Health

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What does all that fat do to your cholesterol?

We are asked this question frequently. Our answer usually involves a bit about how cholesterol is not the problem, that the true culprit is excess insulin, which is raised only by glucose in the blood. The source of this glucose is, of course, carbohydrate. Most people are dissatisfied with this answer and respond with skepticism, saying they will continue to follow the advice of their doctor—taking a statin. For the few people who want to understand the cholesterol question, we highly recommend this video. From The Fat Emperor comes the best explanation of cholesterol–what it is and how it functions. We ask that you watch “The Cholesterol Conundrum—and Root Cause Solution.” Be one of The Few. It may save your life. Then, share it with your family and friends so they may also join the ranks of The Few. Be bold. Share it with your doctor.

To your health!
Clark & 9ah

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So, just what DO you eat?

OystersInShells

2014 Meals Aboard

Everyone we talk to about our LCHF way of living inevitably asks, “So, just what DO you eat?” Most people simply cannot conceive of not eating grains or legumes or giving up sugar (including most fruits). And all that fat! Horrors! The mire of false beliefs and misinformation surrounding how to eat for good health is deep. Of course, folks usually want to understand just what eating this way would look like. Thus, many have asked us to put together an LCHF cookbook. This will not happen. We are, however, very happy to recommend several essential guide books–even a few cookbooks!

Notwithstanding our lack of interest in publishing recipes, we do have a camera. Presented on our personal website is a small assortment of meals we enjoyed aboard Rikki-tikki-tavi during five months in British Columbia. I photographed the plates, dinners for the most part, as they were delivered to the table–no time for food styling! The food is simple, quickly prepared, and very satisfying. The ingredients you will see all store fairly well on the boat. It’s not 5-star, but the fare suits us just fine.

Breakfast is nearly always three eggs with bacon. Sometimes Clark will use sliced sausage and/or cheese. We snack lightly on almonds and macadamia nuts, cheeses and a good salami (if we can find one). We make pemmican with grassed beef and suet during the winter. It gets doled out judiciously. IF we eat lunch, which we often do not, it will likely be canned Cole’s sardines in olive oil or Bar Harbor Herring with Cracked Black Pepper. Usually we eat right out of the can, but you will see other ways of using these extremely health-giving little cold-water fish.

Dinner is a serving of animal protein, cooked in natural fats (butter, lard, suet, coconut oil), along with a serving of vegetables that are low in carbohydrate. Cauliflower and cabbage store especially well in the “bilge” under the floorboards, as do red peppers and onions. You will see these simple ingredients are a recurring theme, but we pick up other fresh vegetables along the way when possible. We buy local eggs and we catch a fish on occasion. We eat to live and we live well on what we eat.

So, let’s go to the photographs! Enjoy.

May all your meals be scrumptiously nutritious!
9ah & Clark

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LCHF Cookbook!

In the weeks leading up to the holidays, Costco always brings in a wide selection of cookbooks. This past October, we saw the usual plethora of gorgeous cookbooks that focused on baking, desserts, regional cuisines, and techniques. It was heartening to note that several Paleo cookbooks had joined the collection. The Paleo movement is several steps in the right direction–no processed foods, no grains, no legumes. It has made remarkable inroads into the general discussion about diet and we heartily support many of its tenets. However, it is important to remember that the Paleo diet is not necessarily low in carbohydrate. In Paleo recipes, we see far too much emphasis placed on recreating familiar favorites, especially sweet things. This is usually accomplished by replacing processed white sugar and HFCS with dried fruit, honey, or maple syrup–all still concentrated sugars. This is truly unfortunate because, as we see it, the root of our metabolic disorder is our habit of ignoring our basic paleolithic physiology. Humans are designed to use fat as their primary fuel.

Three times a day, plus several snacks, people around the world stoke with carbohydrate. This chronic consumption of carbohydrate interferes with the proper use of fats by “locking the door” to their access, so to speak. Glucose itself is not benign. This molecule is highly damaging to our tissues and so the body must use it immediately by burning it for fuel (getting out of our bloodstream) or storing it away for the future in glycogen, which only amounts to about 120g, and in unlimited amounts as fat in adipose tissue. Keep in mind that the latter cannot be utilized as fuel as long as we keep eating carbohydrate.

Fructose is unique in that our cells are unable to burn it for energy. Fructose, which is the sugar in fruit and the other half of table sugar (sucrose) and corn syrup (HFCS), must go to the liver to be processed, where it is turned into triglycerides–fat–and transported to the adipose tissue. Nor can we burn protein for fuel directly. These amino acids may be converted by the liver, when necessary, into glucose. This process is called gluconeogenesis. Essentially, there are only two sources of fuel for our cells–fats and glucose. Fats are the most efficient, the most stable. As Dr Ron Rosedale says, “If you are a fat burner, you will be healthy. If you’re a sugar burner, you’re not. It’s as simple as that.”

While I examined the glossy covers displayed atop the stacks of cookbooks that day in Costco, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. My eyes zeroed in on a title whose cover was buried beneath a pile of yet another Paleo cookbook. The Low Carb High Fat Cookbook. ♥ Wow ♥ Imagine my shock, surprise, and LCHF Cookbookdelight at discovering this gem! Written by Sten Stur Skaldeman, a Swede who adopted LCHF a dozen years ago and lost a great deal of weight, this is an eye-popping collection of 100 beautifully photographed recipes that are sure to convince you that this lifestyle is filled with a scrumptious variety of foods. If you happen to believe that a low-carb lifestyle is in any way boring or that a person cannot possibly hope to stick with it for any significant period of time, this book may inspire you to change your mind. The stylish presentation of each recipe is gorgeous and mouthwatering. Even though we are longtime practitioners of LCHF, a copy went home with us that day. Before leaving, I moved the remaining copies of this cookbook to the top so they could be seen! Hopefully, many more were sold. We have been recommending Sten’s book ever since.

May all your meals be deliciously LCHF,
9ah & Clark

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Become a Fat Burner!

The best guide available to help you become a fat burner!Dr. Michael Eades calls this book “the best low-carb book in print” and we agree. This “expert guide to making the life-saving benefits of carbohydrate restriction sustainable and enjoyable” by Stephen Phinney, MD, PhD, and Jeff Volek, PhD, RD, is THE BOOK we recommend to everyone.

After you’ve read, re-read, and digested the belief-shattering Gary Taubes’ Good Calories, Bad Calories, you are probably asking, “What now? If everything I thought I knew about nutrition is basically wrong, what do I do now?” In The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living, you will learn how your physiology works, how your metabolism functions, and why fatty acids, not glucose, are the preferred fuel for every cell in your body (with the exception of red blood cells). You will understand why, when your body makes the switch back to burning fat for cellular energy (fatty acids and ketone bodies are the evolutionarily appropriate fuel), your body begins to heal and rebuild itself, inflammation is curtailed, and you will have energy to burn, literally.

We know you are as passionate about being healthy as we are, so get a copy of this book today! As Dr. Eades writes, “There is so much invaluable information in this book that I’m having to fight back the impulse to quote the whole thing. You’ll learn

why you need more sodium on a low-carb diet and why the sodium prevents lean tissue loss,
why you need to increase fat intake during maintenance,
why a low-carb diet decreases inflammation,
why the low-carb, high-fat diet improves gall bladder function,
why excess carbohydrate converts to saturated fat and how,
what all the lipid parameters mean and how they’re affected by a low-carb diet,
and what the Paleolithic evidence tells us about diet.

And this list is just scratching the surface. As I read this book, I kept marking parts that I needed to use for this blog. In going back through, I would have to practically reprint the whole thing to give you just the important parts because the entire book is a gem.”

We have read many books and articles (and continue to research what’s out there), and we believe the Drs. Phinney and Volek have written the definitive reference on the whys and wherefores of low-carbohydrate living. It is the best guide available today, one grounded in science, and it has the information you need to improve your health. We will go so far as to say it may well save your life. The authors are scientists in the forefront of low-carbohydrate research. Included in the guide are a few of the authors’ favorite recipes and a meal plan to get you started. Get your copy today, plus a couple more for friends and family. You’ll love being a fat burner!

To your health!
Clark & 9ah

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Another MD Adopts LCHF

In September 2009, Dr Peter Attia, a physician and high-level athlete, decided to reduce his risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer by eliminating sugar from his “typical” athlete’s diet of two-thirds carbohydrate, lean protein and very little fat. Despite exercising a great deal each day, Dr Attia was 40 pounds overweight. Over the next two years, he radically but incrementally changed over to a very low-carb/high-saturated-fat lifestyle. He has since become a recognized nutrition and science blogger who says, “I want to teach people the evidence that shows why to eat a certain way. I believe that when people actually understand the laws and consequences governing fat storage, they will make the correct choices with what they eat.” His blog “explains why everything you thought you knew about nutrition is wrong” and states, “Eating fat does not make you fat.”

Please visit Eating Academy.com to learn how Dr Attia lost weight and improved his athletic performance using nutritional ketosis. His blog is extensive and packed with information. There are videos and outside resources and books, discussions about cholesterol and inflammation, all thoughtfully and clearly presented. We are confident you will find Dr Attia’s website a reliable source of inspiration and support.

Jimmy Moore interviews Dr Attia on his The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show podcast #560: Dr Peter Attia has declared ‘War on Insulin.’ Listen today and get started on your transformation.

To Your Health!
Clark & Nina
LeftCoastLCHF.net

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Take Care of Your Mitochondria

Terry Wahls, MD
UP FROM THE CHAIR: Defeating Progressive MS Without Drugs


With each bit of new information, it is becoming more obvious that having good health is all about maintaining and supporting healthy mitochondria–those tiny powerhouses inside each of our body’s cells. Dr Terry Wahls reversed her debilitating multiple sclerosis using food to heal herself. This is a very inspiring and sobering TEDx talk that you cannot afford to miss. Send it along to your friends and family. A health-supporting diet has the power to change everything.

To Your Health!
Clark & Nina
LeftCoastLCHF.net

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The Importance of Vitamin D

We just listened to an interview with Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council. We immediately sent links to this informative talk to friends and family. “The natural production of Vitamin D3 cholecalciferol in the skin is the single most important fact every person should know about vitamin D — a fact that has profound implications for the natural human condition… Vitamin D’s influence on key biological functions vital to one’s health and well-being mandates that vitamin D no longer be ignored by the health care industry nor by individuals striving to achieve and maintain a greater state of health.”

Get yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea, or whatever beverage you favor, sit down in a comfy chair and give this important interview a listen. Then, spread the word to your friends and family. This is information that can ward off disease and save lives.

We ordered kits for our own 25-hydroxy vitamin D test. We’ll be sending in our blood spots to see just what our levels are. For the past six months, we have been replacing the sun with 4,000 IU per day of Vitamin D3, and we are curious how well that is working. Everyone should have their levels checked. In our family, we know of only one person who has been tested. A minimum level is regarded as 50ng. Hers is 15ng, extremely low. Anything below 20ng is considered deficient. We are hopeful that both of us are above the minimum of 50ng. We’ll let you know. Keep in mind that we eat grassfed beef and bison, pastured eggs, liver, sardines and salmon, and lots of butter from grassfed cows.

Update! April 12, 2010 Lab Results
Clark = 67 ng/mL  (He was taking 2000 IU per day plus sunbathing when possible.)
Nina = 52 ng/mL (She was taking 2000 IU per day but not sunbathing.)

Check this page: Am I Vitamin D Deficient?

To your health!
Clark and Nina