nick

From what I can tell, the Harvard group (Willet, et. al.) are just jumping
on the anti-trans fat fat. How can CLA be "good" while the trans fat in
something like soybean oil is "bad?" It's not the trans fat, it's the PUFA
that's the problem, especially the idiots who advocate cooking with these
oils, or eating them in large amounts to "protect the heart." All you'll
get is massive free radical damage - and death to heart cells. I've got
hundreds of studies, but I'll just quote one here that gets to the
underlying mechanism I mentioned in the "obesity epidemic" context in this
particular thread. Once again, wuzzy, you make a statement with no source
citation. What seems to be happening is that the body is trying to protect
the mitochondria from all the oxidative stress due to excess unsaturated
fatty acid consumption, so the thryoid slows down, which means there will be
less oxidative stress but metabolism will slow down. Now of course the food
people are eating is super-calorically dense. Read Paul Stitt's "Fighting
the Food Giants" to get an idea about what is going on in these "food"
companies - they should be sued before tobacco companies - at least everyone
is aware of the dangers of smoking, unlike the companies promoting the
"essential fatty acids," which are essentially life-shortening and little
else.

"Serum paraoxonase activity, lipids, lipoproteins and apolipoproteins in
patients with thyroid dysfunction
Raiszadeh F, Solati M, Arabi M, Azizi F.
Endocrine Research Center, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences,
Tehran, Iran


Paraoxonase is an HDL-linked enzyme, which can hydrolyze paraoxon in vitro.
There have been some reports on its antioxidant effects in human serum,
which
inhibits LDL-c oxidation. Serum activity of this enzyme falls in patients
with
atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. Patients with thyroid dysfunction
are
more susceptible to oxidative stresses, and may show enhanced LDL-c
oxidation.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate serum paraxonase activity and
lipid
parameters in patients with hypo and hyperthyroidism.

50 hypothyroid patients, 11 men and 39 women, aged 38.9±13.4 years, and 50
hyperthyroid patients, 20 men and 30 women, aged 42.4±14.3 years, were
studied.
For each group of patients 50 age and *** matched healthy controls were
used.
Serum paraoxonase activity was measured in fasting sera by
spectrophotometer,
measuring P-nitro phenol paraoxon after adding paraoxon to the sera.
Apolipoproteins level was determined by immunoturbidometric assay.

Hyper and hypothyroid patients did not show any significant differences in
height, weight, and body mass index compared with the control group.
Significant reduction in serum paraoxonase activity (44.8±22.6 vs. 67±36.8
Iu/ml, P<0.001) and paraoxonase to HDL ratio (0.7±0.3 vs. 1.2±0.9, P<0.001)
was
present in hyperthyroid patients compared with the controls. In hypothyroid
patients, lower serum paraoxonase activity (46.1±21 vs. 64.3±32.2 Iu/ml,
P<0.05) was accompanied with lower paraoxonase to HDL ratio (0.8±0.4 vs.
1.1±0.7, P<0.05).

In hyperthyroid patients, significant reduction in serum triglyceride
(112±53
vs. 165±129 mg/dl, P<0.001), apolipoprotein A-I (136±20 vs. 153±26 mg/dl,
P<0.001), apolipoprotein B (75±18 vs. 85±25 mg/dl, P<0.05), and cholesterol
to
HDL ratio (2.9±0.8 vs. 3.3±1.2, P<0.05) were shown to exist, as compared
with
the control group. While these patients showed no significant changes in
serum
total cholesterol, HDL-c, and LDL-c. Hypothyroid patients had significantly
higher total cholesterol (224±69 vs. 184±41 mg/dl, P<0.001), LDL-c (133±59
vs.
93±36 mg/dl, P<0.001), apolipoprotein B (107±36 vs. 84±23 mg/dl, P<0.001),
cholesterol to HDL ratio (4±1.4 vs. 3.2±1.2 P<0.005), and LDL to HDL ratio
(2.3±1.1 vs. 1.7±0.9, P<0.005), and lower apoA-I to apoB ratio (1.5±0.6 vs.
1.9±0.5, P<0.001) compared with the control group. Serum levels of T4 in
both
groups were inversely correlated with total cholesterol, LDL, apo A-I, apo
B,
and cholesterol to HDL and LDL to HDL ratios.

Hyperthyroidism accelerates mithochondrial oxidative metabolism, resulting
in
increased free radical production and lipid peroxidation. The increased
oxidative stress causes higher consumption of antioxidant substances,
including
paraoxanase enzyme in hyperthyroid subjects. Decreased paraoxanase activity
in
hypothyroid subjects is attributable to the presence of high cholesterol and
decreased LDL-receptor activity as strong pro-oxidant factors that favor
increased antioxidant consumption. The presence of increased oxidation
susceptibility in both hypo- and hyperthyroid subjects can be confirmed by
decreased paraoxanase activity through two different mechanisms."

wuzzy posted::

It's really quite simple, as several scientists and others have noted long


The harvard group shows this month that obesity is caused by high fat
intake (especially animal and trans) and that replacing it with carbs
or pufas will reduce obesity..

russell.beale

Nick,

Interesting posts. You've thought about this a lot, it seems.

What would be the two or three most important changes that you would advise
a person to make to their diet? I'm interested to know how your ideas
translate into practical, protective action.

Thanks,

Russ

nick

Russ:

I was a vegan for about 15 years, eating lots of whole grains, nuts, and
beans, but not paying attention to preparation and fearing "saturated fat"
and cholesterol. Then, over a period of a few months, I lost the ability to
digest food, and also had frequent "food poisoning" like episodes. I did a
great deal of research in a period of about a year, which led to my present
view. One thing that is important is that the scientific evidence is
overwhelming concerning free radical damage being the underlying cause of
"chronic disease" though high iron and other problems and also problematic
(see the study I quoted below). You might want to read Bruce Fife's
"Saturated Fat may save your life." It discusses many nutrition issues, not
just saturated fat. Though I have never seen evidence that is conclusive
regarding the "essentiality" of polyunsaturated fatty acids, they may be
needed by fetuses and pregnant women, and it's hard to avoid them anyway.
The key is to eat them in tiny amounts and not to cook with them. I eat
small amounts of raw tahini, for instance, but I drain the oil on top and
never cook with it. Eggs are great, but should not be cooked while exposed
to air - that can oxidize the cholesterol. Aside from issues of cooking, I
eat dark chocolate, lots of fruit, coconut oil/milk (shredded coconut put
through a grinder is great), raw goat milk cheese, butter, whey (only from
Metagenics), small amounts of asparagus, broccoli, sauerkraut (after washing
it off with water), eggs, a few nuts a day at most (raw, and not peanuts),
and small amounts of rice and kasha (always boiled, then I make a recipe and
save some of it, warming it up with coconut oil in a glass saucepan). I
also make a grain yogurt (only the grain, whey powder, a bit of salt, and a
glass jar are needed - great for the GI tract). I try different
combinations of things, and of course use herbs and spices. You can read
some studies at http://www.sciencedirect.com or http://www.pubmed.com. Also, biochemist
Ray Peat has a newsletter - you can read some for free on the web. Much of
this stuff is difficult to understand for most people, and it took me a long
time to get the hang of it, since my area of speciality is not
diet/nutrition. Basically, avoiding unsaturated fats (even meats can have
high levels of it) and oxidized cholesterol (breads/cakes, etc. made with
powdered dairy are very bad, not just homogenized dairy and meats) will help
a lot (and too much iron, as mentioned above) - then you can eat an
assortment of foods high in antioxidants that don't have a "down side" - so
avoid nightshade vegetables, beans, too many nuts, roasted nuts, too much
grain, baked grain (boiled only), and meat (except boiled in small amounts
and from organic, free-range fed animals, or boiled shellfish from
unpolluted waters). Hope that helps.


"Free Radical Biology and Medicine
Volume 35, Issue 8 , 15 October 2003, Pages 922-928
Serum ferritin concentration is associated with plasma levels of cholesterol
oxidation products in man
Tomi-Pekka Tuomainen, et. al.
Cholesterol oxidation products, oxysterols, are thought to play a part in
the initiation and development of human atherosclerotic lesions. Excessive
body iron has been suggested to promote atherosclerosis and coronary heart
disease through its pro-oxidative properties. In the present study, the
associations between serum ferritin and plasma oxysterol concentrations were
examined in 669 eastern Finnish men. Serum ferritin concentration had
statistically significant (p < .05) direct correlations with most of the
measured oxysterols. In multivariate adjusted regression models, serum
ferritin concentration predicted significantly the levels of
27-hydroxycholesterol (beta = 0.13, p < .001), 7 -hydroxycholesterol (beta =
0.11, p = .005), 25-hydroxycholesterol (beta = 0.10, p = .007),
7-ketocholesterol (beta = 0.10, p = .009), and 7 -hydroxycholesterol (beta =
0.10, p = .02). In conclusion, excess body iron, as assessed by serum
ferritin, is associated with increased levels of circulating oxysterols,
both of enzymatic and nonenzymatic origin, in man."


Russell Beale posted:

"Nick,

Interesting posts. You've thought about this a lot, it seems.

What would be the two or three most important changes that you would advise
a person to make to their diet? I'm interested to know how your ideas
translate into practical, protective action.

Thanks,

Russ"

moosh!

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 02:28:11 +0100, "Russell.Beale" <R.B.@home>
posted:

And you ask this of a person who can't even manage to post to UseNet
properly? Good luck.

ironjustice

Elevated iron levels due to a number of reasons but centering around the fact
man is a herbivore.

Iron from meat combines with iron from other sources and allows that iron ALSO
to be absorbed at a much higher rate than the body would NORMALLY allow.

This leads to elevated levels of iron our organs and only very recently have
they shown REVERSAL of cirrhosis [liver regrowth / regression} .. never been
shown before .. by iron reduction therapy.

Recent studies have shown even MINOR elevations of iron in the body affect the
endocrine / insulin system.

So refrigeration {meat morning noon and night] and the fact iron is added to
every flour based product .. and .. voila ..

You find you cannot even eat a donut without gaining five pounds ..

How about YOU ..do you think YOU have the iron leves "commonly found in
premenopausal women" ..?

Ann N Y Acad Sci 2002 Jun;967:342-351

Effect of Iron Depletion on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Studies in
Carbohydrate-Intolerant Patients.

Facchini FS, Saylor KL
Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, San Francisco General Hospital
and University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.

[Record supplied by publisher]


Controversy surrounds the role of iron (Fe) in atherosclerosis (ASCVD), mainly
due to the inaccuracy of assessing body Fe stores with serum ferritin and
transferrin saturation. Quantitative phlebotomy was used to test whether or not
(a) Fe stores are increased in individuals at high risk for ASCVD and (b) Fe
depletion to near-deficiency (NID) levels is associated with reduction of risk
factors for ASCVD. Thirty-one carbohydrate-intolerant subjects completed the
study. Fe stores were within normal limits (1.5 +/- 0.1 g). At NID, a
significant increase of HDL-cholesterol (p < 0.001) and reductions of blood
pressure (p < 0.001), total and LDL-cholesterol (p < 0.001), triglyceride (p <
0.001), fibrinogen (p < 0.001) and glucose and insulin responses to oral
glucose loading (p < 0.001) were noted, while homocysteine plasma concentration
remained unchanged. These effects were largely reversed by a 6-month period of
Fe repletion with reinstitution of Fe sufficiency. Thus, although individuals
at high risk for ASCVD are not Fe-overloaded, they seem to benefit,
metabolically and hemodynamically, from lowering of body Fe to levels commonly
seen in premenopausal females.

PMID: 12079862

Who loves ya.
Tom
Jesus Was A Vegetarian! http://jesuswasavegetarian.7h.com
Man Is A Herbivore! http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/manisaherbivore
DEAD PEOPLE WALKING http://pages.ivillage.com/ironjustice/deadpeoplewalking