4 people in Canada are obese [3]. The prevalence of obesity among American adults is almost 40% as of 2015-6 [4]. 

And it’s not only adults.

As of 2015, over 10% (1 in 10) children between the ages of 5 and 17 years of age in Canada were obese[3] and that figure rises to 20% (1 in 5 kids) in the United States [4]. 

It’s not only obesity.

As of 2015,  >25% of Canadians adults have been diagnosed with high blood pressure[3] and as of 2013, >30% of American adults have high blood pressure [5]. That’s 1 in 4 in Canada and 1 in 3 in the US [4] with hypertension; a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke.

Over 8% in Canada have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD) [3] and in the US, coronary heart disease accounts for ~13% of deaths as of 2016 [6] and over 8% of Canadians has diabetes [3] and in the US, almost 9.5% of Americans has diabetes [7].

What has changed over this time period to account for this? 

Too Many Carbs?

When I first started writing articles about obesity and the increased rates of metabolic diseases ~ 4 years ago, I thought it was largely related to the increased in carbohydrate content of the diet due to changes in the national dietary guidelines that occurred in Canada and the US in 1977. To some degree there is a relationship between these, but it is not as clear-cut as I once thought.

Industrial Seed Oils (Polyunsaturated Vegetable Oil)

With further reading in the scientific literature, I came to believe that it was the inclusion of novel “seed oils” (also called “polyunsaturated vegetable oil”) including canola, soybean, corn and cottonseed oil — along with too much carbohydrate in the diet that lay at the root of obesity and metabolic disease and while this is certainly part of the story, I was still missing a vital piece of the puzzle.

Manufactured Food-like Products

As national dietary guidelines in both Canada and the US in 1977 focused on reducing dietary intake of fat — especially saturated fat, food manufacturers sought to fill the gap left by the removal of butter, cream, lard and tallow (saturated fats) from the diet, and began to manufacture products that were made up of both refined carbohydrate and industrial seed oils (“polyunsaturated vegetable oils”). The food industry heavily marketed these manufactured products and promoted them as being “low in saturated fat”, which was perceived by the general public as being equivalent to “healthy”.

Since the mid-1980s, the food supplies of high-income countries such as Canada, the US, Australia and the UK have been dominated by pre-packaged, ready-to-eat “convenience foods” [13]. In fact, the percentage of energy (calories) in the diet of Canadians of these “ultra-processed foods” rose from <25% in 1938 (when manufactured products such as Crisco and soy oil were first created) to almost 54% in 2011 (9). Similar trends have been observed worldwide (10-12).

It is my now my conviction that it has been the over-consumption of these ultra-processed “convenience foods” that are high in both refined carbohydrate and seed oils which precipitated the huge deterioration of the Western diet, and which has fueled the concurrent epidemics of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases, such as hypertension and coronary heart disease [8].

Hundreds of thousands of people in Canada, and millions worldwide are metabolically unwell because the bulk of the diet has centered around eating these manufactured food-like products — from our morning sweetened cereal or spreads on toast to the burger with ‘plastic cheese’ and French fries we grab in place of real food.

So how do we distinguish real food from food-like products?

The NOVA Food Classification system – defining “processed food”

From the time food is harvested to when it is eaten, most food is processed in some way. Some of this processing may be as simple as peeling and chopping it, to cooking it, but food doesn’t become “unhealthy” just because it is processed. The issue is how much it is processed.

NOVA is a food classification system developed in Brazil and used in the US, Canada and other countries around the world to define the level of food processing.

The NOVA definition of types of food processing are as follows [13]:

Minimally processed foods are defined as ”unprocessed foods altered in ways that do not add or introduce any new substance (such as fats, sugars, or salt) but often involve removal of parts of the food.”  Examples of these include fresh, dry, or frozen vegetables, root vegetables, grains and legumes, fruits and nuts, and meats, fish, seafood, eggs, and milk [13]. For the most part, minimal processing is what’s involved in preparing it for eating and/or improving its palatability.

Processed foods are defined as ”foods made by adding fats, oils, sugars, salt, and other culinary ingredients to minimally processed foods to make them more durable and usually more palatable, and by various methods of preservation“.  They include simple breads and cheeses; salted, pickled or cured meats, fish and seafood; and vegetables, legumes, fruits and animal foods preserved in oil, brine or syrup.

Canned fish in oil would fall in this category, as would hummus (ground chickpeas with sesame seed butter, garlic and lemon juice), as well as bacon and sausages.

These foods can be part of a healthy diet, depending on how they are prepared and used in dishes and meals [13] and how much of these are eaten at a time.

Ultra processed foods are defined as ”not modified foods, but formulations of industrial ingredients and other substances derived from foods, plus additives. They mostly contain little if any intact food. The purpose of ultra-processing is to create products that are convenient (durable, ready-to-eat, -drink or -heat), attractive (hyper- palatable), and profitable (cheap ingredients). Their effect all over the world is to displace all other food groups. They are usually branded assertively, packaged attractively, and marketed intensively.“

Foundations for Healthy Eating using Degree of Food Processing

I like to define foods as being either “everyday foods” or “sometimes foods”.  The issue is how much and how often we eat them.

“Everyday Foods”

Choosing foods to make up a meal should aim to include mostly unprocessed foods (whole foods in their original state) and minimally processed foods. This is how our grand-parents and great-grandparents ate (when obesity, hypertension and diabetes rates were a fraction of what they are now!).

Another way to determine what foods to include in a meal is to eat food that your great-grandparents would recognize as food.

“Sometimes Foods”

For people who are metabolically healthy, eating “processed foods” such as breads and cheese,  salted, pickled or cured foods (including meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, legumes) and whole foods preserved in oil or brine are perfectly fine to add to unprocessed foods (whole foods in their original state) and minimally processed foods to make up a meal.

For those who are already overweight or metabolically unhealthy, focusing on making up a meal of real, whole foods in their original state (i.e. unprocessed foods) and minimally processed foods is best, while limiting processed foods. How much bacon, olives, bread and cheese can be eaten really depends on a person’s metabolic health. This is where having a Meal Plan designed by a Dietitian is helpful because everybody’s needs are different.

Ultra-Processed Food

Ultra-processed food isn’t food. They are products made from a combination of refined carbohydrates (including sugar) and seed oils. These are convenient, hyper-palatable and cheap, and displace real food in the diet.

According to a 2015 study, some of the most addictive foods are in this category; including breakfast cereal, muffins, pizza, cheeseburgers, French fries and fried chicken — as are the desserts that often eaten with them including chocolate, ice cream, cookies and cake, and the soda we wash them down with. Even our favourite snacks like popcorn and chips are really nothing more than a combination of refined carbs and industrial seed oil eaten in place of real food.

Fifteen Most Addictive Fast Foods

These ultra-processed food-like products are intended to displace real food in the diet and as such are not something we should consider as components for making up a meal.

Does that mean we should never eat a slice of pizza or a cheeseburger? Of course not. But let’s be fully aware that this is not real food. It is something we eat in place of real food.

As well, there is a huge difference between a homemade burger with real melted cheddar cheese on top — sandwiched between fresh leaf lettuce and tomato, and what can be picked up at a 1000 drive-throughs in cities around the Western world.

National Food Guidelines as foundations for healthy eating

National food guidelines in both Canada and the US have traditionally categorized food based on the variety available in each food group; including grains and cereals, vegetables &/or fruit. milk and dairy, and meats and alternatives.

New Canada Food Guide (2019)

In the case of the new Canada Food Guide, it recently eliminated the Milk and Dairy food group and combined those foods with Protein foods. The other two food groups are now Grains and Vegetables and Fruit.

The new Guide centers it’s dietary advice around 3 “Guidelines”.

 

Guideline 1 of the new Canada Food Guide focuses on eating from the different food groups and stresses that Canadians should eat plant-based foods more often because they lower intake of saturated fat. 

Guideline 2 of the new Canada Food Guide encourages Canadians to limit processed or prepared foods and states the reason is because they contribute excess sodium, sugar and saturated fat.

Based on this definition, dishes made with lots of cheese and fried chicken are high in saturated fat and sodium, and thus are categorize as foods that undermine healthy eating.

Does eating cheese really undermine healthy eating?

Or a rib steak?

Or milk?

As covered in previous articles I’ve written on the new Canada Food Guide,  I am not convinced that there is a compelling reason to limit real, whole food simply because it is high in saturated fat.

Guideline 3 of the new Canada Food Guide encourages Canadians to learn how to prepare and cook their own food and promotes the use of nutritional food labels as a tool to help them make informed choices.

The fact is, there are no nutrition food labels on unprocessed food (real, whole foods).

Choosing Healthy Food

As I’ve said in prior articles, Canadians can use the new Canada Food Guide to make up healthy meals by focusing on the part of Guideline 1 which encourages them to eat “real, whole food” and on the part of Guideline 2 which encourages them to “limit processed or prepared foods” — and by defining “processed foods” using the NOVA category of “ultra-processed foods” given above. In this way they will be able to design meals with a wide range of healthy and interesting foods.

Defining what is healthy based on how much a food is processed makes good sense. In this way people are free to add bread and cheese,  and salted, pickled or cured foods (including meat, fish, seafood, vegetables, legumes) to their unprocessed foods (whole foods in their original state) and minimally processed foods to make up an interesting and healthful meal.

Furthermore, categorizing food using the NOVA categories based on the degree of food processing avoids lumping foods made with lots of real cheese with fried chicken as those that undermine healthy eating, based on their saturated fat and sodium content.

More Info?

If you would like to have a Meal Plan designed to meet your health and nutritional needs, I can help.

You can learn more about my services under the Services tab or in the Shop. If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchf-rd/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd
Fipboard: http://flip.it/ynX-aq

Copyright ©2019 The Low Carb Healthy Fat Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

References

  1. Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Institute for Health Information. Obesity in Canada. A joint report from the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada & Canadian Institute for Health Information; 2009. 62 pages.
  2. Katzmarzyk PT. The Canadian obesity epidemic: an historical perspective. Obes Res. 2002, Jul;10(7):666-74.
  3. Public Health Agency of Canada. Canadian Chronic Disease Indicators, Quick Stats, 2017 edition. Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada; 2017. 4 pages
  4. NCHS Data Brief, Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States, 2015-2016, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db288.pdf
  5. American Heart Association, Statistical Fact Sheet 2013 Update, High Blood Pressure, https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_319587.pdf
  6. American Heart Association, Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2019 At-a-Glance, https://healthmetrics.heart.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/At-A-Glance-Heart-Disease-and-Stroke-Statistics-%E2%80%93-2019.pdf
  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New CDC report: More than 100 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes, https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0718-diabetes-report.html
  8. Liu AG, Ford NA, Hu FB, Zelman KM, Mozaffarian D, Kris-Etherton PM. A healthy approach to dietary fats: understanding the science and taking action to reduce consumer confusion. Nutr J. 2017 Aug 30;16(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s12937-017-0271-4.
  9. Moubarac JC, Batal M, Martins AP, Claro R, Levy RB, Cannon G, et al. Processed and ultraprocessed food products: Consumption trends in Canada from 1938 to 2011. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2014 Spring;75(1):15-21.
  10. Monteiro CA, Moubarac J-C, Cannon G., Ng SW, Popkin B. Ultra-processed products are
    becoming dominant in the global food system. Obes Rev. 2013 Nov;14 Suppl 2:21-8. doi: 10.1111/obr.12107.
  11. Moodie R, Stuckler D, Monteiro C, Sheron N, Neal B, Thamarangsi T, et al. Profits and pandemics: prevention of harmful effects of tobacco, alcohol, and ultraprocessed food and drink industries. The Lancet. 2013 Feb 23;381(9867):670-9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)62089-3.
  12. Baker P, Friel S. Food systems transformations, ultra-processed food markets and the nutrition transition in Asia. Global Health. 2016 Dec 3;12(1):80.
  13. Moubarac JC. Ultra-processed foods in Canada: consumption, impact on diet quality and policy implications. Montréal: TRANSNUT, University of Montreal; December 2017.
  14. Schulte EM, Avena NM, Gearhardt AN (2015) Which Foods May be Addictive? The Roles of Processing, Fat Content and Glycemic Load. PLoS ONE 10(2); e0117959. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0117959

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Half a Million Visitors!

Today, the Low Carb Healthy Fat Dietitian web site greeted its 500,000th visitor. That’s half a million people!

When I launched this division of my practice a year and a half ago, I could not have possibly imagined that so many people would have visited the site in such a short period of time.

I am truly humbled that this web site is of interest to so many people, including many clinicians.

Top Five Articles to Date

Out of the almost 170 Science Made Simple articles that I have written so far, the top five are;

  1. When Normal Fasting Blood Glucose Results aren’t Necessarily Normal (November 26, 2018) – When people have a fasting blood glucose test and the results come back normal they’re told or assume that everything’s fine. But is it?
  2. New Study: Dietary Saturated Fat is not Associated with Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) (April 7, 2019) – A new meta-analysis of 43 studies did not find that higher saturated fat intake is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events.
  3. Low Carb Diet in 2019 American Diabetes Association’s Standard of Care (December 18, 2018) – The ADA states that a low-carbohydrate diet is safe and effective in adults to lower blood sugar, reduce Diabetes medication usage and support weight loss.
  4. Importance of Waist Circumference and Waist to Height Ratio (May 22, 2018) – Waist to height ratio is a much better predictor of cardiovascular risk and shorter lifespan than BMI. This article explains how to properly measure this.
  5. American Diabetes Association Low Carb Recommendations – one page printout (December 19, 2018) which has since been updated by this one – A one page downloadable printout that you can give your doctor or healthcare provider.

You may want to read some of the above articles or to browse through the many other Science Made Simple articles available by clicking here.

If you want to read about something in particular, feel free to use the search bar located in the lower left corner of each page to search for articles by subject.

Most Popular Recipes

Hands-down, the most popular recipe I have posted in the year and a half since The Low Carb Health Fat Dietitian was launched has been Keto Yeast Rolls, with almost 32,000 people, as well as the slightly larger-sized Kaiser bun recipe that is posted here.

The second most popular has been Low Carb Beer Batter Fish, with almost 11,000 visitors.

 

A Dietitian’s Journey

A Dietitian’s Journey is my own (n=1) personal account of following a low carbohydrate diet in order to improve my previous ill-health.

My journey began March 5, 2017 at which time I was obese, had been Type 2 Diabetic for 8 years, had very high blood pressure as well as abnormal cholesterol and triglycerides, along with mast cell disorder (which increases both blood sugar and blood pressure). I was most unwell.

I am now in remission of Type 2 Diabetes, have almost-normal blood pressure, ideal cholesterol and triglycerides and have achieved my waist-to-height goal by losing 55 pounds and have been in maintenance mode for several months.

From an Idea to Practice

I first heard about the therapeutic use of a low carbohydrate diet almost 5 years ago from a retired physician-friend and while she was my initial source of research articles on the topic, so much has been published since! Keeping up with the literature in the field and writing articles in plain, non-technical English so that people without a science background can understand has taken up much of my free time.

As my practice has expanded, most of my time is dedicated to seeing clients, but when a new study is published or landmark decisions are made (such as professional associations adopting low carb or ketogenic diets) I take the time to write about it.

With low carbohydrate and ketogenic meal patterns now recognized as Medical Nutrition Therapy by the American Diabetes Association and corresponding groups in Europe, the UK and Australia, it is a very exciting time to be a clinician working in this area.

More Info?

If you would like more information about the services I provide and their costs, you can find this under the Services tab and in the Shop.

If you would like to know how I can help support your own weight-loss or health-recovery goals or to help you reduce risk of chronic disease, please send me a note using the Contact Me form above.

To our good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

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The Three Concepts that Canada’s Food Guide Got (Mostly) Right

Note: this article is both an editorial (expressing my personal opinion on the subject) as well as a Science Made Simple article, rooted in the literature.

The new Canada’s Food Guide (CFG) hangs on three Guidelines and unfortunately many people discount the Guide entirely because of the caveats to which they are linked. In my opinion, this is a little bit like “throwing the baby out with the bath water”. The essence of the three Guidelines are sound and worth considering.

I have elaborated at length in previous fully referenced articles (such as here and here) as to why I believe that one of these caveats; the insistence that dietary saturated fat is associated with heart disease is less than clear. Even the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation position statement titled ”Saturated Fat, Heart Disease and Stroke” released in September 2015 concludes the same, but that does not mean that the Guidelines themselves should be entirely discounted or discarded.

I have also explained in a few previous articles (such as this one and this one) why I believe that a diet that is highly carbohydrate-centric may not be suitable for the vast numbers of people that are already metabolically unwell (88% based on a recent US study) and that a meal pattern that has a lower percentage of carbohydrate would be better suited to those who are insulin resistance, or who are already pre-diabetic or have Type 2 Diabetes already. That said, the three Guidelines on which the new Canada’s Food Guide is based are largely correct.

In this article, I will highlight what I feel the new Canada Food Guide got entirely right.

Guideline 1 – Real, whole food

Guideline 1 – vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein foods should be consumed regularly

Guideline 1 of the new CFG is that nutritious foods are the foundation for healthy eating and the Guide defines nutritious foods as vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein foods that include fish, shellfish, eggs, poultry, lean red meat including wild game, milk, yogurt, kefir and cheese, as well as legumes, nuts, seeds, tofu and fortified soy beverages.

The caveat to this advice that plant-based should be chosen more often and that animal-based foods be lower in fat and sodium and this is based on the enduring belief that foods containing saturated fat and/or sodium contribute to heart disease.

As mentioned above, I’ve already addressed the saturated fat issue in several previous articles and the concern about excess carbohydrate-based foods for those who are metabolically unwell, but it is true that nutritious foods as vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein foods that include fish, shellfish, eggs, poultry, lean red meat including wild game, milk, yogurt, kefir and cheese, as well as legumes, nuts, seeds, tofu and fortified soy beverages are nutritious foods.

Yes!

Whole vegetables and whole fruit, and a variety of animal based and even plant-based protein foods and even unrefined grains are nutritious foods and suitable for healthy individuals.

How much and what types of fruit and how much and what type of carbohydrate-based foods a given person should consume will vary depending on a their specific metabolic health, however there is no reason to vilify any whole food as being unhealthy.

For more information about why I don’t believe that carbohydrates are inherently “evil” please read my previous article titled Carbohydrates Are Not Evil located here.

Vegetarians can choose their protein as tofu, nuts and seeds, yogurt, kefir, eggs and cheese, whereas pescatarians can include fish and seafood, and omnivores can include meat, including wild game — and all can include whole vegetables and fruit. Inclusion of “healthy whole grains”, as well as how much and how often really depends on which meal patterns someone has chosen, as well as their metabolic health. The matter as to whether one can exclude an entire food group is addressed in this previous article.

Regardless of a person’s chosen meal pattern — be it whole-food plant-based, whole-food pescetarian or omivore, Mediterranean or low carbohydrate, whole, real food is nutritious food.

I decided to pull some food out of my own fridge and take a picture of what whole, real, food looks like in my own meal pattern (low carbohydrate omnivore), but this by no means defines or limits what nutritious food can look like for you!

Example of whole, real food (low carb omnivore)

Perhaps the idea of buying a chicken the way I choose to doesn’t appeal to you and you’d prefer to buy yours boneless and skinless wrapped in plastic on a Styrofoam tray. Go for it! It’s still nutritious, real food.

Buying a whole rotisserie chicken at the store is totally good, too!

So is buying pre-made salad or veggies that are already cut up and frozen or packed ready-to-cook!

If it looks like something your grandparents or great grandparents would recognize as real food, it has a greater chance of falling in what is “nutritious food”.

Guideline 2 – Limit Processed or Prepared Food

Guideline 2 – Processed or prepared foods should not be consumed regularly

Guideline 2 of the new Canada Food Guide is that processed or prepared foods should not be consumed regularly, as these undermine healthy eating.

The caveat to this advice is that these contribute to excess sodium, free sugars or saturated fat which are believed to pose a risk to health and while I’ve previously addressed some of these in earlier articles, regardless of meal pattern processed foods make more energy available for absorption than the whole food from which they are made. In the case of those who have pre-diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes, they also make more carbohydrate available for ready digestion, contributing to a higher insulin response and higher blood sugar response. More information is available in this article as well as this one).

Regardless of the type of meal pattern a person follows, processed or prepared foods ought to be “sometimes foods” and not “everyday foods” — and it doesn’t matter if the processed food is a bake-and-eat frozen pizza, a low carb fat-head pizza or a pre-prepared fake meat burger. These aren’t real, whole foods. Sure, they are nice for an occasional treat but as elaborated on in several previous articles (links above), foods prepared from refined, processed foods have a very different impact on blood sugar response and insulin response than the whole foods from which they are made. 

Remember, real, whole foods are usually ones that your grandparents or great-grandparents would recognize as real food.

Guideline 3 – Know How to Prepare and Cook Food

Guideline 3 – food skills are needed to navigate the food environment and support healthy eating

Guideline 3 of the new Guide is that food skills such as buying, preparing and cooking are needed to navigate the complex food environment and support healthy eating.

I agree.

a cut up whole chicken; ready-to-cook parts and for stock parts

Unfortunately, it is my experience that many people lack the basic skills to buy foods as simple as raw vegetables such as whole broccoli, or a whole squash and know how to prepare them for eating.

In fact, so many young people lack basic food preparation skills such as how to prepare a simple meal that some school districts have toyed with the idea of bringing back “home economics” to the secondary school curriculum.

Of course, not everyone needs to know how to cut up a chicken (such as I did to the one above) but knowing how to cut up chicken legs into drumsticks and thighs, cut up broccoli or cauliflower or prepare a salad can save people money and increase their availability to eating nutritious (real, whole) food.

Some Final Thoughts…

I said in one of my earlier articles that I consider myself a “nutritional centrist” — that I don’t feel it is necessary to be “tribal” about food allegiances.

People choose different types of meal patterns for all kinds of reasons; from vegetarianism for religious or ethical reasons, to low carb for health reasons, and my role as a Dietitian is to help support them in eating healthy, nutritious food that fits the meal pattern they have chosen.

While I have two specific misgivings about the new Canada’s Food Guide (1) their continued insistence that saturated fat is associated with heart disease and (2) a carbohydrate-centric meal pattern approach when much of the public is already metabolically unwell, there are three things the new Guide got right;

  1. Real, whole foods are nutritious and should be foundational for healthy eating
  2. It is preferable to limit processed and prepared foods
  3. Food skills such as buying, preparing and cooking are needed to support healthy eating.

More Info?

If you would like to learn how the essence of these Guidelines can be adopted to you, I can help.

You can learn more about my services under the Services tab or in the Shop. If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

References

  1. Health Canada, What are Canada’s Dietary Guidelines? https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/guidelines/what-are-canadas-dietary-guidelines/
  2. Health Canada. Food, Nutrients and Health: Interim Evidence Update 2018. Ottawa: Health Canada; 2019.
  3. Health Canada. Evidence review for dietary guidance: technical report, 2015. Ottawa: Health Canada; 2016.

 

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The Problem with Counting Net Carbs

People who eat a low carb or ketogenic diet often ask me about calculating “net carbs” and are surprised by my reply, as it differs from what they’ve read online. The commonly held advice is to subtract “fiber” from the total amount of carbohydrate on the label to arrive at “net carbs” can lead to an underestimation of nutrient intake, as well as possibly an underestimation of the effect of the food on blood glucose and insulin release when those foods are processed into other foods by grinding and/or heating.

As with other meal pattern types, a “whole foods” approach when following a low-carb lifestyle is preferable. That doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t enjoy the occasional low-carb treat, as long as they understand that a baked good prepared from almond flour is not equivalent in terms of nutrient availability to the whole almonds from which it is made.

“Net Carbs” and the Perils of Food Processing

As covered in detail in two previous articles called The Perils of Food Processing (Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here),  I showed that both the amount and type of food processing applied to a food impacts the amount of nutrients available for absorption by the body, as well as having varying effects on the body’s insulin and blood sugar response. 

“Food processing” in this context means that amount that a food undergoes cutting or grinding and/or cooking in someway, including baking. Mechanical processing, such pounding or grinding food is an ancient form of food processing which has an effect on how many nutrients are available to be digested.

That is, the nutrients available to the body when food is eaten raw and whole versus raw and pounded is significant, and this holds true whether the food is animal protein such as meat or a starchy vegetable such as sweet potato. It is also true for foods such as almonds.

The availability of carbohydrate and energy is different for whole, raw almonds versus ground almonds such as almond flour — a staple in low carb and keto baking. More on that, below.

Changes in Insulin and Blood Glucose Response Resulting from Food Processing

As covered in the first article linked to above, mechanical processing of a food doesn’t change the amount of carbohydrate that is in it. That is, when we compare 60 g of whole apple with 60 g of pureed apple or 60 g of juiced apple, there is the same amount of carbohydrate in each. The Glycemic Index of these three are very similar so this isn’t very helpful to inform about the blood glucose response to actually eating these different foods.

When these foods are eaten, the insulin response and blood glucose response 90 minutes later is significantly  different.

As can be seen by the graph on the right, in healthy individuals blood insulin level goes very high with the juiced apple and in response, blood glucose then goes very low, below baseline. The response seen with the juiced apple is typical of what is seen with ultra-processed carbohydrates. 

The Effect of Mechanical Processing of Fruit on Blood Glucose Response – Gabor Erdosi – Food News 2018

The same effect that is true for fruit is true when grain is ground; plasma insulin response increases the smaller the particle size of the grain.

The Effect of Mechanical Processing of Wheat on Blood Glucose Response – Gabor Erdosi – Food News 2018

Whole grain releases less insulin than the same amount of cracked grains, which is less than the same amount of course flour. The highest amount of insulin is released in response to eating the same amount of fine flour.

What is true for wheat is also true for rice and of interest, there isn’t a big difference between the insulin response with brown rice versus white rice.

The Effect of Mechanical Processing of Rice on Blood Glucose Response – Gabor Erdosi – Food News 2018

While there is no difference in the Glycemic Index or Glycemic Load of whole wheat versus ground wheat or whole rice versus ground rice, there is a huge difference in the insulin response with difference types of mechanical processing.

Also as outlined in the previous articles (links above), the amount of fiber that was in the grain did not make a difference in the amount of insulin released, only the amount of mechanical processing of the grain. So, eating brown rice versus white rice won’t change the amount of insulin that is released.

Remember, insulin is a hormone that signals the body to store energy (calories), so increased insulin response in response to grinding food is important.

In short, it is the amount of cell disruption caused by grinding that increases insulin and glucose response; not the specific amount of carbohydrate in the whole food, nor the amount of fiber in the food.

For those with Type 2 Diabetes or pre-diabetes, applying “net carb” calculations to foods that have been ground is a problem; as it does not take into account the increased insulin release and resulting change in glucose response, as well as the change in energy availability caused by the grinding.

NOTE (June 2 2019): The fiber in the whole food and the ground food remains unchanged and is indigestible by the body, although it is digested by the gut microbiome into fatty acids. While fiber may slow the gastric emptying of the ground product (compared to the same product with the fiber removed), in and by itself the presence of fiber in the ground product compared to the whole food does not reduce the impact on insulin and glycemic response that the grinding causes. 

The Effect of Cooking on Nutrient Availability

Also as documented in the first of the two articles on food processing, cooking also has an effect on nutrient availability. When grains are cooked they become much more digestible — meaning that more of the nutrients are available to be absorbed. In the case of potatoes, there is double or triple the amount of energy (calories) available to the body when they are cooked versus when they are raw and these calories are now available to the body where they weren’t when they were raw.

When foods that are high in fat (lipid) such as peanuts are cooked, the amount of energy the body is able to derive from the food, increases.

The Effect of Cooking Lipid (fat) and Protein-rich Foods on Nutrient Availability – Gabor Erdosi Food News 2018
Does Food Processing Affect Almonds?

Yesterday, in preparing to write this article, I was curious if there was any information available specifically about almonds as almond flour is used in most low-carb and “keto” baked goods.

I went looking and found a September 2016 article in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology titled “A review of the impact of processing on nutrient bioaccessibility and digestion of almonds”[1] which documents the most common processing technique used on almonds and their effect on the digestion of nutrients.

In short, lab studies and animal and human studies demonstrate that there are marked differences in the way various forms of almonds (whole raw, whole roasted, blanched, milled flour) are digested and the amount of different macronutrients that are absorbed.

What is true with grinding grain, apples and peanuts holds true for almonds.

It is reasonable to assume that the body’s release of insulin and the corresponding glucose response is similarly changed by the increased bioavailablity of nutrients in those processed foods.

Ultra-processed foods, whether fruit, grains, or nuts are not treated by the body the same as whole, unprocessed foods. The macronutrient availability (i.e. amount of carbohydrate and energy) in whole, unprocessed foods is not the same as in the same foods that have been ground and/or heated, and the amount of insulin released and glucose absorbed can differ too.

Final Thoughts on “Net Carbs”

One cannot simply subtract the fiber that is contained in the whole, unprocessed food from the total carbohydrate content of the processed food and arrive at “net carbs” because the amount of macronutrient absorption of the food is increased due to the cell disruption of grinding and heating. For those with Type 2 Diabetes or pre-diabetes, one also needs to factor in the differential impact on insulin and blood glucose release that results from the food processing.

One can subtract the fiber in whole, raw almonds and arrive at “net carbs” on the assumption that the fiber is indigestible by the body and that the other nutrients listed on the label apply to the food in it’s current form, but roasting and grinding those same almonds into almond butter or grinding those almonds into almond flour and then baking (i.e. cooking) them into a host of low carb or keto ‘treats’ on the basis of their low “net carb” content can significantly underestimate their total macronutrient content. 

Should one choose to use the idea of “net carbs”, it should be applied only to whole, unprocessed (not ground or heated) foods.

Ultra-processed foods, irrespective of the carbohydrate content of the original whole, unprocessed foods from which they are made are not equivalent in nutrient availability or the body’s response to them as to whole, unprocessed foods. 

While low-carb and keto ‘treats’ may be nice as “sometimes foods”, they are not ideal as “everyday foods” if weight loss and lowering blood glucose and insulin response are goals.

More Info?

If you would like to know more about following a low carbohydrate lifestyle or to adopt it for health reasons, I can help. You can learn more about my services under the Services tab or in the Shop. If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

Reference

  1. Grundy MM, Lapsley K, Ellis PR. A review of the impact of processing on nutrient bioaccessibility and digestion of almonds. Int J Food Sci Technol. 2016;51(9):1937—1946. doi:10.1111/ijfs.13192          
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How Reliable is Glycemic Index for Predicting Blood Sugar Response?

In my last post, I shared some infographics developed by Dr. David Unwin, a UK General Practitioner that help communicate the concept of Glycemic Index (GI) & specifically Glyemic Load (GL) in terms of how they impact blood sugar compared to teaspoons of ordinary table sugar.

Below is one of those infographics;

Infographic for health professionals to show how the glycemic index helps inform dietary choices (from Unwin D, Haslam D, Livesey G. It is the glycaemic response to, not the carbohydrate content of food that matters in diabetes and obesity: The glycaemic index revisited. Journal of Insulin Resistance. 2016;1(1))

Glycemic Response Represented as Teaspoons of Sugar

(Reference “from bit.lv.carbs-vs-fat”)

The infographic to the left has been making the rounds recently on social media and is based on the idea that high Glycemic Index (GI) foods can be represented by the effect those foods have on people’s blood sugar, compared to teaspoons of sugar.

It is not dissimilar to the infographic that I designed below for the previous article , based on Dr. Unwin’s work (1).    

The problem is, these tools are only as useful as Glycemic Index is reliable, so the questions is, is GI (and GL which is derived from it) reliable for predicting blood sugar response?

That is, if the Glycemic Index (GI) values (1) change between individuals for the same amount of the same food or (2) if they change value within the same individual when they are assessed at different times, then they cannot be relied on to predict blood sugar response in an individual.

Is Glycemic Index Reliable for Predicting Blood Sugar Response?

A study published in  the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2) reported that individual response to individual carbohydrate-containing food vary so much that Glycemic Index values may not be useful in indicating blood sugar response in individuals.

The Study 

Randomized, controlled, repeated tests on 63 healthy adults participated in 6 testing sessions over a twelve week period and fasted and abstained from exercise and alcohol before each session.

During each session participants ate either (1) white bread (test food) or (2) a standardized glucose drink (reference control).

Blood sugar values were measured at several points over the next 5 hours, and Glycemic Index was derived by testing the test food and reference in the same participant according to standard method. This is usual practice to control for the variability between people which may be caused by biological differences.

Results

Out of the 63 participants, in 22 participants blood sugar response was classified as “low”, in 23 participants it was classified as “medium” and in 18 participants it was classified as “high’ for the same amount of bread. That is, white bread fell in all three Glycemic Index categories with different individuals.

In addition, responses within the same individual varied by as much as 60 points between tests.

Interpretation of the Results

The study indicated (as I also covered in a previous two-part post on the effect of food processing on blood sugar response) that blood glucose response is affected by differing physical structure of similar foods, the effect of food processing and preparation methods, as well as meal consumption patterns (single or mixed meals).

The study authors concluded that the high inter- (between people) and intra-individual (within the same person) variation that was observed in the GI value of foods essentially resulted in the results being of no practical value.

“In summary, our data indicate substantial variability in GI value  determinations for white bread despite the use of standardized methodology and multiple testing in a large number of healthy volunteers. The high degree of variability demonstrates that there is potential to misclassify foods into the 3 commonly used GI categories (low, medium, and high), which would result in the inability to distinguish between foods, thus invalidating the practical applicability of the GI value.“

 

The authors also indicated that this variability was also partly explained by differences in baseline HbA1c (i.e. glycated hemoglobin) which is an estimate of 3 month average of blood glucose control, as well as the insulin index (the differing insulin response to foods which was covered in this previous article), which both affect the GI value. 

Individual Glycemic Response

It should be noted that inter-individual and intra-individual variation in glycemic response isn’t only to white bread, as in this small study.

A 2015 study from Israel (3) involving 800 people who were monitored with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) indicates that there isn’t a universal’ blood sugar response to either low Glycemic Index foods or high Glycemic Index foods — that glycemic (blood sugar) response is very individual. 

“We continuously monitored week-long glucose levels in an 800-person cohort, measured responses to 46,898 meals, and found high variability in the response to identical meals, suggesting that universal dietary recommendations may have limited utility.”

Some Final Thoughts…

One cannot reliably predict that a specific amount of carbohydrate-based food will raise a person’s blood sugar the same amount as a certain number of teaspoons of sugar, because each carbohydrate-based food will have different effects on different people, and different effects within the same individual at different points in time.

More Info?

If you would like to know how to determine how you respond to specific carbohydrate based foods and how to know which carbohydrate-based foods spike your blood sugar and which don’t, I can help.

You can learn more about my services including individual hourly appointments and packages under the Services tab or in the Shop.

If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.  

Reference

  1. Unwin D, Haslam D, Livesey G. It is the glycaemic response to, not the carbohydrate content of food that matters in diabetes and obesity: The glycaemic index revisited. Journal of Insulin Resistance. 2016;1(1), a8. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/jir.v1i1.8
  2. Matthan NR, Ausman LM, Meng H, Tighiouart H, Lichtenstein AH. Estimating the reliability of glycemic index values and potential sources of methodological and biological variability. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016;104(4):1004—1013. doi:10.3945/ajcn.116.137208
  3. Zeevi D, Korem T, Zmora N, et al. Personalized Nutrition by Prediction of Glycemic Responses. Cell. 2015 Nov 19;163(5):1079-1094.
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How Carb-Containing Food Affects Blood Sugar Compared to Table Sugar

According to Dr. David Unwin, a UK general practitioner (family doctor) and published researcher whose practice focuses on helping people put their diabetes and pre-diabetes into remission,  blood sugar (glycemic) response to carbohydrate containing foods is what matters in both diabetes and obesity, and is even more than the absolute amount of carbohydrate in those foods. For Dr. Unwin, the challenge was to represent the effect of high Glycemic Index (GI) foods on people’s blood sugar in terms that could be easily understood. This article is about some of the infographics that Dr. Unwin has developed to help people more easily understand the concept of Glycemic Load*. 

*Note: I think it is important to cover a range of ways that credible individuals view important concepts. Dr. Unwin’s view of blood sugar response as it relates to Glycemic Load (GL) is only one of the ways that glycemic response is understood. The most obvious limitation is that GI measures blood sugar response as if the food is eaten alone, which rarely occurs.

UPDATE (May 14, 2019) Findings of a lack of reliability in Glycemic Index values is outlined in the next article, which can be accessed by clicking here.

In two earlier articles, I explained what the Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL) are, as well as the challenges with using them.

In short, the Glycemic Index (GI) ranks the carbohydrate content of food in terms of their effect on blood sugar compared to a meal of pure glucose (which is counted as 100).

Using the Glycemic Index often causes confusion because it fails to compensate for the density of each carbohydrate in a particular portion of food. That is why Glycemic Load (GL) was created, which is given as grams of glucose for a specified portion of a food. The problem is, most people have no understanding of glucose and it’s metabolic effects and as Dr. David Unwin, a General Practitioner explained in the paper below (1), many healthcare professionals also have misconceptions about the effect of food-based carbohydrates on blood sugar, as compared to glucose.

Blood Sugar Response as a Patient tool

Dr. Unwin thought that in order to best use Glycemic Load to explain blood sugar response, that it would be more helpful for patients with pre-diabetes or diabetes to be able to understand the effect on blood sugar of eating specific by comparing them to the more familiar sugar, ordinary table sugar.  Dr. Unwin developed some infographics that explain glycemic response in comparison to one (4 g) teaspoon of table sugar.

While table sugar is made up of both glucose and fructose, patients are able to understand the table sugar analogy without being confused by what glucose is (the standard used in the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load). 

Glycemic Load translated to Blood Sugar Response as a tool for Healthcare Practioners

Dr. Unwin’s and his colleagues had noted that healthcare professionals were making decisions based on Glycemic Index (GI) and assumed that carbohydrate-based foods have a lower GI than table sugar, which is not necessarily the case.

For example, the GI of table sugar is 65, but foods such as basmati rice (GI 69), whole wheat bread (GI 74) and baked potato (GI 86) have higher GIs. This incorrect assumption about many carb-based foods by healthcare professional affected food choices being recommended by them and which were then adopted by their patients, adversely impacting their blood sugar levels.

While Dr. Unwin expressed that health practitioners would be better to refer to Glycemic Load (GL) which takes into account the carbohydrate content of the food in terms of a likely portion size for that food, the concept of GL is not easily understood by their patients. That is where Dr. Unwin’s infographics may play a role.

Blood Sugar Response – a tool for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes

Below is one of the infographics developed by Dr. Unwin to explain Glycemic Index in terms of standard serving sizes (i.e. Glycemic Load) with a corresponding explanation of how that quantity of common foods affects blood sugar compared to one (4g) teaspoon of ordinary table sugar.

Infographic for health professionals to show how the glycemic index helps inform dietary choices.

In the infographic below, I’ve taken just 3 of the foods above and represented these three foods (1) visually (2) in imperial quantities and (3) in metric quantities.

Visual representation, imperial and metric portion sizes of 3 foods (Joy Y. Kiddie, MSc, RD)

In my experience people rarely eat the common portion size of foods, whether it is the recommended portion size listed in national food guides or in the Glycemic Index.

Common Portion Sizes rather than Normal Portion Sizes

As a Dietitian, I’ve come to realize that while the standard portion for cooked rice is given as a 1 cup (150 g) serving, many people eat more than 1 cup of rice at a time. In fact, the standard portion of rice in the old Canada’s Food Guide (which had recommended portions) was 1/2 cup (125 ml), which is half this amount!

The standard portion of spaghetti in the old Canada’s Food Guide was 1/2 cup (125 ml) which is half the amount listed in the GI portions and one has to ask how many people really limit their servings to 1 cups of spaghetti?  It is my experience that most people who are not restricting portions often eat 2 cups of spaghetti or more; which raises blood sugar as much as 13.2 tsp of sugar; and that is not yet counting the sauce that goes on the spaghetti!

Some adults eat only 3 small boiled baby potatoes at a time too but even if they do, that raises blood sugar as much as 9.1 tsp of table sugar!

Below are some other infographics developed by Dr. Unwin that demonstrate ordinary foods in terms of their effect on blood sugar compared to a teaspoons (4g) of ordinary table sugar.

I find the similarity between white bread and brown bread interesting. Not much difference, and if one makes a sandwich or 2 pieces of toast for breakfast, whether its white or brown bread, it raises blood sugar as much as 6- 1/2  and 7- 1/2 tsp of sugar…and that is before putting anything on the bread! 

Infographic for health professionals to show how bread products affect blood sugar (Dr. Unwin, from Public Health Collaborative https://phcuk.org/nice/)

Below is an infographic for servings of cereal, but again how many people limit themselves to 30g (1/2 cup) of cereal for breakfast? In my experience, most adults eat 1 cup of cereal as a serving, often more.

Infographic for health professionals to show how cereal products affect blood sugar (Dr. Unwin, from Public Health Collaborative https://phcuk.org/nice/)

Below is one of Dr. Unwin’s infographics with respect to fruit.

Again, the serving size here is much smaller than what is a “usual” serving in my experience.  For example, most people I’ve worked with eat a whole large banana, which is double this serving (and has the same blood glucose response as 11- 1/2 tsp of sugar).

Th fruit infographic below will also help explain why I recommend berries such as strawberries in 1/2 cup servings (which only affect blood glucose as much as a little over a tsp of table sugar).

Infographic for health professionals to show how various fruit affect blood sugar (Dr. Unwin, from Public Health Collaborative https://phcuk.org/nice/)

Some final thoughts…

As mentioned above, there are different views regarding how different carb-containing foods impact blood glucose levels. Dr. Unwin’s infographics are certainly helpful for people to better understand the concept of Glycemic Load.

If you have been recently diagnosed as having pre-diabetes or as having type 2 diabetes (T2D) and would like to work on reversing the symptoms by adopting a low carbohydrate lifestyle, I can help.

You can learn more about my services including individual hourly appointments and sessions as well as packages above under the Services tab or in the Shop.

If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

About Dr. Unwin

Dr. David Unwin, MD, is a UK general practitioner (family doctor) known for pioneering a low-carb approach to managing diabetes in the UK who won the prestigious NHS Innovator of the Year award in 2016 for his work with diabetes patients. He serves as medical advisor to the Low Carb Program which is an online platform approved by the NHS and aimed and helping individuals put type 2 diabetes and prediabetes into remission.

In 2017-2018, Dr. Unwin’s practice saved £57,000 ($99,445 CDN / $74,077 USD) on drugs for type 2 diabetes, hypertension and other conditions by offering patients a dietary alternative to medications.

In 2018, Dr. Unwin was named the 9th most influential General Practitioner (GP) in the UK by GP magazine and has written several peer-reviewed papers related to low-carbohydrate diets.

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

Reference

Unwin D, Haslam D, Livesey G. It is the glycaemic response to, not the carbohydrate content of food that matters in diabetes and obesity: The glycaemic index revisited. Journal of Insulin Resistance. 2016;1(1), a8. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/jir.v1i1.8

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Cancer Cases Related to Excess Weight Will Triple Over Next 20 Years

A new study published today in Preventive Medicine estimates that excess body weight, including overweight and obesity is expected to become the second leading cause of preventable cancer in Canada, after tobacco over the next 20 years.

Cancer Rates Expected to Triple

The results of the new ComPARe study (Canadian Population Attributable Risk of Cancer) stemming from research conducted by the Canadian Cancer Society and a Canadian team of experts in epidemiology, biostatistics, cancer risk factors, and cancer prevention provides estimates of the number and percentage of more than 30 cancer types in Canada. 

It found that if current trends continues, it is expected that new cancer cases related to overweight or obesity will triple over the next 20 years, from the current 7,200 cases per year to 21,200 cases per year. These figures are due to overweight and obesity alone and do not include the increase number of cancer cases that are expected due to smoking, physical inactivity / sitting too much or alcohol consumption.

Excess body weight increases the risk of esophageal and endometrial cancer by about 50% and increases the risk of kidney, gallbladder, stomach and liver cancers by 20-30%.  Achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight can substantially lower the risk of these, and other cancers.

UPDATE (May 8, 2019 5:00 PM): It is not body weight per se that increases the risk of cancer. There are several proposed mechanisms where excess body weight may increase cancer risk, including alterations in the levels of hormones and growth factors, chronic inflammation, excess insulin and leptin. It is thought that excess insulin may help promote cancer cell growth and cause insulin resistance, which increases the risk of colon, endometrial and kidney cancers in particular.

The study estimates that if Canadians maintained a healthy body weight (BMI ⩽  25), that approximately 110,600 cancer cases could be prevented by the year 2042.

If you’d like to know how I can help you with symptoms of overweight or obesity (or some of the metabolic disorders that often accompany them), please let me know.

You can learn more about my services and their costs above under the Services tab or in the Shop and if you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To our good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

Reference

Brenner DR, Poirier AE, Ruan Y, et al, Estimates of the current and future burden of cancer attributable to excess body weight and abdominal adiposity in Canada, Preventive Medicine, Vol 122, 2019, Pg. 49-64, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743519300908

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ADA’s New Consensus Report — one page printout

This post contains a one page downloadable printout that you can bring to your doctor or other healthcare professional which summarizes the American Diabetes Association’s new Consensus Report of April 18, 2019 regarding the use of a low carbohydrate eating pattern of 26-45% of total daily calories as carbohydrate and the use of a very low carbohydrate (ketogenic) eating pattern of 20-50 g carbohydrate per day for the management of pre-diabetes, Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes in adults [1]. 

This new downloadable printout is available by clicking here.

DISCLAIMER: This printout is intended for information purposes only and is not affiliated with the American Diabetes Association in any way.    

The previous printout from January 2019 (available by clicking here ) was based on two earlier reports;

(1) the ADA’s October 2018 joint Position Statement with the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) which approved use of a low carbohydrate diet of <130 g of carbohydrate/day (<26% of daily calories as carbohydrate) as Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) for adults with Type 2 Diabetes [2]

and

(2) the ADA’s recently released 2019 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes – Lifestyle Management [3] which includes the use of low carbohydrate diets as Nutrition Therapy and which reflects the organization’s emphasizes on a patient-centered, individualized approach

If you have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic or as having Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and would like some professional support to put the symptoms into remission by following a low carbohydrate or very low carbohydrate eating pattern,  I can help.

I can provide Registered Dietitian services to those in any province in Canada (except PEI), and for those in the US, I can provide you with nutrition education to help you know how to eat according to a low carb eating pattern.

You can learn more about my services under the Services tab or in the Shop and if you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

Here are the links to 4 articles that I wrote about the new ADA Consensus Report:

April 25, 2019 – ADA: Brain’s need for glucose can be fulfilled by the body

April 24, 2019 – ADA Eating Patterns Differ from The Dietary Guidelines for Americans

April 23, 2019 –  ADA includes use of a Very Low Carb (Keto) Eating Pattern in New Report

April 19, 2019 –  New ADA Report: reducing has intake has most evidence for improving blood sugar

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

References

  1. Evert, AB, Dennison M, Gardner CD, et al, Nutrition Therapy for Adults With Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Consensus Report, Diabetes Care, Ahead of Print, published online April 18, 2019, https://doi.org/10.2337/dci19-0014
  2. Davies M.J., D’Alessio D.A., Fradkin J., et al, Management of Hyperglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes, 2018. A Consensus Report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Diabetes Care, October 2018, https://doi.org/10.2337/dci18-0033
  3. American Diabetes Association, Lifestyle Management Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes — 2019. Available at: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/42/Supplement_1. Accessed: Dec. 17, 2018.

    Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

    LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.    
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ADA: Brain’s need for glucose can be fulfilled by the body

In its recently published Consensus Report (April 18, 2019), the American Diabetes Association confirmed something that I have written about in several previous articles, including How Much Carbohydrate is Essential in the Diet and that is that the body has no essential need for dietary carbohydrate.

From the top of page 4 of the Consensus Report:

“The amount of carbohydrate intake required for optimal health in humans is unknown. Although the recommended dietary allowance for carbohydrate for adults without diabetes (19 years and older) is 130 g/day and is determined in part by the brain’s requirement for glucose, this energy requirement can be fulfilled by the body’s metabolic processes, which include glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis (via metabolism of the glycerol component of fat or gluconeogenic amino acids in protein), and/or ketogenesis in the setting of very low dietary carbohydrate intake.”

Body can make all the glucose it needs for the brain

That is, the body can make all the glucose the brain needs from the glycogenolysis (which is the breakdown of glycogen to glucose), via  gluconeogenesis (which is the generation of glucose from glycerol or glucogenic amino acids) and via ketogenesis (which is from ketones generated in a very low dietary carbohydrate [ketogenic] diet).

In short, dietary intake of carbohydrate is not essential. While there is no biological need to eat carbohydrate-based food, one certainly can and there are many good reasons to include some types of carbohydrate-containing food in the diet.

Because there is no essential need to eat carbohydrate because the body can make all the glucose it needs itself, the American Diabetes Association includes among its eating patterns both a low carbohydrate pattern (26-45% daily calories as carbohydrate) and a very low carbohydrate (ketogenic) eating pattern (20-50 g carbohydrate / day).

How much carbohydrate is a major consideration for those who are pre-diabetic or Diabetic because as the ADA stated in this new consensus report;

“Carbohydrate is a readily used source of energy and the primary dietary influence on postprandial blood glucose. 

That is, it is the carbohydrate in a meal that is the biggest predictor of how high blood sugar will rise after a meal, and how quickly.

For those who want to improve their blood sugar levels (glycemia) the same report also makes it clear that;

“Reducing overall carbohydrate intake for individuals with diabetes has demonstrated the most evidence for improving glycemia* and may be applied in a variety of eating patterns that meet individual needs and preferences.”

For those adults with Type 2 Diabetes who are not meeting their blood sugar targets or who need to, or want to have their physician reduce their need for Diabetes medications, a low carbohydrate or very low carbohydrate (keto) eating pattern is a viable option;

“For select adults with type 2 diabetes not meeting glycemic targets or where reducing anti- glycemic medications is a priority, reducing overall carbohydrate intake with low or very low- carbohydrate eating plans is a viable approach.”

Remember, carbohydrate-based foods are not necessary for your brain because your body can make all the glucose it needs from the metabolic processes listed above. That’s not to say one has to avoid carbohydrate-based foods, but how much and how often can and is best determined based on people’s individual needs and glycemic response to carb-based foods.

Remember too as outlined in the article posted yesterday , that in the US a well-designed low carb or ketogenic diet prescribed to lower blood sugar need not have all the same foods or food groups as a diet based on The Dietary Guidelines for Americans because it is used as Medical Nutrition Therapy (i.e. is a therapeutic diet). While these are the guidelines for those with pre-Diabetes or Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes in the US, in Canada individuals have the ability to choose a low carbohydrate lifestyle if that is their personal preference.

If you would like some professional support to begin eating this way or to continue eating this way,  I can help. I provide Registered Dietitian services to those in any province in Canada (except PEI), and for those in the US, I can provide nutrition education to help you know how to eat according to a low carb eating pattern.

You can learn more about my services including individual hourly appointments and sessions as well as packages above under the Services tab or in the Shop and if you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

Here are the links to other articles that I wrote about the new ADA Consensus Report:

April 24, 2019 – ADA Eating Patterns Differ from The Dietary Guidelines for Americans

April 23, 2019 –  ADA includes use of a Very Low Carb (Keto) Eating Pattern in New Report

April 19, 2019 –  New ADA Report: reducing has intake has most evidence for improving blood sugar

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Reference

Evert, AB, Dennison M, Gardner CD, et al, Nutrition Therapy for Adults With Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Consensus Report, Diabetes Care, Ahead of Print, published online April 18, 2019, https://doi.org/10.2337/dci19-0014

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.    

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ADA Eating Patterns Different from Dietary Guidelines

In its recently published Consensus Report (April 18, 2019)[1] the American Diabetes Association emphasized that Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) is “fundamental in the overall Diabetes management plan” [2], but what exactly is Medical Nutrition Therapy?

According to the report, the National Academy of Medicine defines Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) as ‘the treatment of a disease or condition through the modification of nutrient or whole-food intake’ [1].

In contrast, The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) “provides advice for healthy Americans ages 2 years and over about food choices that promote health and prevent disease [3]. The Consensus Report says (pg. 2) that The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) 2015-2020 “provide a basis for healthy eating for all Americans and recommend that people consume a healthy eating pattern that accounts for all foods and beverages within an appropriate calorie level”, but for people with Diabetes;

“recommendations that differ from the DGA are highlighted in this report”.

That means that the eating patterns listed in the American Diabetes Association’s new Consensus Report knowingly differ from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans because they are Medical Nutrition Therapy used in the treatment of a disease (i.e. Diabetes).

The Consensus Report outlines several eating patterns that are effective to varying degrees for achieving different Diabetes-related management goals, including HbA1C reduction, weight loss, lowered blood pressure, improved lipids (higher HDL-c, lower LDL-c), lower triglycerides (TG), but says that low carb eating patterns show the most evidence for blood glucose control [1].

As outlined in the previous article, the Consensus Report includes among the choices of Medical Nutrition Therapy various eating patterns, including a low carbohydrate eating pattern and very low carb (keto) eating pattern and the various eating patterns with their different potential benefits are summarized below [1];

 
Table 3 – Eating Patterns reviewed for this report [1]

Role of a Registered Dietitian and Healthcare Team in Providing Medical Nutrition Therapy

The Consensus Report highlights (pg. 2) that it is the role of a Registered Dietitian/ Nutritionist (RDN) to provide Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT), but that other members of the healthcare team (physicians, nurses and pharmacists) can and should complement this with evidence-based guidance (pg. 2);

“To complement diabetes nutrition therapy, members of the health care team can and should provide evidence-based guidance that allows people with diabetes to make healthy food choices that meet their individual needs and optimize their overall health.”

The Consensus Report specifies that the essential components of Medical Nutrition Therapy are;

“assessment, nutrition diagnosis, interventions (e.g., education and counseling), and monitoring with ongoing follow-up to support long-term lifestyle changes, evaluate outcomes, and modify interventions as needed.”

…and that the goals of Medical Nutrition Therapy (from Table 1 [1]) are ;

“To promote and support healthful eating patterns, emphasizing a variety of nutrient-dense foods in appropriate portion sizes, in order to improve overall health and specifically to:

â—‹ Improve A1C, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels (goals differ for individuals based on age, duration of diabetes, health history, and other present health conditions. â—‹ Achieve and maintain body weight goals â—‹ Delay or prevent complications of diabetes

To address individual nutrition needs based on personal and cultural preferences, health literacy and numeracy, access to healthful food choices, willingness and ability to make behavioral changes, as well as barriers to change

To maintain the pleasure of eating by providing positive messages about food choices, while limiting food choices only when indicated by scientific evidence

To provide the individual with diabetes with practical tools for day-to-day meal planning

The Consensus Report also states that the Registered Dietitian/Nutritionists (RDN) is the preferred member of the health care team to provide diabetes MNT and to lead an inter-professional team;

“The unique academic preparation, training, skills, and expertise make the RDN the preferred member of the health care team to provide diabetes MNT and leadership in inter-professional team-based nutrition and diabetes care.”

…but implied in this is that the whole healthcare team needs to work in concert together to choose and customize an eating pattern to the individual’s metabolic needs and personal preferences.

Remember, if you have pre-diabetes or Diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2) and are following any of the eating patterns outlined as Medical Nutrition Therapy (including a low carb or very low carb (ketogenic) eating pattern, then it is understood that these will not be like the food groups and portions of the “food pyramid” of The Dietary Guidelines of Americans because they are therapeutic diets for the treatment of a disease.

If you have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic or as having Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and would like some professional support to work on reversing the symptoms through a low carbohydrate or very low carbohydrate eating pattern,  I can help.  I don’t believe there is a “one-sized-fits-all” approach to either of these and will work within you needs to design an individual plan just for you.

You can learn more about my services including individual hourly appointments and sessions as well as packages above under the Services tab or in the Shop.

If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

Here are the links to other articles that I wrote about the new ADA Consensus Report:

April 25, 2019 – ADA: Brain’s need for glucose can be fulfilled by

April 23, 2019 –  ADA includes use of a Very Low Carb (Keto) Eating Pattern in New Report

April 19, 2019 –  New ADA Report: reducing has intake has most evidence for improving blood sugar

 

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

References

  1. Evert, AB, Dennison M, Gardner CD, et al, Nutrition Therapy for Adults With Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Consensus Report, Diabetes Care, Ahead of Print, published online April 18, 2019, https://doi.org/10.2337/dci19-0014
  2. https://www.nap.edu/catalog/9741/the-role-of-nutrition-in-maintaining-health-in-thenations-elderly.
  3. Dietary Guidelines for America, https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga95/9DIETGUI.HTM
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ADA: Very Low Carb (Keto) Eating Pattern in New Report

On April 18, 2019, the American Diabetes Association published a new Consensus Report which not only includes the use of a low carbohydrate eating pattern of 26-45% of total daily calories as carbohydrate, but in this report also includes the use of a very low carbohydrate (ketogenic) eating pattern of 20-50 g carbs per day.

The report is clear that there is no “one-size-fits-all” eating pattern for the prevention or management of diabetes, and that it unrealistic to expect that there should be just one eating pattern for everyone; especially given the wide variety of people affected by diabetes and pre-diabetes, including their varied cultural backgrounds, personal preferences, co-occurring conditions and the variety of socio-economic backgrounds from which they come.

The new report underlines several eating patterns that are effective to varying degrees for achieving different goals, with potential benefits including HbA1C reduction, weight loss, lowered blood pressure, improved lipids (higher HDL-c, lower LDL-c), lower triglycerides (TG), but says clearly that low carb eating patterns show the most evidence for blood glucose control;
 

“Reducing overall carbohydrate intake for individuals with diabetes has demonstrated the most evidence for improving glycemia (blood sugar) and may be applied in a variety of eating patterns that meet individual needs and preferences.”

The new Consensus Report includes low carb eating patterns and very low carb (keto) eating patterns among the choices of eating patterns for those with pre-diabetes as well as adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes.
 
The various eating patterns with their different potential benefits are summarized in Table 3, below;
 
Table 3 – Eating Patterns reviewed for this report [1]
 
The report also indicates that for adults with Type 2 Diabetes not meeting their blood sugar targets, or where there is a need to lower anti-glycemic medications that lower blood sugar, that
 
“reducing overall carbohydrate intake with low- or very low- carbohydrate eating plans is a viable approach.”
 
If you have been recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic or as having Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and would like support to reverse the symptoms through a low carbohydrate or very low carbohydrate eating pattern, then I can help.  I also don’t believe there is a “one-sized-fits-all” approach to either of these and will work within you needs to design an individual plan just for you. 
 
You can learn more about my services including individual hourly appointments and sessions as well as packages above under the Services tab or in the Shop.
 
If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.
 
To your good health!
 
Joy
 

Here are the links to other articles that I wrote about the new ADA Consensus Report:

April 25, 2019 – ADA: Brain’s need for glucose can be fulfilled by the body

April 24, 2019 – ADA Eating Patterns Differ from The Dietary Guidelines for Americans

April 19, 2019 –  New ADA Report: reducing has intake has most evidence for improving blood sugar

 
You can follow me on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

Reference

Evert, AB, Dennison M, Gardner CD, et al, Nutrition Therapy for Adults With Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Consensus Report, Diabetes Care, Ahead of Print, published online April 18, 2019, https://doi.org/10.2337/dci19-0014
 
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ADA: Reducing Carbs Has Most Evidence for Improving Blood Sugar

A newly published American Diabetes Association (ADA) consensus report on Diabetes and pre-diabetes that was just published online ahead of print yesterday (April 18, 2019) indicates that;

“Reducing overall carbohydrate intake for individuals with diabetes has demonstrated the most evidence for improving glycemia* and may be applied in a variety of eating patterns that meet individual needs and preferences.”

* glycemia is blood glucose, also called “blood sugar”
 
NOTE: This is the first article in a series I will be writing on this new Consensus Report.
 
The report emphasizes that there is no “one-size-fits-all” eating pattern for the prevention or management of diabetes, and that it is an unrealistic expectation that there should be a singular eating pattern given the broad spectrum of people affected by diabetes and pre-diabetes, their cultural backgrounds, personal preferences, co-occurring conditions (i.e. co-morbidities), and the variety of socio-economic backgrounds from which they come.
 
The new report underlines several eating patterns that are effective to varying degrees for achieving different goals, with potential benefits including HbA1C reduction, weight loss, lowered blood pressure, improved lipids (higher HDL-c, lower LDL-c), lower triglycerides (TG).
 
“The most robust research available related to eating patterns for pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes prevention are Mediterranean-style, low-fat, or low-carbohydrate eating plans.”
 
According to this new report, low-carbohydrate eating patterns (26-45% of total calories from carbs ) and very low carbohydrate eating patterns, also called “ketogenic” or “keto” diets (20-50 g of non-fiber carbohydrate per day) show the most evidence for blood glucose control. 
 
The various eating patterns with their different potential benefits are summarized in Table 3, below;
 
Table 3 – Eating Patterns reviewed for this report [1]
 
The report indicates that for adults not meeting their blood sugar targets, or where there is a need to lower anti-glycemic medications that lower blood sugar, that “reducing overall carbohydrate intake with low- or very low- carbohydrate eating plans is a viable approach.”
 
“For select adults with type 2 diabetes not meeting glycemic targets or where reducing anti- glycemic medications is a priority, reducing overall carbohydrate intake with low or very low- carbohydrate eating plans is a viable approach.”
 

American Diabetes Association Consensus Recommendations Summary

    • A variety of eating patterns (combinations of different foods or food groups) are acceptable for the management of diabetes.
    • Until the evidence surrounding comparative benefits of different eating patterns in specific individuals strengthens, health care providers should focus on the key factors that are common among the patterns:

—‹ Emphasize non-starchy vegetables.
—‹ Minimize added sugars and refined grains.
—‹ Choose whole foods over highly processed foods to the extent possible.

    • Reducing overall carbohydrate intake for individuals with diabetes has demonstrated the most evidence for improving glycemia and may be applied in a variety of eating patterns that meet individual needs and preferences.
    • For select adults with type 2 diabetes not meeting glycemic targets or where reducing anti-glycemic medications is a priority, reducing overall carbohydrate intake with low- or very low carbohydrate eating plans is a viable approach.

If you have been recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic or as having Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) and would like to work on reversing the symptoms through a low carbohydrate or very low carbohydrate eating pattern, then I can help.  I don’t believe there is a “one-sized-fits-all” approach to either of these and will work within you needs to design an individual plan just for you.

You can learn more about my services including individual hourly appointments and sessions as well as packages above under the Services tab or in the Shop.

If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

Here are the links to other articles that I wrote about the new ADA Consensus Report:

April 25, 2019 – ADA: Brain’s need for glucose can be fulfilled by the body

April 24, 2019 – ADA Eating Patterns Differ from The Dietary Guidelines for Americans

April 23, 2019 –  ADA includes use of a Very Low Carb (Keto) Eating Pattern in New Report

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

Reference

Evert, AB, Dennison M, Gardner CD, et al, Nutrition Therapy for Adults With
Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Consensus Report, Diabetes Care, Ahead of Print, published online April 18, 2019, https://doi.org/10.2337/dci19-0014

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One slice of bacon per day does NOT increase your colon cancer risk

Yesterday, the headlines screamed out from around the world that a new study from Oxford University found that there is a 20% higher chance of developing colorectal cancer from eating as little as one strip of bacon per day.

This sounds terrible, but is it true?

To understand what this study is reporting, it is important to understand the difference between relative risk and absolute risk.

Absolute Risk

It was known before this study, that regardless what people eat, there is approximately a 5% chance of developing colorectal cancer in a person’s lifetime (whether they eat bacon every day or not). This is known as the absolute risk. A 5% likelihood means that for every 100 people, 5 will get colorectal cancer regardless what they eat. Illustrated, this looks as follows;

Absolute Risk: 5% = 5 per every 100 people

Relative Risk

The study reported that there is a 20% higher chance of developing colorectal cancer by eating as little as one strip of bacon per day. This means that compared to not eating bacon daily, eating it daily results in one more person per 100 people developing colorectal cancer in their lifetime. This is known as relative risk and illustrated that looks as follows:

20 % increase in relative risk

Headlines as click-bate

“People who ate 76 grams of red and processed meat per day — that’s in line with current guidelines and roughly the same as a quarter-pound beef burger — had a 20% higher chance of developing colorectal cancer compared to others, who ate about 21 grams a day” – https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/health/colorectal-cancer-risk-red-processed-meat-study-intl/index.html

It wasn’t only the American media that reported this, Canadian new outlet CTV did also.

“Scientists found that colorectal cancer risk rose 20 per cent with every 25 grams of processed meat people ate per day, equivalent to a strip of bacon or slice of ham.“ (https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/just-a-strip-of-bacon-a-day-increases-cancer-risk-u-k-study-finds-1.4383867)

Each individual person’s increased risk of getting colorectal cancer by eating as little as 1 strip of bacon per day is NOT 20%! Their increased absolute risk of getting colorectal cancer (*based on this study) is 0.08%.

*this study was an epidemiological study, not a clinical study and can only show if there is an association between two factors and cannot make any conclusions about cause. The difference is explained below.

The study found that for every 10,000 people who ate 21g a day of red and processed meat, 40 were diagnosed with colorectal (bowel) cancer, and a single slice (or rasher) of bacon is ~23g.

i.e. 40 / 10,000 = 0.4%

The study also found that for every 10,000 people who ate 76g a day of red and processed meat, 48 were diagnosed with colorectal (bowel) cancer.

i.e. 48/10,000 = 0.48%

The actual chance of a person getting colorectal cancer (i.e. absolute risk) from eating bacon daily is the difference between these two numbers;

i.e. 0.4% – 0.48% = 0.08%

Association is not Causation

This was an epidemiological study based on population data, and was not a clinical study.

Epidemiological studies are the study of diseases in populations and are helpful for researchers to know which areas warrant clinical studies. It is important to know that epidemiological studies cannot attribute “cause” of disease or death.

When an epidemiological study finds an “association” between two factors  such as bacon and higher colon cancer rates — this does NOT mean that eating bacon ’causes’  heart disease.

Based on this study, all that can be said is that there was an increase in the association between eating bacon and absolute rates of colon cancer of 0.08%.

Not so impressive now, is it?

If you are having trouble sifting through all the information you read and in knowing if it is accurate, or even says what it seems to be saying, I can help. Sometimes people start by booking an appointment just to ask me those types of questions, because they want credible answers.

You can learn more about my services including individual hourly appointments and sessions as well as packages above under the Services tab or in the Shop.

If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

Reference

Kathryn E Bradbury, Neil Murphy, Timothy J Key, Diet and colorectal cancer in UK Biobank: a prospective study, International Journal of Epidemiology, , dyz064, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyz064

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CFG: what’s unlikely to change as new evidence emerges

Note: This article is mainly a Science Made Simple article with some personal comments and rhetorical questions added in, so it is categorized as both an editorial and a Science Made Simple article.

In writing the recent article about low carbohydrate diets eliminate the grains food group, I came across a statement that troubled me.  It was in a Health Canada document titled What are Canada’s Dietary Guidelines? [1] and stated;

“Guidelines 1 and 2 were developed based on convincing findings from scientific reports that included extensive reviews of the literature on the relationship between food and health [1,2]. The reports are listed in Table 1. These convincing findings are supported by a well-established evidence-base and are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future as new evidence emerges.”

Note: Guideline 1 is the recommendation to eat more plant-based foods and limit foods with saturated fat and Guideline 2 is the recommendation to avoid beverages high in sugar and to eat less processed/prepared food] 

from Health Canada’s “What are Canada’s Dietary Guidelines?” (https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/guidelines/what-are-canadas-dietary-guidelines/)

To me, a natural reading of the statement seemed to indicate that the Guidelines are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future as new evidence emerges. That is, the subject of the statement is Guidelines 1 and 2 —which are said to be based on convincing findings supported by well-established evidence base and unlikely to change in the foreseeable future as new evidence emerges.

I thought that it couldn’t say what I understood it to say and asked myself what else it could have meant.

Perhaps Health Canada meant to say that they considered the evidence-base so strong that it was unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, even as new scientific evidence emerges.

I looked up the two references on which Guidelines 1 and 2 were based, namely;

  1. Health Canada. Evidence review for dietary guidance: technical report, 2015. Ottawa: Health Canada; 2016.
  2. Health Canada. Food, Nutrients and Health: Interim Evidence Update 2018. Ottawa: Health Canada; 2019.
Evidence Review for Dietary Guidance (2015) and Interim Evidence Update (2018) [2,3]

In looking at these documents, I found a very similar statement to the one above and which read;

“When developing dietary guidance, Health Canada uses convincing findings that are supported by a well-established evidence base and are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future as new scientific evidence emerges.” [2]

In this context, it is clear that it is the “convincing findings” that are supported by a “well established evidence-base” on which dietary guidance is based that Health Canada believes are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future as new scientific evidence emerges [1].

In support of this understanding, Health Canada says in the earlier report [3], that;

“Health Canada will update Canada’s dietary guidelines, as needed, to ensure the guidance remains consistent with the latest convincing evidence” [3].

Conclusion:

According to Health Canada, the findings are supported by such a well-established evidence-base that they are “unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, even as new evidence emerges”.

[Rhetorical question: is the evidence-base for recommending that Canadians limit saturated fat intake really so strong that it is “unlikely to change in the foreseeable future as new evidence emerges”?

As I elaborate on below, in 2015 the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada already questioned the link between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease in their updated position paper (a paper, that I elaborate on below was not included as a reference in the new Canada Food Guide). 

In addition, the 2017 PURE epidemiological study that Health Canada references in their 2018 paper but does not cite (see below) did not find that dietary saturated fat intake was associated with cardiovascular disease. 

Furthermore, a meta-analysis published just last week (months after the release of the new Canada’s Food Guide) of 43 cohort or nested case-control studies that were conducted up until July 1, 2018 did not find that higher saturated fat intake was associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events.

In my opinion, the presupposition that new evidence is unlikely to change an old, “well established evidence base” assumes that the relationship between blood lipid values (such as LDL) and cardiovascular disease is almost indisputable. Current evidence does not seem to support this.

This brings me to two questions that I have about Canada’s Food Guide’s evidence-base for Guideline 1 (the recommendation to consume plant-based protein more often because it results in lower intake of foods that contain saturated fat).

My questions relate to two references that seem to me to be conspicuous by their absence.  

Guideline 1; consume plant-based protein more often because it results in lower intake of foods that contain saturated fat

Question 1

BACKGROUND: Health Canada’s Interim Evidence Update 2018 [2] lists the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) reports by Mensink (# 56, below) and Brouer (#57, below) and both of these reports are used as a basis for developing Canada’s Food Guide.

Reference list from Health Canada. Food, Nutrients and Health: Interim Evidence Update 2018. Ottawa: Health Canada; 2019

Reference 58 which is the 2017 Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study by Souza, RJ, Mente A Maroleanu A et al, is listed in Health Canada’s Interim Evidence Update but is noticeably absent from the table (Annex 3) in the document and is not referenced in Canada’s Food Guide.

The PURE study was largest-ever epidemiological study which recorded dietary intake in 135,000 people in 18 countries over ~ 7.5 years, in low- medium and high income countries and which found that increased saturated fat intake was not associated with increased rates of cardiovascular disease.

Annex 3: Summary of Convincing (strong) Food and Health Relationships and Changes Since 2015, pg 5 (Reference 58 omitted)

QUESTION: Why is the PURE study omitted from the table, but is listed in the References?

Question 2

BACKGROUND: Table 2 of What are Canada’s Dietary Guidelines? [1] titled “convincing findings supporting Guideline 1” lists 5 additional reports in addition to the 2010 FAO/WHO report and the two WHO reports from 2016 and 2017 on which this Guideline was based. One of these five is the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association report of 2013.

QUESTION: Why was the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation position statement titled ”Saturated Fat, Heart Disease and Stroke” released in September 2015 omitted from Table 2 of What are Canada’s Dietary Guidelines? [1] when it it is both; (a) Canadian and (b) several years more recent than the American Heart Association position statement of 2013 which was used in place?

Here is an excerpt from the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation position statement titled ”Saturated Fat, Heart Disease and Stroke” released in September 2015. I have highlighted sections of interest in red and put their references directly below, so they can be looked up.

HEALTH EFFECTS OF SATURATED FATS Research over several decades clearly indicates that saturated fats raise low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-cholesterol) in the blood[4,10,11,15]. Research also indicates that elevated LDL-cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and that lowering LDL-cholesterol decreases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, epidemiological studies provide a mixed picture of the association between saturated fatty acids and cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke) [15-22]. Early studies found an association between cardiovascular disease and saturated fat [23,24] while more recent studies have found no such association [18,21]. These mixed findings have been the focus of recent scientific debate, and underscore that the health effects of saturated fats are complex.

Studies investigating the effects of replacing saturated (animal) fats with plant oils and unsaturated spreads (mono- and poly-unsaturated fats) have found that this dietary change results in improved cholesterol levels and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease [5,25,26]. Research further indicates that modifying the type of fat we eat seems to protect us better if we adhere to the changes for at least two years[25].

Dietary recommendations to reduce overall fat intake have also included recommendations to replace saturated fats with carbohydrates. In retrospect, this advice may have played a role in increased calorie consumption and contributed to increased rates of obesity and metabolic syndrome [19].

Studies that have looked at the individual fatty acids (i.e. lauric, stearic, myristic and palmitic acids) have found that individual saturated fatty acids may have different effects on blood cholesterol levels[4,15]. The food source from which the saturated fat is derived may have different effects on cardiovascular risk [20,22]. Additional studies are required to determine whether cardiovascular risks are influenced by the nutrients used to replace saturated fats (i.e. carbohydrates, monounsaturated fatty acids or polyunsaturated fatty acids),[21] the types of saturated fat [26] and/or the foods in which they are consumed.

References

4. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Fats and fatty acids in human nutrition: Report of an expert consultation 2008. Rome, Italy: 2010.

5. Mozaffarian D et al. Effects on coronary heart disease of increasing polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PloS Med 2010;23:7(3):e1000252.

6. Ramsden CE et al. Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death, evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis. BMJ 2013;346:e8707.

7. de Oliveira Otto MC, Mozaffarian D, Kromhout D, et al. Dietary intake of saturated fat by food source and incident cardiovascular disease: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Am J Clin Nutr 2012;96:397-404.

8. Health Canada. Do Canadian adult meet their nutrient requirements through food intake alone? Health Canada, Ottawa 2012. Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/surveill/ nutrition/commun/art-nutr-adult-eng.php

9. Moubarac JC, Batal M, Bortoletto Marins AP, Claro R, Bertazzi Levy R, et al. Processed and ultra-processed food products: Consumption trends in Canada from 1938 to 2011. Can J Diet Pract Res 2014;75(1):15-21.

10. Department of Health and Human Services, US Department of Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. http://www. health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2010.asp. Updated 2012.

11. American Heart Association Nutrition Committee. Lichenstein AH, Appel LJ, et al. Diet and lifestyle recommendations revision 2006. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association nutrition committee. Circulation 2006;114:82-96.

12. The Fifth Joint Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and Other Societies on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice (constituted by representatives of nine societies and by invited experts). European guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice (version 2012). European Heart Journal 2012;33:1635-1701.

13. Vannice G, Rasmussen H. Position of the academy of nutrition and dietetics: dietary fatty acids for healthy adults. J Acad Nutr Diet 2014;114(1):136-153.

14. National Cancer Institute. Risk factor monitoring and methods: Table 1. Top food sources of saturated fats among the US population, 2005-2006. NHANES.

15. Micha R, Khatibzadeh S, Shi P, Fahimi S, Lim S, Andrews KG, et al. Global, regional and national consumption levels of dietary fats and oils in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis including 266 country-specific nutrition surveys. BMJ 2014;348:e2272.

16. Mensink RP, Zock PL, Kester AD, Katan MB. Effects of dietary fatty acids and carbohydrates on the ratio of serum total to HDL cholesterol and on serum lipids and apolipoproteins: a metaanalysis of 60 controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:1146-1155.

17. Mente A, et al. A systematic review of the evidence supporting a causal link between dietary factors and coronary heart disease. Arch Intern Med 2009;169(7):659-669.

18. Chowdhury R, Warnakula S, Kunutsor S, Crowe F, Ward HA, Johnson L, et al. Association of dietary, circulating and supplement fatty acids with coronary risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Internal Medicine 2014;160:398-406.

19. Ravnskov U, DiNicolantonio JJ, Harcombe Z, Kummerow FA, Okuyama H, Worm N. The questionable benefits of exchanging saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2014;89(4):451-53.

20. O’Sullivan TA, et al. Food sources of saturated fat and the association with mortality: a meta-analysis. Am J Public Health 2013;103:e31-42.

21. Sri-Tarino PW, Sun Q, Hu FB, Krauss RM. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nut 2010;91(3):535-546.

22. de Oliveira Otto MC, Nettleton JA, Lemaitre RN, et al. Biomarkers of dairy fatty acids and risk of cardiovascular disease in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. J Am Heart Assoc 2013;2:e000092.

23. Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Manson JE, et al. Dietary fats and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. New England Journal of Medicine 1997;337:1491-1499.

24. McGee DL, Reed DM, Yano K, Kagan A, Tillotson J. Ten-year incidence coronary heart disease in the Honolulu Heart Program. Relationship to nutrient intake. Am J Intern Med 2014;160:398- 406.

25. Hooper L, Summerbell CD, Thompson R, Sillis D, Roberts FG, Moore HJ, et al. Reduced or modified dietary fat for preventing cardiovascular disease. Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2012 issue 5.

26. Jakobsen MU, O’Reilly EJ, Heitmann BL, et al. Major types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of 11 cohort studies. Am J Clin Nutr 2009;89:1425-1432

Final thoughts…

Health Canada has based the new Canada Food Guide on what they consider ‘convincing findings’ that are supported by a ‘well-established evidence-base’; findings that they believe are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future as new evidence emerges. As stated several times in previous articles, for those that are metabolically healthy, the new guide is a huge improvement over the previous one as it focuses on eating real, whole food and avoiding sugar-laden drinks including fruit juice, and processed foods that are high in both fat and carbs.

My main concern, as elaborated on in several previous posts is the effect of a high carbohydrate diet (even if those carbohydrates are unrefined) on the large percentage of Canadians who are metabolically unwell. My other concern is the further limiting of healthy, whole foods such as meat, seafood, cheese and milk because they contain saturated fat, when mixed research findings indicate that the relationship between saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease is complex. 

Guideline 2 to limit processed foods is fantastic and benefits all Canadians, however in my opinion, recommending that Canadians across the board limit animal based protein foods because the saturated fat they contain may predispose them to cardiovascular disease is not based on robust data. Furthermore, it unnecessarily limits foods that are the best sources of the most bioavailable sources heme-iron (outlined in this article in relation to the plant-based Eat-Lancet Diet) as well limits some of the richest sources of B-vitamins (as outlined in this article).

How does one sort through all this information and make sense of these recommendations in relationship to themselves? As part of my complete assessment, I not only ask about how you usually eat and your food preferences, and weigh and measure you, I also review your most recent lab work to determine whether you fall in the large percentage of Canadians that are no longer metabolically healthy, or  don’t.  From there, we’ll discuss the various options you have for improving your weight and metabolic markers so that you can decide what is the best approach for you.

You can learn more about my services and their costs above under the Services tab or in the Shop and if you have questions about these, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above, and I will reply as soon as I can.To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.) LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

References

  1. Health Canada, What are Canada’s Dietary Guidelines? https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/guidelines/what-are-canadas-dietary-guidelines/
  2. Health Canada. Food, Nutrients and Health: Interim Evidence Update 2018. Ottawa: Health Canada; 2019.
  3. Health Canada. Evidence review for dietary guidance: technical report, 2015. Ottawa: Health Canada; 2016.
  4. Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Position Statement ”Saturated Fat, Heart Disease and Stroke, September 24, 2015, https://www.heartandstroke.ca/-/media/pdf-files/canada/position-statement/saturatedfat-eng-final.ashx

 

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But Low Carb Diets Eliminate an Entire Food Group!

Note: This article is classified as an editorial as it reflects some of my own thoughts on these issues and is also classified as a Science Made Simple article, as it is rooted in the science.  By way of references,  I have linked to previous articles I have written (that are referenced) or to the original sources, rather than using footnotes and a reference list. 

One of the common concerns is that a low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet avoids “an entire food group” (i.e. grains) and implies that people will be setting themselves up for decreased nutrient status, or even deficiency if they eat this way, but is that true? Does eliminating this entire food group pose a nutritional risk? That is the subject of this article.

I will begin by discussing food groups, however I will make a small but necessary diversion into the evidence used for recent dietary guidelines that recommend a diet low in saturated fat, as there is a link between the two. As will become clear, it is advisable to include grains in a diet that is low in meat and other animal products.  

Food Groups Come and Go

With the recent re-design of Canada Food Guide, we’ve seen that food groups are not carved in stone.

The once-familiar Meat and Alternatives and Milk and Alternatives food groups were completely eliminated in the newest food guide and replaced by the somewhat all-inclusive “Protein” food group. I qualify this by saying ‘somewhat all-inclusive’ because while the illustrated sample plate of the new guide includes approximately equal amounts of animal-based and plant-based proteins, both milk and cheese are not illustrated on the front, although low fat yogurt is.

Milk and cheese both figured prominently in the past food guides, as did meat, fish and poultry of all kinds, but now inclusion of cheese and higher fat meats are relegated to the inner pages of the new guide where it is explained how to ”limit the amount of foods containing saturated fat” by limiting foods such as “higher fat meat”, “cheeses” and “foods containing lots of cheese” (see this article for details). 

Of course, milk, cheese and meat can all still be included in the diet, however the new food guide recommends that these be limited due to their high saturated fat content, which is said to be linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. 

Health Canada writes about how the guidelines were prepared in their report “What are Canada’s Dietary Guidelines?”. They state that they considered the “best available evidence” published between 2006 and 2018 to make their recommendations, but as I will outline below, the 2017 PURE study (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology) — which was the largest-ever epidemiological study to date and which recorded dietary intake in 135,000 people in 18 countries over ~ 7.5 years, including high-, medium- and low income nations did not seem to be included. This study found that increased saturated fat intake was NOT associated with increased rates of cardiovascular disease. 

Health Canada explains in its report that the Guidelines, including Guideline 1 to eat more plant-based food in order to lower the intake of saturated fat was based on “convincing findings” from scientific reports that included extensive systematic reviews of the literature on the relationship between food and health, and that these reports are listed in Table 1 of the report.

from Health Canada’s “What are Canada’s Dietary Guidelines?”

Best Available Evidence for Saturated Fat Recommendations

Table 1 of Health Canada’s report says that the “best available evidence” for the saturated fat recommendations in the new  food guide were based on the following three systematic reviews;

    1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations 2010 – Fats and fatty acids in human nutrition — report of an expert consultation
    2. World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 – Effects of saturated fatty acids on serum lipids and lipoproteins: a systematic review and
      regression analysis
    3. World Health Organization (WHO) 2017 – Health effects of saturated and trans-fatty acid intake in children and adolescents: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Based on Table 2 of the report titled “Convincing findings supporting Guideline 1” (the guideline which recommends more plant-based food in order to lower intake of saturated fat) lists the same three systematic reviews as above, plus adds;

  • Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee 2010: Report of the DGAC on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
  • Health Canada 2012: Summary of Health Canada’s assessment of a health claim about the replacement of saturated fat with mono- and polyunsaturated fat and blood cholesterol lowering
  • American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association 2013:  Guideline on lifestyle management to reduce cardiovascular risk: a report of the ACC/AHA task force on practice guidelines
  • Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee 2015: Scientific report of the DGAC: advisory report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture

That is, the new saturated fat guidelines were based on systematic reviews from 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 as well as the FAO/WHO recommendations from 2010, 2016 and 2017.

It appears that the largest-ever epidemiological study (PURE) that was published in 2017 and which found that saturated fat intake was not associated with cardiovascular disease, or increased rates of death was not included or was deemed for some reason to not be “best available evidence”. What is puzzling is that a key the 2018 Health Canada report titled Interim Evidence Update lists it as a reference, but doesn’t seem to refer to the study anywhere.  More on that in the next article.

Systematic Reviews of Epidemiological Studies

As pointed out at the end of the previous article, epidemiological studies are the study of diseases in populations. These are helpful for researchers to know which areas warrant clinical trials, because epidemiological studies can’t attribute “cause” of disease or death. 

When an epidemiological study finds an “association” between two factors  such as saturated fat and higher blood lipid levels — this does NOT mean that saturated fat ’causes’  heart disease. It only means that higher saturated fat intake is associated with higher blood lipid values. Other studies associate high blood lipid values such as total LDL cholesterol to cardiovascular disease, but this is only helpful when we know which LDL is raised; the atherosclerotic small, dense sub-fraction or the neutral (or possibly protective) large fluffy sub-fraction. To know whether higher saturated fat intake causes cardiovascular disease events requires clinical trials.

There had already been eight meta-analysis and systematic reviews of evidence from randomized control trials (RCT) that had been conducted between 2009-2017 that did not find an association between saturated fat intake and the risk of heart disease that I reviewed in this article — data that was available prior to the redesign of the new food guide. As of this week we also have a new meta-analysis of clinical data from 43 study cohort group studies that was just published on April 6, 2019 which found NO relationship between higher saturated fat intake and higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. 

Not Carved in Stone

The recommendations made in the new food guide were based largely on epidemiological evidence and clinical data related to the association between saturated fat and blood lipid levels — sometimes lumping saturated fat and trans fats together. One one would hope that as clinical data from well-designed studies continues to emerge showing no association between saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease (CVD) — the actual area of concern, that these recommendations will change. 

If food groups are not carved in stone, dietary recommendations ought not to be either. 

Eliminating an Entire Food Group

Now back to the topic of this article…

Is there a valid concern that those eating a low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet who are eliminating a entire food group (i.e. grains) are setting themselves up for decreased nutrient status or deficiency?

To answer that question we need to ask ourselves;

(1) which nutrients are found in grains in significant quantities

and

(2) can those nutrients be found in sufficient quantities in other foods in the diet?

If so, then eliminating grains does not predispose people to risk of decreased or deficient nutrient status.

Main Nutrients in “Healthy Whole Grains”

Yesterday evening, while writing this post,  I stumbled across a recent article title ‘Healthy whole grains’ – really?! that was written by Dr. Zoe Harcombe, a Ph.D. in public health nutrition.  In her article, Dr. Harcombe compiled data from the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference to evaluate the nutrient content in whole grain whole wheat flour, long grain brown rice, whole wheat spaghetti / pasta, oats and whole wheat bread. These foods are representative of what I think most Dietitians would categorize as ‘healthy whole grains’ which are known for being high in B vitamins such as B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin) and folate (also called folic acid), as well as minerals such as iron, magnesium and selenium. 

Dr. Harcombe demonstrated that foods such as chicken liver, sardines, eggs and sunflower seeds are much better sources of the B-vitamins than these “healthy whole grains”. As well, I know from having researched the topic that meat and seafood are excellent sources of the most bioavailable form of iron (heme iron which is superior to the non-heme iron found in grains). As discussed in the previous article,  nuts and seeds, dark chocolate and avocados are all rich in magnesium and animal foods such as pork, beef, turkey, chicken, fish, shellfish and eggs are all rich in selenium.

Whole grains are also good sources of  fiber, but so are the wide range of non-starchy vegetables that are eaten on a well-designed ketogenic diet, as well as the starchy vegetables and berries that are eaten on a well designed low- carbohydrate diet. In fact I wrote an article about this a year and a half ago.

In short, there are no nutrients found in grains that are not found in adequate, or even higher quantities in foods eaten as part of a well-designed low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet.

Some Final Thoughts…

As far as I can see, it is only the conviction that there is an established relationship between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease (based on a proxy relationship between saturated fat and blood lipids) and the resulting dietary guidelines based on that relationship that makes the eating of whole grains ‘necessary’. 

The reason?

Current dietary guidelines recommend limiting animal foods so eating more plant-based foods and grains containing B-vitamins, iron, magnesium and selenium is necessary. If, however guidelines could change in the future based on emerging evidence (provided that they continue to be validated by future studies), then eating whole grains would be “optional”, since animal-based foods are equal or superior sources of those nutrients. 

If ‘eating foods with saturated fat causes heart disease’, then limiting them is necessary, and eating whole grains is the next best source of these nutrients.

Personality I am not convinced that the evidence is unequivocal and that it is warranted to limit foods rich in saturated fat. At the same time, I am not persuaded that there is evidence that eating lots of saturated fat to the exclusion of other healthy fats is necessary or preferred. 

Assuming the emerging evidence on the safety of saturated fat continues to hold, I believe including animal foods in the diet precludes the necessity to eat whole grains.

For those that choose to follow a vegetarian diet, the inclusion of some whole grains as good sources of B vitamins, iron, magnesium and selenium is advisable.

 If you would like nutritional support to ensure you are obtaining a wide range of nutrients while following a low carbohydrate diet, I would be glad to help.

You can learn more about my services and their costs above under the Services tab or in the Shop. If you have questions, please feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form above and I will reply as soon as I can.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

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Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Won’t Help You Live Longer

A newly published large-scale epidemiological study has reported that taking vitamin and mineral supplements does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease such as heart attack and stroke, cancer rates or other causes of health-related death. The study published Tuesday, April 9, 2019 in the Annals of Internal Medicine analyzed US nutritional data from 30, 899 adults over the age of twenty from the NHANES survey between 1999 to 2010 and linked it to mortality data from the National Death Index [1]. During the six year follow-up period there were 3613 deaths; of which 945 were cardiovascular-related and 805 were from cancer.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplement versus Nutrient Intake from Food

The study found that use of vitamin and mineral supplements was not related to improved outcomes in rates of death from cardiovascular disease, cancer or all-cause health related death. Adequate intake of vitamin A, vitamin K, magnesium, zinc and copper was associated with reduced rates of cardiovascular disease and death from all health-related causes, but these improved associations only applied to those who obtained these nutrients from food.

Calcium Supplements – too much of a ‘good’ thing

So many adults take calcium supplements, however  calcium intake from supplements of ≥ 1000 mg/day (which many adults take!) was associated with increased risk of death from cancer.

Want to Live Longer? Eat Whole, Real Food

Based on this large-scale epidemiological study, eating foods rich in vitamin A, vitamin K, magnesium, zinc and copper was associated with reduced rates of cardiovascular (CVD) disease and death from all health-related causes. Good news! All of these nutrients are widely available in whole, real foods that also happen to be low in carbohydrate.

Zinc and Copper

Meat and seafood are some of the richest sources of zinc and copper.  

Vitamin K

Dark, leafy greens  are excellent sources of vitamin K. Vitamin K is needed to help the body absorb vitamin D and to help with proper calcium utilization.

Magnesium

Nuts and seeds, including cocoa beans (think ‘dark chocolate’!)  are very good sources of magnesium, as are avocados. 

Vitamin A

…and yellow and orange vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin A.  

Final thoughts…

Epidemiological studies (which are the study of diseases in populations) are helpful to know what areas warrant good quality clinical trials, but aren’t useful for attributing “cause” of disease or death.

When an epidemiological study finds an “association” between two factors, this does NOT mean that one causes the other.  For that, clinical trials are necessary.

That said, eating whole, real foods that also happen to be low in carbohydrate are an excellent way to get all of the nutrients that this study found are associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease and death from all health related causes and it is pretty difficult to eat too much of any nutrient when eating whole, real food.

Since taking vitamin and mineral supplements is not associated with lower rates of disease or death, and in the cases of calcium supplements may even be associated with negative health outcomes, eating a whole-food diet rich in the above foods is the safest way to ensure adequate intake of these nutrients.

If you would like more information about how much of these foods you should be eating, I’d be glad to help. Please have a look at the Services tab or the Shop for more information.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

Reference

  1. Chen F, Du M, Blumberg JB, Ho Chui KK, Ruan M, Rogers G, et al. Association Among Dietary Supplement Use, Nutrient Intake, and Mortality Among U.S. Adults: A Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. [Epub ahead of print ] doi: 10.7326/M18-2478
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Complex Carbohydrates as Long Chains of Sugar Molecules

An analogy is a comparison between similar ideas to help illustrate one of them. The featured photo for this post are sugar crystals on a string and the reason for this will become clear.

The idea for this article came when someone I follow on social media (Dr. RD Dikeman*) posted the graphic below, which shows complex carbohydrates as long strings of glucose, which starches are. But there are also other types of complex carbohydrates that are long strings of different sugar molecules that can impact blood glucose differently. I thought a simple explanation of what “complex carbohydrates” are, how they are digested and how these can affect blood sugar differently might be helpful, so that is what this article is about.

graphic from RD Dikeman, Typeonegrit

*Dr. RD Dikeman holds a PhD in Theoretic and Mathematical Physics and has become very knowledgeable in carbohydrate metabolism as a result of his son having been diagnosed in 2013 with Type 1 Diabetes. His son was eating 40-60 g of carbohydrate per meal and was experiencing a “roller-coaster ride” of high and low blood sugars, including an incidence of “ketoacidosis”; which is a life-threatening condition when the body produces high levels of ketones due to an insufficiency of insulin. This should not be confused with “ketosis” where the body switches to using fat stores for energy, such as after an overnight fast. Five years ago, Dr. Dikeman’s son began to follow the low carbohydrate protocol of Dr. Richard Bernstein MD (outlined in his book “Diabetes Solution”) and since that time has been able to maintain normal normal blood sugar levels with the minimum required doses of insulin. 

I liked the analogy of Dr. Dikeman’s graphic and wanted to use it as a ‘jumping off point’ for this article.

Glucose Explain Simply

Glucose (also called dextrose) is the type of sugar found in the blood which is why the common term “blood sugar” and the more clinical term “blood glucose” refer to the same thing.

Glucose is one of the two sources of energy (along with ketones) that are used to fuel the body’s cells. Even people that don’t eat “low carb” will make ketones after a night’s sleep, so the body of healthy people runs on both glucose and ketones.

The carb-containing foods that we eat are broken down into glucose for energy or the body makes the glucose it needs for the brain and red blood cells from other substances in a process called gluconeogenesis.

The Glucose-Complex Carb Analogy

In the graphic above, Dr. Dikeman questions whether people such as Diabetics that have trouble metabolizing glucose should be eating complex carbohydrates that are essentially just long strings of glucose molecules strung together like beads on a chain.

As in Dr. Dikeman’s illustration, some complex carbohydrates such as starch are just long chains of glucose molecules, however other complex carbohydrates are made up of other sugars such as galactose and fructose, along with glucose. Because of that I wanted to expand on Dr. Dikeman’s illustration.

Simple and Complex Carbs

One way that carbs are sometimes classified is as “simple” or “complex”; with starch and fiber being categorized as complex carbs and all sugars being categorized as simple carbs.

Simple Sugars

There are two types of simple sugars; monosaccharides and disaccharides.

Mono means “one” and saccharides means “sugar” so a monosaccharide is just a single sugar molecule. Di means “two”, so a disaccharide is two sugar molecules joined together.

Monosaccharides

As mentioned above, monosaccharides are made up of only a single sugar molecule and examples of these are glucose, fructose and galactose. All three monosaccharides have 6 carbons and the same chemical formula but look entirely different from each other. For example, glucose and galactose are 6-ring sugars and fructose is a 5-ring sugar.

Glucose is usually found in food bound either to other glucose molecules, as in Dr. Dikeman’s illustration above, or may be bound to other types of sugar molecules in a disaccharide (2 sugar molecules) or a starch or fiber (long chain of sugar molecules).

Fructose is the sugar found in fruit and since it is a 5-ring sugar, it can’t simply be broken down into glucose, which is a 6 ring sugar.

Galactose is a six ring sugar that rarely exists on its own in food but that can be broken down in the body through digestion. It is usually found bound to glucose to form lactose, the sugar found in milk and dairy products.

Disaccharides

Disaccharides are two monosaccharide sugar molecules bound together.

Sucrose is ordinary table sugar and made up of glucose-fructose.

Lactose is the sugar in milk and milk products and is glucuse-galactose

Maltose which rarely occurs naturally in foods, is glucose-glucose. Maltose is used in food processing such as the shiny glaze on Chinese roast duck.

complex carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates are made up of more than two monosaccharides (sugar molecules). Oligosaccharides (where oligo means “scant” or “few”) are made up of 3-10 sugar molecules, whereas polysaccharides are made up of hundred or even thousands of monosaccharides (sugar molecules).

Oligosaccharides

Oligosaccharides are made up of 3-10 sugar molecules and the two most common are some of the complex carbohydrates found in dried beans, peas and lentils[1].

Raffinose is an oligosaccharide made from 3 sugar molecules: galactose-glucose-fructose and stachyose is an oligosaccharide made from 4 sugar molecules: galactose-galactose-glucose-fructose.

The body can’t break down either raffinose or stachyose, but this is done by the bacteria in the intestine.

Polysaccharides

Polysaccharides are made up of hundreds or thousands of sugar molecules linked together. When those sugar molecules are only glucose, the polysaccharide is called “starch”.

Some polysaccharides form long straight chains while others are branched like a tree. These structural difference affect how these carbohydrates behave when they’re heated or put in water.

The way the monosaccharides are linked together makes the polysaccharides either digestible as in starch, or indigestible as in fiber.

Polysaccharides found in plant foods such as fiber, cellulose, hemicellulose, gums and mucilages (such as psyllium) are indigestible by the body so won’t be covered in this article, but it should be noted that they can slow down the absorption of digestible carbohydrate.

Starch

Starches are long chains of glucose molecules strung together like beads on a string and are the ones illustrated in Dr. Dikeman’s illustration, above.

Starches are found in grains such as wheat, corn, rice, oats, millet and barley as well as in legumes such as peas, beans and lentils* and tubers such as potatoes, yams and cassava.

*Recall as mentioned above that peas, beans and lentils also have the complex carbohydrates called oligosaccharides which are not broken down by the body, but by the bacteria of the gut.

There are two types of starches; the long unbranched chains called amylose and the long branched chain ones call amylopectin. What is important in this context is that the long branched chain starches called amylopectin are more easily digested.

The body digests most starches very easily, although those with a high percentage of amylopectin (such as cornstarch) are digested much more easily than those with a high amount of amylose, such as wheat starch [1].

Since starches are just glucose molecules linked together and they are easily broken down to individual glucose molecules, starches can quickly affect the blood sugar of those who are pre-diabetic or have Diabetes.

That is the “point” behind Dr. Dikeman’s illustration, above which I have modified slightly, below.

adapted from graphic by RD Dikeman by Joy Y. Kiddie, MSc, RD

Those who are Diabetic (or pre-diabetic) already have challenges with their blood glucose (“blood sugar”), so does eating foods that are nothing more than long strings of glucose such as starches really make sense?

Note: While the fiber content of whole grain pasta will slow down its digestion compared to refined pasta, it is still long strings of glucose molecules. Think of whole wheat pasta as a string of pearls with in addition to the pearls, in this case fiber.

Digestion of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth where an enzyme in saliva called amylase breaks starch down into shorter polysaccharides and maltose.

The acidity of the stomach temporarily stops the effect of the salivary amylase, but the digestion of carbohydrate starts up again in the small intestine where most carbohydrate digestion takes place. Digestion of carbohydrates begins again when the pancreas secretes pancreatic amylase into the small intestine.

In the small intestine, starch is broken down in to many, many individual units of the disaccharide maltose, which are simply two glucose molecules linked together. Then, enzymes located to the brush border of the small intestine break the alpha bond which holds the two glucose molecules together.

It’s easy to understand how starch, which is simply long chains of glucose molecules strung together are so easily broken down when digestion already starts in the mouth and is completed in the small intestine where the disaccharide (maltose) is broken down into 2 glucose molecules.

In the small intestine, other enzymes split other disaccharides into monosaccharides; so for example, the enzyme sucrase splits the disaccharide sucrose into glucose and fructose and the enzyme lactase splits the disaccharide lactose into glucose and galactose.  Note that these other disaccharides are only 1/2 glucose.

Absorption of Carbohydrates

Monosaccharides are absorbed into the mucosal cells of the small intestine and travel to the liver, where galactose and fructose are converted to glucose and the glucose is stored in the liver as glycogen.

Glycogen is long, highly branched chains of glucose molecules (similar to amylopectin, but much more highly branched). When needed, the liver can break down glycogen into glucose at a rate of 100 mg to 150 mg of glucose per minute for up to 12 hours [2].

When glycogen stores of the liver are already full, the glucose from the broken down carbohydrate with the help of the hormone insulin converts the excess glucose into fat and sends to other parts of the body to be stored in adipose tissue.

Carbohydrate-based Foods in the Diet

As covered in previous articles including this one , there is NO requirement for people to eat carbohydrate-based food” provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed“[3] which are used to provide essential glucose for the brain via gluconeogenesis. This does not mean that I recommend people don’t eat any carbohydrate-based food!

Which carbohydrate-based food people are able to eat and in what quantity without it affecting their blood sugar to any large degree varies considerably from person to person[4], whether or not they are Diabetic.  For those who already have Type 2 Diabetes or are pre-diabetic, a personalized nutrition approach is needed.  This is often called “eating to your meter“; testing a specific quantity of a food by itself, to see how your blood sugar responds. 

Based on research, some people with Type 2 Diabetes can do well eating certain types of legumes (pulses) including black beans, white navy beans, pinto beans, red and white kidney beans, chickpeas and fava beans [5] which is helpful for those who follow a plant-based vegetarian diet. Once people have lowered their HbA1C and fasting blood glucose levels and achieved remission of Type 2 Diabetes symptoms, I work can work with them in determining which foods they can re-introduce into their diet and in what quantities and how often, so as not to adversely impact their blood sugar. Some do better than others.

Over the last 4 years of my clinical practice, I have found that many people with pre-diabetes or Type 2 Diabetes can often manage their blood glucose well while including small servings (1/2 cup / 125 ml) of whole-food starchy vegetables such as winter squash (butternut, acorn, kobacha, etc.), as well as small servings of other starchy whole-food vegetables such as orange or purple yam, or peas. For those eating a moderately-low level of carbs (non-ketogenic) or want to keep eating these foods, I encourage them to choose these more often over starch-based foods such as pasta, rice and bread.

That doesn’t mean that people with Type 2 Diabetes shouldn’t ever eat whole, unmilled brown rice or quinoa but that avoiding refined starches such as white bread, pasta and rice is best preferable.

I hope that you found this article helpful to understand what complex carbohydrates are, and why certain types of complex carbs are more of a challenge to those with Type 2 Diabetes or pre-diabetes.

If you have questions about how I can help you eat in a way to lower your blood sugar levels, please send me a note through the Contact Me form above and for information about the types of services I offer, please have a look under the Services tab or in the Shop.

To your good health,

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

References

  1. Chapter 4, Carbohydrates: Simple sugars and Complex Chains, http://samples.jbpub.com/9781284064650/9781284086379_CH04_Disco.pdf
  2. Rappaport B, Metabolic factors limiting performance in marathon runners. PLoS Comput Biol. 2010; 6(10). doi: 10.1371/journal.pebi.1000960
  3. National Academies Press, Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein and Amino Acids (2005), Chapter 6 Dietary Carbohydrates: Sugars and Starches”, pages 265-275
  4. Zeevi D, Korem T, Zmora N, et al. Personalized Nutrition by Prediction of Glycemic Responses. Cell. 2015 Nov 19;163(5):1079-1094.
  5. Sievenpiper, J.L., Kendall, C.W.C., Esfahani, A. et al. Effect of non-oil-seed pulses on glycaemic control: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled experimental trials in people with and without diabetes. Diabetologia (2009) 52: 1479.
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New Study: Dietary Saturated Fat is Not Associated with Increased Risk of CVD

A recently published meta-analysis of 43 cohort or nested case-control studies up until July 1, 2018 [1] did not find that higher saturated fat intake is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. This is the first study to examine the effect of total dietary fat intake and the intake of specific fatty acids on CVDs risk based on dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

It has been proposed that saturated fat (SFA) and trans fatty acids (TFA) contribute to CVD via inflammatory mechanisms and oxidative stress, mediated through the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) [2,3]. With respect to trans fatty acids, this new study found that dietary TFA intake had a dose-response association with CVDs risk; specifically a 16% increased risk of CVD with an increased TFA intake of 2% of energy per day, however no association was observed between total fat or dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake and the risk of CVDs [1]. In addition, this meta-analysis found no protective effect from the consumption of either monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and risk of CVDs, except PUFAs showed a protective effect in sub-group analysis followed up for more than 10 years [1].

These findings do not support 2010 recommendations of the WHO / FAO [4] which continue to influence national dietary guidelines around the world to recommend reducing intake of saturated fat in order to lower the rates of CVD.

As well, these new findings call into question the findings of the PREDIMED study [5] and the Lipid Research Clinics Prevalence Follow-up Study [6] that indicated that diets high in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and low in saturated fatty acid (SFA) and trans fatty acids (TFA) are associated with reduced CVDs events.

The authors caution that;

“it is possible that the role of dietary fat played in the development of CVDs might be confounded by the fat sources. For instance, vegetables and fruits play protective roles in the development of CVDs. However, we could not investigate the different effects of fat from animal, vegetables and fruit separately in this current meta-analysis.” [1]

Some thoughts…

For almost 50 years it has been believed that dietary saturated fat intake was a risk factor for CVDs based on the assumption that dietary fat can increase low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and blood pressure and in turn, increase CVDs risk, however this meta-analysis of 43 cohort studies did not find a positive association between total dietary fat intake or saturated fat intake and CVDs risk.

The 2017 Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study (covered in this earlier article) is the only prospective study to date which covered multiple world regions and which found that total dietary fat and types of dietary fat were not associated with cardiovascular disease or mortality and further, that dietary saturated fat had an inverse association with stroke and a risk of all-cause mortality with higher intake (up to ~14% of energy intake). That is, dietary saturated fat intake was protective.

The findings of the current meta-analysis study, combined with the findings of the 2017 PURE study call into question current dietary recommendations which continue to recommend that people limit dietary saturated fat in order to reduce cardiovascular risk. Such recommendations are included in the most recent Canada’s Food Guide which encourages Canadians to ”choose foods with healthy fats instead of saturated fat” and to ”prepare meals and snacks using ingredients that have little to no added sodium, sugars or saturated fat” (see this article for details) *.

Post publication note (April 7, 2019): As I’ve stated in previous articles, I am not opposed to Canada’s new Food Guide. It is a huge improvement over it’s predecessor for many reasons already discussed. My two concerns that I’ve expressed previously remain; (a) that the recommendations for the general population to continue to limit saturated fat because it contributes to CVD has not been conclusively demonstrated. The only thing that has been shown is that saturated fat can raise LDL, but which LDL; the large fluffy sub-fraction, or the small dense sub-fraction? Please see article linked to above for an elaboration. My second concern is that (b) the recommended amount of carbohydrate is too high for the large percentage of the population that are already metabolically unhealthy. Please see this article for an elaboration.

Author’s Conclusions

The study’s authors concluded that;

“This current meta-analysis of cohort studies suggested that total fat, SFA, MUFA, and PUFA intake were not associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, we found that higher TFA intake is associated with greater risk of CVDs in a dose-response fashion. Furthermore, the subgroup analysis found a cardio-protective effect of PUFA in studies followed up for more than 10 years. Dietary guidelines taking these findings into consideration might be more credible.” [1]

If you would like to learn about the types of fats in your diet and how they may impact your health or those of your family, please send me a note through the Contact Me form on the tab above. You can learn more about the services I provide by clicking on the Services tab or having a look in the Shop.

To your good health,

Joy

You can follow me on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lchfRD
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-RD (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

 

References

  1. Zhu Y, Bo Y, Liu Y, Dietary total fat, fatty acids intake, and risk
    of cardiovascular disease: a dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies, Lipids in Health and Disease (2019) 18:91, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12944-019-1035-2
  2. Sverdlov AL, Elezaby A, Qin F, Behring JB, Luptak I, Calamaras TD, Siwik DA, Miller EJ, Liesa M, Shirihai OS, et al. Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species mediate cardiac structural, functional, and mitochondrial consequences of diet-induced metabolic heart disease. J Am Heart Assoc. 2016;5:e002555.
  3. Ruparelia N, Chai JT, Fisher EA, Choudhury RP. Inflammatory processes in cardiovascular disease: a route to targeted therapies. Nat Rev Cardiol. 2017;14:133—44.
  4. Nations FaAOotU. Summary of conclusions and dietary recommendations on total fat and fatty acids in fats and fatty acids in human nutrition—report of an expert consultation. Geneva: FAO/WHO; 2010.
  5. Estruch R, Ros E, Salas-Salvado J, Covas MI, Corella D, Aros F, Gomez- Gracia E, Ruiz-Gutierrez V, Fiol M, Lapetra J, et al. Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet. N Engl J Med. 2013;368:1279—90.
  6. Guasch-Ferre M, Babio N, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Corella D, Ros E, Martin-Pelaez S, Estruch R, Aros F, Gomez-Gracia E, Fiol M, et al. Dietary fat intake and risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in a population at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;102:1563—73.
  7. Dehghan M, Mente A, Zhang X, Swaminathan S, Li W, Mohan V, Iqbal R, Kumar R, Wentzel-Viljoen E, Rosengren A, et al. Associations of fats and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 18 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study. Lancet. 2017;390:2050—62.

 

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What To Do if You Think that Green Tea Tastes Terrible

Recently, I came across a social media post about someone that wanted to drink green tea for it’s health benefits, but just couldn’t get over it’s “bad taste”.  I followed the origin of the thread to Reddit, where people guessed whether green tea’s “off taste” for that person may be genetic, like the taste of cilantro. While that can be the case (i.e. genetic sensitivity to a compound called 6-n-propylthiouracil which is found in some flavonoids), others touched on whether it was because the person was making tea using supermarket green tea bags rather than loose tea, whereas a few people hit on the complexity of the issue.  In this post I will discuss some of the factors that affects whether your green tea has a pleasant or “off taste”,  because after all green tea should be something you actually enjoy and not only drink for it’s health benefits.

NOTE: The first part of this article are some personal details of my experience learning to prepare multi-ethnic food and beverages and the second part of the article is specifically about the preparation of green tea and its health benefits.

Once a Foodie, Always a Foodie

I have been adventurous in trying different kinds of food and beverages since I’m little and I remember my parents taking me to an authentic Japanese restaurant even as a kid.  As a teen, I enjoyed cooking multi-ethnic food and learned authentic Cantonese cooking in the 1970s when my mom took a course in Chinatown. In the 1980’s, I learned authentic Thai cooking from the friend of a family business associate who was from Thailand and in those days one couldn’t buy pre-made Thai curry pastes that are available everywhere now, so I sourced the raw ingredients in Lao-Thai groceries and hand-pounded them myself in a mortar and pestle (that I still own and use!). I still have the recipe books sent to me from Thailand.

It didn’t matter whether it was Asian, Middle Eastern or Jamaican, I was a bit of a purist; wanting the ingredients and cooking method to be as authentic as possible. For me, the best way to find out how to make something was to ask someone from that culture that loved to cook.

What was true about food was also true for beverages.

I couldn’t just enjoy a cup of coffee or glass of wine without knowing more. Whether it was the origin of the coffee beans, the length of time the beans were roasted, or how long the water is in contact with the beans — I needed to know, and I was interested in such things when it was not popular either.

Before “West Coast coffee” was a thing and before there ever was Starbucks® or Peet’s, there was a place called La Vieille Europe on St. Laurent Blvd in Montreal which was where I got my single origin, whole bean coffee. As I found out years later, the son of the roaster that owned that store taught the original roaster from Peet’s in the US how to roast beans. Small world.

When I lived in wine country (Sonoma county) of California for a few years in the early 2000s, I was determined to educate my palate to distinguish between different types of wine, which I did. I knew what I liked — which turned out to be an expensive habit when I returned to Canada after 9/11.  At the beginning I explored the wines of Australia and found some I really liked, but missed the delicious and inexpensive  wines of Sonoma and Napa.

Once again, my palate returned to coffee, but finding a decently roasted coffee in Vancouver BC was harder than I thought. Given that this was the “West Coast”, I was discouraged how difficult it was to find good quality Arabica beans that weren’t over roasted. I stumbled across a few small roasters that did an excellent job, but in time they modified their roasts for “local tastes”, so once again, I was back looking for a new roaster. On a few occasions, I ordered from La Vieille Europe in Montreal because in the 40 or 50 years they have been in business, they never lost their passion for properly roasted, single origin coffee.

Over the 20 years I have lived in Vancouver, I discovered the world of quality tea that is largely unknown to most non-Asian born Chinese. There was one excellent tea importer in the Chinatown that I knew of and one that is still in the Richmond Public market that have single origin estate teas that rival the diversity of the best coffee roaster. Over the past 20 years, I’ve explored different types of tea from China and  have come to like a few; my favourite of which is a fermented tea known as Pu-ehr.

A number of years ago, I stumbled across matcha tea in a specialty Japanese store before it was a “thing”.  Knowing nothing about it, I have since found out that I had been using ‘culinary matcha‘ (designed for making Japanese sweets) for drinking.  No wonder it tasted bitter and I needed to blend it with other ingredients to make it palatable. Thankfully, when fresh it had the same health benefits, which I wrote about in 2013 in this article about the Role of Green Tea Powder (Matcha) in Weight and Abdominal Fat Loss. As you’ll read below, I have since learned about making and enjoying real ceremonial-grade matcha, which is intended for drinking from large matcha bowls.

Learning about Japanese Green Tea

At the beginning of this year, I began to explore green teas from Japan when I discovered Hibiki-An, an online tea importer from Uji region of Kyoto. My culinary world expanded once again.

Unable to decide between the many different types and grades of tea that they carry, I order a sampler of 3 types of green teas (Sencha, Gyokuro Superior and Sencha Fukamushi).  They came in 4 oz individual bags — the quantity that can be reasonably be used up within 3 months, when it is fresh.  All 3 teas were all of “superior” grade, which is not the best quality (as my palate is not developed yet) but is a high grade tea.

When the tea arrived, it came with very specific brewing instructions (a summary of the much more detailed instructions on their web page). I’ve since learned that different types of green tea require different water temperatures and different lengths of brewing time.

Wow, who knew?

For the purpose of “cooling” the water to just the right temperature, there is a yuzamashi — which is a small ceramic cup with a spout that the boiled water gets poured into to cool momentarily before being poured into the kyuzu; a special tea pot with a single handle, built in mesh filter and large opening for the water (see photo, above).

You don’t need the get fancy, though.  I had these things for years from my days exploring different regional teas, but one can use an ordinary bowl to cool the water and any plain ceramic tea pot to brew the tea in!

Tea to Water Ratio, Water Temperature and Steeping Time

Each type of green tea has a very specific ratio of green tea leaves to water, and very specific water temperatures and steeping time.

For example, of the three teas in my sample set, Sencha is brewed at 80° Celsius (176 ° Fahrenheit) for one minute, Gyokuro is brewed at 60-70 ° Celicus (140-158° Fahrenheit) for 1 -1/2 to 2 minutes and Sencha Fukamushi is brewed at the same temperature as regular Sencha, but for only 40-45 seconds.

I’ve discovered that following these guidelines using good quality, fresh tea leaves makes a cup of tea that is like nothing I’ve tasted anywhere before. It is not simply snobbery, but the science of what makes for a good cup of tea.

Note: I downloaded several studies that have researched the difference in brewing time, water to tea leaf ratio and water temperature but have decided against boring anyone with the details.

Recently, I became ready to move onto “real” matcha tea and ordered some from the same supplier in Japan.

It came in tiny cans (quantities that should be used up in a 3 week period).

The colour was a bright jade green and the taste had no hint of bitterness whatsoever!

It tastes amazing!

My teas ordered from Japan are my “weekend teas” and during the week I used run-of-the-mill Sencha purchased locally at a Japanese store.

I drink them because I like them and for the health benefits.

Health Benefits of Green Tea

The health benefits of green tea are many. Several large-scale population studies have linked increased green tea consumption with significant reductions in the symptoms of metabolic syndrome; a cluster of clinical symptoms which include insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia (high levels of circulating insulin), Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease including coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis.

Catechins make up ~ 30% of green tea’s dry weight, of which 60—80% are catechins. Oolong and black tea which are produced from partially fermented or completely fermented tea leaves contains approximately half the catechin content of green tea. 

It is believed that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is the most abundant catechin in green tea actually mimics the action of insulin, which has positive health effects for people with insulin resistance or Type 2 Diabetes [Kao et al].

EGCG also lowers blood pressure almost as effectively as the ACE-inhibitor drug, Enalapril, having significant implications for people with hypertension (high blood pressure) and cardiovascular disease [Kim et al].

Green tea catechins also have benefit for weight loss. A 2009 meta-analysis of 11 green tea catechin studies found that subjects consuming between 270 to 1200 mg green tea catechins / day (1 — 4 tsp of matcha powder per day) lost an average of 1.31 kg (~ 3 lbs) over 12 weeks with no other dietary or activity changes [Hursel].

Drinking 8-10 cups of green tea per day is enough to increase blood levels of EGCG into a measurably significant range [Kim et al], but matcha contains  137 times greater concentration of EGCG compared to green tip tea [Weiss et al].

WARNING TO PREGNANT WOMEN While EGCG has also been found to be similar in its effect to etoposide anddoxorubicin, a potent anti-cancer drug used in chemotherapy [Bandele et al], high intake of polyphenolic compounds during pregnancy is suspected to increase risk of neonatal leukemia. Bioflavonoid supplements (including green tea catechins) should not be used by pregnant women [Paolini et al].

Green Tea Shouldn’t Taste Bad!

The reason someone would find green tea has an “off flavor” was because the tea was either not fresh, not of a half-decent quality, was brewed at the wrong temperature or for the wrong length of time. Think about it this way; it all a person ever drank was cheap pre-ground coffee, they might think coffee tasted bad, too.

The fact is, one doesn’t need to order tea from Japan to enjoy a decent cup of green tea! I found the green teas below at a local Japanese grocery store and when brewed properly they are great as everyday tea.

If you aren’t adventurous to explore ethnic markets or time is limited, I can highly recommend the online supplier I mentioned above as having excellent price for the quality of green tea, very good explanations on their web page and quick delivery.

For everyday use, I have a little water cooler (yuzamashi) bowl and small single handed tea pot (kyuzu) so brewing a decent quality sencha green tea (my daily tea of choice) has become second nature, but as I mentioned above, one doesn’t need special equipment to make a decent cup of green tea!  All you need is the  right amount of fresh, good quality tea leaves steeped for the right length of time in hot water that’s at the right temperature. The only thing to keep in mind is that once the package of tea is opened, it needs to be stored in a sealed, airtight, light-proof container and used up within 3 months or sooner.

Making a good cup of green tea is not really much different than brewing a good cup of coffee. To make a good cup of coffee, one needs to consider the country / countries of origin of the beans, the bean roasting time and temperature, the brewing method involved (drip, espresso, French press, etc), the required water temperatures needed for that method, and the different grind of beans and a specific water-to-ground-bean ratio required for that brewing method. It sound’s complicated, but if you a few types of coffee regularly, it’s not hard.

It’s the same with green tea.

In one sense, there is a lot to learn at first to make a good cup of green tea but on the other hand, once you know a few basics and find a green tea or two you really enjoy, the rest is easy!

Tea has amazing health benefits, but unlike the cough medicine Buckley’s®, there is no need to drink tea that “tastes terrible, but it works”!

If you would like to know more about what I do as a Dietitian and how I can help you with weight loss or to seek to reverse the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, including Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure and other related markers, please send me a note using the Contact Me form on this web page.

If you would like to learn more about the services I offer and their costs, please click on the Service tab or have a look in the Shop.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me at:

       https://twitter.com/lchfRD

         https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/

https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

 

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

References

Gayathri Devi A, Henderson SA, Drewnowski A. Sensory acceptance of Japanese green tea and soy products is linked to genetic sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil. Nutr Cancer. 1997;29(2):146-51

Hursel R, Viechtbauer W, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. The effects of green tea on weight loss and weight maintenance: a meta-analysis. Int J Obes (Lond) 2009;33:956—61.

Paolini, M, Sapone, A, Valgimigli, L, ”Avoidance of bioflavonoid supplements during pregnancy: a pathway to infant leukemia?”. Mutat Res 527 (1—2): 99—101. (Jun 2003)

Kao YH, Chang MJ, Chen CL, Tea, Obesity, and Diabetes, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 50 (2): 188—210, February 2006

Kim JA, Formoso G, Li Y, Potenza MA, Marasciulo FL, Montagnani M, Quon MJ., Epigallocatechin gallate, a green tea polyphenol, mediates NO-dependent vasodilation using signaling pathways in vascular endothelium requiring reactive oxygen species and Fyn, J Biol Chem. 2007 May 4;282(18):13736-45. Epub 2007 Mar 15.

Weiss, DJ, Anderton CR, Determination of catechins in matcha green tea by micellar electrokinetic chromatography, Journal of Chromatography A, Vol 1011(1—2):173-180, September 2003

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The Biological Connection Between Sugar and Cancer

I’ve heard that some types of cancer feed on glucose (the sugar in our blood) and I know of a few people that started a ketogenic diet as adjunct therapy to be used along side surgery and chemotherapy in the treatment of glioblastoma (a form of aggressive brain cancer), but just came across an article that explains why limiting sugar intake can lower one’s risk of cancer. In this article, I explain one biological link between cancer and sugar.

A “Master Switch for Cancer”

In the 1980’s, Dr. Lewis Cantley was a Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston when he identified a previously unknown enzyme known as phosphoinositide-3-kinase, or PI3K which turned out to a type of ‘master switch for cancer’.

PI3K’s normal function is to alert cells to the presence of the hormone insulin; resulting in the cells pumping in glucose to be used as metabolic fuel for the cell. Signals from PI3K are necessary for normal cell growth, survival and reproduction, however when this enzyme is hijacked by cancer cells, it provides tumors with an over-abundant supply of glucose, which results in their rapid proliferation.

The gene that codes for PI3K is now thought to be the most frequently mutated cancer-promoting gene in humans and is believed to be associated with 80% of cancers, including those of the breast, brain and bladder.

In 2012, Dr. Cantley became the Director of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, which is the biomedical research unit and medical school of Cornell University, where he is Professor of Cancer Biology. In his work at Weill Cornell, Dr. Cantley has continued to investigate the role of PI3K.

Challenges with some anti-cancer drugs that have been developed that block the PI3K enzyme is that these PI3K-inhibitor drugs are designed to starve the cancer cell of glucose, but also signal the person’s liver that their body is starving for glucose, too.  As a result, the liver would break down glycogen (a storage form of glucose) and send large amounts of glucose into the person’s blood, resulting in their blood sugar spiking and triggering their pancreas to release lots of insulin, as a result. The presence of all of this glucose from the liver and insulin from the pancreas resulted in these patient’s tumors continuing to grow.

Dr. Cantley and his colleagues wondered whether the spike in insulin from the breakdown of glycogen might be countering the effect of the PI3K-inhibiting drugs by reactivating the PI3K pathway in the cancer cells.  Studies first tried giving these patients Diabetes medications to lower their blood sugar and insulin levels, but this didn’t work nearly as well as what they tried next.

The researchers came up with a theory that a ketogenic diet (a diet that is very low in carbohydrate)   could prevent the spikes caused in blood sugar by the  PI3K-inhibiting drugs and might help the drug starve the tumor, while the patient’s blood sugar remained normal because the body would be fueled by breaking down fat and protein for ketones.

They tested the theory using genetically engineered mice that developed pancreatic, bladder, endometrial and breast cancers and treated the mice with a new PI3K inhibitor drug. The study demonstrated that spikes of insulin did indeed reactivate the pathway in tumors, countering the anti-cancer effect of the drug. However, when the researchers put the mice on a ketogenic diet, in addition to the medication, the tumors shrank. The results were published in the journal Nature in July 2018.

Dr. Cantley explains the biological connection between cancer and sugar this way;

“Our pre-clinical research suggests that if somewhere in your body you have one of these PI3K mutations and you eat a lot of rapid-release carbohydrates, every time your insulin goes up, it will drive the growth of a tumor. The evidence really suggests that if you have cancer, the sugar you’re eating may be making it grow faster.”

Some Final Thoughts…

A normal cell function requires the enzyme PI3K that results in the cell pumping in glucose to fuel growth and reproduction and a cancer cell that has a defect in the gene that codes for PI3K may do the same thing. Sugar, in and by itself does not cause cancer, but in those that have a few abnormal cells, sugar can drive the process of tumor development.

According to the World Health Organization, the average American consumes 126 grams of sugar a day, more than people in any other country and the average Canadian eats almost 90 grams (89.1) of sugar per day. Sugar is not required in the diet; in fact, there is no essential need to eat carbohydrate at all, if people eat adequate amounts of healthy fats and protein.

Given that as many as 88% of Americans are already metabolically unhealthy — with likely a smaller percentage of Canadians following suit (due to slightly lower obesity statistics), there is no valid reason for the average American or Canadian to be eating foods with added sugar.* As I’ve written about in many previous articles, high blood sugar and high insulin levels already predispose people to Type 2 Diabetes and obesity and as outlined in this article, are involved in the proliferation of some types of cancer cells.

*(update April 29, 2019): While I say above that there is ”no valid reason” for those who may already be metabolically unwell to eat foods with added sugar — in retrospect, this is not well worded.  I think there are lots of valid reasons for people to eat foods with added sugar, but believe that it may be preferable for those who are already metabolically unwell to limited added sugars.

It would seem to me that a prudent approach for metabolically healthy people (12% of Americans, and perhaps an estimated 25% of Canadians) is to stay healthy by avoiding processed foods that are high in refined carbs and sugar, as well as foods high in “natural sugar” such as 100% fruit juice  in order to reduce the risk of becoming metabolically unwell or inadvertently feeding malignant cells that feed on glucose.

For the large majority of those that are already metabolically unhealthy, a well-designed low carbohydrate diet can help you reverse the symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes, putting the disease into remission, as well as achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.  Not inadvertently feeding tumor proliferation seems like a nice ‘side benefit’, too.

If you would like to know more about how I can help you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight or halt the progression of Type 2 Diabetes and other related metabolic disorders, please send me a note using the Contact Me form on this web page.  If you would like to learn more about the services I offer and their costs, please click on the Service tab or have a look in the Shop.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me at:

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https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

Reference

Crawford A, Increasing evidence of a strong connection between sugar and cancer, MedicalXPress, March 20, 2019,  https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-03-evidence-strong-sugar-cancer.html

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

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American Diabetes Association: Very Low Carb Diet is the most powerful for treating T2D

Dr. Laura Saslow, PhD serves on the nutrition review committee for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and spoke on March 15, 2019 at the 42nd annual National Food Policy Conference in Washington, DC . She was on a panel of experts discussing the tremendous cost of diet-related disease and the role of public policy in encouraging healthier eating.

The talk was titled, Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Dr. Saslow said this;

“…The American Diabetes Association (ADA) reviewed all of the clinical trial evidence for the new 2019 ADA clinical guidelines and has noted that a very low carbohydrate diet (VLCD) of 20-35g carbohydrate per day (not low in fat or salt) is the most powerful eating approach for treating type 2 diabetes, leading to a 40-50% remission rate.

Current standard of care leads to less than a 5% remission rate.

VLCD can also be helpful for patients with type 1 diabetes, pre-diabetes, hypertension, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, and there is now more clinical trial evidence for VLCD than for any other eating pattern…”

In December, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) released its 2019 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, including its Lifestyle Management Standards of Care which included use of a low carbohydrate diet (you can read about that here), but that the ADA has now noted that a very low carbohydrate diet of 20-35 g carbohydrate per day is “the most powerful eating approach for treating Type 2 Diabetes, leading to a 40-50% remission rate” compared to the current standard of care which  leads only to “less than a 5% remission rate” is very exciting.

A very low carbohydrate diet listed as Medical Nutrition Therapy in the upcoming 2019 American Diabetes Association Clinical Guidelines will certainly pave the way for organizations such as Diabetes Canada to re-evaluate the strength of the evidence for use of carbohydrate restriction for significantly improving remission rates for those with Type 2 Diabetes in this country.

What an exciting time to be a Dietitian!

NOTE: The video of her speaking had been posted on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/LEKw1Ri7ryA but has since been deleted as the individual posting it did obtain permission to post it.

You can find out more about the hourly consultations and packages I offer by clicking on the Services tab above and if you have questions, feel free to send me a note using the Contact Me form, and I will reply as soon as I am able.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me at:

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https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

 

Reference

42nd Annual National Food Policy Conference, Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel, March 14 & 15, 2019, Panel 1: Let Food Be Thy Medicine

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

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Now Licensed for Virtual Dietetic Practice Across Canada

If you live almost anywhere in Canada and are looking for a Registered Dietitian with experience providing low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet support, I can help.

Whether you live in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland or Labrador, I am now licensed to provide you with services.

I currently can’t provide Dietitian services to Prince Edward Island (PEI) but if I have enough demand, I will consider becoming licensed in that province, as well.

Registered in British Columbia since 2002

I have been registered with the College of Dietitians of British Columbia since 2002 as an RD(t) and since 2008 as a full registrant. This registration enables me to provide services to people across Canada, with the exception of  Alberta and PEI but since I’ve had several physicians in Alberta who have asked to refer patients to me as well as individuals from Alberta requesting services, I recently applied to- and was accepted into the College of Dietitians of Alberta.

Provincial Registration Requirements for Virtual Dietetic Practice

As can be seen from the table below, Registered Dietitian such as myself that provide virtual Dietetic practice services (Distance Consultation) to other provinces are required to meet very specific registration requirements, as well as observe other regulatory regulations.

Virtual Dietetic Practice (Telepractice) – from the Alliance of Dietetic Regulatory Bodies. August, 2017

In the US or overseas?

I am a member of the College of Dietitians of British Columbia as well as the College of Dietitians of Alberta and am licensed to provide Registered Dietitian services in most provinces in Canada (except PEI), but if you live in the USA or elsewhere, I can provide you with low carb or ketogenic nutrition education services that would not be considered medical nutrition therapy (MNT) and that would be provided for information purposes only.

More Info

If you would like more information, you can find out more under the Services tab or by looking in the Shop. If you have specific questions, please send me a note using the Contact Us form on the tab above and I’d be glad to reply as I am able.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me at:

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Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

 

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American Heart Association: Some Kids & Teens at Risk for Premature CVD

INTRODUCTION: It is well known that adults are at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to having obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, but it is now known that children and adolescents are also at risk of premature coronary artery disease and stroke for the same reasons.


According to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the Association’s journal Circulation this past Monday (February 25, 2019) [1], obesity and severe obesity in childhood and adolescence have been added to the list of conditions that put kids and teenagers at increased risk for premature heart disease, including coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke and are considered at high risk of cardiovascular disease simply by having Type  2 Diabetes, whether or not they are overweight.

Childhood overweight is defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) between the 85th to 94th percentile for age and sex, and childhood obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 95th percentile for age and sex.

Youth with obesity are now considered at-risk of heart disease and stroke
and those with severe obesity are now considered at moderate risk of heart disease and stroke based on a large-scale study from 2016 that followed 2.3 million people for over 40 years and found the risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease were 2-3 times higher if people’s body weight as adolescents had been in the overweight or obese category, compared to youth with normal weight [2].

Obesity,  specifically the ectopic fat  (fat in the organs) is considered an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and is associated with other CVD risk factors such as high triglycerides, low levels of HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure,  high blood sugar (hyperglycemia),  insulin resistance, inflammation and oxidative stress.

It Is estimated that in 2014 ~6% of all youth 2 to 19 years old in the United States were severely obese [3] and 2015 Canadian data indicates that obesity in children aged 5-17 years of age averaged around 12% (14.5% for boys and ~9.5% in girls) [4].

Given these children are 2-3 times more likely to have premature cardiovascular disease as adults, the time to successfully address their overweight and obesity is when they are still young.

Cardiovascular Disease -a leading cause of death

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for people of all ages and both genders in the United States [5] and the second leading cause of death in Canada [6] and a large percentage of these deaths are entirely preventable with appropriate dietary and lifestyle habit changes whether they are implemented as children, youth or adults.

Proposed Mechanism – inflammation

The American Heart Association scientific statement states that the exact mechanism by which these contribute to cardiovascular disease remains to be fully understood and explained, they believe that the cardiovascular risk is brought about by a combination of insulin resistance and oxidative stress (free radical damage), but that inflammation comes first.

“Insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and
inflammation are linked multidirectionally, but emerging
evidence supports a mechanism by which inflammation
comes first.”

SIDE-NOTE: This idea that inflammation precedes insulin resistance is something I’ve been coming across recently. Some propose that insulin resistance itself may be a protective mechanism against high levels of circulating glucose (sugar) in the blood [a], in much the same way as the ability to produced more and more subcutanous fat (the fat directly under the skin) may be protective against the accumulation of fat around the organs (called visceral fat) or fat in the organs or even the bone (called ectopic fat). That is, excess energy (calories) seen as high levels of glucose in the blood may be the result of storage problems in fat cells (the body’s inability to make new subcutaneous fat cells), and the subsequent overflow of fat may drive excess high glucose production in the liver. a. Nolan CJ, Prentki M, insulin resistance and insulin hypersecretion in the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes: Time for a conceptual framework shift, Diabetes and Vascular Disease Research, Feb 15, 2019

The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that inflammation may increase cardiovascular risk through a combination of these three factors;

(1) high triglycerides (TG)
(2) low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL)
(3) high small low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles (LDL-s)

NOTE: Studies on LDL-particle size indicate that people whose LDL is mostly the small, dense sub-particles have a 3x greater risk of coronary heart disease than those with mostly the large, fluffy sub-particle type, which is thought to be protective.”

The American Heart Association suggests that it’s the inflammatory process itself that triggers insulin resistance as a mechanism to keep blood sugar high in order to meet the needs of an  immune system that has become activated, as would occur when the body is fighting a significant infection. 

They propose that this process of inflammation leads to;
(1) defective activity of an enzyme that is responsible for breaking down triglycerides (i.e. lipoprotein lipase) which would normally be used by the body as energy or stored in fatty tissue for later use
(2) blocking of normal fat cell creation (adipogenesis)
(3) an increase in triglycerides in order to deal with infectious toxins and
(4) an overproduction of smaller LDL particles* and HDL particles

*The ADA suggests that the formation of small LDL particles may perform some important function in this situation of high inflammation, as small LDL particles can easily penetrate the blood vessels to deliver cholesterol to damaged tissue and that oxidation of these small LDL particles make atherosclerosis even worse.

The decrease in HDL cholesterol which is frequently seen on a standard cholesterol test (lipid panel) in the context of inflammation is thought to be associated with a decrease in reverse cholesterol transport which promotes the building up of cholesterol in the tissues, where it is used for the synthesis of cortisol for the cell membranes that have become damaged by what the body sees as an ‘infection’.

Recommended Dietary Changes

The AHA recommends different dietary and lifestyle changes for each of the risk factors

High Triglycerides(TG)

The AHA recommends a diet low in simple carbohydrates and added sugars, high in dietary fiber from fruits* and vegetables**, moderate amounts of complex carbohydrates, and high in polyunsaturated*** and  monounsaturated fats, without specific restriction of saturated fats.

NOTES: * fructose, the sugar in fruit is a simple carbohydrate and can be a major contributor to high TG.  ** there is no distinction between starchy vegetables such as potato and sweet potato (which accounts for a large percentage of overweight children and adult’s ‘vegetable’ servings) and non-starchy vegetables such as leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower, as well as a whole host of other low carbohydrate non-starchy vegetables. *** it is well established that omega 6 polyunsaturated fats contribute to the inflammation process yet the recommendation doesn’t indicate that there should be a decrease in omega 6 polyunsaturated fats such as from soybean oil, canola oil, etc. and an increase in anti-inflammatory omega 3 fats from fatty fish such as tuna, salmon, sardines, etc even though the paper itself proposes inflammation at the heart of the issue. This makes no sense to me.

Total LDL Cholesterol

Diet high in fiber from fruits* and vegetables**, whole grains, high in polyunsaturated*** and monounsaturated fats, low in saturated
fat and devoid of trans fats.

See Notes above for * , ** and ***.

NOTE: The body of the AHA paper elaborates on the detrimental effect of the small LDL subparticle (LDL-s), yet no such differentiation from total LDL cholesterol (LDL-c) is made in the Dietary Recommendations. Why is that? Particle size of LDL can be established by testing, using Apo B:Apo A ratio (Apo B is a component of lipoproteins involved in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease) and by proxy using a TG:HDL ratio. It makes no sense to me that the dietary recommendations focus on total LDL cholesterol when the paper makes it clear that it is the small LDL subparticle that is the risk factor.

Blood glucose (without diagnosis of
Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes)

Low glycemic diet limiting intake of added sugar to ≤5% of total
calories, high in fruits* and vegetables**, encouraging intake of
polyunsaturated*** and monounsaturated fats, and without specific limitation to dietary saturated fats.

See Notes above for * , ** and ***.

Some final thoughts…

The dietary recommendations in this paper that focus on lowering simple carbohydrate and added sugars are very sound, as are recommending moderate amounts of complex carbohydrate and high in monounsaturated fat. However, to me it makes no sense for the AHA to recommend a diet high in fruit when fruit is the primary source of the simple sugar fructose and it also makes no sense to me for the dietary recommendations not to differentiate between starchy vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn (which is actually a grain that is counted as a vegetable) that raise blood sugar and the non-starchy vegetables such as salad greens,  broccoli and cauliflower and the abundance of other low carbohydrate vegetables.

Furthermore, given that the AHA proposes an inflammatory mechanism at the root of the cardiovascular disease process, it makes no sense to me for the dietary recommendations to fail to differentiate between pro-inflammatory omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (such as those found in soybean and canola oil) and anti-inflammatory omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as those found in fatty fish.

Finally, when the body of the paper makes it very clear that it is the small LDL cholesterol subparticle that contributes to athlersclerosis and that oxidization of it in particular is an additional risk factor, why do the dietary recommendations not focus on lowering the small LDL subparticle, rather than total LDL cholesterol?

Eating a lower carbohydrate intake will both reduce triglycerides (TG) and increase high density lipoproteins (HDL), resulting in an improved TG:HDL ratio, which would indicate a reduction in the small, dense LDL subfraction, and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.   Recommending a reduction in saturated fat intake will likely reduce any increase in HDL cholesterol with no consistent evidence that lower total LDL cholesterol will result in lower cardiovascular rates.

On one hand, the paper provides a good explanation about the risks of the small, dense LDL subparticle yet recommends lowering dietary intake of saturated fat, in order to lower total LDL cholesterol.

Why the avoidance of consistent dietary changes that would reduce the small, dense LDL subparticle and increase protective HDL? 

If you would like to know about the services that I offer for lowering body weight in adults as well as youth as well as bringing high blood sugars under control, then please click on the Services tab to learn more. If you have questions related to my services then please send me a note using the Contact Me form located on the tab above and I will reply as I am able.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me at:

         https://twitter.com/lchfRD

          https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/

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https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

 

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

References

  1. American Heart Association, Cardiovascular Risk Reduction in High-Risk Pediatric Patients – a scientific statement from the American Heart Association, Circulation. 2019;139:00-00
  2. Twig G, Tirosh A, Leiba A, Levine H, Ben-Ami Shor D, Derazne E, Haklai
    Z, Goldberger N, Kasher-Meron M, Yifrach D, Gerstein HC, Kark JD.
    BMI at age 17 years and diabetes mortality in midlife: a nationwide cohort
    of 2.3 million adolescents. Diabetes Care. 2016;39:1996—2003.
  3. Skinner AC, Perrin EM, Skelton JA. Prevalence of obesity and severe obesity
    in US children, 1999—2014. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016;24:1116—
    1123. doi: 10.1002/oby.21497
  4. Statistics Canada. 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey, Measured children and youth body mass index (BMI) (World Health Organization classification), by age group and sex, Canada and provinces, Canadian Community Health Survey.
  5. Benjamin EJ, Virani SS, Callaway CW et al (on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2018 update: a report from the American Heart Association [published correction appears in Circulation. 2018;137:e493]. Circulation. 2018;137:e67—e492
  6. Statistics Canada, Leading causes of death, total population, by age group, https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310039401
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Are You Pushing Your Pancreas Too Hard – estimating β-cell function

Most people think of pre-diabetes as ‘warning sign’ that they are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes, but it is actually the final stage before diagnosis. By the time a person is prediabetic their blood glucose results (also called “blood sugar”) are in the abnormal range on routine tests such as a fasting blood glucose test (FBS) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C). They also may already have increased high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke as well as chronic kidney disease. By assessing a person’s fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin at the same time then using a simple calculation we can accurately estimate the degree of a person’s insulin resistance and β-cell function before they become pre-diabetic — enabling them to make dietary interventions to prevent that from occurring, lower the likelihood of them progressing to type 2 diabetes

It is now known that abnormalities with the hormone insulin — including insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia appear more than 20 years before a diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes[1], so prevention of type 2 diabetes needs to begin when blood sugar results still appear normal.

Before getting into the technical details of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia, I want to explain these concepts in terms that everyone can understand.

Measuring Glucose and Insulin Together

Most people know that a car’s speedometer indicates how fast the car is going. The tachometer indicates how many times per minute the engine is rotating. If a car is doing 180 km / hour (110 miles per hour) on the highway, one would expect the engine to be working hard. But if a car was only doing 70 km / hour (44 miles per hour), one wouldn’t expect the engine to be working that hard, right?

The problem is that blood sugar may be within normal range because the pancreas is overworking to keep it low! The β-cell of the pancreas are being overworked but no one notices because they aren’t looking for it.

Even when people have a 2 hour Oral Glucose Test with added insulin assessors (explained below), blood glucose results may come back normal because the person is healthy. The problem is that blood glucose results may appear normal because the pancreas is working way too hard to keep it that way! That is, using the car example, the tachometer is working very hard, but the car is hardly moving!

Normal blood sugar values with abnormal insulin values = overworked pancreas – original illustration by Joy Y. Kiddie MSc, RD (special thanks to Dr. Eric Sodicoff for the idea)

Let’s look at this scenario in terms of blood test results;

Let’s say we have a person that has fasted overnight and their fasting blood glucose in the morning is normal at 4.9 mmol/L (88 mg/dl), but their fasting insulin is much higher than the ideal 14.0 – 42.0 pmol/L (2-6 uU/ml) — in this case, say it is 132.6 pmol/L (19.1 uU/ml).

This would be like the car being started but in “park” in the driveway and the engine turning at 3,000 RPM!  The pancreas is working  way too hard to maintain blood sugar and the person hasn’t even eaten yet!

Say we now give this person 75 g of pure glucose to drink and check what happens to their blood sugar at 30 minutes and/or one hour afterwards.

What we expect a healthy person’s blood sugar to do is to go up in response to taking in the glucose, for the pancreas to release the appropriate amount of insulin which results in the blood sugar going back down to at- or slightly below where it started from. This is the normal, healthy response.

On a graph it would look like this;

Normal Glucose Response with 75 g of glucose

But in the case of the person whose blood sugar is normal at fasting (i.e. 4.9 mmol/L (88 mg/dl)) but their fasting insulin is much higher than ideal (i.e. 132.6 pmol/L (19.1 uU/ml) instead of 14.0 – 42.0 pmol/L (2-6 uU/ml)), their car is in “park” but the engine is already turning fast!

When this person drinks the 75 g of glucose, their pancreas goes into “high rev” and releases a huge amount of insulin—which not only keeps the blood sugar from going up normally in response to taking in glucose, it may result in the blood sugar actually dropping slightly below the fasting level (from 4.9 mmol/L / 88 mg/dl to 4.8 mmol/L / 86 mg/dl). This is not a healthy response but is characteristic of hyperinsulinemia (too much circulating insulin even when the person is fasting).

This glucose and insulin response would look as follows;

If this person had only had a standard 2 hour Glucose Tolerance Test, they would be told everything is “fine” because their fasting blood glucose was normal at 4.9 mmol/L / 88 mg/dl and at 2 hours their blood glucose came right back down to normal (4.9 mmol/l / 88 mg/dl)!

Using the car analogy, their “tachometer” (pancreas that produces insulin) is working way too hard in order to keep blood sugar low. Burnout of the pancreatic β-cells is what results in type 2 diabetes (T2D) but without assessing simultaneous glucose AND insulin at fasting, either 30 minutes or 1 hour, and at 2 hours, the fact this person’s pancreas is working way too hard to keep glucose low would be totally missed. 

By the time a person is diagnosed with T2D, they have lost approximately half of their β-cell mass, so preventing the β-cell’s of the pancreas from being overworked is how to delay or prevent becoming type 2 diabetic!

Four Stages of Type 2 Diabetes – why assessing β-cell function is important

There are four stages in the progression of type 2 diabetes, with Insulin Resistance (IR) and hyperinsulinemia being the stage BEFORE pre-diabetes [2].

Stage 1: Insulin Resistance (including hyperinsulinemia)
Stage 2: Pre-diabetes
Stage 3: Type 2 Diabetes
Stage 4: Metabolic and Vascular Complications

Four Stages of Type 2 Diabetes – original illustration by Joy Y. Kiddie MSc, RD

Insulin resistance and  hyperinsulinemia together are essentially “pre-pre-diabetes“, therefore stopping progression of the disease at this point reduces the risk associated with high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, heart attack and stroke, as well as chronic kidney disease.

Insulin resistance is where the cells of the body ignore signals from the hormone insulin which tell it to move glucose from broken down from digested food — from the blood and into the cells. When someone is insulin resistant, blood glucose stays higher than it should be, for longer than it should be, which is called  hyperglycemia.  When there are insufficient receptors on muscle cells to move glucose out of the blood after eating, this is called insulin resistance. It isn’t known whether insulin resistance comes first or hyperinsulinemia (high circulating levels of insulin) does. It is believed that it may be different depending on the person[3].

Assessing Insulin Resistance and β-cell Function

Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA-IR) estimates the degree of insulin resistance (IR), β-cell function (the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin) and insulin sensitivity (%S) and is determined from the results simultaneous fasting blood glucose test and a fasting insulin test.

Alternatively, HOMA-IR can be determined from a fasting blood glucose test and a fasting C-peptide test [3]. C-peptide is released in proportion to insulin, so it can be used to estimate insulin. Individual results are best compared to local population cut off values for HOMA1-IR [4] (1985) or the updated HOMA2-IR [5] (1998) .

HOMA1-IR  is defined as [fasting insulin (µU/mL)í— fasting glucose (mmol/L)]/22.5 [4] and HOMA2-IR is calculated using an online HOMA2 calculator released by the Diabetes Trials Unit, University of Oxford available at http://www.dtu.ox.ac.uk/homacalculator/index.php (updated January 8, 2013).

The original HOMA1-IR equation proposed by Matthews in 1985 [4] was widely used due to its simplicity, however it was not always reliable because it did not consider the variations in the glucose resistance of peripheral tissue and liver, or increases in the insulin secretion curve for blood glucose concentrations above 10 mmol/L (180 mg/dL) or the effect of circulating levels of pro-insulin. [6]. The updated HOMA2-IR computer model [5] has been used since 1998 and corrects for these.

Cut-off for insulin resistance using the original Matthews values (1985) [4] for HOMA-IR ≥ 2.7

Insulin sensitive is considered less than 1.0
Healthy is considered 0.5-1.4
Above 1.8 is early insulin resistance
Above 2.7 is considered significant insulin resistance

Cuff-off values for insulin resistance using the HOMA2-IR calculator (1998) [5] is HOMA2-IR ≥ 1.8. Three population based studies found the same or very close cut-offs applied, including a 2009 Brazilian study [7] which found HOMA2-IR ≥ 1.8, a 2014 Venezuelan study [8] which found HOMA2-IR ≥ 2.0 and a 2014 Iranian study [9] which found HOMA2-IR ≥ 1.8.

Use of HOMA-IR to Assess Insulin Resistance and β-cell Function in the Individual

HOMA-IR has been used to assess Insulin Resistance (IR) and β-cell function as a one-off measures in >150 epidemiological studies of subjects of various ethnic origins, with varying degrees of glucose tolerance [10].

In the Mexico City Study which used single glucose-insulin pairs (not the mean of three samples at 5-min intervals) [11], β-cell function and Insulin Resistance were assessed using HOMA-IR in ~1500 Mexicans with normal or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (27). Subjects were followed up for 3.5 years for the incidence of diabetes and to examine any possible relationship with baseline β-cell function and IR. At 3.5 years, ~4.5% of subjects with normal glucose tolerance at baseline and ~23.5% with impaired glucose tolerance at baseline had progressed to type 2 diabetes. That is, the development of diabetes was associated with higher HOMA-IR at baseline. 

The use of HOMA-IR on an individual basis enables clinicians to quantify both the degree of insulin sensitivity and β-cell function on assessment — before the person makes any dietary changes. Once the individual understands the significance of their HOMA-IR results, it can provide significant motivation for them to make dietary changes to slow– or prevent the progression toward abnormal glucose tolerance, or type 2 diabetes. When HOMA-IR is repeated 6 months into dietary changes, it provides significant feedback to the individual regarding the effectiveness of of dietary changes, and the motivation to continue.

“HOMA-IR can be used to track changes in insulin sensitivity and β-cell function longitudinally in individuals. The model can also be used in individuals to indicate whether reduced insulin sensitivity or β-cell failure predominates.[10]

Measuring Hyperinsulemia

Detection of hyperinsulinemia (high circulating levels of insulin) can occur using an Oral Glucose Sensitivity Index (OGIS) where available, or with a 2-hr Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (2-hr OGTT) with simultaneous assessors of insulin.  These are tests where a fasting person drinks a known amount of glucose (usually 75 g or 100 g of glucose) and their blood sugar and insulin values are measured before the test starts (baseline, while fasting) and at 2 hours. An additional assessor of blood glucose and insulin can be requested at 1 hour which is very helpful for detecting abnormalities that would missed if only assessing at fasting and at 2 hours. In the OGIS, both blood glucose and blood insulin levels are measured at baseline (fasting), at 120 minutes and at 180 minutes[3].

Final thoughts…

As mentioned at the start of this article, abnormalities in insulin, including insulin resistance and/or hyperinsulinemia begin to occur as much as 20 years before a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes — while blood sugar results are still normal. That is when we need to diagnose abnormalities!

If we simply monitor fasting blood glucose, we will miss that someone’s pancreas may be overworking.

Even if we monitor fasting blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C), we can miss that someone’s pancreas is overworking by constantly producing too much insulin.

Furthermore, even if a standard 2 hour Glucose Tolerance Test is run and the person’s fasting blood glucose and 2 hour glucose level after a load is measured, we still can miss that someone’s pancreas is being pushed way too hard if those values appear normal at baseline and at the end of the test.

By running a 2 hour Glucose Tolerance Test with simultaneous glucose and insulin at baseline (fasting), 30 minutes or 1 hour, and at 2 hours we can observe the pancreas being pushed way too hard and implement dietary changes to avoid further β-cell damage or β-cell death.

In British Columbia, the cost of a standard 2 hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test is $11.82 before tax and $13.36 with HST.

Each additional glucose assessment is $3.48 before tax and $3.93 after tax.

Each insulin assessment costs $32.82 before tax and $37.09 after tax, so a 2 hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test with additional glucose assessor at 1 hour and 3 insulin assessors at fasting, 1 hour and 2 hour costs as follows;

2 hour Oral Glucose Tolerance (fasting, 2 hours)           = $  13.36  with HST
additional glucose at 1 hour                                                       = $   3.93   with HST
3 insulin assessors at fasting, 1 hour, 2 hours                   = $111.27  with HST
TOTAL                                                                                                   = $128.56 with HST

When there are clinical reasons to suspect that a person may be insulin resistant and/or hyperinsulinemic and assessment of simultaneous glucose and insulin function can provide sufficient motivation for individuals to implement dietary changes that can prevent progression to type 2 diabetes, is this testing not worth <$130?

NOTE (March 9, 2021): Some family medicine doctors won’t order tests to assess insulin along with glucose in order to “save healthcare system dollars” — but instead will send their patient to an endocrinologist which costs the system ~$300 before any tests are run. Why? In parts of Canada, if audited, family medicine physicians have to re-pay for preventative tests (which are deemed “unnecessary”) . Self-paying for these tests is an option to consider.

If you would like to know about the services that I offer, please click on the Services tab to learn more and if you have questions related to these, please send me a note using the Contact Me form located on the tab above and I will reply as I am able.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me at:

https://twitter.com/lchfRD
https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/
https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

 

Copyright ©2019 The LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.

References

  1. Sagesaka H, S.Y., Someya Y, et al, Type 2 Diabetes: When Does It Start? Journal of the Endocrine Society, 2018. 2(5): p. 476-484.
  2. Mechanick JI, G.A., Grunberger G, et al, Dysglycemia-Based Chronic Disease: an American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists Position Paper. Endocrine Practice, 2018. 24(11): p. 995-1011.
  3. Crofts, C., Understanding and Diagnosing Hyperinsulinemia. 2015, AUT University: Auckland, New Zealand. p. 205.
  4. Matthews, D. R; Hosker, J. P; Rudenski, A. S; Naylor, B. A; Treacher, D. F; Turner, R. C; “•Homeostasis model assessment: insulin resistance and β-cell function from fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in man”–; Diabetologia; July, 1985; Volume 28, Number 7: Pp 412-419
  5. Levy JC, Matthews DR, Hermans MP. Correct homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) evaluation uses the computer program. Diabetes Care. 1998;21:2191—2192
  6. Song YS, Hwang Y-C, Ahn H-Y, Comparison of the Usefulness of the Updated Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA2) with the Original HOMA1 in the Prediction of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Koreans, Diabetes Metab J. 2016 Aug; 40(4): 318—325
  7. Geloneze B, Vasques AC, Stabe CF et al, HOMA1-IR and HOMA2-IR indexes in identifying insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome: Brazilian Metabolic Syndrome Study (BRAMS), Arq Bras Endocrinol Metabol. 2009 Mar;53(2):281-7
  8. Bermíºdez V, Rojas J, Martí­nez MS et al, Epidemiologic Behavior and Estimation of an Optimal Cut-Off Point for Homeostasis Model Assessment-2 Insulin Resistance: A Report from a Venezuelan Population, Int Sch Res Notices. 2014 Oct 29;2014:616271
  9. Tohidi M, Ghasemi A, Hadaegh F, Age- and sex-specific reference values for fasting serum insulin levels and insulin resistance/sensitivity indices in healthy Iranian adults: Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, Clin Biochem. 2014 Apr;47(6):432-8
  10. Wallace TM, Levy JC, Matthews DR, Use and Abuse of HOMA Modeling, Diabetes Care 2004 Jun; 27(6): 1487-1495. https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.27.6.1487
  11. Haffner SM, Kennedy E, Gonzalez C, Stern MP, Miettinen H: A prospective analysis of the HOMA model: the Mexico City Diabetes Study. Diabetes Care 19:1138—1141, 1996

 

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Healthy Men on Low Carb – building muscle while burning fat

Much of the time in podcast interviews and in articles, I highlight the particular challenges that women face, especially when it comes to losing fat without losing muscle, but women aren’t my only clients.  I also help  healthy middle aged— and older men who want to lose weight and gain muscle, and young men who want to gain muscle and shed excess fat, as well as those who are metabolically unwell and who have much weight to lose. The amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates that is best for each of these groups of people will depend on multiple individual factors; including their age, activity level and whether they are insulin sensitive or insulin resistant and whether they are taking any medications.

Much to the frustration of their women friends, men — whether young, middle aged or older often lose weight fairly easily and it often doesn’t matter whether they add protein or fat, provided they cut their carb intake. If men want to lose body fat however, adding lots of extra dietary fat doesn’t make much sense.  Generally women need to be more diligent with respect to how much added fat is in their diet and find reaching their goal easier when focusing on good sources of leaner protein— especially when they are peri- or post-menopausal, when the tendency to lose muscle mass along with body fat is a concern.

One common theme amongst my male clients is that regardless of age, they often want to build muscle along with reducing their body fat but don’t necessarily have lots of time to dedicate to going to the gym. What I’ve noticed in practice is that this often occurs quite naturally provided their muscles are challenged regularly. It doesn’t necessarily need to be engaging in ‘resistance training’ or ‘weight strengthening’ but can be as mundane as engaging in tasks under a weight-bearing load.  I’ve seen quite a number of men of all ages who have been able build muscle while losing excess body fat simply by the work that they do in labour jobs, as well as those that spend their leisure time being modestly active in activities such as camping and hunting.

This post documents the progress of one healthy young man in his mid-twenties who initially wanted to follow a low carb lifestyle in order to lose a bit of excess body fat, and who hoped to ‘tone up’ in the process. With his permission, I’ll share what he’s been able to accomplish by changing nothing other than what he ate.

Note: Individual results following this or any dietary plan differ. This article simply documents what one person accomplished and how.

Two years ago, a young man who I’ll call “Nathan” was slightly overweight, with a BMI (body mass index) of 25.6. His height was 5 foot 6 inches-and-a bit-tall and he weighed 160 pounds. He wasn’t what anyone would have described as “overweight”, in fact, he was unremarkably average for his age. Nathan worked as a carpenter, so while he was used to engaging in regular weight-bearing activity it was not what one would think of as extremely demanding.

When I first assessed Nathan, his waist was 37 – 3/4 inches when measured halfway between his lowest rib and the top of his hip bone, his hips were 41 – 1/2 inches and he wore size 32 pants.

The photo on the left is a photo that is fairly close to what he looked liked 23 months ago.

Nathan’s diet was healthy by conventional standards — breakfast was a bowl of whole grain cereal with 2% milk, a cup of coffee with 2% milk and a piece of fruit. Lunch was usually a sandwich or a sandwich and a half made on whole-grain bread which consisted of anything from lean cold cuts or cheese and lettuce, to peanut butter, sliced banana and a drizzle of honey. At lunch, he would usually eat a piece of fruit. Dinner was usually some kind of lean protein with rice or potato or a plate of pasta with sauce, or perogies and sausage, along with some type of salad and usually a cooked vegetable, too. He rarely ate “junk food” — having an aversion to it from having worked at a fast-food restaurant during high school, but tended to enjoy ‘treats’ such as ice cream, a chocolate bar, or a slice or two of pumpkin pie a few times per week. Before bed he would usually have a large glass of chocolate milk, made with 2% milk and some chocolate syrup. There was nothing particularly remarkable about his dietary intake except perhaps that it was incredibly ‘average’, even healthier than most.

Except for being slightly overweight and a little insulin resistant, Nathan was in good health. He wanted to lean out and maybe put on a bit of muscle and while he intended to work out with free weights at home, that never ended up occurring as he worked full time and began attending school two night per week, and studying occupied much of his spare time.

I started Nathan on a moderate low-carb diet and over the first few months we lowered his carbohydrates down to around 50 gm per day, which is usually a ketogenic level for men.

He never counted ‘macros’ (grams of protein, carbs and fat) but rather focused on building his meal around good quality lean protein, the fat that came naturally with his protein source, and plenty of non-starchy vegetables. I encouraged him to eat enough so that at the end of the meal he felt satisfied, but not “stuffed”. When it came to added fat, I explained that if he liked the skin on chicken when it was fresh off the barbecue to go ahead and enjoy it, but if he didn’t really like it if the chicken was was cooked in the oven or on top of the stove, then to eat it without the skin and explained something similar when it came to meat; remove the excess fat trim or ‘fat cap’ before grilling a steak, but then enjoy the steak with the fat that came with it. Nathan rarely added cream, butter or oil at the table, but would be very generous with adding a good quality olive oil on salad. He often topped his salad with pumpkin seeds and a healthy handful of Parmesan curls, and when available a few berries.

Breakfast was almost always some form of eggs (almost always 3) and several slices of cooked breakfast meat or an omelette with fresh veggies and cheese — something he never seemed to tire of.  If after his egg and meat breakfast, he was still hungry, he would open a few cans of tuna or salmon and mix them up with a good quality avocado oil mayonnaise and eat that too. He liked a big breakfast because in his work, he wasn’t always able to stop to eat, but when he did, lunch was almost always a reheated container of leftovers from a supper meal which included protein and non-starchy vegetable. Dinner was usually 6 oz or more of some kind of meat, fish or poultry along with non-starchy vegetables (cooked and/or raw) and the occasional serving of whole-food carbohydrate in the form of cooked yam, winter squash or a 1/2 cup of berries on top of a mixed green salad. When freshly barbecued burgers were on the menu for dinner, Nathan admitted to eating 3 or 4 of those, wrapped in a lettuce leaf “bun” and topped with a slice of fresh tomato and dill pickle, along with a big side salad, as described above. If he could, he’d forego the salad and eat just burgers wrapped in lettuce and stuffed with pickle (and skip the tomato). His food wasn’t complicated, but it was real, whole food with the simplest of preparation. Nathan was encourage to eat until he was satiated and to avoid snacking between meals or after dinner, with the exception of an ounce or two of 72% dark chocolate immediately after dinner. Admittedly, he often at more than an ounce or two of dark chocolate on the weekend and sometimes indulged in some “low carb” ice cream.

Even though he had a scale at home, Nathan literally never weighed himself.  He bought smaller sized pants and shirts after about 6 months, when adding more holes to his belt wasn’t enough. He kept doing the same amount of physical activity as he did before (mostly at his job) but noted how much easier those tasks became and how he could carry more without effort and without getting more tired. After almost 2 years of adopting a low carbohydrate lifestyle, Nathan asked me for a “weigh in” and to have me take measurements, which provided some very interested data. Most of the weight loss occurred in the first 6 months, but according to Nathan the muscle changes occurred gradually in the months following. With his permission, I am sharing those here.

In 23 months of doing nothing different but eating low carb (mostly higher lean animal protein with moderate fat), this was Nathan’s progress;

Weight lost: 22 pounds
Waist (inches): -6.5 inches
Hips (inches): -5.5 inches
Body Fat: from 15.7% to 7.7%

Nathan is not the type person who is interested in posting photos of himself without a shirt, but he certainly could do so with pride.  He is now muscular with a defined chest and abdominal muscles, with little discernible fat. His  BMI is 22.1, and for his height his muscle to fat ratio is excellent.  Nathan didn’t deliberately “work out” in any way— only continued in his trade as a carpenter, while eating low carb, higher protein and the fat that came naturally with his protein source. I’ve observed other male clients to have made impressive progress in weight loss and muscle gain when combining a low carb diet with resistance training, but what I found quite remarkable with Nathan was the change in his body composition given the only thing he changed was how he was eating!

If you would like to learn more about how I can help you or a family member achieve and maintain a healthy body weight while building and/or toning muscle, please send me a note using the Contact Me form located on the tab above.

To your good health!

Joy

You can follow me at:

       https://twitter.com/lchfRD

         https://www.facebook.com/lchfRD/

          https://plus.google.com/+JoyYKiddieMScRD

https://www.instagram.com/lchf_rd

 

Copyright Ltd. ©LCHF-Dietitian (a division of BetterByDesign Nutrition Ltd.)

LEGAL NOTICE: The contents of this blog, including text, images and cited statistics as well as all other material contained here (the ”content”) are for information purposes only.  The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, medical diagnosis and/or treatment and is not suitable for self-administration without the knowledge of your physician and regular monitoring by your physician. Do not disregard medical advice and always consult your physician with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before implementing anything  you have read or heard in our content.