28.7.14

Difference Between Seeds and Grains | Difference Between | Seeds vs Grains

Difference Between Seeds and Grains | Difference Between | Seeds vs Grains:

Summary:

1. A seed is an ovule containing an embryo while a grain is a fusion of the seed coat and the fruit.

2. Typically, seeds are planted to grow plants while grains are harvested for food.

3. Grains provide food from the fruit part while seeds mainly provide food from embryo parts.

A seed is defined as an embryonic plant covered in a seed coat, often containing some food. It is formed from the ripened ovule of plants after fertilization. Seed formation completes the reproduction cycle in seed plants, which begins with the growth of flowers and pollination. The embryo grows from the zygote while the seed coat grows from the ovule rind.

A grain is a small edible fruit, usually hard on the outside, harvested from grassy crops. Grains basically grow in a cluster on atop the mature plant and they include wheat, oats, rice and barley. Because grains are generally grown on a large scale, they are considered staple crops and they are the number one energy providers worldwide.

Technically speaking, we can refer to a seed as an ovule containing an embryo within, while a grain is a fusion of the seed coat and the fruit. In some grains like peanut, the shell can be separated from the fruit to reveal the seed. However, in other grains like corn, the seed coat and fruit tissue cannot be separated.

A seed typically has three basic parts which are the embryo, seed coat and the endosperm. Obviously, the embryo is the most important part because it is its cells that eventually differentiate and grow into the various tissues that constitute the plant eventually. The seed coat and endosperm simply provide support, although they are critical to the embryo’s development.

Grains provide food mainly from the fruit part, for instance, food from wheat grain is derived from the ground fruit, which is a part of the grain. In crops like millet, it is actually the seed that has properties very similar to those of the fruit part of the grains, and that is why it is handled as a grain in culinary terms.

In seeds like peas (and pea-like seeds), sections of their embryo have very mealy properties when they are dried comparable to those of grains. These could be ground to get flour which can be very similar to the one taken from typical grains in culinary terms.

23.7.14

Bodybuilding and Kefir Part 1 & 2







22.7.14

Seven (Paleo) Myths that I've Slowly Come to Highly Suspect - Animal Pharm: Major Demything...

Animal Pharm: Major Demything...

Demything Myths in My Mind

A couple of things I harass and harp on are now shaded in grey instead of the archetypical black-white which I tend to prefer for simplicity and reductionism. My kids eat gluten (at school and parties) and in choosing my battles, I've accepted certain facts of life. They're going to be exposed, they like it and we just all have to do our best. And our best is a template based on strictly relative terms (e.g. my mood). Gluten is definitely a struggle stillsince it permeates all restaurant food and sauces. On alibaba.com, one can purchase cheap bags of high-protein (high-toxicity) hybridized modern wheat or maize gluten (vital wheat gluten 75% of total protein wet content) in which a restaurant, supplier or large-scale cook can 'doctor up' their goodies. Gluten imparts many favorable food benefits: moisure, 'perfect viscoelasticity', taste, addiction, bounciness, baked good fluffiness, sauce thickening, dough extension, sausage filler, meatball tenderness (lionhead casseroles are infamous), petfood 'protein', etc.

With all that said, since moving to Shanghai, quite honestly I have been surprised by the number of people aware of gluten intolerance and progressive in that manner, and grateful that the volume of gluten is far less here in China than the USDA-Big Agra-permeated culture of the U.S.

Anyway. Call me skeptical today...

Seven (Paleo) Myths that I've Slowly Come to Highly Suspect



1. Gluten is 100% bad and toxic

--Demyth: Not for everyone (especially if no intestinal permeability), every moment, every minute, every dose



2. Dairy is non-paleo

--COME ON. Human variance, intestinal permeability, status of DPP-IV (casein enzymes) and gut flora determine this. Same with gluten...



3. Intermittent fasting is 100% safe

--See prior adrenal tagged posts. Martin Berkham fanboys [I'm jealous of y'lls kevlar-coated adrenal glands] may go please very gently f*ck yourselves...and continue cortisol-inducing yo-yo dieting and eating cheesecake. Sorry. #FAILEO if one has f*cked up adrenals.



4. VLC/ketosis is 100% safe

--Demyth: see above



5. High glycemic index safe starches are 100% safe

--Demyth: high GI carbs can induce inflammatory cascades of gene expression. For who? See the FUNGENUT study. I dunno...



6. Low carb (less than 200 grams/day) or VLC/ketosis induces 100% fat loss

--Demyth: it depends on hormones and insulin sensitivity(primarily adrenal/NE/EPI and anabolic ones, progesterone and testosterone and if there is excessive E or xenoestrogens). See Ebbeling Ludwig et al JAMA 2007; side figure those who exhibit decent insulin sensitivity (maintain low insulin after 75 grams of lines of glucose) can lose weight on any kind of diet (this study used hypocaloric, low GI, 170 g v. 220 g carbs). IR=insulin resistance



7. High glycemic index safe starches (white stuff -- lines of dextrose, white rice, white modern potatoes, table sugar, etc) induce 100% optimal health and fat loss

--I'm ambivalent because I cannot and I know a lot people who this is the case. Why? Hormone fluxes are sometimes OFF and subOPTIMAL. Who loses fat and gains optimal health with higher glycemic loads and higher GI foods? I've seen this work well in the athletic, the insulin sensitive and the ones who perform high or decent volume glycolytic activity. See Poliquin on Carb Intake to Meet Glycolytic Repetition Volume. Also gotta see Sloth and Astrup.



What I Do Know


1. Modern wheat is SUPER TOXIC, SUPER ADDICTIVE, SUPER FATTENING, SUPER INFLAMMATORY

2. Modern wheat contains an estimated SEVERAL HUNDREDS-FOLD more (toxic) proteins than heirloom or non-hybridized wheat

3. The USDA is playing a joke on us... I don't trust the pyramid or anything else they purport, especially if it involves Monsatano or their former executives who now frequently staff places like the FDA or EPA (Environmental 'Protection' Agency). BRILLIANT.

4. If intestinal permeability exists, you'll be guaranteed suboptimal health, chronic sublethal infections and significant levels of cellular inflammation which may or may not ever be detectable by standards of non-integrative medicine

5. Pharmaceuticals generally do not work and in fact worsen. The worse pharmaceuticals cause long-range adverse effects on intestinal permeability and endogenous hormone fluxes (broad spectrum antibiotics, Z-paks, proton pump inhibitors, acid blockers, oral birth control, synthetic hormones, glucocorticoids, prednisone, etc)

6. Too much sugar is toxic, addictive, fattening and inflammatory. When I'm not stressed out and working out a ton, I can do sugar with relative impugnity. YET. During certain times of my menstrual cycle or when I am not strenuously working out, I notice if I hit (some) sugar (e.g. organic palm, organic coconut sugar, white stuff, etc) then I will inevitably want to do lines of crack/sugar over and over and over and over infinitum again (e.g. candy cigarettes or almond flour pound cake or cookies).

7. Everything makes horrorific sense in light of evolution

8. Bell shaped curves -- I like these; these typically represent well

9. I don't need RCTs to tell me the sky is blue or that something makes sense

(sometimes the ridiculousness in Pubmed makes me throw my hands up)

10. We're omni-whores, consumers of everything and we still survive

21.7.14

Debunking and Deconstructing Some ‘Myths of Paleo’. Part One: Tubers

LIFEXTENSION: Debunking and Deconstructing Some ‘Myths of Paleo’. Part One: Tubers



EXTRACT



Potatoes and other plant foods are neither ‘primal', nor do they promote health, leanness, or longevity.

For many reading this post, the application of an evolutionarily appropriate diet for the purposes of obtaining and sustaining health and longevity, is axiomatic. The need to engage foundational, evolutionary principles is rendered even more pertinent considering our severely depressed adaptation to the suboptimal environments, novel foods, lifestyles, and states of metabolic and endocrinological derangement in which we subsist. Far too little evolutionary time has passed for us to be successfully acclimated to the novel conditions of agricultural life. Consequently, modelling our current food choices and nutrient profile on food groups we are biologically attuned to, appears to be the most accessible and conceivable way of gaining and maintaining health in modern society.

However, paradoxically, many proponents of a ‘Paleo’ (i.e.: pre-agricultural) diet have promoted the use of tubers and other starches as – not only benign – but necessary health foods to consume for the correction of metabolic and endocrine disorders. Potatoes, rice, and other oxymoronically-labelled ‘safe’ starches, are being promoted in spite of the fact that they are exclusively Neolithic foods. Consequently, it is the conflation of starches, safe, and ancestral that I now wish to address, and hopefully correct.

▶Little Shop of Horrors? The Risks and Benefits of Eating Plants - YouTube


Bio:

Georgia Ede, M.D., is the only psychiatrist at Harvard
University offering nutrition consults to patients seeking an
alternative to medications. She successfully applies modified
Paleolithic dietary principles not only to the treatment of mood
disorders, but also to "Mystery Syndromes", such as Fibromyalgia, IBS,
and Chronic Fatigue.

Abstract:

Plant-based diets are often
touted as healthy, and yet many plants contain clever protective
chemicals, carefully crafted by evolutionary forces over millennia, to
serve the needs of the plant, rather than to nourish the human body.
Many of these compounds are potentially toxic to animal cells, and
include naturally-occurring pesticides, mineral chelators, and
antibiotics.

Understanding what is lurking inside the vegetables we
eat can be very useful in managing "mystery syndrome" symptoms that do
not respond to a traditional Paleo Diet, such as Chronic Fatigue,
Fibromyalgia, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Drawing upon scientific
literature in the fields of medicine, botany, and toxicology, as well as
upon my own personal and clinical experience, this presentation groups
familiar foods into botanical families (crucifers, seeds, nightshades,
etc) and introduces the audience to the potential risks and benefits of
each. This talk is designed to be engaging, fun, and provocative.


 
This is how science is supposed to work. Not sure how so-called nutrition "science" got so far off track, mistaking correlations done from horribly (and demonstrably) inaccurate questionnaire data, with causality. In no other branch of science, not even the soft sciences like psychology, is correlation confused with causation.

For someone who used to think we knew so much more today than we did in the 70s, due to the big cohort studies, it's a bitter pill to swallow to admit that we don't. But to be true to the scientific method, that is exactly what we must do.

I can see that many people here are averse to, or don't understand, the reality, pointing people to what they call "the facts" or "credible sources". But unfortunately, the "credible sources" are not real scientists, because they are not acting and thinking like scientists. They are statisticians playing a multivariate shell game with garbage data, and spitting out garbage conclusions at the public, which they bill as "facts".

Dr. Ede is evaluating the data as a true scientist should.

20.7.14

Differential modulation of nitric oxide production by curcumin in host macrophages and NK cells

Differential modulation of nitric oxide production by curcumin in host macrophages and NK cells:



"Abstract
Curcumin, the yellow pigment from Curcuma longa, has been shown to possess tumoricidal activity. We have earlier reported the induction of apoptosis in AK-5, rat histiocytic cells by curcumin leading to the inhibition of tumor growth in vivo.



In this study we have observed differential activation status in host macrophages and NK cells induced by curcumin during the spontaneous regression of subcutaneously transplanted AK-5 tumors.



Closer scrutiny of the cytokine profile and nitric oxide (NO) production by immune cells showed an initial downregulation of Th1 cytokine response and NO production by macrophages, and their upregulation in NK cells, which picked-up upon prolonged treatment with curcumin, culminating in a stronger tumoricidal effect.



These studies suggest that the host macrophages and NK cells play an important modulatory role in the remission of AK-5 tumor."



'via Blog this'

Nitric Oxide Society - NOBC Journal |

NOBC Journal | Nitric Oxide Society:



The Nitric Oxide Society was founded in 1996 and incorporated in the State of California in order to promote the advancement of basic and applied scientific research in all aspects of nitric oxide research, to disseminate important research results to the general public concerning nitric oxide, to develop and enhance the education and training of students and researchers in this field, to foster interdisciplinary communication by convening conferences, by publishing meritorious scientific articles in the official Journal of the Society Nitric Oxide Biology and Chemistry, and by employing other appropriate methods of communication and to engage in such other conduct as shall be in furtherance of the corporation’s general and specific purposes.

Endothelin are proteins that constrict blood vessels - Wikipedia

Endothelin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:



Endothelins are proteins that constrict blood vessels and raise blood pressure. They are normally kept in balance by other mechanisms, but when they are over-expressed, they contribute to high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart disease.



Endothelins are 21-amino acid vasoconstricting peptides produced primarily in the endothelium having a key role in vascular homeostasis. Endothelins are implicated in vascular diseases of several organ systems, including the heart, general circulation and brain.[1][2]



Contents

  [hide

Starch: Pure Evil or Evolutionary Gold? — SCD Lifestyle

Starch: Pure Evil or Evolutionary Gold? — SCD Lifestyle



safe-starch-paleo

safe-starch-paleo



Would eating starch improve your health?  Or should we avoid it like the plague?  Let’s take a look at this starch paradox and see if it’s a group of foods that might help your health.



A traditional Inuit family eats a day’s worth of food consisting of raw and cooked seafood and fermented foods.  Basically they ate a 0% starch diet and most of their calories came from fat.  But they are famous for their lack of chronic diseases like tooth decay, heart attacks, cancer and diabetes.  So that must mean that carbohydrate is unnecessary for good health and might actually be one of the reasons our western populations are so sick right?



Well let’s take a peek at the meals of a Tukisenta family.  The majority of the meal is carbohydrate, mostly starch from sweet potatoes.  At an average of 94.6% carbohydrate it would appear they follow the opposite approach of the Inuit.  And yet they have great health too.  This group of people destroys the simple argument that carbohydrate from starch are inherently bad or disease causing.



So what should we make of this starch paradox?



I think it’s simple context is everything. When it comes to real food, the idea of “good” or “bad” is mostly argumentative trickery as the context is what really matters.



The reality is just like cortisol and LDL cholesterol are not inherently “bad” in the body, neither are real foods like potatoes and other forms of starch.  As many readers of this blog know, there is a definite subset of people who CANNOT handle starch.  I’m going to explore the contextual issues that actually matter in the starch debate.





15.7.14

Inflammatory disease - Epidermal growth factor receptor - Wikipedia

Epidermal growth factor receptor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Inflammatory disease - Aberrant EGFR signaling has been implicated in psoriasis, eczema and atherosclerosis.[10][11] However, its exact roles in these conditions are ill-defined."

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR; ErbB-1; HER1 in humans) is the cell-surface receptor for members of the epidermal growth factor family (EGF-family) of extracellular protein ligands.[2]

The epidermal growth factor receptor is a member of the ErbB family of receptors, a subfamily of four closely related receptor tyrosine kinases: EGFR (ErbB-1), HER2/c-neu (ErbB-2), Her 3 (ErbB-3) and Her 4 (ErbB-4). Mutations affecting EGFR expression or activity could result in cancer.[3]

Epidermal growth factor and its receptor was discovered by Stanley Cohen of Vanderbilt University. Cohen shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Rita Levi-Montalcini for their discovery of growth factors.


Epidermal growth factor receptor blockers - Curcumin: the Indian solid gold. [Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007] - PubMed - NCBI

Curcumin: the Indian solid gold. [Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007] - PubMed - NCBI

Curcumin exhibits activities similar to recently discovered tumor
necrosis factor blockers (e.g., HUMIRA, REMICADE, and ENBREL), a
vascular endothelial cell growth factor blocker (e.g., AVASTIN), human
epidermal growth factor receptor blockers (e.g., ERBITUX, ERLOTINIB, and
GEFTINIB), and a HER2 blocker (e.g., HERCEPTIN). Considering the recent
scientific bandwagon that multitargeted therapy is better than
monotargeted therapy for most diseases, curcumin can be considered an
ideal "Spice for Life".
Aggarwal BB1, Sundaram C, Malani N, Ichikawa H.



Abstract



Turmeric, derived from the plant Curcuma longa, is a gold-colored spice commonly used in the Indian subcontinent, not only for health care but also for the preservation of food and as a yellow dye for textiles.



Curcumin, which gives the yellow color to turmeric, was first isolated almost two centuries ago, and its structure as diferuloylmethane was determined in 1910. Since the time of Ayurveda (1900 Bc) numerous therapeutic activities have been assigned to turmeric for a wide variety of diseases and conditions, including those of the skin, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal systems, aches, pains, wounds, sprains, and liver disorders.



Extensive research within the last half century has proven that most of these activities, once associated with turmeric, are due to curcumin. Curcumin has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities and thus has a potential against various malignant diseases, diabetes, allergies, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and other chronic illnesses.



These effects are mediated through the regulation of various transcription factors, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, protein kinases, and other enzymes. Curcumin exhibits activities similar to recently discovered tumor necrosis factor blockers (e.g., HUMIRA, REMICADE, and ENBREL), a vascular endothelial cell growth factor blocker (e.g., AVASTIN), human epidermal growth factor receptor blockers (e.g., ERBITUX, ERLOTINIB, and GEFTINIB), and a HER2 blocker (e.g., HERCEPTIN). Considering the recent scientific bandwagon that multitargeted therapy is better than monotargeted therapy for most diseases, curcumin can be considered an ideal "Spice for Life".



11.7.14

Associate Professor John Dixon - academic general practitioner with a clinical background in obesity

Associate Professor John Dixon



MBBS, PhD, FRACGP, FRCP Edin.

Email: john.dixon@monash.edu

Associate Professor John Dixon is an academic general practitioner
with a clinical background in rural general practice prior to taking a
research interest in obesity in 1997. In 2009 he was awarded a
prestigious NHMRC Senior Research fellowship. His major interests are
in exploring the many dimensions of the obese state, translating
findings into practice and advocating for better services for those
with this chronic disease.

Known internationally for his research and education programs,
his background in primary care has enabled a diverse examination of
the problems and diseases related to severe obesity. His generalist
approach has enabled research across specialist boundaries and he is a
respected leader nationally and internationally in endocrine, liver,
respiratory, obstetric, psychological and other research into obesity
and the effects of weight loss on these related conditions. His
research is valued by both surgeons and physicians alike, bridging the
gap in communication between advances in surgery for weight loss,
metabolic research, clinical practice and evidence base medicine. He
has championed a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment and
management of these important conditions. He has published widely and
has over 120 peer reviewed journal articles. These include the first
randomized controlled trial of bariatric surgery for weight loss in
diabetes published in JAMA in 2008 and a citation classic published in
Gastroenterology in 2001 on the predictors of non-alcoholic
steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis in the severely obese. He is an
editor of the Handbook of Obesity Surgery: Current Concepts and
Therapy of Morbid Obesity and Related Diseases, published in 2010.

A study demonstrating the effects of gastric banding on satiety
stimulated his interest in exploring the mechanisms of action of
bariatric surgery in animal models and has led to projects with the
Department of Physiology at Monash University and collaborations with
global researchers.

John is the immediate past president of the Australian and
New Zealand Obesity Society, an executive member of the Obesity
Surgeons Society of Australia and New Zealand and is on both the
scientific and program committees of American Society for Metabolic and
Bariatric Surgery as a physician member. He is one of the 20-member
International Diabetes Surgery Task Force (IDSTF), a nonprofit
organization with diverse expertise in diabetes, obesity surgery,
gastroenterology and clinical trials development. He is an associate
editor of both Obesity Surgery and SOARD.

Current Appointments

Associate Professor, Department of General Practice, School of Primary Health Care, Monash University

Senior clinical scientist, Human Neurotransmitters Laboratory,
Vascular & Hypertension Unit, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes
Institute.

Selected publications since 2005

  1. O'Brien PE, Sawyer SM, Laurie C, Brown WA, Skinner S, Veit
    F, Paul E, Burton PR, McGrice M, Anderson M, Dixon JB. Laparoscopic
    Adjustable Gastric Banding in Adolescents: A Randomised Trial JAMA
    2010 Feb; 303(6):519-526

  2.  Hayden MJ, Dixon ME, Dixon JB, Playfair J, O'Brien PE. Perceived Discrimination and Stigmatisation against Severely Obese Women: Age and Weight Loss Make a Difference. Obes Facts. 2010;3(1):7-14. Epub 2010 Feb 11.

  3. Dixon JB, Hayden MJ, Lambert GW, et al. Raised CRP Levels in
    Obese Patients: Symptoms of Depression Have an Independent Positive
    Association. Obesity (Silver Spring); 16:2010-5

  4. Dixon JB, O'Brien PE, Playfair J, Chapman L, Schachter LM,
    Skinner S, Proietto J, Bailey M, Anderson M: Adjustable gastric
    banding and conventional therapy for type 2 diabetes: a randomized
    controlled trial. JAMA 299:316-323,

  5. Dixon JB, Dixon ME, Anderson ML, Schachter L, O'Brien P E.
    Daytime sleepiness in the obese: not as simple as obstructive sleep
    apnea. Obesity (Silver Spring). Oct; 15(10): 2504-2511.

  6. Dixon JB, Strauss BJ, Laurie C, O'Brien PE. Smaller hip
    circumference is associated with dyslipidemia and the metabolic syndrome
    in obese women. Obes Surg. Jun; 17(6): 770-777.

  7. Dixon JB, Strauss BJ, Laurie C, O'Brien P E. Changes in body
    composition with weight loss: obese subjects randomized to surgical
    and medical programs. Obesity (Silver Spring); 15:1187-98.

  8. Colles SL, Dixon JB, Marks P, Strauss BJ, O'Brien P E.
    Preoperative weight loss with a very-low-energy diet: quantitation of
    changes in liver and abdominal fat by serial imaging. Am J Clin Nutr
    2006;84:304-11. 

  9. Dixon JB, Bhathal PS, O'Brien PE. Weight loss and
    non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: falls in gamma-glutamyl transferase
    concentrations are associated with histologic improvement. Obes Surg.
    Oct; 16(10): 1278-1286.

  10. Dixon JB, Dixon ME, O'Brien P E. Birth outcomes in obese
    women after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Obstetrics and
    Gynecology; 106(5): 965-72.