Saturday, August 27, 2016

Onions:  "quercetin absorption from onions is double that [of] tea and three times that [of] apples."


I have eaten garlic medicinally.  What that means is that whenever I feel sick or anxiety I take a clove of garlic at bed.  I crush the clove so garlic's chemicals can be released and made easier for absorbtion.  The result is spectacular.  My blood vessels get dilated, and the benefits are more energy.  Love it.  And the following day I feel sturdier.  

But sometimes the garlic can work adversely on my stomach.  Still, I know that garlic and other root vegetables or onions, allium vegetables, are good for the heart.  Least that's what I've heard and read.  My dad once told me that he eats onions "because they're good for the heart."  In fact, he used to make his own sandwiches and always add a wedge of onion and a few peppers to it and take that to work. Don't know how he got around the smell at work.  Funny. Remember, too, how on long vacation drives he would wrap up sandwiches and always, always I'd find a wedge of onion wrapped in the tin foil in which he kept his sandwich. So he knew. This is not news.  Just an important reminder. Eat your onions.  Eat them raw. 

A little side note on onions
Onions have been cultivated for thousands of years and originated in the Near East and Central Asia. They were grown not only for use in cooking, but for their antiseptic qualities. In Egypt, onions were used in mummification. The most familiar allium is the common, or bulb, onion of the species Allium cepa, which may have a yellow, white, red, or purple skin. While onions may be fresh, they are most commonly purchased dried. Fresh, also called “sweet”, onions have a milder taste. Dry, also called “storage,” onions, have a stronger flavor. Dry onions have thick, paper-like skins. The vast majority of onions purchased at the supermarket are yellow storage onions. Pungent yellow onions are the best “keepers” and are great additions to soups and stews, while red onions are very sweet, but a poor choice for long-term storage. Red onions are good sliced and eaten raw in salads or sandwiches, or for topping a veggie burger. Common mild onions include Bermuda and Spanish varieties. Pearl onions -- which are most often white -- are the tiniest of the bulb onions, and are the top choice for boiling or pickling.  

WHY ARE ONIONS GOOD FOR YOU?
In a word, quercetin.  Quercetin is a flavonoid, chemicals that give the fruit or vegetable its flavor.  Onions are also a disease-fighting food.  Dr. Joseph Mercola explains that 
Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties that may help fight chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.  In lab studies, quercetin was shown to prevent histamine release (histaminese are the chemicals that cause allergic reactions.  This makes quercetin-rich foods like onions "natural anti-histamines."  

I knew that apples and onions contained quercetin; I just didn't know the extent of quercetin's benefits.  I mean almost since the term anti-oxidants gained traction in the public discourse, that seems that that's all we hear about.  But anti-oxidants are not created equal, nor do they function equally. 

While apples and tea also contain quercetin, onions appear to be a particularly good source.  Research from Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands showed quercetin absorption from onions is double that from tea and three times that from apples.
Research from the University also showed consuming onions leads to increased quercetin concentrations in the blood.  As reported by The World's Healthiest Foods
". . . On an ounce-for-ounce basis, onions rank in the top of commonly eaten vegetables in their quercetin content.  The flavonoid content of onions can vary widely, depending on the exact variety and growing conditions.
Although the average onion is likely to contain less than 100 milligrams of quercetin per 3-1/2 ounces, some onions do provide this amount.  
And while 100 milligrams may not sound like a lot, in the United States, moderate vegetable eaters average only twice this amount for all flavonoids (not just quercetin) from all vegetables per day." 

ONIONS or QUERCETIN SUPPLEMENTS?
Mercola answers this question too.  In the context of concentration, it is hard to beat food remedies.  
Quercetin is available in supplement form, but there are a couple of reasons why getting this flavonoid from onions makes more sense.  

*  One animal study found that animals received greater protection against oxidative stress when they consumed yellow onion in their diet as opposed to consuming quercetin extracts.  

*  Quercetin is not degraded by low-heat cooking, such as simmering.  When preparing a soup with onions, the quercetin will be transferred into the brother of the soup, making onion soup an easy-to-make superfood.  

Good to know.  

I started eating more onions, raw, to address some digestion discomfort.  Turns out that onions are really good for the colon.
Organosulfur compounds [in onions] such as diallyl disulfide (DDS), S-allylcysteine (SAC), and S-methylcysteine (SMC) have been shown to inhibit colon and renal carcinogenesis.  
That has to sit well with almost every reader even those who don't like onions.  

Onions contain sulfur, too, as you know.  And Mercola explains its benefits when you consume onions.  
The sulfur compounds in onions, for instance, are thought to have anti-clotting properties as well as help to lower cholesterol and triglycerides.  The allium and allyl disulphide in onions have also been found to decrease blood vessel stiffness by releasing nitric oxide.  
I have first-hand experience with that.  He adds that . . .  
This may reduce blood pressure (always a good thing, no?) inhibit platelet clot formation and help decrease the risk of coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular diseases and stroke. [Amazing!]  The quercetin in onions is also beneficial, offering both anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may boost heart health.  
All I can say is wow.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Isolation Is Not Good for You. So Make a Friend. Or Reconnect With an Old Friend.  Serve.
Being socially isolated is just as bad for your stress levels as smoking researchers claim.  (Photo by Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)
Having a small social network is as bad for your health as smoking, according to a new study. Researchers from Yale University showed that a person’s position in the social network is associated with blood markers of stress. They discovered that the more people who would call you a friend the lower the levels of fibrinogen, a predictor of heart attack and stroke, in your blood. However, reeling off a long list of those we consider friends does not have the same effect. The number of friends and relatives named by an individual, reflecting the perceived social network, is only weakly related to fibrinogen levels. The association between social isolation and fibrinogen is comparable to the effect of smoking, and greater than that of low education, a conventional measure of socioeconomic disadvantage, the scientists said. What matters is how others see us, not how we see them. Biggest health risks Ischaemic heart disease, also known as coronary heart disease, and stroke are the biggest health risks of social isolation and thes conditions are also the two leading causes of death worldwide.  
Keep reading . . .   You will have to be your own judge on this.  I do know that not knowing anybody hurts.  I know that being homeless or the feeling of homelessness is stressful.  No doubt.  But if you're tied into people, even on the periphery or even online helps.  We often overestimate the number and the quality of our friendships and as do our friends do about us.  And then there is production.  What about production?  We have to produce and create things of value in order to feel, well, valuable and to have a meaningful life.  And, of course, what people can do is up to them.  I drove a truck and ran deliveries with sometimes 50 to 100 miles between stops in the mountain towns of Colorado. That drive can be lonely.  Sitting for long periods with my legs bent at the knees for an hour or more can be stressful.  In fact, it was stressful.  It is why I left that position for more mobile work.  Yet, the folks in the mountain towns relied on me.  They needed their equipment, particularly if they ordered it before the snow storm and could only have it delivered weeks after the storm ended.  

Saturday, August 20, 2016

"It's going to be real bad."

According to Wenzel, "It's going to be real bad. Note: These calculations were done by Charles Gaba before Aetna dropped out of 536 markets. Thus, these projections underestimate the premium increases."

This will not end well.  The above figures are the 2017 increases in Obamacare rates according to those respective states.

California rate will be going up 13.2%.

Oregon's rate will be going up 26%.
Texas going up 53.7%.  That's insane.
Washington up 13.5%.
Illinois going up 23 to 45%.  Crazy.
Tennessee is going up 27%.
Florida up 17.7%.
New York up 17.3%.
Maine up 22.8%.
These make the national inflation rate of 1% neglible.


Tuesday, August 16, 2016

This should put the issue into perspective as well as the rewards from each. I knowingly ordered farm-raised salmon from a local store a few years back and got horribly sick. There are folks out there who continue to dismiss the difference. The little things make huge differences. Don't make a mistake on the little things; they may come back to bite you.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Dave Asprey, Creator of BulletProof Coffee (Fantastic Product!) Interviews Dr. Barry Sears, Creator of the Zone Diet

This is a long interview. It's good but it's long. Polyphenols are master sculptures of the gut.
Well, this point was interesting.  Asprey asks which is better--eating 2 pounds of green leafy vegetables or eating high fat meals?
Polyphenols in berries are more water soluble and so find their way into your blood stream better. Green leafy vegetables have less water solubility.  Sounds like they are better used for insoluble fiber than for their polyphenol effect.  The conundrum is that berries have a higher sugar content, so you can't eat a bunch.  Sears argues for concentrates extracted without the sugar content and without the inefficient solubility into your blood stream.  He is essentially recommending his products.

Alberto Viejo recommneds high amounts of polyphenols so your stress


Polyphenol has a half-life.  Their half life is measured in hours. The genes you're activating.  

The green coffee polyphenol are rich in polyphenols but very bitter. They have to be cooked and the polyphenols are released.  In nutrition, nobody's wrong, but often they're not completely right.

You need . . .

Adequate amount of protein [i.e., amino acids] in a day.
Adequate amounts of essential fats. 
Adequate levels of polyphenols.  Essential to manage inflammation.

So you have to have adequate amounts in the right balance to maintain insulin in a zone.  

The fat will have no effect on insulin. Medium-chain triglycerides developed at Harvard Medical School back in the 80s were used for treating burn victims?  Water soluble.  Enter into the blood stream through the portal vein, go directly to the liver and metabolized there on the spot and wipe out stores of glycogen.  Get ketosis very quickly.  Can no longer maintain blood sugar levels for the brain.  


The brain is the only organ that can use energy.  Wow!  Never heard that before.  


Central nutrients Get them all together with the least amount of calories but with the best hormonal response.  Food affects hormones and the expression of our genes.  It's really gene therapy in our kitchen.


Start-ups using time and money to say that it tastes good.


FDA has made it clear: you can make drug-like claims if they're supported by good, clinical research.  Rat studies from China is not "good, clinical research."  You've got to use people.  


Foods and drugs have therapeutic zones, above which the food/drug is toxic, below which the food/drug is ineffective.


Sears claims that the Zone Diet book was really written for cardiologists. 


It's an inflammation management diet, not a weight control diet, althought it will control your weight.  


Excessive Omega 6 from soy and cheese.  I love cheese!  Is this my problem?  


Essential fatty acids are essential because they control powerful hormones in our bodies, called eicosanoids.  Eicosanoids are 

prostaglandins and related compounds.  Most are produced from arachidonic acid, a 20-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acid (5, 8,11, 14-eicosatetraaenoic acid.  The eicosanoids are considered "local hormones."  They have specific effects on target cells close to their site of formation.
A balance creates a nice homeostasis.  Our ability to produce Omega 6 fatty acids is monumental.  Every disease state is the result of Omega 6: obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer, cancer, etc.  When increase the levels of insulin we get an explosion of inflammation. We were ground zero with Omega 6 fatty acids.  Italian children are the fatest in Europe.  

People developed a fat trap, where the calories get into your fat cells and being trapped in your fat cells and not being released to make energy, like ATP.  Gaining weight while starving!!  Signicant change in their metabolism.  Constantly starving of energy. 


Fat cells are our swiss bank account.  Fat Trap caused by significant inflammation.  Not enough ATP, you either slow down or make more calories.  


Metabolism: converting calories into energy.  If you're not hungry 5 hours after your meal, it means you've rectified your metabolism.