Sugar and Carbohydrates are the real baddies, not Fat

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For most of my adult life, I've heard that FAT is the main reason why people are unhealthy and obese. Most of the time I haven't taken much notice of this because being fat hasn't been one of my issues. One thing I do remember is people being grossed out because I've eaten the fatty part of bacon and ham. Because of what we've been told, most people equate fat on food with getting fat. The latest studies seem to disprove this.

A report in yesterday's Independent, points the chubby finger at carbohydrates, not at fats. Sugar and refined carbohydrates like white bread are increasingly being seen as the bad guys (rice and noodles?) and ironically these are the foods found in 'low fat' ready meals and other 'low fat' alternatives. I was really surprised that through eating 'low fat' products people were eating an additional 21 teaspoons of SUGAR a day, let me repeat that 'AN EXTRA 21 TEASPOONS OF SUGAR A DAY.'

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What's convincing about this report, is that it's an analysis of related studies that cover 350,000 people.

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So the latest evidence is that sugar and carbohydrates are worse for you than fat. Which reminds me, when I was just a kid, our fridge used to be fill of animal fat (dripping). Everything was cooked with dripping but that has changed over the past thirty years because people have become more 'fat' conscious. Now it seems that we have been mislead. Bring back the dripping?

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February Review

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An eventful month, even though it's the shortest month, it actually seems like a very long month because so much has happened.

The highlight was the bungee jump, I also had trips to Macau and South Taiwan, finished working and I've got my first Extended Licence picture sold for a whopping $28!

Health highlights; It's been a month of long walks (mostly urban), some runs, a worrying toothache and resulting swelling on my left cheek. I've stayed mostly sugar free and kept my tea/coffee count respectful, though I've probably drunk the most alcohol in a very long time. I've done some more reading on 'cavemen' eating and a lot of reading on teeth care.

The details

Sugar

3rd Feb - a friend bought me a Starbuck's Iced Choco-Coffee concoction with sugary cream on top. After drinking, I felt a headache come on.
14th Feb - Had ice cream. After eating this, I felt a rush of energy, though it could've been the two coffees I had as well (or a combination of them both.
19th Feb - Had a sweet soft tofu dish with condensed milk. No after affects.

It feels good not to have sugar and I now like saying no to offers that contain sugar. I will continue this and hopefully, get a completely sugar free month.

Tea and Coffee

Most days I've kept to 2, though there's been 2 or 3 days when I had 3. Towards the end of the month I had a lot of green tea on some days.

Alcohol

10 non-drink days
7 moderate drink days
12 heavy drink days (more than 3 pints)

It looks bad and my excuse is Chinese New Year. I know excuses are lame. Despite the 12 heavy drink days, I think it was only 2 time that I suffered a hangover. I'll definitely drink less this month (March).

Physical Exercise

10 Long slow walks - though these walks were urban and contained many stops as I was taking pictures.
5 Runs - The runs were between 15 and 20 mins. I've started including 'sprints' with the runs to vary the pace and it's more fun.
1 Bike Ride

I've started taking care of my teeth more.

As well as brushing twice a day I now;

Floss once a day and usually carry some with me.
Swill water around my mouth after I finished eating.
If I'm at home, I finish my meals with a lump of cheese.

The swelling on my cheek was a bit of a scary but it prompted me to go to the dentist and also to do a lot of research about 'teeth care'. I've came across some very interesting information, some of which I've already posted. I've come across other information, which claims that teeth can heal themselves and also they seem to have a more detailed view of what causes dental decay. I'll digest this information and share that post with you this month.

Gingivitis - Gum Disease

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This is what the dentist told me I have, though he didn't think it would cause swelling on my cheek. Sounds scary and potentially is very scary as it can lead onto periodontitis (Click and be grossed out). Also dental diseases have been linked to a number of diseases that affect the whole body - cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's, diabetes, pancreatic etc.

Gingivitis is a common disease and up to 80% of the American adult population suffer from it at sometime.

Luckily, coupled with regular visits to the dentist, you can do a lot to improve the situation though good dental care and diet.

Dental problems, including tooth decay, gingivitis and periodontitis have the same cause. Bacteria present in the month, feed on sugars and fermentable carbohydrates, they then secrete organic acids which lower the PH levels in the mouth. When the PH levels fall below 5.7 problems start. The acids then attack the teeth and gums.

So how to control it?

Reduce the acidity level in your mouth and the time it is exposed to these conditions and you'll improve your oral health. The easiest why to do this is to reduce your sugars and fermentable carbohydrates intake and to control the times when you eat them.

Food to be aware of

The higher the glycemic level of a carbohydrate the more acidic it can make the mouth. Glucose and Maltose are both a 100 but foods such as bread, potatoes, rice also have a high gylcemic level.

For a mind blogging list of carbohydrates and their gylcemic level Mendosa website

A shorter simpler list healthy weight forum

I've mostly removed sugary foods from my diet (but not starchy foods) but you don't have to be so extreme (Though Hujeol, a professor at Washington University states that any fermentable carbohydrate can cause tooth decay). We all need to eat and as long as meals contain a mixture of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, this should counteract the worst effects of foods with a high gylcemic level. From what I read, I still think it's a good idea to wash your mouth with water after a meal and ideally have a lump of cheese to reduce the acidity of your mouth.

After eating your mouth can remind acidic for 20-30 minutes. So if you are sweet toothed, it's better to get that evil sweetness during a main meal and avoid snacking on it. Each time you eat (sugars and starches) you can make your mouth acidic and create the conditions for dental decay.

Snacks to avoid

Sugary things, soft drinks, bananas, dried fruit, probably bread (white and brown).

Possible replacements

Nuts, cheese, I think I need to do more research on this. Some advice from your oral health on possible snacks.

This is the advice from Colgate on snacking. Though most breads have a high gylcermic level.

Changes in diet should be coupled with better care of your teeth and gums.

Brushing twice a day but remember don't brush after eating sugary food or soft drinks as they soften the teeth and if you brush straight after eating these foods, you are likely to etch your teeth.

Floss - once a day. Flossing sites recommend that you carry some on you at all time. I'd agree with this, especially if you already have some troublesome teeth. I have on the top lefthand side of my mouth and food often gets stuck in them.

Sorry, a long one today. I'll work on making the information more concise. I'd like to contact some 'experts' for further advise. I've done a lot of reading on the subject and I'm finding it very interesting.

Lets get rid of dental diseases and smile!

Dental Problem - How to take better care.

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Today, I’ve got to go the dentist again. I’ve got an infection in the base of the tooth and I need to get this sorted out. The pain hasn’t been that bad but my face has puffed up a bit. It’s worrying and I hope the dentist will be able to solve the problem.

I’ll let everyone know the problem when I do.

I’ve taken this ‘opportunity’ to research good practice for looking after your teeth.

Things I knew

• Brush your teeth twice a day.
• Flossing your teeth is good.
• Visit a dentist every six months.
• Sugar is bad for your teeth.
• Coke is very bad for your teeth, not because of the sugar but because of the acid in it.

Things that I didn’t know

• Drink water after eating. This washes your teeth and is especially good if you swill the water around your mouth. This is perfect common sense and a practice I’ll like to adopt.
• The reason sugar and carbohydrates are bad for your teeth is that they are turned into acids by bacteria in the month. It’s the acid that attacks the teeth. If you have a sweet tooth and can’t stop eating sweets things, it’s best to eat them all at one time.
• Don’t brush your teeth after drinking a soft drink, juice or eating fruit as this can cause etching on the enamel. It’s better to wash your teeth with water and wait a while.
• Eating raw vegetables such as carrots and celery after a meal is good. This helps clean the teeth and stimulate salvia production. Salvia is the mouth’s natural protection for teeth.
• Cheese is good for your teeth. It’s ideal for snacks and as dessert.

Things that are worth farther investigation

Fermentable carbohydrates, which include rice, bread, corn, flour, potato etc, are considered by a lot of dentists to be bad for dental health. Fermentable carbohydrates breakdown into simple sugars in the mouth and can be turned into acids by bad bacteria. Though dentists are reluctant to advice against eating these foods as the prevailing view is that they are needed for a healthy diet.

But why would our bodies be so designed? Surely food that’s good for dental health would be good for general health. Perhaps there is reason behind the paleo-diet, which sees fats and protein as better for your health than carbohydrates (unless they’re from vegetables). Interesting article on oral health and overall health

From now on

• I’ll start to floss my teeth one a day and will always carry some with me. I remember from flossing before that it’s good for the gums. At first my gums were bleeding when I flossed but this soon stopped and my teeth felt very clean.
• Drink water after eating.
• Continue with no-sugar diet.
• Look into carbohydrates more and possible reduce the amount I eat.

Readings

Well laid out article on oral health

Useful article on oral health


Food good for oral health

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February Health Targets

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• To remain sugar free. I'll make an exception for a 'custard tart' in Macau.
• To stay to only two caffeinated drinks per day.
• To do strenuous physical exercise 10 times this month. I'll also start researching how other people are exercising.
• To drink more water.
• When I’m at home, to prepare healthy food at home.


Health aims are not the direct focus this month. The focus is ‘Getting Things Done’. I finish work today and I want to get a ‘business mindset’ and focus on what I want to achieve this year.

To do this;

• I’ll write down the three or four most important things I want to achieve the next day. This has already started. (Exercise might be included in this)
• To write about the good things that have happened that day. I’ll write for 10 minutes each day on this. This will start tomorrow.

January Health Round Up

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Late, but I spent the weekend away at Sun Moon Lake with my girlfriend.

January Health Round Up

The (refined) sugar free month. Nearly but not quite.

Known times I had sugar

• Two bread rolls made by my girlfriend.
• 26th Jan - baked beans that come with an English Breakfast
• 30th Jan - last day teaching at a school. My youngest class presented me with a cake. After group hugs and a lovely card with letters from all the students in that class, I felt I couldn't say no. Also had a cup of cola that day.


I feel healthier but I'd find it hard to say why. I'm definitely feeling better now than at the start of the month. Also, I can see a lot easier what effect drinking has on my energy levels.

Around about the 11th I had a persistant headache. I felt bad as I haven't had any sugar but I still wasn't feeling that good. I checked a Patrick Holford book on nutrition to see what he said about sugars. I discovered from this that its not only sugar that affects the blood sugar levels. Many other things do as well, so from that review, I cut down on caffeinated drinks. It was cold and I was drinking 7 or 8 cups a day. I now drink only two. My replacement drinks for the other teas and coffees has been boiled water. It's good and it keeps me warm.

An indirect benefit of having a ban on a certain type of food, is that you get to say no more often. I quite enjoyed saying no to sweets and it feels good.

Conclusion

Being sugar free is good and I think I've got a health boost from it. I intent to stay sugar free.

Fitness

I did strenuous training five times. I went running 3 times and walk for more than 3hrs two times. I think I can do more.

Alcohol

I had 16 non-drinking days
I had 6 moderate drinking days
I had 9 heavy drinking days

Drinking days were a little up from normal. I turned 40 in January, which I think accounted for some of the increase.

On the positive side, I've been much more consistent with drinking water whilst drinking alcohol, especially at home. It's starting to feel more natural now.

That's my health round up. I think I succeed in having a lot less sugar than normal and I feel confident that this will become a habit. I'm also happy that I've changed my caffeine habit to something more moderate. I see that I don't do enough exercise and would like to do more.

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Getting Inspiration from Others

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A couple of weekends ago I was blown away by people being creative. First, I saw some friends playing at Vicious Cicle, Taipei. It was great seeing friends making fantastic music. I particularly liked it when Ben Smith sang his own song about being 'addicted to smoking' and then Ben Seal sang a song in Chinese. After that I went to Fuerzabruta, which to put it simply, WOW! What they did with lights, dance, music and performance was brilliant. Also, they completely change the audience and performers relationship - with the audience being very much part of the show - amazing fun.

As for inspiration for being healthy, I've decided to look into health sites recommended by Leo Babauta. Leo Babauta has changed his whole life around in the past few years, including quitting smoking, losing a tonne of weight and going from a couch potato to running long distance races.

Here are the sites he's recommended

Mark's Daily Apple is a site that focuses on health from an evolutionally point of view. He believes that pre-agricultural diets are the best diet for humans, as it is the diet that human bodies are most in tuned to. He also believe that exercise should be either short and intense or long and slow as this form of exercise would fit our pre-agricultural lives better.

Fitness Black Book promotes the ideal hollywood body over that of weight lifters. He seems practical and is aware that people have lives where you might deviate from the 'healthy lifestyle'.

Zen to Fitness seems to focus on a simple approach to staying fit.

Fit and Busy Dad is exactly what it says. A busy man, with five children, who manages his life well so that he is fit and healthy too.

Fitness sportlight is written by two bloggers and guides people through various health missions.


I have only scanned these blogs and I've already learned a lot. Certainly, after reading some of their posts, I realise that there's a long way to go and many things to try out before I can think of myself as fit. But that's exciting in itself.

Enjoy and if you know of other useful health blogs then please leave a message.

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Why Sugar?

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Since the start of the year I’ve been refusing food with refined sugar in it (well mostly). I want to rid it from my diet, to see if feel better for it. But why do it?

It’s a haunch, I guess ever since I read that (refined) sugar has no nutritional value, I had my doubts about it. Also, it was banned in my house when I was about 10, though I need to find out from my dad why. But despite this background, sugar has crept more and more into my diet.

Most obviously, I like soft drinks, especially fizzy ones but I dramatically cut down last November after a trip to the dentist. Over the past couple of years, I have also got back into ice creams, especially as they are free with many meals in Taiwan. Also my girlfriend loves cooking and over the last half year has been making lots of cookies and some cakes.

Here are top reasons for me but there are sites that list over a 100 reasons to give up sugar.

• It’s terrible for your teeth

• It lowers your immune system’s ability to fight disease.

• It releases its energy incredibly fast. This leads to unstable blood sugar levels resulting in mood swings, headaches and fatigue. The more sugar consumed, the more unstable blood sugar levels are. When blood sugars are extremely unbalanced diseases such as diabetes can occur. Also unstable bloods sugar levels can also be a contributing factor to depression.

• Because sugar releases it energy quickly, unless the body has an immediate use for it, the sugar gets converted into fats. This is done to help regulate the blood sugar level. I don’t have scientific events to back this up but I believe that sugar contributes much more to weight gain then ‘fat’. I mainly believe this because ‘sugary foods’ don’t fill you up or provide your body with the nutrients it needs, and fairly soon afterwards you want to eat more but a cooked meal with meat and some fat tends to fill you up.

• Sugar becomes sticky in the blood system and contributes to a process called ‘glycation’. Sugar sticks to proteins, which in turns reduces the elasticity of the body’s organ. Commonly known as aging.

How’s the war on sugar going?

It’s going pretty well. I’ve been offered things with sugar in them numerous times and I’ve refused them all when before, I’d probably accepted. Well, nearly, my girlfriend made some bread with white sugar in it. Why it needs sugar I don’t know, but after initially refusing, I gave into her protests.

I think the amount of refined sugar in my diet must have been dramatically reduced since the start of the year. I’ve been reducing the amount of sugar in my diet since having two new fillings last November. Then I stopped drinking soft drinks.

How do I feel?

Well, so far I don’t feel any better. Yesterday, afternoon I felt very tired but that mainly from being a bit drunk the night before. Before yesterday, I think my energy levels maybe a bit more constant though. Nothing dramatic.

2010 Health Targets

Keep aiming for the target and you'll get there


I know, I've posted them a few days late but here they are.

My approach to adopting these targets won’t be to do them all at once. Instead I will introduce them one at a time. I want to make them lasting habits and I believe that changing habits is a difficult process. So that's why I'll do them one at a time until I feel that they are established habits. Also, I’ll record on an excel spreadsheet how I’m doing with the targets.

Physical Goals

• To do some form of strenuous exercise (more than walking (though walking two hours plus I'll include as strenuous) five times a week. Currently, I do this about 1-2 times per week. I plan to make this a focus in either March or April.
• To do some muscle work, not much, but some, to build up my chest. My girlfriend thinks that I’m like a dinosaur, because all my power is in my legs and my arms and chest are puny. I might make this a focus later in the year. I'll see how my body is after establishing a five times a week exercise regime.
• To do introduce a new sport into my regime, probably tennis. Currently, I go for a run and swim.
• To learn to scuba dive. I plan to do this in either February or March.
• To learn to dive down whilst snorkeling.


Dietary Goals

• Return to eating a lot of vegetables and doing more home cooking. In February, I’ll do a lot more of this.
• To cut out sugar from my diet. I see sugar as far more harmful than fat. I remember reading somewhere that sugar has no nutritional value. Also heard people talking about ‘Sugar Blues’, a book that sees sugar as an additive drug with many side effects. This will be the focus for January. I’ll cut out soft drinks, cakes and sweets, things that obviously have sugar. I’ll check some products for sugar, but I live in Taiwan and my Chinese isn’t that good. I won’t check at restaurants to see if sugar has been added to their cooking.


Drink Goals

• To become a moderate drinker. By this I mean I can drink two or three glasses for enjoyment and then stop. I also want to get into the habit of spacing my drinks with a glass of water. I’ll keep a track of this by recording the days I don’t drink, the days where I drink moderately and heavily (more than 3 pints). This will be a focus in May or June.
• I want to stop drinking all soft drinks that have ‘refined’ sugar in them. I stopped last month, except for drinks that replaced alcoholic ones. I want to stop all together and only drink water or 100% fruit juices as replacements for alcoholic drinks.
I want to increase the amount of water I drink.

Mental Health Goals

• Be more positive
• Be more focus on what makes me feel excited. I'll publish the things I want to achieve this year in a blog post (in January). Also, I'll make a poster of them for my computer table, so that I'll see them everyday and I'll keep them in mind.
• Follow a low information diet as recommended by Tim Ferriss 'The 4-Hour Working Week'. I currently don't read the news, except for headlines on Yahoo. I used to do the crossword as well but now, I'll only do it if someone else has started one. Not reading the news is a habit but a shaky one at the moment. Also, I want to sort out my computer usage, so that it focuses on my goals and not on wasting time. This will be a focus in February.

My Health Audit

I did a health audit to see what things I'm doing right (or at least ok) and what things I'm doing wrong. I will follow this post up with goals for 2010 early next year.

My Health Audit

Physical

Positives

I do exercise 1 or 2 times a week
Eat a fairly healthy diet.
About the right weight for my height
Look a bit younger than my age, especially after the magic of a haircut.
Have about 95% of my hair still
I know how to play a lot of sports and consider myself physically capable of doing most things.
Don’t smoke
I've cut down on the total amount I drink
Get up early

Negatives

Should exercise more
Drink to get drunk, when I do drink. I’ve tried, half-heartedly, to drink one beer and then one water but I haven’t so far found a way to drink moderately i.e. drink for enjoyment rather than to get drunk.
My body has unexplained aches and pains
Often feel lethargic

Mind

Positives

Still have dreams I want to fulfill.
Still curious about things.
Love traveling and have some hobbies.
Can speak and read some Chinese
Have done a lot of research on language learning
Creative and still make ‘art’ and am interested in doing ‘new’ things in the stuff I’m interested in.

Negatives

My mind is pretty cluttered
Make slow progress towards goals
Don’t fully commit to things and goals
Rely on books too much for learning new skills, when doing and listening to people who can already do it, would be more time effective.
Tend to get ‘lost’ on the internet and end up wasting time and energy reading stuff that is irrelevant to my day and ultimately to my life.


Plan changes to improve

Stop reading the news and random stuff
Develop an internet protocol, where I do things first and ask myself do I really need to know this. Is this really that important to me.

Spiritual

Have a rough idea of what I want to do with my life.
Have an open mind
Believe that beliefs are just that.

Negative

I don’t firm up my believes and have no daily routine to keep myself focus on what I want to do.

Diet

Used to eat a very healthy diet that easily had ‘5’ fruit and veg a day.
Eat a reasonable diet that contains greens, some fruit and a mixture of white and red meat and seafood
Recently stopped drinking fizzy drinks.

Negative

Don’t drink enough water. Much prefer tea, coffee and beer over it.

Do the thing I've overlooked an area in my health audit? Have you done something similar? What health objects are you working on?

Personal Introduction

I’ve been denying it for a long time but next year I’ll definitely be middle aged. Next year I’ll be 40 and it’ll mark a watershed for me, as I don’t think I can deny my age any longer. I look younger than my age but I’m definitely feeling the changes. I feel tired sometimes for unexplained reasons, the hangovers are harder and I’m getting unexplained aches much more often than I used to.

My health history (some at least)

I had a hearing problem when I was young, with an abscess in one of my ears. It was pretty bad as I had to wear a hearing aid. I think my hearing is ok now but nothing spectacular.

Generally, I’ve been about the right weight or a little underweight for my height. Currently I’m 173cms and 68Kgs. My weight has been in a range of about 62Kg to 73Kg for the past 10 years.

Physically I’m ok. My big toes hurts sometimes (on and off for about 10 years) and I get unexplained aches and pains sometimes. Other than that I walk a lot and do either running or swimming once or twice a week. The exercising has been a relatively reason phenomena, maybe the last two years and it’s been on and off.


I had, what many people consider to be, a very healthy diet, consisting of lots of vegetables, moderate amount of meat, fish and seafood. This has changed in the last few years as I now live in Taiwan where eating out is much cheaper than London, where I used to live. My diet now, consists of lots of seafood, meat, still a reasonable amount of vegetables, some fruit and Chinese food (with whatever additives they add to it). Also, my tooth is much sweeter than it used to be.


I consider myself to be a heavy drinker, though I drink a lot less than I used to. When I was young, I drunk very often and most of the time I got drunk. It wasn’t very healthy and the frequency of my drinking has declined as well as the amount. I now drink about two times a week, getting drunk about once a week. Earlier this year I didn’t drink for a month and I felt much better after that – more lively and alert.

Also, I drink a lot of soft drinks periodically. I’ve cut down a lot recently on this and I want to keep it this way. Also drink a lot of coffee and tea, probably too much.


I generally consider myself to be positive but when reading my diary, I can see that I can be very negative towards myself often.

I’m currently in a three and half year relationship with Stephanie.

In the next post, I’ll outline my main goals with health. Feel free to introduce yourselves, especially if you are on a similar quest has me.