Pick Your Poison -- Carefully

"For decades, the debate over high-fat versus low-fat diets has shaped health advice, sometimes even categorizing cheese as an unhealthy food to limit."

"Our study found that some high-fat dairy products may actually lower the risk of dementia, challenging some long-held assumptions about fat and brain health."

"Not all dairy products are equal when it comes to brain health. The few studies that have investigated this have found a correlation with cheese, so more research is needed to confirm our results and investigate whether certain high-fat dairy products really do provide some protection for the brain." 

Nutrition epidemiologist Emily Sonestedt, Lund University, Sweden 

Foods high in saturated fat have been shown in numerous studies to contribute to heart disease and early mortality.   StephanieFrey/iStockphoto/Getty Images

 

Good news for cheese-lovers. Eating high-fat cheese, according to a newly-released study out of Sweden, is linked to a lower risk of acquiring all forms of dementia. Titled High- and Low-Fat Dairy consumption and Long Term Risk of Dementia, the long-term study published in the journal Neurology, studied the lives (and deaths) of 27,670 Swedes over a 25-year period, the majority of which were female, with an avarage age of 58.1 when the study began between 1991 and 1996.

 

The Malmo Diet and Cancer cohort originating in the 1991 for the study of long-term connections between nutrition and cancer, formed the scaffold upon which the study leaned. With the use of a comprehensive diet history methodology combining a seven-day food diary, a food frequency questionnaire and a dietary interview, as a background formula to evaluate dietary intake, the study matched outcomes with their analysis. 

 

The Swedish National Patient Register up to December 31, 2020 served to identify dementia cases. Searching for all-cause dementia a generic term including Alzheimers, vascular dementia and other conditions, the researchers found that consuming 50 grams or more of high-fat cheese daily links to lower risk of developing dementia. Cheddar, Brie, Parmesan, Mozzarella and Gruyer were identified as typical high-fat cheeses, with over 20 percent fat content. 

 

The researchers found that people who ate 50 grams of cheese (with more than 20 percent fat) daily had a 13 percent lower risk of developing dementia than those who ate less than 15 grams daily. Photo: iStock

 

Interestingly, no association between the consumption of low-fat cheese or fermented milk products such as yogurt and kefir indicated similar brain benefits. Surprisingly, butter gave mixed results with a potential for increased Alzheimer's risk at high intake in comparison to those who eschewed butter.  The risk of developing dementia was calculated at roughly 10 percent for study participants who consumed 50 grams or greater high-fat cheese daily, in comparison to 13 percent for those who ate fewer than 15 grams a day. 

 

Over-consumption of high-fat animal products on the other hand may lead to other conditions that are not all that beneficial, to say the least. Overweight, for one thing, and obesity at a time when the world is seeing obesity soaring among both the young and the old. A condition that leads to other diseases such as diabetes which itself can lead to heart and neuropathy problems, including stroke and cancer. What should always be top of mind for good health is moderation in food intake with a focus on whole foods and the avoidance of a sedentary lifestyle at any age.

 

A new study links high-fat cheeses like those found in fondue with fewer cases of dementia. Photo by iStock/Getty Images

 

Keeling Over Dead-Drunk

"[Bradley Johnson left the Roxy in a state of] extreme intoxication [and shortly afterward injured himself]."

"There is both a legal and a common law prohibition against over-serving alcohol beverages -- a visibly intoxicated patron should never be served more alcohol."

Personal injury lawsuit, Vancouver

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Bradley Roger Johnson, a Vancouver pub bartender, finished his shift at the Kingston Taphouse and Grille at 11:00 p.m. Before he left his workplace he had two drinks. At 11:30 p.m. he wandered over to another establishment, the Studio Lounge and Nightclub, in the Granville area of Vancouver. There he enjoyed two ciders and two shots of whisky. An hour later he entered another bar, Relish, and there he relished "approximately four 12-ounce Lonetree ciders, a double vodka and soda and a shot of Jameson Whiskey".

 

In a total period of four hours on 23 of August, 2016, he consumed two double vodka and sodas, two Strongbow ciders, two shots of whiskey, four 12-ounce Lone-tree  ciders, a double vodka and soda, a shot of Jameson whiskey, three double vodka and sodas, three shots of whiskey and one other shot not identified. Between 2:20 a.m. and 3:20 a.m. he downed three rounds at the Roxy Cabaret, each a double vodka and soda and a whiskey shot, all ordered at three different bars n the establishment, capped with a final "further unidentified shot".

When he finally called it a night, he began to walk home, and in an obviously compromised condition, soon fell backwards. As he fell his head hit the sidewalk. In the claim he filed with the B.C. Supreme Court, there is a statement that he was left with a "severe brain injury". On the basis of this rather straightforward narrative of gross over-consumption of alcohol, it just might be assumed that his brain injury preceded his fall and the night's overindulgence.

What he wants and feels he is entitled to, is to be awarded damages for health-care-related costs and loss of earning capability. He points out that his parents gave him the support he required to recuperate from his ordeal. The allegations in his lawsuit have not been proven -- with both The Roxy and Studio denying his version of events. Johnson was a regular patron at the Roxy, so they knew him well; his character, or lack of such.

 

Johnson had about 19 ounces of hard liquor, six servings of cider and one “unidentified” shot. Photo by Getty Images

 

 

According to their account, he was not over-served, and nor was he visibly intoxicated when he left. "If the plaintiff was intoxicated at the time he departed The Roxy, which is expressly denied, the plaintiff left The Roxy in the care and company of persons who were, or alternatively who reasonably appeared to be, sober", read the response to the lawsuit.

 

Not only is this bartender fortunate that he didn't die on the spot from alcohol poisoning, he has guaranteed that he will never again be hired by any respectable bar or lounge in the city. His legal claim for compensation will never succeed. As a bartender himself he knows the rules, and as a mature adult he should be aware that the responsibility not to overindulge to the point of non-function is ultimately his. Too bad, so sad. His suffering parents stuck with a wastrel son to support.

Bartenders are generally reluctant to serve already-intoxicated customers. Photo by Getty Images

Reasonableness Equals Moderation

"Pizza is often demonized as 'bad' because it is high in fat,  high in refined carbohydrates and easy to overindulge."
"But if that pizza isn't an everyday occurrence and it brought friends together, encouraged conversation, laughing and connection, the otherwise 'bad' food becomes nurturing for your soul."
Chris Mohr, co-founder nutrition consulting Mohr Results

"People use 'good' or 'bad' to describe food as if you are 'good' or 'bad' for eating them. This only leads to guilt and stress overeating."
"You are not good for eating kale and bad for eating ice cream."
Deanne Wolfe, co-founder, HealthyBody Nutrition

"The original philosophy appears to be one I think we could all get on board with: eating food as close to its original state as possible, in the most nutritional form possible [minimally processed]."
"But what was once a sense of awareness about food seems to have spiralled into a diet-culture-driven system. On social media, it's become yet another form of body- and food-shaming."
"No matter what, the alternative to 'clean' sounds [like] fear-mongering."
Jaclyn London, nutrition director, Good Housekeeping

Healthy Eating  Health Guide

We all want to be healthy, look good, feel good, enjoy the food we eat and live a good life. If we're concerned about the state of our current health and how we're maintaining our body to ensure we don't succumb to chronic health issues, it's never a bad idea to consider what we're eating. And if we consistently and frequently rely on fast food outlets to sustain the major portion of our diets, and haphazardly select highly processed foods for quick and easy eating, we're doing ourselves no favours.

On the other hand, let's be reasonable. A stringent focus on diet that results in strictly following dietary guidelines to the extent that no back-sliding can be countenanced is hardly conducive to enjoying life. It doesn't become a dietary crime to occasionally indulge in consuming something that is known to be not particularly healthy, but that hits all the high notes on our taste buds. The occasional indulgence hurts no one.

If we twist ourselves into pretzels determined to eat only prescribed fresh food items known as 'whole' foods that have not been factory-tampered, that quest for 'perfection' and the outcome of viewing ourselves as virtuously dedicated to our health may just squeeze the fun out of eating. An over-indulgence in spurning everything but kale, cauliflower and broccoli may assuage our over-zealous consciousness but the occasional deviance has few consequences.

People can become too moralistic about diet. You may decide to dedicate yourself to a lifetime of conscientiously avoiding sugar-and-fat-laden food but unreservedly spurning the occasional doughnut instead of that healthy apple won't spell the end of your devotion to healthy eating; unless you consider yourself a fragile recovering food-aholic.

There's also the psychological reverse effect in considering a food choice forbidden. Suddenly it may seem delectably appealing simply because it has gained forbidden status and its avoidance becomes a kind of psychical torment. People who forbid themselves the occasional indulgence run the risk of turning a little neurotic about their choices. What they spurn becomes irresistible.

Food choices are not 'clean' nor are they to be considered 'dirty'. So-called 'clean' diets are all very well, but unnecessarily domineering. People who have a tendency to sternly force themselves to a restricted diet can sometimes boomerang and throw it all up in an agony of indecision occasioned by persuading themselves that they're doomed if they deviate from whole foods. Self-judgement can be pretty devastating.

If you've taken the trouble to identify healthy food choices and know through practise how to prepare whole foods to take advantage of their untouched nutritional benefits -- avoiding the mind-boggling plethora of convenience, processed and fast foods -- just relax about it all. You can still eat some measure of foods that are best avoided if they represent a serious proportion of your diet. Understand that some food scares like avoidance of carbohydrates makes no sense.

Cereal grains, fresh fruits and vegetables are carbohydrate-rich. "I'm asked if fruit is bad because it's a carb at least once per week. The fact that people, who are trying to do right by their health actually question if fruit is bad for them is a window into how distorted our society's view of food is", noted Marjorie Nolan Cohn, of MNC Nutrition and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokeswoman.

The cardinal rule in all life matters from food choices to spending indulgences in a vast array of consumer goods and determining life choices is moderation. Establish a balance that works -- and enjoy life.

The One-Note Diet

"[The carnivore diet includes] only foods that either walked, swam, or flew. It has become trendy but] eating only meat is not sexy. It’s not colorful, and it’s not fun."
Kelly Schmidt, RD, holistic dietitian, Columbus, Ohio

"[The carnivore diet represents an extreme extension of low-carbohydrate diets...] This is the keto diet on testosterone."
"Long-term research on the carnivore diet is simply absent -- and no, that one-year study of two men in 1930 [Vilhjalmur Stefansson and a fellow explorer eating like the Inuit] doesn't count."
Jonathan Jarry, Office for Science and Society, McGill University 

"[While people can experience gas or stomach upset if they eat beans or other high-lectin foods such as seeds, grains, rinds and leaves] there is no research to suggest that we should avoid all of these nutrient-rich foods."
Heidi Bates, director, Integrated Dietetic Internship, University of Alberta

"It takes time for scurvy to present -- you won't notice this in a few weeks [in the absence of vitamin C intake from fresh fruits and vegetables]."
Dr. Joe Schwarcz, director, Office for Science and Society, McGill University

For people who consider meal preparation a chore, who don't know all that much about nutrition and good choice selection in a balanced diet, eating one type of food exclusively might seem attractive. All the more so that one particular kind of food does attract the appreciation of many people who enjoy red meat to the exclusion of many other choices. We're told by health specialists and the medical community that too much meat in one's diet leads inevitably to the clogging of arteries and heart disease along with risk of stroke, not to mention obesity and chronic diseases like diabetes.

We're urged by public health campaigns to eat in moderation and to make intelligent choices; avoiding processed foods, excessive salt, fats, sugars. Make the greater proportion of what's on our dinner plate vegetables, and a small amount of protein to accompany them. Eat fresh fruit as often as you like in preference to baked goods. Make the issue a complete life-style one of balancing diet with physical movement; reject a sedentary lifestyle and a diet weighted heavily in red meat and processed meat types.

How did the carnivore diet begin its route to popularity? An orthopedic surgeon by the name of Shawn Baker, a leader in the carnivore diet movement, wrote a book titled The Carnivore Diet, released early in 2018. He has had his medical license revoked. The "voluntary and permanent surrender" of his medical license was ordered by the New Mexico Medical Board in 2017 in reflection of the fact that "This action was based on failure to report adverse action taken by a healthcare entity and incompetence to practice as a licensee", according to their report.

Fatty meats from ruminant sources (cattle, lamb, goat, antelope, elk, deer) along with processed meats such as bacon, sausage and deli meats are all fundamentals of the carnivore diet. In fact they are, essentially, the carnivore diet. And water. Drink water, eat beef. All the time. At every meal. Eschew grains, fruits, vegetables; they contaminate the carnivore diet. Eggs and dairy may be permissible. Take with water. Add sodium to ensure there's no muscle cramping. Forget nuts, seeds or spices based on plants; ditto oils or seasonings. Supplements? Now you're pushing it.

The carnivore diet claims people can readily lose weight, improve cardiovascular health, increase their mental clarity, alleviate autoimmune symptoms, clear acne and other skin conditions and while they're at it, the diet will ease anxiety and depression. The theory behind refusing fruits and vegetables is that lectins, gluten and phytic acid in many plants are toxic to people. Found in seeds, grains, skins, rinds and leaves lectins are there to protect plants from predators. Ingested by humans, according to American cardiologist Steven Gundry, they cause inflammatory reactions.

Of course for some people, such as those with kidney disease, and of course diabetes which can lead to kidney disease, meat intake should be strictly limited. People are  urged to limit intake of red and processed meat to 70 grams daily to reduce the risk of bowel cancer. Too much meat in the diet can increase uric acid in the blood leading to joint crystallization which causes gout. Evidence exists that links grilled meat and cancer; chemicals form including heterocyclic amines, mutagenic in nature causing DNA changes increasing cancer risks when muscle meat is cooked at high temperatures.

There's no calcium in meat nor dietary fibre. Red meat contains zinc and iron, and a number of B vitamins. Eggs, permitted on the carnivore diet, contain some vitamin C along with steak tartar, meat in its raw form, as well as liver. But hardly in sufficient quantities to prevent scurvy. No randomized clinical trials exist in support of claims the carnivore diet can cure autoimmune diseases. Touted benefits are difficult to either quantify or measure.

Red meat (beef, pork, lamb), with an emphasis on fattier cuts of meat to take in enough calories. Other options include:

• Organ meats
• Poultry
• Fish
• Eggs
  • Lard
  • Bone marrow
  • Butter
  • Salt and pepper
  • Water
  • Bone broth

  Foods That May Be Okay on the Carnivore Diet

  Foods that might be acceptable, as some people interpret the “comes from an animal” part of the carnivore diet, says Schmidt, include:
• Milk
• Yogurt
• Cheese

Coffee and tea: These may be plant-based, but some people keep these in the diet.

Foods Not Allowed on the Carnivore Diet

• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Seeds
• Nuts
• Legumes
• Bread
• Pasta
• Grains

EverydayHealth

Coffee and Cake, Anyone?

"[A palate altered to taste sugary objects as less sweet than they are] is a noticeable effect, and that it does stick around after you've finished consuming [results from imbibing coffee with caffeine in it."
"[Since many people drink more than one cup of coffee] this [dulled palate] may have a cumulative effect to the day."
"Some of these flavoured coffees, to me, they all taste very, very sweet before you put anything in there. Maybe that's them [coffee companies] already responding to this [caffeine/sweet-dulling effect]. You might be getting 800 calories in your coffee before you've already sat down in (sic) your desk."
"People have a very negative opinion of decaf, they think there's no point in drinking it."
"If you don't know that it's decaf, you might be feeling just as boosted as you might with a regular cup of coffee."
Robin Dando, director, Cornell Sensory Evaluation Facility/assistant professor, Cornell University Department of Food Science

"It has always been coffee and doughnuts, or coffee and some type of sweet -- we've been doing this a long time, this link between sugar and coffee, but now we understand more of the mechanism."
"This is one more reason to be moderate with our caffeine intake."
Lauri Wright, assistant professor, director of doctorate program, University of North Florida

A science team at Cornell University at Ithica, New York undertook research to establish that adenosine helps us taste sweet flavours, and caffeine, while producing an energy burst, blocking brain receptors for adenosine, interferes with our taste for sweet. Coffee loaded with caffeine has the effect of making things taste less sweet. And the takeaway link there explains why it is that when drinking coffee, people look for something sweet to go along with it, evidently.

The research proceeded with each member of the study group given a cup of lightly sweetened coffee, without informing the participants whether the cup they were given contained caffeine or was decaffeinated coffee. To ensure that those given the decaf wouldn't be tipped off because it lacked the typical caffeine-laden coffee bitterness, quinine was added to the decaffeinated coffee. Leading to the participants being "unable to estimate the caffeine content of their sample", according to the study.

Those who consumed caffeine had the perception that it was less sweet compared to those who drank decaf. Asked to taste and rate a solution of sucrose some 15 minutes after consumption of the coffee, lower levels of sweetness were reported by those drinking the caffeinated coffee. No effort was made to measure the lasting effect of this perception, although it was determined that there was no detectable effect on perceptions of bitter, sour, salty or umami tastes with caffeine consumption.

Previous research undertaken by Dr. Dando had discovered that people who in experiments had their capacity to taste sweet flavours blocked chemically, craved sugar and sought higher-calorie treats as a result. So it was already understood that a caffeinated cup of coffee would have a blocking effect on detecting sweetness, which reacted on people's tastes by stimulating them to want cookies or cake at a level much greater than normal.

The corollary to this is that with this realization coffee companies promote sales of post-coffee sweets, and as well produce sweeter coffees, flavouring them. At the opposite end of the scale, studies have demonstrated that caffeine in moderation also has benefits to health, reducing the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, adding excessive sugar to caffeinated coffee through the course of a day with multiple coffee intakes, might offset some of these benefits.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in the U.S. recommends the consumption of 400 mg of caffeine, maximum daily, which equates to roughly three cups of coffee. Strangely enough, participants in this study reported experiencing an energy boost irrespective of whether they were given the decaffeinated or the caffeinated coffee; the flavour of the coffee seemed the same. Which speaks volumes about drinking decaffeinated to reflect the placebo effect. Mind over matter.

"I think it ultimately comes down to mindfulness. To being aware that your taste buds may not be the same throughout the day or after certain foods", states Dr. Dando, and that people might consider this when they respond throughout the day to their coffee cravings, and make an effort to moderate intake.

Ill Health and Lifestyle

"Sleep apnea and diabetes go hand in hand."
"Sleep helps our bodies restore themselves. Without enough sleep, we can actually bring on diabetes [Type 2, adult-onset]."
Dr. Florence Comite, endocrinologist, New York City

"The pressure from trying to breathe stretches the heart, which puts out a diuretic."
"Men blame their prostates, and women blame menopause, but really it's their sleep apnea that's causing them to have to go to the bathroom at night."
Robert Rosenberg, sleep specialist

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type of apnea causing breathing to briefly come to a halt. The less common and infinitely more dangerous type, central sleep apnea (CSA), is where breathing stops completely and for relatively long periods, a situation that can be fatal in its consequences. Weight loss is the first prescribed remedy for treatment of sleep apnea. If weight loss fails to address the condition, doctors prescribe a mask or nose plugs to feed pressurized air into the airways.

Should those alternative treatments be unsuccessful, surgery to unblock obstructions becomes an option. Type 2 diabetes is not to be confused with Type 1, formerly named juvenile-onset. Type 1 diabetes is generally visited upon the young among whom some have a family history of diabetes. For them diabetes onset is related to a failure of the pancreas to produce insulin, likely resulting from a failure in the immune system where the Islands of Langerhans are attacked and destroyed.

Type 2 diabetes is seen as a lifestyle disease, afflicting mostly middle-aged and older sedentary people who become overweight, presenting as a perfect candidate for hormonal imbalance. Weight loss, a resolve to become physically active can often return an individual with Type 2 diabetes onset back toward a balance of health. With Type 1 diabetes, eating healthily in moderate amounts and regular exercise helps balance blood sugar levels, but cannot reverse the effect of beta cells' insulin incapacity.



New research appears to point to a relationship between sleep deprivation and diabetes; diabetes symptoms disturb sleep, and sleep loss in its turn contributes to diabetes. With the addition of psychological stress and the condition of obesity a vicious cycle results. Those suffering from Type 2 diabetes produce too little insulin and too much glucose; without the balance required to allow insulin to usher the glucose into the cells requiring them for energy.

Type 2 diabetes appears to have become more common in society even as the sleeping hours of the average North American has been reduced. While seven to nine hours of sleep nightly is considered ideal according to the American Diabetes Association, a good 35 percent of society suffers inadequate hours of sleep. Complicating the relationship between diabetes and sleep are the situations arising out of diabetes and its management.

Complications such as restless-leg syndrome during the night and neuropathy where nerve pain or numbness occurs as living with diabetes long term begins to erode other body functions results in an inability to sleep comfortably and well, in turn continuing the progress of harm to the body's functional health. And apnea, breathing interruption caused by obstructed airways, is being recognized as a major culprit in complicating peoples' health conditions.

Sleep of adequate quantity and quality permits human growth hormone (HGH) and insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1)to grow cells and repair tissues; normal body functions. Sufficient sleep enables the body to produce leptin, a hormone that depresses the appetite; when sleep is lacking, the end product is more ghrelin, stimulating the appetite and in turn sleep deprivation increases cortisol that prevents insulin from entering the cells (insulin resistance).

The amount of oxygen feeding the brain and heart is additionally reduced when apnea prevents normal sleep patterns to prevail. Older males with thick necks or sunken chins and people whose waists are encircled with excess weight are more commonly assailed with sleep apnea. Among those with diabetes even those who are not obese are at risk for developing sleep apnea.



Impaired health and the conditions ill health impose on the body can be complex and dangerous. The best way to avoid such complications is to practise good health by eating sensibly, focusing on nutritious whole foods taken in moderation, and not succumbing to the urge to just sit around and allow the only body that your lifetime will allow you to become impaired through disuse.