Archive | Health problems
All posts (35)Addiction (1)Allergies (1)
Cancer (2)Caries/Crooked teeth (1)Cholesterol (5)
Diabetes (17)Gallbladder disease (1)Heart Disease (2)
Metabolic syndrome (1)MS (1)PCOS / Fertility (3)

New Study: High Fat Food is Good for Diabetics

May 15 10:33 i Diabetes

There is no reason to fear fat anymore. High fat food is even good for diabetics, according to a new high-quality Swedish study of 61 patients:

  • Diabetes patients randomized to a high fat (20% carb) diet improved their blood sugar, cholesterol and could reduce their diabetes medications.
  • Patients randomized to conventional (obsolete) low fat advice did not improve anything.

No surprises. Previous trials have shown similar results: Fat is good for the health of diabetics. So why do most diabetics still get the failed old low fat advice? By now it should be borderline criminal.

MedicalXpress: High-fat diet lowered blood sugar and improved blood lipids in diabetics

The study

 

7

Sugar – A Sweet Addiction

May 5 21:55 i Addiction, Robert Lustig, Sugar/fructose

Is sugar potentially addictive, like alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs? The answer is likely yes.

Here is the fourth part of the UCTV-series “The Skinny on Obesity”. Well worth watching.

Earlier parts:

10

What’s Wrong with the Diet of Today?

May 3 21:19 i Diabetes, Heart Disease, Metabolic syndrome, Paleo Diets, The Obesity Epidemic

Professor Loren Cordain

Why do so many people get obesity, diabetes and heart disease today? Perhaps the answer lies in evolution. But amazingly “modern” nutrition science pretty much ignores human evolution.

It’s been 153 years since Charles Darwin published his revolutionary book On the Origin of Species – but nutrition science hasn’t yet noticed. That’s why they’re stuck at a medieval level. That’s why dietitians usually are no help for people suffering from obesity or diabetes.

Professor Loren Cordain is perhaps the worlds number one expert on the evolution of the human diet. Here are a a few of his slides from the recent ASBP obesity conference. They tell us a lot: Continue Reading →

12

The Candy and the Antidote

April 26 19:27 i Diabetes

How do you like this irony? It’s like promising free lung cancer treatment by the cigarettes. The problem is that the treatment rarely makes the disease go away.

More about diabetes

Update: Two more examples: 1 / 2

19

Gallstones and Low Carb

April 18 10:27 i Gallbladder disease, Potential LCHF problems

Gallbladder in pink

Do gallstones improve or worsen on a low carb / high fat diet? It’s a common question with an interesting answer.

The gallbladder stores bile, a yellow-green fluid manufactured in the liver. The bile is used to digest the fat you eat. The question is: Is it good or bad for the gall bladder to eat fat? Continue Reading →

33

Do Carbs Protect Against Diabetes in Finland?

April 16 11:15 i Diabetes

Finnish scientists redraw the map

Several readers told me about the big headlines in Finland yesterday. A new PhD thesis was interpreted as proving that carbohydrates protect against type 2 diabetes. Therefore, low carb diets were said to increase the risk of diabetes.

As usual this is a case of a single observational study (i.e. statistical correlations from a survey) and headline-seeking journalists. But it’s more irresponsible than usual.

Observational studies never prove causality, they only give us theories that need to be tested. Moreover this is just one such study. If we look at all similar studies combined there is a clear correlation between carbohydrates (GI or GL) and diabetes, as well as several other diseases.

Furthermore, if we leave the uncertain science and look at more trustworthy studies (well-conducted intervention trials) it’s been shown that food with less carbohydrates both protect against developing diabetes and improve the health of diabetics.

Journalists have the proverbial memory of gold fish when it comes to studies on diet and health. They start from scratch with every new study, no matter how insignificant. They gladly redraw the map upside down, against all logic, when given the opportunity of a selling headline. But scientists should be more responsible than that.

More about diabetes

20

The Truth About Burger King

April 9 10:34 i Diabetes

Here’s some nice graffiti from a Burger King billboard in downtown Seattle (source). The billboard turned into an urgent public health announcement: Sugar + sugar + sugar = diabetes.

I wonder how many people have gotten obese and sick at Burger King?

More

31

Vitamin D and Seasonal Allergies

April 5 7:56 i Allergies, Vitamin D

Here’s well-timed news for people suffering from seasonal allergies: A new study, small but well designed, shows improvement with supplementation of vitamin D.

The participants (35 people with seasonal allergic rhinitis) received either vitamin D (4000 IU daily) or placebo for two weeks. Beyond this both groups received the same treatment. The group getting vitamin D experienced less daytime problems with sneezing, nasal congestion and runny noses:

Medscape: Oral Vitamin D Boost Intranasal Steroid Effect in Rhinitis

Observe that the study has only been presented at a scientific conference – meaning it’s not published yet. The result thus has to be taken with an extra pinch of salt. And we need another, larger study for proof. But it still sounds promising.

More on vitamin D

5

Lowering Insulin Slows Cancer Growth

April 3 19:59 i Cancer

A small study again shows the intriguing possibility that lowering insulin slows cancer growth. This time it was done by the common diabetes drug Metformin, but carb restriction might be at least as effective:

MedScape: Metformin Slows Prostate Cancer Growth in Adjuvant Setting

1

The Science of Low Carb

March 18 19:16 i Diabetes, Science & Health, Weight loss studies

After 150 years of on-off popularity, low carb diets are finally getting the scientific support they need to be taken seriously.

Dr Eric C. Westman, MD and president elect of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians (weight loss doctors), has 15 years of experience helping patients lose weight and improve their health using low carb. He has also helped do several high-quality scientific studies on low carb.

In this interview I did with him at the last ASBP meeting he talks about the science and the practicalities of using real low carb food for improving your weight and health.

More videos like this

46
← Older posts