Re: Alzheimer , dementia, and glucose control

[Guest guest]

Rodney,

The article in the NY times that you mentioned

(http://snipurl.com/tf9c) said:

" The study, led by A. Whitmer of the Division of Research at

Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., was based on the records of

22,852 patients with Type 2 diabetes who were followed for eight years.

Initially, none had dementia. The researchers looked at glycosylated

hemoglobin, a blood test that reflects blood sugar levels for the

previous two months. Normal is 7 or lower. Here, the risk of dementia

rose when the level reached 10. Those with readings from 10 to 11.9

had 13 percent more risk than people with levels below 10. From 12 to

14.9, the risk was 24 percent higher. Over 15, it jumped to 83 percent

higher. "

I remembered reading that a relatively low carb diet (e.g., Zone Diet

30:40:30 P:C:F) was moderately effective in reducing glycohemoglobin.

Diets with higher restriction of carbohydrates were more effective.

Below is the abstract of the paper.

It may be that diabetes, Alzheimers, and dementia all stem from the

inability of the human body to cope with high carbohydrate diets.

This is another hint about what Optimum Nutrition entails.

Tony

===

Nutr Metab (Lond). 2006 Mar 23;3:16,

Control of blood glucose in type 2 diabetes without weight loss by

modification of diet composition.

Gannon MC, Nuttall FQ.

Metabolic Research Laboratory and Section of Endocrinology, Metabolism

& Nutrition, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA. ganno004@...

BACKGROUND: Over the past several years our research group has taken a

systematic, comprehensive approach to determining the effects on body

function (hormonal and non-hormonal) of varying the amounts and types

of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the diet. We have been

particularly interested in the dietary management of type 2 diabetes.

Our objective has been to develop a diet for people with type 2

diabetes that does not require weight loss, oral agents, or insulin,

but that still controls the blood glucose concentration. Our overall

goal is to enable the person with type 2 diabetes to control their

blood glucose by adjustment in the composition rather than the amount

of food in their diet. METHODS: This paper is a brief summary and

review of our recent diet-related research, and the rationale used in

the development of diets that potentially are useful in the treatment

of diabetes. RESULTS: We determined that, of the carbohydrates present

in the diet, absorbed glucose is largely responsible for the

food-induced increase in blood glucose concentration. We also

determined that dietary protein increases insulin secretion and lowers

blood glucose. Fat does not significantly affect blood glucose, but

can affect insulin secretion and modify the absorption of

carbohydrates. Based on these data, we tested the efficacy of diets

with various protein:carbohydrate:fat ratios for 5 weeks on blood

glucose control in people with untreated type 2 diabetes. The results

were compared to those obtained in the same subjects after 5 weeks on

a control diet with a protein:carbohydrate:fat ratio of 15:55:30. A

30:40:30 ratio diet resulted in a moderate but significant decrease in

24-hour integrated glucose area and % total glycohemoglobin (%tGHb). A

30:20:50 ratio diet resulted in a 38% decrease in 24-hour glucose

area, a reduction in fasting glucose to near normal and a decrease in

%tGHb from 9.8% to 7.6%. The response to a 30:30:40 ratio diet was

similar. CONCLUSION: Altering the diet composition could be a

patient-empowering method of improving the hyperglycemia of type 2

diabetes without weight loss or pharmacologic intervention.

PMID: 16556307

[Guest guest]

Jeff,

We don't need to settle for " generic comments " as to what constitutes

a high carb diet, and the issue cannot be settled by looking at rural

Okinawans.

We can be quite specific and define diets in terms of their percentage

of carbohydrate and their corresponding physiological and biochemical

effect on the body. PMID 16556307 shows that a diet with a P:C:F

ratio of 15:55:30 (the typical USDA diet) is worse for diabetes and

produces more glycohemoglobin than the Zone diet which has a P:C:F

ratio of 30:40:30.

Factors, such as caloric restriction, may influence glycation and

diabetes. When you consider equicaloric diets, it seems to me that a

diet with over 40% carbohydrates should be classified as a high

carbohydrate diet based on its glycemic effects. We may not agree

that 40% is the right boundary, but looking at the effects of the

15:55:30 diet on the general American population, we should certainly

agree that the diet leads to obesity and diabetes for a large

proportion of the population at the typical levels of caloric

consumption.

Tony

--- In , Novick <chefjeff40@...>

wrote:

>

> »Alzheimers, and dementia all stem from the inability of the human

body to cope with high carbohydrate diets.

> This is another hint about what Optimum Nutrition entails.

>

> 1) generic comments like 'high carb' diets are useless due to the

immense variability of high carb diets. (same for 'low fat')

>

> 2) what's the incidence of alzheimers in Okinawa, rural japan??

>

> 3) Evidence is linking the same risk factors for alzheimers as for

CVD.. High fat, sat fat, cholesterol, trans fat, refined carb low

fiber diets..

>

> Regards

> Jeff

>

[Guest guest]

2) what's the incidence of alzheimers in Okinawa, rural japan??

The latest report I could find was 11 years old. Maybe things are

getting better. Maybe this is normal. How can one explain this in

light of what we know???

Int J Epidemiol. 1995 Apr;24(2):373-80.

Prevalence of senile dementia in Okinawa, Japan. COSEPO Group.

Study Group of Epidemiology for Psychiatry in Okinawa.

Ogura C, Nakamoto H, Uema T, Yamamoto K, Yonemori T, Yoshimura T.

Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of

the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan.

METHODS. The prevalence of dementia was investigated in Okinawa

Prefecture, Japan. In all, 3524 subjects, > or = 65 years old, were

sampled randomly (urban and rural populations 61.1% and 38.9%

respectively). Phase 1 of the survey was carried out by specially

trained students of the Faculty of Medicine who used the Mini-Mental

State (MMS) scale (interview rate: 94.3%) to screen 522 (15.8%) of the

3312 subjects for the phase 2 survey. Phase 2, conducted by

psychiatrists using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders (DSM-III-R) criteria, detected 172 cases of dementia.

RESULTS. The estimated prevalence of dementia was 6.7%. For women, the

rate increased sharply in the 90-99 year old group, and was 41.4%; for

men in the 90-99 year old group prevalence was 21.2%. The ratio of

Alzheimer-type dementia to multi-infarct dementia was 1.5:1 (men

1.2:1, women 1.7:1). The breakdown of the severity of dementia in the

total cases was: mild 16.9%, moderate 30.8%, and severe 52.3%. The

number of severe cases increased with age.

PMID: 7635599 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

--- In , Novick <chefjeff40@...>

wrote:

>

> »Alzheimers, and dementia all stem from the inability of the human

body to cope with high carbohydrate diets.

> This is another hint about what Optimum Nutrition entails.

>

> 1) generic comments like 'high carb' diets are useless due to the

immense variability of high carb diets. (same for 'low fat')

>

> 2) what's the incidence of alzheimers in Okinawa, rural japan??

>

> 3) Evidence is linking the same risk factors for alzheimers as for

CVD.. High fat, sat fat, cholesterol, trans fat, refined carb low

fiber diets..

>

> Regards

> Jeff

>

[Guest guest]

JW,

Have you tried adding some vinegar (or vinaigrette dressing) to your

lettuce? The acetic acid in the vinegar will kill bacteria without

having to cook the lettuce.

Tony

> I've just about dumped all lettuce unless I cook it. We simply get

too much reaction from salad greens, packaged or not - the bugs or

maybe the stuff they soak it in?

>