Old story then?

On 8 December 2013, the following article was published:

Heart surgeon declares on what really causes heart illness

Allow me to highlight a few important bits:

“The discovery a few years ago that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease is slowly leading to a paradigm shift in how heart disease and other chronic ailments will be treated.”

“The long-established dietary recommendations have created epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the consequences of which dwarf any historical plague in terms of mortality, human suffering and dire economic consequences.”

“Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.”

“Let me repeat that: The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet recommended for years by mainstream medicine.”

“What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.”

“There is but one answer to quieting inflammation, and that is returning to foods closer to their natural state.”

“The science that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol is also very weak. Since we now know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, the concern about saturated fat is even more absurd today.”

“Mainstream medicine made a terrible mistake when it advised people to avoid saturated fat in favor of foods high in omega-6 fats. We now have an epidemic of arterial inflammation leading to heart disease and other silent killers.”

Well, then ….

Butternut

PS: Dr. Dwight Lundell has also been listed on Quackwatch on 8 February 2013 as not to be trusted. NOW there’s more Doctors and qualified researchers saying the same thing. One wonders if this listing will be reviewed now that evidence proves Dr Lundell to be right.

 

BPC makes you bulletproof …

BulletProofCoffee is basically coffee with a combination of coconut oil/butter/cream.

*Sorry for the blurry photo, it was taken VERY early this morning …

I never would have thought that I’d drink coffee with butter, never mind like it. I ♥ it!! I drink one or two cups early morning and then have brunch at about 11 – 12 am. No more early morning munchies or hunger pains, it’s enough to keep me going for hours. Fat feeds, obviously.

Here’s how I make mine:

1 heaped teaspoon coffee, 1 heaped teaspoon Xylitol, big blob of double thick cream, sliver of butter and some gelatine powder. pour some boiling water over and stir quite a bit to get the butter dissolved. Drink before it gets cold.

You can even add some vanilla/caramel essence/extract if you’d like.

Yum Yum.

Butternut

 

Could it be true? (A conspiracy theory in the making . . .)

We all know that business is about making money. ALWAYS. Someone somewhere is making money. Small amounts, big amounts, some amounts. They’re in it for the money, no matter what they say.

My theory thus:

Since “banting”/LCHF is helping a lot of people lose weight and return to a healthy state of life (and thus dropping a lot of prescribed medicine), would “industry” be the ones trying to divert people back to their old lifestyles and prescription medicine?

“Industry” being pharmaceutical companies/manufacturers, slimming product companies, dieticians, cardiovascular surgeons and gastroenterologists, pharmacies and slimming clinics, grain farmers and grain product manufacturers, sugar farmers and sugar product manufacturers, etc.

Are they all trying to be Orwell’s Big Brother and keep everyone under control? Hooked to carbs and sugars?

“The Party “seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power.”

 

Is this what Tim Noakes is fighting? Industry scared of losing millions and millions of bucks in consultation fees and products getting old on the shelves? Because people are moving back to natural and healthy and less chemical?

Could all this be true? Could this be a conspiracy? Slamming Tim Noakes to scare people off? The world is much, much bigger than we think and there’s lots going on that we, the small people, do not know about.

Luckily, we think for ourselves. Thank goodness for guys like Gary Watson and all the people administrating the “banting” and LCHF Facebook-groups who strive to educate.

Butternut

 

The epic journey to find a grain/cauli-free pizza base ….

… is an ongoing battle.

The LOML (LoveOfMyLife) is not a big fan of the cauliflower-anything. By itself he will eat it, even better when smothered with a cheese sauce. But caulimash or caulisticks or caulibase . . . no. NO. NO!

So, enter Sunday-evening and a hectic week ahead. We are considering going to get some pizza. Normal grain-based pizza. *shock* *horror*

In this desperate state of mind, I decide to try and concoct a BIY (bake it yourself) pizza base (or something similar), hoping to get as close as I can to the real thing.

I’ve added the following and mixed them all together:

1 cup Almond Flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon Psyllium Husk
pinch of Himalyan salt
+/- 1 tablespoon melted butter
+/- 1 heaped tablespoon smooth cottage cheese
some cream to thin the mix out

I let it stand for 5 minutes whilst I got the flat toaster warmed up. This mix makes 2.

Put a line of mix down the middle of the taster (it will spread out and flatten) and close.

This will now be called TFB in our house – The Flat Bread/Base. Nicely toasted.

Although it does not come close to a wood-fired-oven-baked-pizza-base, it’s sturdy enough to use as a pizza base as long as you don’t add too soggy ingredients. I’ve had mine with avo:

The other one I just covered with cheese as I took it out of the toaster:

I will try and make some pizza over the weekend – using the same recipe, but baking it in the oven. Will report back.

Butternut

(seriously impressed with my ingenuity – because it was edible!)

PS: seriously shopping for a sandwich toaster with smooth plates on both sides.

 

To “bant” or not to “bant” …

… is that the question?

If we go with well known answers, it would be: 42. But that doesn’t really answer the question, does it?

Borrowed from Goodhousekeeping.co.za

What I believe:

1. FULL cream for living life to the fullest. I like this idea.

2. Go back to nature. Live life as clean and simple and natural as you can. Stay away from processed foods where you don’t know or trust what’s been added to the product.

3. Grain is bad for you. Due to genetic manipulation for bigger crop yields to feed the masses, grain (wheat/maize/oats/rice/etc) is not what it used to be before WWII and it’s not good for you. (The same might apply very soon to nuts with the current shift in replacing traditional flours in baking with nut flour.)

4. “Organic” is very, very expensive. “Organic” on the packaging might very well be a lie. Do the best you can with what is available within your budget.

5. Do what works for you. Eating two meals a day with full fat or eating 6 small meals with no fat, whatever.

6. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. I know that eating 6 small meals a day (100 grams of Foreman’ed chicken strips/steak/biltong/tuna with a scoop of broccoli every 2.5 hours) worked like a charm for me, but fuck after 2 months of that I can’t even look at broccoli anymore). And the moment you stop, you return to old habits and pick it up all over again. And more.

7. LCHF/banting is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. It’s a way of living. And if you drop weight with the new way of doing things, all the better.

8. Dieting is a temporary measure; if you make a lifestyle adjustment and don’t deprave yourself of “all things bad”, if should not be difficult to keep up.

9. Seeing the results of stable sugar, reduced cholesterol levels, reduced inflammation and arthritis from banters on Facebook is motivating. Again, it doesn’t work for everyone, but a lot of them have dropped all kinds of medication (under dr’s supervision) due to living healthier.

10. Google is your friend. Read, read, read. Do your own research. Make your mind up for yourself. Find alternatives if something doesn’t work.

11. As LCHF or banting takes the world by storm, it should be easier to get appropriate meals in restaurants. Following this:

12. It should not ruin your life or stop you from enjoying time with friends, eating out, etc. It should not (according to me) be the end-all of everything. You need to relax and take things in your stride. It’s not worth stressing about.

13. Enjoy whatever you do. Find joy in making things yourself that you’ve always bought.

I recon this will be a learning curve for me as well. And somehow we will all come to our own answer.

(And maybe even find out what the ultimate question is …)

Butternut

 

Holy shit, I’m a sugar-slut!!

I’m trying very, very hard to Bant. Or then, as others say: LCHF (low carb high fat). Not as a diet, as a lifestyle change.

I don’t have a problem eating fat: I love avocado, fat on steak and biltong, butter and cream (I’m very partial to dairy, being a milkman’s granddaughter). I know I should stay away from sugar and carbs, having a enlarged fatty liver and suspected diverticulosis/diverticulitis. I have no problem replacing bread and pasta with banting-friendly options like almond-flour- or cream cheese bread and zucchini spirals.

What gets me everytime: SUGAR!!!

I experience times when nothing is sweet enough. I can eat a whole tin of condensed milk or a slab of chocolate and not cringe. I can go through a packet of koeksusters like a hot knife through butter. At times I am willing to run down any sugary product that passes me slow enough to catch – using “run” in the loosest sense of the word. I suspect it has something to do with my insulin levels and emotional eating. Yes, I am one of those. I eat when I’m emotional.

In short, I have no problem following a LCHF lifestyle. I just need to overcome this sugar addiction I have. Yes, my name is Butternut and I am addicted to sugar.

I found this link on Facebook this morning: 15 ways to beat sugar cravings on a low carb diet.

I am going to incorporate those directions in my LCHF lifestyle as best I can.

1. Eat sufficient amounts of protein and include it to every meal. Eggs & meat it is then, in any form, with veggies from the green list.

2. Don’t be afraid of fat. That, luckily, I am not. Although, to speed up the weight loss, it is advised to cut out dairy as fats.

3. Don’t starve yourself. Fat keeps you fuller for longer and I will add as many veggies as needed from the green list.

4. Eat frequently. If you eat enough according to the Banting-plan, you should only be eating twice a day I read. But for managing insulin levels, eating more frequently should stabilize your sugar levels.

5. Always choose whole foods over processed foods. Much can be said and proved about how bad preservatives are for us and I would like to follow a more natural lifestyle. Back to basics then: eat fresh and make it yourself.

6. Drink plenty of water. Don’t drown your kidneys though, but up your water intake. Clean fresh water. And try to stay away from sodas (with this one I will have a slight problem – I drink Coke Zero every day).

7. Take supplements to beat sugar cravings. This I did not know and haven’t researched yet: “Certain supplements can help you fight sugar cravings. These include chromium,
L‑Carnitine, L‑Glutamine, omega oils and green tea extract.”. I will drink salmon oil (omega 3) every day and see if this helps. I am not a fan of drinking pills.

8. Approach artificial sweeteners with caution. Where needed I will use small amounts of Xylitol and try to stay away from soda. This I must. Try. Really.

9. Don’t have caffeine. I am not a big coffee lover, although a cuppa at the right time does wonders for my soul.

10. Get enough sleep. I find that when I’m tired, I tend to eat all the wrong things all the time. Eating “cleaner” might help getting a good snooze in, I hope. And more sex.

11. Stay away from temptations. I will have to have a talk with the other shoppers in the house about this one.

12. Exercise regularly. *blegh* I am not very partial to exercise and I hate sweating. I leave home in the early hours of the morning and come home late most nights. And I am tired. Cutting out sugar and carbs may fix this. I might just have to do motre natural exercises (a.k.a. sex) more often. And it makes me feel good, too!!

13. Do not reward yourself with food. Damn!! Food will not be a treat anymore. I will stick to banting-friendly options when I feel like a snack. Hopefully the weight loss and feeling better will be reward enough.

14. Don’t give in to emotional hunger. Double-damn!! repeat no 13.

15. Follow the guidelines of your low-carb diet precisely. GREEN LIST only!!!

*sigh* Yeah, yeah. I know it will be good for me and I know I will feel better and (hopefully even) look better. But warra-warra-warra-bah-humbug!

I will try. And hopefully beat this addiction to sugar and live better.

See you on the other side!!

Butternut

PS: One addiction at a time. One day at a time. One step every time.

 

 

the most ketogenic diet foods

Now this is very interesting – a good read and very informative!

Optimising Nutrition

• Ketosis occurs when insulin levels are low.
• The insulin load of a food is related to its carbohydrate, protein and fibre content.
• Calculation of the percentage of insulinogenic calories enables us to prioritise foods that will lead to lower insulin levels and improved blood glucose control.

food insulin index

The initial research into the food insulin index is detailed in a 2009 paper by Susanne Holt et al who tested the insulin demand of thirty eight different foods. [1]

The food insulin index of various foods was determined by feeding 1000kJ (or 239 kcal) of a particular food to non-diabetics and measuring the insulin secretion over three hours.   The insulin secreted for that food over three hours was compared to that of white bread (which was assigned a value of 100%) to arrive at a “food insulin index” value for each food.

Considering how potentially significant this data could be for people trying…

View original post 2,045 more words

 

The healthiest little LCHF cupcake and the quickest little deconstructed cheesecake… ain’t they the sweetest?

OMS!!! Something sweet to smooth Life over …

Low - carb is lekker. A Proudly South African Low carb, High fat, Survival Guide

DECONSTRUCTED CHOC CHERRY CHEESECAKE

Ingredients:

125g (half a block) cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup cream

1 1/2 Tbsp Xylitol

Zest of one lemon

Juice of 1 small lemon (about 4 Tbsp)

1 cup of frozen cherries or any fresh or frozen berries of your choice.

Chocolate:

¼ cup coconut oil

¼ cup coconut cream or regular cream

4 Tbsp cocoa

3 Tbsp xylitol

Method:

For the cheese cake mousse:

Cream the cream cheese, xylitol, zest and lemon juice in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer.

Slowly pour in the cream while mixing on low at first, and as soon as the cream starts to thicken a bit mix on high for about two minutes or until stiff peaks form.

Cherries:

In a saucepan on medium heat, allow the cherries to stew for about 4 – 5 minutes and the sauce to reduce a bit.  I did not add…

View original post 839 more words

 

Thanks Giving Dessert: Coconut Panna Cotta

WOW!!!! Definitely going to try this!

 

Love . . .

Love is a servitude.

In my opinion, a relationship/marriage/partnership is NOT 50/50. It’s not give and receive.

Love is giving a full 100%. You give all you can, whenever you can, as much as you can, for as long as you can.

“True love is one-way traffic.  It’s a pure flow of giving and expecting nothing in return.  Anything else is a contract.  Notice how whenever you allow love to flow you are always clear, calm and strong.  It is only when the thought arises, “What have they given me in return?” that there is confusion and resentment.  Ego transacts, love transforms.  Life is too short for all these meticulous contracts and transactions.  Remain clear, remain bright, and remain strong.  Love without expectation.”

The secret is to have someone on the other end who feels the same. Who also gives 100%.

Butter(loved)nut