Food Porn.

It's the only porn you're going to get on this Blog! :-p

I was looking at Richard Nikoley's Blog at https://freetheanimal.com/ and I couldn't help but notice all of the pictures of yummy food on it. When I mention to people that I am on an "Atkins-style" diet, they usually say "Oh, so all you eat is bacon & eggs and those expensive low-carb bars, right?" I have yet to buy a low-carb bar.

This post should give you an idea of what I eat. Some of my meals contain Burgen soya & linseed bread and even sweetcorn. These foods are relatively high in starchy carbohydrate, but my body can tolerate them thanks to Vitamin D.

The first picture is what I often (but not always, as variety is important) have in the morning. It's basically coffee with extra oomph provided by a 60cc scoop of powdered linseeds (in the storage jar) and a 60cc scoop of unflavoured whey protein (a milk protein). Vanilla flavouring, brown sugar & Splenda improve the flavour of this concoction, which has the consistency of wallpaper paste!


I do eat bacon & eggs but not for breakfast. I usually have it for lunch, accompanied by chopped onions & mushrooms microwaved with Lo Salt, Lee & Perrins & Extra-Virgin Olive oil. A big squirt of tomato ketchup gives me my third portion of vegetables! The whole lot sits on top of a slice of Burgen toast.


For afternoon tea, I may have something salmony. Here's a simple smoked salmon sarnie made with ~100g of smoked salmon and a couple of slices of raw onion.


I have a friend who hates the skin & bones in tinned salmon. As this is where a lot of the omega-3 fat & minerals are, I tried an experiment to see if I could disguise them. I blended a 213g tin of wild red salmon with a couple of dollops of Hellman's Real Mayonnaise & a little "juice" from a tin of sweetcorn. I then mixed sweetcorn with the salmon mayonnaise. I dumped a load of the salmon & sweetcorn mayonnaise mix onto a slice of Burgen buttered with Anchor. A little sliced tomato & cucumber completed the ensemble.


Sometimes. I just dump everything on a plate!


For supper, I usually microwave something meaty with something vegetabley. Here are some Somerfield "Best Ever" Pork & Chorizo sausages microwaved with chopped onions & mushrooms in a Lea & Perrins-based gravy.


Here's an Aldi quarter-pounder beefburger with microwaved chopped onions, mushrooms & English mustard.


Here's an Aldi chicken jambonette in a sun-dried tomato, balsamic & sweet basil sauce microwaved with peas & mixed veg. The sauce went everywhere!


Here's an Aldi lamb shank in a mint & red wine-flavoured sauce. The shank was in a bag, so the sauce didn't go everywhere when I microwaved it on the plate alongside the peas & mixed veg. The vegetables look a little strange as I microwaved them as they were with a little Lo Salt (and no added water), but they tasted just fine. Not adding any water means that there is no loss of minerals.


And finally, here's an Aldi pork shank in sweet & sour sauce cooked as per the lamb shank. Aldi have a lot of different varieties of chicken jambonettes, lamb & pork shanks and I will be trying them out as they are very reasonably priced.


So, can I spend the rest of my life on this sort of diet? Oh, yes yes yes yes yes!

If you're worried that microwaving foods destroys nutrients, see Do Microwaves Destroy Flavonoids?

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 Facts About Rapid Fat Loss

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

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 https://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 https://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.

Vegetarians & vegans, listen up!

By vegetarian, I mean someone who does not eat the flesh of animals. This includes fish and chicken. By vegan, I mean someone who does not eat any animal produce, including milk or eggs.

Dr. Michael Greger M.D. ("The Vegan M.D.") has an informative and witty lecture "Optimum Vegetarian Nutrition: Omega 3 and B12".


In a nutshell, vegetarians & vegans don't live any longer than omnivores – as shown in a study of 28,000 subjects. Vegetarians & vegans have the same rates of coronary heart disease as omnivores, but double the rates of degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer's Disease. WHY? There are two reasons.

1) Vegetarians and vegans don't eat oily fish and most don't eat cracked or ground-up flaxseed/linseed either. This means a deficiency in omega-3 fats. This increases the risk of diabetes, certain cancers and coronary heart disease.

Men are much poorer converters of alpha-linolenic acid (the omega-3 fatty acid in flaxseeds/linseeds) 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.

2) Only animal produce naturally contains Vitamin B12. Lack of B12 in the diet raises the level of homocysteine in the blood, which damages artery walls. This raises the risk of coronary heart disease & doubles the risk of degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer's Disease.

Also:-
3) Diets low in Vitamin K2 increase the risk factor for CHD, osteoporosis and weak teeth. See Vitamin K.

What to do?

1) Eat ~25g/day of ground flaxseeds (or supplement with ~10g/day of flaxseed oil). Vegan men should also supplement with ~1000mg/day vegan DHA.

2) Eat foods fortified with vegan B12 or supplement with vegan B12.

3) Eat foods high in Vitamin K2. See For Vegans for a list of things to maximise health on a vegan diet.

I was just thinking......

On a messageboard in a galaxy far far away, someone suggested that as many as one in three people in the UK could have impaired carbohydrate metabolism. This set me thinking.

London is 51degrees North of the Equator, so the sun has to pass through ~45% more atmosphere to reach us, compared to the Equator.

According to Elina Hyppönen & Chris Power, (edited) "The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was highest during the winter and spring, when 25(OH)D concentrations less than 75nmol/L were found in 87.1% of participants, respectively; the proportion was 60.9%, respectively, during the summer and autumn."

Note that 75nmol/L was insufficient to give me normal Insulin Sensitivity. See Chiu, Chu, Go & Saad. However, greater than 160nmol/L was sufficient, but that was only obtained after I supplemented with 5,000iu/day of Vitamin D3 (25 x RDA).

A deficiency of omega-3 EFAs can cause Insulin Resistance (poor Insulin Sensitivity). See Ghafoorunissa, Ahamed Ibrahim, Laxmi Rajkumar & Vani Acharya, Storlien LH, Kraegen EW, Chisholm DJ, Ford GL, Bruce DG & Pascoe WS and Yam D, Bott-Kanner G, Friedman J, Genin I, Klainman E & Shinitzky M.The typical omega-6:omega-3 ratio in the British diet is ~15:1. This is partly due to the fact that animal produce from grain-fed animals contains a lot more omega-6 and a lot less omega-3 than it used to. See Is food less nutritious than it used to be? Andre Purvis investigates. In addition, people eat grains, nuts, seeds, oils & spreads high in omega-6 and don't eat much oily fish, powdered Flax-seeds (a.k.a. Linseeds) or Purslane (a plant that's relatively high in omega-3).

With all of these problems, I wonder what percentage of the UK population actually do have some degree of impaired carbohydrate metabolism? It might be more than one in three.

According to The eatwell plate, one third of our total Calories are supposed to come from bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starchy foods. Some of these foods rapidly raise blood glucose a lot. Impaired carbohydrate metabolism makes for roller-coaster blood glucose levels which encourages over-eating, leading to obesity (see my Blog post on Blood Glucose, Insulin & Diabetes.)

I think that that's enough thinking for now.

Fats: Spawn of Satan or Dogs' Doodads?

From https://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/65/5/1628S.full.pdf

Fats get a lot of bad press in the media. There are so many adverts with "X% fat-free" or "only 1g of fat per Jaffa Cake" as if that's going to stop you from getting fat when you "om nom nom" your way through a whole box of the things!

Saturated fats are usually described as "bad" and polyunsaturates are usually described as "good". This is simplistic. Everything is bad in excess, even polyunsaturates. The thing about fats is that there are four basic types (saturates, monounsaturates, ω-6 polyunsaturates and ω-3 polyunsaturates) and they need to be consumed in roughly the right proportions for optimum health. Suffice it to say, the majority of people in the West do not eat them in anywhere near the right proportions. So, what exactly are fats?


Fats

Fats are an ester of glycerol (CH₂OH-CHOH-CH₂OH) & 3 fatty acids, and are also known as triglycerides (TG's) or triacylglycerols (TAG's).

1 molecule of glycerol + 3 molecules of fatty acid = 1 molecule of triglyceride + 3 molecules of water.

It's the fatty acids that determine whether a fat is saturated, monounsaturated etc. The four different types of fatty acid have a CH₃ at one end and a COOH at the other. The difference is in the middle section.

Saturated fatty acids have a middle section consisting of CH₂'s. Here's a diagram for Stearic acid (the predominant fatty acid in beef):-

__H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H O
H-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-O-H
__H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H


Monounsaturated fatty acids have one C=C bond in the middle, which is usually (but not always) 9 from the left-hand end, resulting in monounsaturates often being referred to as ω-9's, as ω is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Here's a diagram for Oleic acid (the predominant fatty acid in olive oil):-

__H H H H H H H H_____H H H H H H H O
H-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C=C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-O-H
__H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H


ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids have two or more C=C bonds in the middle, with the last one always being 6 from the left-hand end. Here's a diagram for Linoleic acid (the predominant fatty acid in sunflower oil):-

__H H H H H_____H_____H H H H H H H O
H-C-C-C-C-C-C=C-C-C=C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-O-H
__H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H


ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have three or more C=C bonds in the middle, with the last one always being 3 from the left-hand end. Here's a diagram for Alpha-linolenic acid (the predominant fatty acid in flax-seed oil):-

__H H_____H_____H_____H H H H H H H O
H-C-C-C=C-C-C=C-C-C=C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-O-H
__H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H


These diagrams are slightly misleading. Where there is a C=C bond, there are two H's on the "underside" only of the molecule. This asymmetry causes the H's to repel each other and bend the molecule into a V-shape at each C=C bond. C=C bonds with H's on the same side are known as "cis" bonds. The above molecule is really cis, cis, cis (c,c,c) Alpha-linolenic acid. The other type of C=C bond is known as "trans" and looks like the following diagram:-

__H H H___H H___H H___H H H H H H H O
H-C-C-C=C-C-C=C-C-C=C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-O-H
__H H___H H___H H___H H H H H H H H


This is a diagram of trans, trans, trans (t,t,t) Alpha-linolenic acid. As the H's are on opposite sides of the molecule, they do not repel each other and the molecule is straight, as shown above. Note that saturated fatty acid molecules are naturally straight. Therein lies the problem with trans-fatty acids. They're straight, like saturated fatty acids, but they have unsaturated bonds, which are prone to peroxidation. See https://www.cyberlipid.org/perox/oxid0002.htm WARNING! Heavy-duty organic chemistry!

Our bodies take trans-fatty acids and incorporate them into cell membranes as if they were saturated fatty acids. This results in atherogenicity (artery-clogging), damage to the immune system and other health problems. Trans-fatty acids are found in partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils, so any cooking/spreading fats which have the word "hydrogenated" high-up in the ingredients list should be avoided. These are bad fats.

There are naturally-occurring trans-fatty acids made by bacteria in the stomachs of ruminant animals, like Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA). This looks a bit like the diagram below:-

__H H H H H_____H___H H H H H H H H O
H-C-C-C-C-C-C=C-C=C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-O-H
__H H H H H H H___H H H H H H H H H


This has one of the C=C bonds shifted to the left and also has one cis bond and one trans bond, so the molecule is always bent. CLA has possibly beneficial properties, but human trials show mixed results. It's certainly not artery-clogging, so don't let anyone put you off eating butter from grass-fed cows (e.g. Anchor or Kerrygold butter) by saying that it has trans-fats in it. CLA is a harmless trans-fat.


Saturated fat consumption should be about 10% of total calories. This is because, even though saturated fats are not essential (our bodies can synthesise them), this guarantees adequate synthesis of sex hormones. Total polyunsaturate consumption should be about 5% of total calories, with a ω-6:ω-3 ratio of between 1:2 and 4:1. As ω-3's are found in greater quantities than ω-6's only in flax-seeds (a.k.a. linseeds) and oily fish, and many people eat way too little or no oily fish (and who, other than body-builders and some vegetarians/vegans, eats flax-seeds?), the ω-6:ω-3 ratio in the West is ~20:1. This is due to the widespread consumption of meats, eggs & milk from grain-fed animals, grains, nuts and seeds. There are high rates of heart disease and other inflammatory diseases in the West, as ω-6's end up in series 1 & 2 prostaglandins, and series 2 prostaglandins are pro-inflammatory. ω-3's end up in series 3 prostaglandins, which are anti-inflammatory.

So eat up yer oily fish if you're not vegetarian or vegan. Otherwise, eat up yer ground-up flax-seeds!

Monounsaturates can make up about 15% to 35% of total calories, depending on activity levels. From the histogram in Everyone is Different, sedentary people, on average, burn twice as much energy from fats as from carbohydrates.

So, if 25% of energy comes from protein say, 25% of energy can come from carbohydrates, and 50% can come from fats, i.e. a 2:1 ratio of fats:carbs. The cyclists at the left-hand end of the histogram in Chapter 1 would do best on 25% protein, 15% carbohydrate, 60% fat, when sedentary, whereas the cyclist at the right-hand end of the histogram would do best on 25% protein, 60% carbohydrate, 15% fat, when sedentary. When active, more carbs are needed by everyone.

Which fats contain which fatty acids? See https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcYggz8ORx7mdTT7_ngR-jKOG-2FB4sm5HZWFyJF7xFYlNn-XCkbs4tSIuFFaJFVUdFTw13Q5M2-Adu_jeVnu3O37NhPlK_XWrxIACJ_QT1KmVElpl1YoLO4nfBBoqJNI5FQlhSDh/s640/comparison-of-fats.gif for a Comparison of Dietary Fats.

For high-temperature cooking, saturates are the least likely to oxidise (when they're on fire, they're oxidising!), followed by monounsaturates, then ω-6's, with ω-3's being the most likely to oxidise. An oil doesn't have to be smoking, to be oxidising. Alpha-linolenic acid oxidises to varnish at room temperature without smoking, which is why linseed oil is used to varnish cricket bats and dilute putty. The best non-animal fat for high-temperature cooking is Coconut Oil, followed by Palm Oil and then Olive Oil.

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) has a lower smoke point than refined Olive Oil (due to higher levels of free fatty acids), but has higher levels of polyphenol antioxidants, which makes it heart-healthy.

Oils high in polyunsaturates shouldn't be heated to temperatures greater than 100°C, as polyunsaturates can change from the cis configuration to the trans configuration at 102°C. See https://www.harricksci.com/sites/default/files/pdf/application_notes/FatIR_App-Notes_ATR_Oil-Analysis.pdf