October 31, 2012 · 1:27 AM

If Eating’s So Important, Why Do Our Teeth Rot So Often?

The truth is that tooth decay is a relatively new phenomenon. Until the rise of agriculture roughly 10,000 years ago, THERE WAS NO TOOTH DECAY IN HUMANS.  Let that sink in for a moment. Humanity is 2,500,000 years old.  For the first 2,490,000 years no one ever had a cavity.  If we understand that tooth decay started when people started farming instead of hunting and gathering for a living clearly you realize that tooth decay is a disease or mismatch between what you are eating and what your body expects you to eat.  If we examine the past as prologue it becomes clear that the path to proper health starts in the mouth and the answers are so simple that not only did a Cave Man do it.  They perfected it.

—John Sorrentino in a blog post August 6, 2012

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October 17, 2012 · 6:05 AM

The Two Secrets to Prevention of Weight Regain

Researchers are constantly searching for safe, effective weight loss pills.  More helpful would be a pill that prevents weight regain.  Weight loss is relatively easier.

Regain of lost body fat is the most problematic area in the field of weight management.  Whoever solves this problem for good will win a Nobel Prize in Medicine.  Why do most diets ultimately fail over the long run?  Because people go back to their old habits.  Here are the two secrets to prevention of weight regain:

  1. Restrained eating
  2. Regular physical activity

“Successful losers” apply self-restraint on an almost daily basis, avoiding food they know will lead to weight regain.  They limit how much they eat.  They consciously choose not to return to their old eating habits, despite urges to the contrary.

The other glaring difference is that, compared to regainers, the successful losers are physically active.  Oftentimes, they exercised while losing weight, and almost always continue to exercise in the maintenance phase of their program.  This is true in at least eight out of 10 cases.  It’s clear that regular exercise isn’t always needed, but it dramatically increases your chances of long-term success.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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October 12, 2012 · 1:26 AM

Does Decreased Activity Explain Recent Overweight Trend?

Less active

Much of the globe has seen a significant decline in populaton-wide physical activity over the last few decades, according to Nike-sponsored research reported in Obesity Reviews.

Countries involved with the study are the U.S., U.K., Brazil, China, and India.  How did they measure activity levels?

Using detailed historical data on time allocation, occupational distributions, energy expenditures data by activity, and time-varying measures of metabolic equivalents of task (MET) for activities when available, we measure historical and current MET by four major PA domains (occupation, home production, travel and active leisure) and sedentary time among adults (>18 years).

The authors note the work of Church, et al, who found decreased work-related activity in the U.S. over the last half of the 20th century.

Inexplicably, they don’t mention the work of Westerterp and colleagues who found no decrease in energy expenditure in North American and European populations since the 1980s.

 

 

More active

My gut feeling is that advanced populations around the globe probably are burning fewer calories by physical activity over the last 50 years, if not longer, thanks to technologic advances.  We in the U.S. are also eating more calories lately.  Since the 1970s, average daily consumption by women is up by 150 calories, and up 300 by men.  Considering both these trends together, how could we not be fat?

Steve Parker, M.D. 

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October 7, 2012 · 9:18 AM

Quote of the Day

Frederick Douglass taught that literacy is the path from slavery to freedom. There are many kinds of slavery and many kinds of freedom, but reading is still the path.

―Carl Sagan

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October 5, 2012 · 9:22 PM

Is Fructose Unfairly Demonized as a Cause of Obesity?

Mainly because of its low cost, HFCS [high fructose corn syrup] consumption replaced approximately one-third of the total sugar consumption in the USA between 1970 and 2000, paralleling to some extent the increasing prevalence of obesity during this period. Consequently, HFCS has been a particular focus of possible blame for the obesity epidemic. However, HFCS consumption has remained very low in other parts of the world where obesity has also increased, and the most commonly used form of HFCS contains about 55% fructose, 42% glucose, and 3% other sugars, and hence is associated with similar total fructose and glucose intakes as with sugar. Furthermore, sucrose is hydrolyzed in the gut and absorbed into the blood as free glucose and fructose, so one would expect HFCS and sucrose to have the same metabolic consequences. In short, there is currently no evidence to support the hypothesis that HFCS makes a significant contribution to metabolic disease independently of the rise in total fructose consumption.

Given the substantial consumption of fructose in our diet, mainly from sweetened beverages, sweet snacks, and cereal products with added sugar, and the fact that fructose is an entirely dispensable nutrient, it appears sound to limit consumption of sugar as part of any weight loss program and in individuals at high risk of developing metabolic diseases. There is no evidence, however, that fructose is the sole, or even the main factor in the development of these diseases…

— Luc Tappy in BMC Biology, May 21, 2012 (the article is a review of fructose metabolism and potential adverse effects of high consumption)

PS: Luc Tappy believes that excessive calorie consumption is an important cause of overweight and obesity.

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September 29, 2012 · 2:00 AM

Tired and Easily Fatigued? It Might Be Your Medication

“I’m just over-worked, right?”

Especially if you’re a woman taking a statin drug.

-Steve

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September 28, 2012 · 9:18 AM

Quote of the Day

This one brings the TSA to mind…

Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them…. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.

— Frederick Douglass, former slave

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September 24, 2012 · 9:25 AM

Lower Risk of Death and Heart Disease With Olive Oil

 

Olive oil and vinegar

Olive oil consumption is linked to lower risk of death and heart disease in a Spanish population, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Olive oil figures prominently in my Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet and Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet.

-Steve

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September 18, 2012 · 2:00 AM

Weight-Loss Secrets

What’s it gonna be? You decide

These have worked for lots of my patients.  Take what works for you and discard the rest.

  1. Plan on grocery shopping, meal preparation, and taking meals to your workplace.
  2. Keeping a record of your food consumption is often the key to success.
  3. Accountability is another key.  Do you have a friend or spouse who wants to lose weight?  Start the same program at the same time and support each other.  That’s one of many ways to have accountability.
  4. If you tend to over-eat or snack too much, floss and brush your teeth after you’re full.  You’ll be less likely to go back for more anytime soon.
  5. Eat at least two or three meals daily.
  6. Eat breakfast every day.
  7. Ignore the diet gurus who say you must eat every two or three hours.
  8. Eat slowly and allow yourself time to enjoy your food; you’ll also be a better judge of when your’re full.
  9. Don’t eat while watching TV.
  10. Give yourself a specific reward for every 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of weight lost.  Consider a weekend get-way, jewelry, new clothes, an evening at the theater, a professional massage, etc.  Choose the reward in advance, to give you something to work toward.
  11. Don’t start a diet during a time of stress.
  12. Maintain a consistent eating pattern throughout the week and year.
  13. If you know you’ve eating enough at a meal to satisfy your nutritional requirements yet you still feel hungry, drink a large glass of water and wait a while.  Or try a sugar-free psyllium fiber supplement: three grams of fiber in 8 oz (240 ml) of water.
  14. Weigh yourself frequently: daily during your active weight-loss phase and during the first two months of your maintenance-of-weight-loss phase.  Weekly thereafter.
  15. Be aware that you’ll probably regain five or 10 pounds (2.3 or 4.5 kg) of fat now and then.  That’s normal.  Just get back on your original weight-loss plan for a month or two.
  16. Tell your housemates you’re on a diet and ask for their support.  You may also need to tell your co-workers and others with whom you spend significant time.  If they care about you, they’ll be careful not to tempt you off the diet.

Godspeed!

Steve Parker, M.D.

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September 14, 2012 · 6:46 AM

Dr. Steve Parker at TuDiabetes for Live VideoChat Today

“May I have your attention, please”

At 1PM PST (Pacific Standard Time) today I’ll be doing a talk on the Mediterranean diet as applied to diabetes at TuDiabetes.org.  I plan on a 20 or 30-minute monologue then I’ll entertain questions from listeners.  Please join us!  Just go to the TuDiabetes home page and you’ll see how to tune in.

-Steve

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