Onibasu.com Health & Nutrition Blog

Insulin Resistance may cause Alzheimer's

2005-06-02T07:13:00.000-04:00

Chris Masterjohn recently posted a couple of fascinating abstracts that proposed a relationship between high-carbohydrate diets, insulin resistance and Alzheimer's Disease on Native Nutrition.

The first abstract said that a specific variant of a gene called E4 is rare among populations with a long history of agriculture. According to the authors, this implies that individuals with E4, which was more common in pre-agricultural populations, were at a disadvantage when consuming the high carbohydrate diets that agriculture produces. Over time, this lead to a rarity of E4 in the groups that had high carbohydrate diets.

It is also known that those with E4 are at a higher risk of getting late onset Alzheimer's Disease, and that E4 has a similar effect as high carbohydrate diets on lipid (e.g. fatty acid) metabolism. The authors propose that the cause of Alzheimer's Disease can be explained by this similarity, and that one of the ways this is happening is due to elevated levels of insulin causing damage to neurons in the brain.

In conclusion, they state:

A change in diet emphasizing decreasing dietary
carbohydrates and increasing essential fatty acids (EFA) may effectively prevent Alzheimer's Disease. Interventions that restore lipid homeostasis may treat the disease, including drugs that increase fatty acid metabolism, EFA repletion therapy, and ketone body treatment.

The second abstract cites epidemiological research showing that insulin resistance increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's. By studying the effects of creating insulin resistance in mice that were genetically prone to Alzheimer-like brain disease, they conclude:

Our study is consistent with the hypothesis that insulin resistance may be an underlying mechanism responsible for the observed increased relative risk for AD neuropathology

There is an enlightening transcript of a lecture by Dr Ron Rosedale on Mercola's website, Insulin and Its Metabolic Effects, that explains the workings of insulin on your body's cells. According to Rosedale, all age-related diseases like heart disease, cancer and even the effects of aging itself have their roots in cellular signalling, and insulin plays a primary role. What he describes seems consistent with the insulin-Alzheimer's theory proposed in the studies above (e.g. the 3rd part of his transcript on glycation).

Homemade Shampoo & Conditioner

2005-05-25T21:02:00.000-04:00

Substitutes for commercial hair shampoo and conditioner have been discussed over the last few weeks on Discussing NT. They include using baking soda for shampoo and apple cider vinegar (ACV) as a rinse or conditioner. A couple people also mentioned that using a chlorine filter seems to help with hair & skin, especially for those who have very oily skin. These threads have been collected below for your convenience:

Thread: Shampoo Alternative [baking soda, vinegar, chlorine filter]

Thread: Re: Shampoo Alternative [baking soda, kelp seaweed for scalp & skin, shampoo "soap"]

Thread: what about hair conditioner (was Shampoo Alternative) [apple cider vinegar, sulfate build-up]

Thread: Soap as Shampoo? [using commercial shampoo "soaps"]

Thread: Re: apple cider vinegar? [more comments from ACV users]

Finally, Why You Should Go No 'Poo has more elaborate instructions on how to use baking soda and apple cider vinegar to wash hair.

Liver Flush Debate

2005-05-18T07:11:00.000-04:00

Liver flushing was debated recently on Native Nutrition, and one participant went as far as getting one of the "stones" analyzed. The results came back as "bile salt." This didn't help clarify the debate, but Filippa posted the most interesting message in this thread. Instead of engaging in the debate on the composition of stones, she addressed the positive changes she experienced:

...in my experience the liver flush definitely DOES work in some way - not just my experience but hundreds of others who post their experiences and results on the curezone liver flush forum. The liver flush totally transformed my health.

Initially afflicted with fatigue, allergies, weakened immunity and skin problems, the liver flushes caused enough changes within months that friends and family noticed the changes:

I was living in Japan and every year I went home, family and friends would comment on how thin, tired and pale I looked. The trip home after the flush, they all said how well I looked (even though I was actually thinner). The fatigue and allergies disappeared. My skin was clear. My skin colour changed. My husband and I were both amazed at how supple and soft my skin suddenly became (from being dry and scaly). My period pain disappeared (it did get worse again later but it was never as bad and got better once I worked on my hormone imbalance). I couldn't believe the difference in my health.

She also notes that she had her flush analyzed and it was also pronounced to be not gallstones, but mentions that labs may not be able to properly analyze the liver flush stones. See this message where she addressed the composition argument in more detail. Finally, she writes that the liver flush alone did not solve all her gallbladder problems - a wholesale change in diet was required to do this.

For more information on the liver flush, Curezone's Liver Cleanse and Gallbladder Cleanse page is the most popular resource. In addition to the Liver Flush & Liver Cleansing Support Forum, Curezone recently added a forum for documenting health effects of the liver flush/cleanse.

Can Kombucha Mold Cause Cancer?

2005-04-28T12:26:00.000-04:00

Someone asked about the potential risks of kombucha tea on Microbial Nutrition recently, citing an anecdotal report of a woman who developed pancreatic cancer after a year of drinking kombucha tea. It would be difficult to prove any causal relationship, but Bruce Stordock did post a warning about a source of carcinogens from a web page:

High acidity of the broth aside, I have seen several of my vessels spontaneously contaminate with molds. Of most concern are the species of Aspergillus I have found floating around with Kombucha. I fear that amateurs could think that by merely pulling out the Aspergillus colonies with a fork, that the culture would be de-contaminated, a dangerous, even deadly presupposition.

The water-soluble toxins of Aspergillus can be highly carcinogenic. Several species are known killers. Since the public can not be expected to distinguish a clean fermented culture from one which is not, I fear that the unreserved use of this tea will result, has resulted in illness, if not death. (See Newsweek, April 25th, 1995, pg. 6.)

(source: http://www.fungi.com/info/articles/blob.html)

At first glance, this is alarming because it implies that a culture that is supposed to be healthy could be causing great harm. However, a further look at Aspergillus does not seem to bear out these concerns.

Aspergillus is a genus representing about 200 different species of mold. Of these species, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus are known to cause invasive infections in humans. Aspergillus fumigatus and clavatus are also commonly sources of allergic reactions in humans. And a type of mycotoxin called aflatoxin produced by some strains of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus have been linked to cancer. (See also The Aspergillus Website which has information on Aspergillus-caused illnesses and case histories. Note that the organization is funded by pharmaceutical companies.)

In kombucha cultures, Aspergillus niger and Penicillum notatum were the most common molds found in a survey of cultures:

According to Michael Roussin, Director of the Kombucha Consumer Research Group in Salt Lake City, the two most often found molds on Kombucha are: Penicillum notatum and Aspergillus niger. Mr. Roussin's group of researchers tested many hundreds of Kombucha colonies during 1996, and during this time found that these two molds were the two they isolated from the tested colonies. According to them, Penicillum notatum is the green mold and Aspergillus niger is commonly white, black or gray.

Unfortunately, the full report containing the comprehensive list of moulds is not available for free.

Aspergillus niger is "generally regarded as safe" by the FDA, however it is dangerous to immuno-compromised people, and you should avoid breathing the spores:

A niger is the third most common Aspergillus species to cause pulmonary disease, after Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus flavus. It is also a rare cause of chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis. A fermentation by-product of Aspergillus fungi, especially A niger, is oxalic acid, which complexes with calcium from the host to form calcium oxalate crystals. These crystals cause severe tissue necrosis, including damage to blood vessels.

However, I could not find any confirmed reports of other pathological species of Aspergillus in kombucha. An FDA "Talk Paper" mentions Aspergillus, but not any specific species:

The unconventional nature of the process used to make Kombucha tea has led to questions as to whether the product could become contaminated with potentially harmful microorganisms, such as the mold Aspergillus. Such contamination could produce serious adverse effects in immune-compromised individuals.

On the other hand, some species of Aspergillus are necessary for certain fermented products. For example Aspergillus sojae and Aspergillus oryzae are used to make koji and its derivatives which include miso and amazake (a sweet type of sake). Dom mentions that A. oryzae is one of the molds in sourdough starter as well.

Finally, going back to the originally posed question, kombucha just doesn't agree with some people, as Heidi notes:

People tend to react to kombucha either positively or not. On another list, several people got candida-like reactions after imbibing it. Others felt wonderful. I got some almost-migraine like symptoms once after a big glass. A fair number of people get a "niacin flush" after drinking it. There have been issues about it not getting along with certain medications (which is also true of grapefruit, BTW!).

Being exposed to carcinogenic molds does not look like one of the risks involved with making kombucha, especially if hygienic practices are followed.

Survivalism for Everyone

2005-04-24T10:18:00.000-04:00

Survivalism sometimes reminds me of people who run away from paying taxes or are preparing for apocalypse. Fair or not, this preconception was changed by a recent mention of Tom Brown Jr on the Native Nutrition mailing list.

Tom Brown rocks! We are all avid archers now and have three of his books. Reading his story first ... well, ds is reading ALL books at once, lol. He was out tracking sugar ants and collecting to eat. I asked how such little things would be worth it. He says TB writes that a handful is as nutritious as 1 lb. of beef (or something like that, don't quote me).

and later in the same thread, from Wanita Spears:

A squirrel, rabbit, elk or any other mammal with a fur hide has a brain proportionate in size to the amount needed for a human to tan it's hide. The relationship of brain to hide to human use and need for survival, was likely one of those insights you quoted from Tom, that changed how Tom saw the world.

Tom Brown is a tracker and wilderness survival expert who has written numerous books, including a series of "field guides" such as Nature Observation and Tracking, Living With the Earth and Wilderness Survival. He also runs a school in New Jersey called Trackerschool.

An earlier thread indicates there is some controversy, perhaps rumours spread by professional jealousy:

I asked Dan about the fraud claims you mentioned. He told me he's familiar with a number of such claims, many from competitors at wilderness schools in the west it seems. Tom's school is the most well known, the oldest, and is in NJ, as I imagine you already know. As you said, what Tom Brown knows is not something one could learn from a book. He is a proven masterful tracker...

Further reading in that thread provides some fascinating reading about the abilities of Tom Brown and other wilderness survivalists. At least, for a city dweller like me!

Cod Liver Oil: Murky Contents

2005-04-16T00:59:00.000-04:00

Triggered by an allegation of deceptive labeling, cod liver oil (CLO) has been the subject of several long running threads on a few mailing lists recently. The root cause seems to be the lack of transparency in labelling and production practises.

A post from October 2004 was the first indication that there was more than pollutants like mercury to worry about in cod liver oils. Petteri from Finland reported that the product information sheet filed with a government agency found soy product, synthetic vitamins and other additives in Carlson's cod liver oil.

Natural tocopherols (soy oil concentrate 70%), synthetic dl-alphatocopherol-acetate, retinylpalmitate-concentrate (incl. synthetic retinylpalmitate and peanut oil), cholecalciferol concentrate (incl. synthetic cholecalciferol and vegetable oil).
The lemon flavor version includes also: saccharinsolution (incl. ethanol), lemon flavor.

This vitamin E from soy is used to lengthen the shelf life of cod liver oil.

Petteri later asked Dr. Mercola (who endorses Carlson's cod liver oil) about these issues but received nothing concrete:

About a half year ago I contacted Mercola on the subject of Carlson's soy based vitamin E and the synthetic vitamin A and D used in the product. They asked for more information and after I send them some documents they went completely mute.

Recently, Pratick Mukherjee received a response from Carlson's many weeks after initially contacting Dr. Mercola. Timothy Johanek of J R Carlson Laboratories finally confirmed that Carlson's CLO contained soy-derived vitamin E. In a follow up, Johanek stated that a mixture of GMO and non-GMO soy was used, and no synthetic vitamin A or D was added. Unfortunately this contradicts Petteri's information sheet.

If that wasn't enough, the Weston A. Price Foundation stopped endorsing Carlson's Cod Liver Oil on their website in February 2005, stating "the manufacturer is removing vitamin A out of concerns of toxicity."

Removing nutrients is one thing, what about artificially increasing the levels of Vitamin A and D? There is concern among some that some CLO marketers may be engaging in this practise. For example, Petteri reports that a major CLO wholesale supplier, Lysi, cannot supply their product without fluctuations in vitamin content:

"We can offer unbleached and undeodorized cod liver oil with natural vitamins A and D. The vitamin content will however fluctuate a lot. The vitamin A can be approximately 600 - 1.500 i.u./g and the D vitamin 100 - 250 i.u./g."

Although producers may employ techniques to make vitamin levels more consistent, Petteri found that CLO marketers do not have to even bother, at least in his jurisdiction. In a conversation with a senior government scientist:

So I asked: If I add the required amount of synthetic vit. A and vit. D to a fish oil base, can I sell this procuct as cod liver oil? Would the Agency of Medicine approve it?

She said yes.

And would I have to mention the synthetic vitamins on the label?

No.

Another possibility is that the levels fluctuate in the actual product despite the implication of consistency made by the label, as Suze Fisher reported:

I have at least one assay of a batch from NF [Natural Factors] which I requested and it shows the peroxide value, as well as vits A and D potency, which can vary quite a bit from what the label states (on any brand).

Consequently, Petteri feels cod liver oils such as Nordic Naturals and Garden of Life's Olde World Icelandic, that state an approximate range, as more "honest" and convincing.

Fundamentally, it seems the companies that sell cod liver oil to consumers, the marketers, could do a better job of education and creating more transparency to their business. With a confusing plethora of terms, it's hard for consumers to know what is often-repeated myth and what's important. It is also ironic that a government-regulated informational filing in Northern Europe provided the first discussed hint of additives in one of the most reputable brands on the market.

Sometimes even the marketers aren't sure of the answers. Between fish and bottle is a mysterious process.

A Re-Designed Onibasu with New Features

2005-04-13T20:23:00.000-04:00

We are happy to announce that we launched Onibasu.com with a whole new look this morning. We made the pages easier to read with a cleaner design. We hope you like this new look!

We also added some useful new features:

There is a new Recommended Reading section containing a selection of books that have been talked about on mailing lists. We have dug through the archives to compile people's comments for each book, and organized them conveniently to save you time. Liat will be adding books twice a week.

We have decided to create an onibasu-updates mailing list on Yahoo! groups for people who would like to know what's been added to the site. Subscribers will get a short weekly email with links to new blog entries and additions to Recommended Reading. This will serve the needs of those who are not able to subscribe to our blog by RSS. Click here to subscribe to onibasu-updates.

Finally, we made it easier to send us feedback by creating a simple form on our "Contact" page. It is anonymous (we do not capture any information about your browser or host/IP!) and more convenient than writing an email. A similar feedback form is available in the Recommended Reading section for you to comment on any book (click here for an example). Any comments you send us are appreciated!

The Early Years of Soy Debate

2005-04-07T06:18:00.000-04:00

On the Chapter Leaders list, a reader of the recent book, "The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of Americas Favorite Health Food," asked how the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) came to their position against soybeans and soy food products. Sally Fallon, one of the founders of the WAPF, replied that her concerns with soy actually predated the founding of the WAPF. Interestingly, she mentions that much of the damning evidence against soy was found in research that was funded by the soy industry!

... I found reports written by the soy industry in the 1970s on how they were trying to get phytic acid and also enzyme inhibitors out of the soy by processing, and how difficult this was to do. I found the Rackis studies showing the damage to the pancreas of rats consuming processed soy protein--these were industry-sponsored studies. I also found the great quote on how they were going to market soy as a health product to the upscale market, in order to then have it accepted by the general public.

For more information on the WAPF's stance on soy, see their introductory Soy Alert! page.

Smarter People More Susceptible to Heavy Metal Toxicity?

2005-03-29T06:39:00.000-05:00

On Autism Mercury, Andrew Hall Cutler wrote that he suspects intelligence plays a role in heavy metal poisoning:

... the dirty little secret that is peeking out here is that smart people are more susceptible to heavy metal toxicity than ones of lesser intelligence. Lead dumbs them down, mercury makes them crazy. There are hints of this in journal literature data, though the authors work mightily to not notice it.

When asked for more information, he provided a journal article reference from Environmental Health Perspectives, Volume 112, Number 9. The article, Recent Developments in Low-Level Lead Exposure and Intellectual Impairment in Children) is here [PDF format]. The figure he mentions is on page 5.

To understand his point, assume there is a normal distribution (or bell curve) of intelligence among a subset of children with the same level of lead in their blood. In other words, take a vertical slice of the graph - this is your bell curve at that blood-lead level.

An obvious assumption is that as the blood level of lead increases, intelligence will decrease in direct proportion. If this was the case, the bell curve should exhibit a linear change as you move to the right on the graph.

In other words, the top and bottom "edge" formed by the bell curves as you move to the right should be linear.

However the figure shows that it is not.

The cluster of dots gets tighter as you go to the right, due to the top half been "squeezed" down. The top edge decreases very quickly with increasing lead - it shows an obvious curve which indicates a non-linear relationship. But the bottom edge barely decreases, and is roughly linear.

This is the effect noted by Andrew Hall Cutler - that children with higher intelligence seem to be more affected by increased lead than children of lower intelligence. And as he notes, this effect is not really explained by the authors of the paper.

Fathers with Large Heads and Autistic Offspring

2005-03-29T06:33:00.000-05:00

One mother recently wrote of an intriguing connection between Autism in the child and a father with a large head on Autism Mercury:

... the geneticist ... said that the one pattern he has seen in parents of autistic children is a history of mental illness on the mother's side of the family and a large head (I'm not making this up!)/very high intelligence of the father...

The association between parental intelligence and autism was first widely publicized in a Wired magazine article, The Geek Syndrome where they reported the high incidence of Asperger's and Autism in the children of Sillicon Valley tech workers.

Lacto-fermentation bad for MSG-sensitive people?

2005-03-24T22:54:00.000-05:00

There has been a really interesting discussion on Chapter Leaders on how much MSG is created by the lacto-fermentation process, and whether this should be avoided by just MSG-sensitive people, or by everyone. One of the speakers at the last WAPF conference was Jack Samuels, who described how lacto-fermentation could break down proteins and produce free glutamic acid. This has a bad effect on people who are sensitive to MSG, and is considered a neurotoxin by Samuels. Russell Blaylock wrote a well-regarded book on this effect of MSG and aspartame (the artificial sweetener), titled Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills.

During the last couple weeks, Luana followed up with Jack Samuels for more details. In the discussions that followed, Samuels pointed out that bone broths can also yield free glutamic acid if they were simmered past a certain point.

Luana sums up her findings so far:

Jack is an expert on MSG and has made it his life's work to study glutamic acid and its effects on people. Both he and Russell Blaylock, the renowned excitotoxin expert, say that it's important to eliminate all free glutamic acid (FGA) from one's diet--whether you are healthy or not. We have established that both bone broths and vinegars have FGA. The latest question has been whether or not naturally lacto-fermented foods (not fermented with vinegar or enzymes) have it--i.e. can we make conclusions about l-f foods from vinegar studies. Jack is certain that we will find MSG (free glutamic acid) in all l-f foods, but the only way to know for sure, and in what quantities is to have them tested.

Jack has stated in the conversations that cabbage (sauerkraut) does have MSG, and many who are MSG-sensitive have severe reactions. But the MSG in a higher protein fermented food (dairy, etc) will be much higher and even more problematic.

Jack has stated rather strongly that from his research he does not believe it is wise for anyone to consume fermented foods (as well as glutamic acid supplements--see archives), whether they know themselves to be MSG-sensitive or not. He theorizes that the reason that the natives Price studied didn't show signs of reaction is because they had many health factors going for them other than just food, they weren't constantly bombarded with carcinogenic environmental toxins as we are, and they weren't born out of generations of sick people as we are--thus their immune systems were able to process the excitotoxins.

Her summary is here.

Previous threads on this subject are here, part of which split off to here, and most recently, here. These previous threads are long but provide more details for those who are interested in further reading.

How Frying and Baking form the Carcinogen, Acrylamide

2005-03-19T21:33:00.000-05:00

You may have heard about an undesirable substance created when frying or baking starchy food in high heat. In 2002, Swedish researchers discovered acrylamide in a variety of fried and baked goods. This substance is used in a variety of industries and is known to cause nerve damage and cancer in large quantities. In a recent post on Native Nutrition, Heidi Schuppenhauer posted some links showing the relative levels of acrylamide in various food products. She also points out that Nourishing Traditions advocates boiling or slow baking which may avoid this issue.

Some digging in Google produces some interesting results. As Heidi points out, the amino acid asparagine is an important part of the acrylamide-forming reaction. Foods that have higher levels of asparagine tend to yield more acrylamide. More specifically, this page summarizes:

In October 2002, articles in the journal Nature confirmed earlier observations that acrylamide may be formed in foods during baking and frying, but has not been found in raw food, or food cooked at the lower temperatures reached during boiling.

The authors showed that acrylamide is formed during the Maillard reaction. Products of the Maillard reaction are responsible for much of the flavour and colour associated with fried, roasted and baked foods. This reaction requires sugars, proteins (or free amino acid) and high temperatures to proceed. Model systems used by the authors showed that heating the amino acid asparagine with glucose at 185°C results in most of the asparagine reacting to form acrylamide.

A very recently published paper says further that lower temperatures and longer cooking times can also produce acrylamide:

... reaction time and temperature were found to be covariant parameters: acrylamide was preferably formed by reacting glucose and asparagine at 120 degrees C for 60 min, whereas 160 degrees C was required at shorter reaction time (5 min).

And finally, this page suggests certain herbicides may be another source of acrylamide in your food, via the breakdown of polyacrylamide which acrylamide is a constiuent of:

Strangely, the WHO releases did not mention the fact that polyacrylamide is a well known additive to commercial herbicide mixtures (25% to 30% solutions) to reduce spray drift and to act as a surfactant [2]. The glyphosate (ie Roundup) herbicides of Monsanto Corporation are of particular concern because the herbicide interacts with the polymer [2-4]. Experiments showed that heat and light contribute to the release of acrylamide from polyacrylamide, and glyphosate was found to influence the solubility of polyacrylamide, so care was advised in mixing the two.

However this does not address how much acrylamide would survive until it reaches the final food product. The EPA says "Acrylamide does not bind to soil and will move into soil rapidly, but it is degraded by microbes within a few days in soil and water. Its has little tendency to accumulate in fish."

P.S. Your Onibasu blogger has been under the weather all week and quite unproductive. Maybe I can get Liat to post about her fermentation experiments while I recuperate. :-)

Caspian Sea Yogurt: From the Caucasus to Big In Japan

2005-03-17T22:00:00.000-05:00

Imagine a smooth, creamy yogurt that's not so sour, rich in minerals and possibly the secret behind the longevity of a group of Georgians in Eastern Europe. That's the 'matsoni' strain of yogurt that a Japanese scholar brought back with him to Japan, renamed as "Caspian Sea Yogurt" and has since become immensely popular. Fans tout its strong health benefits, from healthier intestines, less allergies and stronger immune systems. Last but not least, it's very easy to make.

Caspian Sea Yogurt was a recent topic of discussion on Kefir Making. Unfortunately only a couple people have the culture, and one of them is figuring out how to ship it to satisfy all the requests. If you are interested in learning more:

Instructions by one member of Kefir Making who has this yogurt.

Recent discussion from Kefir Making here and two English-language news stories from Japan about this yogurt.

Discussion from 2 years ago on this subject.

Finally, we dug up the main Japanese source for cultures, Fujicco, and they have it in some nifty packaging for an great price. Their extensive main Caspian Sea Yogurt page has links to history, instructions, nutrition and recipes. Unfortunately it's all in Japanese.

Kimchi may stop bird flu

2005-03-14T20:48:00.000-05:00

A Korean research team has shown that kimchi may fight the bird flu. In an experiment with three groups of chickens infected with the bird flu virus, the recovery rate of the two groups that received a bacterial culture present in kimchi (11 of 13 recovered in both groups) far exceeded the group that did not receive the culture. All 13 chickens died in the latter group.

Korea times story.

Treating Pre-Menstrual Breast Pain

2005-03-14T07:46:00.000-05:00

An acupuncturist recently described a simple method for treating pre-menstrual breast pain on the TCM mailing list. However this treatment cannot be self-administered - you will need to ask an experienced TCM doctor or acupuncturist to apply the method. She says:

I have women now who no longer can tell the onset of menstruation because the breast no longer beats like a drum.

The message is here.

Is the Nourishing Traditions diet for everyone?

2005-03-12T05:51:00.000-05:00

A new WAPF chapter leader recently asked if the diet described in Sally Fallon and Mary Enig's book Nourishing Traditions ("NT") is right for everyone. After describing some of her experiences with health problems introduced by other diets, she asks:

So my question to all of you, who have much more experience seeing yourself and others follow the NT diet, is this: Does the NT diet not work for everyone or for everyone at different stages even though they are buying the highest quality ingredients and processing the foods in the NT way?

Many responses point out the dangers of blindly following one diet or perspective without consideration of individual differences. Some also suggest that Nourishing Traditions is more of an approach to food, rather than a particular "diet." And finally, Dr. Weston Price himself found that there were significant differences in diet among the healthy native cultures he studied. He describes his travels and findings in his classic book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.

The thread starts from here.

The Naked Warrior: rave reviews

2005-03-12T05:11:00.000-05:00

Paul Idol posted a rave review of Pavel Tsatsouline's The Naked Warrior on Native Nutrition recently. If the title is making you scratch your head, it's a book about getting fit using high intensity, low rep exercises that require no special equipment. You may be more familiar with Tsatsouline's other popular works on kettlebells (The Russian Kettlebell Challenge and targetting female readers, From Russia with Tough Love).

Paul writes:

If one-legged squats and one-armed pushups sound daunting, particularly those of you who are either out of shape or in poor health -- or more likely both -- don't worry about it. They are (very much so) but Tsatsouline provides a wide variety of alternate forms and modifications that allow you to ease into them, customizing the intensity of your workout to your particular needs. One major crutch: elevation. You can do partial one-legged lunges, for example, letting your knee come to rest on a box or other platform (I'm using a short stack of books because it gives me fine control over the height), and you can start pushups from an elevated position, thus reducing the weight on your arm.

Just as importantly, since the entire _Naked Warrior_ program is based on the two exercises I mentioned above, it's not complicated or difficult to begin, and the forms are very easy to master, so there's no need for a trainer or even a video.

The thread starts from here.

Amazon.com links to The Naked Warrior: the book, DVD video and VHS video.

Detoxification through the skin

2005-03-10T21:08:00.000-05:00

Mark Sircus of Autism Mercury describes why detoxification through the skin should be seriously examined as a way to get rid of toxins and heavy metals:

One of the most overlooked aspects of elminination is actually the skin which offers a vast exit route to poisons trapped in the body. The skin is actually an amazingly complex organ and, by weight, the largest in the body. It covers, on average, some 22 square feet and weighs around nine pounds (roughly 7% of body weight). The skin provides the front line of defense for the body, as well as being expressive of both physiological conditions and emotional states. The skin is the extension of our nervous system to the outside and defines our existence as a physical form. The skin is involved in dynamic exchange between the internal and external environments through respiration, absorption and elimination.

To get rid of the toxins, he describes methods such as saunas, clay baths, wood vinegar-based skin patches and far-infrared saunas, along with various personal accounts to go with them. Follow ups to his post provide additional useful information.

Link to Mark Sircus' post.

The dangers of cooking in stainless steel

2005-03-09T21:26:00.000-05:00

Is stainless steel cookware safe? This perennial topic sprung up again recently on the WAPF Chapter Leaders mailing list.

Generally speaking, it's the nickel in stainless steel that concerns people. Nickel is a well known toxin and some people are even allergic to skin contact with metals that contain nickel. The rule of thumb is that magnetic stainless steel is ok because it does not contain nickel, and non-magnetic stainless steel should be avoided because it contains nickel. (See this thread from WAPF Chapter Leaders for an example.)

More detailed information can be found on the Stainless Steel Information Center's faq which explains that: "The 300 series (which contains nickel) is NOT magnetic. The 400 series (which just contains chromium and no nickel) ARE magnetic." (But 300 series steel can be made magnetic according to this page.)

The faq also explains that 18/10 and 18/8 stainless steel means 18% chromium and 10 or 8% nickel. Unfortunately, 18/10 stainless steel seems to be the most common material for stainless steel pots in stores around here.

But as Bill Sanda points out, the leaching of nickel from cooking in stainless steel pots has not been well studied. A quick search in Pubmed finds conflicting reports about the level of nickel leaching into food. Of the ones that found nickel in food, you might find "Stainless steel cookware as a significant source of nickel, chromium, and iron", and "Nickel in foods and the diet" to be interesting.

You are polluted

2005-03-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

A fascinating Globe & Mail article titled "I am Polluted" was posted by Julie Griffiths on several groups including Autism Mercury and Native Nutrition. Mark Stevenson writes about being tested by researchers studying "body burden," the accumulation of toxic compounds and minerals and their effects on humans. Most of these chemicals, ranging from pesticides, cosmetic components and fuel additives were never studied for their effect on humans when they were approved for use.

Magnetic bacteria.. and humans?

2005-03-06T16:56:00.000-05:00

Someone on Microbial Nutrition posted an interesting reference to bacteria found on a meteorite that ingest iron compounds and are affected by magnetic fields. Iron oxide (magnetite) or iron sulfide (greigite) encased by membranes inside the bacteria and are called "magnetosomes". Interestingly enough, magnetosomes have been found in higher life forms as well, including humans. The research area of bioelectromagnetics is yielding interesting theories that link biological magnetic susceptability to forms of therapy (and actual devices) that most people would consider esoteric.

Check out the bioelectromagnetics Yahoo group for more information.

The best coconut oil, cellulite reduction and others

2005-03-05T04:56:00.000-05:00

There was a brief network outage at 1507h EST on March 4th that caused a change in our network address. Some people may not have been able to access us for up to an hour.

The last update of the archives was March 4th.

Interesting posts:

On Autism-Mercury, someone posted a University of Calgary video showing dramatic footage neuron degeneration from exposure to a solution containing a low concentration of mercury. Interestingly, the researchers found that exposure to other heavy metals such as aluminum and cadmium did not have this effect.

Native-nutrition has been pretty busy with political posts lately, but Laura Cooper asked why it is bad to cook milk in meat. Heidi Jean pointed out the curdling of milk in acidic solutions (as many soups are), and Wanita Spears mentioned that it had a worse effect on her than just meat and gluten alone (i.e. spaghetti).

Coconut oil lovers will be interested in a long thread on WAPF Chapter Leaders that debates different brands. Apparently, Quality First International supplies Wilderness Family Naturals with their Coconut Oil, and it seems Tropical Traditions is considered inferior in quality. The thread starts from here.

Finally, an acupuncturist on Traditional Chinese Medicine mentioned cellulite reduction using cupping techniques. Not all acupuncturists would know how to do this, but those who practise cosmetic acupuncture may know more.