Levels of Protein & Fats (Jody)

[Guest guest]

Hi Jody,

Sorry I took so long to reply but I was out of town the past few

days. I will also apologize for the length of my response to you,

but I feel it's necessary. I would suggest that you read my

response to ne about why the Food Pyramid is wrong and should

be thrown out; it may help clarify things further. I'm first

going to answer your question in a round about manner and then at

the end become somewhat more specific if you don't mind, so

please bear with me.

Over his 40 year career, Dr Lutz focused on insulin resistance

issues and conducted hundreds of blood glucose tolerance tests that

are shown graphically in his book. What he found, which is

explained in a much better fashion with the graphs then I can here,

is that the most important organ, the brain, needs a minimum of 72

grams of carbohydrates to function properly. This number is

appropriate for an older child; infants would be lower for example.

Under this level, problems can arise such as hypoglycemia or

seizure. So 72 grams of carbohydrates is the minimum of

carbohydrate consumption, which should be complex in nature. To

quote Dr Lutz, " Too rapid reduction in carbohydrates to almost

none in the diet can cause serious initial side effects, if you are

elderly or already have a major disease " .

In contrast, for instance, the Atkin's diet allows you to go well

below 72 grams of carbohydrates which can be stressful on a fragile

body (i.e. kidneys). According to Lutz, to be able to offset the

negative impact of insulin, the consumption of carbohydrates needs

to be around that 72 gram level or the body will continue to remain

in a high blood sugar state. Depending on the severity of each

individual's condition and duration of the affliction, the more

severe, a higher initial starting level of carbohydrates will be

necessary. This initial level is then over time gradually reduced

towards the 72 grams level for most individuals. The high end of Dr

Lutz's starting range is about 108 grams of carbohydrates.

I don't want to minimize the importance of protein but it is not

as critical a component as fats are for this diet. As an example,

the Eskimo were considered up until the mid 20th century one of the

healthiest races with virtually no disease. Their traditional diet

consisted mostly of fats and protein, but no, or extremely little,

carbohydrates. Then as white men pushed their way into Eskimo

territories, the Eskimo gravitated towards the higher carbohydrate

diet of the white men. Slowly the incidence of disease rose to the

point where today they have one of the highest levels of insulin

resistance.

According to Lutz a few critical fats are needed such as butter,

coconut oil, palm kernel oil and cod liver oil. " Butter is

essential because it can be eaten freely as this supplies the

necessary fat needed to replace carbohydrates without large amounts

of protein, and butter offers a plethora of vitamins and other

essential nutrients. These oils are also important because they

contain short-chain fatty acids, which have many health benefits,

such as faster energy utilization, antimicrobial properties and

anticancer properties " . With coconut oil you need to ease into

the optimum level, since it has antimicrobial properties that can

cause short-term die off reaction and nausea.

The correct types of fats are a key component for this diet to work

properly. Perhaps it's best to quote from a book that our doctor

just recommended I read. The book is called " Eat Fat, Lose

Fat " by Enig (another book I highly recommend reading).

Please don't let the title foul you, this diet is very similar in

nature to the one by Lutz and Cowan. If you are fat you will lose

weight, but if you are to skinny you gain weight. More importantly,

Enig is a world-renown researcher who is a biochemist and

nutritionist known best for her pioneering research on healthy fats

over the past 25 years. Enig single handedly brought to the

world's attention the negative effects of trans fats and helped

push through legislation that requires food labels show trans fats

starting in 2006.

The brain is largely made of saturated fats and needs them to

function at an optimum level. Fore instance, 60% of the brain is

fat and of that 50% is saturated fat. Enig sights a study published

in the 1996 " American Oil Chemists Society Proceedings " found

that for calcium (which is important mineral for growth) to be

effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure, at least 50%

of dietary fats should be saturated.

After consuming a diet of trans fats, deep-fried, and other harmful

fat sources an individual can initially have a hard time digesting

good fats and protein. But this is where coconut oil is key.

Coconut oil is easy to digest because most of the fatty acids it

contains don't require bile (from the gallbladder) for digestion.

What's more, the body turns these fatty acids directly into

energy, raises body temperature, and metabolic rate.

According to Enig, " Before the discovery of insulin the only

treatment for diabetes was a diet consisting largely of fat " .

But then food manufactures in an effort to save costs created oils

that contained high amounts of trans fats. " Since trans fats

interfere with insulin receptors in the cells, replacing trans fats

with coconut oil and other healthy fats is the number one measure for

preventing and reversing the insulin resistance. As for type I

diabetes, eating the traditional foods recommended in Healthy

Recovery (a diet she recommend in her book, essentially same as

Cowan's & Lutz's) will not necessarily heal a defective

pancreas, but will go a long way toward preventing the side effects

of diabetes, such as kidney and retinal problems and impaired tissue

repair " .

The other oil that is very important is cod liver oil, which may

make you bristle at the thought of consuming, but the way it is

processed today it is quite pleasant tasting with its lemony

flavor. Cod liver oil is so important because it not only contains

omega-3 fatty acids but also high levels of vitamin A and D. These

work in conjunction with each other.

Again according to Enig, " Without vitamin D, your body cannot

adequately use insulin, and thus may release excess amounts of it,

leading to glucose intolerance, the inability to mobilize glucose.

Research has found that low levels of vitamin D in the blood are

associated with high levels of insulin. A number of studies have

tested vitamin D-rich cod-liver oil with both insulin-dependent

(type I) and non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes. For both

conditions, cod-liver oil helped balance blood sugar and improved

markers of the disease. Vitamin A in cod-liver oil also promotes

wound healing and protects the retina, both problem areas for

diabetics " .

Now to answer your question about the specific of 's

diet. She eats approximately 72 grams of carbohydrates. While I

don't have a measurement, we try to put as much fats as possible

into her system and then have her eat what she wants in the way of

protein. There is no magic level for protein; it is based on what

her body can handle. This may sound too simple, but basically it

is.

More importantly, Enig's book also discusses how individuals who

for a long period have principally subsisted on a diet of

carbohydrate CANNOT DIGEST PROTEIN FULLY. This is why I believe

that perhaps RSS kids don't like proteins and appear adverse to

its texture. The coconut oil and butter gets around this problem,

since they don't need bile for digestion and can build up the

bodies muscle structure (i.e. intestinal muscles) to the point where

it begins to handle more protein. As the weakened intestinal system

gains muscle strength gradually then more protein can be consumed.

also takes a supplement of ox bile to help with digestion

and eats lots of fermented foods that are also easily digestible.

I'm not sure I have explained this well enough and some may try

to tear this apart because it is difficult to convey this information

in writing. I will again emphasis that you need to read " Life

Without Bread " , and now " Eat Fat, Lose Fat " . Many of

these things will become more understandable. For me to try to

explain any further it would be frustrating when it can be easily

understood from a book written by a professional with 40 years

experience in these matters.

I hope a little bit of what I said makes some sense.

Beth

>

> Hi Beth

> Would you mind teling me how much protein has a day.

>

> I find your comment 'the bowel muscles just like other muscles in

> RSS kids are not very strong due to the lack of protein', this

> comment as far as I have read anywhere, is wrong, I have never

been

> told by any medical proffesional that Liam is lacking in protein.

>

> I have just worked out that Liam has, through his g tube approx

> 29gms of protein a day, liam is 10.5kg, this is well over the

> recommended daily needs of a child (1 - 1.2 gms a day).

>

> As this is the formula Liams gastroenterologist, paediatrician and

> dietician have all agreed upon, I am happy that Liam is not

getting

> to much protein. i would also like to point out that Liam has

> slightly low muscle tone, quite severe reflux, has had slow

stomach

> emptying and has always suffered from constipation. Even with the

> higher protein diet.

>

> I have worked as a registered nurse for over 15 yrs most of that

> time in Renal/ haemodialysis units. I know that to much protein

can

> strain/ damage the kidneys and liver and prompt excessive loss of

> calcium. This is well documented, our children have very small

> kidneys and livers some even have problems with there kidneys, I

> hope that before any parent increases the amount of protein in

there

> childs diet, they will consider this and consult there dieticians

> and medical team.

>

> I realise you are doing the best for your daughter as you possibly

> can, since Liam was a baby it has been our goal to do this for

him.I

> would try anything to make his life easier, however I have to be

> convinced that it is not going to be detrimental to his health

long

> or short term.

>

>

>