Lowery Online Tonight 5-31-05

Hi All,
It’s a bit early but after lurking a bit I figured I’d open up a thread for questions. Ask 'em if you got 'em!

Dear Dr

I wanted to thank you for answering my question regarding diets for skinny fat people.

Now, I was wondering what is the best way to asses carb tolerance.

I read in one of Dr JBs articles (original Massive Eating, part 2) about measuring insulin sensitivity.

I was wondering, can this help me measure carb tolerance? I do have at home an Accucheck glucose monitor… one that you use a prick to draw out blood and it gives the reading. Can that be useful? If so, then to measure insulin sensitivity, should I follow Dr. JBs way and values n ME or do you have a better solution?

Finally, if indeed carbs are the culprit, what do you think of trying to follow the anabolic diet as a skinny fat person? Perhaps by tweaking fat ratios at 33% mono/poly/sat.?

Thank you again for your time.

In taking fish oil supp, do you recommend any brands in particular? What of the cautions that some kinds may have high levels of toxicities (mercury for example). I’ve been thinking of getting a blood lipid profile as I’ve been using one particular brand (Vitamin World) for a couple of months and have no way of knowing what else may be in it.

Thank you for your reply in advance, and my apologies if this has been addressed in the past.

fragfeaster,
Thanks for the (re-)post. Although the American Diabetes Association prefers simple fasting blood glucose mnitoring (preferably over a few days before breakfast, as it can vary quite a bit), some medical authorities prefer the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and I have used it a fair amount in research because of the additional information it provides.

more coming…

As I’m just a PhD type and not a physician here are some general, but I think informative facts for you…

Preferably, a peak glucose reading after say, 50g or 75g carbs from white bread or a fixed amount of sugary drink would occur at 30-60 minutes and return to baseline or a little below by two hours (when sampling in duplicate at 0,30,60,90,120 minutes).

Most individuals start about 70-90mg/dl (diagnostically diabetics start over 126mg/dl) and a normal PEAK is about 140mg/dl. I have seen otherwise normal guys peak around 160mg/dl on some days, however. Having a two-hour reading that is over 200mg/dl is also an indication of possible glucose intolerance/ diabetes.

You should note, though, that this test may be too variable and subject to confounders like hormonal state, medications (supplements?), recent dietary habits, and illness to be anything more than a screening test - particularly when done without the supervision/ interpretation of a physician.

One last post for fragfeaster…

Interpretation of an OGTT gets tough because, unless you also know your insulin levels (nigh-impossible without a physician’s help) blood glucose readings can be misleadnig. That is, I’ve seen young people with normal glucose readings but enormous insulin concentrations to maintain this “normal looking” glucose status.

I know this seems confusing, but you asked! What we’re separating here is the difference between literal glucose intolerance (high blood sugars) and “insulin resistance”. Often over-fat people require tons of insulin to keep their blood sugar in the normal range but this subsequently adds to their fatness in a vicious circle (i.e. “Syndrome X”).

BTW, as I recall, risk factors for diabetes (fasting >126mg/dl) or glucose intolerance (fasting >110mg/dl) include obesity, hypertriglyceridemia, close relatives with diabetes, high blood pressure, or previous evidence of impaired glucose tolerance. These (e.g. family history) can be used with or without finger prick data to help inform a person as to whether a low-carb diet might be better than a low-cal but moderate carb diet.

Note: fasted sampling, whether for glucose or triglycerides is usually best when one also has 2-3 hour post-meal data with which he can
compare. (Again, ask you doctor.)

Sorry for the soapbox; hope this info. helps.

Do you have any ideas on the claim that oils such as olive oil are some how degraded or not as “good” when they have been heated, such as when it is used to cook a chicken breast in a pan or something similar?

Fat-free Kraft Ranch Dressing? Safe as a salad dressing when the old oil and vinegar combo starts getting stale for someone trying to minimize bodyfat?

2tbsp - 48cal - 0g FAT - 11g CARB (2g Sugar) - 0g Protein

I currently use Sam’s Club because its inexpensive and Consumer Reports (July 2003, as I recall) suggested to buy based on cost. I recommend a trip to a local library to read that issue (free). I personally have seen a fair amount of info. that heavy metal (e.g. mercury) contamination beyond government limits is NOT a problem. One might disagree with government standards, of course. And one can never be sure that all brands forever more will be contaminant free.

I personally think that the biggest drawback with wholesale club stuff is that it’s just “low-dose”, as in just a meager 30% concentration of active ingredient. We end up buying a capsule that’s 70% other stuff than EPA and DHA. So read up on the topic, okay? And yep, we’ve touched on this before. Check out the reader posts following the recent “Inflammatory Comments, Part I” as well as my blog post a while back called “Slippery Stuff”. Just use the search feature at the top of the screen, eh?

[quote]th_underdog wrote:
In taking fish oil supp, do you recommend any brands in particular? What of the cautions that some kinds may have high levels of toxicities (mercury for example). I’ve been thinking of getting a blood lipid profile as I’ve been using one particular brand (Vitamin World) for a couple of months and have no way of knowing what else may be in it.

Thank you for your reply in advance, and my apologies if this has been addressed in the past.[/quote]

doctasarge,
I think I covered this in an article a while back called “Practical Fats” (maybe try a search).

Briefly, olive oil can lose its phenol/ antioxidant power with subsequent fryings. Personally I don’t re-use oil much (it can take up previous flavors) and even then I only use it 2-3 times, tops. When pressed, I believe someone could use it perhaps double this much, so long as he was aware that it loses more healthful benefits each time. When an oil’s smoke point drops (temp at which smoke forms) and it looks dark, I’d consider chucking that batch.

And as a preemptive answer for anyone wondering, no, the healthful monounsaturate, oleic acid in olive (and canola) oil does not typically become the trans fat, elaidic acid in home kitchens. That is, don’t worry about accidentally making your own trans fatty acids at home, kids!

Is there any notable studies on when a good TIME to take… like say Blueberries is? For example: In the post workout period it is advised to take more carbs in such as some fruit. Would it be wise to take blueberries at this time because of them having the properties of dispelling free radicals…? Which occurs because of exercise… Would it be more beneficial in this window as opposed to a latter meal?

I found this on Pubmed and would like a comment:

I’m guessing that is a Lycium berry or Wolfberry?

Thank’s Dr. Lowery

-Get Lifted

zdrax,
It depends on one’s goals. For example, I’d go easy on it if I were on a low-carb diet. But in general, yes, I think that if it helps a person eat more vegetables/ salad (not simply that “crunchy water” they call iceberg lettuce!), then he should go for it!

…one might want to learn to use progressively less over time and grow to love the taste and texture of fresh veggies without too much of it, though.

Get Lifted,
I think one could find indirect evidence that berries consumed pre-, mid- or even post-exercise might help in this regard. For example, there’s tons of data on the antioxidant powers of berries and it’s also widely known that exercise is an oxidative stressor. Hence, the timing seems logical. Of course we’ll have to wait for a study directly comparing para-workout berries to a placebo group (while looking at TBARS, conjugated dienes, etc.) to be sure.

Keep in mind that the reference you listed is an in vitro study (in a dish) and thus may not translate well to living humans. With a little more creativity in search terms (perhaps taking some from that very abstract) you might find data that’s more applicable.

Get lifted,
Have you seen this one?

Br J Nutr. 2005 Jan;93(1):123-30.

Yeah - it really does help. I’ve been using a small packet (about 35 cal, and 8 g of carbs) available at my collegiate dining hall a.k.a. the fat farm. Thank god they have a salad bar.

And BTW, spinach and I are best friends :slight_smile:

cool!

-GetLifted

When first introducing temporal nutrition concepts and integrating such a holistic, precision oriented system to neophytes, what sort of techniques do you recommend in breaking down preconceived eating habits? For example, many of my co-workers and peers believe that “it’s crazy to eat every three hours,” and “why do you have to cook so much?” And then they ask me how I became so studly so quickly.

Hi Doc. I have two questions concerning canned salmon. I read recently that up to 5% of farm raised salmon is mutated in some way (majority were bent - due to the flesh of the fish growing faster than the spine). Do you have concerns eating farm raised, canned salmon? I get mine from Sam’s club and eat a couple of cans a week. Are the fats in farm raised salmon comparable to the fats in wild caught salmon?

Increased intake of foods containing zeaxanthin may be effective in preventing AMD because the macula accumulates zeaxanthin and lutein, oxygenated carotenoids with antioxidant and blue light-absorbing properties. Lycium barbarum L. is a small red berry known as Fructus lycii and wolfberry in the West…

The first one was in vitro but this one you gave is much better.

If you had a single best recommendation for a berry or fruit that had the best prevention for oxidative stress from exercise I would implement it immediately post exercise meal . (I know "lots of variety of berries get lifted " but…) Which do you think is more beneficial all respects?

-Get Lifted

Zdrax,
Sometimes in the past I’ve explained frequent meals as “eat it burn it, eat it burn it” and even neophytes tend to understand. Most folks don’t want to eat a ton and store half of it in the ol’ love handles! I suppose for someone in a mass building phase it could be rephrased as “eat it, use it, eat it use it” instead.

Breaking down undesirable behaviors requires motivation. You might be dealing with what nutritionists call a low “readiness to change” score. Maybe the persons you’re talking to aren’t ready for instructions, as they are still in some need of reviewing the benefits to be had. It sounds like your progress, coupled with a few solid facts thay can sink their teeth into might motivate them enough to start changing small things initially.

You know, no longer drinking sugary colas or starting to eat a piece of portable fruit once a day or switching to lower-fat dairy or eating a clean breakfast (heck, meybe just eating breakfast at all!)