After two months on a Bulletproof Diet which is a clean cyclical ketogenic diet + IM (intermittent fasting), I started to notice changes. But first, it did… Read more “Going Bulletproof – challenges and benefits.”
Tag: Anti-inflammatory
Just how bad is sugar for you?
With my obsession to manage my autoimmune conditions without using prescription drugs, sugar was one of the main offenders.
Sugar is addictive and the sooner you get it out of your system the sooner you will realize just how desensitized your taste buds are to sugar by overexposure to junk foods packed with sugars, saturated fats, artificial flavorings and sweeteners, colors and a myriad of other food industry chemicals.
In my family, we are now, finally, after gradual tightening of our standards I would say about 99% sugar-free. We do eat low sugar berries fresh and frozen – blackberries, wild blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries, but it is a dessert now. I often mix it with coconut cream (tastes very sweet to us now) or plain yogurt, add some macadamia nuts (also sweet), coconut flakes (also sweet), cacao nibs and 85-90% dark chocolate for even more added sweetness. Grapefruit and dragon fruit are the two fruits we eat regularly. Other fruit and berries are rare in our house now – the sugar content simply outweighs the nutrient content. Some actually taste unpleasantly sweet now.
Ones a week we have a starchy veggie or rice for dinner. We do eat a ton of greens and vegetables, but they all fall into a low sugar category. We also brought dairy back into our diet – raw grass-fed milk (mostly for kids, they love it! and for making cottage cheese) and other grass-fed items like yogurt, cream, butter. Cream and milk taste sweet to us and we don’t even have to add sweetener to plain grass-fed yogurt, just some berries, and my 9-year-old absolutely loves it!
For a special occasion, we may have some ice-cream or a cake, but it will never be a junk food type of sweet, it will be a good quality high-fat product.
According to Dr. Cate, author of “Deep Nutrition” – “On a typical American diet rife with sugar, carbohydrates (which turn to sugar once digested) and toxic vegetable oils, our bodies are in a constant state of inflammation. And inflammation impairs the immune system’s ability to self-regulate.” and “Sugar, no matter whether it comes from fruit or high fructose corn syrup, brown rice or brown sugar, interferes with normal function of many hormones and accelerates the aging process.”
The article below is from Dr. Axe website, this is the one I always advise my clients to read, often they can not locate it, so I decided to repost it here. It is beautifully designed, very informative and to the point. I a reblogging it without any edits.
Enjoy:
Is sugar bad for you? Can it really have a head-to-toe impact on the human body? When we’re talking about added sugar, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Although the sugar industry has actively fought to change public opinion about the health effects of sugar, we now know today that sugar impacts just about every organ system in the body. And not in a good way. I’m hoping the latest science on sugar will help inspire you to deal with sugar addiction. Let’s take a look at the top ways added sugar destroys your body.
Is Sugar Bad for You? Here’s How It Destroys You Health
Ticker Trouble
Most people blame dietary fat for heart disease. And while certain industrial, inflammatory fats like trans fats do cause heart attacks, sugar is the real culprit. In fact, in 2016, researchers unearthed a huge sugar industry scandal, proving that the sugar lobby sponsored phony Harvard research in the 1960s. Turns out the sugar lobby paid Harvard researchers to take the heat off of sugar’s health effects, instead turning the focus on naturally-occurring fats’ supposed role in heart disease. (1)
This faulty “research” concluded there was “no doubt” that the only dietary intervention required to prevent coronary heart disease was to eat less cholesterol and to eat polyunsaturated fat instead of saturated fat. (2)
We now know this is not true. In 2014, researchers were able to scientifically show that ingesting too much added sugar could significantly increase your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. In fact, people getting 17 to 21 percent of calories from added sugar face a 38 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who got just 8 percent of their calories from sugar. The relative risk was more than double for those who consumed 21 percent or more of their calories from added sugar. (3)
Today, most U.S. adults consume about 22 teaspoons of added sugars a day. That’s way more than what the American Heart Association recommends. AHA says:
• No more than 6 teaspoons or 100 calories a day of sugar for most women
• No more than 9 teaspoons or 150 calories a day for most men. (4)
Fatty Livers
Here’s another reason to reduce sugar intake. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is on the rise in the U.S. And guess what’s largely to blame? Sugar! High-fructose corn syrup hiding out in drinks and processed foods has been called a “weapon of mass destruction.” (5) Nonalcoholic fatty liver occurs when fat builds up in the liver. According to a study conducted at the University of Sydney at Westmead Hospital in Australia, NAFLD is present in 17 percent to 33 percent of Americans. This growing percentage parallels the frequency of obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. And many Americans with the disease don’t experience any symptoms.
Tuft University researcher discovered people who drink one sugar-sweetened beverage a day face a higher risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease compared to those who steer clear of beverages containing added sugars. (6)
Interestingly, the microbiome is at play, too. You see, the microbiome serves as the interface between diet and the liver and modifies dietary effects. Scientists are actively investigating our guts’ role in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. What is clear? Drastically backing down on added sugar intake does seem to improve this disease to some extent. (7)
Leaky Gut & Other Metabolic Diseases
Is sugar bad, particularly when it comes to the gut? You bet. Knowing that the microorganisms that live in gut actually act similarly to a metabolic “organ,” researchers now believe sugar changes the gut microbiota in a way that increases intestinal permeability, AKA leaky gut symptoms. Eliminated excess added sugar is a key part of any effective leaky gut treatment plan. Added sugar feeds yeast and bad bacteria that can damage the intestinal wall, creating a leaky gut.
This means the chronic, low-grade inflammation that sugar triggers can lead to the transfer of substances from the gut into the bloodstream. This can trigger obesity and other chronic, metabolic diseases. (8, 9) On a similar note, a December 2014 study found sugar-sweetened soda drinks may influence the development of metabolic diseases as researchers found soda drinkers had shorter telomeres, a sign of decreased longevity and accelerated cell aging. (10)
A Diabetes-Prone Body
A 2013 study published in the journal PLOS ONE found for every 150 calories of sugar a person consumes a day (about the equivalent of a can of soda), they increase their risk of type 2 diabetes by 1.1 percent. This increased risk held true even considering researchers adjusted for the other types of foods people eat (including , meat, oils, cereals, high-fiber foods, oils).
Researchers also found the impact of sugar on diabetes held true regardless of a sedentary lifestyle and alcohol use. (11)
A Number of Cancers
Does sugar impact cancer risk? When the National Institutes of Health set out to investigate sugar’s link to 24 different cancers, they didn’t find tons of published research, noting more is needed. But the were able to find some associations between different types of sugar and certain cancers.
For instance, added sugars increase the risk of esophageal cancer, while added fructose (think high-fructose corn syrup dangers) appeared to increase the risk of cancer in the small intestine. (12)
Other research hints at a connection between high intake of added sugars and colon cancer. This higher risk remained even after adjusting for other colon cancer risk facts like being overweight or obese or having diabetes. (13)
Dietary sugar could also increase the risk of breast cancer tumors and metastasis to the lungs. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center published a 2016 study finding high amounts of dietary sugar in the typical Western diet seem to effect an enzymatic signaling pathway known as 12-LOX (12-lipoxygenase) in a way that increases breast cancer risk. .
“We found that sucrose intake in mice comparable to levels of Western diets led to increased tumor growth and metastasis, when compared to a non-sugar starch diet … Prior research has examined the role of sugar, especially glucose, and energy-based metabolic pathways in cancer development. However, the inflammatory cascade may be an alternative route of studying sugar-driven carcinogenesis that warrants further study.” — Peiying Yang, PhD, assistant professor of palliative, rehabilitation and integrative Medicine.
The researchers pinpointed fructose, a component of table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, as the responsible sugar facilitating lung metastasis in the breast tumors studies. Previous epidemiological studies have shown that dietary sugar intake has an impact on breast cancer development, with inflammation thought to play a role.
In the animal study, 30 percent of mice on the starch-control diet exhibited tumors. The sucrose-enriched diets? Fifty to 58 percent had mammary tumors. (Sucrose is the main component of table sugar). The breast cancer was more likely to spread to the lungs in mice fed the sucrose- or fructose-enriched diet compared to the starch-control diet. (14, 15)
Is Sugar Bad for You? Yes, and Here Are Sugar Ingredients to Avoid
Added sugars can fall under all sorts of different names on ingredient labels. While it’s currently nearly impossible to tell the percentage of sugar comes from natural or added sources right now, better labeling is right around the corner. By mid-2018, we should expected to see an “Added Sugar” line on the Nutrition Facts label. (16)
One rule of thumb to find these hidden sugars is that any ingredient ending in “ose” is a type of sugar.
Don’t be fooled by more natural-sounding names either. Sweeteners like cane juice, beet sugar, fruit juice, rice syrup and molasses are still types of sugar. Check out their place in the ingredients, list, too. The higher up an ingredient is on the list, the more of it is included in a product.
Other names for added sugar include:
- Anhydrous dextrose
- Brown sugar
- Confectioner’s powdered sugar
- Corn syrup
- Corn syrup solids
- Dextrose
- Fructose
- High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
- Invert sugar
- Lactose
- Malt syrup
- Maltose
- Molasses
- Nectars (for example, peach or pear nectar)
- Pancake syrup
- Raw sugar
- Sucrose
- Sugar
- White granulated sugar (17)
Final Thoughts on the Question: “Is Sugar Bad for You?”
- Is sugar bad for you? Yes, indeed. Added sugar can significantly increase your risk of early death.
- Sugar impacts brain function, can cause non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and increases your risk of heart disease.
- Added sugars appear to increase the risk of breast cancer and metastasis to the lungs.
- There are dozens of names for added sugar on ingredient labels. However, natural versus added sugars are not differentiated on those labels. That’s all supposed to change in mid-2018, when added sugars are expected to land on Nutrition Facts labeling.
- Simply dialing back on processed foods and drinks can lower your sugar intake.
- If you do use sugar, use less processed forms, but use them sparingly. Alternatively, I recommend using green stevia for sweetening purposes.
- Getting enough high-quality protein, fiber and fermented foods can help you lose your sugar cravings over time.
To your health,
Elena
Source: Is Sugar Bad for You? Here’s How It Destroys Your Body – Dr. Axe
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Bone Broth Recipe.
I grew up on bone broth! But from 1991 to 2010 I have not had any. The reason?! We moved to the USA and started eating a low-fat diet.
Bone broth came back into my life 8 years ago, in 2010 when as a nursing mother I was diagnosed with lichen planus (LP), lichen planopilaris (LPP) and OLP. Since then while our diet has evolved and improved, bone broth continues to be an absolutely essential part of our Traditional Food diet (more about it from Dr. Cate.) Our family’s traditional diet from Russia, plus the knowledge I have gained in the last 8 years of research makes for a diet which looks like this – high fat, plant-based, moderate protein, low starch diet, plus fasting! An interesting fact is that soups were huge in my native Russia and growing up in St. Petersburg, Russia every day my grandma would serve a soup made on bone broth. We did drink it plain, we called a “bullion”, but soups were always made with bones!
Back to my bone broth. We have it every single day, especially my kids. They come from school or practice and the first thing they get is a cup of collagen and mineral rich bone broth. It is a tradition of sorts now 🙂 When my oldest who is an athlete and at 19 already has had 2 sport related surgeries (ACL and labrum) feels any pain in her joints, she will actually drive home from college or ask me to bring some bone broth a game I am coming to see. Thankfully she is only 40 miles away from home.
For my kids to love it, it had to taste great, for me to make it every week, it had to be easy enough and finally, it had to be made just the right way to be as nutritious and healthful as possible.
My recipe was created after reading multiple books and recipes on the subject and trying different recipes and methods. There must be a dozen books out there and millions of websites listing some amazing recipes. After 8 years of making it, this recipe in my experience includes all the best ingredients and the easiest to make. I have made it in a slow cooker, in a pressure cooker and in a pot on top of the stove, the latter seems to provide for the best results and a larger quantity.
Ingredients:
4–5 pounds grass-fed beef bones, preferably joints, and knuckle bones (I buy them online, could not find these in local stores, the link is on our Resources page )
1 whole organic lemon*Â instead of Apple Cider Vinegar**
Filtered water to just cover the bones in the pot about an inch over
1 large ginger root about the size of your palm
1 handful of turmeric roots
2 large handfuls of shiitake mushrooms
2–4 carrots, I just break them in
2-4 ribs celery, including leafy part, coarsely chopped
1 organic onion, cut into large chunks, with skin
1 whole organic garlic with skin
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 bunch of parsley
Any leftover veggies you have***
Cook Time: 12 to 24 hours.
Cooking Directions:
Place all the bones in a large pot. Add the lemon (plus lemon skins leftover from before). Cover everything with enough water to be 1 inch above the bones.
Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat and lower heat to low. Never boil and do not cover****! Use a perforated spoon, a skimmer or just a shallow spoon to carefully skim the film off the top of the broth. Skim occasionally during the first 2 hours.
In about two hours, ones there is no more foam forming on top you can add the ginger, turmeric, shiitake, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and peppercorns (save parsley for later) and reduce the heat to low. You want the broth to barely simmer. Cook for at least 12 hours or up to 24, adding water as needed to ensure the bones are always covered with water.
When the broth is almost done, in the last hour add the parsley, just lay the whole bunch on top. Ones broth is done turn the hit off. Use tongs and a large slotted spoon remove all the bones from the pot. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids.
Let cool on the counter and refrigerate within 1 hour. You can skim off the fat easily after the broth is chilled. Save the fat, fat from grass-fed bones is a wonderfully healthy fat to cook with. When chilled, the broth should be very gelatinous. The broth will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator or 3 or more months in your freezer.
I fill up silicone muffin trays with broth and freeze. Any time I need some broth for cooking or drinking I just pop however many I need and use them. I also leave some broth in glass jars in the refrigerator to last me for about 5 days. Ons that is gone I go for frozen and when I am running low it is time
*Lemons – I use lemons every day to add to my water, salads and such. I save the ones they are squeezed and freeze to later add to my bone broth. Because I use the skin I only use organic lemons.
**Apple Cider Vinegar – I do not like the smell in the house when adding it to my bone broth, and considering it cooks for 24 hours, I stopped using it. Acid is helpful to force all the minerals out of the bones and so veggies, as well as lemon, provide the same benefit as vinegar without the smell 🙂
***Leftover veggies – I usually freeze the ones that are wilted to save for the bone broth. I also save unusable pieces of veggies and greens left from cooking, like roots, stems, skins (from garlic, onions). No waste in my household! We try to buy mostly organic produce which can get very expensive, so I never throw out any parts of it. If I buy cilantro and it has roots, for example, I will cut the roots off, rinse and freeze. I have a bucket in my freezer especially for things like that. If I am using bell pepper in a salad I will save the seeds and the little stem and also freeze.
***From reading many different recipes and opinions I decided for myself that it was more important to have a more concentrated broth by allowing some water to evaporate. You lose some volume but that’s partly what I am going for. If the water level gets too low, just add back some water. But I have never had to add water, with all the veggies on top, it hardly evaporates and has nice rich flavor. And you can see in the video it gets pretty gelatinous. At night you can cover it partially, making sure to leave enough of an opening that it does not overheat and start bubbling over.
To your health,
Elena