The following recipe uses ingredients from the lists in Dr. Steven Gundry’s book, The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in “Healthy” Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain. However, if you are following that diet, this recipe should probably be used on an occasional basis only. Serve with any of the following: Melted butter, tomato sauce and grated cheese, sour cream, olive oil and basil, etc.
This great diet is something like Paleo Atkins meets high tech. Dave Asprey, the author of this diet, spent many years researching and experimenting on himself to come up with this plan. He communicated with leading edge doctors and scientists, and he invested a substantial amount of his own funds on equipment and testing in his quest to get the truth about what really works with respect to diet and health. Continue reading
I am currently reading An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases by Moises Velasquez-Manoff. In a nutshell, it is about how the decreasing biodiversity of our environment is creating more disease. It is about how our agricultural methods, sanitation methods, and compulsive cleaning have in very short order eliminated many of the microorganisms and parasites that we evolved to deal with. Continue reading
My first box arrived from Farm Fresh To You. It’s a service that delivers organic produce right to your door. I ordered a Veggies Only box since we tend not to eat many fruits. This week’s box included Continue reading
I am currently reading Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price. Dr. Price was concerned about the degeneration of dental health that he was seeing in his practice. He decided to go out and find populations where dental health was still good. He traveled the world looking for people still eating traditional diets. This book was first published in 1939, but it would be very difficult to write such a book today because virtually all populations now include modern foods in their diet. Continue reading
Bone broths are an important element of traditional cuisines. They are the basis of wonderful sauces, soups, and gravies.
Bone broth is a great way to get the nutrients needed for healthy bones and joints in an easily absorbable form. Bone broth is rich in Continue reading
I have been telling you that I have modified my NutriSystem diet to make it lower in carbohydrates and higher in fat in order to prevent falling cholesterol levels. My modified plan would be considered a low-carb diet by Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek as defined in their book, The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living: An Expert Guide to Making the Life-Saving Benefits of Carbohydrate Restriction Sustainable and Enjoyable. I thought I would share with you what a typical day on my modified NutriSystem diet looks like. It could possibly be improved a bit by adding some additional low-carb vegetables at lunch, but it is performing well as is.
Breakfast
NUTRISYSTEM Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar 2012 (1 bar)
Egg (1 ea)
Butter (2 tsp)
Lunch
NUTRISYSTEM Wedding Soup 2012 (1 x 1 container)
FAGE Total 0% All Natural Nonfat Greek Strained Yogurt (1 x 1 container)
Afternoon Snack
Nuts, mixed nuts, without peanuts, raw (1 oz)
Dinner
NUTRISYSTEM Lasagna with Meat Sauce 2012 (1 package)
Mixed greens (2 oz)
Red bell peppers (1/2 ea)
Salad dressing, GOOD SEASONS ITALIAN, prepared (1 Tbs)
Evening Snack
NUTRISYSTEM Pretzels 2012 (1 package)
Calories 1216.24
Calories From Fat (41%) 500.71
Calories From Protein (23%) 284.35
Calories From Carbs (35%) 431.18
Total Fat 55.87g 86%
Carbohydrates 110.77g 37%
Dietary Fiber 16.55g 66%
Sugar 28.75g
Net Carbohydrates 94.22g
Protein 71.82g 144%
I’ve been listening to the Paleo Summit with Sean Croxton. Today, I listened to the author of Deep Nutrition, Dr. Cate Shanahan, MD, talking about how important proper dietary fat is to the brain. Brains are primarily made of fat and cholesterol. She says that kids with ADD or ADHD are actually exhibiting signs of poor nutrition that could lead to more serious mental illnesses later such as schizophrenia if the nutrition is not corrected. The crux of Dr. Cate’s talk today was that most pharmaceutical use can be eliminated with proper diet. She recommends Paleo and traditional diets. These tend to be lower carb, higher fat diets.
References:
Shanahan MD, Catherine (2011-04-22). Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food (p. 287). Big Box Books.
Dr. Shanahan’s site: http://drcate.com/
More from The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living: An Expert Guide to Making the Life-Saving Benefits of Carbohydrate Restriction Sustainable and Enjoyable by Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek: When looking at studies about high-fat diets, it is important to know what is meant by a high-fat diet. Most consensus experts define a high-fat diet to be one with 45% – 60% of calories from fat. The authors of the book define high-fat to be 65% – 85% of calories from fat. The distinction is very important. Consensus experts will tell you that insulin resistance gets worse as fat in the diet increases, and this is true of the diets in the lower range. However, after fat intake goes above 60% of calories from fat, insulin resistance turns around and starts to improve. The benefits of a low-carb diet are found in the higher range of fat intake.
Cholesterol results are in. As you all know too well, I’d been very concerned that my levels might drop too low due to the dieting. I have made modifications to my NutriSystem plan with the intention of preventing this. I have decreased the carbohydrateI am pleased to report that what I am doing is working. The total was 180, which is right where I want it. HDL was 71, which is high on the lab’s scale. I believe this is a good thing. LDL was 100, and VLDL was 9. Total to HDL ratio was 2.54, which is low on the lab’s reference range. I believe this is also a good thing. Triglycerides were 46, which is toward the low end of the scale. I would say that my diet modifications have been successful. I’ve been able to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, and that was my goal. Glucose was 88, which is acceptable.