"Life Without Bread"

[loreta]

Hi Goemon_,

I found that to go paleo really required abandoning the concept of bread, otherwise, I found I was constantly trying to come up with ways of reproducing whatever I would do with standard bread, which I loved so much. Making sandwiches, toast, etc., were a big part of my routine. Heck, I'd venture to say they seemed a part of my identity. After a few weeks of having dreams of baguettes and bagels, not to mention saltine crackers, (who the heck dreams of bread?), I finally got it out of my system. But this involved completely forgetting whatever bread represents, be it pizza dough, something to soak up gravy, a carrier for other foods etc. Once you realize how much carbohydrate is in bread, you will hopefully be able to see it really isn't an ideal food source and must let it go.

My $0.02, for what it's worth,

Gonzo

I agree, it is very important to put a definitive end to the idea of bread.

Yesterday I was thinking about it. Bread. How I loved to eat some loafs of bread with olive oil and sugar. It was a recipe from my good grand-mother. Also I was thinking about a pastry she did very well, buñuelos de viento ( a sort of fritter that Spaniards eat specially during Easter). She was an expert doing them so for me sweets have a link with love or tenderness. Bread also. The link was so strong that myself I did those buñuelos for my parents, very often, to express my love to them. A love that was just expressed through the buñuelos. So I think that the addiction to bread and carbos are also psychological links. It is a very, extremely strong program. Since I stopped completely to eat bread and sweets I feel liberated, liberated of this physical and psychological addiction. And because I feel liberated I am able to think why this addiction is so strong. Because in the end we crave for something that is as a drug: a toxic drug for the body. But also a toxic drug for the mind or the soul: looking for tenderness in the food. This is terrible.

I am not sad because I will not eat anymore bread or sweets. On the contrary. This diet is amazing!

 

[mkrnhr]

FWIW, I found this paper on the paleo diet from 'evolutionary' viewpoint : _http://humanoriginsleiden.org/administrator/components/com_jresearch/files/publications/Kuipers%20et%20al%202012.pdf
(Haven't read it yet)

 

[clearmiddle]

FWIW, I found this paper on the paleo diet from 'evolutionary' viewpoint : _http://humanoriginsleiden.org/administrator/components/com_jresearch/files/publications/Kuipers%20et%20al%202012.pdf
(Haven't read it yet)

It is interesting, although I have only had time to read the abstract and skim the rest of the text. Nora Gedgaudas might be interested in this as well, although I wouldn't consider forwarding it to her until I finished reading it myself. Thanks!

 

[Gaby]

His level of triglycerides was low, but his level of cholesterol was high. The PD started talking about change of diet and medication, but when I asked whether it was HDL or LDL that was elevated he just glared at me...

The thing to keep in mind and that is very relevant for all of you who has had high LDL levels and low triglycerides from a low carb diet, is the following from Art and Science of Low Carb Living:

Can You Trust Your LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) Numbers?

The most common way LDL-C is determined is to estimate its concentration using a formula derived from direct measurement of total cholesterol, HDL-C, and triglycerides. The equation was developed in 1972 by William Friedewald and colleagues[51] and continues to be routinely used in clinical assessment of cardiovascular risk and research studies, including those involving low carbohydrate diets. LDL-C is calculated as total cholesterol minus the sum of HDL-C and VLDL-C.

LDL-C = Total Cholesterol -[HDL-C + (Triglycerides/5)]​

A major assumption is that the ratio of triglyceride to cholesterol is constant. VLDL is estimated as equal to triglycerides (mg/dL) divided by 5. This presumed 5: 1 ratio is not constant, and the errors from this LDL-C calculation are significant[52]. In the original 1972 paper, these researchers noted that the calculation of LDL-C was inaccurate when chylomicrons were present or triglycerides were above 400 mg/dL. These essential limitations under conditions of high plasma triglycerides are widely recognized today. Less appreciated are the potential errors associated with low plasma triglycerides, a condition that is highly relevant when interpreting the LDL-C response to low carbohydrate diets since they often result in marked reductions in triglycerides.

For example, a published case report describes a man with plasma triglycerides of 55 mg/dL who had an estimated LDL-C of 172 mg/ dL using the traditional Freidewald equation. But when measured by two separate direct methods, his actual LDL-C proved to be 126 mg/dL (this was also substantiated by a normal apo B level) [53].

In a formal study of 115 volunteers with plasma triglycerides less than 100 mg/dL, use of the Friedewald formula resulted in a statistically significant overestimation of LDL-C by an average of 12 mg/dL[54].

How does this play out if you are on a low carbohydrate diet? Let's assume that a low carbohydrate diet causes a reduction of triglycerides from 200 to 75 mg/dL with no change in total and HDL cholesterol. As a result, the calculated LDL-C from the Friedewald equation would necessarily increase from 100 to 125 mg/dL. How much of this 25% increase is real and how much artifact? That can only be determined by a direct assessment of LDL-C, which most physicians do not bother to do.

In other words, if you have low triglyceride levels, they are most likely overestimating your LDL cholesterol levels which in actuality could be much lower when measured by reliable tests which are never done.

A low carb diet brings your triglyceride levels down, and that IS good. Low triglyceride levels are never seen in a high-carb diet.

 

[clearmiddle]

Article: The Hidden Truths about Calories

FYI: Here is an article that clarifies many of the issues associated with the Atwater Convention and its adjustments, which are the basis of nutritional labeling.

The Hidden Truths about Calories
_http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/08/27/the-hidden-truths-about-calories/

...A Food is Not a Food—Estimates of the number of calories in different kinds of foods measure the average number of calories we could get from those foods based only on the proportions of fat, carbohydrates, protein and sometimes fiber they contain (In essence, calories ingested minus calories egested). A variety of standard systems exist, all of which derive from the original developed by Wilbur Atwater more than a hundred years ago. They are all systems of averages. No food is average.

Differences exist even within a given kind of food. Take, for example, cooked vegetables. Cell walls in some plants are tougher to break down than those in others; nature, of course, varies in everything. If the plant material we eat has more of its cell walls broken down we can more of the calories from the goodies inside. In some plants, cooking ruptures most cell walls; in others, such as cassava, cell walls hold strong and hoard their precious calories in such a way that many of them pass through our bodies intact...

 

[Muxel]

Question: Is it okay to use my crockpot in my bedroom 24/7? My filthy housemates and deranged landlord have turned the kitchen into diet hell. Imagine a thin film of gluten (or poison of your choice) covering everything... that's how I feel. I've considered the living room, but a housemate fogs up the air boiling coffee each morning then goes trigger-happy with the foulest smelling air freshener. Oftentimes I fantasize about moving out... but to where?

 

[Carl]

Question: Is it okay to use my crockpot in my bedroom 24/7? My filthy housemates and deranged landlord have turned the kitchen into diet hell. Imagine a thin film of gluten (or poison of your choice) covering everything... that's how I feel. I've considered the living room, but a housemate fogs up the air boiling coffee each morning then goes trigger-happy with the foulest smelling air freshener. Oftentimes I fantasize about moving out... but to where?

Yeah I guess that's okay.

You're not the only one. I rendered a kilo of lard the other week, and my housemate came in drunk and proceeded to pour it all down the drain because she "didn't like the smell" and I should "just eat normal food".

I made it quite clear that I will continue rendering fat and making broth, and everything she owns is getting chucked out if she does it again.

So i feel for you in your situation dealing with pathologicals and gluten addicts we have to do what we can though.

 

[Alana]

You're not the only one. I rendered a kilo of lard the other week, and my housemate came in drunk and proceeded to pour it all down the drain because she "didn't like the smell" and I should "just eat normal food".

not only for the waste of lard, but one NEVER pours lard down the drain. It's going to solidify in the pipes and clog your drains!

 

[MK Scarlett]

You're not the only one. I rendered a kilo of lard the other week, and my housemate came in drunk and proceeded to pour it all down the drain because she "didn't like the smell" and I should "just eat normal food".

not only for the waste of lard, but one NEVER pours lard down the drain. It's going to solidify in the pipes and clog your drains!

I second that. Or you will have to unsettle your piping each week! And if you lived in a building with neighbors next size down, the damages could arrive in their home too.

 

[Cosmos]

You're not the only one. I rendered a kilo of lard the other week, and my housemate came in drunk and proceeded to pour it all down the drain because she "didn't like the smell" and I should "just eat normal food".

not only for the waste of lard, but one NEVER pours lard down the drain. It's going to solidify in the pipes and clog your drains!

I second that. Or you will have to unsettle your piping each week! And if you lived in a building with neighbors next size down, the damages could arrive in their home too.

ohhh yes I could tell you stories about that!
Carlise you might want to consider to call a tube cleaner to get your pipes cleaned out!
when I accidently get even a small amount of fat into my drain it it doesn't takes that long to solidify in the pipes and when I do not notice it my whole kitchen can stand under water! It happened ones but luckely I noticed it before it got out of hand otherwise my kitchen would probply been ruined.......

 

[LQB]

You're not the only one. I rendered a kilo of lard the other week, and my housemate came in drunk and proceeded to pour it all down the drain because she "didn't like the smell" and I should "just eat normal food".

not only for the waste of lard, but one NEVER pours lard down the drain. It's going to solidify in the pipes and clog your drains!

I second that. Or you will have to unsettle your piping each week! And if you lived in a building with neighbors next size down, the damages could arrive in their home too.

ohhh yes I could tell you stories about that!
Carlise you might want to consider to call a tube cleaner to get your pipes cleaned out!
when I accidently get even a small amount of fat into my drain it it doesn't takes that long to solidify in the pipes and when I do not notice it my whole kitchen can stand under water! It happened ones but luckely I noticed it before it got out of hand otherwise my kitchen would probply been ruined.......

If the water still flows, run a bunch of the hottest water you can for 10-15 minutes. That might send it downstream far enough and spread it out. FWIW

 

[Cosmos]

You're not the only one. I rendered a kilo of lard the other week, and my housemate came in drunk and proceeded to pour it all down the drain because she "didn't like the smell" and I should "just eat normal food".

not only for the waste of lard, but one NEVER pours lard down the drain. It's going to solidify in the pipes and clog your drains!

I second that. Or you will have to unsettle your piping each week! And if you lived in a building with neighbors next size down, the damages could arrive in their home too.

ohhh yes I could tell you stories about that!
Carlise you might want to consider to call a tube cleaner to get your pipes cleaned out!
when I accidently get even a small amount of fat into my drain it it doesn't takes that long to solidify in the pipes and when I do not notice it my whole kitchen can stand under water! It happened ones but luckely I noticed it before it got out of hand otherwise my kitchen would probply been ruined.......

If the water still flows, run a bunch of the hottest water you can for 10-15 minutes. That might send it downstream far enough and spread it out. FWIW

I would think that you need to put something into the hot water that can dissolve the fat because water alone won't do that(maybe detergent?).

 

[Palinurus]

I would think that you need to put something into the hot water that can dissolve the fat because water alone won't do that(maybe detergent?

Here's a suggestion based on experience: use washing soda —sodium carbonate— it's in the same family as baking soda. It has just been processed differently.

See:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-wonders-of-washing-soda.html#13471323624491&action=collapse_widget&id=1552611
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_carbonate

 

[ytain]

Also you can use caustic soda, it removes the grease from any surface.

 

[clearmiddle]

We have been trying out a microbial drain cleaner called "Drainbo." You mix a half cup with a quart of warm water at night when you are getting ready for bed, let it stand for 15 minutes while the microorganisms "wake up," and then pour it down the drain where, hopefully, the little critters set about digesting all the fat you poured down the drain earlier.

We have had more trouble with our kitchen drain since going low-carb. I try to make sure the fat goes down me instead, but I don't go to extremes to insure that, and a certain small amount goes down the drain. Over time it builds up. So far, the Drainbo seems to be helping to keep the drain clear. I don't know, however, what it would be able to do with a massive amount of lard poured down the drain all at once!