When PaleoPathologist was a kid he remembers seeing a skit on a variety show, might have been Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In, where a frumpy woman said, “I hear that scientists think they can help us live to 140. Big deal. Who wants to be a little old lady for 70 years?” Good question! But what if we can extend middle age 20, 30, 40 more years? Ah, sounds better. According to The Blue Zones, one of the longest living groups in the world is the 7th Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. Since PaleoPathologist is the head of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Porter Adventist Hospital in Denver and is on the Mission Advisory Committee, he has a copy of the handbook, Creation Health Discovery, and is about to share the 8 steps.
Mistakes you can make doing Low Carb/Paleo
The Atkins folks sent around an Email newsletter listing the “top ten mistakes” people make doing Atkins. While some members of some Paleo Tribes might squawk with disdain, there is like not a nickel’s worth of difference between most Paleo diets and properly done Atkins. So how can you screw up?
Argh! Hobbit Feet? Quick, we need a PaleoPodiatrist…
How easy is it to cook Paleo?
PaleoPathDaughter and PaleoPathologist spent some time in the kitchen this afternoon. We began about 4:30 and sat down to eat at 6:15 after preparing deliciousness for tonight and for the coming week. Breakfast is done for the week except for two minutes in the paleolithic microwave and four minutes of coffee brewing in the French Press. All low carb, all terrific.
Sweet Poison? What is it about Glucose?
What is it about Glucose that it elicits such strong opinions? Fear and loathing, love and kisses. Maybe cholesterol, but what other molecule brings out such passion? Is it a precious food or a poison? Let’s take a quick look at this fundamental molecule!
Protein, animal protein, and longevity; a controversy continues
There was a big splash that you may recall when some professors in California went public claiming that “high protein diets (especially animal fat) are as bad for your health as smoking.” (Just google “protein smoking” and you’ll find scads of similar links.)
Attached is a letter to the editor of the journal that actually published the study, basically discrediting it. This came via Drew Baye, one of my favorite high intensity exercise advocates. I hope the study was an honest attempt at good science, but there is a constant temptation in our culture to go for fame and notoriety and scientists are definitely not immune.
Good site for information on supplements and nutrients
PaleoPathologist spent some time investigating Calcium and Magnesium supplements today for PaleoPathologistMate. He went to Consumer Lab, his go-to site for nutritional information. They have good monographs, extensively referenced. It is NOT free although they have some free content.
Looks like Calcium is probably adequate in most decent diets (like PaleoPathologist’s greens, colors, sulfurs, organ meats, eggs, fish) but it’s OK to supplement, A LITTLE. No more than probably 1000 mg/day, and even that according to Consumer Lab might be a bit much. They cite an article saying that you can’t absorb more than 500 mg at a time, and that if you take it with a multivitamin the calcium might interfere with absorption of other trace elements you need like zinc, chromium, manganese, etc.
Magnesium is also interesting. They don’t find any problem taking calcium and magnesium together but it also may compete with other trace elements for absorption. Dang, they want PaleoPathologist to have a timer, pill box, etc. Or maybe old Graw (PaleoGrandSon’s name for PaleoPathologist) will be perfectly OK gathering and eating good food!
PaleoPathologist has found that taking too much Magnesium can lead to, shall we say, unfortunate volcanic gastrointestinal side effects so he thinks if you want to supplement magnesium start real slow OR stay real close to a bathroom. Mag Citrate is used in PaleoPathologist’s hospital as…a laxative! Consider yourself warned.
PaleoPathologist is cutting back on his supplements (he is tired of all the stupid pills.) What about you? (as always this is for education, and should not be considered a prescription or medical treatment since I’ve never met you…)
PaleoPathologist bagged while seeking Vitamin D!
PaleoPathologist found near his cave, absorbing UV light to make some natural Vitamin D. Man are those some feet or what?
Bone Broth Experiment–Pressure Cooker Recipe
The Paleo Community loves their bone broth. It is said to be chock full of good vitamins, minerals, and various joint-building compounds like glucosamine, collagen, etc. One book I read (Deep Nutrition) says that cooking bones is one of the “four pillars” of traditional nutrition. PaleoPathologist is a bit, shall we say, ADD about cooking and has always had difficulty managing a crock pot recipe. Imagine the joy when this pressure cooker bone broth recipe crossed the old computer screen!
So in the old pressure cooker went a beef soup bone from King Soopers grocery, probably about the size of a large fist, soon joined by a slab of Elk ribs. Also there is a “bone bag” in the freezer for the bones from chicken–often PaleoPathMate brings home roasted chickens and after gnawing the bones, in the bag they go. Then PaleoPathologist just sort of “hunter gathered” in the produce drawer and came up with a couple of green onions and some celery (stalks and leaves) to throw in along with a tablespoon of vinegar to leach some of the good stuff out of the bones along with a tablespoon of salt and an experiment, half a tablespoon of Thai Fish Sauce. PaleoPathMate had some in the pantry; amazing how well she keeps us fed!
Britta filter water filled the pressure cooker to about 2/3 full, and then high heat until it starts to jiggle on top, turned it down and pressure cooked for an hour. Man it is smelling good, rich, nourishing, and did I say good?
Done now, it is in the refrigerator after being strained. The meat that was on the bones is OK, sort of washed out tasting, but the broth is really good and rich. Might add more salt next time…let’s see, a tablespoon of salt is about three teaspoons, and my Knorr broth has about 800 mg of sodium in a cup. A teaspoon of salt has 2.3 gm of sodium. So maybe a tablespoon and a half next time?
PaleoPathologist is learning that it not only is ethically incumbent on him to use the whole animal if he kills it, but also it is healthier. Do you have a favorite bone broth? Does the thought of it bother you?
Previous Posts on old blog
These posts come from the predecessor to PaleoPathologist.com and are here for your interest and reference.
Low carb, super low carb, ultra low carb, what does it all MEAN?
What other than weight loss has eating low carb done for people?
Cholesterol, courage, and normal human biases
What? Calcium supplements might do more harm than good?
Another tribe to add to the list of lowcarbers
Forgiveness and reconciliation will be needed.
How you react to stress is more important than how much
Jimmy Moore blog post about “cognitive dissonance” in Low Carb
BroScience. What a great term.
Made another great frittata today.
Low Carb for native peoples in Canada
Something to think about. Drug companies, “Big Pharma”, and Big Government
Eat like a predator, not like prey
But what do you eat? My breakfast frittata.
High intensity weight training for beginners
Welcome to the PaleoPathologist Blog
A couple of new posts on Sleep
PaleoPathMate and PaleoPathologist spent a week in Seattle with PaleoDaughter and PaleoGrandson. We rented a basement apartment and man did we sleep a lot. Between 8.5 and 10 hours a night. Naps in the afternoon. It was great. It also was great to see the western branch of the Clan. PaleoGrandson is bursting with energy!
Back in the PathCave at Porter, after only 7.5 hours of sleep (FitBit measured!) and no less than two other articles came at me on sleep and circadian rhythms. They do such a nice job of summarizing the evidence that PaleoPathologist is going to cite them and go back to his work! They are a nice addition to the previous article in my series on rhythms.
First is a new site that I’m enjoying, ThePaleoMom.com. She is a PhD just like PaleoPathologist and left her research career to do a vital job–raising her kids. Her posts are filled with good science and I’m enjoying reading them. Take a look at her recent one on sleep.
Second is Chris Kresser’s site. He is also quite thoughtful on “paleo” issues and worth reading. His email came through just a couple of hours ago announcing his post on…sleep. Sometimes PaleoPathologist can’t help wondering if multiple messages coming through all at once might represent some kind of supernatural whisper? Like “Hey, dork, why only 7.5 hours last night? You have ten fingers, can’t you count?”
What are you doing to get not only minimum, but luxurious amounts of sleep?