Karin Michels talk on nutrition "errors"

[Brian4]

... for those who understand German (at some point I assume someone will do subtitles in English, given how popular the video has become).

Much of this is softball-ish (even though Michels is now doing incredibly sophisticated work on epigenetics), but there are some good points made along the way, including one I try to stress: research into the merits of certain foodstuffs is often done on an ideal variant (fresh, good storage, etc.). What we have available on store shelves is often a very different animal.

https://youtu.be/Mnc_aoN7lMM

Brian

[Plumster]

Thanks Brian! I didn't know her.

I agree that most of us are already aware of the points that she raise. But I am glad she is raising them.
To summarize:

Bad: Coconut oil, red meat, carbonated water, brown and white sugar, and paleo diet.

Good: Coffee and nuts (but especially walnuts for omega 3)
Eggs may not raise cholesterol, despite having cholesterol.

Consider:
Not all oils are equal. Sunflower and flax top her list.
Not all vegans and vegetarians are healthier.
Not everyone needs gluten free.
"Superfoods" may not be so super if their import was over a long duration and they've lost their potency. Also consider the pesticides that may be in them because of different health regulations in the countries of origin (chia, goji, matcha, acai, and others).

[Harrison]

Not understanding German, I have relied on summaries of the video. I found this to be the most even handed: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/ ... urated-fat.
I think the Karin Michels video is a very strong response to the bulletproof coffee / Dr. Oz "drink coconut oil" movement. From what I understand, her premise is coconut is a saturated fat. Saturated fats increased LDL. Increased LDL lead to heart disease. The concept that having high LDL alone inevitably leads to heart disease has it share of skeptics, however. Separate from that, there may be some benefits of the C8 and C10 fatty acids for individuals suffering from mild cognitive impairment due to a decline in the ability of the brain to use glucose. That population, however, is not most of your bulletproof coffee drinkers. In the end, I think calling coconut oil "poison" is no more helpful than calling it a "cure all," other than balancing out the pendulum swing.

[Plumster]

Michael Gregor has also made the claim regarding coconut oil:
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-coc ... d-for-you/

And here relating it to AD: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/does-c ... lzheimers/
https://nutritionfacts.org/questions/wh ... conut-oil/

[Brian4]

Harrison, I agree that the merits of the talk are partly the mere attempt to rhetorically apply a nullifying vector to the coconut oil pendulum.

Plumster, thanks for the summary. What really struck me as important – and often forgotten – is the bit about the quality of the product on store shelves.

Look closely at table 1 here:

http://ucanr.edu/datastoreFiles/234-2753.pdf

Scary. I buy almost all my nuts – a year's supply – directly from farms I've investigated closely – right at harvest time – and then freeze them. (And then I tkae out a small amount, letting it come to room temperature to avoid condensation, etc., etc.)

The "best by" dates on nuts in stores are a concession to industry, a pernicious compromise.

Brian

P.S. Back to Michels: Always good for the brain to listen to foreign languages!

[Plumster]

Brian,

I am interested in buying quality nuts. In addition to shelf life, another reason is that I've learned recently that Roundup glyphosate in almonds is a problem in north America. What nut brands or farms would you recommend that I look into? Are there particular brands/companies to stay away from?

[ru442]

I buy my macadamia's from South Kona, they have a proprietary method to crack open the nuts without having to roast them, thus keeping all the good fat! They are inexpensive as far as macadamia's go ($16 a pound v. $5 for 4 oz. of say planters). They generally have 2 harvests, fall and spring so order what you need for 6 months. Meris is the owner and is great at getting back to you if there will be a delay in order/shipping:

http://www.southkonamacs.com

[Plumster]

Thank you for the tip, ru442!

[Brian4]

Plumster, unfortunately I have to start all over again in my research into good nut sources because I just switched continents. I'm now in the US and am not yet familiar with nut production here. I will try to start my research soon. For the coming harvest, I may just go with Sun Organic, which is run by a guy who I am confident honestly answers questions about whether an order for a particular kind of nut will contain something just harvested, or last year's remaining stock.

Brian

[ru442]

This looks like a reputable organic source, I may order some pistachios from them, I don't trust the store sourced:

https://www.buyorganicnuts.com/