Some thoughts on the essentiality of dietary carbohydrates.

I didn't know that there's a watch strap called Essentiality. I do, now.

From https://svpply.com/item/3229602/Swatch_Skin_Collection_Silver_Essentiality

This is a book-marking post for thoughts I had in https://www.facebook.com/TheFatEmperor/posts/1442430506020812.

"The human body does not need carbohydrates from an external food source, because it is capable of very precisely and correctly assembling its own amounts of glucose that is needed in very small amounts for auxiliary and specialized functions." - Igor Butorski.

1) It's not very precise. See http://nigeepoo.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/how-eating-sugar-starch-can-lower-your.html

2) It's not enough to fuel high-intensity exercise. See http://nigeepoo.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/funny-turns-what-they-arent-and-what.html

3) Using the above argument, the human body does not need saturated fats & monounsaturated fats from an external food source, because it is capable of very precisely and correctly assembling its own amounts of saturated fats & monounsaturated fats (out of carbohydrate) that are needed in very small amounts for auxiliary and specialized functions.

If we only consumed Essential Fatty Acids, Essential Amino Acids, Vitamins, Minerals, Fibre/Fiber, Water & Anutrients, there wouldn't be much to eat. Also, there wouldn't be a source of chemical energy to generate heat energy & mechanical energy. That's what dietary carbohydrates & fats are for.

Respiratory Exchange Ratio/Respiratory Quotient (RER/RQ) varies with carbohydrate & fat intake, as the body preferentially oxidises the fuel that's most readily available.

RER/RQ varies with Exercise Intensity.
Low-intensity exercise results in mostly fats being oxidised.
High-intensity exercise results in mostly carbohydrates being oxidised.
Medium-intensity exercise results in a mixture of fats & carbohydrates being oxidised.

A *very* special dual-fuel car analogy for the human body that I just invented.

The human body is like a very special dual-fuel car.

From http://www.aa1car.com/library/alternative_fuels.htm

In this very special dual-fuel car:-

Glucose is represented by Ethanol, 'cos Ethanol is a carbohydrate, according to Robert Lustig ;-)
Glucose is C₆H₁₂O₆. Ethanol is C₂H₆O. 3(C₂H₆O) = C₆H₁₈O₃. It's not very close, but it'll do!

Caprylic acid is represented by Octane, 'cos fatty acids are hydrocarbons, don'tcha know? ;-)
Caprylic acid is CH₃(CH₂)₆COOH and Octane is CH₃(CH₂)₆CH₃, which is actually pretty close.

Storage depots:

 

Carbohydrates:

For Ethanol, there's a large storage tank (≡ muscle glycogen) and a small storage tank (≡ liver glycogen). The contents of the large storage tank cannot be used to top-up the small storage tank, but the contents of the small storage tank can be used to top-up the large storage tank. The contents of the small storage tank are used to fuel a generator (≡ Hepatic Glucose Production) to keep the ECU (≡ brain) working at all times. The contents of the large storage tank are used to fuel the engine.

Fats:

For Octane, there's a large storage tank (≡ subcutaneous adipose tissue) and a small storage tank (≡ visceral adipose tissue). The contents of the small storage tank are used to produce hormones etc. The contents of the large storage tank are used to fuel the engine.

Substrate Utilisation:

When the car is driven at low speed, the engine burns mostly Octane (≡ RQ=0.7).
When the car is rapidly accelerating or driven at high speed, the engine burns mostly Ethanol (≡ RQ=1).
When the car is being driven intermediately, the engine burns a mixture of Octane & Ethanol.

Overeating/Undereating:

 

Carbohydrates:

If the large Ethanol storage tank becomes full, excess Ethanol overspills to the small storage tank.
If the small storage tank becomes full, a gizmo kicks-in and converts excess Ethanol into Octane (≡ De-Novo Lipogenesis).
It also shifts fuel usage of the engine towards Ethanol, to deplete Ethanol as quickly as possible.
If the small storage tank becomes full, the car malfunctions (≡ fatty liver).

Conversely, if the small storage tank becomes nearly empty, it shifts fuel usage of the engine towards Octane, to conserve Ethanol.

Fats:

If the large Octane storage tank becomes full, excess Octane overspills to the small storage tank.
If the small storage tank becomes full, the car malfunctions (≡ insulin resistance/metabolic syndrome/type 2 diabetes).

Ancel B. Keys' critique of "Diet and coronary thrombosis. Hypothesis and fact, by John Yudkin. The Lancet, 1957."

Ancel B. Keys has come in for a lot of flak recently over alleged "cherry-picking" of data for his 6/7 Countries studies. Here's Keys' critique:- "SUCROSE IN THE DIET AND CORONARY HEART DISEASE" of Dr. John Yudkin's "15 Countries" article.

Keys accuses Yudkin of bias, cherry-picking countries that fit his own hypothesis.

Here are some plots from Keys' 11 Countries article.

5-Year CHD cases/1,000 men vs Sucrose %E.

5-Year CHD cases/1,000 men vs Sat Fats %E.

Sucrose %E vs Sat Fats %E.

So there you have it.

Diet and coronary thrombosis. Hypothesis and fact, by John Yudkin. The Lancet, 1957.

Twitter did it again. From http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/heartofthematter/download/Yudkinssugartheory.pdf

This looks like bad news for the fat-lovers.

There's good correlation between Coronary mortality and total fat intake, for countries 15 to 7. For countries 7 to 1, there's no correlation between Coronary mortality and total fat intake, suggesting that other differences (e.g. quality of health-care, social stress, antioxidant status etc) are significant factors.

This looks like bad news for the meat/fowl/fish/cheese/egg-lovers.

This looks like bad news for the sugar-lovers.

Of course, association ≠ causation.

This looks like bad news for rich people.

In conclusion, total fat intake, animal protein intake, sugar intake & annual income are all associated with increased Coronary mortality, over a certain range of values.

Why do some people have trouble doing things in moderation?

This is related to my previous post.

From http://www.kindredcommunity.com/2013/01/xtreme-eating-awards-2013-extremism-running-amok-at-americas-restaurant-chains/

Some people take low-carbing to an extreme, 'cos if reducing carbohydrate intake has benefits, reducing it to zero must be better. Oy!


We're told that eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day is good for us. One patient who was admitted to St George's with malnutrition, had been eating more than 50 portions of fruit and vegetables a day, 'cos if 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day is good for us, 50 portions of fruit and vegetables a day must be better. Oy!


People who are taking the anti-clotting medication Warfarin need to maintain an accurate balance between their warfarin dose and their Vitamin K intake to keep their INR between 2 and 3, as warfarin antagonizes vitamin K₁ recycling, depleting active vitamin K₁.
"Between 2003 and 2004, the UK Committee on Safety of Medicines received several reports of increased INR and risk of haemorrhage in people taking warfarin and cranberry juice. Data establishing a causal relationship is still lacking, and a 2006 review found no cases of this interaction reported to the FDA; nevertheless, several authors have recommended that both doctors and patients be made aware of its possibility. The mechanism behind the interaction is still unclear." Here's a clue...

From Possible interaction between warfarin and cranberry juice (emphasis, mine):-
"After a chest infection (treated with cefalexin), a man in his 70s had a poor appetite for two weeks and ate next to nothing, taking only cranberry juice as well as his regular drugs (digoxin, phenytoin, and Warfarin). Six weeks after starting cranberry juice he had been admitted to hospital with an INR (international normalised ratio) > 50. Before, his control of INR had been stable. He died of a gastrointestinal and pericardial haemorrhage. He had not taken any over the counter preparations or herbal medicines, and he had been taking his drugs correctly." Cranberry juice contains no Vitamin K. Oy!

"The Committee on Safety of Medicines has received seven other reports through the yellow card reporting scheme about a possible interaction between warfarin and cranberry juice leading to changes in INR or bleeding. In four cases, the increase in INR or bleeding after patients had drunk cranberry juice was less dramatic. In two cases, INR was generally unstable, and in another case INR decreased. Limited information is available about whether patients complied with their treatment in these cases.

Cranberry juice (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is popular and is also used to prevent cystitis. Interaction with warfarin is biologically plausible, because cranberry juice contains antioxidants, including flavonoids, which are known to inhibit cytochrome P450 enzymes, and warfarin is predominantly metabolised by P450 CYP2C9. The constituents of different brands of cranberry juice may vary, and this might affect their potential for interacting with drugs. Whether the constituents of cranberry juice inhibit CYP2C9 and therefore the metabolism of warfarin or interact in another way needs further investigation. Until then, patients taking warfarin would be prudent to limit their intake of this drink." Oy!

So, one man's inadvertent (his doctor should have warned him about eating next to nothing while taking warfarin) dietary extremism resulted in his own death and the restricted intake of cranberry juice for everybody else taking warfarin. Oy. :-(


P.S. It's about time an alternative to warfarin was found. It's difficult to maintain an accurate balance between warfarin dose and Vitamin K intake.

Jumping through hoops, and my Blog List.

I'm seeing a curious thing. The VLC "camp" seems to be "jumping through hoops" to prove a point.

From http://davidbressler.com/2013/08/26/easier-harder/

From Neuron fuel and function (emphasis & formatting, mine):-
"Ketones and lactate do not drive reverse electron flow through complex I. Glucose can. Palmitate certainly can. What you want from a metabolic fuel depends on the remit of your cell types. Neurons within the brain preserve information by their continued existence.

This is best done by burning lactate or ketones. NOT glucose and, of course, not FFAs.

Anyone who claims that glucose is the preferred metabolic fuel of the brain has not though (sic) about what a neuron has to do and what an astrocyte actually does do. Or much about the electron transport chain."

Basically, glucose is bad mmm-kay. Also, anyone who claims that glucose is the preferred metabolic fuel of the brain is a dumb-ass. Damn our livers & kidneys churning out glucose! Are they trying to kill us?

∴ Carbohydrates are bad and must be avoided at all cost! This, of course, is utter nonsense.

Glucose can drive reverse electron flow through complex I. Can means that it's possible. Is it probable?

On a hypercaloric Western diet of excessive crap-in-a-bag/box/bottle, yes.

On a Kitavan diet of ~70%E from tubers, no.

On a diet of Basmati rice & beans, no.

On a diet of whole fruits, no.

See also Another crash and burn on low carb paleo and CrossFit. Enough of the 'carbs are evil' nonsense. Carbphobia is hurting a lot of people.

I have a list of blogs that I read on a regular basis. As a result of the bad science & cherry-picking displayed in various VLC blogs, I have deleted them from my Blog List.

See also Guest post: Denialism as Pseudoscientific Thinking.

The "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! (losing team)" diet.

This post may be a little "tongue-in-cheek", in places.


I nearly used a certain scene from Blazing Saddles. It would have been much more entertaining.

As I said in Why you really can't outrun your fork:-
"Although I totally support the use of low-carbohydrate/calorie diets for people with insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes, now that I'm no longer insulin resistant, I can eat natural carbohydrates without any problems.

A medium-sized (orange-fleshed) Sweet Potato takes only 4 minutes to bake in its jacket in a 700W microwave oven. The flesh is moist & sweet, unlike that of a Yam or potato.

I eat the whole thing, including the jacket. It's very filling and I'm still able to lose weight. For active and insulin sensitive people, a Kitavan-style diet is absolutely fine."

In the TV series "I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!", there are two teams at the beginning. Members of each team compete against each other, to win food for their respective teams. The winning team gets to eat all sorts of exciting animal produce from "down-under". The losing team gets to eat rice & beans.

By the end of the series, team members (especially the over-fat celebrities) had lost a lot of body-fat. Coincidence? I think not. Combining Long-grain Rice with Beans (set Serving size: to 100g) provides all the Essential Amino Acids and is very filling. How do I know this? Guess!

I never used to like rice (it was always cooked "a l'anglaise"), but adding a squirt of Sweet Chilli Sauce to Basmati rice before cooking, makes it taste great!