The Sugar Swindle

Gary Taubes, author of the excellent book Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It with an amazing story of how sugar and high fructose corn syrup makers convinced the world that they were healthy!

This is truly a must read piece! Unfortunately, it goes to show how "science" can be used with bias to prove just about any point. We must all exercise due diligence and use critical thinking when confronted with any news or information. Who paid for the study? Who do the researchers get grant money from? What type of study is it and how well designed is it? These are all questions we need to ask when evaluating new information.

Another Good Krill Oil Study

Another study shows the benefits of Krill Oil versus stand fish oils. Bottom line, you would have to take significantly more fish oil to have the same effect as minimal doses of Krill Oil.  Also, I am very interested in the findings that showed decreased levels of pro-inflammatory molecules in the Krill oil treated mice! Hopefully, more studies will be coming along soon in this area!

New Supplement Company

From their website:
"In 2008, fitness professional Sean Marszalek and food science expert Devenee Schumacher looked around at the growing number of protein supplement products, and didn’t like what they saw. Too many artificial ingredients, artificial sweeteners, inferior protein concentrates, and very few options for people with certain dietary restrictions such as diabetes."

They have developed some of the most Paleo friendly workout supplements that I have seen! The above product has zero sugar, zero carbs and zero fat! Includes high quality 100% Whey Protein Isolate and sweetened with the natural non-caloric sweetener Stevia!

They also have meal replacement bars, antioxidant drinks and fill and go shakes.

I am looking forward to trying their products and writing a full review in the future!

Good Fish Oil Article

The Atlantic has a brief article about Seasonal Affective Disorder and how little is present in the nation of Iceland.  The article attributes it to the quantity and quality of Omega 3 fatty acids in their diets. I found this quote interesting: 

"It's not just the absolute amount of omega-3s that you take in, but also the amount relative to your levels of omega-6 fatty acids. The risk for depression may increase with a high ratio of omega-6 fatty acids -- found in corn, safflower, and soybean oil, and common in processed foods -- to omega-3s. "

Of course, those of us in the Paleo/Primal movement already knew that!

Two Metabolic Syndrome Prevention thru Exercise Studies!

Two different studies. Two different results. The metabolic syndrome is a constellation of signs and symptoms. One is diagnosed by having at three of the following: low "good" (HDL) cholester, high triglycerides, elevated blood pressure, elevated waist circumference and elevated fasting blood sugar. This is important because these patients have a much increased risk of vascular events (heart attack, stroke, peripheral artery disease, etc.) than the overall population. One purports to show that resistance training (lifting weights) is superior. The second purports that cardiovascular fitness (aerobic exercise) helps prevent metabolic syndrome.

The take-home point is probably that exercise in general will help prevent or, at least, delay the onset of metabolic syndrome. More study is needed comparing the two against each other to see which is more beneficial.

In my humble opinion, I suspect that resistance training is superior. While the body's metabolic engine is superior during aerobic exercise, it fairly quickly falls off to its baseline, while resistance training generally will lead to increased metabolic efficiency throughout the day!

Great Ideas North of the Border!

It's nice to see that some groups are actually promoting healthy eating! See the suggested label on this juice box:

This is proposed by the Ontario Medical Assocation. Good for them! As stated atWeighty Matters, "A glass of grape juice contains nearly double the calories and sugar as Coca-Cola!"

Move!

Fascinating article regarding the effects of standing versus sitting on the body's physiology. We are learning that the process of sitting changes  our body's utilization of carbs, protein and fat thru different enzymatic pathways. Read the article and maybe buy one of these! But just look at the blood serum sample comparison of the same patient, eating the same meal when sitting versus standing!

The body's utilization of lipids has clearly changed!