28 Comments

First link is broken my friend, and it's killing me not knowing the reason for puckered bungholes!

Expand full comment

All fixed. I missed one letter when I copied the link. Sorry.

Expand full comment

Thank you sir!

Expand full comment

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Doc! Thanks for all you do!

Expand full comment

Same back to you. Thanks for the support.

Expand full comment

Wonderful update on food habits and health of ancien Egyptians!

By the way, Mc Dowell's book is available in an archive:

https://archive.org/details/villagelifeinanc0000mcdo

Expand full comment

Now you tell me.

Expand full comment

The real book is always better to have. It is a shame there isn't a copyright clearing house for books out of print but still under copyright. There is no reason why books can't be printed and shipped on demand now. Amazon does this every day.

Expand full comment

Many times I've told publishers that they should opt for print-on-demand solutions (such as IngramSpark). But they don't buy the idea…

Expand full comment

I specialize in copyright law, I can tell you that there are many forces at play here. Old time publishers want the traditional print and stock while upstarts and self publishing want the print on demand. Old booksellers also want to be able to charge for rare out of print books. One problem is that many of these publishing contracts have limits on copies. So many contracts might need to be redone, and I can see an author liking print on demand but not a big publisher. They're not set up for that. Many of my author clients don't bother with the big publishers now if they have developed an online following and don't need traditional media to push the book.

Expand full comment

So much to learn and so much you're helping us all with - but the two things I'm still banging my head on my desk over are the margarine used in the Kevin Hall study (what were they thinking??? - although I didn't notice any butter in the unprocessed meals) and the capsized island. That last one is beyond belief. I love the list - even more items to look at - and I'm sure you'll get lots of comments on those topics. One thing about the jabs and their constant pushing of them that I find really reprehensible is that big grocery stores (Stop & Shop and Shaws in my neck of the woods) are offering $10 off your grocery orders if you get the jab - along with the flu shot. Worse, the local hospital system has mandated that everyone working anywhere within the healthcare system that hasn't had the latest flu shot (not the "vaccine" boosters oddly enough) has to wear a mask at all times anywhere in the hospitals or in offsite offices. Sounds to me like bribing (the money for groceries) and bullying. Sigh.

Have a great Christmas with family and friends, thanks for all you both do - and here's your gift - no typos this time!!

Expand full comment

I wondered if anyone was going to click on the Hank Johnson link. Pretty incredible. The best part was how the Navy guy played it off as if it were a completely normal question. I guess the guy is used to dealing with Congress.:)

Expand full comment

Merry Christmas! The CICO deal just seems so archaic at this point. I’m leaning towards nutrient deficiency and hope this is sorted out soon. It makes sense to me that if you eat a meal and it doesn’t have all the necessary ingredients to produce ample ATP while dealing with the exhaust on the back end, the body will require more fuel. This can become and endless cycle or you can eat plenty of read meat, be full for hours, feel amazing, and look, feel, and perform like you’re younger than you are.

Expand full comment

I think CICO is becoming more archaic by the moment. This latest study is helping it along its way.

Expand full comment

I wonder if minimally processed carbs like undamaged beans get sufficiently absorbed. It is known that the raw foodists have trouble maintaining weight.

Also, the idea that fat shouldn't be combined with carbs rests on the finding that 75 g carb + 45 g fat raises insulin more than 75 g carb. But it is not comparing apples with apples. The two cases are not isocaloric.

Minimally processed anything would be less bio-available. Humans have evolved to eat cooked foods.

It is not better to eat minimally processed. Excess of carbs shouldn't be eaten. All minimal processing does it to excrete the carbs. Minimally processed protein might give you indigestion. Even raw egg protein is less than 50 percent absorbed.

Expand full comment

The carb-fat combo sends GIP way up. GIP stimulates an insulin response. This has been shown countless times.

We process food with our mouths. When we eat an apple, if we chew it enough, we reduce it to sort of a purée. It still doesn't raise GIP and insulin as much as just eating apple purée. Is it the saliva? Who knows? But there is something at work.

Expand full comment

You just triggered the past. Panofsky and Phillips "Classical Electricity and Magnetism" was a textbook I used over 60 years ago. It's odd how stupid things don't die like that 'bad cholesterol'. I often think of those poor cells where HMG-CoA reductase gets bricked by statins. The cell keeps struggling to make more till the endoplasmic reticulum becomes a work of art with all this junked enzyme – that then has to be disposed of. Slightly off topic, I read some Joe Mercola articles from time to time. Although I don’t always see things as he does I like the persona that is presented and hope that’s what he is really like. Recently he suggested having MCT oil with coffee that has become my standard coffee. I feel sure it is helping with that bit of visceral fat that I don’t want. We will see if that is wishful thinking in a few weeks. Season’s Greetings to both Bride & Groom.

Expand full comment

I've had a few phone conversations with Dr. Mercola over the years. He's a nice enough guy, but definitely has an agenda. Which more often than not I agree with. I also put MCT oil in my coffee (when I think about it).

Expand full comment

Lovely, I am sure in good company on the coffee recipe. I took your tip about the powder form and use that too.

Expand full comment

Wishing you and MD and your family a very Happy Christmas !

Expand full comment

Best wishes to you and MD. Love the posts.

Expand full comment

Thanks. Same back to you.

Expand full comment

Merry Christmas to you, too! Thanks for all you've done and continue to do.

I’m not aware of a roasting step in milling wheat berries into flour. Here's one link describing the process - https://www.ice.edu/blog/fresh-milled-flour

Regarding the UPF study: Dividing the kcal/d of “protein” and carbohydrate by 4 gives 122 g protein and 347 g carbohydrates vs. 123 g protein and 276 g carbohydrate for the ultra-processed and unprocessed treatments, respectively. I also find the similar levels of “protein” intake interesting, but I wonder about the quality of that crude protein. I also wonder if that level matches intake levels in today’s high-income countries. I also marvel at an intake of nearly 350 g of carbohydrate per day. I’ve been on this reduced carb journey too long, I guess…

Expand full comment

I should have asked you first about the roasting. I wrote sometime back about an experience I had as a kid chewing wheat berries. They turned into a white, gelatinous blob in my mouth. I figured the same thing would happen with milling, so I assumed wheat was somehow roasted before. Thanks for educating me.

Also, thanks for doing the dividing. I was going by what the paper said about the macros being the same. Obviously they're not. The ~350 g/d of carb would make anyone eat more.

Expand full comment

Mike, looking at the cholesterol pathway, you say eating fewer carbs to lower insulin will lower cholesterol production, so there is no need to take a statin since a natural pathway exists. Yet when I went low carb, my ldl cholesterol shot up from 80 to 150, and my hdl shot up too, so now instead of being somewhere around 160 total cholesterol, I am around 230 or so and my endocrinologist is freaked out. I am eating more saturated animal fat ie not coconut oil. I read that sat fat from animals raises hdl, but also ldl. Dr. Mason says that animal sat fat doesn't raise ldl, it just stops artificially reducing it, which is how canola, and other fats operate. I used to live on Smart Balance (should have known, the name is opposite of the truth!) and now it's mostly butter, tallow and lard, thr latter two I render myself. He also said that coconut oil, despite being saturated, won't increase your ldl. I have also seen this effect, but coconut is pointless. Zero vitamins, and since I love the taste of coconut, it's like a gateway drug to overeating so I steer clear of it.

How do you square that circle? This is the main reason why Dr Barnard, etc say animal sat fat is bad for you.

Expand full comment

It sometimes does shoot up on a LC diet, but it usually goes the other way if elevated to begin with. Yours was not elevated to begin with. When LDL went up in our patients, we always did a test for particle size. In all case, the particle size shifted to large, fluffy LDL, which even the lipophobes believe to be non-problematic.

A new hypothesis has emerged about why saturated fat can sometimes elevated LDL. To function optimally, our cell membranes require a certain amount of fluidity. Too much PUFA in the cell membranes makes them too fluid. Cholesterol then enters the membrane to give it more rigidity. But saturated fat does that, too. So, according to this hypothesis, increasing Sat Fat intake leaves more cholesterol in the blood instead of its being pulled into the cell membranes.

Expand full comment

Hi Dr Eades, with regard to your first section of the Arrow where you talk about limiting carbs to improve cholesterol...how about people like me that are supposed lean mass hyper responders and their cholesterol goes up exponentially on carnivore of LCHF. There are very many of us and the expected improvement to lower LDL never comes. Do we have too many or not enough receptors in our livers? Why are we different.? I'd love to know why we are and what the heck is going on. I've been on carnivore for 6 mths...

Expand full comment

Is it the processing - or the food additives? Many of the food additives are unprescribed antibiotics - they call them preservatives. Big Ag knows that feeding livestock antibiotics speeds weight gain.

I recommend to avoid all food with ingredient labels - learn to cook. T2D is THE leading distal cause of death - 80% of the public is effected (via Kraft test).

Expand full comment