Pork Roast and Crackling

[Roll_Bones]

That way of thinking is becoming more and more outdated.

I can tell you without hesitation that I fully believe saturated fat has gotten an undeserved bad reputation over the last 50 years. I say this from both research and personal experience. For the last two years, I've been eating plenty of it. The diet I'm on has 75% of my calories coming from fat. Yes, 75%.

In addition to olive oil, I also eat plenty of butter, lard, cheese, full-fat cream, and eggs... all the stuff that the medical community has said is bad for you. Turns out it really isn't, and the evidence seems to be mounting. Since cutting out carbs and eating more fat, my cholesterol has gone down and I've dropped over 100 pounds of excess weight. My blood sugar and blood pressure are also now within a normal range. Did I mention that I feel a whole lot better, too?

So I call "baloney" on the so-called experts.

Kinda the way I thought it was.
I also assumed and am not sure, but can the body actually process fats?
Don't fats just get sent down the pipes while the carbs are being processed?

I have a friend and myself for example. I lost 6 pounds in one week (still losing) on a low carb approach. I do eat carbs, but cut out as much as possible.
I still eat the occasional sandwich.
My friend had high blood pressure and cholesterol issues. He went with this approach and has been able to reduce and even stop taking some of his medicines.
His doctor is quite happy with him, but is not on board with his way of accomplishing it.
I am doing something similar after the scolding my doctor gave me 3 months ago. I had gained 15 pounds in 3 months.
He suggested when I return, he expects me to be back at the original weight. I plan to take it even further and loose a total of 25 pounds and do my level best to keep it off.
At least now, I know how to do it.

 

[GotGarlic]

Kinda the way I thought it was.
I also assumed and am not sure, but can the body actually process fats?
Don't fats just get sent down the pipes while the carbs are being processed?

The body does indeed process fats. Pancreatic enzymes break fat down and allow the body to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. I found this out the hard way: My pancreas doesn't make these enzymes. When I was in the hospital in 2007, I had a PICC line (a semi-permanent IV) put in and it wouldn't stop bleeding. Blood tests showed I had almost no fat-soluble vitamins in my system. Vitamin K is necessary to produce blood clotting factor. So they gave me a dose of IV Vit K and and I've been taking supplements and Rx pancreatic enzymes ever since.

The body uses fats, carbs and protein. Cellulose from certain plants is not digested and simply moves through the system.

You learn a lot over the years when you have chronic inflammatory bowel disease and pancreatic insufficiency

 

[Roll_Bones]

The body does indeed process fats. Pancreatic enzymes break fat down and allow the body to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. I found this out the hard way: My pancreas doesn't make these enzymes. When I was in the hospital in 2007, I had a PICC line (a semi-permanent IV) put in and it wouldn't stop bleeding. Blood tests showed I had almost no fat-soluble vitamins in my system. Vitamin K is necessary to produce blood clotting factor. So they gave me a dose of IV Vit K and and I've been taking supplements and Rx pancreatic enzymes ever since.

The body uses fats, carbs and protein. Cellulose from certain plants is not digested and simply moves through the system.

You learn a lot over the years when you have chronic inflammatory bowel disease and pancreatic insufficiency

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Steve Kroll]

It's also worth noting that if you aren't consuming enough carbohydrates, your body is then forced to find an alternate source of fuel, in my case fat from either dietary sources or stored body fat. This is why low carb diets work well for a lot of people.

 

[GotGarlic]

I did try a low-carb diet once. I think because of my particular health issues, it didn't work for me. As much as I tried, I could not drink enough to stay hydrated. I was always dehydrated and felt horrible.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I did try a low-carb diet once. I think because of my particular health issues, it didn't work for me. As much as I tried, I could not drink enough to stay hydrated. I was always dehydrated and felt horrible.

I've heard that from a few, and most of those were people with certain types of thyroid and pancreatic ailments, or those who have had their gall bladders removed.

I can tell you from my own experience that it takes some time to adapt as well. While I started losing weight right away and saw an almost immediate positive response in my blood glucose levels, I would say it was a full three months before I felt 100% "normal" again. Prior to that, I went through periods of headaches, sleepless nights, and dehydration. I also experienced a lot of muscle cramping (probably from losing water and electrolytes so quickly) and days where I had very little energy.

From what I've read, carb restriction causes changes at the cellular level. For example, brain cells eventually produce more mitochondria in order to burn ketone bodies. Starved of glucose, your body becomes very efficient at using fat for energy, but it takes time to get to that point.

No one really knows what happens when someone is on a ketogenic diet for long periods of time. Surprisingly there hasn't been a lot of research in this area. All I can say is that I've been on it for almost two years now without any apparent problems.

You might find this blog post on Scientific American interesting.
The fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous? - Scientific American Blog Network

You'll also see mention of the various complaints surrounding low carb diets in general: constipation, electrolyte deficiencies, bad breath, etc. What no one ever seems to mention is that in most people these symptoms subside over time and eventually disappear completely.

 

[GotGarlic]

I've heard that from a few, and most of those were people with certain types of thyroid and pancreatic ailments, or those who have had their gall bladders removed...

I have all three of those, plus more! I also can't eat high-fiber foods because of higher risk of intestinal blockage, so that eliminates a whole category of vegetables.

I'm glad it's working for you, though.

 

[Addie]

I probably have the worst eating habits of any member here. All my carbs come from veggies. And yes a potato is a vegetable. So I will eat a potato. But I want it baked or mashed with butter and 1/2 and 1/2. I do not trim off the fat from meats, buy 75-80% burger meat when I am not grinding my own. I use olive oil, butter, 1/2 and 1/2 for my all day long continuous cup of coffee, and very rarely say "No" to fatty foods. I avoid grains, and food made from grains. Yet I have managed to lose 40 lbs. this past year. My only real caution with food is liquid fat. I have gall stones. I can eat a pat of butter, but I can't drink a pat of melted butter. The next time I will have to go into surgery to have it removed. Other than the small bowl of pasta I had yesterday, it has been more than four months since I had my last dish. Pasta and butter, Ramen Noodles, etc. were my go to foods for a quick fix. Not any more. I would rather wait for a piece of meat to cook under the broil. And because I am taking in protein instead of carbs, I am satisfied for more hours than a quick fix with carbs.

Emeril had it right. Something about pork rules. (Senior Moment) And so does fat!

 

[rodentraiser]

Addie, I will challenge you for that worst eating habits title. Although I love some kinds of fruit and can't get enough of them, I rarely, if ever, eat any vegetables. And while I don't like a lot of sweet stuff, I love the fat snacks like potato chips.

Right now I think I'm eating pretty healthy (except for the vegetable aversion) and that I could lose weight if I tried. It's just that I get so little exercise because of my back pain. I think the back pain would be much better if I could lose weight, but because of the weight, I can't exercise to do that. It's like a Catch-22.

It didn't help that I made my own sour cream a couple of days ago. It's delicious, but I guess I could have lived without it.

 

[Addie]

Addie, I will challenge you for that worst eating habits title. Although I love some kinds of fruit and can't get enough of them, I rarely, if ever, eat any vegetables. And while I don't like a lot of sweet stuff, I love the fat snacks like potato chips.

Right now I think I'm eating pretty healthy (except for the vegetable aversion) and that I could lose weight if I tried. It's just that I get so little exercise because of my back pain. I think the back pain would be much better if I could lose weight, but because of the weight, I can't exercise to do that. It's like a Catch-22.

It didn't help that I made my own sour cream a couple of days ago. It's delicious, but I guess I could have lived without it.

I very rarely eat snack foods. Yesterday Pirate came home with a bag of mini chocolate covered doughnuts. I took a bite and spit it right out. It tasted so sweet to me. I wanted to barf right then. I can't remember the last time I even went near the snack aisle. I would rather have a big bowl of steamed broccoli with a small pat of butter.