How many working brain cells do researchers have? Part n+1

Once upon a time, I took the mickey out of some eejit researchers in How many working brain cells do researchers have? Guess what? I'm doing it again. A Facebook friend sent me a link to a worrying "new" study Omega-3 Supplements Linked To Prostate Cancer. Oh, dear. Things are looking bad for oily fish & fish oil supplements. Just a moment!

I did some digging on PubMed for the author and found this:- n-3 Fatty acids and prostate cancer risk. The main feature of wild oily fish & fish oil supplements is their high ratio of EPA & DHA (long-chain omega-3 fatty acids) to LA (a shorter-chain omega-6 fatty acid). It would therefore be logical to assess oily fish consumption and/or fish oil supplement intake by measuring the ratio of serum EPA:LA and/or DHA:LA and/or (EPA+DHA):LA.

What did Brasky TM, Crowe FL & Kristal AR actually do? According to the abstract, they measured only serum EPA, DHA & (EPA+DHA). They didn't measure serum LA. Therefore, if the subjects in the EPIC study ate a diet with a high omega-6 (n-6):omega-3 (n-3) ratio (i.e a Standard English Diet), subjects with a high serum n-3 level would have a very high serum n-6 level. As excessive levels of serum n-6 pufas are carcinogenic (see Completing the trine: Which are the safest fats?), it's not surprising that the study produced the results that it did.

There only one thing to do, in cases like this...

Because one palm just isn't enough!

EDIT: Here's a better analysis:- Fish Oil and your Prostate. It looks as though n-6 was measured, which makes my analysis wrong, but I'm keeping the double face-palm, as the full study is hidden behind a £30 pay-wall. Here's another good analysis:- Omega-3 Fats and Cancer.

I see stupid people - Part One: Live to take the p*ss.

This is a take on I See Weak People – Part Three: Live to add, not subtract.

Dunning-Kruger strikes again!

George Henderson recently said in a comment to flip:- "If you're one of the sensible ones, as Nigel seems to think you might be, it's easy to see why he won't post on "that" blog again.
Myself, I wonder how Nigel does it. Everywhere he goes he seems to start a fight these days. We are thinking of locking him inside when we go out in future."

How do I do it? Simples! I make sure that my brain is properly nourished with Vitamin D3 for razor-sharp wit & biting sarcasm, EPA & DHA for stable mood and Magnesium to stay cool, calm and collected when all around me are behaving like complete and utter tosspots & twats (UK usages and not meant affectionately!).

PPP - another bijou rant-ette.

Blame it on the hot weather and screaming kids! :-D

From http://www.thamesvalleytango.co.uk/images/Rant.jpg

PPP stands for Piss Poor Parenting.

Why, oh why, oh why do some feckless parents allow children to dictate what they eat? As if children know what's good for them! At an event I attended recently, "Johnny*" was given a plate of chicken drummers (mechanically-recovered chicken formed into the rough shape of chicken drumsticks and coated with breadcrumbs) and oven chips. I asked Johnny if he would like a beefburger, sausage or pork steak. He replied. "I don't like them". He only wanted manufactured crap. Seriously, WTH?

When I was a lad, I was given the same food as my parents. If I didn't eat it, I went without. I ate it!
Nowadays, "children's menus" in restaurants (I'm being quite generous in the use of the word restaurant) consist of lots of manufactured crap that children like. Unlike veggies & fruit, this crap contains very little fibre/fiber or Magnesium.

Is it any wonder that childhood constipation is a problem? Why are children being given PEG or even Lactulose, when there's a much better solution - Epsom Salts (which contains 10% Magnesium by weight). The brain needs Magnesium to remain cool, calm and collected i.e. function properly. The brain also needs EPA, DHA and Vitamin D3 to function properly. Many kids don't like oily fish, so they won't eat it. It's not rocket science to purée some sardines or wild red salmon with some Bolognese/Sweet chilli/w.h.y. sauce so that they won't notice it. Many kids play indoors or are smothered in sunblock when they do go outdoors, so they get little or no Vitamin D3. Is it any wonder that childhood ADD & ADHD is much more common? Medication and psychotherapy? Seriously, WTH?

See Effect of MAGNE-B6 on the clinical and biochemical manifestations of the syndrome of attention deficit and hyperactivity in children.

Supplementation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, magnesium and zinc in children seeking medical advice for attention-deficit/hyperactivity problems - an observational cohort study.

Moderators of treatment response in adults with ADHD treated with a vitamin-mineral supplement.


When I was a lad, there were a couple of show-offs in my class at school, but nobody behaved like "Jimmy*" (physically and mentally hyperactive with bad behaviour, screaming and shouting). Johnny was also badly behaved, but not as bad as Jimmy. The parents at the event seemed perfectly happy that, every day, their children had to be given "uppers" (e.g. Ritalin) to help them concentrate during the day and "downers" to help them sleep at night. Seriously, WTH?

I will now take a deep breath and count to twenty. There, that's better!

*Names changed.

Get in! Parts 2 & 3.

In Get in!, I described how I persuaded mum's GP to let mum have Vitamin D3 5,000iu/day.

Well...

Today, I persuaded mum's GP to let mum have Epsom Salts 2.5g/day (provided by me) dissolved in fruit juice and Seven Seas Fish Oil 10ml/day (provided by me). There's only one possible reaction:-


P.S. The doctor didn't even ask for supporting evidence. He just said "Yeah, other relatives do that. No problem. He just wanted to check for contraindications, which is fine by me. I have plans to ask him to allow mum to have one more supplement that may help her bones & brain. Any ideas as to what that might be, O.K.?

P.P.S. Another lady that's been at the care home since day one died Wednesday night/Thursday morning. She died from terminal cancer, but she had been physically crippled by Parkinson's Disease. R.I.P.

Guess who didn't look after his brain?

Due to the sudden deterioration in my mum's physical & mental health and also due to struggling to come to terms with her having to spend the rest of her life in a nursing home (not the happiest of places), my diet went completely to pot.

I "went off" salmon, sardines & powdered linseeds and started to eat carbohydrate/fat-based comfort foods. A black cloud slowly descended over me. I lost the motivation to do anything, including updating this blog. I also slept a lot. This continued for several months.

Then, for no apparent reason, a few weeks ago I got an urge to eat smoked salmon. I added 200g of smoked salmon twice a week back into my diet and after a few weeks, the black cloud started to lift.

Before I started supplementing with Vitamin D3, I used to eat lots of oily fish but did not function correctly mentally. This time, my Vitamin D3 status was good (I never stopped taking supplements even when I had the black cloud over me) but my EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) intakes were near zero.

In conclusion, it would appear that my brain needs adequate Vitamin D3 and EPA and DHA (and magnesium) to function correctly.

I won't be blogging as much as I have been previously, as I've now dumped the vast majority of the nutritional knowledge within my brain into this blog. If I come across anything new, I'll post it here.

Finally, I've found the cheapest source yet of 5,000iu Vitamin D3 gelcaps.

The Protein-Sparing Modified Fast (PSMF)

What's a PSMF?

A standard PSMF is ~1g of protein for every kg bodyweight per day plus lots of green leafy vegetables plus six to ten fish oil capsules per day plus vitamin and mineral supplements plus unlimited water AND NOTHING ELSE. It's a low-carbohydrate and low-fat diet. You may find this quite literally hard to swallow! PSMF may also stand for Protein Strictly , Mother-F***er!

A 100kg person may get to eat ~400kcals per day from protein + ~100kcals per day from incidental carbohydrates and fats = ~500kcals per day.

A well-known PSMF is Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss Handbook. For more information, see https://forums.lylemcdonald.com/forumdisplay.php?f=7 and Is Rapid Fat Loss Right For You?

To make a PSMF easier to manage (but have a slower rate of weight loss), here are some modifications:-

1) Instead of six to ten fish oil capsules a day, stir ~25g of powdered linseeds into a large glass of drink and swallow the lot. Do this at breakfast-time. ~25g of linseeds contains ~10g of fat (of which ~6g is Alpha-Linolenic Acid, an omega-3 fatty acid) which does the following:-

a) It stimulates the gall-bladder to empty, thus reducing the risk of gallstones.
b) a) usually results in a bowel movement some time later. The ~10g of soluble fibre/fiber in the linseeds + accompanying fluid guarantees regularity.
c) It provides women (but not men) with all of the omega-3 fat they need each day.

Men need to eat either half a 213g tin of wild red salmon per day, or take six to ten fish oil capsules a day, as their bodies don't produce enough DHA from Alpha-Linolenic Acid. See Eicosapentaenoic and docosapentaenoic acids are the principal products of α-linolenic acid metabolism in young men and Extremely Limited Synthesis of Long Chain Polyunsaturates in Adults: Implications for their Dietary Essentiality and use as Supplements

2) Eat about 100g of protein per day. As meat, poultry and fish contains 20-25% protein, this means that you can eat ~1lb of meat, poultry and fish a day. 100g of protein per day is well within the capabilities of your liver and kidneys.

3) Eat about 22g of fat per day. This allows you to choose less lean cuts of meat and poultry, and you can even eat the skin on chicken as long as you factor it into your total fat allowance. It also allows you to use vinaigrette salad dressings or a small knob of butter or a small dollop of real mayonnaise to make your vegetables taste nicer.

4) Eat about 50g of carbohydrate per day. This allows you to eat shed-loads of leafy green vegetables and also an onion. It also allows you to eat a portion of fruit e.g. an apple or a bowl of berries/cherries with Splenda and a small dollop of whipped cream each day.

5) If you do any intense exercise (e.g. HIIT or resistance training with weights), eat an extra 50g of slow-release carbohydrates a couple of hours beforehand, to fuel it.

6) Supplement with 50iu for every kg bodyweight per day of Vitamin D3. Nowadays, many of us spend our lives mostly indoors, and this causes sub-optimal Vitamin D levels. See Vitamin D.

7) Don't get too far away from a toilet. Rapid depletion of muscle and liver glycogen results in rapid shedding of associated water. In addition, the oxidation of fatty acids results in the production of water. A PSMF makes you pee more.

n*CH2 + 3/2*n*O2 = n*CO2 + n*H2O + heat

(Saturated fatty acids are CH3-n*CH2-COOH. For Stearic acid, n=16. ∴ Stearic acid is mostly n*CH2. )


In conclusion:

100g of protein provides 400kcals, 22g of fat provides 200kcals and 50g of carbohydrate provides 200kcals, making a grand total of 800kcals per day. If you weigh over 80lbs but aren't losing weight on 800kcals per day, see your GP as you may have a thyroid problem.

The above diet should avoid the problems of gallstones, constipation, dry skin, dry hair, depression and dietary deficiencies. You get to eat real food and quite a lot of it too, for a fairly rapid fat loss diet.

Linseed/Flaxseed & Flaxseed oil.

"Where flax is eaten...health abounds!" - Mahatma Gandhi.

These little seeds pack a quadruple-whammy of protein, omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), soluble fibre/fiber and vitamins, minerals & other anutrients.


What's in flaxseed and flaxseed oil?

Click http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/nut-and-seed-products/3163/2 and set serving size: to 100g, to see what nutrients there are in flaxseeds.
Click http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/7554/2 and set serving size: to 100g, to see what nutrients there are in flaxseed oil.


How do I eat flaxseed and flaxseed oil?

Flaxseed/Linseed have a fibrous coat which swells-up when wet and passes through our guts undigested. To get the benefit of the protein, omega-3 essential fatty acids, vitamins & minerals in flaxseeds, the seeds need to be powdered, crushed, cracked, chopped-up, sliced-up or ground-up using a coffee grinder, adjustable pepper grinder or most simply, a blender with a sharp blade.

The resulting powder can be mixed with liquids or sprinkled on foods, though extra fluid must be drunk, as the soluble fibre/fiber absorbs a lot of water.

Although whole flaxseed keeps fresh at room temperature, once powdered, it's advisable to keep the powder in a cool dark place to minimise oxidation of any exposed fat. Flaxseed oil must be kept refrigerated with the lid on the bottle at all times after opening and it must never be used for cooking.

The oil is O.K. drizzled over hot food, as long as the food is eaten shortly afterwards. Oxidised flaxseed oil tastes bitter and has lost its health benefits, so it should either be chucked, used to varnish something or soften hardened putty. Unoxidised flaxseed oil has a nutty flavour, or it may taste a bit like tea. Powdered flaxseed has virtually no flavour.

See Milled flaxseed stability information.


How much flaxseeds and flaxseed oil do I need to eat each day?

Men are much poorer converters of alpha-linolenic acid (the omega-3 fatty acid in flaxseed) into DHA than women.

See Eicosapentaenoic and docosapentaenoic acids are the principal products of α-linolenic acid metabolism in young men,

Conversion of α-linolenic acid to eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids in young women and

Extremely Limited Synthesis of Long Chain Polyunsaturates in Adults: Implications for Their Dietary Essentiality and Use as Supplements.

Therefore, men should eat ~50g/day of ground flaxseed and women should eat ~25g/day. The amount of flaxseed oil for men is ~20g/day and the amount for women is ~10g/day. Vegan men should also supplement with ~1000mg/day of vegan DHA.


Where can I buy flaxseeds and flaxseed oil?

Flaxseed/linseed come in different colours. The cheapest linseed are brown/bronze ones which are often sold as bird seed in pet shops, but they can also be found in small independent health food shops. There are also golden linseed, which is the type most often found in supermarkets. Linusit and Granovita are two well-known brands. Granovita organic flaxseed oil is a good brand and it comes in dark bottles to keep light out, as light causes photo-oxidation of omega-3 fats.