It’s a Saturday, and my brains brimming with Fun Facts to share!  First of all though, my Weight Loss Strategies classes, two options:  Monday’s in October, the 7,14,21, from 6 – 7:30, or Wednesdays in October, the 9,16,23 from 1 – 2:30.  The goal:  to teach you how to be a Fat Burner and not a Sugar Burner.  We’ll cover the Paleo Diet, Digestion, Blood Sugar (you HAVE to understand your biology to lose weight and get healthy), Power Cooking, Compliance Strategies and much more.  The class will be held at the Marshall Community Center (4133A Rectortown Rd, Marshall Va), which is right off Rt 17 and Rt 66 – it’s easy to get to.  The total cost: $100.  My goal:  to help you understand that your weight and your health are a matter of your Biology;  low cal/low fat diets never work, ever, and that you have the Power to change yourself.  Email me if you can attend.

I’ve got some interesting facts today on Heart Disease.  Did you know there’s a difference between a blockage, and hardening of the arteries?  A blockage, which is a plaque patch the liver puts together, is sent to heal damage to the endothelium of the artery (they’re  the delicate cells lining the artery)done by Insulin, Glucose, Cortisol, Homocysteine,  Chemical Toxins (cigarette smoke, yard products, cleaning products, etc) and Trans Fats ( studies show that Margarine actually causes MORE damage than cigarettes).  This usually happens in the larger vessels, and it’s called Atherosclerosis.

This is different from Arteriosclerosis – which is a hardening of the artery.  Here, the artery becomes so weak, from Insulin, Cortisol, Homocysteine, Chemical Toxins, and Trans Fats (hmmm, same list), that the liver sends minerals, mainly Calcium, to “stiffen” the arteries.  This usually happens in the tinier vessels.

In each of these situations, the plaque or the hardening, the body is attempting to save our lives by “fixing” the damage we’ve caused.  Add high blood pressure to this mix, and wow, recipe for disaster.

What’s the damage that causes both of these?  Inflammation, from the above list of irritants.  Inflammation drives ALL disease, so what we really want to focus on is keeping our Inflammation waayy down.  What’s one of the main drivers of Inflammation?  Grains. Drop sugar and flours, and you’ll see an IMMEDIATE drop in your levels of inflammation.  Grains cause inflammation on a number of levels:  high levels of glucose and insulin are caustic, inflammatory, and damaging, for instance, the cells of the arteries don’t have the ability to say “NO” to the insulin (which is called Insulin Resistance, it’s the step right before full fledged Diabetes T2), so the cells are continually (if you eat carbs all day) “scoured” by the glucose and the insulin.  This makes the artery very weak, the “hardening of the artery” with minerals is an attempt to keep the wall intact.  Unfortunately, it loses it’s elasticity.  When it loses it’s elasticity, the Red Blood Cells have a hard time squeezing through.  You don’t need to be overweight for this to happen.

Another way grains drive inflammation?  They’re loaded with “anti-nutrients”, gluten, gliaden, phytic acid, and lectins that are very very difficult to digest – and often aren’t broken down.  These go thru the digestive tract causing all kinds of damage.  And just in case you’re wondering, I’m taking about ALL grains: healthy/whole and processed/refined.  They’re not good for you and they’re not necessary for life no matter what Main Stream says.

What about the Chinese and The China Study?  They’re small, and they eat TONS of grains in the form of Rice, right?  If you’re keeping up with the news lately, you know that China now has the HIGHEST RATES OF DIABETES IN THE WORLD.  And know this, Diabetes and Heart Disease go hand in hand.

In the US, Heart Disease rises every single year, from almost “non-existant” in 1910, to our number one cause of death today.  Several decades of “Advice” to eat Low Fat, Low Cal, and exercise hasn’t helped at all. 

Heard a great podcast on Inflammation and Heart Disease the other day, great information in Diet, testing, inflammation, etc: http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/the-llvlc-show-episode-724-binx-selby-helps-you-grow-younger-by-battling-inflammation/19741.  You should take a listen.  The researcher’s name is Binx Selby, and he was a great talker.  He’s worked with thousands of patients in his clinic and he had something really funny to say about COMPLIANCE:  he said his most compliant patients overall are those with RA, because when they have a reduction in their pain via reduction in inflammation, they’re more than willing to give up the sugars and grains and do whatever it takes to stay feeling good.

But then he said that when it comes to Occupations, the most compliant ones are Engineers and Accountants, and the least compliant are Doctors and Airline Pilots.   Hmmm.

And finally let me leave you with a recipe for Coconut Flour biscuits (I’ve tried a bunch of recipes and it’s a relief to finally find one my kids like):  1/2 c coconut flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda,  MIX;  add 4 large eggs and 3/4 c melty butter, drop and bake at 400/13-15 minutes.  Delicious!