Science as Culture: Food Fight! The Swedish Low-Carb/High Fat (LCHF) Movement and the Turning of Science Popularisation Against the Scientists

As the authors have no real interest in the scientific debate (just accepting the “consensus” view) they unfortunately miss the larger picture. I.e. the words “paradigm shift” are never mentioned.

If you wonder why this blog hasn’t been updated as often as usual in the last weeks the answer is that it’s just crazy in Sweden now. The interest in LCHF diets has never been bigger.

Just in the last weeks I’ve been called in to debate it on TV four times (pictured above). Between that, working as a doctor, updating my main Swedish blog, lecturing, writing a new book and taking care of my 5 months old daughter, the time has a tendency to run out!

But all that’s fine. I really think there’s a revolution going on. Swedes in general aren’t afraid of eating natural fat anymore.

Is sugar a poison? Professor Lustig’s the number one enemy of the sugar lobby. According to him sugar is clearly poisonous in larger quantities. Now Lustig’s published a well written article in the prestigious scientific journal Nature.

The negative health effects of todays sugar consumption can no longer be ignored he argues. It’s time to act against sugar like we’ve acted against tobacco and alcohol.

From the article

The problem with sugar isn’t just weight gain:

Authorities consider sugar as ‘empty calories’ — but there is nothing empty about these calories. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that fructose can trigger processes that lead to liver toxicity and a host of other chronic diseases. A little is not a problem, but a lot kills — slowly.

A new problem:

Evolutionarily, sugar was available to our ancestors as fruit for only a few months a year (at harvest time), or as honey, which was guarded by bees. But in recent years, sugar has been added to nearly all processed foods, limiting consumer choice. Nature made sugar hard to get; man made it easy.

Time for a political intervention?

I recommend the three page article, it’s well worth reading. But you should avoid it if you get allergic symptoms from talk about taxation on food. Lustig argues that we need to use the same tools against sugar as the ones we use against tobacco and alcohol.

Unfortunately the time’s probably not ripe yet for drastic political measures against sugar. It’s a shame because such interventions would likely result in major gains for public health, just like they have already in the fight against smoking and other poisons.

Nature: The Toxic Truth About Sugar

Comments by CNN / TIME.

The cause of obesity

Is too much sugar the main cause of common obesity? Here’s a video interview I did with professor Lustig a few months ago:

More Lustig

The Real Cause of Obesity

Obesity and the trouble with sugar (lecture from August last year)

Soda and diabetes – a coincidence?

Taubes in NYT: Is sugar toxic?  (includes Lustig’s greatest hit with almost 2 million views on YouTube)

Welcome Back Fat: The Booming Low-Carb Trend in Scandinavia

The biggest paper in Sweden reports that during the last four years sales of low fat margerine in Sweden has plummeted by more than 50 percent. Meanwhile sales of full fat dairy is going up like crazy.

Good times.

How much time did our ancestors spend in the sun? And does it matter for your health today?

A new study provides an interesting clue.

From sunny Africa to the dark north

Our human ancestors emigrated from eastern Africa and spread across the entire planet. That often meant that the sun became much weaker. Since vitamin D is produced by our skin when in strong sunlight their levels of vitamin D dropped rapidly when moving north, which may have led to severe health problems.

In an extremely short time, evolutionary speaking, the ancestors of northern people developed lighter skin. They rapidly shed their built-in sun protection, likely to catch all the sun and vitamin D that they could.

In not-so-sunny Sweden, where I live, a lot of people have severe shortage of vitamin D during the winter, despite having light skin. Statistically such deficiency is correlated with just about every disease there is. Such correlations doesn’t prove that the deficiency leads to all these diseases, but it’s possible that it contributes.

What is normal?

How much vitamin D is “normal” to have in your blood? That’s a common question. According to my lab between 75-250 nmol/L is normal, and below 75 is considered a deficiency.

• (Divide by 2.5 for values in ng/ml, i.e. 30-100 ng/ml would be considered normal)

This means that all the patients I’ve tested during the winter in Sweden are deficient, if they haven’t travelled south or taken a vitamin D supplement. Extreme deficiencies of 20 or less isn’t uncommon. The lowest I’ve seen is 14 nmol/L.

These extreme deficiencies have often been tired patients, sometimes with a history of winter depressions. Taking supplemental vitamin D has several times led to remarkable recoveries within a few weeks. Well done trials have also shown significant such effects.

The answer

A study of traditionally living people in sunny East Africa gives us a clue to what’s normal. These people all have dark skin, built in sun protection. They spend most of the day outdoors but avoid strong sun when they can. Perhaps their skin and sun habits are similiar to our ancestors (who lived in the same environment).

The average vitamin D level was 115 nmol/L (46 ng/ml). The lowest level found was 58 and the highest 171. Here is the study:

• Luxwolda MF, et al. Traditionally living populations in East Africa have a mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration of 115 nmol/l. Br J Nutr. 2012 Jan 23:1-5. [Epub ahead of print]

How do we get vitamin D during the winter?

For those who don’t spend their days outdoors in a sunny climate there are three good options to get vitamin D:

1. Strong sun (travelling south or using a tanning bed with the right wave lengths)
2. Eating fatty fish (350 grams daily may give you 2 000 units)
3. Supplements (the cheapest, easiest way)

Personally I’ve been taking 4 000 units daily (recently increased to 5 000). I skip it during sunny summer times. This fall my vitamin D level was 95 nmol/L.

Less than an average Maasai but not too bad.

Despite the slightly too wild headline this is a nice new infographic about carbs, insulin and obesity. It’s simplified of course – it focuses only on the peripheral effects of insulin: growing fat cells.

Chronically high levels of insulin also induces something called leptin resistance in the brain. What that does is basically make the brain blind to the fat stores, so that the brain can believe the body is starving even when it’s really obese. It’s a double whammy.

The easiest way to become obese? Eat more (bad) carbs than you burn. Eat at McDonald’s for example and choose extra-large fries and a large Coke (starch and sugar).

For a slightly more advanced lesson see my 15 minute interview with professor Robert Lustig: The Cause of Obesity.

May 6-13 me and a whole bunch of international guests are leaving on a one week cruise through the West Indies. Interesting lectures about low carb nutrition (optional) are mixed with sun, food, wine and pleasant company. It’s an adventure.

I’ll join the speakers for the third year running – the two earlier trips have been awesome.

Do you want to come? Apparently the cruise company has a special offer today: $75 – 150 discount on the total price which is around $790 and up, depending on how fancy a cabin you want.

More info about The 5th Annual Low Carb Cruise

Tempted?

PS: I have no financial interest in the cruise.