That Seven Countries White Paper and Ancel Keys' Six Country Plot

Summary:

• A white paper has been published by the True Health Initiative attempting to set some things straight vis a vis Ancel Keys and his Seven Countries Study
• Such discussions will always involve the erroneous conflation of that 1970s study and Keys' 1953 "Six Countries Plot"
• ANCEL KEYS DID NOT CHERRY PICK.   In 1953, it was "possible to get fully comparable dietary and vital statistics data from 6 countries" from 1948-9.  
• Yerushalmy originally put forth data from 12 and then 22 countries.   These data were from different sources and for different classifications of disease vs. that used by Keys.
• NEITHER set of data used by Y&H even existed in 1953, so it could not have even been available to Keys.
• Zoe Harcombe is a terrible researcher at best.  Some institutions will give a PhD to pretty much anyone these days.

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Tom Naughton Doubles Down on Kooky Kalorie Klaims for Fat Head Kids

Preface:

I have to say this.  Sorry, not sorry.  If you have children, and you want to help them with nutrition and health as they grow, teach them about food and teach them how to cook.   Get your own weight and health under control (if it's a problem) so that you can pass down good habits to your children.  Or do nothing.  None of my business.  But whatever you do, do not buy your child a copy of Fat Head Kids or let them within 50 yards of a showing of the Fat Head Kids movie if it ever comes out.  Put a block on your Hulu or whatever streaming service it is eventually on.  I cannot recommend more strongly against this.

Every time I have watched snippets of some video of Tom talking about this book, or read the preview content on Amazon, I just get utterly creeped out by the whole thing, and Tom Naughton specifically.  Books for children should not include shirtless pictures of the middle aged author who goes on about boy boobs.  

Tom seems to be working through his unresolved childhood issues and perhaps even ongoing body image issues, and has a weird obsession with "moobs".  How else to explain a chapter entitled "Bad Food Makes Boy Boobs"??   Never mind that this topic is irrelevant to half of his prospective audience and his own two children.  

Podcast Appearance Tomorrow: Superhuman Radio

Hello inmates!  I'll be appearing on Superhuman Radio with Carl Lanore tomorrow, August 10, at 12 noon EST.

You can listen live HERE

You can always listen to rebroadcasts, and I'll post a link once the podcast is "in the can".

Our topic will be A New Perspective on Type 2 Diabetes.  This was inspired by a meme on Carl's Facebook wall and my response that carbohydrates are neither the cause of diabetes or the the direct cause of the associated hyperglycemia.   Basically challenging the notion that diabetes is a disease of carbohydrate intolerance.

Should be good!

J.E.R.F.? Just Eat Real Food ...

... an acronym most closely associated with Sean Croxton.   [ Or as I call him in my head:  Sean Ton of Crocks, because Croxton is the king of the alt func med summit marketeering spree].  But now it looks like Croxton is in the processed convenience food biz, releasing a J.E.R.F. bar!  

screenshot of today's JERFbar.com home banner

One of the things that most annoys me about Noakes and his "Real Meal" revolution.  Many in paleo talk about eating "real food", and many exclude from this definition foods that aren't part of their restrictive food paradigms.  You know, such UNreal aka fake foods like whole grains and legumes for the low carbers,  soy and veggie oils for the "ancestrals", maybe dairy for the vegans, regular sugar for just about everyone.    "Real food" is a foolish label.   If what you mean by *real* is "whole" foods, then concoctions don't fly, no matter how "clean" the ingredients list is, and almond flour and butter are not almonds.  If by *real* you mean "natural" -- as opposed to synthetic or artificial -- then Fritos qualify as they contain only corn and oil.  If by *real* you mean "clean" (according to your definition of allowed foods for your paradigm) you're the worst of all using the term as a fraudulent marketing one.

Real food?  Most food is real food, or likely upwards of 95% by weight *real*.  Even many food additives are real -- take lecithin for example, that can be derived from a number of foods such as eggs, soybeans or sunflower seeds.  Sugar is real.  Flour is real.  White rice is real.  Coconut oil is real, but so, too is corn oil.  

The #IRONY is soooo thick with this JERF bar.  

Disabilesity ~ Part II: An Epidemic?

This series was inspired by my own "journey" through what I'm going to call disabilesity.  If you haven't done so and would like some personal background, read Disabilesity ~ Part I: Intro and My Own Journey.

This installment is about increased risks and rates of physical impairment, preceding and including formal physical disability, that have coincided with the rising rates of obesity.  A theme of this series is that unlike the chronic metabolic disease risks (diabetes, CVD, etc.), the impairment of physical ability is often overlooked.  In my opinion, this does a disservice, especially to younger obese individuals who are not properly educated/warned about these very real consequences.  Most people don't die of things like osteo arthritis, but quality of life can be greatly affected.

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Disabilesity ~ Part I: Intro and My Own Journey

This post was inspired by my own "journey" through what I'm going to call disabilesity.  It got insanely long and cumbersome, so I'll break it up into parts:

• Intro and My Own Journey of Disabilesity
• The Forgotten Disabilesity Epidemic
• How the Obesity Industrial Complex does a disservice to those at risk or suffering from Disabilesity

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It has been my observation for a while now that various interests I shall refer to collectively as the Obesity Industrial Complex, are only marginally interested in *fixing* any problems attributable to the obesity epidemic in affluent countries.  Instead, for various reasons and in varying ways, the different factions seem more intent on maintaining some level of the status quo for profit, relevance, notoriety or some combination of the above.

Defensiveness

It's been a very long time since I've highlighted a post or podcast from someone else on this blog.  It's also no secret that my own blogging has fallen off big time.  This has been from a "perfect storm" of burnout, frustration, personal priorities, and search for a future focus/mission in blogging.    I feel like "I've blogged on that" a zillion times already. 

Around a year ago I listened to a podcast from someone I'm honored to call a friend.  On my list of "people I've met online I must meet someday", she's right up on top.    I know it sounds egotistical to say this, but I don't care.  There are so very few out there whom I consider valued sources of information.  I try and link them up, support them, share their work.  I'm not a marketer, and although a few years ago I incorporated, I've yet to really take a leap into much in the way of selling anything or making any sort of living off of doing what I do in this area.  My inaugural venture in that vein didn't work out so well, and then, as they say, life got in the way.  Still, there were a few good things to come of said debacle, and a connection with Leigh is top on that list.

This person is Leigh Peele 

When I listened to this podcast I was well on my way through already having figured out a lot of things that had stymied me.  I was still in a very tenuous place with a lot of other things (mostly personal).    I just re-listened AGAIN (I think this may well be the fourth or fifth time now) before sharing this, because I will reference this in some upcoming "off topic" blog posts.    I really hope you will all give a listen, and show Leigh some love afterwards.  She's a fitness person, but just lean back and apply what she has to say to whatever and wherever you are or are coming from.

Here ya go:  Defensiveness is the Enemy

If you like what you hear, I'd love for you to give Leigh some support love and leave a review on iTunes.  Defensiveness is the Enemy

Oh ... and I'm calling out a few people who REALLY need to listen to this.  

• Dr. Sarah Ballantyne PhD.
• Stacy Toth 
• Melanie Miller
• Jimmy Moore (X 1000)
• Diane Sanfilippo
• Melissa Hartwig
• Robb Wolf
• Mark Sisson

This is not an all inclusive list by a long shot.  Some may not understand why I listed who I did.  So be it.  

  

If Fat Doesn't Make You Fat, Explain Tokelau vs. Pukapuka

In light of the recent brash of coconut oil articles following the Dietary Fats and Cardiovascular Disease: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association, I thought I'd bump this post.  Of course all the coconut oil advocates are up in arms over this.  Mind you, coconut oil is the most nutritionally bereft oil out there ... "empty calories".  This post discusses a study in the Sixties on two Atoll island populations that live in virtually the same environment, etc. but with nearly opposite diets in terms of total fat content, where the majority of fat comes not from coconut oil, but the more nutrient dense coconut meat and embryos.

One Line Summary:  The increased fat content in the Tokelauan diet correlates in increased adiposity in this population as compared to nearby Pukapuka.  

While the cited study abstract says the following:

Vascular disease is uncommon in both populations and there is no evidence of the high saturated fat intake having a harmful effect in these populations.

... it is important to point out that they did not assess atherosclerosis in any direct fashion, only looked at  TWELVE ECGs .    The oldest participants numbered roughly 30 in each top age group of age 55-64.  This paragraph is the more accurate to quote:

The influence these traditional diets may have on development of atherosclerosis is an important question. Twelve lead ECGs have been taken in both groups and the rate of subnormal Q waves, Minnesota Code 1 ı and 12 was very low in both groups. The samples of adults on the two atolls are, however, too small for definitive studies of coronary heart disease and vascular disease.

Here are the cholesterol differences as reported in the paper.  

Even if this study demonstrated a lack of CVD in its aging populations, this still tells us nothing about the healthfulness or wisdom of consuming refined coconut oil in the context of modern diets.  Everything from putting it in coffee with butter to frying "paleo starches" in it bears no resemblence to the traditional dietary context in which both the Pukapuka (to lesser extent) and Tokelauan (to greater extent consumed whole coconut.

What we do see, definitively, is a progressive and distinct trend toward greater adiposity in the higher fat culture.  It is no major leap of logic to see where this could lead with even minor deviations from the traditional context.

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A Silly Epiphany ...

Allow me to share just one "a ha" moment I came to in the beginning of 2016.   

Me photobombing Nobel laureate Michael Brown and Kevin Klatt (aka @Nutrevolve) October 2016
I'm kinda cute, huh?  

 

I met my now husband the October after graduating from college and getting my first real job.  He was a co-worker and friend of my apartment neighbors and friends.  At the time I was far from the fattest I'd been, but I believe the pants I was wearing were size 14 at the time.  We hit it off instantly.  Movie magical type stuff.  In my sleep-deprived state the next day at work I even told my co-worker friend that "last night I met the man I'm going to marry".

Jimmy Moore's 10 Year Scam-aversary ~ Remembering Kimkins!

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Jimmy Moore has been complaining a lot about criticism lately.  This is nothing new.  

• livinlowcarbmanThis comment I received today is a great teachable moment to share with you a bit more of my philosophy on how to share feedback with someone online. Thank you @creativename79 for sharing this!
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  Here was my response to Kris:
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  I love and appreciate genuine constructive feedback and always have. It's why I've attained the level of success that I have and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be even better than I am now. *
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  But what you're not privy to is an intense ramping up lately of personal attacks and outright nastiness behind the scenes unlike anything I've seen in my 12+ years of doing this. I don't think it's by accident as my profile has risen in the past few years that the scrutiny of my work would be magnified even more. *
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  And here's the thing--allowing such stuff to linger unchallenged creates a mob mentality of a lot of me too comments that serves no other purpose than to tear down and destroy. Anyone who follows me knows I am an uplifter and encourager with a positive attitude which is the antithesis of this new wave of criticism. *
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  Yes, I am constantly aiming to be the very best I can be in all my endeavors just as everyone should strive for excellence. But there is a tact for sending constructive feedback that doesn't involve sharing personal comments about me or my style and sent via email rather than posted on social media, for example. *
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  I'm always available at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. If you're a long time listener, then I welcome your comments through the proper channels. It's the others who just want to spread hatred and dissent who can move along. Hope this clarifies my friend. Appreciate your comment!

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This is a great remindable moment for everyone.