My Carb Sane-Asylum

Pictures ...

2012-02-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

Well, yet another installment of pictures worth 1000 words is up from Jimmy Moore. I've been criticized for posting pictures of health and diet advocates and commenting on their looks particularly in regards to how well they appear to be aging. Some of that criticism is fair. Because aging and looks are largely genetic, and I've acknowledged this many times. When one factors in photoshopping and cosmetic/surgical means of altering one's makeup, and it is becoming increasingly difficult these days to compare oneself with what is considered "normal" aging, etc. If I'm ever on TV, I want Hillary Clinton's makeup artist from the 2008 primary debates on my team (and the best Spanx out there)! Still, although I've certainly not lead a healthy life diet-wise for many periods during my adulthood, my genes have been good to me and I consider myself blessed in that regard. So Jimmy decided to add to the apparent Facebook pile on of one Gillian McKeith with this comparison of two similarly aged women.

Would you watch this cooking show?

2012-02-01T07:49:00.000-05:00

Well, it's finally working, a 3 minute sneak peek video clip at the proposed cooking show starring Dr. James Carlson and Dana Carpender HCG*. Your Doctor's in the Kitchen (not to be confused with The Doctors in the Kitchen).

After an opening with degree placards on the wall, we're told he's a biker. Really? I'd have never guessed from the get-up.

Maybe it's an age and gender thing -- please men in the audience, tell me y'all wouldn't be caught dead in this outfit in your man cave! (I love bikes and bikers, but if you can't pull it off, don't even try) -- but gimme a break, this guy is worse than politicians in their "mom jeans". Helmet on the counter, the T, the Harley vest and the skullcap. But what's that above his belt? Maybe Eades can lend him a girdle ;-) Really, it's uncomfortable just looking at that man. His outfit screams "dork going through a midlife crisis". Uggh!

*HCG: What? Home Cooking Goddess of course! (You didn't think I was going there, did you?) I must say she looks good here, but lacks camera skills (understandable).

TWICHOO Soldiers are Down to Syringes

2012-01-31T14:09:00.000-05:00

The following tweet was brought to my attention in comments on another post:

garytaubes gary taubes

Worried about the greatly-exaggerated death of the insulin hypothesis? Take the latest NEJM image-challenge: bit.ly/db7VF2

The image that link leads us to is at right, along with a selection of conditions for one to select as the cause of the malformation. Well, of course, the answer is "Insulin lipohypertrophy". When one answers and goes to the responses, they get the following explanation:

These pendulous subcutaneous periumbilical masses were attributed to 31 years of insulin injection to manage type 1 diabetes. Lipohypertrophy can be associated with glycemic flux and prevented by rotating injection sites.

Fat Tissue Expansion: Part II ~ Overview of How it Can Happen

2012-01-30T14:30:00.000-05:00

In Part I, I laid out some terminology that we'll use in the discussion of how we get fat. In this installment, I'm mostly going to list the various means by which fat tissue can expand, emphasis on the word can. Because as future installments will lay out, while some of these mechanisms are plausible, some of these mechanisms contribute very little if at all to the fattening process.

So what mechanisms might be involved in the expansion of fat tissue? It is not controversial that fat tissue expands by two means:

Adipocytogenesis: The growth of new fat cells, increased fat cell number
Adipocyte growth: Increased size of adipocytes

Fat Tissue Expansion: Part I ~ Terminology

2012-01-29T09:10:00.001-05:00

One of the things that irks me about discussions of various obesity related topics is the inappropriate use of terminology. I would like to give the benefit of the doubt and presume that for most who do this, it is inadvertent. Often this is due to not having a complete understanding of human metabolism and physiology (cough ... ahem ... Mr. Gary Taubes) , but at some point, when speaking from a presumed position of authority, this excuse doesn't cut it. To be fair, the peer review literature and higher level texts are rife with inconsistencies of their own. Most authors are likely simply using the term they are most familiar with not realizing that those terms mean different things in different contexts. Still, a careful reading of said literature is all that is needed to understand how they are using the terms and the process to which they are referring.

This has been briefly addressed here previously. As with insulin resistance, I think the "fat formation" realm is in dire need of some more clear definitions and applications of the terminology. The terms adipogenesis and lipogenesis are often used interchangeably (even considered synonymous). But I would like to propose that -- although it's probably not going to happen -- a revised and expanded terminology should be agreed upon and used consistently. Expanded? Yes, because the conversions between types of lipids -- the cyclic conversion of -- fatty acids + glycerol ↔ triglyceride -- is not a "genesis" of anything, it is merely a conversion of one form of lipid to another. On that note ...

Gestational Diabetes and Pre-Pregnancy Fat Intake

2012-01-28T08:05:00.000-05:00

Gestational diabetes -- hyperglycemia during pregnancy -- effects a considerable number of women. It is also a known risk factor for developing diabetes (T2) later in life. Some degree of peripheral insulin resistance normally develops during pregnancy. Why? Because the fetus' growth and development takes priority in nutrient partitioning so glucose is conserved for the fetus much like it is conserved for the brain in the fasted/starved/glucose-deprived state. The link of GD to T2 most likely reveals the genetic predisposition towards IR -- in other words, while diet can cause insulin resistance, there is a genetic component in most who eventually develop hyperglycemia as a result. Most women will compensate for the mild IR state and maintain normal glycemia during pregnancy, while those who are perhaps even mildly IR to begin with will exceed their capacity to compensate during the pregnancy. In most cases, deliver the baby and the diabetes goes away.

A prospective study of prepregnancy dietary fat intake and risk of gestational diabetes

A perfect example of why I post what I do about LC personalities

2012-01-27T08:39:00.000-05:00

I frequently read folks wondering out loud why I spend (waste?) the time that I do to post on various low carb gurus and personalities. It doesn't seem like a worthwhile endeavor at times ... and I must admit I occasionally wonder if it's worth the flack and time either. And then along comes another LC'er "helping others" with their wisdom. Some of the people I've written about don't "get me" ... after all they are just every day folks sharing their experiences trying to (selflessly) help others. That "selflessly" is often silent, sometimes strongly implied in their repeated reminders that this is their goal, and sometimes shouted straight out, lest you not notice the generous benevolence in their actions. They may even go so far as to remind you of the expense they've endured to bring you the free service you're using .....

For all the touting of how any day now the Insurgency will persevere, of how the low carb message is spreading, etc., the LC community remains a small niche in the wide wide world of dietary lifestyles and weight loss strategies. It seems to me that, because there are so relatively few, the internet presence is all the more inflated compared to other approaches. In real life, many who follow more traditional or popular approaches have buddies or support groups they can attend. Or there are TV shows they can tune into, etc. Low carbers don't have nearly the options, and in many ways these have dwindled rather than increased in the past five years or so. Yes, despite the best efforts of Gary Taubes, the drop-off of the Atkins boom was mostly staved a bit but not halted. It is because the community is so relatively small and intertwined, that the onus is all the more powerful to put out a truthful and realistic welcome mat.

Some thoughts on fructose studies

2012-01-26T14:19:00.000-05:00

I've been poking about the literature lately ever since the insulinogenic (in terms of circulating insulin levels but not necessarily secretion of insulin) properties of jelly beans were made known to me a while back. I've been looking into studies comparing sucrose to glucose or fructose separately, or that measure insulin secretion and/or clearance per se. It's a rough go. Much of the research that turns up with fructose in the search phrase involves HFCS not fructose per se. When you get isolated fructose studied, however, there are still other complications.

For starters, it is impossible to isolate the effect of just fructose with whole foods. Just about every source of fructose, like fruits, also contains sucrose and even considerable amounts of isolated glucose in many cases. It is also virtually impossible to attain the levels of fructose generally required to elicit a measurable metabolic response. For reference, a medium apple contains roughly 10g fructose (most of which is free). A "bolus dose" for 50g would be difficult to achieve and would come with ~5g glucose per apple. So ... sweetened beverages it is as the major dietary vehicle by which fructose is incorporated into dietary interventions.

If this makes it to TV, will they be consistent?

2012-01-25T19:44:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, Dana Carpender let her audience in on a little more news ... and I do mean just a little ... on the potential upcoming LC TV cooking show. In a short but sweet announcement, she encourages readers to go "Like" the show on Facebook. We learn the proposed title: Your Doctor's in The Kitchen. She describes this as a "low carb cooking and health advice show that Dana and Dr. Jim Carlson hope will find a network home". Here is Carlson's website. He wrote a book called Genocide which you can read there (or excerpts, it's unclear) ... I think I read most of what's on the website at one time, but not recently. As serendipity would have it, Carlson ends the Preface with the same Mark Twain quote that dons the pages of the AWLR blog -- another rebel without a clue....

In any case, Dana encourages people to go like the show on FB to help increase the chances some network might pick it up. There's not a whole lot of info other than that Dana will play a guest starring role (sidekick?) to Carlson, that "outrageous MD, Nutritional Bio Chemist and hell raising Biker". Here's what you'll get:

Google Giggles

2012-01-25T17:23:00.000-05:00

I have a twofer today.

The first one I have no idea how it got someone here! Beth's Weight Maven blog perhaps, what with her always enjoyable Friday Cat Blogging. But nonetheless, someone found the Asylum with:

Mean Kitty

The next one makes me wonder if I haven't been cursing too much here on the blog. I don't do it often, but Google sees all apparently. I'm happy that someone landed here searching on:

Gary Taubes bullshit

hee hee hee

Another Quote to live by?

2012-01-25T17:16:00.000-05:00

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority,

it is time to pause and reflect" -Mark Twain

At the time of publication of this blog post, this Mark Twain quote comes from Larry Istrain's blog. As much as I admire Twain, some of his "isms" are not, in my opinion, good advice ... or at least not in the way many people take them to heart. The implication, to me, of the above quote is that there is something inherently wrong with being on the side of the majority, and something inherently noble about dissent ... part of some rebellion ... dare I say a would-be paradigm changer.

Verdict: Guilty as Charged!

2012-01-24T16:14:00.000-05:00

Hi all! I thought for a bit on whether or not to respond to Larry Istrail's Response to Criticism from 'Carbsanity'. There's not much of substance there to address ... but it is typical of the lack of real substance and mischaracterization that is so common amongst my detractors. So, I thought I'd address it.

Is this registry a joke? The verdict is in: Guilty! I'm sure that Istrail is serious, and many of those who are registering are serious, and that's not what the joke is. The joke is that somehow anything meaningful to the purported goal of the study will come about. Let's take a look. I'll try to be consistent and put Istrail's words in purple.

From AWLR Home Page: The Ancestral Weight Loss Registry is an international assembly of people who have tried a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet to lose weight or improve their health.
In response to which I wrote in my "cheeky" style: And I'm an internationally known blogger.
Response: She describes it as a "JOKE", condemning the fact that I describe it as an "international assembly"

The Ancestral Weight Control Registry ~ This is a joke, right?

2012-01-22T10:26:00.003-05:00

< gloat > LOL! I scooped Gary Taubes on the

announcement of the "Insurgency" < /gloat >

Hee hee hee ...

But onwards and upwards. Apparently a medical student is getting tired of reading about the National Weight Control Registry, NWCR, and is bothered by the fact that the vast majority of registrants achieved their success with more traditional calorie restricted programs. You know, that Eat Less Move More, ELMM, that "doesn't work" (just don't tell those prospective JumpStartMD clients). Gary gushes:

A Man in the Wilderness ... A Lonely Soldier off to War (on Insulin)

2012-01-21T12:56:00.000-05:00

One of my very first albums ... yes ... vinyl albums ... was Grand Illusion by Styx. I've probably listened to that album all the way through more times than any other, although Billy Joel's The Stranger might give that a run for the money. Anyway, I was in the mood for a little self-torture the other day and decided to listen to/read some more recent Gary Taubes interviews. I couldn't help but have this song pop into my head. Not a song many are likely familiar with, but soooo apropos! (Hee hee ... wasn't Tommy Shaw perty?)

Quotes to Live By?

2012-01-20T11:37:00.000-05:00

The thing is, it’s very dangerous to have a fixed idea. A person with a fixed idea will always find some way of convincing himself in the end that he is right.

~ Atle Selberg

Three guesses where this comes from and the first two don't count!

Physician Phollies ~ II: Dr. William "Wheat Belly" Davis

2012-01-19T11:36:00.001-05:00

Next up in our "how can he/she even say that?" series of blatantly erroneous things said by practicing physicians in furtherance of the carbophobic agenda ...

I bring you, an Asylum favorite, Dr. William "Wheat Belly" Davis. In the most recent post on his WB blog, Wheat Belly trips over himself trying to implicate wheat, specifically, in the diabetes epidemic.

But can we blame diabetes on wheat?
Yes, absolutely, as much as you can blame poor oral hygience for toothlessness in West Virginia.

Wow! Gratuitous slam on WVa's aside, Dr. Wee Bee goes on to list all the ways wheat causes diabetes:

–Any food that increases blood sugar to high levels (i.e., high glycemic index) also increases insulin to high levels. Repetitive high insulin leads to insulin resistance, which leads to visceral fat deposition, more insulin resistance, inflammation, etc., eventuating in diabetes.
–High blood sugar, such as that resulting from eating two slices of whole wheat bread, is toxic to pancreatic beta cells, the cells that produce insulin: glucotoxicity.
–Triglyceride-containing lipoproteins, such as chylomicrons and its remnants, are toxic to pancreatic beta cells: lipotoxicity.

Paula Deen ~ A Classic Case of Type II Diabetes

2012-01-18T11:17:00.001-05:00

Was anyone surprised by the revelation that Paula Deen has type 2 diabetes? See here and here, for example. Full disclosure here. I'm a NorthEast girl and was raised pretty agnostic in terms of regional foods/cuisines. Still, as an adult I've enjoyed learning different cooking styles, flavors and ways of preparing foods and I'm an admitted Food Network junkie. But Paula? She was not one I ever watched much (unless she was judging on a competition show). Sure, I love some Southern foods -- chicken fried steak w/gravy anyone?? -- but most of those foods are reserved for traveling to where they are local fare (although Chili's does make a pretty good version of the aforementioned steak). And I find her accent and delivery just a wee bit over the top. But I think every time I've ever seen the woman cook, I've seen her put half sticks of butter in a pan while saying jokingly that she's adding "a little". Butter and Paula are synonymous in my mind -- if someone said Paula Deen in a word association game, butter would be the word that popped out of my mouth.

Salvaging the Hypothesis

2012-01-17T16:46:00.000-05:00

You can't salvage a CIH with fructose and "refined carbohydrates" that has insulin as a mediator because there is no such theory that makes physiologic sense, and this would be obvious the moment such a theory is articulated ~ Kurt G. Harris MD, 11/18/11

If 2011 will be remembered in low carb circles for anything, it will be for both the lack of anticipated rise and precipitous fall of what I call here at the Asylum TWICHOO. With the December 2010 publication of Why We Get Fat, no doubt many low carbers began 2011 with a feeling of supreme optimism. What with all the "Gary you're my hero" comments on his blog, and lots of exposure of the lay friendly book, even in the mainstream media, surely 2011 would be the year when "they" would finally get it. The momentum of 2010 would be carried forward and by the end of the year low carbers envisioned an even more energized following with an expanding sphere of influence. Oprah would finally get thin and stay that way going on Gary Taubes' diet and all would be right with the world. Insulin had finally been implicated as the evil hormone everyone knew it was all along, and our grandmas would be vindicated for knowing all along that carbs were fattening. The "late great" Robert Atkins' name would finally be cleared and his diet vindicated. In Berkley, CA, a carving of the Mt. Fatless monument would begin: Bauer, Yalow, Atkins & Taubes.

Sweeteners

2012-01-16T10:38:00.000-05:00

If you're not sitting down reading this, you might just want to, or grab onto something for support, because I'm going to start this post out doing something I don't all that often: praise Mark Sisson. The sample menu page on his blog reads:

A typical breakfast for me is a cup of coffee with cream and sugar and an omelet

This page has been around for a good long time and he hasn't changed it, so presumably Sisson hasn't jumped headlong on the stevia wagon. In the summer, as a kid, we would suck on honeysuckle blossoms for the faint sweetness. Needless to say, we did this more for the novelty of "hey, this is sweet" than scavenging for every blossom we could find for a sweet kick ... they just weren't that sweet. If one googles chewing and sugarcane or stevia leaves you will find references to both. If you are ever in New England in late winter/early spring, you'll see the maple syrup taps on trees. The dried syrup that may ooze from the tap, etc., also tastes sweet. We humans tend to like sweet stuff, and when found in nature, we'll chew/suck or otherwise extract the sweet leaving the rest behind. But the only foods that are truly sweet eaten whole (or at least most) are fruits and honey. I suppose we could add in the faintly sweet root veggies as well.

Hold the Hoax! The Dreamfields Dilema

2012-01-15T09:43:00.000-05:00

"I've been on a Dreamfields kick lately and I love having a low-carb alternative to pasta that actually tastes like pasta. It's a nice treat I enjoy eating when I get the opportunity. Some think you shouldn't ever have these kinds of foods, but I disagree. If this keeps me from the real thing that is LOADED with carbohydrate, then what's the harm I say? It's not making me go out and binge on the real thing or sugar or any other carbage."

~ Jimmy Moore 1/16/10

Yes, I've had these spoof blog titles swirling in my head and they are too apropos to pass up. Hold the Hoax! Livin La Vida Low Clue (not my original idea) started this, clearly a take on Jimmy's blog/podcast/etc. Hold the Hoax! is spoofing on Dana Carpender's blog/podcast/etc. titled Hold the Toast! I don't know if it's been more than the usual amount of time on my hands, or reminiscing over the events of the past year, if Jimmy has been posting some particularly annoying commentary of late, or a combination of the three, but recently Jimmy posted the following: Considering The Reliability Of The Dreamfields Pasta ‘Low-Carb’ Claim. Perhaps I'm the only one offended by Jimmy's newfound holier-than-thou view of frankenfoods, the manufacturers of them, and the validity of the nutritional information on the purported content. Perhaps not. I think his participation in the Dreamfields hoax is worthy of mention.

Livin La Vida Low Clue: Jimmy Moore on Weight Watchers "Scam"

2012-01-14T10:01:00.001-05:00

Yes ... potentially another series ...
Whenever a low carber demonstrates how clueless they are, you can be sure to read about it here!

No, Jimmy hasn't come to his senses and actually given the WW "scam" a try to lose those stubborn pounds his deranged metabolism hath wrought. Instead, he's focused on Charles Barkley in a post entitled: Even Spokesman Charles Barkley Isn’t Taking Weight Watchers Too Seriously.

Apparently, Barkley has lost close to 40 lbs on WW and is a spokesman for WW's "Lose Like a Man" program. I've not seen any spots -- something that according to Jimmy qualifies me as living the life of a hobbit -- but what with Dan Marino, Don Shula and now Terry Bradshaw shilling for Nutrisystem, WW going after the male demo is a no-brainer. We've discussed here a few times how the appeal of Paleo and LC and the success men seem to have on such plans is at least partly due to being able to eat those man foods, and the manliest of foods, the steaks, burgers and bacon. But as several readers have pointed out, many of these foods can be worked into a WW or other flexi-style essentially calorie controlled plan. It's easy enough to find the point values for McDonalds so that Jimmy, you could have gone there back in 1999 were you on WW, and worked it into your plan, and not had to go on a bender where you regained over 170 lbs in a few months.

Blogger Comments

2012-01-13T08:31:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you've noticed, but Blogger has changed the "look" of those of us Blogspot blogs with inline comments. In addition to a slightly different look, below each comment I now see a "reply" link (I also have a delete link for my blogs, I just tested that and it works.)

Oh cool I thought -- a bit more like other comments where replies could be nested. But I mouse over "reply" and all I see is a "javascript:;" and clicking does nothing, not even skip me down to the comment box. Is that working for anyone else? I'm guessing not since I don't see any nested responses. But I thought I'd ask.

Thanks in advance for feedback.