Monthly Archives: March 2012

Numbers Don’t Lie: I am Healthier on a High Fat, Low Carb Diet

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Starting in the Spring of 2011, Jeremy and I changed our diet.  We used to follow the Standard American Diet (SAD) in which we ate primarily low fat and high carbohydrate foods.  We changed to a high fat, high protein, and low carbohydrate diet.  Over the past year, I’ve noticed many positive changes in myself including an even and higher energy level, faster recovery from exertion, fewer aches and pains and the list goes on.  In general, I have just felt better.  Over the past year, our diet has included raw milk, raw cheese, raw butter, lots of sea salt, full fat pasture raised meats, pasture raised eggs, raw fruits, raw and cooked vegetables, sprouted breads, nuts and lacto fermented vegetables.  We ate almost no processed foods.

As we shared our new diet with family and friends, they warned us about obesity, heart disease and stroke they thought could result from our new diet.  Our high fat, low carb diet just does jive with recommendations from the medical community.

In light of this, I want to share my latest blood work results from my yearly physical (completed March 22, 2012) and compare to that of the previous year (prior to starting this diet).  In both years, I had the physical at Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Palo Alto, CA.  This included the following blood tests:

In 2011 and 2012, my metabolic panel, TSH levels and hemoglobin were all within the normal range.  However, in 2011, I had a vitamin D deficiency.  This was also the case in 2010.  The doctor suggested taking a vitamin D supplement daily.  However, I ate vitamin D rich foods like butter and milk in the past year.  My latest vitamin D level is now normal.

I did not take a cholesterol test in previous year but I did this year.  My cholesterol is excellent by several measures.  Let me summarize the numbers below and explain further.

  • Total Cholesterol in mg/dL:  187  (suggested level is below 200)
  • Triglycerides in mg/dL:  53  (suggested level is below 150)
  • LDL Cholesterol in mg/dL:  111  (suggested level is below 130)  **aka: Bad Cholesterol
  • HDL Cholesterol in mg/dL:  65  (suggested level is above 40)  **aka: Good Cholesterol

All the numbers above show that I am within the recommended range.  Additional measures, such as the ratio of total cholesterol with HDL and the ratio of HDL with LDL all indicate that the levels are in the excellent range.

In addition, my Body Mass Index (BMI) is 21 in 2012 as it was in 2011.  This too is in the excellent range.

To summarize, changing to a high fat, high protein and low carbohydrate diet has led to maintaining an excellent weight, eliminated my vitamin D deficiency and improved how I generally feel.  In addition, by all measures, I am healthy.

Vitamins Shouldn’t Make You Feel Sick

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A few days ago one of my co-workers remarked that he was starting to feel a bit sick because he’d made the “mistake” of taking a multi-vitamin on an empty stomach. And, of course, I couldn’t help but to say something about it. That’s partly because I’ve been there myself.

A few years ago I used to take a name-brand multi-vitamin every morning and often felt like crap for a bit of time afterwards–especially if I hadn’t eaten much of a breakfast (which was common back then).

It was only after suffering thru this routine for quite some time that I eventually came across something that explained it to me. I don’t remember where I was reading about this, but I learned two things:

  1. A lot of cheap vitamins (especially those you see advertised on TV) tend to have weird additives in them (which some people are sensitive to) and a significant percentage of the vitamin content is not bioavailable.
  2. Many of the vitamins, especially those targeted at men, contain zinc. And while zinc is important, taken in this form on an empty (or nearly empty stomach) often results in some digestive upset or a felling of nausea that can last from 5-20 minutes.

Bioavailability refers to how much of the nutrients your body can actually absorb. So you’re paying more than you need to for the amount of benefit you’re actually getting and often not feeling well during part of the process.

That doesn’t sound very “healthy” does it?

So what do we do now?

Aside from eating more nutrient dense foods, we do take daily supplements. But we tend to focus on higher quality (and yes, often higher price) brands–those that keep the additives to a minimum and use natural sources whenever possible. (Many big name vitamins make the bulk of their contents in a chemical syntesis process rather than extracting them from real food.)

We’ve had good success with the NOW Foods brand products (often buying them via Amazon.com) and Standard Process. We use the NOW Vitamin C regularly. Many of the Standard Process supplements are only available thru heath care providers (often times chiropractors, nutritionalists, homeopaths, etc). But the commonly used options like Catalyn can also be fond on-line.

Book Review: Follow Your Heart

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Over the previous year, I re-examined where my career was going.  After investing many years in education and training, I found myself in a stagnant career in a very large company.  Looking outside, the economy also looked stagnant.  However, during this time, positive changes were underway. Jeremy and I threw off the conventional thinking about diet and “rediscovered health”.  Having this positive experience with health made me believe I could approach life differently and perhaps get different results.  In the book “FOLLOW YOUR HEART: Finding Purpose in Your Life and Work” by Andrew Matthews, I have found several nuggets of wisdom that led to several “Ah-ha!” moments.  I highlight a few here.:

WE ARE HERE TO LEARN LESSONS AND THE WORLD IS OUR TEACHER.  WHEN WE FAIL TO LEARN A LESSON, WE GET TO TAKE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

Ah – yes.  This reminds me of a popular definition of insanity which is when we do the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  My best personal example was pursing new business opportunities in my former company.  After a few times of following the standard procedures and not getting positive results, I explained the problems to my management in hopes they would reform the process.  After a few discussions with management and not getting positive results, I learned my lesson.  Positive change was not possible there and I decided it was time to quit.  A few months later, I did.

IF YOU FIGHT LIFE, LIFE ALWAYS WINS

Another key point is that life tends to operate by natural laws and principals.  These are not the same as I learned as a student of science but rather these are observations for how things tends to go.  One principal is that things tend to happen in waves.  I experienced this recently when my sister and close cousin both we diagnosed with cancer within a few month of each other.  In addition, my best friend died.  During this time, I was attached to the idea that this shouldn’t happen.  They are all too young to experiences this.  However, I eventually recognized these are my rules and I have a lot of them.  My life, and life in general, won’t work if I try to live life with my made-up rules rather than accepting that this is the way that life is.  I have found the processes of detaching myself from my made-up rules to be empowering and this opens me up to more possibilities.

HOW WE THINK SHAPES OUR SUBCONSCIOUS. THIS AFFECTS OUR ACTIONS AND HOW WE ARE IN THE WORLD.

The statement emphasizes that I needed to clear and relax my mind if I were going to be effective at doing things differently.  This would mean re-engaging in the daily practice of meditation.  Each day and for 40 minutes every day since reading this book, I practiced (and still do) mindfulness meditation.  During this time of meditation, many things are happening.  I get insight into my attachments and then let them go.  I am aware of how I feel both physically and mentally.  Once I am aware,  I can let these feelings go.  I can be in the moment and not swept away by random thoughts.  After a few weeks of practice, I found that I was generally more relaxed.  I was more open to new ideas and willing to try new things.  In short, I was no longer prisoner to my thoughts but was and am open to the possibilities of life.

After reading this book and putting Andrew Matthews’ suggestions into practice, I am building a career.  In February, I established my limited liability corporation: Advanced Materials Applications, LLC.  I have several new and very interesting potential business opportunities.  The stresses from the previous job experience have melted away.  I feel empowered and energized again.

The Video Story of a Pasture Raised Egg

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From Food Renegade’s Maybe this will convince them, we find this little video called This is the Story of an Egg.

It was produced as part of the Lexicon of Sustainability which is a cool project to help choose the right words to describe our foods and put real meaning behind them. This particular 6 minute video looks at what “cage free” and then “free range” means when it comes to chicken and their eggs. Ultimately, you really want pasture raised eggs from local farmers (if you can find a good source).

They’re doing some excellent work and I hope to feature more of it here on our site too.  Check it out.

Raw Milk Kefir Recipe

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We love raw Kephir in our morning smoothies.  Raw Kephir blends well with the other smoothie ingredients and it is a great natural source of probiotics.

We used to purchase this from Organic Pastures but they stopped carry this after a recent recall on raw milk.

Many of you have been wondering where our Colostrum products (Colostrum, SuperLite, Qephor (a.k.a Kephir)) have been lately and we are very saddened to say that we have been forced to say goodbye to Raw Colostrum for human consumption.

WHAT HAPPENED?
For seven years, OPDC sold raw colostrum in stores as a “dietary supplement” under an exclusive arrangement with the CA Department of Public Health. This arrangement was withdrawn after the recall in November of 2011, even though colostrum was not a subject of the recall.

- Marcy Oliver of Organic Pastures

We now make our own with the recipe below from Organic Pastures.  To start with, we purchase Kephir grains (call: 1-877-RAW MILK).

Ingredients include:

  • Whole raw milk (slightly soured or fresh)
  • Kephir grains

In a clean glass jar, add whole raw milk.  Add some Kephir grains into the jar.  (You can reuse these after fermentation is complete.)  Cover the top of the jar with cheese cloth to keep out critters (like kitties;-))  Keep the jar at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours.  Do not stir.  When the milk is soft and jello like, you’ve made kephir.  It may separate some, but that’s OK.  Once this has happened, pour the mixture through a stainless steel strainer (not aluminum) to retain the Kephir grains.

You now have raw Kephir.

The Kephir grains can be reused.  As with a pet, keep them warm and feed with raw milk to grow them,  If you want to have them rest, cover them with raw milk and put them in the refrigerator.

 

Paleo Banana Bread Recipe

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One of my favorite breads (and comfort foods) is banana bread.  Tonight, we tried a recipe from a Paleo Bread Recipe site.  We modified it some to meet our tastes.

Ingredients include the following:

  • 3 eggs, separated (we prefer free-range eggs)
  • 5 tablespoons of raw honey
  • 4 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 2 mashed ripe bananas
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 2 cups of almond flour
  • 2 handfuls of crushed walnuts

First, preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix the egg yolks and honey with a hand mixer.  Add coconut oil, almond flour, mashed bananas, vanilla, baking powder and ground cinnamon to the mixture.  Mix with a hand mixer until blended well.  Fold in a handful of walnuts.  In another bowl, mix the egg whites with the hand mixer until stiff peaks form.  Fold the egg white mixture into the banana mixture.  Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil.  Add the banana mixture to the pan.  Then add the second handful of crushed walnuts on top.  Place in the oven for 45 minutes,  We needed to bake for an additional 7 minutes since we are at 3000 feet.  I used the knife trick to determine when the bread was finished. (No residue on the knife after I pull it out of the bread.)

Wow! I just had a slice.  It has a great banana and walnut flavor.  It is moist and tender.  It was also a big hit with Jeremy.

Give it a try and see for yourself.

Easy Chicken Soup Recipe

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A few days ago we made Chicken with Vinegar (Poulet Au Vinaigre) Recipe and had some leftover chicken bits: skin and bone with lots of meat still on it. So I decided to make some chicken soup loosely based on the homemade chicken soup recipe from AllRecipies.com.

Ingredients

  • leftover chicken bits from the previous recipe
  • 1-2 pounds of whole carrots
  • 1 large onion, cut in thirds
  • half a dozen purple (or whatever color you like) potatoes, chopped
  • 1 bunch of fresh asparagus, chopped into half inch pieces
  • 1 cup of peas
  • 1 jar (roughly 2 cups) of homemade chicken stock
  • sea salt, fresh ground pepper, oregano, and ground cloves

Process

Put the chicken in a large soup pot and cover with water, going about an inch above the chicken. Add the carrots, onion, and potatoes. Turn on low heat and allow to simmer for several hours.

Once the meat has cooked, it will pull away from the bone. Remove the bone and skin from the pot. Add the chicken stock, asparagus, and peas and cook for another 45 minutes or so.

Season with with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in some oregano and a couple teaspoons of cloves.

Serve and enjoy.

We were both impressed at how tasty this one was–especially considering how little effort was involved in making it. And, like some of our other favorite recipes, this is a great base to start with and add other ingredients you like.

Slow Cooked Cumin Spiced Ham Rost Recipe

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A week or so ago, I read the Cumin Spiced Slow Cooked Pork recipe on Everyday Paleo and wondered if we’ve be able to make it with the Ham Roast tha we had in the freezer.

Turns out, it worked pretty well (with a tweak or two). Here’s what I did.

Ingredients

  • 1 3-4 pound Ham Roast
  • Cumin, Sea Salt, Pepper
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, sliced
  • (we skipped the mushrooms–I’m not a fan)

Sauce

  • 2 cups green or red salsa (I also used the salsa verde from Trader Joe’s)
  • 1 cup red salsa
  • 2 cups strained tomatoes
  • 4 tablespoons Cumin
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Process

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet and apply salt, pepper, and half the cumin to the ham roast. Cook the roast for a few minutes per side and then transfer to the crock pot. Add the salsa, tomatoes, garlic, and sprinkle in the remainder of the cumin. Finally, deposit the onion rings on top.

Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Tasty!

Chicken with Vinegar (Poulet Au Vinaigre) Recipe

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Kathleen was browsing through a copy of France: The Beautiful Cookbook the other day to find a recipe we could make with one of our naturally raised whole chickens from Foothill Grassfed Meats (Rob raises great chicken and pork). She came across one called “Chicken with Vinegar” which sounded disgusting until I actually read the ingredient list.

I made it for dinner tonight but tweaked the recipe a bit as I went, since we were missing a couple things and happened to have a chicken that was larger than called for. So I’ve noted those changes in parenthesis below.

Ingredients

  • 2 ripe medium tomatoes (I used 4)
  • 1 chicken, about 3lb, cut into 8 serving pieces (our was about 6lbs and my cutting job left something to be desired)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used 3 tbs of coconut oil since we had more chicken)
  • 1 oz butter (I used a good-size scoop of Organic Pastures Raw Butter)
  • 6 cloves garlic, peeled (I used a whole head)
  • 6 tablespoons tarragon vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar, which we always have on hand)
  • 2/3 cup of dry white wine (I doubled this, using nearly 2 cups)
  • 2 pinches of sugar (completely unnecessary–I skipped it)
  • 2/3 cup of heavy cream (I used Organic Pastures Raw Cream)
  • 1 teaspoon strong mustard (I used 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard)

As you can tell, having a larger chicken meant that I used more of several ingredients. And now that I’ve made the dish once, I’d certainly experiment more if making it again. It’s definitely one of those recipes that leave a lot of room to play.

Process

Drop the tomatoes in boiling water for 15-20 seconds and then cool under running water. Halve, peel, and remove the seeds and then finely chop the flesh. Set aside.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in a nonstick 10 or 12 inch pan. Once the butter has melted, add the chicken pieces and garlic cloves. Cook until golden brown (roughly 10 minutes) and flip the chicken pieces about half way through the process. Then add the vinegar and let it cook off. Stir in the wine and tomatoes and season with salt and pepper again. Cook for 45 minutes.

A few minutes before the chicken is done cooking, combine the cream and mustard in a bowl and mix well. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate. Strain the remaining juices through a fine strainer and into a small sauce pan. Add the cooked garlic and mash it into a paste. Heat the mixture on high heat (boiling) for about 5 minutes until it is a thick syrup. Then add the cream and mustard mixture and cook another 2 minutes, stirring a few times as it thickens.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve. We also prepared a side dish of steamed broccoli.