Still busy working on a side project, but didn't want anyone to miss out on some more quality carbohydrate propaganda.
First up is Scott Abel, totally abusing his power as the world's most successful fitness trainer in marketing some bogus supplement. He claims this supplement boosts leptin, strengthens your immune system, keeps sex hormones at peak function for muscle building, increases athletic performance and more. Yeah right Scott, like any supplement could to that!
And then Riles, a total starch-pusher that thinks carbohydrate is good just because it helps him to be really muscular and lean and feel really good, sent me a video of some kid talking about a study in which 11 out of 20 type 2 diabetics were able to come off of their insulin by eating a high-fiber, high-carbohydrate diet for 16 days. The kid's name is Robby Barbaro. Something sound fishy about that name? You bet it does! Barbaro sounds eerily similar to "Carbaro." But hey, I can't be trusted. I live in a town called CARBondale - a town mysteriously lacking in obese people, gyms, and fast food joints. In fact, THIS is the only fast food burger joint in town. Sounds like a Commie conspiracy against America if you ask me!
Oh yeah, here's CARBaro (who is a 22-year old type 1 diabetic):
Note, after reviewing several of JW Anderson's studies, one thing is clear. It's not the carbohydrate per se that causes the positive insulin-sensitizing impact and enhanced glycemic control. It's not necessarily the severe fat restriction either. It appears that the big drops in triglycerides and increase in insulin sensitivity that commonly occur on the type of diet used by Anderson, as well as in real life in clinical practice by guys like Joel Fuhrman (who prescribes a "beans and greens" approach to reversing type 2 diabetes), result from a heavy intake of fiber - including resistant starch discussed last week, and a high ratio of starch or "complex" carbohydrate to simple sugars.
This increases the production of short-chain fatty acids in the gut such as acetate, butyrate, and propionate - discussed in part in this FREE EBOOK , which increases metabolism, decreases appetite, causes spontaneous weight loss, increases physical activity, drops triglycerides, lowers cholesterol, improves both insulin and leptin sensitivity, and improves HDL to LDL ratio all in one shot. This also patterns an improvement in gut flora to favor the type of gut flora seen in lean people such as rural Africans as opposed to that seen in the obese, which also provides better resistance to infection and decreased chance of developing bowel cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and more.
You can hear more about resistant starch and fiber in my latest videos at:
Not trying to promote resistant starch as the next Acai berry or something like that, but the studies done on resistant starch show that, like fiber - and perhaps to an ever greater degree, resistant starch is something that sets refined carbohydrates apart from unrefined carbohydrates - and that sets starch apart from sugar, particularly refined sugar.
For losing weight, there's no question that the studies on it reveal a rise in metabolism and a spontaneous decrease in food consumption that is patterned by drops in triglycerides, insulin resistance, and other facets of metabolic syndrome as would be expected with big improvements in insulin sensitivity. This is most likely due to the increase in production of butyric and propionic acids in the digestive tract, known to exert tremendous metabolic enhancement.
For more on butyric acid, the importance of a healthy metabolism, and a lengthy discussion on the difference between refined and unrefined carbohydrates in terms of how they influence weight, appetite, digestion, insulin sensitivty, and so on - please READ THIS FREE EBOOK.
Side tangent, sharing some local culture, and attempt at humor:
Resistant starch, the ultimate "prebiotic" also likely plays a role in the microbial environment of the GI tract as well, changing the microbial environment towards one that fosters colonization by the very type of bacteria associated with leanness, heightened immunity, protection from colon cancer, and so on.
If I had to choose between taking probiotics or consuming more resistant starch for improving gut flora, I'd go all in on resistant starch as being a more effective route.
A good analogy might be that of trying to attract white people to an area, something I'm very familiar with as I live near Aspen, CO where virtually all marketing and business efforts are geared up towards attracting affluent white people and their money to the area.
Taking probiotics is akin to kidnapping affluent white people and bringing them in by bus to an Aspen filled with Pawn shops, tattoo parlors, Swap meets, discount liquor stores, a Bass pro shop, and an RV Superstore - all things a truly offensively-wealthy white person is terribly fearful of, or being associated with.
Consuming resistant starch is like building golf courses, constructing massive timeshare developments adorned with the name Ritz Carlton, building ski areas, hosting a Classical Music Festival, a Food and Wine Festival, and most genius of all - a Jazz Festival with no Jazz (affluent white people think Jazz is really cool, but don't want to admit that they don't actually like it and would rather see Wilco, the Black Crowes, Skynard, the Dixie Chicks, and Glenn Frey).
Get that going and you won't need to kidnap any rich white people. The skies will darken with private planes within minutes, and you will be surrounded by popped collars, sweatered chihuahas, George Hamilton, and rumors of Johnny Depp building a house up Castle Creek.
For an even more extreme abuse of stereotypes of my semi-hometown (I did graduate from Aspen High School), please enjoy this quality All-American television programming trailer. I'm so proud.
As many of you know, over the last couple of months we've been exploring a diet that displaces more fat with starch as opposed to eating more or less equal amounts of the two. When it comes to lowering cortisol, improving leptin sensitivity, improving insulin sensitivity, impoving body composition, raising metaoblism, and keeping fat gain minimal while eating to appetite or slightly beyond appetite - which are basically the objectives of the eating and lifestyle program created in theFREE EBOOK, starch immediately stands out as being superior to fat in each and every one of those categories.
And of course, the vast majority of the most metabolically-healthy people on earth eat what could be called a "starch-based diet" in which well over half of ingested calories come from some starchy staple - such as corn, wheat, rice, or root vegetables (Asians, rural South and Central Americans, Pacific islanders (formerly), rural Africans, and so on).
This is actually a pretty interesting debate amongst the low-fat plant-based gurus. I score it: McDougall 10, Furhman 7, Esselstyn 4, Mills -2,368, Creepy Bald guy next to Mills 0
Last week I added this "Addendum" to the FREE EBOOK, the first of many to come I'm sure. Anyway, this is what was added. Hopefully this brings some clarification to those who have been confused recently. To read the rest of the book, go to www.180degreehealth.com
RRARF August 2010 ADDENDUM
While RRARF (Rehabilitative Rest and Agressive Re-Feeding) is very successful at raising body temperature, improving digestion and overall well-being – one question remains…. Can it be done more efficiently? Can it be improved upon? Okay, I guess that’s two questions.
By more efficiently, I mean with less fat gain and greater lean body mass gain as well as a greater rise in temperature per calorie ingested.
I believe the answer to those questions is “yes.” So what’s better? Getting more calories from starches or getting more calories from fat?
Upon close scrutiny of the literature on overfeeding, a clear picture emerges. Straight studies comparing overfeeding with a high-fat/low-starch diet vs. a high-starch/low-fat diet yields clear-cut results. The higher the ratio of starch to fat when overfeeding, the greater the lean body mass gains and the lesser the body fat gains. Not only that, but since starch is not something that the body can readily store like it can fat molecules, the excess calories ingested MUST force an increase in body heat and physical energy to a much greater degree than fat overfeeding.
The physics of it all is actually quite simple. The most efficient way for your body to store fat is to pack fat molecules into fat cells. For this to happen in the absence of dietary fat means that a great deal of carbohydrate must be converted to fat – triglycerides, before it can be efficiently stored. However, this is a very inefficient process. When large quantities of fructose are ingested during overfeeding, the effect is very fattening because a great deal of the fructose is converted to fat in the liver. However, this is not true when talking about starch overfeeding.
Thus, when the ratio of carbohydrate to fat is very high, and the ratio of starch to fructose (and also glucose in simple as opposed to complex form as is found in starches) is also high, the more of the excess energy is stored into muscle tissue and the less into fat. There are also implications that a diet with a high starch to sugar + fat ratio is protective against heart disease – increasing the HDL to triglyceride ratio for starters. I never thought that controlling the macronutrient ratios in such a way would have such a direct bearing upon body composition, but to ignore the simple truths revealed in the medical literature regarding such a thing would be sheer denial of irrefutable fact.
While choice, personal preference, carbohydrate tolerance, digestive abilities, and more will determine what you personally choose as your version of RRARF, there is no question that eating more starch and less fat by percentage of calories is a route that will produce more body heat and more lean body mass with less body fat than any other method.
Of the starches, those highest in amylose content and resistant starch – such as legumes, red potatoes, corn, and intact whole grains like Basmati rice (vs. those ground into flour as in bread/pasta) – particularly those that have been cooked and then chilled which forms a type of metabolically-stimulating resistant starch known as RS3, are ideal. A version of RRARF where these types of starchy foods are maximized and other foods more or less minimized in comparison is probably the most efficient route to take.
The reasons why that is goes far beyond a larger increase in lean body mass in comparison to fat gains, but incorporates positive changes in the microbial environment of the gut, intestinal production of the most metabolically-stimulating and insulin-sensitizing fatty acids known (such as butyric and propionic acids), and perhaps most-importantly – pronounced appetite inhibition with an increase in metabolism, meaning that weight gain is minimal or weight is even lost eating to appetite while metabolism simultaneously rises (the Holy Grail of health and weight loss).
This is just the tip of the iceberg on the potential benefits of a high-starch diet, particularly one that maximizes amylose and resistant starch-rich carbohydrates. I have tentative plans of elaborating on this topic in exhaustive detail in a future eBook, entitled something like 180 Degree Carbohydrate. Actually, that’s a pretty weak title for such an important topic. I’ll come up with something better hopefully.
Also see 180 Kitchen for a great recipe and meal plan that incorporates resistant starch on a program with a higher ratio of starch to fat.
Nearly half a year has passed while I have been left mortified at some of the low-carb one-liners lingering in 180 Kitchen. Well, no more "golfball-sized" portions of starch, dumb recipes for things like a "cream shake" to drink with meals as a fat supplement, and so on.
That's not to say that I went all low-fat on you guys. Actually, most of the recipes and fundamentals remain with little to no alteration. At the end of the day, what I feel is by far the most important factor in maintaining good health long-term is being able to make satisfying whole foods-based dishes in your own home - without the addition of ingredients that inevitably turn up when dinner turns all commercial (like vegetable oil, chemical flavor enhancers, refined sugar, and who knows what else).
I still believe, with unshakable solidarity, that the ultimate long-term key to success with any health pursuit is making enjoyable food in your own home from unadulterated ingredients in the most quick, simple, and time-efficient way possible. This is even more true for those that are in charge of feeding not just themselves, but an entire family of hungry mouths of all shapes and sizes.
For that reason, 180 Kitchen didn't get the type of major overhaul that 180 Metabolism did earlier this year.
But there were some changes, most notably with the menu plans. The most major changes are:
A 7-day menu plan to accompany the FREE eBOOK, with a starch emphasis
A discussion and brief menu plan for Maximum Nutrient Partitioning (MNP) for gaining the most muscle possible with the least amount of body fat
A discussion and brief sample menu for 6 popular ways for fat loss discussed in 180 Metabolism and in recent times - including everything from carbohydrate cycling, calorie cycling or "cheat" dieting as discussed in THIS POST, Intermittent fasting, Weight loss for the morbidly obese, and a starch-based approach to fat loss that has been the subject of late
A section dedicated entirely to Resistant starch, a substance I hope to write about soon that has numerous implications for weight loss, increased metabolism/mitochondrial activity, increased insulin sensitivity, etc.
And a handful of other updates, including several minor adjustments to old classics like "Creamy Grits."
*To receive a $5 discount towards the purchase of the entire 180 Collection, which includes all the latest versions of the eBooks including the New 180 Kitchen and more, add the Collection to your cart HERE, enter the discount code "blogdork" and press "update cart." This discount code will be good through this Friday.
Those that have already purchased the eBook as is or part of the 180 Collection can use the same 180 Kitchen url to access the new version.
