Dear Cia Column

Dear Cia,

Do we actually NEED any carbohydrates in our diet?

Dear Rad,

Hohoho... not to be outdone by your counterpart, Avocado, you joined into the questioning fray.  Good good, it's always great to have more questions!  

Anyway, flan.... Oh flan!  I grew up on flan, one of my favorite desserts ever growing up!  XD

Flan is essentially an egg custard formed into a semi-conical shape, and then topped off with a thin layer of soft caramel.  Granted, that's how WE used to do it back home when I was young... there are multiple variations of it, including british flan which is more like a quiche (and can be known to use flour, blech!).  The standard recipe we use in Mexico is more closely akin to "crème caramel", which primarily consists of eggs (as the binding agent), milk, sugar and vanilla (and caramel, although that's essentially just semi-burnt sugar).  Other variations use condensed milk or coconut milk.  

Given it's naturally "gluten-free" ingredients, I could theoretically eat this often... I just haven't in a while simply because I'm not that fond of sweet things as much as I used to be. Plus flan is a very fragile dessert, similar in appearance to a pasty-white jell-o, but FAR easier to split and break.  Still, if you ever get a chance to savor some honest-to-goodness homemade flan... mmm-MMMM!!  There is nothing like it on earth.  

Just beware of boxed flan that comes in jell-o still powdered cartridges... those are a culinary travesty, thickened with agar, guar gum and carrageen, and full of all sorts of chemical oddities that give it the consistency of hard jello and the flavor of old powdered milk, and even the "caramel" is more like a package of stale maple syrup.  And THAT'S NOT GOOD EATS -- if you're gonna have flan, accept no imitations!  Get the REAL stuff! XD


--Cia

Dear Avocado,

hehe, someone's been reading ahead.  XD

Anyway, there comes a time in every potential low-carbers life that he/she asks that very same question... are carbohydrates even necessary for human survival?  Is there such a thing as an "essential carbohydrate"? 

From a purely technical level... no.

Non-carbohydrate sources of food (such as meat, fish, and poultry), if eaten in their entirety (including offal) contain ALL the essential macro and micro nutrients you could ever need.  They make such a big deal about oranges having the highest concentration of vitamin C, and while this is debatable as far as fruits go, it should be pointed out that beef liver has nearly as much vitamin C as oranges, and packs in a whole lot more micronutrients beyond just that, making it one of the most nutrient-dense foods in the world.  And of course, unlike oranges, it has copious amounts of fat and protein... and the body is always in need of essential fatty acids (from fat) and amino acids (from protein), since "essential" means your body can't manufacture these on its own.  

Despite having so many esssential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and amino acids, not one carbohydrate (alcohol or sugar) techncially falls in the "essential" category.  Despite the fact that the brain DOES need some glucose to survive, it is not a very significant amount (maybe a quarter teaspoon?), and believe it or not... your body IS equipped to manufacture it from protein if necessary.  That's right!  You do not need dietary glucose to make essential brain glucose!  If you stuck two men on two separate deserted islands, and left one with an endless supply of carbohydrates but no fat/protein, and the other with fat/protein but no carbohydrates, then this is what would happen after a year:  the fat/protein survivalist may be a constipated and cranky but otherwise alive and kickin', while the carbohydrate person would be... DEAD.

Given how long we've been told to put fruits and veggies on a pedestal, and always eat our "essential" HEALTHYWHOLEGRAINS", this may come off as a shock that all that health advice technically boils down to snake oil salesmanship from peopple wanting to sell you their chemically-laced produce (as well as medication and treatment for when you inevitably get sick or fat or depressed).  

If you believe what I'm suggesitng, then this is a sad reality we have to come to terms with... for base-minimum survival, we don't need carbohydrates.  

But does that mean we should never have have carbohydrates?  No.

Barely surviving is not thriving, and if you remember from my island example above, I did point out that a unitary diet full of fat and protein but no carbohydrates (essentially the 'all-meat" diet often assumed to be a paleo diet) can cause it's own set of problems, mainly in the form of gastro-intestinal distress that denotes a ravaging of your gut, be it constipation for early cases, or diverticulitis and appendicitis for extreme cases.  And given how much influence gut has on our health and mood, a damaged gut WILL impact your stress levels, mood, blood pressure and general level of inflammation.  This is because while YOUR body NEEDS fat and protein, but not carbohydrates, the beneficial bacteria living in your gut (the so called "probiotics") NEED carbohydrates but not fat and protein.  In fact if all you eat are fat and protein, all your good butyrate-excreting gut bacteria slowly starve and die off, and get overrun by acid-loving bacteria such as H.Pylori and Candida that can cause further damage to your intestine, stomach and body.  This in fact happens anyway with grains and sugars given they're highly acidic foods as well, although since meat, fish and poultry are somewhat acidic foods as well, they can also create similar detrimental conditions if the diet isn't balanced with alkaline foods (mainly fruits, vegetables and safe starches).  Think of healthy gut bacteria as having millions of billions of little cows living inside you, eating away things that you can't normally digest (soluble fiber and resistant starch) and pooping it away as rich fertilizer (butyric acid) that the ground (your intestine) can absorb and use for all manner of functions, from healing gut permeability (caused by years of grain consumption) to boosting your immune system to guarding against insulin resistance (diabetes) to preventing conditions that could produce cancerous growth.  And just like how CAFO's torture cows by filling them with grains, healthy gut bacteria can be tortured by depriving them with the foods they need to survive and thrive, and over time you'll suffer from their mass starvation and displacement as well.

It's a good time to replay this nice video... ^^



There is historical precedent for this balanced eating as well.  Despite the derision that Paleo Diets are all-meat "cavemen" diets because they picture the image of a big hairy human wearing a tiger skin cloth bonking a giant dinosaur on the head with a club or something, the truth is that humans never shied away from eating plenty of rich vegetables and tubers in their diet, as well as fruit when it was available.  Sweet potatoes, for instance, have been part of the human diet for almost as long as meat consumption has; and even before the advent of mutant nightshades (ie, potatoes and tomatoes) or mutant brassicas (ie, broccoli, cauliflower), humans subsisted on countless real tubers and perennial leafy greens, many of which might be considered mere "weeds" today (and wastefully-discarded).  Surviving tribes of native people throughout the world include a mixture of plant and animal food in their diet, from the !Kung Bushmen of the Kalahari eating as many mongongo nuts and gourds as they would meat, to the Kitavans subsisting primarily on taro root and coconut, with fish added as a supplementation.  If they had no regular access to tubers and vegetables, such as the Plains Indians of old, they would actively trade for it with other neighboring tribes who may have had an abundance of wild vegetables gathered, but a shortage of high-quality buffalo meat.  Even the Inuit, notorious for living in a climate inhospitable to plants and agriculture, prized a hardy tuber known in the colloquial as "Eskimo Potato" (one of the most nutrient-dense wild plants in the world); and even absent that, they would be sure to consume the precious, carbohydrate-rich stomach contents or bone glycogen of herbivorous mammals.  If humans have always naturally-leaned towards a diet balanced with both plant and animal foods (and fungus and bacteria!), it's not because they didn't know any better... it's because they KNEW it was better for them, even if perhaps they couldn't explain it in scientific terms.  

And as proud omnivores, I don't see any reason we can't follow that diet and with gusto!  Not only will it help cover all known bases of health, but it will help keep our diet varied, interesting and fascinating.  A Paleo Diet properly done right is far from an all-meat diet... it can include a rich and expensive diversity of whole vegetables, tubers and fruits, many more than you would have ever thought to eat before, and certainly enough to make your average American vegan blush with envy.  I never liked green plantains before and I never even heard of dandelion greens before (which are high in prebiotic inulin) -- and now that I've realized how awesome they are and tasty they can be, they are now proud staples of my diet, along with other plant foods I've allowed back into my life, such as beets radishes, spinach, papaya, kiwis, and watercress.

Remember, you're not just eating for one... you're eating for one-trillion.  And if you're all to survive and thrive, you have to look after one another.  Take good care of your gut bacteria, and they'll take care of you in return, helping you live a long, happy and healthy life with an intestine robust-enough to let you eat as many delicious fats and proteins as you want!


--Cia

Dear Cia,

How healthy are.... MANGOES!

Dear Avocado,

Yay, I thought you'd gotten bored or something.  I guess you just wanted to let me cool down. XD

Anyway,... ^^

Yay, mangoes!  It was one of my favorite fruits growing up.  ^^

Nutritionally, they're not that bad actually.  Although they are fairly high in sugar compared to other fruits, they're more in line with apples and bananas, not figs or dates; plus most of their sugar is in the form of glucose, not fructose, and of course they're fairly high in fiber.  It does contain some anti-nutrients like oxalates, but mainly in unripened mangoes,... and if you REALLY like the taste of green mangoes, you can always neutralize these anti-nutrients with fermentation and other methods.  

On top of that mangoes have a high content of vitamin C, vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene, pretty obvious from the yellow color) and B vitamins.  They'll have respectable amounts of potassium, not quite banana-level but not bad for their taste.  Magnesium content is pretty decent too; again not enough to live with, but every little bit counts.  Lest we forget that mangoes are also a rich source of various antioxidants such as polyphenolic compounds, which help boost your immune system and provide cancer resistance (especially if your diet already lacks anti-nutrient heavy toxins such as... well,... you know). ^^


--Cia

Dear Cia

So I am trying to find a good time to get on the big sister server but every time I get on no one is there! what is a good time to get on the big sister server?

Dear Colex,

Well thanks for making an account here, but herm herm... asking a Minecraft question in Dear Cia. Not wrong per se, just kinda tacky, especially when you consider the real information I can offer (and the fact that there ARE other server-related threads out there too). XD

But anyway....

Traffic is always kind of slow during weekdays in late Winter/Early Spring, and I guess that this is a major test time is also pretty indicative of the really bad time in which you decided to join, hehe. XD

Even so, under normal days, traffic is generally kind of steady between the hours of 10am to 2pm CST (for the European folks) and once again between 4pm and 9pm CST (for the mostly American folks). It makes sense, as these are typically evening hours that people can spare after doing homework or watching their favorite shows or enjoying their lives in some other way. I typically log on very late at night too, after I'm done cooking, eating, walking, playing with my dogs, reading and doing food experiments... sometimes, when I value my sleep, I don't even log on at all. XD

Even so, it's not the right question to ask. If you're entire enjoyment of Big Sister is contingent upon people being around to entertain you, then you've already failed. Many players are cowards, and they'll be just like you as a result... they won't log on till someone,... ANYONE... logs in. And since they won't log in, and all the other like-minded players won't log in either, then no one joins the server because no one is brave enough to take the first step and consider entertaining themselves. I see it as a complete lack of creativity and initiative, and it's one of the reasons why the application process is so tough, as it's also designed to test a player's patience. If they're impatient and needy, they WILL be miserable here, I can almost guarantee it. >v<

The ability to look after oneself and create your own fun is contagious, and no doubt will encourage others to do the same. So if you can afford to do so, do so -- maybe you'll be somebody's hero.


--Cia

Dear Cia,

What form of sugar is best for you?

Dear Avocado,

Huh?  Excusez moi?  O_o

Well might need some specifics here, as sugar can mean a WIDE array of things.  

If there is such a thing as an essential sugar, it would be glucose... And as I said in a previous reply, your body can make its own glucose if it had to.  There is technically no need to get it from a dietary source, although it is arguably more efficient to do so, and from a moderate glucose source such as starchy vegetables or fruit.  Sucrose is partially helpful as well, although mainly because sucrose contains both glucose and fructose, so half of it is useful to you.  

Fructose is useless in our body other than contributing sweetness to food, and in fact it can be dangerous in large amounts (causing, among many things, gout).  Lactose is not as harmful but its just another slightly-less digestible form of sucrose (binding glucose and galactose) and it certainly impedes dairy consumption in some individuals.

As for galactose... While it does have a very crucial role in our bodies, this is completely independent of dietary galactose (our bodies can make our own).  It's not really a good energy source either since it needs to be converted to glucose before it can be used by the body; nor is it particularly sweet like glucose or fructose.  Of all the natural sugars it may be the safest to ingest, but it's certainly not the most useful.  XD

Hope this is what you meant, lol.


--Cia

Dear Cia,

What are the aftereffects of not consuming enough sodium?

Dear Avocado,

WOOHOO!!  Dear Cia Question drought broken!  Now sadly it's a bit too late for me so I'll have to defer this for tomorrow, but I'll leave you with this thought...

Sodium is an electrolyte, and a very important one at that as it's also one of the main heart electrolytes.  It's reputation as a cause of high blood pressure (and thus heart disease) is a bit ill-deserved as this is a gross simplification of the underlying problem.  In fact -- and although I'm oversimplifying this as well -- good blood pressure is heavily reliant on a proper balance of at least FOUR major minerals in the body, being:

- sodium
- calcium
- potassium
- magnesium

And coincidentally, this is what your typical Standard American Diet results in:

1) Highly excess sodium, mainly in the form of refined salt and sodium nitrite products in order to help preserve processed crap, or mask the taste of hideous grain foods. XD

2) So-so or intentionally-excess calcium, either from dairy consumption or excess fortification/supplementation in the hopes of stemming bone diseases.  But this is only partially effective at that, since calcium cannot help bone development without other co-factors Americans are deficient in, such as Vitamin D... and if anything, excess calcium can be dangerous.

3) Low or barely-decent potassium -- true, Americans do love potatoes, and the occasional banana, but that's about it.  Fish, mushrooms, organs, certain cuts of high fat meat, melons and other high sources of potassium may not be eaten in the quantities needed to stave off potassium deficiency.

4) Low or EXTREMELY-low magnesium intake... mainly because magnesium-rich foods are rare and heavily dependent on the soil they're raised from, and magnesium from water is rare due to municipal filtration.  This is best supplemented, which most people DON'T do, or do so using a cheap and highly ineffective form such as magnesium oxide, rather than magnesium malate or glycinate.


So that at least should bring balance (pun!) to the whole notion that salt is the number one culprit.  But in believing its the sole cause of HBP, we inadvertently expose ourselves to some problems with sodium defiency and we'll cover those tomorrow or later. ^^


--Cia

Dear Cia,

[Sorry about the lack of questions, my brother kept me busy all week...] How does cholesterol help your body?

Dear Avocado,

Well, let's continue where we left off, shall we? ^^

Anyway, sodium deficiency (or hyponatremia) is not traditionally a very common disorder, especially given how much incidental sodium we intake in a standard American diet -- I say "incidental" because we get abnormal quantities of sodium (through preservatives) from sources we wouldn't naturally consume in the wild. It's far more common to have too much sodium than not enough, and suffer the ill effects of the imbalance that creates. Nevertheless, it is still possible in our modern society to risk prolonged states of sodium deficiency long enough to start seeing some physical and neurological problems, including cases such as:

- consuming too much water
- excessive exercise (such as running a full marathon without electrolyte replenishment)
- consuming far too little sodium in the diet (perfectly doable if you're trying to eat conventionally "healthy")
- excessive vomiting or diarrhea
- excessive use of diuretics
- suffering kidney or liver problems
- suffering edema
- suffering thyroid or adrenal gland problems
- suffering intestinal malabsorption
- adverse effects from SSRI (anti-depressant) use.

There is a reason we crave salty things, and that's because sodium is so critical to cell health as far as a cell's interaction with water. Without it, cells would be flooded with water, swell, burst and cause untold misfortune depending on the location of the cells in the body. Clearly a leg muscle cell suffering from hyponatremia is not going to be as problematic as, say, brain cells or heart cells, although it would still hurt. Although it's important to not eat TOO much salt, this can easily be achieved by avoiding the kind of highly processed foods that would contain insane amounts of sodium-based preservatives to begin with, such as those instant ramen noodles or store-bought jerky -- foods flavored with standard mineral rock salt and fresh ingredients will taste just as good and be FAR better for you even for so-called "junk foods" (such as homemade Italian sausage). As I mentioned in my previous answer, the issue with salt as far as blood pressure has more to do with an imbalance of other minerals, and you can certainly have your cake and eat it too so long as you invest the time to get to know your electrolytes.

As far as symptoms of hyponatremia... these may not be pretty, so you better lie down for a bit. I'll try my best to order them by severity, but circumstances may differ... >.<

- headaches
- confusion
- balance problems
- motor coordination problems
- memory problems
- attention problems
- lethargy and fatigue
- irritability
- nausea
- vomiting
- blood pressure problems (yes, because of the whole balance thing) >v<
- muscle weakness
- muscle spasms and cramps
- muscle seizures
- brain herniation
- brain stem compression
- pulmonary edema
- respiratory arrest
- coma
- death

Now that I read all of this, I don't find it surprising that during the years I actually had real fainting spells (and even a terrible seizure!) was when I was at the peak of my conventional "dieting" -- a semi-starvation diet of counting calories, avoiding fat, eating HEALTHWHOLEGRAINS, and of course limiting my sodium intake religiously. I doubt the sodium restriction alone did all that,... but in conjunction with all the other horrible semi-starvation practices, it probably did the trick... I'm just lucky I didn't break my face when fainting. :<

Also of interest from somewhere is the connection of sodium and potassium with ADHD -- that the reason stimulants like Ritalin (Methylphenidate) and Adderell (Amphetamine)... or as I like to call them, junior-grade crystal meth... work is not because of the extra stimulating effect, but rather because of the huge injection of sodium temporarily correcting a neurological/chemical/mineral/whatever imbalance. In this respect, the effectiveness of these horrible medications is purely incidental since such an imbalance could be addressed directly without the use of addictive and expensive substances, but I guess I just answered my own question as to 'why'. But this is something I really haven't looked too deeply into yet, so you're welcome to do some reading on that....

http://nutritionalbalancing.org/center/children/articles/ritalin-paradox.php

Finally, I intentionally left out iodince deficiency as a symptom since iodine isn't naturally bound in salt, but is artificially fortified into table salt in the US and possibly some other countries. This was done as a means to combat thyroid diseases such as goiter, which used to be a big problem in inland communities in the US with few or no sources of natural iodine (mainly fish, shellfish, kelp, etc). It sort of did the job, although the amount of iodine added in this salt was (and still is) VERY minute, and to get a proper daily intake you would have had to consume a LOT of table salt (which was normal pre-1950's, but not after the blood pressure scare thereafter). So while you shouldn't necessarily fear iodized salt, I definitely make the case to get your iodine (which is also super important and should get its own question some day) from far better sources. If you love seafood you're good to go, although if not then kelp is a nice and mildly-flavored alternative. ^^



--Cia

And oh lol, now you're really ramping up again. XD

Sadly, I'm spent, so the cholesterol question shall wait... tomorrow. ^^

If you're dying for information, though, check out what Dr. Sinatra has to say about the subject...

Dear Avocado,

Sorry for the LONG delay, but have been terribly busy the last few days. XD

Anyway, let me continue, with the last one (and hopefully you watched Dr. Sinatra's video so this is more of a refresher). ^^

First off, a quick reminder that:

Dietary cholesterol does NOT equal serum cholesterol.

Not to sound like a broken record, but it's a point worth repeating again and again in light of the fact this confusion up has been ingrained into our collective psyche (along with "Fat makes you fat" and "Eat your HEALTHYWHOLEGRAINS"). The why of this makes sense from a monetary perspective since Statin sales are BIG business, and it's no surprise that "ideal" total cholesterol readings have all gone down in proportion to the need to sell more of these medications.  Whereas prior to Statins the ideal total cholesterol value in the US was listed as 250mg/dL, soon after they came to market that ideal level was arbitrarily dropped to around 200mg/dL, conveniently putting over half the nation ATRISKOFHIGHCHOLESTEROL!!! seemingly overnight.  Now they're pedaling that it be dropped down to 180mg/dL or even 150mg/dL, levels that are not normally common without the use of a Statin... I can't say I see the connection, can you [lol]?  XD

Now I will say that despite their possible harmful side effects, Statins are actually one of the few medications that actually do what they're intended to do very well... lower your overall cholesterol readings.  This occurs due to two reasons:  first, Statins block the production of HMG-CoA Reductase in the liver that produces cholesterol, thus slowing down production; and second, Statins are ridiculously-powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agents, and in fact it is this potency that poses the greatest risk to muscular health as well as absorption of natural antioxidants such as CoQ10 (which is, ironically, essential to heart health). From the point of view of Evil Cholesterol, this could be seen as preventing your body from producing this vile suicidal substance, and then cleaning up the mess it's made.

But if you accept that cholesterol, a very multi-purpose substance, has as one of its functions an antioxidant effect, then what Statins are really doing are usurping the role of cholesterol in your body, first preventing your body's natural antioxidant from being produced, and then fixing up what the cholesterol was intending to repair, thus eliminating the body's need to produce more cholesterol.  So yes it does the job, but then why not let the cholesterol do its job to begin with?  [at least it won't reduce CoQ10 or cause temporary muscle paralysis]  

The answer to THAT is because cholesterol CAN be harmful under certain cases. when it's heavily oxidized, for instance.  Cholesterol is SO important to our bodies that it will make it regardless of what you eat... you can avoid putting in dietary cholesterol and eat nothing but HEALTHWHOLEGRAINS and HEARTHEALTHYSLUDGEOILS, and by gawd it will still make cholesterol... out of HEALTHWHOLEGRAINS and HEARTHEALTHYSLUDGEOILS.  And since carbs need to be converted to inefficient triglycerides in order to make a very low quality dense lipoprotein (LDL) carrier, and because sludge oils are already highly oxidized and rancid, then of course your cholesterol is going to do more harm than good, especially as it attempts to repair a shear onslaught of inflammation brought upon by the overconsumption of pro-inflammatory grains and sludge oils.  A very literal case of "you are what you eat", and since the Statin makers no doubt know this, they added in the anti-inflammatory properties PRECISELY because they know what really causes heart disease: inflammation and oxidation. Ergo, they sell you food products that ruin your health, then cash in on the drug medications needed to keep you alive after this ruination of health, drugs that you have to take for the rest of your life.  Convenient, eh? ^^;

Now granted if you're a middle-aged male who just had heart complications, then Statins will be a beneficial snap-fix since you might not be able to wait around to reduce inflammation naturally.  But as a preventitive measure, especially in women and children, it is both unnecessary and potentially harmful.

So knowing this then, if you want to improve your health, lowering cholesterol is not the key, and in fact too little cholesterol can be deadly given its various roles in the body (more on this later).  The key instead is to reduce inflammation and oxidation in your body, of which cholesterol is not necessarily the cause but simply the victim of it, just like you.  Minus these factors, and your cholesterol level can actually drop naturally simply because the body doesn't need to produce as much for "repair' jobs anymore... and what it does produce would be high in HDL particles (the so-called "good" cholesterol, made from proper fat), high in large fluffy LDL-a particles (the kind also made from proper fat), low or no oxidized LDL-b particles (made from carbohydrate-converted trigylcerides) and low triglyceride levels.  Not that this wouldn't stop a doctor from chasing some number in order to peddle a Statin anyway (especially since few doctors are either willing to request or know how to read data from an LDL particle test, and instead rely on outdated calculations to guesstimate LDL levels), but at this point their interest and degree of understanding of this subject should become clear to you, and more so if they choose to ignore high Triglyceride levels (which are actually much better indicators of heart disease, but often overlooked since they implicate carbohydrates).  

So then... why defend cholesterol?  
I would always be mindful of any substance that is essential for life and of which we would literally die without it -- one so essential to our body, it is obsessed with producing it on its own.  And it does so for a combination of one or more of the reasons that follow:

1> Cholesterol is a key component in hormone production, without which your body would not be able to produce various essential hormones it needs for mental health, heart health and so forth.  Of particular interest is sertonin, the hormone that helps you relax and manage stress... if you can't produce serotonin very well, then you're more likely to feel anxious and depressed.  Perhaps you can take an anti-depressant along with that Statin?  XD

2> Along with the above, cholesterol is needed to make sex hormones such as andogen, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and DHEA. A deficiency of these would be problematic to growing teens and married couples alike.  XD

3> Cholesterol is needed to properly use Vitamin D throughout your body, which we've established in a previous answer is essential for bone, nerve, muscle and immune system health, as well as mineral absorption, fertility and insulin production.

4> It is needed to produce bile in your liver, which is important for the proper digestion of fats as well as the overall efficiency of your digestive process.  I imagine that impaired bile production may be a cofactor in the production of gallstones (or unused crystalized bile) as well.

5> Cholesterol, as we mentioned before is a powerful antioxidant in its own right, probably the most powerful antioxidant that your body naturally produces (and doesn't have to "import", such as Vitamin C).  The reason cholesterol is in your arteries is to try and repair tissue... it is only when things go awry, and it loses its ability to remove cholesterol efficiently (low HDL) or it ends up getting stuck inside damaged tissue and contribute to oxidative damage (small dense LDL-b particles) that plaque can begin to form and cause cardiovascular problems.

6> Cholesterol is needed in the production of high-quality breast milk, and it's in breast milk not because a mom is trying to poison her babies, but rather because cholesterol is essential for the proper development of their brains, nervous systems and immune systems.  In the age of heavy formula feeding, is it not hard to imagine a possible cause for the growing incidence of childhood diseases, cognitiive impairment, and neurological problems?

7> Cholesterol is needed to maintain a healthy intestine and specifically the impermeability of its walls.  Wheat is already good at poking holes in your intestine... combine that with a very low cholesterol diet (or maybe a cholesterol-lowering drug?), and you've potentially set the stage for all manner of digestive problems and autoimmune conditions.

8> Cholesterol is needed to repair damaged cells, and explains why average cholesterol levels increase as we grow older and have more cells to keep functioning.  

In all respects then, I feel it's probably worse to have low cholesterol than high cholesterol, and as time goes on there is research validating that cholesterol is really not a good indicator of heart disease at all, and in fact can be a predictor of general health.  Granted no one wants excess, but like with an excessive waistline, excess cholesterol (say over 300mg/dL) is usually a strong indicator that something is very wrong with your body and it's scrambling to repair it.  And like with an excessive waistline, once you find the cause and resolve the underlying problem, excess pounds and excess cholesterol will disappear.  We have to begin to learn to ask the right questions, and also give our body's a bit more credit... they've kept us alive for millions of years, so I'm sure they know what they're doing, and there is no such thing as useless body parts (i.e, tonsils, gall bladder, appendix, wisdom teeth, cholesterol, and many other things our grain-centric world can't properly explain in the context of chronic grain eating).  

Slowly but surely this understanding will become more prevalent, and even now we're starting to see some glimpse of it poke into the mainstream....



....it may take another 40 or 50 years before saturated fat and cholesterol are finally vindicated, but eventually it will happen, and it's up to you whether you want to wait around till that happens.


--Cia

Dear Cia,

Now that my midterms are over, I'm planning on eliminating all wheat soon. Do you have any other recommendations to help me get through wheat withdrawal other than what the sources you sent me said?

Dear Avocado,

Ooh, good for you.  
And I'm glad you waited till midterms were over... as beneficial as this may be in the long-term, in the short-term it can be a very jarring and disruptive change, and not something you'd want to do during one of the most important exams of the school year.  By next year, you'll be a lean mean computing machine (even more so than now). ^^

As for wheat withdrawal... Avocado is referencing an article similar to this one... http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2013/09/surviving-wheat-withdrawal/

It pretty much covers all the supplemental basics to help alleviate the effects of wheat withdrawal, which, depending on the person, can be similar to cigarette and alcohol withdrawal (mainly because you're depriving your brain of a regular opiate).  These recommendations include:

- Drink more water (a lot of initial weight loss will be in the loss of water retention)

- Comsume some sea or mineral salt (for similar reasons of the above... besides, you should be using these salts anyway instead of refined table salt)

- Consume a probiotic (or if you can't get any, consume a probiotic rich food... probiotic yogurts are actually poor in probiotic count, but they're better than nothing -- just be sure to check their labels for hidden wheat) XD

- Supplement magnesium (may not be necessary for you with awesome well water though, but in case your source doesnt have any magnesium, try other magensium citrate, malate or glycinate.  Other sources are either inefficient like magnesium oxide, or have other problems like magensium taurate).

- Supplement omega-3 fatty acids (preferrably as fish oil, but not permanently as it's better to get omega-3 from food or a food complex like cod liver oil).

- Supplement iodine (since you might not be eating iodized salt anymore, find a better source of iodine like seafood or kelp)

- Supplement Vitamin D (always good to have, especially when you're not able to get good sun exposure).  Like Magnesium, its something we're commonly deficient in)

These are all well and good, and I definitely think you can start doing some of these even before you start wheat elimination since they're good practices.  Even so, I think I can offer a few more things to make the experience less painful or even completely non-existent.

1 - Knowledge is Power: learn as much as you can about why you're doing this will help empower you to try harder to withstand any ill effects.  Reading Wheat Belly may help if you haven't already.  ^^

2 - Focus ONLY on Wheat: as the kingpin of the refined carbohydrates, it is notoriously difficult to eliminate and will take ALL your power just to survive the first two weeks.  So unless you have a good strategy, don't eliminate corn, rice and other grains, or even sugar, just yet.... they may prove valuable allies at first.  Once the effects of wheat are gone and you begin to lose a longing for refined carbohydrates, the other grains and sugar [and pulses like soy] will be defenseless to stop you.  The only exception to this rule may be sludge oils which are never good to eat and are inferior in taste and nutrition to REAL proper fats; if you can stop consuming these even before wheat elimination, you can get off to a great start.  ^^

3 - Fat is your Friend: and of course we're talking REAL fat, not sludge oil fat.  You remmeber my previous list on healthy fats, and it's best to keep these to heart as these are the foods that will help fill you, heal you, and rebuild you.  I'd also ask you to eat adequate amounts of protein too,  but this goes without saying as protein-rich foods are also usually fat-rich foods... mother nature was smart that way.  

4 - If you need a powerful carbohydrate source, tubers, nuts, and plantains will be your friend: these will also be food for your newfound probiotics that you will no doubt be taking, so feed them right and they can help fight back ill effects of many other things besides wheat withdrawal.  They're also good for a health-ier carb fix than grains and table sugar.

5 - Don't starve: no, it's not that game.  I mean don't let yourself get overly hungry or consume less calories than you need.  Eat as much as you need to not feel hungry, and try to do so mainly with fat, and some protein and safe carbs.  If you're craving junk carbs even though you're not hungry, that's not hunger, but simply cravings brought about by a desperate wheat opiate... ignore these or eat more fatty snacks to offset this.  If that doesn't work, eat a sweet safe-carb to trick your brain.

6 - Get plenty of sleep.  Try to get your circadian rhythm in order to help transition you properly into the world of deep sleep. ^^

7 - Relax: Make sure to start this during a low-intensity time period, especially if you'll be on vacation or something.  Don't exercise or do strenuous or stressful things,... indulge yourself, have fun, play games, listen to music, get some sun, treat yourself right.

8 - Communicate: keep me notified or talk to other people online or RL that can sympathize or help in your efforts.  The more connected you are with people, the more motivated you will be.

9 - Know your surroundings: explore as many supermarkets, groceries, farms and restaurants as you can, and know what options you have near you for wheat-free (or...ugh... "gluten-free") food options as well as healthy fat options.  Most restaurants cook with sludge oils sadly, unless you eat a plain food like steak... but you never know if you can find that rare exception that still cook with good ol' fashioned lard, or even newfangled coconut oil if you ask for it.  As for supermarkets, be on the lookout for those rare gems like grass-fed meat or grass-fed butter... or just simply good organic produce on sale.  ^^

10 - Be part of a support network: it helps to have a "flag" to rally behind, and that's why I've encouraged you to pick up a mainstream lifestyle trend that can help in your efforts, such as the Primal or Paleo lifestyle that has similar values and advice.  With the exception of dairy elimination, their dietary advice is similar to this way of eating, and so you will find countless recipes and articles on subject matters you might be interested in.  There will be forums and discussion groups too; and unlike other diet groups, this one has some mainstream recognition (even if it isn't always flattering, but that goes with the territory). If  people don't cooperate with your choices, they'll be more amenable to change if you're part of something bigger. :3


--Cia

Dear cia:
How is tofu made?

Dear Hannah!

YAY!!! THANK YOU!!!
*trillions of hugs were had* XD

Anyway, that is a very simple but deep and thought provoking question.  ^^
Prior to this I only had a rough idea of how tofu was made... it's essentially curdled pulverized soybeans coagulated into a kind of bland, tasteless cheese that absorbs the flavours of nearby ingredients.  Although it was developed in Asia, it's culinary use as we know it today was not as widespread until the American (and later, European) health craze.  But would you believe I did not know the specific manufacturing details for making tofu itself? 

Well as it's a learning opportunity for us both, we shall watch it together...



*cough*  O_o

Oooooooookay... where do I begin...? XD

It's pretty much how I pictured it, so there's not much I can add as far as the technical process goes.  What really stood out for me was the use of magnesium choloride... otherwise known as Epsom Salt or the stuff you use to soak in a bath.  It's an inorganic form of magnesium that's inert and poorly absorbed as elemental magnesium in the body (worse than oxide), but has its own therapeutic benefits -- nevertheless, I'm not comfortable ingesting the stuff, and in fact toxicity, while not fatal, can induce diarrhea, cramps, abdominal pain, and a whole bunch of oddities.  I hear alternative coagulants such as lemon juice can be used, but this is clearly the best coagulant to use on an industrial scale... and yes, it's only used to make tofu (and soy-based baby formula... mother of GAWD...).  T_T

Another thing that struck me was the shear quantity of beans used,... I kinda reckoned that industrial soybeans were similar in size to edamame (edible soybean), but they're at least half or a third the size.  If we grants plants the respect of being treated like living beings with an equal right to life, especially for baby plants such as soybeans, then a single block of tofu could contain the murdered, grounded, scorched, pulverized and dessicatated remains of anywhere between 100-200 babies robbed of their right to exist.  And that's one block, which is barely enough to fill anyone... when I ate tofu, I would easily deep-fry about 3 more.  Supposing, moralistically-speaking, that all life is equal, that's an awful lot of death on a plate... how can tofu eaters sleep at night?!  D:

But morality aside, it does highlight the main reason why soy is bad for you... parents of any kind, be they animals, plants or fungi, care about their children, and will go to great lengths to ensure they survive, grow up and thrive.  And in the case of plants and their children,... particularly grains like wheat or pulses like soybeans... they will pack their babies' pods FULL of various anti-nutrients and other defensive mechanisms to ensure they're well protected against consumption by animals.  I mean sure, an animal like a cow can swallow whole seeds intact, which thanks to their protective covering will remain intact throughout the gut until they're pooped out back into the ground hundreds of meters or kilometers away, allowing it to sprout and grow the next generation of its kind.  This is sort of the purpose behind producing seeds of this kind, and why grass may not necessarily mind being chopped on by herbivores so long as those same herbivores can later help transport their children away.  But should said herbivore break this mutually beneficial exchange, and try to crack open and EAT their babies, then there will be hell to pay, and in the case of cows that usually results in a highly acidic rumen environment, various debilitating diseases, and death... within about 3 months of constant grain feeding, as is often done in horrible feedlots that force-feed cows grain, soy and other things they were never meant to eat.  

And this is not exclusive to cows, this will occur in humans as well, much like we'e already established wheat does to us on a very vicious scale.  Call it a slow and deadly curse... the revenge of the parent soya for the indiscriminate and wholesale massacre of their young... but despite all the wonderful nutritious hypotheticals contained in soybean, there are just as many anti-nutrients to ensure that you:

a) will fail to tap into that rich treasure trove of nutrients, since they were meant for the baby soya, not you, and...

b) you'll be further punished by having defensive compounds disrupt your ability to live and grow normally, as well as your own children's ability to lead normal lives themselves.

Take for instance the claim in the video that soys contain more complete proteins than meat.  I believe the claim itself is a little exaggerated as I recall back in my own conventional "healthy" days that a big problem with obtaining proteins from plant sources is that there was no single plant source that could do this effectively, hence necessitating that you combine various protein sources to fulfill a complete protein profile.  But even if it WERE true, again all that protein was meant for the baby soya, not for you or your human baby or child -- and to ensure that remains the case, the soybean includes various enzyme inhibitors, including trypsin inhibitors that impair your ability from properly digesting protein.  That means that not only are you not able to eat the baby soya's protein, but chances are it will also impair your ability to digest neighbouring proteins from other foods as well, such as that piece of chicken or fish you ate alongside the tofu [for whatever reason].  The end result is that someone expecting to gain all their nutritional protein from soy products alone may soon find themselves weak, tired, scrawny (or at least devoid of all muscle or anything of value, except perhaps visceral fat, malnourished, with difficulty walking, and terrible joint and back pains.... all preliminary signs of protein deficiency. 

And this is NOT even touching on phytates which impair mineral absorption including zinc and calcium, or goitrogens which impair thyroid function and iodine aborption, or phyto-estrogens that wreck hormonal havoc on both men and women (and sadly even children), or the issues with GMO soy which are still under-studied but are suspected of causing infertility risks, or the many issues with its processed products such as highly-inflammatory soybean [sludge] oil or soy protein isolate.  
And while fermentation does deactivate a love of the antinutrients in soy, it still never ceases to be a risky product; hence why a lot of the purported Asian cultures that have eaten soy products for millenia have not actually eaten them in extreme quantities, more like a tasty condiment and usually paired with a vitamin-rich accompaniment (as in the case of miso soup, fish broth) to wittingly or unwittingly counteract the ill effects of the stuff.  

It's a really huge topic and I don't think this answer can do it justice, so I highly recommend you watch this nice summary video on the matter...



Hopefully it will offer new insight to counteract the irresponsibly-positive press this "food" has had in the last few decades ever since someone decided to turn an industrial residual into the next health-craze and GMO money-maker. But always remember... despite everything, neither the soya nor its babies are to blame for the terrible effects they have on our body. They are simply trying to defend themselves, and we're all, soybeans and humans, the victims of greed, corruption, sloth, envy and other vices.  


--Cia

Dear Cia,

How come hardly anybody uses the subway metro station? (I made one for Lon Lon Ranch. These are fun ^^)

Dear Avocado,

Two words: bor-ing. XD

My original idea for the subway was to just make it local to Spawnington only, and possibly some of its neighboring suburbs... and like any RL subway, it had to have frequent stops for random sights.  The goal wasn't to offer yet another way to get from point A to B (which is pointless when we already have roads and TPs), but rather to have an immersive way to travel around town and see things you normally would ignore.  Hence it was important that the subway:

A) have multiple stops in between destinations, even if it requires making something interesting to stop to.

B) have well-decorated stations, all different and unique to the destination to the point it's a pleasure just exploring them

C) have visually-stimulating tunnels so you have a proper sense of motion and immersion and fun.

Absent that, it's just a very boring way to travel.  XD

You can kind of cheat on C by using above-ground monorails since that already ensures you have plenty to see, but Spawnington wasnt really a monorail town.  Those are best served for more futuristic settings. ^^

Anyway, have some nice subway music...



--Cia

Dear Cia:
Why are coconuts shaped the way they are?

Dear Cia,

Is it actually okay to use the whining thread or no, and well, why?

Dear Hannah,

YAY!  Coconut question to rinse away that icky tofu! XD

Well, what can I say?  There isn't a whole ton of literature devoted to coconut dispersal... in fact, it's poorly understood how long coconuts can last traveling across the ocean.  But travel along the ocean they do, and that's in LARGE part due to their tough, multi-layered husks, oval shapes, and air pocket inside its endocarp, all contributing to a resilient bouyancy that allows it to float across the ocean like a little boat (or more precisely, a bottle message).  Arguably the shape also helps the coconut "roll away" from tha parent coconut palm once the seeds are ready for dispersal, which is great since the parents don't want their babies growing too close to home (else they compete for the same nutrients).  Once the tide comes in, the round shape also helps the coconut get picked up by the waves and carry it off into its epic ocean voyage... while there is no information as to how long or how far a coconut can travel, specimens are found all throughout the coastlines of the tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean regions, some warmer coastlines of the Atlantic ocean (including the Carribean), and even as far away as Norway (although the cold kills them off, sadly).

Although videos on the subject matter are scarce, here's a dopey one that kinda/sorta covers how coconuts disperse:



Wow, that was bad, but "A" for effort.  I don't see many other options.  ^^;

Anyway, since that's done, let's talk briefly about coconut itself.  It is a long-consumed food whose milk, meat and oil (and tree sap) serve a myriad of culinary, medicinal and beauty care uses, as well as some industrial and survivalist uses from its husk and bark.  In non-tropical markets, most coconuts are sold without their plasticky exocarp and spongy mesocarp, leaving only the rock-hard endocarp intact for consumers to crack open like a nut (hence the name, lol).  Though lately I've seen more young coconuts sold in my local markets... these have some of the mesocarp left intact (shaved into a cute pencil-shape), since the endocarp is still too young and brittle to be sold to market unprotected.  

In case I'm tossing around too many weird names, here's a diagram of what a full coconut looks like, including a picture of a baby coconut sprouting:



Notice that the baby sprout does in fact come out through the "eyes" or pore of the coconut, specifically the soft one that can be used to puncture to drain out the coconut water (which is delicious).

Since we're on the subject, and so as to not sound like hypocrites given my tearing apart of soy, coconuts are indeed a seed... they are baby coconut palm trees duly robbed of their chance to sprout anew on some tropical shore.  The coconut water, meat and fat are all meant for the baby, and by consuming these we are still consuming a very young life.  However, unlike a soybean or grain, a coconut is pretty damn big, and is so high in fat (a very high-quality medium chain saturated fat known as Lauric Acid) that it can essentially be a meal all on its own, maybe more.  So unlike the vast cacophany of death that is tofu, a single coconut and its water can be breakfast, lunch, and, if you're really rationing, dinner... not bad at all for a plant food!  Granted you'd still get nutrient deficiencies eating an all-coconut diet, but considering how much nutrition it already covers, there isn't a whole lot of essential nutrients you need to add for a complete diet, maybe some fish and tubers: this is essentially the kind of diet that Polynesians ate and thrived on for tens of thousands of years!  Moreover, it may be a small comfort to know that a vast majority of coconuts never make it to a growing destination, and either grow too close to adult palm trees and die, or get lost at sea... rather than die a pointless death, better it help feed a lifeform on this Earth.  And finally, if, as some experts suggest, coconuts can't really float THAT far before being decomposed by the ocean's salt water, it's quite possible that ancient seafaring humans may have been responsible for propagating the coconut as widely as it is now, darting the coasts of southern Asia, East Africa, Oceania and South and Central America LONG before any known Europeans visited these regions.  Perhaps the coconut owes a lot of its modern success to us, and all in exchange for sacrificing a few of its young to feed us (a full grown palm tree can produce anywhere between 30 to 80 coconut seeds a year, so it has plenty to share); in a way this can be a kind of ancient symbiotic relationship, and would certainly explain why the coconut seems so unbelievably-beneficial.

For instance, while it is a plant seed, and it does, like many other plant seeds, contain phytates (plant anti-nutrient defenses), these are a non-chelating form that don't bind to minerals the way grain phytates do... essentially these pass through our system with almost no problem at all (except for those with coconut allergies, but that's rare).  You could say that the parent preferred to invest on making its baby heavily armoured with that huge, thick, heavy shell, rather than spend resources making the inside of it poisonoous somehow.  Besides, even if it were slightly harmful, the benefits of coconut as far as satiety, nutrient-density, fat-content, fiber-content, weight-control, insulin-regulation, electrolyte provisioning, immune system-boosting, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and energy-supplying properties (being the most calorie-density fruit in the world) more than make up for any ill effects of a very weak anti-nutrient.  The fact that it's not even a real problem makes this truly a very sacred and valuable food for us with almost no drawback whatsoever...

Except for that damn shell, lol! XD

If you're new to coconuts and aren't quite sure how to open them, here's a nice video highlighting how to easily open a mature coconut using the handy-dandy Vacu-Vin tool I purchased recently... 



It is in fact as easy as it looks. XD
Granted those tools are not found everywhere, but you can easily do the same using an ice pick to pierce the soft pore, and either the back of a heavy knife or a hammer to tap the "waist" circumference of the coconut -- the taps don't have to be hard, just frequent enough to gradually weaken the shell till it finally gives out and cracks open neatly.  Try it sometime!  ^^


--Cia

Dear Avocado,

Oh noes, a silly filly question.  But that's fine, cause I'm tired, and don't feel like writing a book, lol. XD

As far as the whining thread goes... I guess we can keep it around. It started as an April Fools joke, but it IS kind of fun, and it IS technically a game.  May be a place to vent or crack jokes... and while some degree of defamation may be permitted to allow for some good humor, really mean spirited things can get deleted and/or may probably be used against the person later.  >v>

So the main rule of thumb is to try and keep it cute, funny and irreverent. ^^


--Cia