Some thoughts on the essentiality of dietary carbohydrates.

I didn't know that there's a watch strap called Essentiality. I do, now.

From http://svpply.com/item/3229602/Swatch_Skin_Collection_Silver_Essentiality

This is a book-marking post for thoughts I had in https://www.facebook.com/TheFatEmperor/posts/1442430506020812.

"The human body does not need carbohydrates from an external food source, because it is capable of very precisely and correctly assembling its own amounts of glucose that is needed in very small amounts for auxiliary and specialized functions." - Igor Butorski.

1) It's not precise. See How eating sugar & starch can lower your insulin needs.

2) It's not enough to fuel sustained medium-intensity exercise for everybody EDIT: if there's insufficient protein intake. See "Funny turns": What they aren't and what they might be and Everyone is Different.

From Blood Sugar is Stable:-

After liver glycogen has been depleted in starvation or on Nutritional Ketosis (Ketogenic Diets with less than 14% of total energy from Protein), total glucose production from liver & kidneys is ~100g/day.

From It's all in a day's work (as measured in Joules), the body oxidises carbohydrate at a rate exceeding ~4g/hour at exercise intensities exceeding ~25%, on a LCHF diet. This is unsustainable.

EDIT: If protein is consumed, total glucose production increases, up to a maximum of ~400g/day.

3) It's wasteful. Glucose production from protein converts ~50% of the most expensive macronutrient (protein) into the cheapest macronutrient (carbohydrate). It creates expensive urine, as the nitrogen part of amino acids is detoxified by being converted into urea by the liver and then wee'ed out by the kidneys.

4) Using the above argument, the human body does not need saturated fats & monounsaturated fats from an external food source, because it is capable of very precisely and correctly assembling its own amounts of saturated fats & monounsaturated fats (out of carbohydrate) that are needed in very small amounts for auxiliary and specialized functions.

If we consume only Essential Fatty Acids, Essential Amino Acids, Vitamins, Minerals, Fibre/Fiber, Water & Anutrients, there won't be much to eat. Also, there won't be a source of chemical energy to generate heat energy & mechanical energy. That's what dietary carbohydrates & fats are for!

Respiratory Exchange Ratio/Respiratory Quotient (RER/RQ) varies with carbohydrate & fat intake, as the body preferentially oxidises the fuel that's most readily available, when it's working properly. If it's not working properly, due to Insulin Resistance (IR), fix the IR rather than kludge the diet (by eating LCHF) to compensate for it. See Insulin Resistance: Solutions to problems for how to do this.

RER/RQ varies with Exercise Intensity.
Low-intensity exercise results in mostly fats being oxidised.
High-intensity exercise results in mostly carbohydrates being oxidised.
Medium-intensity exercise results in a mixture of fats & carbohydrates being oxidised.

Back to black, CIAB, pharmaceutical drug deficiencies & nerds.

First, a song by someone who should be alive, but isn't...

The above video was inspired by a Facebook friend who had an accident with Schwartzkopf black hair dye and spent ages getting the stains off her skin. You know who you are!

I may have mentioned that nutrient deficiencies can adversely affect mental (and/or other) function. Nowadays, many people live on a diet of Crap-In-A-Bag (CIAB). There's just enough essential amino acids (EAAs), essential fatty acids (EFAs), minerals & vitamins to keep their bodies alive. However, Alive ≠ Working properly.

To compensate for one (or more) nutrient deficiencies, many people are prescribed one (or more) pharmaceutical drugs to tweak how their brains work e.g. fluoxetine, citalopram/escitalopram, venlafaxine, quetiapine, risperidone, valproate etc. There are no pharmaceutical drug deficiencies!

There are people who suffer from mental (and/or other) illnesses, despite having diets & lifestyles that provide sufficient amounts of all nutrients. This post isn't about them. There are people who suffer from depression due to traumatic & inescapable events/situations. This post isn't about them, either.

Finally, nerds! We nerds love to compile information. For an interesting interview with a top compiler of useful information, see Examine's Supplement Goals Reference Guide.

For an excellent article with a mere 148 references, see Why Calories Count. To sum up:-

Where body weight is concerned, calories count (but don't bother trying to count them).
Where body composition is concerned, partitioning counts.
Where health is concerned, macronutrient ratios, EFAs, minerals, vitamins & lifestyles count.

N.B. Poor health can adversely affect body weight and/or body composition, by increasing appetite and/or by adversely affecting partitioning.

Continued on Chow on chow, Parkinson's Law, two ways of doing something, and love.

The Comfy Chair?

Because nobody expects...


I'm writing this post lounging like a lounge-lizard on a comfy three-seater sofa. When I'm driving from A to B, I'm sitting in a comfy chair. Basically, I have a cushy life. I go for a walk in the evenings and I go to many music events, but as I'm (a bit of) an information junkie, I spend many happy hours on-line, lounging on my sofa. My bad.

Thanks to technology and energy, many of us have labour-saving devices and horseless carriages. Therefore, many of us don't burn much energy from doing hard physical work and from having to walk everywhere.

Therefore, to maintain energy balance, many of us have to eat little food energy to maintain a reasonable weight and body composition. To get all of the vitamins*, minerals, fibre/fiber etc required for good health from little food energy requires the consumption of foods with high nutrient densities. You know where this is going, don't you?

*Except for Vitamin D, which requires sensible sun exposure between the end of March and the end of September when your shadow is shorter than you are.

If you enjoy irony, see What Did You Expect? Coca-Cola's Newest Anti-Obesity Ad Blames Chairs, Not Coke.

P.S. According to the BBC TV series "QI", the Spanish Inquisition gave thirty days notice of their arrival. Therefore, according to "QI", everybody expected the Spanish Inquisition!

P.P.S. As a cushy life results in muscles burning carbohydrate at a low rate, sedentary people are better-off eating less carbohydrates. See 10 Rules New Low-Carb Dieters Should Follow.

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.

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.