Rigid diets & taking loadsa supplements to compensate for them.

I do not believe you want to be doing that!

This post was inspired by a recently-published study by Alan Aragon & Brad Schoenfeld, as bodybuilders are a group of people who often eat a rigid diet (some eat skinless chicken breasts, broccoli & brown rice for several meals each day).

See Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?
"Collectively, these data indicate an increased potential for dietary flexibility while maintaining the pursuit of optimal timing."

This post is also aimed at people who eat severely restricted diets in the (often mistaken) belief that something's making them ill.

People with type 1 diabetes who struggle to keep their blood glucose within reasonable limits (3 to 8mmol/L, or 24 to 144mg/dL) benefit from restricting their intake of high-GL carbohydrates, so this post is not aimed at them. See The problem with Diabetes.

People with type 2 diabetes who severely restrict their intake of carbohydrates must be in caloric deficit, otherwise the physiological insulin resistance caused by high serum NEFAs will mess up just about everything in their body if they are in caloric balance or caloric excess. I've read (so it could be false) that a certain non-skinny blogger who I'm in conflict with (who has type 2 diabetes and who eats a VLC diet) has heart problems and is taking medication(s) for high blood pressure. Hmmm.

People who suffer from gastrointestinal problems after eating gluten-containing foods, or mucus after eating casein-containing foods may have impaired gut integrity. See Gluten - more than just a pain in the guts?

Supplements that I consider of positive value are:-

Fish oils: If the diet is low in oily fish (tinned tuna is not an oily fish), there may be insufficient EPA & DHA (especially in men, children & post-menopausal women). Women of reproductive age can get away with taking flaxseed oil.

Magnesium: If the diet is low in veg/high in dairy, there may be too much Calcium relative to Magnesium.

Vitamin D3: If the lifestyle results in sun-avoidance, insufficiency in Vitamin D is highly likely.

Vitamin K2: If the diet is low in animal fats and/or fermented foods, insufficiency in Vitamin K2 is highly likely.

Supplements that I consider of negative value are:-

Vitamin A: If there's an insufficiency in Vitamin D, supplementing with Vitamin A/β-carotene may exacerbate it. As Vitamin D + Calcium may reduce cancer risk, supplementing with Vitamin A absent Vitamin D3 may increase cancer risk.

Vitamin E: If there's an insufficiency in γ-tocopherol, supplementing with α-tocopherol may exacerbate it. As γ-tocopherol may reduce CHD mortality risk, supplementing with α-tocopherol absent γ-tocopherol may increase CHD mortality risk. Most Vitamin E supplements contain α-tocopherol only. Some Vitamin E supplements contain mixed tocopherols and these are O.K.

Is Coenzyme Q10 a supplement or a drug? It all depends.

This is the molecular structure of Coenzyme Q10.

Ubiquinone

I saw the following Tweet by Evelyn Kocur. Back in October 2009, a trial was started, to test the effect of CoQ10 supplementation on congestive heart failure (CHF). See Coenzyme Q10; an adjunctive therapy for congestive heart failure? See also Overview on coenzyme Q10 as adjunctive therapy in chronic heart failure. Rationale, design and end-points of "Q-symbio"--a multinational trial.

The results of that trial have just been made public, but are not yet available on PubMed. See First Drug to Significantly Improve Heart Failure Mortality in Over a Decade. Wait, what? Back in 2009, it was a supplement. Now, because it works, it's a drug.

Supplementation in meaningful amounts of a substance that the body needs but lacks makes the body work better. Who knew?

Not exactly rocket science, is it? Part 2

If there's a deficiency in "X", taking supplement "X" will correct the deficiency in "X".
If problem "Y" is caused by a deficiency in "X", then taking supplement "X" will fix problem "Y".

If there's no deficiency in "X", taking supplement "X" won't do anything.
If problem "Y" isn't caused by a deficiency in "X", then taking supplement "X" won't fix problem "Y".

If a person spends a lot of time outdoors in skimpy clothing in sun that's higher than 45deg in the sky, it's highly probable that they will not be deficient in Vitamin D3. Therefore, supplementing with 5,000iu/day of Vitamin D3 will highly probably do nothing.

If the above person has type 2 diabetes, supplementing with 5,000iu/day of Vitamin D3 won't fix their type 2 diabetes.

Not exactly...

Rocket Science!

There will be some people for whom all of the supplements & exercise that I recommend don't help their type 2 diabetes. Sorry about that. A low-carb (but not very-low-carb) diet will minimise your serum glucose level fluctuations without increasing your serum NEFA level excessively. See The problem with Diabetes.

Can supplements & exercise cure Type 2 diabetes?

Definitely, maybe!

From http://health-in-hand.co.uk/2013/03/24/supplements-for-the-non-supplement-takers/

According to Hyppönen and Power, in a large sample of the white British population born in 1958, 60.9% of subjects had serum 25(OH)D (the active metabolite of Vitamin D) of less than 75nmol/L in Summer & Autumn, and 87.1% had serum 25(OH)D of less than 75nmol/L in Winter & Spring. 75nmol/L ≡ 30ng/mL.

 From Hypovitaminosis D is associated with insulin resistance and β cell dysfunction, 2-hour post-load blood glucose level in an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) has a negative correlation with 25(OH)D concentration (Fig 1C). 25(OH)D concentration has a positive correlation with insulin sensitivity (Fig 2A). Therefore, 2-hour post-load blood glucose level in a OGTT has a negative correlation with insulin sensitivity.

"Extrapolation from the observations in the current study suggests that increasing 25(OH)D from 10 to 30 ng/mL can improve insulin sensitivity by 60%, from 3.8128 to 6.1176 (umol/L)·m-2·min-1·(pmol/L)-1. This improvement in insulin resistance could potentially eliminate the burden on cells and reverse abnormal glucose tolerance. Furthermore, the 60% improvement in insulin sensitivity that results from vitamin D treatment indicates that that treatment is more potent than either troglitazone or metformin treatment (54% and 13% improvement in insulin sensitivity, respectively). The modest effect of vitamin D on insulin sensitivity in individual persons may translate into a dramatic effect in the population as a whole because of the high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D, which, in a large population, carries an attributable risk for type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. Although a review of the literature suggests non-calcium-mediated effects, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be elucidated."

As my 2-hour post-load blood glucose level in a OGTT became low (3.7mmol/L, from 8.7mmol/L in 2003) after supplementing with 5,000iu/day of Vitamin D3, this means that my insulin sensitivity became high. Therefore, I cured my pre-type 2 diabetes using supplements.

My fasting blood glucose level also fell from 6.8 mmol/L (> 7.0mmol/L = type 2 diabetes diagnosis) to 5.0mmol/L. I achieved this without taking any drugs for type 2 diabetes - not even Metformin, which I consider to be a safe & effective insulin-sensitiser, though it can cause gastric distress and B12 absorption issues, long-term. The supplements that I took had zero side-effects and merely corrected deficiencies.

Diabetes drugs cannot cure type 2 diabetes. However, supplements & exercise can cure type 2 diabetes, if the type 2 diabetes is caused by nutrient deficiencies and/or sedentary behaviour and if all pancreatic beta cells haven't been destroyed. Insulin injections can preserve pancreatic beta cells, while insulin resistance is being tackled. See Dr. Richard K Bernstein on insulin for type 2 diabetics, and some definitions.

Sadly, if there are no nutrient deficiencies and/or all pancreatic beta cells have been destroyed, supplements & exercise will not help.

Quality >> Quantity.

Mum passed away peacefully in the middle of the night. I'm waiting for paperwork to be done.

"And the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

On the internet, I read that Dementia with Lewy bodies has a mean survival time of 6 years from the onset of symptoms. Mum first became confused in mid-July 2007, so it's been just under 6 years. Does this mean that all of the supplements I gave her were worthless. Hell, no!

As mentioned in Look after your brain., mum's MMSE score increased from 14 to 26 out of 30 after taking medication and supplements. The medication gave a 3 point increase in MMSE score on average, so the rest of the increase in MMSE score was probably due to the supplements, which had no undesirable side-effects.

On Christmas day 2008, mum was capable of preparing Brussels sprouts for cooking, though she got the knives, forks & spoons mixed up when she tried to lay the table. Here's her final Christmas at home. Roast duck with all of the trimmings. Om, nom, nom!

Mum's last Christmas at home.

In conclusion, I believe that quality of life trumps quantity of life, so supplementation for the win.

Everyone is Different, Part 3.

Cont'd from Everyone is Different, Part 2.

Hat-tip to Bill Lagakos, whose article Missing: 300 kilocalories reminded me of the following graphic from Effects of Dietary Composition During Weight Loss Maintenance: A Controlled Feeding Study.

Lo and behold, even when subjects are bribed to stick to the diets that they are provided with, the effect of eating those diets varies hugely.

So, people like ItsTheWoo and Petro Dobromylskyj (yes, I have to copy and paste the name from his site every freakin' time!) rave about how awful carbs are, while people like Go Kaleo and Matt Stone rave about how awesome carbs are.

Everyone is different for a number of reasons, some of which are unchangeable and some of which are changeable. We can't change our birth weight, what our mums ate when we were in the womb or the chemicals that we were exposed to in the past. We can't change our genes, but we can change the expression of our genes by changing diet, activity and even supplementation. See Influence of Vitamin D Status and Vitamin D₃ Supplementation on Genome Wide Expression of White Blood Cells: A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial.

Are vitamins and nutritional supplements necessary

Are Vitamins and Food supplements necessary? Clearly answered in the affirmative. But is that really so? The positive image of these chemical manufacturers is still unknown. Often consumers have drawn the conclusion that fruit and vegetables are not required to stay healthy. Lately, however, indications are growing that this Food supplements more harmful than healthy.

Today, research is the finding suggests that too many Vitamins health more harm. Between 20 and 30% of US adults take an occasional or even regular vitamin supplements. There is no scientifically sound and well-documented studies that prove that taking vitamin and mineral supplements have the same health effects, such as by eating fruits and vegetables. A balanced fitness and health diet plans with

• Five servings of fruits and vegetables a day

• Dairy products

• Grain Products

• Fish and meat (poultry)

ensuring an adequate supply of Vitamin sand all the necessary minerals. It should of course be taken in principle to the freshness and quality of individual foods. Low-fat dairy products can be enjoyed preferred grain products are important for the adequate supply of trace elements contained therein.

When healthy eating is not necessary vitamins and nutritional supplements

In order for the physical features and the biochemical processes in the body optimally, minerals, trace elements and vitamins are necessary. It is therefore not surprising that the body reacts in the absence or insufficient intake of symptoms. These might include fatigue or poor concentration. Existing illnesses may be adversely affected, different diseases are actually in direct connection with it. In a balanced health diet plans and a healthy lifestyle, the supply of vitamins and nutrients is guaranteed on a natural basis.

Supplied in the form of natural vitamins and minerals are of higher value and can be better utilized by the body and absorbed. Instead, the modern health diet plans  of fast food or finished products to make healthier through vitamin supplements, you should prefer to switch to a healthy and natural health diet plans. This is especially the sensual pleasure of fresh and quality food in the foreground.

Anti-aging and nutritional supplements from 50plus

In the phase of life from the age of 50 plus a lot of women, but men also rely on health diet plans  supplements for vitality and beauty. These are trace elements, especially selenium and others. Selenium is known as a radical scavenger and is designed to protect against harmful environmental influences. Silica is useful for a firm connective tissue and is therefore particularly at age 50 plus a premium. Biotin promotes healthy hair and nails strong and is seen particularly in combination with folic acid to be very effective. These minerals can actually be absorbed by high-quality nutritional supplements in the form, they are only available in natural foods at a very small part, and therefore provide only an inadequate supply.

Do not exceed the recommended intake/dosage.

The above warning is on mum's fish oil and on all supplements. The recommended daily intake (RDI) for Seven Seas fish oil for adults & children over 12 is 10ml/day, or 1 capsule/day if in capsules.
1 capsule contains 360mg of EPA+DHA.

Seven Seas fish oil must be dangerous stuff!

Here's some perspective. A small can (213g) of wild Alaskan red salmon contains 14g of fish oil and 1.9g of EPA+DHA. That's 533% the amount you get in one capsule of Seven Seas fish oil. There are no warnings on small cans of wild Alaskan red salmon to not eat more than a fifth of a can a day. I usually eat a whole can at a time. My brain really likes this. See Guess who didn't look after his brain?

For breakfast, I sometimes eat ten Brazil nuts and ten prunes washed down with a milky coffee. Ten Brazil nuts contain ~4,000ug of selenium. That's about 1,000% the RDI for selenium. However, I'm not showing any symptoms of selenium toxicity.

EDIT: I may be showing one symptom. Somebody told me that I smelled slightly of garlic. I had eaten a lot of raw onion on liver pate earlier that day and I was giving off a smell of onion. This has happened before.

Moral of the story: Get nutrients from foods wherever possible.

Supplements: Who needs 'em?

According to Health Professionals, nobody. Apparently, we get all of the vitamins, minerals & other nutrients that we need from a "Healthy Balanced Diet" (whatever that is!).

According to me, just about everybody. Due to modern farming methods, food ain't what it used to be. Dammit, even nostalgia ain't what it used to be! Due to changes in lifestyle:-

a) Most people are more sedentary than they used to be. This means that they require less food than they used to in order to not get fat. Less food, coupled with less nutrients in the food = dietary deficiencies.

b) Most people don't get as much sun on their skin as they used to, as they now work, play & live mostly indoors and when they do go outside, they are encouraged to Slip Slop Slap (slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat). This results in hypovitaminosis D, as only an Eskimo's diet contains enough dietary Vitamin D. The RDA of 200/400/600iu/day (depending on age) is woefully inadequate and totally out of touch with modern research.

c) Most people don't eat much oily fish. Also, animal & vegetable produce now contains more omega-6 & less omega-3 than it used to. This results in an imbalance.

d) Diets low in vegetable & fruits lack Potassium & Magnesium.

e) Diets low in fermented products lack Vitamin K2.

Because of the above, I supplement with:-
300mg/day of Magnesium as Citrate/Amino Acid Chelate, or 600mg/day as Oxide.
5,000iu/day of Vitamin D3.
15mg/week of Vitamin K2.
I also use Losalt, which provides 2 parts Potassium to 1 part Sodium.