Back On The Diet Front

I have been following Charlie Martin's 13 Weeks and 13 Weeks II with great interest since I am a big believer in Gary Taubes insights about carbohydrates, insulin resistance and obesity.

However, and not to muddle Charlie's science, Taubes does not spend much time (if any) evaluating the very interesting stuff being learned about gut bacteria and the human biome.

The Paleo people are already on this, however - Mark Sisson has a guide to fermented foods (or see the Web MD slideshow).

Bubbies sauerkraut, pickles, and pickled green tomatoes are good sources of fermenting bacteria. Yogurt with active cultures is the old standby, and kefir has a nice tang to it.

And my question - from his early diet I don't see any mention of or emphasis on fermented foods. Is that something Charlie has experimented with?

Food for thought, as it were.

Comments

[Walter]

Charlie has been a great inspiration.

Yay ChaCo!

[peter]

and let's not forget Natto and kimchi. Maybe if Derek Jeter ate some of these probiotics, he could hobble on to the field and give Eduardo Nunez a rest.

[Ignatz]

Congrats Chaco.
Otherwise, gut bacteria? ZZzzzzzzzz

[Frau Sauerkraut über alles!]

And that's not a crock!

[Jim Eagle]

Mmmm, mm. Bubbies pickles and sauerkraut are staples in our household for those warm days where a good brat with kraut, coleslaw and pickles is called for.

As for kimchi, I have never got over the smell coming from our korean workforces kitchen on Tanjung Batu in Balikpapan, Kalimantan Timur, Indonesia. Never got a chance to try it because the smell had overwhelmed my senses. The only thing that rivals it the making of sauerkraut where they wear gas masks while doing it.

[Rob Crawford]

Otherwise, gut bacteria? ZZzzzzzzzz

Really?

I dunno. I could easily see an advantage for bacteria that stimulate you to overeat -- they get to eat more, too. And for them eating means reproducing.

And I think few of these problems are single-variable ones. Lots of causes, lots of ways to approach them.

On the other hand, I remember the '80s when ulcers and medication for them was everywhere, and when you got beaten over the "Type A personality" stuff and stress as the cause. Then one researcher had a eureka moment with some heliobacter pylori, and a lifestyle-related, stress-induced condition was wiped out with antibiotics.

[NK]

Fat guys never discuss diets, so In other news: Lib/Dems up in this part of the country really dislike the Gadsen Flag-- time for me to put one up in front of the house: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/04/22/flags-believed-ties-to-tea-party-leads-to-removal-from-new-rochelle-building/2/

[Frau Sauerkraut über alles!]

JiB - I saw fresh kimchi at Trader Joe's.

And yes, ChaCo, I continue to cheer for you.

[AliceH]

-- fresh kimchi--

heh.

[matt]

Kombacha is making a stir out here in California. It is a fermented tea drink with lots of probiotics and antioxidants. Tastes a bit yucky.

I find the Yakult probiotic yogurt shots do pretty well and they are reasonably priced.

As to Kimchi it is an acquired taste. These days most Asian restaurants serve it as an appetizer. There are as many varieties as there are people who make it, I think.

And good old kosher dills are the best. When I was a kid the local delis had barrels of them. I guess that was barred by some sanitary regulation.

Funny how pickling crosses so many ethnic and cultural barriers.

JiB, I never got over Macho Grande myself....

[Frau Sauerkraut über alles!]

Now,now AliceH. There's a *big* difference between canned--in a tin or glass-- sauerkraut and *fresh* sauerkraut in the refrigerator section.

[Rob Crawford]

I like that they have to specify it was originally cabbage on the can of kimchi.

[Kurt]

That second link didn't work, so let's try again: Cultures for Health.

[Janet]

I remember a recommended political LUN from Frau awhile ago...& it led to a sauerkraut recipe!

...a little later there was a short Forgive sauerkraut link post.
Hahahaa! Only on JOM. :)

[Porchlight]

Funny how pickling crosses so many ethnic and cultural barriers.

Yes. Not too many ways to preserve food in the old days.

Besides, wine > vinegar > pickling. Where you have wine, you have vinegar, and that's pretty much everywhere.

I adore pickles and vinegar applications of all kinds - and wine, too.

[Dave (in MA)]

Never open a jar of kimchi while sitting on the couch.

[peter]

I believe that this might be the most successful diet thread ever. Our blog host must be very pleased. LUN, a blog devoted to inflammation and health

[sammy small]

Anyone who ever lived in Korea will ever touch kimchi. You will never get over the smell of kimchi breath.

[Rob Crawford]

Never open a jar of kimchi while sitting on the couch.

FTFY.

[Danube of Thought]

Well I've done pretty well on the South Beach diet, beginning February 25. As of this morning I'm down exactly 25 lbs.; hardest part was no booze of any kind with no exceptions, until a few exceptions arose a couple of weeks ago for mandatory social reasons.

This is my third go-round on this thing in about ten years, and it works exactly the same every time. I guess I'm entitled to hope that I'm now at an age where I won't gradually put it all back on.

[NK]

Congrats DoT-- your knees will appreciate the weight loss.

[NK]

Never eaten Kimchi-- can't get past the smell-- and I eat almost anything and everything.

[Porchlight]

Congrats, DoT. 25 lbs in two months is a major achievement. No booze is way hard (for me anyway).

[glasater]

Bubbies pickles are just the best! Very close to what Grandma made but Grandma put a couple of chili peppers in the jars.

[Cecil Turner]

Never eaten Kimchi-- can't get past the smell-- and I eat almost anything and everything.

I was that way for a while. But then I tried it and liked it. Still don't appreciate kimchi breath, though.

[NK]

CaptH-- this headline out of PG County could have appeared any day during the past 45 years: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/23/17877313-maryland-police-hunting-for-man-who-shot-killed-dc-police-officer?lite=

[cathyf]

I guess I'm entitled to hope that I'm now at an age where I won't gradually put it all back on.

I think the only way that works is if you die before you gain it all back...

[Jack is Back!]

Still don't appreciate kimchi breath, though.

CT,

So, you can understand what it must like coming out of the kitchen vent for a mess hall of 500+ koreans:)

BTW, those guys were replacements for the Filipinos we had to send home because they and the transient Indonesians got into murderous rice bowl fights at dinner. Each asian culture and tribe has a different rice or way of making it. We screwed up not realizing that and mixing these guys up in a uni-rice situation.

[Dr. Weevil]

Wwenty years ago I bought a fair-sized jar (maybe 16 oz) of kimchi, ate about one-eighth of it, and put the rest in the refrigerator. The next day, it was full again. That was disquieting, but I ate another one-eighth or so, and put it back again. On the third day, I came home from work to find that it was full again and decided I'd had enough (in more ways than one). I stuffed what was left down the garbage grinder and ran the machine for a long time, with plenty of water, just to be sure it was all gone. I like kimchi, and an ever-renewing cornucopia is an attractive idea for most foodstuffs, but that was just too weird. Now a corndog tree in the back yard . . . .

[NK]

OK... now I'm definitely not trying kimchi.

[Old Lurker]

Could I have half of DoT's success and still have cocktail hour?

I am happy to negotiate.

[Stephanie]

OL. From what I remember doing the Quick Weight Loss Plan (similar to SB diet), stick with dark liquors and you are ok to imbibe a little. Dark liquors have much less carbs.

TCFAS! Single malt.

[maryrose]

No kimchi for me ,though my friends keep encouraging me to try Thai food.

[Rob Crawford]

maryrose -- Pad Thai. I've never met anyone who didn't like Pad Thai.

Unless you're eating low-carb. Then avoid it.

[Jack is Back!]

TCFAD,

Sitting here watching a turbulent ocean and not a cloud in the sky. Life is good and not a Chechen visible.

But Stephanie, I would prefer a single barrel Cruzan rum. Is that acceptable on that diet

I can tell you that before the medico got me my hydrocodon, the Cruzan got me through my knee pain at night:)

[Jack is Back!]

What a political whore this guy Norquist is. BS on any bill that has Chuckles Schumer involved up front as spokesman. Call me suspicious? Notice how the argument is now about legal immigrants?

In other words, this bill is to strengthen legal immigration while giving the illegals here a way to citizenship. Would not be surprised that Rubio pulls out of it if the public opinion changes.

[Jack is Back!]

Can we please stop with the hate of the United States? Is the ideal of killing all infidels not just US citizens. We happen to meet that single criteria for jihadis based here. Jeez.

[maryrose]

JIB:
Just saw a repeat of Napolitano's hearing on C-Span. Color me unimpressed. She claimed more arrests at border and less arrests both signify plans are working. She said even amount of apprehensions from last year to this year. 3500 more agents in new bill .Coons wants border people to oversea ports in his state of Delaware. The bill seems to promise everything except getting rid of more people who came illegally into OUR country..
Citizenship seems to be the bribe necessary to get these people "out of the shadows" I say once they are out deport them and get their rear-ends to the back of the line where they pursue legal immigration. No moe families allowed in. Even Bob Beckel has said to halt Muslim legal immigration until we find out who is here legally and who is riding on an expired visa.I knew it was time to retire when Miami University of Ohio claimed their new admissions policy would concentrate on DIVERSITY students.

[matt]

Why is it that Arizona and Texas are still in states of emergency along their borders and DHS has ignored them?

NM doesn't count because it is basically a Dem state these days because of illegal immigration.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Tom, i've read the stuff on fermented foods with interest, but haven't made a big effort to include them because I love kimchi and sauerkraut anyway. I have a good sized jar in the refrigerator at all times -- except of course when I have it out ofthe refrigerator to eat some.

Results are:

- I've lost at this point between 33 and 35 pounds
- my A1c is down from 7.5 percent to 5.9 percent, which corresponds to a change in average blood sugar from around 160 (worrisome and somewhat dangerous frank diabetes) to about 122 - since my last A1c I've actually had a couple of fairly significant episodes of HYPOglycemia, blood sugar too *low*. My morning fasting glucose is averaging 110 mg/dL (σ=9.775) now. I pretty certainly need to get off the metformin.
- I've been averaging about 65% calories from fat. However, my last lipid panel puts my total cholesterol at 123, and my triglycerides, LDL and total cholesterol to HDL ratio are all in the "very good" range as defined by the American Heart Association. This is a significant drop from my last lipid panel. My raw HDL is still relatively low at 27, but the total is so low that I still score well over all.

This is week 11 of my second 13 week experiment; my weight plateaued (although I'm still losing weight slowly, about a pound every 10 days is the linear best fit. But the standard deviation on that is nearly 3 pounds, so it's kinda hard to tell.

I'm planning my next 13 weeks to change over to Ferriss' "slow carb" plan, more or less; it'll be a little bit more total carbs, and hopefully will keep my glucose in a little bit better control. Also, I'm suspicious that my body has kind of adapted to the real low carbs -- at least when I've had a vacation day recently, I've usually actually lost a pound or two. There'll be more about that in the column this week.

I like that they have to specify it was originally cabbage on the can of kimchi.

Rob, that's because "kimchi" is actually a generic term for pickled vegetables. You can have all sorts of different kimchis.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Oh, and I'm glad you're following this and appreciate the interest and kind words from everyone. I've been I've been busier than a one-armed cat in a room full of paper hangers, so I haven't been keeping up very well.

[Porchlight]

Clarice, those ceramic crocks look great, but be sure to read the Amazon reviews. The crocks are very heavy and the finish on the bottom is rough and can scratch countertops.
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&keywords=harsch%20crocks&page=1&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aharsch%20crocks

[Porchlight]

I love kimchi and all Korean cuisine. It is like a blend between Russian and Chinese.

[Old Lurker]

Steph, if I add food coloring to my G&T, does that count?

[cathyf_in_the_typepad_naughty_chair]

testing...

[maryrose]

ChaCO:
Keep up the good work. You are an inspiration to us all!
RC; I will try PAd Thai.

[Laura White]

I drink gin and tonic on doctor's orders, or at least I am on order to drink something that contains quinine--lest I have debilitating foot or toe cramps in the night! I guess I could leave out the gin, but what a fool I would be to do so.

[Porchlight]

Indeed, Laura White!

[peter]

Chaco, you're that Chaco! I never made the connection. Duh!

[Stephanie]

Jack, the following is a link for carb counts on liquors...

http://drinkinglowcarb.com/2009/04/carb-counts-for-hard-liquors.html

Those with flavors are a crap shoot sometimes but I splurged for a raspberry vodka, sour and diet sprite tonight... really good combo. Looks like smurf pee but yummy. ;)

[Laura White]

When you start drinking on sloe gin fizzes, as I did as a young lass many years ago, you aren't that fussy in your dotage as to the color of the beverage, no matter how odd--that smurf pee, despite its name, sounds delicious and eminently worth a try!

[Ignatz]

----lest I have debilitating foot or toe cramps in the night! --

Quinine, eh?
Does calcium help?
We were speaking of prednisone the other day and the leg and foot cramps were the worst side effect of the stuff.
When the mother of all calf cramps struck one night I started gobbling my wife's Bone Up calcium and magnesium pills. Presto; not a single cramp after that.
Next time I saw the doc I was glad he suggested I quit the prednisone because I was going to tell him it was being jettisoned whether he wanted me to or not.

[cathyf_in_the_typepad_naughty_chair]

typepad sucks

[Stephanie]

The bartender made it up special for me and didn't have a name for it, so I named it Smurf Pee. I was weaned on Sloe Gin Fizz's and Week at the Beach's and other really pretty drinks, too. The Smurf Pee is a keeper. Very sweet, though - which was good after walking 9 holes and getting a good workout. Too hot and sweaty for a scotch, my usual poison.

[cathyf_in_the_typepad_naughty_chair]

...

[Walter]

Stephanie,

Thanks for the liquor guides. I've actually been holding on to a bottle (almost untouched) of Chartreuse  [per the chart:  pending French herbal bend of 130 plants + alcohol]. Any guess as to the carb count there?

Also, it probably fits well with ChaCO & TM's points that my weekly digressions into Bigfoot Ale tend to help rather than hinder.   Just as well, as I'd likely do it anyway.  Good stuff, but more sipping than quaffing beer.

[daddy]

In wintertime, when we do a stop and go thru Inchon, and it's cold as the dickens, we shut down on the ramp, and in a moment up the stairs and into the cockpit come the Korean maintenance boys.

Suddenly it is gag-a-maggot time. They reek so bad I have to pull my T-shirt up over my nostrils to keep from heaving. We do everything we can to get them the heck out quick, like cranking up the gaspers to try to fumigate the place, but what works best is cracking your windows and letting that subzero cold come whipping in to try to un-stink the joint.

But amazingly, if I'm laying over there and have had a beer or 2, I can eat the kimshi stuff okay, as long as I'm pounding down bulgogi wrapped in lettuce leaves with garlic bulbs and that red chili paste you slather on top. I think it must temporarily deaden the taste buds and nostrils.

[Patriot4Freedom]

maryrose

Please let your friends take you out for Thai food ! Have each of them order their favorite, then just try a bite of each - you can order some rice and a few eggrolls for yourself. Their eggrolls are very similar to Chinese eggrolls. Pad Thai isn't bad, but I would *heartily* recommend that you try beef panang, a sweet and savory, mild curry-based dish that is unlike traditional Indian yellow curries. It is simply delicious beyond mere words !

One of the greatest regrets of my life (of which I have MANY) is that I missed out on the pleasures of Thai food for more than 20 years. Some 25+ years ago, some friends took a group of us out for Thai food. It was my first Thai food experience, since I had heard how hot Thai food was. The food was so hot, overspiced and terrible, with a bitter acrid flavor, that I never tried Thai food again for 20 years. Then I tasted beef panang, and I was hooked. I never heard what dish I tried back then, but oh, how I wish that I tried the panang that night.

A dish of beef panang

Recipe and panang info at the LUN

[DerHahn]

We've got an interesting diet experiment going on at my place. The girlfriend signed up for the 10-week 'boot camp' at the gym I belong to (kickboxing work outs + strength training with resistance bands, higher protein/restricted carb diet plan).

She had been on the typical single girl low-fat diet of yogurt, take-out meals, chips, cookies, and microwave popcorn. Her attempts at exercise were sporadic ventures with Zumba, aerobics, etc.

I've been doing a lot of the grocery shopping and cooking so I had converted her to at least eating real food most of the time (and making her co-workers jealous when she took the leftovers for lunch). The transition to the meal plan was fairly painless as a result. She even remarked a couple of months ago after her annual checkup that her iron levels were better since she started living with a dedicated carnivore :)

The exercise program (6 days/week for 45 mins, alternating cardio kickboxing with strength training) has been a little rougher but she's doing pretty well.

Sunday afternoon in the middle of laundry she went a bit ballistic (in a good way, once I figured it out) over fitting comfortably into the only-wear-these-at-home-when-everything-is-dirty-too-small jeans, and being able to wear them to her band rehersal, after about two weeks on the program.

[daddy]

Maryrose,

Let me second Pat4Freedom and really recommend the Penang Beef as well as the Massaman Chicken. A finer mix of wonderful (non-burning) flavors you will never come across in your life. I was lucky to spend some early years in Bangkok and we had 2 cooks assigned to our quarters. They made stuff that was so wonderful it was incredible, but being so young I never knew the names of it, so that I almost always order a new dish in a Thai restaurant, along with my Penang or Massaman standards, trying vainly to rediscover whatever I was so in love with as a kid. Thai food is great.

Fine story DerHahn. Well done Sir.

[glasater]

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[glasater]

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http://news.yahoo.com/weight-loss-surgery-gut-bacteria-keep-obesity-away-180108796.html