LCHF - Low Carb High Fat Diet Ver 2

[HappyMartin]

I don't think I can do bullet proof coffee. I like coffee too much. I really really like coffee.

 

Spent some time in Tibet and with the Tibetan community in Kathmandu and India and quite liked Tibetan tea. I'm going to experiment a bit with that. Tea, butter and salt with a bit of bicarbonate I think. Perhaps I can incorporate coconut oil into the mixture.

 

No diet is getting between me and my morning cappuccino.

[DaleE]

Have not read the whole thread, but is there a health benefit for cholesterol levels on the LCHF diet?

 

Yes ... and no

 

The no part is easy. If you subscribe to the (conventional) view that serum cholesterol (the total cholesterol number normally quoted) is a number that means anything, then stay away from LCHF as it's quite possible that this total cholesterol number will go up at least in the short term, your doctor will have a heart attack and promptly advise a statin.

 

The YES part is more complicated.

As Leon said, you are going to need to do some reading to fully understand cholesterol, all the different markers, measurements and why it is (or not) important in terms of heart health. I'd suggest Cholesterol Clarity (kindle and iBooks) as a starting point - it deals with cholesterol in detail but is an easy read.

To give you the very abbreviated summary .... the cholesterol number that is generally quoted is just a measure of total cholesterol in your blood. It has almost nothing to do with heart disease (CVD) but it used to be the only thing that doctors could measure and so became the standard measurement. Doctors have known for ages that total cholesterol is a very poor predictor for CVD but the test is cheap and the drug companies promote it as they have statins that can make an impact on the result.

The real problem with the total cholesterol number is that it tells us nothing about the make up of the cholesterol and (more importantly) the lipids that carry it. Fortunately nowadays we can measure many of the 'ingredients' that make up this total (trigs, particle size, particle counts, etc) but these tests are not widely used yet. By looking at these 'ingredients' we can get a far better view of CVD, but you need a doctor who understands this stuff, and your GP may not.

What LCHF can do is improve the 'good' ingredients and reduce the 'bad' ingredients, but your total cholesterol may still go up.

 

So in short; yes, LCHF can improve your risk of CVD but understand that the regular measurements may not show an improvement.

 

Lastly, you may want to consider this ... after a heart attack at age 42 my cardiologist put me on a LCHF diet in order to improve my cholesterol. and 2 years later every blood marker is dramatically improved.

[DaleE]

Today was butter making day, blocks of the good stuff, from grass fed cows.

Made some bullet proof coffee at lunch, couldn't help myself, it was good.

 

That looks awesome!!

I think we are going to have to ask the mods to ban you from this thread Posting pictures like that is simply not acceptable when us city folk have to put up with the supermarket butter!!

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Or you could fedex us a kg or two of that delicious looking stuff and we'll forgive you. :clap:

[LOOK695]

 

 

Yes ... and no

 

The no part is easy. If you subscribe to the (conventional) view that serum cholesterol (the total cholesterol number normally quoted) is a number that means anything, then stay away from LCHF as it's quite possible that this total cholesterol number will go up at least in the short term, your doctor will have a heart attack and promptly advise a statin.

 

The YES part is more complicated.

As Leon said, you are going to need to do some reading to fully understand cholesterol, all the different markers, measurements and why it is (or not) important in terms of heart health. I'd suggest Cholesterol Clarity (kindle and iBooks) as a starting point - it deals with cholesterol in detail but is an easy read.

To give you the very abbreviated summary .... the cholesterol number that is generally quoted is just a measure of total cholesterol in your blood. It has almost nothing to do with heart disease (CVD) but it used to be the only thing that doctors could measure and so became the standard measurement. Doctors have known for ages that total cholesterol is a very poor predictor for CVD but the test is cheap and the drug companies promote it as they have statins that can make an impact on the result.

The real problem with the total cholesterol number is that it tells us nothing about the make up of the cholesterol and (more importantly) the lipids that carry it. Fortunately nowadays we can measure many of the 'ingredients' that make up this total (trigs, particle size, particle counts, etc) but these tests are not widely used yet. By looking at these 'ingredients' we can get a far better view of CVD, but you need a doctor who understands this stuff, and your GP may not.

What LCHF can do is improve the 'good' ingredients and reduce the 'bad' ingredients, but your total cholesterol may still go up.

 

So in short; yes, LCHF can improve your risk of CVD but understand that the regular measurements may not show an improvement.

 

Lastly, you may want to consider this ... after a heart attack at age 42 my cardiologist put me on a LCHF diet in order to improve my cholesterol. and 2 years later every blood marker is dramatically improved.

Thank you very much for the info. I hear what you are saying. It seems that more and more people promote natural foods and eating habits as how many of our forefathers ate. This all goes against what medicine has been preaching for many years and what seems to be right way. As for my cholesterol, my LDL is slightly above normal, but not so much that my GP is worried. All he said is to abstain from fatty foods including fat found in meat, and to keep on exercising. I am turning 43 this year, so it is the sensible thing to try and stay healthy and fit. The only problem for me with a LCHF diet is that my cannot handle anything fatty(meat) as it makes her want to puke, but I am sure that we maybe could find a compromise somehow with bringing foods like sardines etc into our diet

[paarlmtb]

Anybody seen any stock of The Real Meal Revolution in the Cape Town, Winelands Somerset West Area?

[cadenceblur]

I don't think I can do bullet proof coffee. I like coffee too much. I really really like coffee.

 

Spent some time in Tibet and with the Tibetan community in Kathmandu and India and quite liked Tibetan tea. I'm going to experiment a bit with that. Tea, butter and salt with a bit of bicarbonate I think. Perhaps I can incorporate coconut oil into the mixture.

 

No diet is getting between me and my morning cappuccino.

I hear you on that. I've been adding some Coconut oil to my morning cappuccino, doesn't taste bad actually.

[Sniffie]

@ Deanbean

 

With regards to the homemade butter making process. How do you get the remaining buttermilk out of the butter? We wash it out with cold water and a wooden butter paddle. Is there a shortcut to this? As this is the part of the process my wife complains about the most.

[Sniffie]

I don't think I can do bullet proof coffee. I like coffee too much. I really really like coffee.

 

Spent some time in Tibet and with the Tibetan community in Kathmandu and India and quite liked Tibetan tea. I'm going to experiment a bit with that. Tea, butter and salt with a bit of bicarbonate I think. Perhaps I can incorporate coconut oil into the mixture.

 

No diet is getting between me and my morning cappuccino.

I also like my morning coffee a lot, so I don't do the full bulletproof thing. I find about two tablespoons of organic virgin coconut oil and a teaspoon or two of heavy cream to enhance and bring out the taste of my home roasted brew.

[Sniffie]

I have tried reason, rationality and the burden of proof on this thread already. Unfortunately people seem to follow this diet, and the dogma behind it, with a fervency that only the extremely religious could be in envy of. A kind of faith that requires the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved, and Noakes is the most guilty of promoting this kind of pseudoscience.

 

Did you read those papers? The Meta analyses of hundreds of other studies into the effect of low carb diets?

 

It feels baffling to me to see how many people can accept this kind of potentially incredibly harmful advice without requiring hard, sound, and double blind medical advice? And no I don't mean a collection of 127 self reported "case studies".

For every scientific study "proving" that LCHF is harmful I can provide another "proving" the exact opposite. If high saturated fat diets are as harmful as the popular media and conventional wisdom would like us to believe the Inuit people should not reach the age of 20. (Their diet is roughly 80% fat and 20% protein).

 

I am more inclined towards a paleo type of diet. I eat lots of leafy green vegetables and salad, covered with butter or olive oil. I consume coconut oil and fish oil on a daily basis. I try to eat grassfed beef and mutton with all the fat. I also eat liver and afval (tripe) on a regular basis. I eat lots of free range eggs from my own flock of hens. In winter I make biltong and droë wors from beef and venison. I don't eat any kind of grains or grain products. I eat a limited amount of fruit and stick mainly to berries in season. At the moment I also include some figs, prickley pears and pomgrenates since they are in season and grow almost wild and organic on the farm. I treat all fruit as natures candy and restrict myself. I would eat fruit only after a workout. At the moment nothing beats an ice cold and sweet prickley pear after a hard and warm ride. My ratios on this diet is roughly 60 F; 30 P; 10C on a calorie basis.

 

My lipid profile improved, my weight dropped, energy levels improved, pain due to hiatus hernia vanished, heartburn gone, mood improved, energy levels constant through the day, sleep improved. (Should I continue?) How could this be bad for me?

 

I don't follow a dogma. I started to experiment with reduced carbs about 18 months ago and after about 6 months I stumbled upon the original LCHF thread on the hub and started to incorporate the principles.

 

I am convinced that a diet high in good quality fat, natural green leafy vegetables, meat, fowl and eggs are much healthier than conventional wisdom's low fat processed carb diet.

 

It has been said over and over on this thread: "Not all carbs are bad and not all fats are good"

 

A last word on conventional wisdom, it is always conventional but not always wise. After all according to conventional wisdom of 400 years ago the earth is flat and at the centre of the universe.

[davetapson]

An interesting site for those interested in ketogenic diets,,,

 

http://ketodietapp.com/Blog/

[deanbean]

@ Deanbean

 

With regards to the homemade butter making process. How do you get the remaining buttermilk out of the butter? We wash it out with cold water and a wooden butter paddle. Is there a shortcut to this? As this is the part of the process my wife complains about the most.

There's no shortcut Sniffie, I have a maid that comes in every two weeks or so and makes butter. It takes the whole day, as I'm very particular about getting the butter clean, she flushes it out 3 times. It goes rancid very quickly if it isn't properly cleaned.

That looks awesome!!

I think we are going to have to ask the mods to ban you from this thread Posting pictures like that is simply not acceptable when us city folk have to put up with the supermarket butter!!

.

.

.

.

.

Or you could fedex us a kg or two of that delicious looking stuff and we'll forgive you. :clap:

I can't Fedex it, but if someone is driving down to East London, I'll supply a few blocks, I wish I could sell the butter, but the family uses a lot, and my wife has a baking business which accounts for the rest .

[GT-fan]

Attached some stats to show progress from 13 Jan to 4 Feb. Note I have started with lchf on the 2nd of January at a weight of 111.9kg. Unfortunately I didnt take a measurement when I started. These stats are from the device at Virgin active using the BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) method.

[lloydkayak]

I think this brings us back to what Noaks, Attia, Ruhl, etc have all been saying for a while now ... no one can tell you what your optimal level of carbs is. If your body is happy on 200g/day, then that's cool. IF not, lower them till you get the right result.

I also believe that if a small relaxation of the "standard" once a week or so works for you, then stick with it - that's much better than being rigid for 2 weeks then spectacularly falling off the bus in a 4-5 day carb frenzy! BTDT!

 

Thanks for the response, My main goal is not actually weightloss, but rather health. But i do need to put a bit more effort in. This thread helps that a lot.

[Sniffie]

Attached some stats to show progress from 13 Jan to 4 Feb. Note I have started with lchf on the 2nd of January at a weight of 111.9kg. Unfortunately I didnt take a measurement when I started. These stats are from the device at Virgin active using the BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis) method.

Whow! 6,8 kg from 2 Jan, that is impressive. Even though a lot of the weight loss during the first 2 weeks are water you are putting up some impressive numbers. How are you feeling at the moment with regards to the dreaded carb flu? Edited February 6, 2014 by Sniffie

[Sniffie]

@ Deanbean

"There's no shortcut Sniffie, I have a maid that comes in every two weeks or so and makes butter. It takes the whole day, as I'm very particular about getting the butter clean, she flushes it out 3 times. It goes rancid very quickly if it isn't properly cleaned."

 

Thanks man! I was sure there was no shortcut. Just wanted to confirm with the pros. For those that don't know washing the butter gives you a good upper body workout.

[LazyTrailRider]

A quick question, seeing as I'm new to this.

 

A while ago (before starting LCHF) I bought a tub of USN Protein Dessert. I hauled it out of the cupboard yesterday while feeling hungry, carefully having a look at the ingredients to figure out whether it's something I could have.

 

Bearing in mind the general rule about staying away from over-processed stuff, what do you guys think? Would it be wise to go with this as an occasional top-up when the fridge is empty? It's high-protein, low-carb (just over 3g of carbs per serving) but of course it's powder so I have no idea what it really contains...

Edited February 6, 2014 by MH for short