Fructophobia, by Richard David Feinman

 A great new article on whether singling out Fructose for demonization is justified:

Richard David Feinman: What went wrong in the obesity epidemic?  There is some agreement that by focussing on fat, the nutritional establishment gave people license to over-consume carbohydrates. The new threat is that by focusing now on fructose, the AHA and USDA and other organizations are giving implicit license to over-consume starch — almost guaranteed since these agencies are still down on fat and protein.  The additional threat is that by creating an environment of fructophobia, the only research on fructose that will be funded are studies at high levels of carbohydrate where deleterious of the effects of fructose will be found. The results will be br generalized to all conditions.  There will be no null hypothesis....The extent to which fructose metabolism has a uniquely detrimental effect is strongly dependent on conditions.  Fructose may be worse than glucose under conditions of high carbohydrate intake but its effect will change as total carbohydrate is lowered. And since carbohydrate across the board is what is understood to be the problem — Lustig states that clearly in his YouTube — policy would suggest that that is the first line of attack on health — reduce carbohydrate (emphasizing fructose if you like) but as carbohydrate and calories are reduced, any effect of fructose will be minimized.  In the extreme, if you are on a very low carbohydrate diet, any fructose you do eat is likely to be turned in to glucose.

The Paleo Diet: Caveman Cure-All or Unhealthy Fad?

It is hard to see why the Atlantic, a supposedly reputable magazine, would publish this uninformed article. Apparently the author has little interest in the nutritional content of diets, simply in their labels and images, and is content to regurgitate popular misconceptions.

The Paleo Diet: Caveman Cure-All or Unhealthy Fad? - Alesh Houdek - Life - The Atlantic: "There is no question that we should eat more fresh and unprocessed foods. But if there's a charge to be levied against carbohydrate-heavy foods like bread and pasta, it's that they make it easy for us to eat way too much, not that they're bad in and of themselves. (Sugar, however, may be another story altogether.) So the Paleo diet's dictum to eat as fresh as possible is shared universally with all modern sane eating guidelines. Its rationale for avoiding traditional carb-heavy foods falls apart under scrutiny. And it's success at producing weight loss and health may have more to do with portion control than anything else. But perhaps the deepest cut was a 'US News comparison' of 20 diets (including Atkins, veganism, the Mediterranean diet, and Jenny Craig) that ranked Paleo dead last on criteria like nutrition, ease of following, weight loss, and safety."

Deconstructed Club Sandwich Salad | Serious Eats

This looks edible enough, especially without the bread. That said, a certain discounting of the adjective 'ingenious' is evident. The word implies intellectual achievement or at least amazing cleverness, e.g. Maxwell's unification of electricity and magnetism, sequencing the human genome...

Cook the Book: Deconstructed Club Sandwich Salad | Serious Eats : Recipes: "Patricia Wells, author of Salad as a Meal, is the ingenious innovator of this Deconstructed Club Sandwich Salad, equal parts sandwich and salad. Basically an open-faced club sandwich topped with a chopped salad, it's a meal that incorporates the best of both worlds.
Wells' recipe calls for chicken breasts poached and cooled in an aromatic stock, crisp slices of bacon, crusty sourdough, heirloom tomatoes and romaine, and a creamy-tangy lemon-chive dressing that you'll want to spread on pretty much everything. When it's time to plate, a slice of toasted sourdough is spread with the lemon-chive dressing, layered with chicken and bacon, and topped with a pile of chopped and dressed lettuce and tomatoes."

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Just to make up for being made a second-order, but still undeserving target of scorn, here is the link to the associated recipe book (undoubtedly chock full of breakthrough insights - sorry, sorry).

You need a new excuse

for not concentrating on learning Mandarin asap... (knowing it already is probably the best one).  This seems to be another area where apparent plausibility -- an intuitive 'model' of pliable, fresh young brains -- combined with difficult to control experiments, and perhaps some wishful thinking led apparently to unsubstantiated common knowledge...

Age no excuse for failing to learn a new language - life - 22 July 2011 - New Scientist: "Age no excuse for failing to learn a new language

22 July 2011 by Catherine de Lange
Magazine issue 2822. Subscribe and save
IT'S never too late to learn another language. Surprisingly, under controlled conditions adults turn out to be better than children at acquiring a new language skill.

It is widely believed that children younger than 7 are good at picking up new languages because their brains rewire themselves more easily, and because they use what is called procedural, or implicit, memory to learn - meaning they pick up a new language without giving it conscious thought. Adults are thought to rely on explicit memory, whereby they actively learn the rules of a language."

Sugar from Fat

It is at least theoretically possible for humans to make glucose from fat...

That sugar can be converted into fatty acids in humans is a well-known fact. The question whether the reverse direction, i.e., gluconeogenesis from fatty acids, is also feasible has been a topic of intense debate since the end of the 19th century. With the discovery of the glyoxylate shunt that allows this conversion in some bacteria, plants, fungi and nematodes it has been considered infeasible in humans since the corresponding enzymes could not be detected. However, by this finding only a single route for gluconeogenesis from fatty acids has been ruled out. To address the question whether there might exist alternative routes in humans we searched for gluconeogenic routes from fatty acids in a metabolic network comprising all reactions known to take place in humans. Thus, we were able to identify several pathways showing that this conversion is indeed feasible. Analyzing evidence concerning the detected pathways lends support to their importance during times of starvation, fasting, carbohydrate reduced and ketogenic diets and other situations in which the nutrition is low on carbohydrates. Moreover, the energetic investment required for this pathway can help to explain the particular efficiency of carbohydrate reduced and ketogenic diets such as the Atkins diet.

Calamities of Nature - Belief in Evolution Versus National Wealth

Although the plot appears to show a significant statistical anomaly, nobody should be unduly troubled by this as it is a self-correcting phenomenon; the US point will steadily move to the left to become less of an outlier, assuming nothing is done to improve the general level of data assessment capability and rationality.

Calamities of Nature - Belief in Evolution Versus National Wealth

A Low Carbohydrate, High Protein Diet Slows Tumor Growth and Prevents Cancer Initiation

That Paleo Guy: Low carbohydrate diets slow tumor growth and preve...:

For those quickly scanning this, the punch line is that a low carbohydrate, high protein diet was found to not only slow the development of murine and human cancers in a mouse model, but also prevent the initiation of a form of breast cancer. The mechanism by which these results might have occurred is underpinned by the following;

• Most cancer cells rely more on glycolysis (energy production via carbohydrate) thanoxidative phosphorylation (where energy can be produced via fatty acid metabolism) to meet their energy needs;
• Because glycolysis is a relatively inefficient means by which cells can produce energy (compared to oxidative phosphrylation), most cancer cells requires higher levels of glucose compared to normal cells to keep dividing and survive;
• If one thereby starves these cells of their primary fuel source (glucose), then these cancerous cells are unable to proliferate and survive.

Article about Bella Vado

Great article about Bella Vado and Cid da Silva from California Country. We are now selling his oils through our store.

Cid da Silva, pictured outside his processing shed in San Diego County, is the only producer of avocado oil in the United States. Bella Vado avocado oil is a standout in culinary applications as well as a variety of skin care products.

The thick, translucent ribbon of emerald green oil that pours from the spout of Ciriaco "Cid" da Silva's olive oil pressing machine is both mesmerizing and mouthwatering. But the liquid is not olive oil. It's avocado oil, a rich extract from Hass avocados that is appreciated not only by chefs, foodies and health-conscious cooks, but which has also cultivated a following in the skin care market.

Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living

UPDATE: As of today (July 7th) we have this book in stock!

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We plan to offer this new book through our store soon.  It is definitely one of the best books out there as far as being fact-based, objective, and clear about what is understood as far as underlying mechanisms.  Here is one review:

 http://lowcarbbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/art-and-science-of-low-carbohydrate.html

The Art And Science Of Low Carbohydrate Living by Dr. Jeff Volek And Dr. Stephen PhinneyWhat do you get when you bring together two of most brilliant minds examining the science supporting carbohydrate restriction and its beneficial impact on weight and health? It's a dream team collaboration like nothing else that's ever been seen in the low-carb community and something that has been sorely needed to cut through the continued nonsense that still persists in our culture regarding low-carb diets despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Currently the best place to purchase it is on Amazon.com

Non Fat Yogurt, Very Fat Consumers

This is a good example of how the American diet is perceived from the vantage point of a country where LCHF diets are much more mainstream -- or at least where there is a visible public debate:

Diet Doctor - Real food, better health: "Why Americans are obese: Nonfat yogurt
Yesterday at 12:07


Here is another awful light product I recently found in an American supermarket. It’s called Light & Fit nonfat yogurt. Ironically it’s an excellent option for anybody who wants to gain belly fat."

New Product, Organic Avocado Oil from California

Bella Vado handcrafted, organic avocado oil from California

We are pleased to announce that we are now selling Bella Vado avocado oils through Thought-Fuel Store and also through Amazon.com. Bella Vado is family operated and is, to our knowledge, the only domestic producer of organic Avocado oil.

Bella Vado

Weight loss: Time to stop denying the science | Dietdoctor.com

Catalog of weight-loss studies:

Randomized controlled trials showing significantly more weight loss with low carb diets

Weight loss: Time to stop denying the science | Dietdoctor.com:

Brehm BJ, et al. A Randomized Trial Comparing a Very Low Carbohydrate Diet and a Calorie-Restricted Low Fat Diet on Body Weight and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Healthy Women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2003;88:1617–1623.
Samaha FF, et al. A Low-Carbohydrate as Compared with a Low-Fat Diet in Severe Obesity. N Engl J Med 2003;348:2074–81.
Sondike SB, et al. Effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factor in overweight adolescents. J Pediatr. 2003 Mar;142(3):253–8.

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Two Boys; Maurizio Pollini – review | Music | The Observer

Two Boys; Maurizio Pollini – review | Music | The Observer

...On the piano at home in those days were some of Chopin's 24 Preludes. A year later, Maurizio Pollini would win the 1960 Warsaw competition, his facility with Chopin dazzling the judging panel so much that Arthur Rubinstein declared: "That boy plays better than any of us!" He gripped music lovers all over the world with his broadcasts and recordings, and my mother, like so many talented amateur pianists, envied his apparently effortless technique.

How I wish she could have heard him last week at the Festival Hall, bringing his extraordinary Pollini Project to a triumphant close. At nearly 70, he still plays Chopin with the ease that floored even Rubinstein more than 50 years ago.

Low-Carbohydrate Diet Review: Shifting the Paradigm

Great summary from that Paleo Guy

Now a paper has recently been published reviewing the safety and effectiveness of using a low-carb diet approach as opposed to the conventional wisdom of low fat eating. It is a very well written and easy to read paper that I will be more than happy to pass over to anyone suggesting I have no evidence to support my paradigm.

Low-Carbohydrate Diet Review: Shifting the Paradigm

The authors tackle the barriers to acceptance by conventional clinicians, and don't really pull any punches when doing so.

As clinicians, we must evaluate all possible solutions to improvement in patient care, recognizing that the majority of our population is overweight or obese. We must at times step back from academic research and focus on basic physiology, common sense, and—most importantly—the patient. Observational studies are no substitute for a patient with a glucometer. Conventional scientific and medical thinking has been wrong before;

Although Americans have changed their eating habits toward the recommended lower fat and higher carbohydrate intake, the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes would suggest that these recommendations have had little impact on improving health. It is time to move beyond outdated notions that persist far beyond any scientific evidence to support them, the clinical versions of “urban myths,”and put the patient first.

The clinical urban myths that are sustained by conventionally-minded health professionals, which are addressed by this paper include adverse effects on kidney function (no evidence), insufficient fibre (the opposite is true due to an increase in leafy green intake on a low carb diet), and the persistent concern that the removal of carbohydrate will see an increase in arterycloggingsaturatedfat;

The effect of saturated fat on heart disease is dependent on the overall characteristics of the diet and, in particular, the effects of carbohydrate on insulin that shift the metabolism toward fatty acid synthesis and storage. Recent meta analyses and epidemiologic studies show that replacement of carbohydrate with saturated fat is, if anything, beneficial for risk reduction; these results must be added to the failure of numerous large-scale population studies to show a correlation between dietary saturated fat and cardiovascular disease.