Hey there,

So… big discussion topic here.

On Dairy:

Lemme say that I personally don't really buy the whole no dairy thing.  The people that are against it are following straight forward enough logic in saying that we didn't evolve to ingest it, so stay away.  But as far as I am concerned, it is an evolutionary advantage that I am able to process and utilize the valuable nutrition found in dairy.  Until someone can say that the bad effects actually outweigh the convenience, delicious taste, and nutrition I get out of dairy… I'm gonna continue to eat it.

On Grains:

Grains (and other starchy foods like potato and corn) became staple foods because of their high energy content.  A small amount of them can keep a person alive in lean times.  The thing is that in times of plenty, like we of average means in North America are currently living, a person doesn't need that sort of “empty Calorie” input.  I know people don't usually think of Whole Grain Bread as “empty Calories”, but the reality is that the vitamin, mineral, and fibre content of a 100 Calorie serving of grains is significantly lower than the equivalent Calorie serving of fruits and vegetables.  We are much better off taking in our Calories with other valuable nutrients like those found in F&V. Source

The other concern regarding high energy density foods, like grain products, is the high glycemic load that you undertake upon digestion.  I am not an expert, but from what I can glean from what I've read, you take a big hit to the pancreatic system when you digest your pasta supper.  The amount of carbohydrates that enter your blood stream causes a similar reaction to intaking too much sugar.  Your body responds by dumping insulin into the blood stream to balance your blood sugar levels.  Doing this consitantly contributes to insulin resistance, which has all sorts of nasty effects including the eventual development of diabetes.

Here is a pdf that sumarizes the effects of glycemic overloads: pdf

Although the list of glycemic indexes in there looks a little sketchy… they list Coca-Cola as having a moderate glycemic index.

So I hope I haven't got anything way out of wack with this little speal.  Hopefully Chad, Ian, or someone else can correct me if I've made any glaring mistakes.

I would like to point out that I have not completely given up grains… only cut down on them significantly.  I have seen good results from the change, although I had to make efforts to eat more food, since I probably cut my Calorie intake in half by cutting out most grains.  Over all I think it was a wise move.

I will touch on this stuff later in more detail, as I gots to get to bed now - 4 am comes way to early.

Ryan - It is very common for indiviuduals to use the argument of life expectancy of people from the peleolithic period as being low - so how healthy wer they really - right?

They never had the time to deelop the diseases that we have - right?

Well - infact the average life expectancy of peoles in the paleolithic time frame was around the 22yog - but how many died at birth how many perished t to infection (no penisilin) for these boys and girls.  Also trauma and the hazards of collecting food was a bit more that we are used to - so life expectancy numbers do not really mean a lot - does this mean that peole died of diseases at the age of 22.  Absolutely not these people died from other means non of which had anything to do with their nutrition only the time frame they lived in and the hardships they faced. 

Take a average 22yog dude from today - healthy - far from.  Obese diabetes, heart problems, blood lipid issues, unfit, decreased muscle mass, dental issues and a combination of many other issues (not all - but you know the people) - This would be unheard of in paleolithic times - bigger faster stronger these dudes were.

Matt - mostly agree with all you said.

Grains were introduced for many resons - ease of feeding and harvesting for many people.  Big advantage for growing groups of people.  Lots of calories and less effort (kind off) and remember that grains of those times were not the grains of today- were they.

Oatmeal-to-go, whole wheat bread - I think not. 

Also look at the bones of humans after the introduction of grains - life expectacy had not changed dramatically - but osteoporosis and dental problems, loss of stature, and muscle mass are indicated.

white devil - white devil = sugar

Carbs= sugar=insulin=insulin=storage hormone=fatter people

I grew up on a farm and took part in 4-h (laugh I don't care) - we had to fatten up our animals = more grain not more grass and hay.

mediocre example, but thought provoking.

Sorry for the rambling post - bed time ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

Ryan:  Whenit comes to nutrition - I think itis important to note that you get out of it what you put into it.  If you want to perform at your top capabilities and be at your best body weight than I think it is imperative to change your eating habits - honestly.  Not just 8 servings of vegetables and fruit (2apples and 1cup carrots 2cups spinach) - is that really that much?

Cutting out breads and grains will prove more than likely to be the hardest for all - as we have become grainetarians tese days and we focus on all the “health benefits” provided by these less than complete nutritional choices. 

Couple quick options - bread(carb) jam(carb) and peanut butter(protein/fat) for breakfast - does this sound like a well rounded meal?  — change to an omellette with spinach or frozen vegetebles plus a peice of fruit (complete protein, fats, and a 1-3 servings of fruit and veg, which is half of what you tae in now) , which takes almost as long to prepare as toast takes to pop.

And as for the preparation strategies - you will have to wait for the seminar as we will touch on it then - take to long here.  ButI think that you will be pleasantly surprised with how easy we are going to make it for you - crossing my fingers that you will agree.

p.s. - hey dont you fire fighter guys just sit around all day and wiat for the bell to ring anyways - just kidding

p.s.

Just a quick note on food preparation… Initially I defintiely found breakfast was the hardest meal to cut grains out of. Practically EVERYTHING thought of as 'breakfast” food is grains. [Evil evil] Cereal , oatmeal, granola bars, bagels, muffins, toast, danishes… pretty much the breakfast choices for 99% of people are entirely carbs. My breakfast used to be a bowl of All-Bran Bites and a peice of multi-grain bread with peanut butter and jam. And then I cut down to either one of the other and definitely thought that was the best I could do. I couldn't give up the “best”/most sugar filled meal of the day! Anyway long story short I kicked the habit. Now in the interest of time in the morning (6am WODS come VERY early) what I do is hard boil a bunch of eggs on Sunday and keep them in the fridge. That way as I am running out of the house (late) I can grab an egg and a piece of fruit and I am good to go. If I am going to CFS I'll have an egg before and an egg (often just the white part) and a piece of fruit afterwards. I realise for a guy an egg may not exactly fill you up but it is amazing how easy it is to eat 'nonbreakfast' foods for breakfast. Sometimes instead of an egg I will have some tuna mixed with a little olive oil and balsamic vineger. Then on the weekends when I have a little more time I will make real omelets filled with all sorts of stuff. Plus I am horrible at cooking for one so usually I have left over omelet-inside mush that I can heat up for my omelet the next day.

It is a pretty big change to give up the breakfast grains but it is do-able.

Lily… I haven't looked too heavily into intermittent fasting but my boyfriend Matt has. He is crazy paleo and has experiemented with the intermittent fasting thing too. From my understanding he actually liked it and was able to make it work for him for short periods (meaning days not short periods of fasting). The theory is an interesting one and I can see how it sort of accompanies the paleo thought process. Really if you were hunting and gathering food there would certainly be long periods without and then a large meal. I guess it comes down to finding out what will work for you. I have also read/some what attempted the Zone and although I like the theory of the balanced meals and I try incorporate that (with the carbs being a lot of vegetables and fruits of course!) I find it impossible to eat that frequently and constantly during a regular day (I am certain you have a similar problem there… you can't really leave in the middle of surgery and grab a snack). Plus weighing out food just seems annoying. Although I do have a food scale and try to weigh what I can. That said… #1 reason what I *heart* Zone is that one of the snack suggestions is a piece of cheese and a glass of red wine. I try not to eat much dairy but I definitely cave and have that snack from time to time. It is right up my alley!

Anyways, if anyone is interested in any of the Zone books I do have a few that I could bring and lend out. just let me know. And Lily - Matt (my Matt not BathMatt) might have some additional info on intermittent fasting if you would like.

Matt touched on some of this stuff earlier - but here it goes a much more lenghty guide to reducrion of grains in the diet.

First off most of us have eaten grains our whole lives and it can and will be quite traumatic to give it up cold turkey - which brings up many of our inappropriate addictions or emotional attatchments to foods.

Grains should be removed fromthe diet for many reasons

1. Or genetic make-up does not support grains - we have eaten grains for 10,000 years now in varying degrees (seems like a long time), whichis a rather short span considering our 2 million years of existence on earth.  We adapted to eat meat, nut and seeds, fruit and vegeteables

2. Dietary Lectins - can be found to cause digestive system inflammation.  Lectins are a mixture of carbohydrate and protiens that plants have evolved to ward off insects predators.  These lectins attatch themselves to the lining of the intestines and play havoc with nutrient absorption leading to increased intestinal permeability, which allows food particles to spill over into the blood stream.  This places extra stress ont he immune systems ability to fight food and bacterial fragments that leak into the blood stream. (Dr. Lorain Cordain)

3. GI and GL - glycemic index and glycemic load all contribute to pancreatic problems and insulin resistence problems long term.

4. Acid/base level of the diet - grains are very acidic and lead to a mild acidid state of th body, which is then conterbalanced through calcium and glutamine body storage. (bone and muscle mass) to stabilize the system.  Muscle loss and osteoporosis.

5. High ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats - grains are ow fat but continue to over run our systems with omega 6's when t is omega 3's we need

6. Poor source of fiber - what poor source of fiber?  - per calorie veg and fruit are much higher in fiber and nutrtional level than any grain.

7. Insulin (touched on earlier) - grains -  havoc it plays with insulin and other hormonal responses in the body.  Guess what? The same principles still hold. We developed the insulin response to help store excess nutrients and to take surplus (and potentially toxic) glucose out of the bloodstream. This was an adaptive trait. But it didn’t evolve to handle the massive amounts of carbs we throw at it now. And, yes, we’re talking mostly about grains. Unless you have a compulsive penchant for turnips, the average American’s majority of carb intake comes from grains.

8. Gluten levels - Researchers now believe that a third of us are likely gluten intolerant/sensitive. That third of us (and I would suspect many more on some level) “react” to gluten with a perceptible inflammatory response. Over time, those who are gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medical conditions

9. Phytates - these are anti nutrients that bind vit and min and enzymes making them unusable by the body.  In many cases phyates lock up the very same vit and min found in grains them selves making even less nutrient dense.

I am sure someone can add to my list but - that is the basic reasons for exclusion of grains in the diet.

Once again bed time.

I am really looking forward to the upcoming workshop that is going to touch on nutrition. I am ready to start trying out some of these ideas. I understand that I may not be able to completely revise my diet/eating habits but we have to start somwhere. As I have said in a previous post this is the largest area I need help with so count me in for the workshop!

Thought I would jump into the discussion.  I have some overlap with other valid posts, but I am feeling chatty today, so I am posting anyway!

In line with Matt's earlier post, an important aspect to nutrition is the effect food has on blood sugar levels and insulin.  Good doctors have been helping patients successfully manage their diabetes & health through nutrition for some time now.  It makes sense then that anyone interested in a healthy lifestyle would be well served to do the same.

Imagine setting up a system of rating the energy content of foods and assigning a number…let's call them calories, the higher the number, the more energy they contain  and the greater their likelihood of causing weight gain. We could use this system to guide food choices to lower energy intake.

Unfortunately, it's not that simple! The number would not tell us anything about the vitamin, mineral or fiber content. The numbers could be misleading…some highly  nutritious foods like nuts and legumes have terribly high numbers (calories), while some nutritionally worthless foods have very low numbers (e.g. diet soda). What's more the numbers are not set in stone…they vary from time to time and just a slight change in the recipe would alter the number drastically. Let's dump the concept…it's way too difficult to follow.

The worth of any food cannot be measured by a single number, but a single number can tell you a great deal about how the carbohydrate in that food affects blood glucose
levels. High blood glucose levels are a risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Dozens of studies have shown improvements in a variety of clinical outcomes with  free-living subjects consuming self-selected low glycemic index diets.

Like the calorie content of food, the glycemic index deserves some consideration. The foods that provide the most carbohydrate in the diet are the ones that need close  attention (potatoes, breakfast cereals, breads, soft drinks), not carrots, honey or over-ripe bananas. (per Jennie Brand-Miller PhD Associate Professor of Human Nutrition University of Sydney, Australia)

At this point some background on glycemic indexes and glycemic loads is helpful.

The glycemic index (GI) is a numerical system of measuring how much of a rise in circulating blood sugar a carbohydrate triggers–the higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response. So a low GI food will cause a small rise, while a high GI food will trigger a dramatic spike.  A GI is 70 or more is high, a GI of 56 to 69 inclusive is medium, and a GI of 55 or less is low.

The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account, but gives a fuller picture
than does glycemic index alone. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn't tell you how much of that carbohydrate is
in a serving of a particular food. You need to know both things to understand a food's effect on blood sugar. That is where glycemic load comes in. The carbohydrate in
watermelon, for example, has a high GI. But there isn't a lot of it, so watermelon's glycemic load is relatively low. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 to 19
inclusive is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low.

With thoughts of earlier posts on what to include in breakfast, let's compare apples to steel cut oats (which is commonly viewed as the all supreme grain for health & fitness):
Apples have a GI of 34 (low) and a GL of 5 (low) while steel cut oats have a GI of 57 (medium) and a GL of 14 (medium).  I think many people would be suprised to see
such that difference between the two.   Does this mean that apples are good and steel cut oats are bad?  No it does not and don't interpret this as I am saying only eat apples and don't eat steel cut oats…I have both of them in my diet as both foods have beneficial nutritional content .  With that said I am conscious of the effect that each has blood sugar and insulin…as a result I consume apples quite generously and steel oats quite sparingly.

Although there are some foods that can definitively be called good or bad (e.g. sugar…the white devil), many foods fall into that middle ground where there is not
unanamous consent as to whether they are good or bad.  In this middle ground it is all about personal choices and the result of those choices.  Educate yourself about
nutrition, determine what your health goals are (ties nicely into the Goals Workshop that Dale is presenting this weekend) and choose foods that support those goals.

Enough of my ramling for today…I will save my thoughts on the nutritional density difference between a grain-dominant diet vs veggie/fruit/meat-dominant diet for
another day.

Ready to load up on veggies?  Love the taste of corn and think that it is a great veggie?  Think again.  Check out this Blog post.

Worst. I am not here for the Nutrition Workshop (or the Goal one for that matter). That sucks, I would really like to be there.

By the way, good post Ian. And everyone really. I definitely am learning a few things and it makes it a little easier to stick with something when it is being discussed. Even if guilt is slightly helping me in my choices. At least I am choosing better