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'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

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Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#91
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Judging from other "natives" I met, probably as much as they can(with Walmart being 1000 miles away, that would be little). I don't know if you were thinking in terms of "incriminating" veg oil in favor of butter etc, which is the trend in Atkins etc, but the takeaway message of such studies is exercise and the stress-free life, you become what you do and what you think! Eating is a part of thinking and doing, but on…

I was indeed thinking in terms of "incriminating" veg oil, but more in favor of omega 3 fatty acids (as is also the trend in Atkins etc,) not necessarily saturated fats in butter. (edit: Also silently implying here that n-3 to n-6 ratio matters. Omega-6 fats are essential, but in nature n-3:n-6 is found in more desirable ratios.) I get what you're saying re: exercise and stress, but I have to believe that for some pe…

Just to clarify, I am talking about natural exercise and natural non-stress :) In their small communities you get stress and excrete it, while in the average larger community you accumulate it. It is the background "stress radiation", low intensity nagging stress, that does all kinds of nasty things to us - more accurately, we do it to ourselves and each other. Similarly, I would not equate time in the gym or jogging in Manhattan to their exercise.

I don't know if by some fluke they have the perfect 3-6 ratio in their diets, but if you get your fresh food and exercise (and those beneficial worms ;) ), it does not matter.

Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add to your point Okinawans once had the greatest life expectancy on Earth and the majority of their diet was carbs too. Since the introduction of “western diet” post WW2 the majority of their diet is still carbs and yet they now show significant increase of Chronic disease (obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and kidney disease) and lowered life expectancy.

It turns out, though, that Okinawan long life expectancy was actually due to rampant pension fraud rather than long life. I can't remember the exact date, but it would have been around 2008, a reporter went to visit the oldest people in Japan (most of whom were living in Okinawa). They started at the oldest and found that the person wasn't home ("visiting relatives"). So they went to the next oldest. Similar story. T…

That’s a great story and I’ll look into it.

However, I do believe they legitimately have the most centurions and I have read about autopsies on centurions which found they showed no signs of chronic disease. Of course that is surviorship bias, but assuming the total number of centurions is true, especially given the small population, I think there is more there there.

Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#93
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

According the the following, sucrose has a glycemic index of 65. Plantain has 55. Brown rice has 68. Does the glycemic index say anything about impact on blood glucose and insulin levels? https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glyce...

Keep in mind that food does not act in isolation. The actual glycemic index of the food you eat depends on the combination of food. So if you eat a combination of carbohydrates, fats and proteins it lowers the glycemic index. Famously, a Snicker's bar has a dramatically lower glycemic index than a slice of bread (though exactly what it is depends on what study you look at :-P ). Another way to look at this is that re…

Then why does watermelon have a higher glycemic index (76) than sucrose (65)

Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#94
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That really does seem counter to the low-carb diets that seem to be all the rage among internet communities (also HN). Generally people discussing “low carb diets” really mean managing blood glucose/insulin spikes. So high glycemic carbs, refined sugars, refined carbs. Not all carbs are created equal when we talk about impacts on blood glucose and/or the liver.

Tangentially, there are two professors that swear by the idea of taking glucose readings soon after eating to know the impact of different foods in your diet. Theoretically, if you eat things that don't raise your glucose too much you can lose weight. It sounds logical, but I don't know if it's really useful if you're not diabetic. Edit: the book is called "The Personalized Diet."

I’d say all things being equal if you have the same person on two timelines and on both they over consume calories but on one they spike their insulin and the other they don’t, the time line with the insulin spikes will carry more fat/dangerous adipose tissue. Insulin acts as a hormone and tells the body to store calories as fat and simultaneously enlarges cells throughout the body, especially fat cells, allowing the body to store more fat than otherwise.

It’s probably very useful to measure what spikes ones insulin so the individual can avoid those foods.

For example I know whey, a protein powder with zero carbs/sugars will spike my insulin (because it knocks me out of ketosis). Probably not a bad idea for a body builder who wants to replinish their muscle glycogen stores after a hard workout, but not going to be necessary and over long term even harmful to someone who isn’t depleting their muscle glucose/glycogen stores. In fact protein that can’t be used is generally converted into glucose which when not used is store in fat cells.

Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#95

One thing I didn't get a clear answer from the doctor about last time I saw one was this. Can you unclog your arteries by changing your lifestyle, ie diet and exercise, or is the clogging permanent?

https://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/cholesterol-and... > Once a cholesterol plaque is there, it's generally there to stay. With effective treatment, though, plaque buildup may slow down or stop. > Some evidence shows that, with aggressive treatment, cholesterol plaques can even shrink slightly. In one major study, cholesterol plaques shrank 10% in size after a 50% reduction in blood cholesterol levels. > The…

https://youtu.be/c5ELzL7DGpw?t=2426

Vitamin K - Mk7, Vitamin V, and Magnesium seem to help with the removal of calcifications of the artillery. Though I couldn't really find referees other than reports on `Vitamin K intake and calcifications in breast arteries Angela`

Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#96

> At the age of 45, almost no Tsimane had CAC in their arteries while 25% of Americans do. > By the time they reach age 75, two-thirds of Tsimane are CAC-free compared with the overwhelming majority of Americans (80%) having signs of CAC. The article doesn't mention obesity at all . 40% of Americans over 40 are obese[1]. Tsimane obesity rates of adults (>20 years) are 5.6% for women and 1.6% for men[2]. Journalists l…

The fact that they walk a huge amount (16,000/17,000 steps per day) seems to be a very obvious factor. Unfortunately, getting this kind of behavior, at least in the US, would be enormously challenging, because our land use policies and regulations are generally designed to make walking useless and/or painful. I've lived in several parts of the US, currently live in Munich, only NYC felt close to Munich in walkability…

The US is very walkable, but you might need to drive to walk.

Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#97
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep in mind that food does not act in isolation. The actual glycemic index of the food you eat depends on the combination of food. So if you eat a combination of carbohydrates, fats and proteins it lowers the glycemic index. Famously, a Snicker's bar has a dramatically lower glycemic index than a slice of bread (though exactly what it is depends on what study you look at :-P ). Another way to look at this is that re…

Then why does watermelon have a higher glycemic index (76) than sucrose (65)

I assume because it is composed of a high level of fructose mixed with water :-) I'm not saying that "natural" food has a low GI; quite the contrary. I'm saying that if you take some food with a low GI and take away all the stuff that makes it low GI you are essentially left with sugar. If you add all that stuff back in, then you get the same GI again. Your gut doesn't care that it's a slurry, essentially.

Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#98
This is a perfect example of how everything in life is always a trade off. Do you want a healthier heart to live a few extra years or do you want to sit on your couch and browse HN while enjoying your BigMac? Pick one because only a fool would believe they could have both.

Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#99
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you unable to walk around your neighborhood in SV, Seattle and other places? I live on Long Island (not NYC) but it's not hard to find places to walk around in safety. I put in 3-5 miles (roughly 6,000 - 10,000 steps going by Google) a day just aimlessly walking side streets for general exercise and clearing my mind. When I visited SV it didn't seem too bad downtown. Can't speak for the other places though. But i…

Basic google tells me that your upper range (5 miles) is still only around 10k steps. You’ll need to walk another 60-70% more to achieve what they do, which is where much of the effort can be in.

I've been going 3-5 miles for over 5 years because it makes me feel good. I never heard of these people or their habits until yesterday.

By the way, if you can walk 5 miles effortlessly, you can probably walk an entire day with little breaks. I've done some 15+ mile walking sessions in NYC. By the end of it, it's really not bad if it's a nice day out (it can get ridiculously hot and cold in NYC).

Re: 'Healthiest hearts in the world' found

#100
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But if you eat just proteins and fat, the fat is not stored (see e.g. keto diet) How can this be explained?

I’d guess it’s because in that case you don’t produce much insulin which is starting to be called the fat storage hormone.

Protein also stimulates insulin release. You’ll get a bigger spike of insulin from eating a steak than a plate of spaghetti.
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