This link was provided by a commenter and I found the paper so worthwhile that I am posting it here with a strong recommendation that everyone read it:
11 thoughts on “I urge you to read this paper.”
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Thank you for sharing, Dr. Wortman.
This is an excellent paper. I’ll never eat flour or refined sugar again. Actually, I didn’t plan on it anyway, but this paper makes me even more resolute.
Yes, the G.I. Tract and it’s flora could be called “the forgotten organ” and Big Pharma is waking up to this. Digestive microbes may be the thin edge of the wedge in Big Pharma’s desire to gain patent control of not only microbes but also of enzymes and vitamins.
Incidentally, did you know that the GI tract also has its own independent, and much older neurology that is separate from the brain. It is also much older in terms of evolution. I haven’t got very far into “The Second Brain” by Dr. Michael D. Gershon but it is very interesting. BTW, It is comforting to know there’s no need to spend hundreds of dollars of acidophilis etc. no matter who has control of them bercause you can buy or make your own saurerkraut, kefir yogurt, miso. etc. Fermented foods are deeply rooted in ancestral diets all over the world. I have been including them into my diet daily.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Fermented foods promote healthy gut flora and probably do a better job than taking a supplement capsule.
I read the paper hoping to ask you if other institutions (e.g. universities)conduct similar research you’re aware of? Much obliged for your excellent work.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
There is a researcher at the UBC Kelowna campus who is doing studies of gut flora. I don’t recall her name, however.
Dr. Jay
You got to see this Documentary.
It’s called Generation RX and it’s on Netflix. or can be found and rented or purchased online.
Vital, vital stuff, I assure you.
http://movies.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70120653&trkid=8379860&pt_request_id=975f44ba-3d2c-4780-bba8-24b663ab320e-3731261&pt_rank=0&pt_row=0&pt_location=WATCHNOW
Hi Jay, I have school assignment to analyze a diet so I chose the Canada Food Guide For Aboriginals. I just ordered it on-line from Health Canada. Any comments? Is it still rooted in the conventional low-fat/calorie restriction paradigm? Has the MBFD study had any effect on the recommendations?
Dr Jay’s Reply:
The Aboriginal Food Guide conforms to the macronutrient recommendations of the general food guide while it uses traditional Aboriginal foods to illustrate those recommendations. It encounters a little problem when it comes to grains and starches as these weren’t prevalent in traditional diets, of course.
Hi Dr Jay,
Here is an ongoing series of studies on microbes.
http://www.hmpdacc.org/
Article on the second brain/our gut
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201110/your-backup-brain
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Thanks. I’ll have a look when I free up some time.
Hi Dr Jay,
Could you please comment on this http://180degreehealth.com/about-180-degree-health? Matt Stone says eat plenty of starch with your meat and vegetables to bring up your metabolism and body temperature and he has plenty of testimonials.
Why this is apparently working? He even says to have sugar days.
I am low carb and have been for 2 years.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
I think Matt Stone gets some things right. I have some issues with his approach, however. Profit motive is an issue although I don’t begrudge somebody from wanting to generate an income to be able to work in this area. I am a little suspicious of sites that don’t give you the information that can heal your wounds before you pay up. Look at Mike Eades’ site for an example of somebody who gives freely of his advice. Credentials is another issue. In the absence of any biographical information, and when he claims to be a researcher yet offers no actual research to support this claim, I begin to question his credibility. I know you don’t have to be a researcher to make an contribution in this area. Look at Tom Naughton, for example, who is a stand-up comic. He doesn’t claim to be anything else, though. I had a quick look at the testimonials and, although it appears that many people believe they have benefited from his ideas, I don’t see anything there that shakes my belief that LCHF, done properly, is a good approach for people who have conditions related to insulin resistance. Reading the testimonials, the first thing that comes to mind is what kind of diet were these people on before they tried Matt’s approach? Many claim to be eating low-carb but what were they actually doing? There are many people who think they are doing LCHF when, in fact, they aren’t. Some people think it means eating lots of lean protein, for example, which is a recipe for disaster. Others don’t understand the need to increase salt intake which will result in adverse effects. This could all be sorted out if one were to conduct a randomized controlled trial but I see no evidence of any inclination on Matt’s part to do this kind of research. When I see testimonials attesting to the benefits of any diet, I always want to know what were they eating before. The Standard American Diet is so crappy that almost any prescribed diet is going to give you an improvement. If they were doing an incorrect version of low-carb it is conceivable that switching to Matt’s diet would also give an improvement. I could go on but I think you get the picture. Caveat emptor.
Also when you post a blog or answer a question it would be really great if you could make it that we would receive and email.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
I will see if that is possible. If there are any WordPress experts out there who can tell me how to make that happen, please post a comment.
Hi Dr Jay,
In reference to Matt Stone-Dr Douglas C. Wallace, a major expert in researching mitochondrial illnesses, says it is too much energy foods that are the cause of so many diseases. His simple illustration is stroking the furnace with wood creates too much smoke. The first link is to a simplified article. The second mentions ketosis as a possible help in mitochondrial related diseases. The third is another of his articles. Some of it is very technical, but I did read that fat burning provided more antioxidants, not just by the foods, but how the energy is used.
http://actionbioscience.org/genomic/wallace.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3245719/?tool=pmcentrez
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3245717/?tool=pubmed
Cindy C., thanks for this reference. A lot of pieces in the puzzle fall into place for me now. It seems the body is well adapted to handle dietary fat. Intake of fat from the gut is regulated by signals to the liver and bile production, excess absorbed fat is stored. Fat distribution is managed by being transported within lipoproteins. Sugar, on the other hand, seems to be absorbed from the gut without the need for a mediating enzyme such as bile and is water soluable so it can travel throughout the body. If the concentration is excessive, insulin will move as much as possible into cells to burn, since sugar cannot be stored before being processed by the liver. Then the mitochondria would have excess sugar to burn–a smoky stove over-filled with green wood. Fat is like well-seasoned hardwood. If you have a woodstove, you burn mostly hardwood with occasional softwood mixed in in order to reduce the soot build-up in the chimney (taking the wood analogy a bit further).
It seems much chronic disease can be traced back to continual abuse of the mitochondria by having an excess of sugar to burn, particularly if the cell has no immediate need for the extra fuel that the cell absorbs in response to insulin secreted to reduce blood sugar. There is a Chinese proverb, the person who climbs 100 steps after every meal lives to 99. The reason seems to be that the activity increases the fuel needs of cells at a time when they are being burdened with incoming sugar in response to a post-meal increase of blood sugar. The exercise would clear blood sugar faster without creating a surplus of sugar in the cell choking the mitochondria. And it would lessen a lot of burden on the liver, converting excess sugar into triglycerides and packaging them in VLDL. The Roman aristocracy would walk 50 minutes after a large meal to aid the liver. It is remarkable that they figured this out. Of course, the post-meal stair climb or walk would not address the increased free radical load burning sugar instead of fat. But it should mitigate the worst effects. Thus supposed counter-examples of people appearing to do well on a high carbohydrate diet can usually be resolved by examining dose (rice portions were small) and the amount, type and timing of exercise in relation to blood sugar levels. As well, cultural practices such as fasting rituals (carbohydrate deprivation) could explain lower cancer rates in some carbohydrate cultures, as it appears cancer cells could not survive long in a ketone and glucagon environment with no regular insulin promoting the delivery of sugar into cells.