Tag: Diabetes

• Michael Mosley and Coconut Oil

  Dr Michael Mosely (Trust Me, I’m a Doctor) instigated a trial to determine the impact of coconut oil on cardio-vascular health.

  In a University of Cambridge study, 94 participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups. They were asked to consume an additional 50g of fat – either coconut oil, butter or olive oil, daily for a period of four weeks.

  The main measure was the change in total cholesterol.

  Based on this study, Michael Mosley now thinks that coconut oil may be good for you. The study showed nothing to suggest that this could be true.

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  1 April 2018

• Robert Lustig and The Men Who Made Us Fat

  Robert Lustig is a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco. He is the author of Fat Chance: Beating the Odds against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease. He specializes in childhood obesity and studying the effects of sugar in the diet. He is the director of the UCSF Weight Assessment for Teen and Child Health Program and a member of the Obesity Task Force of the Endocrine Society.

  Unfortunately, much of what he says is simply wrong, which given the amount of media exposure that he receives, is deeply worrying.

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  26 February 2018

• Rheumatoid arthritis – an autoimmune condition

  Autoimmune diseases are a group of sinister diseases where the immune system attacks the body that it was designed to protect.

  Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects the smaller joints, such as those in the hands, feet and wrists, although larger joints such as the hips and knees can also be affected. According to the Health Direct website, the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is not known.

  You may be surprised to know how much is known about the causes of rheumatoid arthritis.

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  6 February 2018

• The A2 Milk Story

  The hypothesis that A2 milk was protective of type 1 diabetes originated with a paper published in 1992. Robert Elliott observed much lower rates of type 1 diabetes amongst Polynesian children that were raised on the Polynesian islands compared with those raised in Auckland. This was attributed to the differences in the β-casein profile.

  Elliott was the lead author of a conference paper that examined the effects of feeding casein to non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. The conclusion was that “the induction of diabetes by casein in the NOD mouse appears to be restricted to casein containing the A1 variant of beta-casein”.

  The marketing potential of such a discovery could be enormous.

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  27 December 2017

• The Problem With Cow’s Milk

  Skin and intestinal reactions to cow’s milk was described by Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.) and Galen of Pergamum (130-210 AD), both Greek physicians so there has been an awareness of problems with cow’s milk for a considerable period of time.

  Cow’s milk is the most common cause of allergic reactions, although the actual prevalence is disputed.

  Mammals have evolved over millions of years to provide nutrition for their infants in the first stage of life. There are significant difference between species depending upon factors such as rates of growth.

  A bull reaches maturity at 9-10 months, so the rate of growth is markedly different to humans. Consequently, the composition of bovine milk is very different to that of humans. The consequences of cow’s milk consumption are potentially harmful.

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  23 December 2017

• Misconceptions of Denis Stewart

  Denis Stewart is a herbalist from the Hunter Valley (NSW, Australia). He is an associate professor at University of Newcastle since 2002. He founded the Southern Cross Herbal School in the late 1970s.

  He presents a weekly radio show on 2NUR FM, a Newcastle-based radio station, on health topics.

  I am concerned about some of his material. I posted Denis a (real) letter and sent an email without receiving a response. I also sent an email to 2NUR FM listing some concerns.

  Below is a list of some of the concerns that have not been addressed.

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  14 November 2017

• CSIRO Low-Carb Diets

  The CSIRO Low-Carb Diet and CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet were developed in Australia by the CSIRO.

  The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet plan "is higher in protein, and lower in high Glycemic Index carbohydrates which supports weight loss, especially fat mass whilst helping with appetite control".

  The CSIRO Low Carb Diet is "lower in carbohydrate and higher in healthy fats which may improve blood glucose control and possibly a reduction in need for diabetes medication".

  The CSIRO Diets DO NOT improve blood glucose control and DOES NOT reduce the need for diabetes medication.

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  4 October 2017

• DASH Diet and Blood Pressure

  The concept that diet and blood pressure are linked has been discussed since at least the 1920s. In 1926, Donaldson noted that “vegetarians, we believe, run a consistently lower blood pressure than those who use flesh foods."

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  22 October 2016

• Worried about whether you should be eating eggs?

  The Australian Heart Foundation has the following comment regarding eggs.

  Worried about whether you should be eating eggs? They're really nutritious and it's fine to have them regularly as part of a healthy diet. Eggs contain good quality protein, 11 vitamins and minerals, and are a source of healthy fats including omega-3 fats. One egg has about 5 g of fat – but most of this is unsaturated, a fat that you need to be healthy. An egg contains only about 1.5 g of saturated fat and no trans fat. As part of a healthy balanced diet you can eat up to 6 eggs each week without increasing your risk of heart disease.

  However, according to the Physicians' Health Study, doctors consuming 7 or more eggs per week had a 31% increase in all-cause mortality compared with those consuming less than 1 egg per week. With diabetic physicians, the association was much higher with the increase in mortality doubled.

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  21 February 2016

• TIME Magazine Article – Eat Butter – Part 2

  TIME magazine published an article by Bryan Walsh that appeared in TIME magazine on 23 June 2014.

  The cover of the magazine asserts “Eat Butter. Scientists labeled fat the enemy. Why they were wrong.”

  Unfortunately, much of the evidence that Walsh presents in the article “Don’t blame the fat” is simply wrong and misleading. Walsh states that between 1977-2012, egg consumption fell 9%, beef 37% and milk 72%.

  For the period 1970 - 2000, total added fats (up 40%), dairy products (up 8%), cheese (up 107%), low fat milk (up 79%), all meat products (up 10%), poultry (up 89%) and fish (up 22%) increased. These significant increases were not included in Walsh’s report. All of these food products, even low fat milk, are high fat foods.

  The total calories consumed also rose significantly by 24%.

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  23 July 2014