Ketogenic diets help to stop heart disease

This post contains a summary of a paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 86, No. 2, 276-284, August 2007 and a recipe for chicken wings with guac dip.

Study title and authors:
Low-carbohydrate nutrition and metabolism

Eric C Westman, Richard D Feinman, John C Mavropoulos, Mary C Vernon, Jeff S Volek, James A Wortman, William S Yancy and Stephen D Phinney

Books:

From the Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham NC (ECW, JCM, and WSY); the Department of Biochemistry, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY (RDF); private practice, Lawrence, KS (MCV); the Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (JSV); the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada, Vancouver, Canada (JAW); the Center for Health Services Research, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, NC (WSY); and the Department of Medicine (Professor Emeritus), University of California, Davis, Davis, CA (SDP)

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/86/2/276#R46

Westman reviewed 93 articles regarding the role of nutrition and diet in the epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes.


He found:
(a) The traditional diets of many preagricultural peoples were relatively hat in fat and low in carbohydrate. However when modern foods such as flour and sugar were introduced these people suffered many health problems.

(b) Also before the discovery of insulin, the removal of carbohydrates such as sugar and flour from the diets of diabetics was found to be a successful method of controlling diabetes.

(c) The nutrient proportions of the diets reviewed by Westmen were aroud 70 - 75% fat, 15 - 20% protein and 5 -10% carbohydrate. These diets had the following effects:

(i) They herald a spontaneous reduction in calorie intake which leads to weight loss.

(ii) The bad high insulin levels were lowered.

(iii) The bad high blood sugar levels were lowered.

(iv) The bad triglyceride levels were lowered.

(v) The good high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels were raised.

This review revealed that high fat/low carbohydrate diets may be the preferred choice for diabetics and weight loss as well as for general health.

More information on this subject: Books : Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall 

Recipe of the day

Chicken Wings with Guac Dip

Ingredients:

Food Mall: Chicken Wings

◦3 lbs chicken wings

◦butter
◦2 t garlic powder
◦2 t chili powder
◦1 1/2 t salt
◦1 t smoked paprika
◦1 t regular paprika
◦1/4 t cayenne pepper

For the Guac Dip:
◦2 avocados
◦1 lime, juiced
◦1 handful cilantro, chopped
◦chili garlic sauce, to taste
◦salt

Method:
Move the oven rack to the upper-middle part of the oven. Place the oven on broil.

Mix the spices together. Coat the wings in the spice mix along with a few tablespoons of butter (melted). Place the wings, skin side down, on a baking sheet. Broil for about 12 minutes on this side, until crispy. Use a pair of tongs to flip over the wings to skin-side up. Continue to broil for about 20 minutes, until the skin is super crispy.

For the Guac Dip:
Blend all ingredients together in a food processor, or just use a fork to smash everything together.

Low-Carb Diet Speeds Recovery From Spinal Cord Injury

Low-Carb Diet Speeds Recovery From Spinal Cord Injury

This article was published in ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2009) Tetzlaff Wolfram & Others — A diet high in fat and low in carbohydrates, known as the "ketogenic" diet, quickens recovery in paralyzed rats after spinal cord injury, according to new research.

The findings were presented at Neuroscience 2009, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world's largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. More than 10,000 North Americans suffer a new spinal cord injury each year and more than one million people live with such damage.

Patients recovering from spinal cord injuries are typically given high-calorie solutions containing large amounts of sugar intravenously as they heal, even though this nutritional plan has never been validated. Previous studies have shown that fasting is beneficial after partial cervical spinal cord injury in rats, but this strategy is unpopular with patients and clinicians.

In this study, researchers investigated the ketogenic diet as a fasting alternative. As is the case with fasting, a lack of carbohydrates forces the body to use fat as fuel. To test the diet, rats were put on either a standard or ketogenic diet immediately after undergoing a cervical spinal cord contusion. The rats on the ketogenic diet recovered faster: after 14 weeks, 54 percent used their injured paws 15 times more frequently than the rats on a standard diet.

"Our results suggest that a ketogenic diet might be an appropriate initial treatment to improve outcomes in human spinal cord injuries," said Wolfram Tetzlaff, MD, PhD, at International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, and the study's senior author. "Although there are still many unanswered questions and more research is needed, the early results from these animal experiments support the rationale for human trials."

A ketogenic diet is already used as a therapy for epilepsy. Furthermore, animal studies during the past decade have shown that this diet may also be helpful for neurodegenerative diseases such as brain injury, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Research was supported by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The article can be accessed at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020162237.htm

The research theorises that low carb, (ketogenic) diets quickens recovery and spinal cord injury.

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Recipe of the day

Pork Chops with Tarragon and Mustard

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
30g lard or butter for frying

Sauce
300 ml chicken stock
1 tsp English mustard
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp grainy mustard
30 ml double cream
2 tbsp tarragon, chopped

Method
Melt 30g fat in frying pan (skillet). Fry pork chops for 1 minute on each side to seal

Sauce
Add chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Add mustards and cream and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Stir in tarragon.

Pour over pork chops and serve with green vegetables.