Best protein foods to burn fat….Today’s Post….Thursday, 4-26-2018

Last week we began this 3 part series with Best Protein Foods to Build Muscle and Burn Fat. 

We included some information on each and then featured a woman who lost 61 pounds by changing the protein foods she ate.

This week, after this next section, we cover the foods that work best to burn and lose fat.

Many of the people who have used the three styles we have here have lost fat and kept it off.

Most of them became healthier and some began to look noticeably younger.

Next week, in the third part of this series we’ll cover the best protein foods to build muscle.

Medical News Today had a story, I think they have had before, that lists: “What foods are high in protein.”

They include both foods that help build muscle and bone and those that help you keep muscle and bone when you are minimizing carbs and even doing some partial or intermittent fasting.

To lose fat, building healthy muscle and bone and preventing its loss, adds to the calories you burn that do not feed fat.

Building healthy muscle and bone and preventing its loss also avoids the situation where you eat what you are used to or hungry for but have less and less muscle and bone than you did have means so you feed growing amounts of fat with the food that used to feed muscle and bone.

Eating both the health OK proteins that build muscle and bone best and the proteins that help lose fat best is one strategy.  And, effective strength training and vigorous but brief cardio and some walking each week can do both.

That said, eating to build muscle and bone does work best with some protein foods. 

And -- eating to mostly lose fat while keeping bone and muscle works best with other protein foods.

1.  Last week we posted on a woman who ate less saturated fat containing protein foods where her heredity had been preventing fat loss to some degree because it processed even normally health OK saturated fats less well.

(She also likely ate a high protein food lower in fat and calories than cheese to get the 61 pound fat loss she experienced.  She also kept doing a high level of exercise.)

2.  This means that eating protein foods that sustain bone and muscle but are lower in saturated fat and fat overall –AND lower in calories for each gram of protein can help lose fat.

(Cattle and lambs fed only grass and organic hay and organic sprouts and move about freely have less fat and less saturated fat than the factory fed ones that eat corn and other grains that are heavily sprayed with herbicides and pesticides AND are penned up and do not move at all.)

It also suggests that eating protein foods that are very high in other nutrients your body needs more than building more muscle and in a bit lower amounts each day, can help you lose fat while remaining healthy and keeping the bone & muscle you have.

The four foods that do this best are eggs from pastured chickens, and organ meats from naturally fed animals, and the proteins in broth made from both the bones and marrow of grass fed cows,  and organic, non-starchy vegetables – mostly cruciferous.

Some people who don’t have a problems with cashews and other high lectin nuts and foods can do well with some nuts for protein and nutrition that are zero glycemic and have a source of monosaturated vegetarian fat, almonds work best for this for people not allergic to them. 

Such people can also often do well with some cooked beans for fiber and protein and appetite control.  Cooked organic lentils work best for this.

Because even organic and fermented soy, to some degree -- and ALL other soy -- is quite harmful to your health, it’s best for your health – AND fatloss – to include none at all!

Ms Terry Wahls MD in her book, The Wahls Protocol, uses a diet that is almost all vegetables with zero additives or sugars.  And she has found that for optimum nutrition eggs from pastured chickens and organ meats are valuable to add.  I believe that you’ll stay healthier if you eat only organic vegetables. 

The amount of vegetables a day she has people eat is a bit challenging logistically. 

Note that Whole Foods now carries eggs from pastured chickens.  And US Wellness meats has braunschweiger beef liver sausages from 100% grass fed cows. 

(She also recommends some seaweed for its multiple mineral nutrition.  Wakame and spirulina both work and are very high in protein.) She also suggests some wild-caught fish.

The people who come close to or manage her eating style completely with protein from nonstarchy vegetables and pastured eggs and liver from grass fed cows keep their bones and muscles, particularly if they do moderate intensity strength training and walking.

Note that she does NOT include ANY grain which means zero hybrid wheat!

If they have excess fat when they begin, people who eat as she recommends lose their excess fat  gradually with no rebound until they are quite lean.  They also stay lean as long as they eat this way.

The doctor who found that nonstarchy, high nutrition, vegetables actually have a very high amount of protein per calorie that compares quite favorably or is greater than eggs and beef is Dr Joel Furhrman.

Note that he does NOT include ANY grain which means zero hybrid wheat!

(See:  https://www.drfuhrman.com .)

Since his diet is completely vegan, it’s important to take methyl B12 and zinc and iron and other minerals, DHA & omega 3 oils, to be able to follow it and keep your health. 

Dr Wahls covers this with organ meats and seaweed and eggs.  She also suggests some wild-caught fish.

That said, people who follow Dr Fuhrman’s eating plan or come very close without any sugars or harmful additives, also tend to lose any excess fat gradually that they did have at first with no rebound effect until they are quite lean.  They also stay lean if they keep eating this way.

3.  Lastly, people who fast or go on a ketogenic diet, tend to keep their muscles and most importantly keep their bones and joints healthy if they drink bone broth from both bones and marrow from cows fed only grass.

Next week, in the third part of this series we’ll cover the best protein foods to build muscle. 

Artificial sweetners fatten by removing protein....Today's post:  Tuesday, 4-24-2018

Yesterday on Google Health News I found this:

https://gizmodo.com/diet-soda-might-still-contribute-to-diabetes-rat-study-1825393954

This article reports research that artificial sweetners fatten by removing protein from muscles & bones & other lean tissue.

The researchers at “at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette” were able to show that using artificial sweeteners caused the body to remove protein from muscles for calories within a 3 week time period. 

This is FRONT PAGE news!

I.  Successful fat loss or avoiding excess fat depends on adding healthy muscle and bone and other lean tissue while removing excess fat. 

Whether lack of any exercise or strength training or sitting too much removes muscles & bones & other lean tissue and does so for several years in a row, this causes relentless and continuing fat gain.  You eat what you are used to eating and feed more and more fat which keeps increasing.

Having artificial sweeteners do this directly makes them an extremely effective fattener!

Research has repeatedly found that ingesting any of the 6 approved artificial sweeteners fattens  even more than excessive sugar or even a high intake of high fructose corn syrup!

Eating or drinking anything containing artificial sweeteners makes you MUCH fatter instead of slightly less.

This research shows that it is a direct effect! 

2.  It is less well known than it should be, but soft drinks are a direct cause of osteoporosis in multiple ways when they contain sugar or high fructose corn syrup.

BUT this research takes that to another level!  If the loss of protein in your bones continues you’ll have osteoporosis!

And, if you eat or drink any regular level of artificial sweetners, every day you do so, your bones become weaker and more hollowed out.

This research shows that this too is a direct effect! 

III.   An excessive sugar intake and a high intake of high fructose corn syrup are well proven to be fatteners. 

It is attention getting to say the least that artificial sweeteners fatten even more!

We know several reasons for this already:

a) Many people drink and eat more drinks and foods with artificial sweeteners than they were doing of drinks and foods with a high sugar or a high intake of high fructose corn syrup.

So, if artificial sweetners are actually more fattening, people gain even more fat or lose even less.

This is well known in soft drinks.  Whatever amount of regular soft drinks people where drinking if they switch to diet soft drinks they tend to drink 50% more or even double the number of drinks.

b)  Sugar and high fructose corn syrup cause rebound hunger and for sugary and starchy food and drink when your blood sugar drops.

Artificial sweeteners do this and often do it even more forcefully.

c) Sucralose and other artificial sweeteners kill bacteria in your gut that helps you stay lean and replace it with bacteria that tend to fatten.

But this new research may be an even stronger reason than these to avoid artificial sweeteners entirely to stop getting fatter and stop getting lighter & weaker bones! 

My Monthly Fatloss Report April 2018.....

Today's post:  Monday, 4-23-2018

A.  Here's the key news:

1.  Fat Loss Report, measured on Saturday, 4-21-2018

Lost exactly 3.1 pounds to 163.3 from 166.4 last month

This looks likely to be from an added vigorous exercise session on Weds 4-18 on the before breakfast part and extra stress may have reduced the after breakfast part by increasing and causing an extra dump on Saturday, 4-21 when I measured.

But both my previous experiences and a study I saw suggest the Weds added vigorous exercise sessions was most of this effect.

(To do some suddenly needed cleaning in order to use our recycling containers, I had to race through a variety of techniques for about 45 minutes to remove the dried leaves our gardener put into it when he should not have done so.  This kind of exercise is similar to the style and efforts used in football agility training drills which have been shown to burn enough calories to force fat loss.  That’s where most of the 3 pound fat loss came from I think.)

My chest measured 38 & a half to 39 inches, about half an inch bigger.  This is an inch bigger or more than several months ago when I was 37 & a half inches.

(This very likely is from muscle growth from my progress in pushups in the style that uses my pectoral muscles better than standard pushups.  I just posted on this style recently and I’ll quote that description and the reasons for it a bit later in this post.)

The progress has been profound.  Monday, last week I was pleased to do 120 and then 27 more after a very brief rest for a total of 147.  This was a new record.

Today, I did 126 and 33 more after the brief rest for a total of 159!

Not only was this another new record it felt like I might have enough fitness at this to do 133 & 36 for a 169 total.

(Jack LaLanne once did pushups for half an hour on TV just to show he could do so.  He was fond of doing this kind of fitness stunt for publicity and the thrill of beating the challenge.  When I read about this I thought it was a bit excessive. 

Much to my surprise I’m beginning to think I could do this too.  I won’t because I don’t want to overdo AND I only have two minutes in that part of my exercise set on Mondays.  But 214 as 205 plus 9 might be doable!)

My waist measurement remained about the same at 41 and a three quarter inches to about 42 and a three quarter inches.  (These are the normally slightly tight and the totally relaxed measures.)

My hips measured about 37 and a half.   That’s still half an inch more than 37 not long ago. (This also shows I’ve kept the muscle gains I think.)

My too high heart rate and diastolic blood pressure I developed after Thanksgiving is GONE.  My readings are back to the good side of what was normal for me!

My heart rate and mean blood pressure have dropped as I stopped taking green tea extract and Guarana extract and extra coffee on arriving at work.  I also cut my wine intake in half – 3 days a week instead of 6. 

(Excessive and repeated stress and a handful of binge drinking episodes when I was younger and taking the synephrine and the other stimulants on top of that are the likely causes.  Both fixes for these things have now been in place a month longer than last time.)

It looks as if cutting my wine intake days by over half and continuing the milk thistle and other liver healing supplements may have fixed having my heart beat irregularly and dropped my angiotensin back to normal according to an article I read recently in a Resparate email!

I might have become magnesium deficient from taking a diuretic and the Zantac acid reducer.  So, I used a topical magnesium supplement besides the 800 mg of magnesium a day that I take. 

It was an extra chore to put on and then wash off before it irritated my skin.  And, though it may have helped initially, cutting my wine intake about in half and slashing my stimulant intake to zero have clearly done the most good.  So for now I’ve stopped the topical magnesium.

When I saw the doctor and got an EKG and then an Echocardiogram, they found I had something called atrial flutter and occasionally AV block and slightly thickened and stretched -- and now also slightly leaky heart valves.

The doctors wanted to put me on the dangerous and harmful drug blood thinners. 

Mercifully, I know better because that guarantees I’ll get worse over time and die younger and become unable to exercise decently.

*Since I wrote that last month I saw the cardiologist.  When I told her that some days my blood pressure and heart rate suggested periods when my heart beat normally, she said if a new 14 day high tech, easy to use monitor called the Zio by iRhythm Technologies verified that this would mean that she would not then urge the dangerous blood thinning drugs on me. 

She still suggested a daily aspirin which I declined.  She did enter “informed refusal” on my records.  

Given the readings suggesting the problems were gone the last 7 days in a row before that, if the monitor verified those as happening the rest of my days over the 14 days -- that will please me and reassure her!

I got the device installed last month. And this month’s report has the results.

I already take several  supplements that do clot prevention better and more safely in combination than the drugs can do.  This is so much the case that taking even one dose of the drug blood thinners could cause me to bleed to death internally.

Given that I am reducing or stopping several causes and do have the excess clotting protection, it would be desirable to stop the atrial flutter and heal the valves too; but I do not need to be in a crashing rush to do so.

To the extent these problems result from injuries or injury to my endothelium in the blood vessels new research has found that the vitamin D3 and K2 I take will heal that over time.

(These plus the milk thistle I take and the wine cut back may have done the job by restoring my liver’s proper processing of angiotensin which is now low normal instead of too high apparently!)

Had the device found that I still need more healing, I can always go to these added supplements  I listed last month:

When I saw the cardiologist who wrote the Rx to get the Zio monitor done, she said that if my high heart rate continued or I had a lot of PVCs or PACs she would again recommend the blood thinning drugs. 

But if there were no more high heart rate every day and few of the PACs and PVCs, we could just keep doing as I have been

So the test came back showing that I only had a high heart rate when I did things like my pushups that caused me to get out of breath after them. 

My near race walk speed exercise walks also do this once or twice a week.  (At a 159 heart rate that is about what you need to get a fitness training effect.)  And that was my high.  I had 37 when I was at rest and sleeping in bed.  And the average was 52!

So the high heart rate above what it should be was completely gone!

Also instead of possibly having continuous PACs and almost that many PVCs as my original electrocardiogram found, the Zio test -- after my two effective fixes were in place -- found PACs 7% of the time and PVCs less than a quarter that often.

So I was shocked to find the cardiologist wanted me to get a stress echocardiogram.

I declined and will continue to do so.  The Zio test data show no need for one. 

And, I’m not any more likely than I was before to agree to use the harmful and dangerous blood thinning drugs when I’m already using something more effective and far safer.

After my fixes have had a bit longer to heal my liver and my heart a normal echo while stationary will make sense to see if the leaky valve effect and stretched valves causing it is better, the same, or worse.

…. platelet rich plasma might well heal my valves and heart rhythm controls entirely when I can afford to add that.

Then, if I still need to fix the valves or they get worse, Stanford Medical School and their attached hospital now can fix them using material from my heart and resulting in better pumping than what the standard procedure has been.  And, best of all, it works so well, there is zero need to take drug blood thinners after the procedure.

It’s also encouraging that my heart is able to power me to new records for pushups while this is going on!  To me this shows the things I’ve done to strengthen it have worked.

(Not long ago I was pleased if I could do 40 to 44 pushups the one day a week I test that each week each Monday.  

You saw above that today, I did 126 and another 33 after a short pause for a total of 159!

(I’ll cover why the style I use makes that doable and safe for my shoulders later in this post.  It was in a recent post also so you might have read it before.

Even so you might find it worth re-reading because it clearly works so very well!)

2. I’ve long ago discontinued the 20 mg of Synephrine completely because it did not change my results that much and it did cause an elevated heart rate and may have caused the atrial flutter and valve damage.

(Combined with the tea and coffee and green tea extracts I was using, the higher pressure in my heart apparently stretched it enough to make the match wrong for electrical impulses for heart rate. 

Now I’ve stopped those as well as the Synephrine, and lowered my diastolic BP this stretching may have gone down.  My cardiologist said that is unlikely enough a story on it would make the NY Times.  That I doubt very much!  But the reduction of the stretching may well show up!)

So, for me the Synephrine definitely a bad idea – or taking it while extra stressed was. 

I did seem to gain muscle without gaining fat when I was taking the Synephrine.

So, for a younger person with far less stress and stress driven slightly high blood pressure, they might be OK with it.

However, given the damage it is known to cause and apparently did cause in me, I no longer think Synephrine safe enough for even younger people to use and that other methods should be used instead.

The bioflavonoid supplement with 100 mg of rutin, I’ve discontinued when I ran out since it seemed not to add any extra effect to the parsley and oregano dried spices I have also been taking.

The apigenin in these herbs and their other phytonutrients do help you recover from exercise and build bone and muscle and heal your gut.  So I have continued those.

3.  My food intake recently has been quite consistent and my overall results of about the same with a bit of up and down reflects this.  

I set a new record for my short daily exercise walk/run combo recently

4. My stress level, already high, was a bit lower except for our car trouble we are now dealing with.  

*For me, as for many people, having enough money for at least a minimum OK lifestyle with zero chances of severe money problems reduces stress. 

This has gotten slightly but significantly better lately. So it is less stressful too.

It looks like some long delayed funds will arrive in a month or two which will help

*For me, even more than other people who also have it but at a lower level, having an ally who is unusually supportive and of some help sharply lowers my stress level.

 This part is going well as one ally has become more supportive recently and one good ally who I’d lost touch with is back and supportive.

*Worry about my recent heart rhythm and valve problems has caused me some increase in stress.

But that news is better now!

5.  I'm currently making an extra effort to overcome this recent stress. Emulating the Seal way of using my training and keeping on no matter what IS helping.  

The new nose breathing I posted on Tuesday, 10-5-2017 also DOES seem to be helping.  It DOES help to avoid the brain freeze I tended to get when I mouth breathed when under high stress.

6.  I believe my continued persistence and continuing to both follow up on successful efforts and finding new and promising things to check on AND doing so, 

WILL enable me to lose my excess fat remaining and keep it off.

7.  I’m continuing to find new ways to boost my metabolism and add bone and muscle that I’m beginning to use.

As my new strength training method helps me get stronger; I get better at it; and I can get to the heavier weights to use it on, it DOES begin to look like I’ll add enough muscle that by eating about the same and continuing to get better at the lower carb effort, I’ll finally get back to weighing 161 pounds with far less fat than I have had.

Conclusion:

 I’ll achieve the financial leverage I need.

I’ll get the active allies I need.

 AND I’ll begin to use all of the metabolism boosters I’ve found to add to the ones I’ve been using.

(That includes adding a weekly workout at a gym with heavy barbells and adding these new techniques and trying the BulletProof Vibe.

I HAVE added a special set of exercises once a week that I'm already doing standing in the space the BulletProof Vibe allows.  That way, I'll be ready to go when I get one to try!

The last bit of good news this month is that I’m still getting stronger in the two key exercises in this special set of exercises.

The other two pieces of good news is that besides the metabolism boost and removing excess lymph and fluid to cause some loss in weight and inches and increasing muscle mass --

combining platelet rich plasma treatment with using the Vibe may heal my left foot and even my heart valves perhaps.

Since last month I found that both plasma and platelets boost clotting.  So when I try that, I should likely boost the things I do to keep that to a desirable level!)    

New this month!

I.  Using the Bullet Proof Vibe the way I plan will likely help me lose fat and gain muscle and the new money I expect in a month or two will buy me one to try!

Using the Vibe as I plan to do, I expect will help me add 5 or 6 pounds of muscle and lose 1o to 12 pounds of fat.  My weight will only drop to about 160 to 161 pounds which is my goal weight.  But if the vibe has these effects and also removes locked-in lymph from my belly and my internal or visceral fat I may lose from two to seven inches on my waist measurement.  Now in inches, I’m about 39 chest, 42 waist, and 37 & a half hips.

This may finally get me the 4o inch chest and 34 or 36 inch waist and the 38 and muscular hip readings I’ve wanted.

II. You can use pushups as I’ve been doing to add strength and size to your pectoral muscles with almost no shoulder damage or injuries.

Here’s what I posted about doing pushups in that style recently:

“a) Pushups and bench presses are important to do because the pectorals and latissimus dorsi – called pecs and lats by body builders, are large muscles and provide the base for anything you need to do with your upper body that requires strength.

The unfortunate news is that the way untutored people do pushups, they tend to injure your shoulders.  This common style tends to put more strain on your frontal deltoid muscle than it is well designed to take and in a position that strains this muscle.

The key change is to a form where the pectoral muscle does 90% of the work instead and uses the frontal deltoid far less and in a high leverage position.

When doing pushups when you come down, if you touch your chin or chest and then go back up, you’ll tend to injure your shoulders. Using that same style doing bench presses is even worse for producing shoulder injuries because you rapidly become able to use more weight.

The cure is surprisingly simple! 

When you do pushups, lift your head so you are looking at the wall in front of you and, NOT, repeat NOT, at the floor.

Then increase the arch in your back this causes as much as you can so your shoulders are already well up from the floor.

Then using your pectoral muscles almost by themselves to a strong “push down” motion with them.  Then you only need to push a bit with the triceps in your arms at the top.

(Note that you do NOT use the front of your shoulders much at all to do either part!)

Lastly, only go down until your KNEES touch before you go back up.

To do the bench press safely with weights heavy enough to be effective, you will get strong enough to need one or two skilled spotters in case you try to lift too much or cannot do the last rep you had hoped to do.

But if you are only using lighter weights where you almost certainly can lift more and more times than you are doing, that may not be necessary.  Just do pushups as a second set and do as many as you can.

But in BOTH cases, you use the same method as in the pushups, which is why to learn the method doing pushups first.

Leaving your buttocks firmly touching the bench, get as much arch in your back as you can and look as far back as you can rather than at the bar.

Then, in that position, let the bar down under control until it just touches your chest.  Then use your pectoral muscles in a push DOWN method for the first two thirds of the lift; and then at that point finish the lift pushing with the triceps on your arms.  With the weight already moving and lifted that far your arms can then finish with a weight you could not lift with your arms and shoulders!

Best of all, because you use your pectorals so much and your shoulders so little you can become able to lift a good bit of weight without the nagging shoulder injuries the more common style causes!”                                        

Best protein foods to build muscle and burn fat….Today’s Post….Thursday, 4-19-2018

Last week we posted on ways to avoid diabetes and fat gain, in fact we simply include that next.

You can scan by it for review if you saw it last week.

Both adding muscle and bone and preventing fat gain are important in doing this.

In both cases the foods you eat for protein are very important.  But you may like or have access to different protein sources.  And, the proteins that work best for muscle gain and the ones that work best for fat loss can be different. 

Some people genetically process saturated fat from health OK sources such that they do best limiting their intake of even health OK saturated fat to a moderate level instead of more.

We’ve posted on this before but we got three sources recently that together make an amazingly varied and useful list to choose from.

a)  Medical News Today had a story, I think they have had before, that lists: “What foods are high in protein.”

They include both foods that help build muscle and bone and those that help you keep muscle and bone when you are minimizing carbs and even doing some partial or intermittent fasting.

b) Then Medical News Today had a story, “19 foods to gain weight quickly & safely.”  Clearly that’s for use in adding healthy bone and muscle and other lean mass.  And it pairs well with strength training.  Plus although it does help to have a moderate carb intake to do that it’s important to not overdo that AND it’s very important that you use only health giving carbs and avoid those that cause harm or fatten.

In our post today, I’ll list those foods and my take on them. In fact, there is enough between these three parts this post may have a part two or even a part three.

Here’s last week’s post.  Today’s post begins just after it with:

I.  Some people genetically process saturated fat from health OK sources such that they do best limiting their intake of even health OK saturated fat to a moderate level instead of more.

1.  As we’ve posted before, eating in a low inflammation lifestyle with no hybrid wheat and few other grains and very little real sugar PLUS doing walking and effective and vigorous strength training and brief vigorous cardio – has all these benefits:

It is very heart protective lowering LDL & triglycerides and boosting HDL.

It tends to prevent fat gain in several proven ways.

 It tends to remove fat gained from eating MSG and High Fructose Corn Syrup and artificial sweeteners and packaged foods, desserts, and snacks.

It even helps you be less hungry because you no longer drink soft drinks that add calories without removing hunger.  And, it prevents craving level rebound hunger that free fructose and excess sugar and artificial sweetners all cause.

It’s even common for people who switch from the high inflammation-fattening lifestyle to the one that boosts calories burned and reduces fat formation to find that they lose as much as 25 pounds or more of fat with no added effort to restrict calories on the amount of food they eat.

By removing the causes of diabetes in this way you can often prevent it.  And, in many cases you can reverse it.

One of those ways is so effective in fact that it’s our next method.

2.  It’s not widely known; but strength training that puts your larger muscles into strong contractions causes you to have to catch your breath after each set AND it releases growth hormone to rebuild your bones and muscles better AND releases BDNF to repair and keep your nerves and brain cells.

Progressive, brief sessions of cardio also have these effects.

So doing some of each every week enables you to burn calories well enough to tend to prevent diabetes and fat gain.

Doing this set of things including the exercises tends to reduce insulin resistance and remove excess fat from your pancreas and release stem cells that may cause your beta cells to be restored and make more insulin.

But it’s the next effect of these kinds of exercises that is even less known that can directly stop diabetes!

When you do them enough that your muscles need to restore their glycogen they pull glucose from your blood without using insulin to do so!

Diabetes is caused by insulin resistance or by too little insulin which causes too much sugar in your blood.

But when your muscles remove glucose without using insulin that solves both of these problems simultaneously!

People from South Asia tend genetically to make less insulin.  When they move to the cooler temperatures in Europe or the United States and eat using a high sugar and high inflammation lifestyle, they often get diabetes even when they do not look fat.

So following the low sugar, low inflammation lifestyle and doing the exercises that cause their muscles to remove sugar directly without insulin, can remove their diabetes.

3.  In women, estrogen causes their bodies to release a hormone that enables them to feel full.

When their estrogen begins to disappear early in perimenopause women tend to eat more and gain fat because of this effect!

The researchers were able to show that less estrogen DOES remove this protection against eating too much.

But research has shown that estrogen replacement does NOT cause cancer or heart disease when a woman completely switches to the low inflammation lifestyle.

That means the estrogen replacement to prevent this cause of overeating and diabetes is  quite safe, particularly if after two years or so it is then discontinued.

A recent Medical News Today article reported research that proved this effect and also suggests that this kind of estrogen replacement can prevent the diabetes women often get at menopause.

(It’s also important to know for women to stop taking or not begin taking statins as some women do at this age.  Research shows conclusively that statins CAUSE diabetes AND cause the mitochondrial damage that makes the more severe effects of diabetes worse and more likely.

So, it’s important to use the more effective and safer methods to protect your heart instead.  And following the low inflammation lifestyle provides 80 or 90% of the best protection for your heart.) 

I.  Some people genetically process saturated fat from health OK sources such that they do best limiting their intake of even health OK saturated fat to a moderate level instead of more.

I found this one as a PR piece for 23andme on Facebook!

The story showcased a woman who got their test and used the information to lose 61 pounds!

The story is at this link:

https://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/a19755758/23andme-weight-loss/

Eating more lean & grass fed meat or wild caught fish and health OK nuts or eggs from pastured chickens or organ meats from naturally fed animals & way less cheese can help some people lose fat.

In her case, she was eating cheese several times a day.

Eating more lean & grass fed meat & way less cheese can help some people lose fat!

"Laird was surprised to learn from her 23andme report that genetic factors can influence how the body processes certain nutrients, and can also affect weight. 

The gene APOA2, for example, is involved in the production of a protein that affects the body’s response to saturated fat. 

And Laird was among the 10 to 15% of Americans who has a variant of the gene, called the GG variant, that predisposes her to weight gain on a high saturated fat diet—even if she eats a healthy number of calories."

She was told that since she had this gene eating more than a moderate 30% of her calories from saturated fat or even 15 or 20% might cause extra fat gain.

She then stopped eating tons of cheese and promptly lost 61 pounds!

Sounds like she also may NOT have replaced the calories in the cheese!

Enough grass fed beef or lamb to provide the same protein, also has WAY less saturated fat, and far less total fat than full fat cheese.

Since Ann Laird was already eating a lot of nonstarchy, hopefully organic, vegetables and exercising well and wanted to lose fat, by removing that many calories of fat without getting more hungry might well have worked well without this genetic boost.

Either way though it helped!  She believed it would help and it cut calories without cutting protein intake.

I currently eat a good bit of cheese and yogurt and whole milk and whey from cows fed only grass.

I do this for two reasons. 

I’m emphasizing muscle gain and I can do this at relatively modest cost using pre-made foods.

This makes it time efficient enough to work for me also.

When I have more time or money or both, I may do intermittent fasting and switch to meat & poultry from cheese as she did.

In short, I think you can use her successful example without needing to get the test.

Since I have read that makers of harmful and ineffective drugs get your information if your 23and me tests show you are more likely to get the conditions these drugs are supposed to be for I do not now recommend them as a way to get this tested.

You CAN protect your vision even more.….Today's post:  Tuesday, 4-17-2018

Cataracts, glaucoma, and macular and retinal and optic nerve degeneration can cause you to lose your vision.

But these conditions are preventable and even more reversible than is widely known.

Besides the good health lifestyle we teach that prevents the things that reduce circulation or damage your nerves in general, there are several things that specifically prevent or help reverse such damage.

Last week we posted on several nutrients that are proven to help prevent vision loss and even restore it in many cases.

We added some extra information to the Dr Sears email he sent on 4-10 to do that.

Then on Weds, 4-11, he sent another email, part two to the first one with even more examples of how dramatically the right nutrients can improve vision and added more to the information on the nutrients we posted on last week.

AND he added some additional nutrients that can increase the effect of the first set!

Dr Sears, in this second email lists the nutrients that can do the most to keep good vision or restore it:

I list them next and explain why I don’t take two of them as supplements, which is why I suggest not taking his combination supplement that DOES include them.

“The most powerful antioxidants for crystal clear vision include

Vitamin C *

Zeaxanthin

Vitamin A, [the retinol version from animal sources.]

Zinc *

L-Taurine *

Lycopene *

Vinpocetine    [I Do NOT take this one!]

Ginkgo Biloba *

Bilberry extract *

[I take all these marked with * as supplements except for retinol vitamin A and Vinpocetine and the Zeaxanthin & Lutein pair.]

[Vitamin A in the retinol form can be overdosed & I take a bit daily and eat egg yolks weekly and drink whole milk each of which has some. I agree with Dr Sears that you get optimum results by including it besides the carotenes in vegetables.  But for most carotenes it’s best to get them in their natural form because you get the natural molecules AND the hundreds of other carotenes in a complementary balance.  You also get them in their natural ratios.  The one exception seems to be lycopene which we address a bit later in this post.]

[Vinpocetine is a very bad supplement which can have harmful effects and even stop working if it does help at first.  NOT a good idea to take!]

[The Zeaxanthin & Lutein pair I may be a bit light on but I do eat broccoli and cabbage with nuts or extra virgin olive oil AND avocados AND the hundreds of carotenes these foods contain + I do take lycopene.

As I’ve posted before, avocados have the Zeaxanthin & Lutein pair and many other carotenes AND the monosaturated fat that makes them all bioavailable!]

“**Ginkgo    To maintain sharp vision at any age, your eyes must have enough blood flow.

[Adding astaxanthin increases this effect!]

Healthy circulation through your capillaries delivers necessary oxygen to your eyes. It also removes the deoxygenated blood and waste material from your eye tissues.

This blood flow is also responsible for delivering essential nutrients to your eyes. If your eyes are unable to receive enough of the nutrients they need because of poor circulation, your vision can suffer.

Luckily, ginkgo is an amazing herb for boosting circulation. In fact, it’s so powerful that if you’re taking blood thinners, you can’t take ginkgo at the same time!”

[The bolding here is mine.  In fact I’ve posted separately that Ginkgo and deodorized garlic and vitamin K2 and nattokinase and ginger and curcumin in combination are a safe and effective way to prevent blood clots but the “blood thinning” drugs are NOT safe – or as effective!]

“To top it off, ginkgo also provides antioxidants that fight free radical damage to your eye’s cornea, macula and retina. And, as you now know, this damage is one of the root causes of vision loss as you age.

Incredibly, I couldn’t find ANY eye supplements that include this vision must-have!

With its ability to increase essential blood flow to your delicate eyes as well as its powerful antioxidant support, I recommend 50 mg of ginkgo daily to my patients.”  [I take 60 mg a day from a Nature’s Way standardized Ginkgo supplement.]

**Bilberry  Like many folk remedies, the bilberry’s eyesight boosting properties are now being proven by science.

A study published in the American Journal of Public Health tracked patients taking an extract of this tiny berry. The results were astonishing. A staggering 97% of the subjects significantly improved their eyesight! 23  [I added that bolding.]

You just don’t hear success rates like that from drugs. And there are zero side effects — just incredible benefits for your eyesight.

So how does the bilberry work? Researchers have now discovered specific compounds in bilberries that optimize your eyesight and give you sharper night vision.

This vision miracle contains a flavonoid called cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G). And C3G boosts and replenishes the protein complex in the rods of your eye.24

Your rods are your eyes most sensitive cells. Their light sensitivity allows you to see in dim light.

As you age, your eyes have less and less of this night vision protein that feeds your rods. As a result, your ability to see in the dark is delayed — sometimes for long minutes when you’re temporarily blinded. This delay can be dangerous and even deadly.

Falls and resulting injury can occur as you “feel” your way to the bathroom at night. And precious seconds can make all the difference when you’re driving at night and are unable to see the road clearly.

But when you have enough C3G by consuming bilberries or their extract, you speed up this protein processing. Then the rods responsible for your night vision are supercharged and bounce back quickly, enabling you to see well in dim light.

So you can confidently drive at night, climb dimly lit stairs, and make your way on a shadowy unfamiliar street.  And you can easily read the menu in a candlelit restaurant.

And there’s even more.

On top of powering up your “owl-eyes” night vision, the amazing bilberry contains powerful antioxidants. These fight the inflammation and free radical damage that contribute to vision loss.

It also increases healthy circulation in your eye’s capillaries. Supporting your retina’s health as well as the rest of the tissues surrounding your eye.

It’s obvious the bilberry is a must-have for any vision supplement. Yet many other formulas fail to include it! And those who include bilberry give you weak mixtures that do nothing for your eyes.”

[Dr Sears also includes the research comparing two tribes that live in similar areas of the Amazon basin.  One group has age related vision decline and tends to wear glasses.  The other has zero vision decline at any age and rarely needs glasses at all.

The tribe with the very strong and lasting vision they found eats a variety of fruits and other plant foods that have similar phyto nutrients to bilberry!  The tribes are almost identical otherwise and live in almost the same climate!

He doesn’t emphasize this variety as much as I think might make sense.  Also lots of fruit can be a bit fattening.  I solve this myself by eating wild organic low glycemic blueberries twice a week and taking  a bilberry/elderberry supplement from Natures Way labeled as a bilberry supplement.  I also take cherry extract and cranberry extract.

I think doing this is the most effective way to do what this Indian tribe does in the Amazon basin.

** “Lycopene

Research has shown how lycopene protects and heals your eyes from within.

It does this by directly impacting the chemical processes that lead to vision loss. Its antioxidant  properties intervene and stop the domino effect of reactions and damage.

In a study published in Life Sciences, lycopene slowed and stopped the age-related vision loss in the subjects’ eyes.26

Lycopene’s amazing ability to support vision health is all about free radicals.

When you don’t get enough antioxidants in your diet, your eyes are vulnerable to free radical damage. And this plays a big role in age-related vision loss.

By feeding your eyes a steady stream of lycopene, you protect your eyesight.

Lycopene promotes the health of your eye’s macula, retina, rods and cones. And supports the natural balance of proteins in your eyes.  Helping you hold on to your sharp vision. And enjoy the peace of mind and independence that makes life worth living.

While many other vision supplements either fail to include this vision miracle or include a weak dosage of 6 mg - 10 mg, the new NutraVision [Dr Sears supplement that also has vinpocetine] contains the optimal dosage of 20 mg!”

[For lycopene, the optimum intake is closer to 30 mg a day.  BESIDES its value for the eyes it prevents and even may reverse prostate cancer.  I believe this effect also does the same for breast and ovarian cancers in women.  It may even be a way to prevent or reverse most cancers.]

“As lycopene is actually found in the eye itself like lutein and zeaxanthin, this level of supplementation is required if you want to fight age-related vision loss and enjoy youthful, sharp vision for life!”

Between our post on Tuesday, 4-10 and today’s post, these two posts list a set of protocols that you can use to prevent or in many cases reverse vision decline and night vision decline!

By following the complete low inflammation lifestyle and including these vision protecting foods and supplements you can keep or restore your vision.

And, because of its preservation or restoration of your night vision it is even a traffic safety help and a way to safely keep driving as you get older!