This is a post I’ve been wanting to write for ages, so I’m really excited to finally share it with you today. I think and talk about this subject a lot and I hope reading this post makes you guys feel happier and more comfortable with the concept of healthy eating and living. It’s a very personal and honest post, but I feel it’s an important topic for us to talk about because healthy eating is not a diet and sometimes labels can make it seem like it is.
The first, and most important, thing that I want to stress is that we are all different. We have different bodies, different medical histories, different genes, different lifestyles and different tastes and this is an incredibly important thing to remember. I do fundamentally believe that everyone is better off, both physically and mentally, with a diet full of fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes and healthy grains and less refined sugar and processed/refined food but after that you have to make your own decisions. You can’t take anyone else’s way of eating too literally, because you’re not identical to them and only you really know what your body wants and needs.
There are a million and one different labels, beliefs and diets out there but that’s not what healthy eating is about. Healthy eating is about finding a way of eating that makes YOU happy. It’s about eating meals that make you feel your best – that might mean a bowl of almond milk porridge for breakfast, a kale and sweet potato salad for lunch and a burger with wine for dinner with friends, and that’s totally ok. It’s your body and your life, yes I want to encourage everyone to show their bodies some love and take good care of them but I never ever want anyone to feel guilty because they’re not eating ‘perfectly’ all the time. Plus, there is no such thing as perfect – perfect is simply finding the balance that is right for you, whatever that is.
And that’s where my issue with labels comes in. Putting yourself in a certain box with a certain label can be quite restrictive, that’s not to say you should never do it, but you just shouldn’t feel that you’re not healthy if your not specially raw, vegan, paleo, grain free, gluten free, wheat free or any of the rest of it. You can absolutely be a bit of everything, you just have to be honest to yourself and work out what makes you feel best – and that might be a happy mix of everything. Of course it can also mean following a certain concept, which is awesome, but just please don’t feel like it’s wrong if you don’t. It’s also important to remember that following a certain diet doesn’t automatically make you healthy. Veganism, for example, can be unbelievably nourishing and rewarding if you interpret it to mean a diet full of veggies, fruit, quinoa, chickpeas, almonds, green juice etc but refined sugar, white pasta and lots of processed food can also be vegan and that’s not super healthy! The same goes for all the rubbish gluten free products that are sold for extortionate prices in supermarkets – they’re no better for you than the original product as the gluten is replaced with a whole list of bizarre ingredients, so unless you’re celiac you’re better off either just buying the original product or going with a homemade version without all the rubbish. For bread, for example, I buy rye bread (which is wheat free) rather then gluten free bread – it tastes better and doesn’t have any of the weird additives!
We also all want to commit to healthy eating to different extents and that’s great – as with everything there’s no one size fits all rule here. I eat the way I do because I love it, but also because it’s also the only way that I’m able to manage my illness. I want to, and have to, eat nourishing food all the time. I rarely drink, because my body can’t handle it that well and I have to be careful when eating out that I don’t eat things that contain dairy, for example, as it makes me sick. Being veggie makes my body happiest, so that’s what I stick to almost all the time, but every now and again I’ll have some fish or an egg in a restaurant. This way of eating that makes me, physically and mentally, happiest. I don’t like classifying myself as any particular thing as I find it’s restrictive, yes almost all of what I eat is technically vegan and gluten free, but I don’t like being defined as a certain thing because I don’t want to feel like I’m ‘failing’ because I add honey to my rye bread or eat a barley salad because it’s the healthiest thing on the menu! I’m also open to the fact that in the future I may eat slightly differently to now, I’ll always be focused on natural, plant based goodness, as I adore that way of eating but my body may get stronger, in which case I may be able to start eating things like spelt and barley more often, which I’d love.
This absolutely is not a criticism of people who want to be raw, vegan, paleo or anything else – I only have respect for you and what you do, anyone who truly believes in something and follows through on it is awesome – but I just want everyone else to know that it’s ok to be a flexible healthy eater! Everyone has to start somewhere at some time and it’s much better to introduce healthy living to your life in a sustainable way over time than it is to do it all at once and quit three days later because you hate living off kale. Find a balance that works for you, incorporate whole ingredients and nourishing foods whenever you can and most important please don’t beat yourself up for eating something that isn’t super duper healthy because life is too short for this!
Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in the body and it makes up a large part of our skin, hair and nails. Technically a polypeptide, collagen contains a mixture of amino acids like proline and glycine, which are found in all connective tissue within the body (including vital organs!). (1)
While beauty treatments and shampoos trumpet the benefits of collagen on their labels, the real benefits come internally, not from a topical treatment.
What is Collagen?
Collagen is a long-chain amino acid and the most abundant protein in the body. It is composed of the individual amino acids Glycine, Proline, Hydroxyproline and Arginine and in nature is found exclusively in animal tissue, especially bones and connective tissue.
It is what is responsible for giving skin elasticity, hair its strength, and connective tissue its ability to hold everything in place. In fact, collagen protein makes up 30% of the total protein in the body, and 70% of the protein in the skin! (2)
The body’s natural collagen production declines with age and many modern lifestyle factors (like stress, poor diet, gut health imbalances, etc.) can also decrease the body’s ability to make collagen.
Gelatin vs. Collagen
These terms are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference.
Collagen is the basic form of the protein found in the body, and gelatin is produced when collagen is boiled or otherwise heated. The two have very similar compositions and are almost interchangeable, but the difference gets confusing when it comes to collagen supplements. In general:
Collagen Peptides (the Hydrolyzed form of Gelatin) contains these proteins broken down into individual peptide chains. This form is typically easier to digest and is often suggested for people with digestive problems. One advantage to this particular form of collagen is that it easily mixes into most hot and cold drinks and is tasteless, making it easy to add to foods and drinks for consumption, however, it will not gel and is not good in recipes that require gelatin. In the brand I take, this form has a blue lid)
Collagen Protein (also called Gelatin Powder) is the pure form that is often recommended on diets like GAPS and SCD (though some people may not be able to digest it at first and must stick to meat stocks instead), for its ability to coat the digestive tract. From a cooking perspective, it is the form that “gels” and is great for making recipes like chewable vitamins, gummies, and marshmallows. This is the form naturally found in bone broth, as the heat breaks down the natural collagen found in the bones. This is the reason bone broth tends to thicken and gel in the fridge. I get my gelatin powder here and it has the green lid.
In past generations, people often consumed much larger amounts of collagen/gelatin from food, as our grandparents and great-grandparents prepared many meals at home and made things like broths, gravies, and bone-in meats that naturally contained these amino acids.
Benefits of Collagen for Skin
While collagen is beneficial to the entire body, it is most noticeably beneficial to the skin. This is because as a person ages, the epidermic (outer layer of skin) thins and loses elasticity in a process known as elastosis. As this happens, a person tends to show more signs of aging and acquire more wrinkles.
The good news is that these changes do not seem to be permanent or irreversible. In fact, a double-blind placebo study conducted last year found that women who took collagen hydrolysate (the peptide form) regularly for 8 weeks saw a 20% reduction in wrinkles! (3)
Even more exciting:
Additionally, after 8 weeks of intake a statistically significantly higher content of procollagen type I (65%) and elastin (18%) in the BCP-treated volunteers compared to the placebo-treated patients was detected.
This means that supplemental collagen appears to help the body’s own collagen production process improve, as procollagen is the precursor to collagen in the body.
This study also showed that collagen consumption can increase skin elasticity and moisture, which also declines during the aging process.
It is important to note that this study used the hydrolyzed (peptide) form of collagen (the blue lid), which is a more easily digestible form of collagen. I’m not aware of any studies that directly compare gelatin and collagen for their ability to improve skin, so for skin health, I use the peptide form of collagen.
Other Benefits of Collagen
Though not as immediately noticeable, there are other benefits to collagen that might be even more important. For instance, collagen has been studied for its role in:
Bone and Joint Health– Collagen may be beneficial to bones and joints in the same way it benefits the skin. By helping the body’s natural production of collagen and providing a bioavailable source of these amino acids, collagen may improve bone and joint health over time. In fact, a double-blind, placebo study showed significant improvement in joint pain. (4)
Hormone Balance- Emerging research shows that the specific amino acids in collagen may help improve the amino acid balance in the body and support the body’s natural hormone production.
Digestion– As mentioned, gelatin and collagen may help coat the digestive tract and improve digestion, and the consumption of gelatin is often recommended on gut-specific diets like GAPS and SCD.
Where To Find Collagen
There are several good sources of high-quality gelatin and collagen powders. When sourcing, it is important to make sure that collagen is obtained from grass-fed and pastured humanely raised sources from a reputable company. I purchase gelatin (green lid) and collagen (blue lid) here because I was able to verify that their gelatin and collagen are:
Sourced from pasture-raised and grass-fed animals
Packaged in BPA-free containers
Do you use collagen or gelatin? How do you use it?
from Wellness Mama » Blog http://wellnessmama.com/60867/benefits-of-collagen/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=benefits-of-collagen
via SEO Derby
Everywhere you turn your head, more dumbbells. Weights, that is. What were you thinking? Body weight isn’t enough anymore, and without getting too far into the CrossFit Yoga territory, we do keep hearing about how using weights in yoga class is the new cool trend. But maybe it’s more about health than looks? “Weights add […]
Maybe two or three years ago most patients that came to me were taking some kind of fish oil supplement because the idea was we weren’t getting enough omega-3 in our diets, and there were studies that suggested that fish oil goes a long way toward preventing heart disease. But there have been some chinks in the armor this hypothesis over the past few years and especially so over the past year.
In this episode, we cover:
0:24 My two upcoming London seminars6:43The latest research on fish oil supplementation10:47Testing for omega-6 and omega-3
[powerpress]Chris Kresser: Hey, everybody, it’s Chris Kresser from Revolution Health Radio.
My two upcoming London seminars
Today I’m going to answer a listener question, but before I do that, I want to remind you that my two events in London, October 31 and November 1, are coming up, probably only a few days away by the time you hear this. The Saturday event is geared toward the general public and will cover a broad range of topics in the ancestral nutrition and health and functional medicine world. I like to do those events in a way that’s driven by the interests of people in the room. That one is nearly sold out, I believe, but I think there are still a few spaces. It’s going to be at King’s College, and a paleo lunch will be provided. It’s from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. And then the Sunday event is geared more toward clinicians and healthcare practitioners, though all are welcome to attend. I’m going to focus here more on trends that will define the future of medicine, functional medicine, and the crucial role of the exposome in health and disease. I’m going to present a systems model of functional medicine that I’ve developed to guide my own practice and also for my clinician training program. I’m going to talk about how to structure and layer a treatment for maximum efficacy, how to customize nutrition plans for individual needs, and of course, we’ll have a Q&A as well. That’s also from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will also include lunch, and is also at King’s College. There are still a few spaces left in that one as well, and this is going to be my first trip to the UK and probably my last trip, at least for a long while. I don’t have any plans to come back in the near future, so if you’re interested, I would love to meet you and see you at the events. For the public event, you can find more information and register at ChrisKresser.com/UKpublic, and for the practitioner/clinician event, you can go to ChrisKresser.com/UKclinician. OK, so now let’s dive into the show today. We have a question from Daniel from Sweden, so let’s give it a listen. Question from Daniel: Hello, Chris. Daniel here from Sweden. In a local paleo forum, we have been discussing supplementation with omega-3 and if it’s needed or not, and there are quite a few people pushing a product from Zinzino, which is called Balance Oil or something like that. They have a test where they test out the ratio between omega-6 and omega-3, and I just wanted to hear your thoughts on it because it seems like their test almost always shows that the ratio is bad, which is in conflict with my own thoughts. I mean, if you eat a varied paleo diet and avoid excessive amounts of nuts and so on and you eat a lot of fatty fish, I think you should be able to have a good ratio without supplementing. It would be great to hear your thoughts on this and maybe get a better understanding if these tests are legit or if you think it’s just bad, bad testing. Thank you. Bye. Chris Kresser: OK, so, yeah, this is a really good question, and I think a lot has changed in this area over the last even maybe three or four years, but certainly over the past 10 years. I think maybe 10 years ago, the vast majority of people would say, yes, everyone should be taking a fish oil supplement, and in fact, most patients that come to me, maybe not quite so much now, but maybe two or three years ago almost everyone that came to me was taking some kind of fish oil supplement because the idea was we weren’t getting enough omega-3 in our diets, and there were studies that suggested that fish oil goes a long way toward preventing heart disease, so this led to people taking sometimes quite high doses of fish oil capsules, maybe 3 to 5 grams a day or even more, and it became a really large industry and business with a lot of money at stake. But there have been some chinks in the armor this hypothesis over the past few years and especially so over the past year. I actually recently published an article on this subject called “Should You Really Be Taking Fish Oil?” That was back in June. If you haven’t read that, I would definitely recommend googling it and reading it because I summarize a lot of the more recent evidence that suggests that fish oil may not be all it was cracked up to be, especially in the case of heart disease prevention.
The latest research on fish oil supplementation
Initial studies suggested that fish oil was beneficial for heart disease, particularly over the short term, and for people who had already had a heart attack—so this is secondary prevention, people with pre-existing heart disease—but several studies since then, including large studies and reviews of randomized clinical trials, have found that in adults even with pre-existing heart disease, long-term supplementation over three years with fish oil had no significant impact on cardiovascular endpoints. There were a few other trials that have looked at the effect of short-term fish oil supplementation on atrial fibrillation, and none of those trials—there were three of them—found that fish oil improved patient outcomes. And then the meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials focusing on cardiovascular endpoints, like heart attack and stroke, found that fish oil did not reduce cardiovascular events or death and concluded that the evidence doesn’t support using fish oil supplements for secondary prevention of heart disease, meaning, again, people who have already had a heart attack. There is not much evidence to support that taking fish oil in that population will really do much of anything. And lest you think it was a problem with that meta-analysis, there were two other meta-analyses that were published right around the same time that came to similar conclusions. Now, this isn’t to say that there isn’t any research that supports the use of fish oil for cardiovascular health. There was one meta-analysis in 2013 that found a protective effect on fish oil for preventing sudden death and heart attack, and certainly you can find studies that have had positive results, but I would say overall when you look at some very large recent studies and meta-analyses, the evidence supporting fish oil for preventing cardiovascular events is pretty weak. What about metabolic syndrome? Because it’s obviously possible that fish oil could not be helpful for cardiovascular disease but could be helpful for metabolic problems. It’s another reason that it’s typically prescribed. If somebody, for example, has high triglycerides and low HDL, they might be given a higher dose of fish oil to deal with that. There is a recently published randomized clinical trial that looked at adults with metabolic syndrome, and they found that supplementation of 3 grams a day of fish oil along with 10 mL per day of olive oil for 90 days improved a lot of blood markers that are associated with metabolic syndrome. But it was interesting to note in that study that the fish-oil-plus-olive-oil group had better results than the group that took either fish oil alone or olive oil alone, and one reason for that may be that olive oil is rich in antioxidants and may have protected against the potentially greater risk of oxidative damage that comes from consuming a lot more polyunsaturated fat, which is what’s in the fish oil. So we might be seeing a scenario here where a higher dose of fish oil has some benefits, but because it’s polyunsaturated fat and has the potential to oxidize, there is also harm, and so we see no net change or in some cases even adverse effects when someone takes a high dose of fish oil, but when you add the olive oil, it has antioxidants and kind of cancels out some of that potentially harmful effect that the higher doses of fish oil have.
Testing for omega-6 and omega-3
But let’s bring this back a little bit more to Daniel’s question because he specifically asked about the ratio between omega-6 and omega-3 and some of the tests that are available to determine that ratio. I’ve seen a similar thing, too. I do a really advanced blood panel for patients that has, among other things, the omega-3 index as part of it, so it looks at the ratio of omega-6 fats and omega-3 in the blood, and it creates a scores. And I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever seen anyone that has had a normal score in the green. They rate the score in a kind of like traffic signal fashion with green being normal, yellow being intermediate or caution, and then red being really bad. Almost all of the values that I’ve seen have been in the yellow category, and this is probably a consequence of the fact that there’s so much omega-6 in our diet that it’s really, really difficult to get back to that historical ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, which was about 1:1 in some populations, maybe 2:1 in other populations. But in Western populations these days, the average is probably more like 9:1 or 10:1, and in some cases, on the Standard American Diet, if someone’s eating just tons of processed food with soybean oil—which can comprise up to 9 percent of total calories for some people—the ratio can be as high as 30:1. Earlier on—and anyone who’s been following my work for a while will know this—I used to put a lot of emphasis on the omega-6-to-omega-3 ratio and it’s importance, but over the past couple of years, I’m changed my mind about that and gradually revised my views, and I’ve been writing about that and speaking about it, so this probably won’t be news to you, but it seems now that there’s less evidence really supporting the importance of the ratio and more evidence just supporting the overall intake of omega-3. For example, if your intake of omega-3 is really low or nonexistent, you’re going to have problems. Of course, your ratio will be high because you’re almost certainly getting omega-6 from the diet. It’s much harder to avoid than omega-3 is. But if your intake of omega-6 is higher, especially if it comes from real, unprocessed food—which I’ll come back to in a second—let’s say you’re eating avocados and chicken skin and nuts and natural foods that are high in omega-6, but you’re also eating some preformed EPA and DHA from cold-water fatty fish and some other omega-3’s, plant-based omega-3’s from vegetables, walnuts and flaxseeds, etc., from my reading of the research and a lot of discussion with Chris Masterjohn, whose opinion I really respect on this issue—he’s done a ton of research on the polyunsaturated fats—and in my reading of the literature, there’s not a lot of evidence supporting the idea that that person who’s eating real-food-based omega-6 even in substantial amounts and omega-3’s is going to be at increased risk of disease. The omega-3 index was created with this whole ratio in mind, so even someone like that, who’s eating healthy omega-6’s and a fairly substantial amount of omega-3’s, will still probably score in the yellow category on that test, but I don’t really think that you can say that that person is going to be at significantly increased risk of disease. Now, let’s consider another scenario where someone is eating, again, a Standard American Diet. They’re eating a lot of chips and fried foods, foods that have been fried in omega-6 polyunsaturated seed oils like corn oil, cottonseed oil or soybean oil, sunflower or safflower oil, and they’re eating out in restaurants all the time—unfortunately, restaurants tend to use those oils because they’re so cheap—and then their intake of omega-3 is really low, and they come back with a score of yellow on that test. That person’s going to be in a different position than the person who has a high or even medium-high intake of omega-6 from, like, avocados and nuts and chicken, and also has a pretty substantial intake of omega-3, but the ratio is still putting them in the yellow versus somebody who has a low intake of omega-3 and a pretty high intake of omega-6, all from processed and refined foods. Those people both would show up as yellow on that omega-3 index test, but they’re clearly not going to have the same risk, at least in my opinion, because it matters a lot where these fatty acids are coming from in the diet. So I think that the ratio should be taken with a grain of salt, and there’s no reason, in my mind—I’m not convinced that it’s necessary to avoid or restrict omega-6 as it occurs in foods like avocados and nuts and seeds and chicken skin, all of which have a lot of health benefits. What’s interesting is that so many studies show that consumption of tree nuts is inversely associated with heart disease, and those are some of the richest sources of omega-6 fats, so I don’t see a need to restrict omega-6 from those foods, but it is important to get enough omega-3, and the recent studies suggest that fish oil is not the way to do that. They suggest that eating cold-water fatty fish and shellfish is consistently still in studies associated with improved outcomes, both cardiovascular and metabolic, and also improvements in overall health, cognitive function, etc., and they’re pretty significant differences, and that may be because fish does not just contain fish oil; it contains a lot of other beneficial nutrients that are important for humans. And then finally, you would want to reduce your intake of industrially processed vegetable and seed oils because they would tend to be oxidized because they’re heated at high temperatures and they don’t provide a lot of nutritional value. So there are kind of three things there, and I think if you just get a good amount of omega-3 from food, don’t worry about your omega-6 from nutrient-dense real foods, and limit your omega-6 from industrially processed sources, you’ll be in good shape. It all kind of falls into the category of “eat real food!” I think over the past several years we’ve gotten a little too obsessive about some of this stuff. I never personally saw anyone improve symptomatically by minimizing their intake of omega-6 from real foods, and I don’t think that the research is there to support it. I hope this answers your question, Daniel. As you said, if you eat a varied paleo diet and avoid excessive amounts of nuts—I don’t think the reason, necessarily, to avoid them is because of the omega-6, but if you’re trying to watch your weight, that might be a reason to moderate your intake—but you should be fine even if your ratio is in the yellow range. All right, so that’s it for today. Again, if you’re interested in seeing me speak in the UK, you can go to ChrisKresser.com/UKpublic for the public event or ChrisKresser.com/UKclinician for the healthcare practitioner/clinician event. That’s it for today. I’ll see you next time.
from Chris Kresser http://chriskresser.com/should-everyone-supplement-with-fish-oil/
via Holistic Clients
For those who haven’t heard, I’m currently on a 10 day silent meditation retreat in California.
Yes, completely silent. No computers, no cell phones, no talking, not even any books.
10 Days! Crazy, I know.
The reason I’m subjecting myself to this strange form of amputation is so that I can experience what it’s like to have the internal chatter in my mind stop completely, and just be present in the current moment.
Few things have benefit my life as much as meditation and mindful practice.
Mindfulness helps me focus and work more efficiently.
It helps me be more aware of my emotions so I can be more honest and compassionate with others.
It helps me feel gratitude for both the simpleness and complexities of life.
It even helps me sleep.
Mindfulness has also had a tremendous impact on my eating habits. I used to eat incredibly fast (“efficiently” was what I told myself), and I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
Then I started noticing all the scientific research about the importance of eating slowly and mindfully and decided to give it a try.
Mindful eating was a difficult habit to develop, but the benefits have been remarkable.
The stomach aches that plagued me most of my life virtually disappeared.
I learned the pleasures of eating slowly and completely chewing my food.
I’m able to linger longer at the table and savor the food and company.
It’s far easier to eat reasonable portion sizes.
To celebrate mindfulness this week I partnered with my friends over at NordicTrack to create this infographic describing why and how to practice mindful eating.
This Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and personal trainer has undergone a complete 180 in how she approaches nutrition, health and fitness, and she’s on a mission to pass on the lessons she learned along the way to her readers and listeners.
I first stumbled upon Noelle’s website, Coconuts and Kettlebells, ages ago and immediately was drawn in by her down-to-earth nature and incredibly practical articles. Mix in a dose of humor and a pinch of tough love and you’ve got the perfect recipe for empowering human health. She’s out there daily helping others eat better and incorporate movement in a fun and functional way.
One of Noelle’s passions is helping women overcome negative body image, and you’ll find tons of actionable advice in this episode if you’re struggling with your perception of self.
In This Episode of Harder to Kill Radio, You’ll Learn:
Why Noelle wrote “Why I Don’t Want 6-Pack Abs”
Her advice for people struggling with body acceptance
Her thoughts on the double standards that exist in the health & fitness industry
Why Noelle made the switch in the type of sports she does
Why she changed her career
What you can find on Noelle’s Periscope broadcasts
What motivated Noelle to start her podcast and tailor it to women
Join me next week for Episode 26 for my interview with one of the community’s most knowledgable endurance sports coaches and biohackers all about how to make yourself superhuman.
