Best Knowledge

You’ll recall me discussing (about a week ago) Gary Taubes and his book concerning obesity research.  It was fascinating because it demonstrated that the evidence favouring many of the dietary approaches advocated today do not work  and why.  I think his book really indicates that a shift in paradigm is warranted (or at least in the research trials) of today’s weight loss approaches.

In particular the keys that Gary recommends (and I think if you really look at his reasoning it seems more sound than the other research of the ineffective approaches) are: eating a diet lower in carbohydrates, not consuming refined carbohydrates or sugar, as these foods cause the body to produce insulin which does not fat to be mobilized – so it collects in the body.  Although this may seem counterintuitive once you see what evidence is really exists (and what the so called healthy diets have been based on) to support the notion that such an approach is counterintuitve, you’ll see that the research is much more scant than you likely thought.   Many approaches have commonly suggested that lack of exercise and lack of portion control were the root cause.

Many researches discouted that fact that there was any hormonal connection. The following article, which you can click on for more informaiton, has finally shown that a hormonal link has been found which would seem to suggest that merely portion control and lack of exercise are not at the healm.

I will include the first link concerning the article and then am also including some videos.

1. Article re the hormonal link is below

Canadian, U.S. scientists win $1M Shaw prize for obesity work.

2.A video is below that provides a very useful points about Gary’s information.

3. Another video with a little more depth into the issue.

Stay tuned for more posts about these concepts and more videos and information.

All the best,

Matthew

Ayurveda, based upon the universal natural law of balancing the five elements (ether, air, fire, water and earth) that make up the physical body. When one or more of these elements go out of balance because of improper diet and life style, various diseases and mental disturbances can manifest. Ayurveda explains that these five elements are kept intact in the body by three subtle forces called doshas. The key to maintaining physical and mental health is in keeping these elements and doshas in harmonic balance through proper diet, herbs and life style, otherwise early aging and various diseases can manifest.

The three doshas are called Vata (sattva), Pitta (raga) and Kapha (tama). These three doshas can even be traced back to the very beginning of creation as representing the three Gods in Vedic wisdom Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. Vata is the underlying subtle force ruling over ether and air, Pitta rules fire and Kapha is responsible for keeping the water and earth elements in balance. One or more of these doshas or elements will predominate in every individual living entity creating seven possible body types. By knowing which type you are by symptoms the proper diet and herbal treatment can be established for you.

Personally I felt this diet encourages you to eat 6 various tastes of food, such as: bitter, sweet, sour, salty, pungent, and astringent.  This allows for some tasty dishes.  Many Ayurvedic practitioners don’t maintain that you have to follow their diet strictly, but rather gear your diet in the direction of your Dosha type.  I didn’t stay on this diet very long as I found it such an adjustment, especially with the high amounts of dairy and ghee (clarified butter), I found it somewhat counterintuitive, considering the higher amounts of saturated fats and cholesterol.

It does stress really more of a vegetarian style of eating, so this aspect could certainly be healthy.  Also, it stressed smaller breakfasts, larger meals, and very small suppers.  My body just didn’t seem geared this way.  Again, I felt this a little counterintuitive, as I felt a good solid breakfast and supper would be important and that meals shouldn’t be skipped.  Overall, I didn’t stay on the diet very long and it was definitely not my favourite

This diet requires you to count calories.  The basic premise is that in order to lose weight or keep your weight down reduce the amount of calories.  In other words eat less.

While I did lose some weight because I was always counting calories, I felt very regimented and controlled which made it hard to stay on this diet long term. While a certain amount of cheating is probably fine, I really felt tempted to cheat on this diet.  One good thing about counting calories is that it does make people conscious of calories.  Certainly portion control is a part of any proper diet.

I did some dabbling with a Mediterranean diet.  I certainly enjoyed the food and the wine, which is said to be optional, although I think it’s widely accepted use in the culture makes it an important, but not necessary, part of the diet. I didn’t lose any weight on this approach, probably due to the high carbs;

I certainly like its promotion of good monounsaturated fats, for instance the extensive use of olive oil in the diet. I also like the way Italians cook their pasta, al dante, to the bite, which makes it a little more chewy. This chewiness means that it is actually lower on the glycemic index