Dr. Davis,
would you please explain, in layman's terms, why chiceking blood glucose can be so important for not only keeping track of blood sugar but for weight loss? I think I get it, but my mother, who was recently diagnosed as "pre-diabetic", says she is going to return the glucosometer she based bought upon my suggestion, as she is going to eat low-carb and track calories, etc.  Help me help my mom out!  Thanks so much,
emily

Dr Davis, thanks for the site.

There's a history of Diabetes in my family.
My dad and his father were both Diabetics and they both died of Pancreatic Cancer in later years.
They never watched any of their habits though.
My dad's doctor used to call him a "food and lifestyle" liar. Dad shrugged it off.. and kept on lying.

Yes, I know about the genetic odds here.
I do watch what I eat, Vit D3, no cigarettes and I exercise and live life.

I've never seen a conclusive study relating Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer.
Any thoughts on that ?
I'm not Diabetic. FBG today of 89.
But I still watch myself and I have started to use a BG monitor to watch post-prandial numbers.
It's interesting how different foods affect everyones's BG differently.
I'm continually learning.
Thanks again for the site.

I'm new to all this but have a question if anyone is willing to indulge me an answer...

I frequently fall to sleep after lunch and/or after dinner, just "nod off" type of thing.  Is this a result of high BG and then the insulin response driving sugar low?

I am not diabetic and try to eat reasonable healthy meals, moderates amount of lean meat, vegetable and starch like rice or potato.  I wonder if I have insulin insensitivity...guess I need a meter. Thanks

Thanks for explaining why.

Could you maybe elaborate a little?

Carbs cause blood sugar to rise. Indulge in excess carbs, and you can walk, run and bike till you drop and not lose an ounce.

Awesome post Dr. Davis. I check my post-prandial BG constantly and have eliminated many so called low glycemic foods. ALso, nice simple explanation Lori.

@ Larry said...
I've never seen a conclusive study relating Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer.
Any thoughts on that ?
It's not a straightforward connection, they are still arguing about it.
This abstract suggests  
the development of diabetes in subjects prone to pancreatic cancer could be a red flag for malignancy.

And this full text article
Is Type 2 Diabetes a Risk Factor for Pancreatic Cancer? explains why it's difficult to definitively identify type 2 diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

Worth pointing out for those with Diabetes who are concerned about the threat of Pancreatic cancer that Metformin monotherapy carried the lowest risk of cancer. However that was comparing medical diabetes treatments, so didn't include people using Dr Bernstein's or similar approaches to controlling diabetes through diet, exercise.

I found this paper Cancer as a metabolic disease worth studying. It's not specifically about pancreatic cancer. It makes the point that Reduced glucose availability will target aerobic glycolysis and the pentose phosphate shunt; pathways  required  for  the  survival  and  proliferation  of many  types  of  tumor  cells.
Maybe it isn't just the risk of heart disease that is reduced by lowering circulating  glucose levels.

@  Emily
Please try to persuade your mum the glucose meter is an essential tool to understand which foods really raise BG levels.
I thought, a bit like your mum, that because I followed a Low carb eating plan I wouldn't have a problem with high glucose.
Only after readingTo get low-carb right, you need to check blood sugars did I get a meter and start checking.
Despite eating almost exclusively low carb I was regularly spiking up to 199.8 ~ 11.1.
Adding into my diet a variety of things to slow gastric emptying has reduced the height of 1hr after meal spikes and I've now gone a week under 133.2 ~ 7.4 and the trend is towards lower numbers mostly under 108 ~ 6

I've not restricted my calorie intake nor am I able to exercise much but I have, unintentionally, lost weight. A month ago I was 168lbs and am now 163 lbs.

I went out and bought a glucose meter yesterday.  I bought the one Dr. Davis recommended, the OneTouch mini purchased at Walgreens.

In hindsight though, it turned out to be an expensive choice.  I had to buy the OneTouch test strips as well, and they are fairly pricey.

For anyone considering buying a glucometer, buy the Walgreen's version.  I think it had a mail-in rebate, cost a bit less than the one touch, and also, the generic Walgreen's test strips are half as much as the One Touch.

And thank you Dr. Davis for this great blog.

Consumer Reports magazine recommended the ReliOn Ultima and their strips. The meter is, like, $9 and the strips are very inexpensive (compared to "branded" ones). (I'm pre-diabetic.) I don't have any hesitation checking my b.g. anytime, because the strips are cheap.  (No insurance, I have to pay for all my supplies.)  If you have insurance but they limit your strips (as with my nephew, a Type 1), you can use the  cheap one to fill-in your testing.

From my research and experimentation, the Accuchek Aviva shown in picture is the most accurate and precise meter currently available.  Over the long run, an accurate and precise meter will save you money and a lot of trouble, versus one whose results are not as reliable, and which forces you to test more.

btw, most precision issues are due to the strips, and cheap strips will simply result in lots of unnecessary holes in your fingers if you're serious about knowing what's going on with BGs.

thanks

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I wish that I can have all those weight loss tool. I am sure if I have all those my weight loss program is going to be more effective.

I would just love to drink my tap water for necessary minerals but my city has deemed it necessary to forcefully medicate it's inhabitants by adding fluoride to it so I go to my local water store and get my drinking water.

I have hashi's so I must avoid flouride (except for having to bathe in the citywater)as much as possible.  Sometimes I get distilled and sometimes I get the reverse osmosis for my drinking water.  I add Himalayan 'sea' salt to the water to add back in the minerals but I really have no clue if that is adequatly providing the minerals my body needs so I also take vit/min supplement and additional magnesium(sometimes before going to bed - it seems to allow a more restful sleep and makes me calmer overall).

Some of the proponents of distilled water drinking say that absorption of minerals from water is negligible.  I don't know if there are any studies out there to prove if this is so.  My guess is that it would depend on the gut health of the individual.

I also give my pets the bottled water with the sea salt added to it.  they don't need no steenkin fluoridated tap water either.

Growing up we had well water and it was delicious.  I don't know if anyone ever tested the water for it's mineral content, though.  

Nancy

Most people would do well to take a vitamin/mineral supplement each day. It's simple to do, and relatively inexpensive. Relying on our diets to provide us with the right nutrients can leave out important ones.

Fortunately, I live in Hot Springs, Arkansas where I have free access to 140° thermal spring water, with 4.9 ppm Mg.  Don't know if that's sufficient but that's all I drink.

There are many types of magnesium available in vitamin stores. Which is the best type to buy? I am curious about absorption by the body and not including a lot of potentially unhealthy ingredients?.

Does Wheat actually contain the amount of magnesium claimed?
Evidence of decreasing mineral density in wheat grain over the last 160 years.
Is the magnesium in wheat absorbed ?
New data on the bioavailability of bread magnesium.
Is it possible the drive to include Whole grain into the diet is counterproductive and simply results in further magnesium depletion resulting in negative balances ?
Zinc, copper and magnesium absorption from a fibre-rich diet.

KRISPIN has some interesting suggestions regarding an appropriate magnesium intake

Magnesium oxide has been shown to be poorly absorbed, while magnesium aspartate releases aspartate, which *might* cause some excitotoxicity. Your best bet is probably magnesium citrate or malate.

Jeremy Fox,

Read the first comment from this post by Dr. Eades for what kind to buy:
Link

@Ares
Actually, no one should take a multi vitamin (= the shotgun approach) without talking to a knowledgable doctor and/or doing a lot of research.

And NO ONE should take a cheap generic multi. That's suicidal and I'm serious.
The evidence conclusively proves that generic multis (badly formulated, over-/underdosed, etc) are a waste of money at best and dangerous at worst. (1, 2)

There are two *vastly* superior approaches:
A. fix your diet (check nutrient intake using CRON-o-meter) and supplement whatever you are lacking (i.e. single nutrients).
B. take a well-formulated *low dose* multi á la AOR orthocore (although, it's too high in folic acid in my opinion)

(1) Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Apr 16;(2):CD007176.
Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases. Bjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, Gluud C.
(2) Multivitamin use and risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease in the Women's Health Initiative cohorts.
Neuhouser ML, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Thomson C, Aragaki A, Anderson GL, Manson JE, Patterson RE, Rohan TE, van Horn L, Shikany JM, Thomas A, LaCroix A, Prentice RL.

I'm curious what Dr. Davis recommends regarding magnesium intake and what specific form.

Magnesium glycinate (Albion), orotate or a taurate may be preferred. The Albion's have good absorption studies. And for orotate there is little bit of evidence is can reduce cholesterol (maybe), and some decent studies on improving heart health.

I enjoyed two books on magnesium, The Magnesium Factor and The Magnesium Miracle.  They complement each other well, as the first one is more about magnesium's role and the second has more practical info about supplementing.

We used to take magnesium oxide, but it is the magnesium salt with the lowest absorbability (only 4% I think), so the dose must be higher.  Consequently it also has more of a laxative effect than some other magnesium preparations.  We're taking a magnesium complex (oxide, aspartate, citrate, and taurate) or magnesium taurate now, though I do keep the magensium oxide around for the times when a mild laxative is useful (esp with travel).

The Magnesium Miracle frequently mentions magnesium oil (magnesium chloride?) which isn't really an oil, but feels like one when applied topically.  I haven't found it in local stores (no one has heard of it), but it is available online.  Has anyone used magnesium oil?

I have bought on line and used used Swanson's magnesium oil topically-5 short sprays on each arm prior to bedtime on a daily basis.  I have used about 40% of 8fluid ounces and I just got my blood test results.  normal range 1.5 to 2.5.  My result was slightly high at 2.7.  By applying it topically, you get full absorption.  Dr. T from "nephropal.blogspot.com put me on this system.

Congratulations Amy!

And here I thought that plaque was in your arteries for life... and then tonight I find this blog.

Amy (and Neal) give all of us inspiration to truly modify our lifestyle.

I'm also especially gratified that a woman now holds our record. I'm uncertain why, but the ladies have been shy and the men remain the dominant and vocal participants in our program. Speak up, ladies!

My first time to click through from the reader, so I love the new banner! Your first couple of paragraphs had me giggling, mostly at myself. But I'm not quite that bad, yet.

In addition to stopping sugar and high-glycemics because I had that borderline A1C a few months back (had to reschedule follow up appt because of jury duty), your harping wheat got me to at least slow it down enough to figure out it was causing my 'gut episodes'. So after an elimination diet, I've been feeling far less pain/bloating (exception peas, a new seemingly unconnected sensitivity). I didn't get a celiac blood test when I went back to GI since I'd been completely off wheat quite a while by that time.

And I've dropped 20 lbs since stopping the wheat!!  Yay, and THANKS for harping on wheat!!

But I still don't know if meat fat still needs to be trimmed as much since it seems it doesn't directly contribute to bad cholesterol. I could stand to lose more weight though LOL

S

great post for newbies, but you still  dodged:
I know about the flour and starch, now:
is there a ceiling for omega-3 fatty acid supplementation?
Here:
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/fats_and_cancer.html
you can read how the fish oil was used to suppress the immune system after transplants or something, so should we treat fish oil just like sunflower oil?

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Same here. I lost about 55 pounds and my CRP, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc., dropped to optimal levels. Fruits, vegetables, occasional salmon, carefully chosen vitamins and supplements, and a daily brisk walk of at least 30 min. While this programs may seem like a considerable sacrifice, it beats the alternative: 100% sacrifice.

My father has been doing the TYP program with out following the low carb. diet.  He just got his test results yesterday and the #s differ little from the last test done.  It has him scratching his head.  After this he might finally follow the diet.  He is asking me lots of questions this morning.  The supplements and drugs were helpful, in particular his triglycerides and HDL have significantly changed for the better, but lots of work to be done still, specifically on lowering LDL, and it's fractions.

Regarding an upper limit for fish oil, I believe the cut-off (for most people) is considered around 3 grams/daily of Omega 3. Higher doses could theoretically lead to thinning of the blood (eskimos were prone to bleeding-brain type strokes) and immune suppression is another possibility. Even at 3 grams/daily, some immune suppression might be going on. And for some people with auto-immune disorders, that could be a good thing. Although for the general population... not so sure.

Maybe one day Dr. Davis could devote an article delving into fish oil a bit more? There is the ethyl ester vs. triglyceride form issue, which I don't recall seeing ever mentioned here. And although heavy metal toxicity isn't really an issue with most fish oils (in my opinion), oxidation is. Fish oil doesn't have to be rancid to have some oxidation, which could be unhealthy. And there is also immune suppression... and also the question of which omega 3 is of greater benefit, EPA or DHA. Lots of fishy stuff to look into.

OK - I need a lesson in Wheat & Cholesterol/Weight Gain/Health 101.

  What exactly is the problem with wheat, and why does it have a bad effect on cholesterol/weight?  Can someone point me to this basic information?  I assume it has nothing to do with the gluten in wheat (unless you have Celiac disease).

Thanks,
Bonnie

I find it very difficult to eliminate wheat.  It seems to be in so many things.  Can anyone tell me about breads without wheat, cereal without it and wheatless pasta.  I am Italian and it seems like missing pasta and breads in particular are really hard in our family.

I do know of spelt bread and we buy it.

I think that Dr. Davis does himself a disservice in this posting by claiming that it's wheat that is the big problem.  While wheat may well have antinutrients that sabotage our digestion, the big risk for everyone in eating wheat and wheat products is the starch (carbs).

Your body converts starches to simple sugars before being absorbed across your intestinal wall, which means that for the sake of your insulin levels (and your LDL particle sizes), wheat is as bad as a big glass of glucose syrup.  Not quite as bad as a glass of high fructose corn syrup since the fructose is converted directly to triglycerides by your liver, but bad enough.

In answer to the anonymous italian looking for wheat-free bread, cereal, and pasta alternatives: the real answer is to realize that these food categories are compromised because they come from grains.  

If you moderate your intake of these kinds of foods, they won't do very much harm to your metabolism.  But if you can bring yourself to completely eliminate them from your diet, you'll be even better off.

As for seeking lean meat: I do the exact opposite.  I've been buying suet (beef fat) and rendering tallow to make pemmican and other foods that are very rich and compact, calorie-wise.  These high-fat foods have been helping me lose and then maintain my weight very effectively (and they're tasty too!)  High fat foods make me full, not fat.

After a rather thorough reading of the science on saturated fat, I've personally concluded that saturated fat is harmless or beneficial.  Most of the older research that doesn't determine the precise composition of solid fats also doesn't discriminate between trans fats and naturally occurring saturated fats.  The balance of the research shows clear benefits to the various fatty acids found from fat sources as varied as coconut oil, palm oil, tallow (beef fat), lard (pork fat), butter, milk, etc.

Oh, and I'd only stay away from lowfat milk and lowfat milk products.  Whole milk causes a moderate increase in insulin (30GI) along with a parallel increase in glucagon (an antagonist of insulin) leading to nearly perfect digestion and allocation of sugars, fats, and proteins within our bodies.  Yes there are some sugars (mostly lactose), but the fats and proteins seem to be more than enough to balance things out.  Assuming you can tolerate the lactose and don't have serious damage to your intestines (celiac disease and crohn's disease would both qualify), milk is very nearly a perfect food (along with eggs).  IMHO, of course.

I pick on wheat specifically because, after obvious poor sugar-rich choices like candy and soft drinks, wheat constitutes 90% of the problem in the modern diet.

I am also not so ready to embrace unlimited saturated fats. I do not think we can dismiss the mounds of observations that have tied saturated fat consumption to heightened cancer risk, even in populations not exposed to trans fats nor to processed carbohydrates. Whether it is saturated fat specifically, or something that travels with saturated fat is not entirely clear, but unlimited saturated fat is, in my view, an invitation to adverse effects. This has also been well-documented in in vitro observations.

In any study I've read that comes out strongly against saturated fats as a category, there are significant problems, from failure to eliminate trans fats as a confounder to inaccurate data gathering (diet questionnaires, etc.) to completely inadequate sample size (17 samples with one worse outcome = conclusive?).  I misstated when I said that this was a problem of older studies.  This is a problem of modern studies as well, especially those most interested in finding problems with unprocessed foods and unprocessed fats.

The giant EPIC study currently going on is a perfect example of this.  They have no ability to discriminate between trans fats and saturated fats in their data, and yet various analyses based on early data have been quite willing to conclude that saturated fats are bad for you.  Science this shoddy should not only embarass the authors but the journals that let it slip by without effective criticism.

As for in-vitro studies, I've only seen one recent study that focused on this area, where it was claimed that safflower oil inhibited the anti-inflammatory effects of HDL less than coconut oil.  Except that the scientists forgot to isolate out one gigantic difference between the two oils: Vitamin E.  Which is present in safflower oil, and is not in coconut oil, and is already known to have multiple, significant anti-inflammatory effects.  The authors also failed to note that their flow-mediated dilation data strongly indicated regression to mean.  Despite these issues (and others), the authors were willing to suggest that oils from 15 different food types should be minimized in our diet solely based on the presence of saturated fatty acids in those oils.  These types of scientific failures would be funny if they weren't so common.

Dr. Davis, there's a lot of bad science on fats out there.  I know your time is precious and reading between the lines on studies is quite time consuming, but you already know to be careful what you accept at face value.  Please be willing to apply the same critical razor to dietary information that you already apply to cardiac information.  I think you'll come away with a much more charitable view towards saturated fats from whole food sources.

On the question of how to replace bread and pasta...

I'm Italian too and grew up on pasta.  The big secret to low-carbing is discovering the flavor is in the sauce, not the pasta!

I stirfry shredded cabbage as a base for cream-type sauces and stirfry shredded zucchini as a base for tomato-type sauces.  Both are yummy.

I make lasagna-in-a-bowl sometimes.  Mix some ricotta with chives, top with sauce and mozzarella and nuke.

Another option is soba noodles.  Many brands are made of both buckwheat and wheat, but some are all buckwheat.

I make an Italian sausage soup, heavy on the peppers, onions and garlic with loads of other veggies added too.  It's REALLY good stuff, you don't at all "miss" the pasta.

My primary anti-bread strategy is eating too much other food to miss it!  

Basically... think of how Subway serves the same stuff on top of a salad instead of a sub.  If you have a big plate of mixed greens,  tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers and olives to go with your ham and cheese, you won't miss the bread much.

There's also the notion of doing lettuce as "bread" for a sandwich.  Roll-up the ham and cheese in a lettuce leaf (romaine holds up best).  

If you're trying to avoid *carbs* as opposed to wheat, there are low-carb tortillas, wraps and crispbreads that are mostly fiber that work as bread replacements too.  I'm a whole foods advocate so try to use these rarely myself.  

But when I really, really want a pizza, a low-carb tortilla topped with sauce, mozzarella, garlic and pepperoni bakes up like a thin crust pizza and satisfies the craving with minimal carbs.

You didn't ask, but the typical low-carb replacement for potatoes is cauliflower.  You cook it and mash it up with some sour cream or cream cheese or butter and maybe some chives or roasted garlic.  

Or grind raw cauliflower and "fry" patties of it into "hash browns".  

Add some whole florets and some mashed cauliflower to soups and stews to "thicken" like potatoes do.  I make an awesome clam chowder with cauliflower!

After over a decade of low-carbing, I am convinced the *real* secret to doing it in a satisfying manner is to get VERY creative with non-starchy vegetables.

Dr. Davis

How does one teaspoon a day opf Carlson's cod liver oil sound to you for good health?

Thanks

Interesting observation considering that medical doctors in the United States are part of one of the most successful cartels in human history.  OPEC ain't got nuthin' on the AMA!

All humans are greedy; it is simply a matter of whether one's form of greed has greater positive than negative externalities as whether we call someone greedy or not.  But we are all greedy.

I hope that you are suggesting that an ounce or prevention is worth a pound (in this case many pounds) of cure.

Medical devices manufactures have very high engineering and regulatory costs which are all designed to ensure beneficial rather detrimental products. We can debate whether or not they are succeeding in this.

However, don't you wish this same level of engineering and regulations were applied to manufactured "foods".  

BTW they are made of Nitinol not Stainless Steel.

Interesting study posted on Dr. Eades' twitter.

An inverse relationship between plasma n-3 fatty acids and C-reactive protein in healthy individuals

http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ejcn200920a.html

Homebray--Yes. I wish I thought of that, the "ounce of prevention . . ."

Palmaz-Schatz are stainless steel. Nitinol came several years later.

Ah!  my mistake, sorry.

I didn't' think you were suggesting that stents should be sold in bulk by the pound!

I wonder what is the best/healthiest way to alkalize your body?
Removieng grains, of course, but what else?

Dear Dr Davis,

I understand that oats give an acid load to the body, but please can you explain how they are a source of sulphuric acid.

I've been reading Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price, a dentist who travels around the world sometime around 1930-1940.

He notices how awful the teeth of modernized people eating sugar and white flour are compared to the more "primitive" populations who don't eat those things.

He does notice that the people who still eat a lot of rye or oats are in excellent health, while those eating sugar and wheat are awful and have very damaged teeth.

After reading this I've put a bit of a question mark on banishing all grains, since wheat seems to be the primary culprit here. Apparently populations can live very healthy with oats and rye as a large part of their calorie intake.

I wonder about this Oat and sulfuric acid thing, do you think this has any real consequences for us?

Alkalizing you body can lead to all kinds of problems such as yeast overgrowth.You need stomach acid to inhibit dangerous pathogens.Its a mistake to jump on the old Cayce idea of alkalilizng the body.

The article you cite is not a study, just a rehash of current belief. In fact, the argument that eating protein leaches calcium away from bone is one of the old wives tales used to discredit the low carb diet that hasn't stood up to actual research.

I used to eat loads of oat bran (your suggestion), became anemic, then read someone's opinion that oat bran blocks iron absorbtion.  So I stopped eating oat bran, and the anemia went away.  Maybe coincidence, maybe not.

Dr Davis:  Now that oat and oat products are off the table,and you remain in the anti sat fat camp, it would be interesting to hear what daily diet recommendations might be since you also think Omega 6 should be minimized and fruit intake watched to make sure blood sugar is not to high. What then do you recommend the diet be?  Hard to exist on just veggies, and a few nuts( to many bad for Omega 6 levels)

"I wonder what is the best/healthiest way to alkalize your body?
Removieng grains, of course, but what else?"

The best and really only way to alkalize your body long term is to load w/ alkalizing minerals via non-starchy veg esp leafy greens.  And yes, avoid acidifying foods esp junk food, processed foods, refined carbs.

Commenter Geoffrey Levens, I believe, provided the right response to what foods to eat to maintain a net alkaline bias in the body.

Most of the effects of an overly acidic lifestyle do not reach conscious perception. The calciuric effect of wheat and oats, for instance, generate no symptoms.

Anon--

I am not in "the anti sat fat camp." Saturated fat is part of the Track Your Plaque diet, unless you are apoprotein E4.

By the way, the entire diet, saturated fat, wheat-free and all, is articulated in a total of nearly 100 pages of discussion on www.trackyourplaque.com, as well as the new Track Your Plaque book, version 2.0 (online now; hard copy coming in the next 2 weeks).

I am pro-paleo and fairly anti-grain (especially wheat) -- but I have to say I take issue with your reasoning here.

I assume you are specifically referring to Table 2 of this review article (written by a nutritionist). It lists milliequivalents of potential acid generated per 100 g of protein from the food. Oats are highest at 82.2, closely followed by eggs at 79.6; wheat is 69.4. According to your logic it would be better by far to eat wheat instead of eggs -- and I'm sure you wouldn't advise that.

Also it is useful to think of the quantities required to obtain 100 g of protein from each food. I might easily eat 3 eggs at a meal, but I would be unlikely, if I ate oatmeal, to eat the nearly 4 cups required for the same amount of protein.

I'm not defending oats. But as a scientist I find this particular argument against them to be weak.

pH ranges in "normal" health is tightly controlled. Phrasing like acid/alkaline "load"/"balance" should be referenced to spot measures of the kidney dynamic. We don't have sulfuric acid sloshing against our cells.

Cells use a lot of oxygen and kick back CO2, which we breath out. Yet, before it gets out of the cell and into blood circulation that CO2 is doing things.

CO2, being a gas with no valent electrical charge, moves freely inside and outside our cells. We use an enzyme (carbonic anhydrase) to make it soluble (ie: so body can shift it in way body needs to). In solution it is in the form of H2CO3, carbonic acid.

Carbonic acid is what the cells use, both inside and outside, to get ion charges (+ and -) to quickly adapt to pH fluctuations. As metabolic processes occur they naturally engender pH reactions. These pH reactions use H2CO3 (carbonic acid) to get H+, HCO3- and/or CO3-- ions, which have + and/or - interactive potential.

It's an absolute necessity for our bodies ability to use pH to make things happen. Example: to maintain an ion neutral state for molecules needing to use a cell membrane ion channel. Membranes are designed not to let + or - charged molecules pass for good reasons; polarization and de-polarization must be regulated.

You're killing me, Dr. Davis.  Despite your anti-oat stance and my status as a diabetic, I've found oats to be gentle to my blood sugar and, because of a number of other food intolerances, and a lack of tolerance for fat (vis a vis my blood sugars), oats make up a big part of my diet.  Now I find that I'm consuming battery acid.  

Is there really any study correlating oat consumption per se with the diseases you mention?  I find again and again in nutrition advice (not just here) the idea that "because this contains this, it should be good/bad for you," while food and the body have such complex interrelationships it's really hard to make conclusions soley based on a food's containing a certain substance.

(continued)

The review you cite finds that there is insufficient evidence to suggest an upper limit for protein based on its presumed tendency to cause greater calcium excretion and that many dietary factors must be considered vis a vis urinary calcium and bone metabolism.  I think the term "not sufficiently unamibiguous" applies to your post's case against oats.

BTW, improperly prepared oats can indeed lead to anemia.  They have to be soaked in a warm medium overnight with a phytase-containing substance (I use buckwheat flour), water, and yogurt to allow the mineral-binding phytate to get broken down.  It also allows the *phosphorous* to become bioavailable, as it is in animal sources of protein, which may mitigate the calcium-leaching effect of the oat proteins. although phosphorous is one of those things I hear contradictory things about.  One of the many.

hi Dr Davis:  I note your response that sat fat is ok except if you are Apo E 4.  Other than a blood testhow can you know?  In my case following the recommendations of this blog and others in my last NMR my LDL particle count was 64o and my small LDL was <90! Two years ago it was 1795 all small following diet of grains(plenty of oats and whole wheat and fruit). Particle size has increased from Now, eggs, meat fish,some cheese,  veggies, some potato or rice. Dark chocolate 85% and above only sweet) HDL directly measured was 64 and direct LDL was 54.  I do take Crestor and Zetia, but understand that if am Apo E 4 not likely for me to achieve these numbers even on a Statin.  Is this so?

For me oats are for horses!
look forward to buying your book.  Alert us when it is available.  Maybe have an Amazon link

From Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language:

Oats: A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland appears to support the people.

Hi, Helen--

This was not meant to indict meat. This was only about oats.

Perhaps the confusion comes from the fact that meats yield a net acidic effect. However, the effects of animal products extend beyond acid-base effects and may impact on such things as IGF-1alpha that may blunt any pH effect.

Some of the worst postprandial glucoses I have ever seen have been after consuming oats--no sugar, non-diabetics. This is not true in everybody, but in enough people that I've removed it from our list of foods to eat.

Hi, Steve--

Great results!

I suggest testing apo E only when you fail to obtain the results you desire. I do not consider apo E genotype testing as a "first line" test.


Vladimir--

That's great!

Don't we want some foods in our diet which are acidic. Is the goal to strive for 100% alkaline food consumption? I have cut down wheat dramatically but because of my active lifestyle I consume organic steel cut oats to give me a good dose of carbohydrates.

Does this apply to things like apple cider vinegar as well? I understand that adding vinegar to food decreases the overall GI of the meal, so sometimes I take some apple cider vinegar with meals. Is this actually over-acidifying my diet?

Sulphur in proteins comes from the amino acids cysteine and methonine. These sulphur aminos, along with the ammonium ions foster faster kidney filtration.
When urination carries away positive ion rich calcium the pH can drop toward acidic.

Sulphur (S) in the body does other things that are important. When the cells are doing "housekeeping" by internal recycling, auto-phagy (not apotosis or programmed cell death) S binds  copper, iron, mangenese & "Fenton" active metals so they can't cause problem reactions (ex: hydroxyl radicals)during auto-phagy. Oat's sustaining power from S can be applicable in this context; the battery keeps going and going....

The amino acid cysteine's nitrogen atoms become relevant to the type of metabolic process called nitro-sylation. Sulphur(S) is the way the body moves these molecules around as a complex molecule. Cysteine protein has to shed 1 electron per each sulphur atom it has to undergo nitro-sylation.

One way that incipient tumors are stopped is by blocking S-nitro-sylation in the cell. Some people suspect meat nitrogen acidifies the body and thus is a risk factor for cancer; it's more likely due to an amino acid trans-nitrosation propensity than the pH. If the body can get that cysteine back it's 1 electron per sulphur atom then nitro-sylation is reversable (ex: spontaneous remission reported from following some "special" regimen).

Insulin molecules have di-sulfide(S to S) linkages; some of which join insulin's A-chain to it's B-chain. The body clears insulin by breaking it down; first step  is by exposing the di-sulfide bonds for reaction. Insulin Degrading Enzyme (IDE) does this preparatory degradation, but IDE still leaves the insulin break down in a reversible phase.

Insulin's function of decreasing protein degradation inside the cell is one reason for the body to hedge on it's (insulin's) clearing (ie: hold at reversible phase). A cell might be moving toward auto-phagy (ex: protein recycling) and have to hold off the process due to a life-threatening development. (Protein di-sulfide isomerase enzyme is what can finish the process and put insulin's trichloracetic acids into  irreversably soluble particles.)  

Human genetic variants of splicing IDE are involved in hypo-glycemia  and hyper-glycemia. Those individuals can't regulate insulin and have their post-prandial blood sugar respond "normally". Doc mentions (above) variable response to oats he's dealt with.

Type II diabetics have chronic inflammation and this leads to the molecule S-nitroso-glutathione formation. Elevated circulating free fatty acids are another activator of s-nitoso-glutathione; and as such can also inhibit insulin clearance.

The cysteine protein loses 2electrons for every sulphur atom it has in order to glutation-ylate. In order to reverse S-nitroso-glutathione those 2 electons have to be restored to the cysteine wing of the molecule. Then the glutathione is free from the sulphurous nitrogen amino acid.

With higher levels of free glutathione the body increases the solubility of insulin. Which is why Type II diabetics who eat lots of  vegetables (as opposed to tubers and grains)see some benefit; the veggies provide electrons to donate to and reverse the excessive glutathonylation. It's not about veggies "fixing" pH - that's done in cells via CO2 and carbonates, etc .

typo errors alert for:
methionine, glutathione, glutathion-ylate, glutathion-ylation, S-nitroso-glutathione

Aww c'mon Doc!  

2 large eggs contain 140 cals and 12g protein = approx 9.6 mEq SAA

A 140 cal serving of plain oatmeal contains just under 5.5g protein = approx  4.5 mEq SSA.

Johnson: "Oats: A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland appears to support the people."

Boswell: "And that is why England is renowed for her horses and Scotland is renowned for her men."

It sounds to me like acid-base issues require an entire separate series of discussions all of their own.

An issue for the future.

(Sulfphur = S) S-nitroso-glutathione inhibits insulin degradation and impedes the insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) doing it's job. However, there is a "weak" acid that can partially annul that effect of S-nitroso-glutathione; that acid is ascorbate (commonly called vitamin C).

Type II diabetics have notably low levels of ascorbate in their blood. There was a lot of 1990s
European research indicating vitamin C gave diabetics better blood sugar control; and some researchers got no beneficial results.

For each 1 mol of Ascorbate it was calculated there was +/- 0.5 mol glutathione increase. The more glutathione free from S-nitroso-glutathione molecule there is more of insulin's tri-chlor-acetic acid (from the insulin A-chain) made soluble.

2007 data after 16 weeks for  43 adults(24 men & 19 women), aged +/- 52 year old, with Type II diabetics of +/- 7.5 years diagnosed as having diabetes who supplemented 1000 mg/day vitamin C (average for both sex):
insulin before = 16.91 +/- 3.1 uU/ml
insulin after  =  8.77 +/- 1.3 uU/ml
HbA1c % before =  8.82 +/- 1.3
HbA1c % after  =  7.66 +/- 1.3
fasting blood sugar (mg/dl),
        before = 169.33 +/-34.03
fasting blood sugar (mg/dl),
        after  = 144.80 +/-33.44

A seperate comparable group of 41subjects, who supplemented with 500 mg/day vitamin C for 16 weeks, showed no benefit in the same parameters. So insulin, Hb1Ac and fasting blood sugar had no statistically significant improvement with the lower dose.

There is however evidence, from other investigations, that some diabetic individuals who take supplements of vitamin C have their blood sugar actually go up even higher. I suspect this is related to individual genetics; and another indication diabetes is not a uniform disease awaiting one single cure.

Acidity inside the cell is sometimes necessary. At the onset of auto-phagy  sulphur (S) keeps metals from reacting  dangerously. It temporarily "stashes" them in one of the vacuole compartments inside the cell.

Acidic pH is instigated by the protein Vascular Regulatory Subunit 1 H (V1H; a.k.a. Nef binding protein 1) and is powered by ATP energy. This takes the form of an enzyme called V1H-ATPase; it's action is to lower (acidify) the pH inside the auto-phagy cell.

This function of V1H makes it possible for things to shift around inside that cell and mediate the steps whereby components get "stashed" (endo-cytosis). This extends to the damaged proteins  slated for recycling; they get processed in a "safe" compartment inside the cell.

Once the inner endo-some &/or lyso-some compartment pH acidifies to a set ( pre-programmed) low the protease enzymes (protein cleavers) upregulate for action. The di-sulfide (S-S) bonds of damaged proteins cleave and those proteins open up their uniquely convoluted configuration (unfold).

Unfolded proteins are then "digested" and their components recylced, into new and unblemished proteins. It's an economical saving of energy not to have to assemble a new cell and improve the efficiency of an existing cell whose proteins were "wearing" out.

When auto-phagy is done, and new protein(s) made, that protein(s) is sent out into the same cell and the cell pH rises back to normal. Being integral to survival, this (auto-phagy) is not dependant on pH from foods in the diet of a relatively healthy person.

Your information may be very useful for me. Oats consumption is perhaps one of the best natural remedies for eczema. Oats are rich in fiber, fats, saponins, proteins and polysaccharides.

Dr. Bernstein recommends limiting vit c supplements to 250mg/day.

You sir .... are a fear monger, and after this article, I am UNSUBSCRIBING to your blog!

I don't know what happened to you, but you seem to be over time developing paranoia, and now instilling it in your faithful readers ...

Maybe you should consult with a chemist before publishing such a reckless article trying to demonize perhaps one of the most balanced foods for people with blood sugar or cholesterol problems.

THIS DOCTOR IS A QUACK PEOPLE!!! Talk to a chemist about what kind of damage oats are doing to your body - not this tinfoil-hat-wearing fraud!!!

Our bodies need to be not to alkaline, and not too acidic ... sulfates and sulfuric acid help to counter the effects of alkalinity, and are necessary in moderate amounts in our diets!!!  

UNSUBSCRIBED!!!

Your post showed up on my google reader recommended reads. this article sounds so hokey and weird.
I don't know what you learned in physiology class in med school.. or did you pay someone to do your assignments for you back then?
So weird I won't even attempt to refute, there is no head or tail to the amount of wrong in your article. To compare acid in oats with acid in car battery?
Are you intellectually handicapped as you are so unable to make a decent analogous example?

A bit over the top - Oatmeal is loaded with carbs, but many foods contain similar substances that are toxic - our digestive system has evolved to deal with the chemical arms race brought to us by the plant kingdom.

I'm all for reducing carbohydrates but this borders on disinformation..

Almonds contain a bit of cyanide.. etc..

Interference and you may suffer fatal injuries in the mouth and esophagus. Strong tendency of sulfuric acid to react with other compounds is one of the reasons used in industrial processes such as oil refineries.

I have been eating oatmeal/porridge for breakfast with honey and Brazil nuts for three months. My total cholesterol has droppped from 251 to 199, my triglycerides from 305 to 72. My HDL is 58 and my LDL is 127.  I don't know if these are good figures but my doctor was surprised by the drop. The only change in my diet was the oatmeal. I'm Irish and porridge was a traditional breakfast food when people were thinner.

Hi, Dion--While these are great changes, it does not mean that you have fully eliminated, or at least substantially decreased, small LDL. To know, it requires specific measurement.

I'm following a wheat-free diet since reading your book but am still a bit unsure about stopping the oatmeal porridge. If I have a bowl at 8am, I don't feel hungry until 2pm. Surely this is not representative of a high carb food effect, at least for me?

Sure doesn't sound like it. You might be among the metabolically "gifted."

The best way to alkalize is by eating vegetables and some fruits.  If not eating them, then make smoothies with greens in them....spinach, lettuce, etc.

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