Resistant Starch on Jimmy Moore's Livin La Vida Low Carb Show- do not miss this one!

The show!  Click there to listen!

I am just throwing this out there- you guys have to hear this podcast!

This resistant starch thing is just too important- you need to implement this into your paleo/ancestral/barbarian lifestyle!!  

Don't be like Robin!

Just listen to the podcast, with Richard Nickoley and friends, and make up your own mind!

You too can be like the BATMAN!  Strong, healthy, and FIT- because you have incorporated resistant starch into your Paleolithic lifestyle and diet!  

Take that, Robin!!

J

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #73 A Healthy Gut means a Slim Body and a Happy Mind

How cute- HAPPY gut flora- happy gut buddies!!

Did you know that, if you get and maintain a healthy GUT, you will get and maintain a healthy weight, that is a healthy body composition of low fat to more muscle?  This is the fascinating stuff that is emerging from new research, and the studying of past research from the 1950’s…

It seems that of the many beneficial strains of intestinal bacteria, or “gut bugs” that live within each and every one of us, there are some bacteria “gut buddies” that help us to maintain a healthy weight of less fat!  When these bacteria are killed off, via antibiotics, we are unable to regulate this healthy ratio of fat to lean tissue- thus, WE GET FAT!

The other way we inadvertently kill these beneficial “fat regulator gut buddies” is by eating a processed food diet, with none of the resistant starches to
feed them- if we eat a corn/soy/corn syrup diet, we feed exactly the wrong, bad microbes that we do NOT want in our guts- the ones that make us fat, and SICK.  You know, the diabesity foods that lead us down the now all-too-typical path of fat gain, disinclination to movement and exercise, depression, more fat gain, pre-diabetes, diabetes, and ultimately heart disease and/or cancer…

Back in the early 1950’s, there were experiments sponsored by pharmaceutical companies that determined that the new antibiotic drugs were effective for weight gain- first it was tried on chickens, and then cattle…  this is the reason antibiotics were originally introduced in cattle feed!    It was not to prevent disease- back then most cattle did not get sick, since they were raised on grass, in typical farms of open air grazing and humane treatment, which kept them healthy.  But, too skinny and lean from the farmer’s point of view- after all, the fatter he could get those cattle, the more money they brought at the sale barn.  So, the new antibiotic feed was in great demand- it made the cattle FAT!

They really didn’t know how the drug made the animals fat- they were just glad it did… it was later that they realized that, since the antibiotics also had the effect of preventing disease under unsanitary conditions, that the CAFO model of animal farming reared its ugly head-

NOW ANIMALS COULD BE CLOSELY CONFINED, FATTENED QUICKLY AND CHEAPLY VIA GRAIN FEEDING, AND THEY COULD BE KEPT ALIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SLAUGHTER!

All thanks to these miracle drugs put in their feed…

Then, there were also experiments done on humans- and the results were the same!  Humans also got much bigger and fatter!!  (Remember: this was in the 1950’s, when bigger was better!  They all wanted to be BIG!)  Nowadays, when almost everybody is big and fat, right down to the kids, we all want the opposite, and rightfully so.

And now, we know just why  the drugs work for fattening animals (and humans), or at least are starting to figure it out- certain strains of gut bacteria are being killed, and other bad strains are being cultured, the first by the drugs, and the second by a bad, grain and sugar based diet.

A tip of the hat to Angel Coppola at www.latestinpaleo.com for going into depth on all of this on his latest podcast, Latest in Paleo, which I highly recommend.  Check it out for more in depth on this topic…

But as a takeaway, remember this- a healthy gut biome means a healthy you!

And so, consume fermented foods, like sauerkraut, naturally fermented pickles, and kimchee… put potato starch in you daily green paleo smoothie- that is key-it feeds your healthy gut bugs better than anything- eat some resistant starch like Uncle Ben’s parboiled (converted) rice- cook it, and then freeze and reheat for a more effective prebiotic, meaning it feeds the beneficial gut microbes so they can multiply, and thereby stop YOU from multiplying your fat cells!

I have an interesting side note to offer on this topic, my own N=1 experiment on myself:  since adding in potato starch to my smoothie, with no other changes in my otherwise quite healthy lifestyle, my waist has dropped a full inch… and I thought I didn’t really have any fat to lose!  Rather startling, really- and just by feeding my gut buddies well for about a month or so.  I believe it was visceral fat;  the kind that is deep within and around the organs- not really visible, but the most damaging kind… and so, good riddance visceral fat!

The one other thing I’d like to say, is this: that by feeding and healing your gut fauna, by including ample prebiotic food for them in the form of potato starch and other resistant starches like the reheated parboiled rice and green bananas, you are allowing these beneficial little microbes to regulate your weight properly; but you are also letting them influence your mind  as well!  You will find that you are much calmer, much more “in the moment” in daily living, and also you will have very interesting, compelling, lucid dreams on a nightly basis…

At least I, in my experiment of one, have had these results.  Last night, my daughter came over (in my dream) with a 150 pound little elephant, and the next thing I knew we were leading it on an expedition up a huge hill…  it was really fun, and we both loved that little elephant…

YOUR DREAMS MAY NOT CONTAIN ELEPHANTS!!

But that’s OK- all dreams are fun, and I believe are manifestations that our subconscious is healthy and happy, and communicating with our conscious mind.  And they are great fun as well!  I look forward to my “other night life” quite a bit now, and it makes going to bed early and getting my ideal 8 and 1/2 hours of nightly restorative sleep all the more appealing!  The dreams are much better than network television!!

So, shed your fat, build your brain and psyche, and get down with your sleep!  Just avoid antibiotics as much as possible, feed your gut buddies, and build your health along with that of your little “friends” within.

J

P.S.  We Love You!!

Your gut buddies

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe #66- MORE on Resistant Starch! EEEYAYUH!

The more I look into this resistant starch thing, the more I think it is a really big discovery!  It could be the one, single, most important ignored component of human health, both in conventional Big Medicine (no surprise there), but also in the Paleo, or ancestral health movement.

It makes sense it you think of it... we have been concentrating on the most nutrient dense, the most pure of toxins types of foods we could find- trying to replicate a diet as it would have been eaten in our primeval past, pre-agriculture- when we were taller, stronger, far fitter, and had a 10% larger brain capacity!  And all the children were above average...

In other words, we have been on a quest to find those foods that best nourish us- the human part of us.  But we have paid scant attention to the microbes in our gut that help to nourish us and keep us healthy and happy- and they are a larger part of our own bodies, by far, than WE ARE!  To quote from the upcoming title of a book by Richard Nicholey of freetheanimaland Tim Steele of North Pole, Alaska...

You’re Only 10% of Who You Think You Are

Or- 90% of each is non-human!  Yikes!  I guess we shouldn’t have been ignoring that other 90%, and be sure to give all of them, our little buddies, some nutrient dense, paleo/microbial food as well...  And so, we come to Resistant Starch.

Our paleolithic ancestors ate LOTS of indigestible plant matter, pretty much all day long, to get to the parts of the plant they could digest- stems, raw tubers, leaves, unknown little plants, and of course dirt all wound up in his mouth, and eventually, his gut!  The microbes that already resided in his gut in symbiosis used all of this plant material for food and drink, and more beneficial microbes were often introduced through the soil and other incidental dietary “additions”.

Fast forward to today, and we, uh, are not exactly partial anymore to stems, leaves, bits of nutshells, etc.... and so, we have- potato starch!!  Ta da! Bob’s potato starch is... a resistant starch!  Resistant to our own stomach digesting it, that is.  And so, it can pass right on through our stomach, unmolested, and not raising our blood sugar at all, making us feel really full and satisfied, however.  Into our intestine or gut it ends up, and our little bacterial gut buddies say “Hurrah”, and start eating it like crazy, and then...
Multiplying!  More good gut buddies!  Add more potato starch, and repeat cycle.

So, what good does resistant starch, easily added in the form of Bob’s Potato Starch available in bags almost everywhere, including at Amazon- see PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe recommended products!- what will this do for me, if I add the recommended 4 Tablespoons per day to my daily smoothie, whipped up in my Vitamix blender?
Well, it will help you lose weight!  I mean FAT; weight is somewhat irrelevant...  Anyway, this stuff is really filling, and takes away hunger.  But at the same time it’s not digested, and won’t add to your dietary calories.  And, it seems to assist your body in burning fat stores, and resist fat storage!  There are so many studies that have gone on, and so many currently happening, that it seems over the top, but resistant starch is being implicated in:

Lower glycemic index (blood sugar)
Increases insulin sensitivity
Lessens need for insulin in diabetics
Protects entire digestive system, helps regularity
Cuts colo-rectal cancer rates by 50%
Helps in eye health, particularly macular degeneration
Promotes brain health in aging individuals
Cuts risk of breast cancer dramatically
Very helpful in ulcerative colitis

So, why wouldn’t you buy a $4 bag of potato starch and start adding it into your daily, green, Paleo smoothie?  I mean, you could go out and eat raw, wild potatoes, bark, raw grains, green bananas (another good source that I will add to some smoothies!), and stems... but, spooning out a little potato starch from what used to be your flour bin is so much easier, and effortless, and tasteless too!  Just do it!  Try it out!!

This is the most exciting thing since I first added coconut milk to my smoothies and almost instantly lost 5 pounds I didn’t even think I had to lose!

I can’t wait for You’re Only 10% of Who You Think You Are: The Tim & Richard Book on The Gut Microbiome, Resistant Starch and More

Stay tuned to freetheanimalto find out when it’s available!

Or else just stay tuned to www.paleojay.com; I’ll let you know...

J

PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe podcast #64- How to get Really Fat! AND-You really can’t resist- Resistant Starch!

PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe podcast #64-

How to get Really Fat!

You really can’t resist- Resistant Starch!

OK, here is the answer you’ve been searching for- just HOW can you reliably get really, really big, sloppy, jiggly FAT?  Everyone wants to know how to do this, right?  Well, let me tell you right now- your old friend Pale
oJay has the answer!  I can tell you exactly how to get real fat in record time, easily and quickly!

First off- count your calories!  They are all that matter, after all, right?  So, count your calories closely, so you can start to consciously limit them.  Because, if you limit your calories to less than your body wants, you’ll lose weight, correct?  Some of that weight, perhaps even most of it will be muscle and bone, but hey- the weight is all that matters- the scale.

Next, limit your fat intake!  Fat has more calories per ounce than any other nutrient source, so you must try to eliminate fat from your diet!  Eat lots of healthy, whole grain products- processed cereals, low fat processed foods of all types, and lots of industrial seed vegetable oils.  Don’t even think about butter or bacon or, God forbid, coconut oil!  High fat all!

Exercise for long, long periods of time, extremely slowly and preferably on a metered cardio machine that counts exactly how many calories you burn each session.  ! hour per day is good; 2,3, or 4 hours daily is even better!  Move more and eat less, right?

Ignore food quality!  A calorie is a calorie is a calorie!  And so, you are better off eating a 100 calorie snack pack of cookies, rather than that avocado with over 300 calories!  Wash those yummy cookies down with a big Coca Cola, (100 calories), and you have saved 100 calories by not eating that evil avocado- pat yourself on the back.

Don’t train intensely, for strength!  Muscle weighs much more than fat, and your scale weight will look really bad- so stop doing resistance training!  NOW!

Also- don’t drink your calories- things like smoothies are LOADED with calories, and useless things like nutrients, that will NOT help you get really fat.  Instead, concentrate on  probably the most important tool in your “Get Fat” toolbox:

Eat LOTS of grains and sugars!   These two items will pack on the FAT better than anything else.They are low fat, even NO fat for the most part, and so they will spike your insulin after your blood sugar is driven way up high.  You will then have your blood sugar drop from the insulin, triggering new appetite for... more carbs and sugar!  This will repeat the cycle, over and over... and you will never feel full, because your blood sugar keeps rising and falling!

So, there you have it!  How to get really fat, and sick, and diabetic, and disease prone.

What?  You’d rather get lean, fit, and super healthy?  Well, there’s no accounting for taste, but that’s easy- just do exactly the opposite of all of that conventional wisdom!

Eliminate grains and sugars from your diet as much as possible.

Drink a large, green Paleo Smoothie, loaded with every nutrient you can pack into it, every single day.

Train intensely, for strength and strength-endurance- do you Perfectly Paleo Exercises daily- visualized resistance, self resisted, pushups, straight legged situps, hindu squats and pushups; bridging.  Buy a set of gymnastic rings, and make or buy a kettlebell!  Sprint.

Pay close attention to food quality, and nutrient density.  You are what you eat, and in the case of animals, you are what you eat ate!  Eat wild caught seafood, and grass fed animals whenever possible.  Pastured dairy products are also immeasurable better for you.

Exercise in brief, intense working sets!  FEEL your muscles working, and learn to relish the feeling- your body craves such work.

Eat LOTS of fat, to get lean!  This is key- fat will satisfy your appetite like nothing else, and there is good reason- your body needs good quality, natural God made fats more than any other category of nutrients.  Fat is needed to run our brains, and every cell in our body.  Fat- it does a body good!

And lastly, NEVER count, obsess, or limit your calories as a means to control your body weight or composition.  This just teaches your body to panic, and hold onto every bit of fat it can, and store even more, since it thinks you are starving.  Eat until satisfied, with plenty of real God made foods, and you won’t be hungry again for a long time.

And so, that’s how to get fat, or get lean; your choice!  But, I do have a couple of more tips for you on the leanness side:

This thing with Resistant Starch just keeps getting bigger and bigger in Paleo Land!
You really owe it to yourself to get a bag of Bob’s Potato Starch, either online or at the store.  It is under $5 a bag, and if you work up to 4 Tablespoons per day in your Paleo Smoothie, that alone will make you leaner, have lower blood sugar, and be healthier!  It really is that cool, and simple.  Read up on it a Richard Nikoley's site http://freetheanimal.com/2013/12/resistant-popcorn-analogy.html#more-24795

So, there you go!  Fat or lean, sick or healthy, happy or depressed... it’s your choice!
J

PaleoJay's Smoothie Cafe podcast #62 - Add some Resistant Starch to your Paleo Smoothie, and It’s almost Christmas- Make Yourself a Paleo Tom and Jerry hot drink!

Welcome to PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe, by your own... Paleo Santa!

OK, finally my weekly podcast has surpassed my own rather lofty age- we are now on PaleoJay’s Smoothie Cafe #62- and your own PJ is only 61 & 1/2!  This podcast is keeping my young... well, I guess it helps to connect with you weekly, but it is really ny ancestral diet and exercise regimen that keeps me... well, REALLY healthy!

I am at an age when most of my peers are really slowing down.  Many have nagging disorders and diseases; heck, many of their children have disorders and diseases that are completely preventable, and even REVERSIBLE (Like type 2 Diabetes!), but either through ignorance or unwillingness to change continue on their unhealthy, downward course.  Don’t you be one of them!

Make yourself a daily Paleo smoothie, son!  Fire up your Vitamix, add in your green or white tea, coconut milk, iodine drops, Vitamin D drops, kelp powder, spirulina, ginger, turmeric, kefir, raw pastured eggs, pastured butter like Kerrygold or Organic Valley, avocado,fresh and/or frozen berries and veggies... and you are golden, my friend!

THERE IS NOTHING ANY HEALTHIER FOR YOU THAN THIS NECTAR!

NOTHING!!

I am always looking to improve on the best thing going, in this case nutritionally.  Recently, I began adding an avocado to most of my smoothies, since it is such a great source of good, satiating fat... then, I started adding a tsp. or so of Great Lakes brand gelatin, since it is such a good source of collagen- the same thing in bone broth, but sometimes you just don’t HAVE bone broth readily available, especially in Summer.

And now I beginning to add in a Tablespoon or so of Potato Starch, since it is a resistant starch, or RS.  Chris Kresser originally brought this to my attention, mentioning the work of Richard Nikoley of Free the Animal blog.

Here is an excellent Primer for Resistant Starches link:
 http://freetheanimal.com/2013/12/resistant-primer-newbies.html

Anyhow; to sum up:  Resistant Starch, the best, most convenient, and a really inexpensive source of which is Bob’s Potato Starch, readily available in many stores nationwide, and also online.  Get a bag, and start adding some to your smoothies!  Start with 1 Tablespoon; work up to four per smoothie...the thing is, although it is a starch, it does NOT raise your blood glucose level!  What it DOES do is FEED all the microorganisms in your gut- it is a wonderful prebiotic, or a “fertilizer” of sorts for your gut microbes, which we are discovering more and more a crucial for both physical and mental health!  And so, HAVE SOME RS, FOR CHRISTMAS!!

I do hope that you all have a wonderful, relaxing Christmas holiday with your “tribe” of family and friends!  I already received my cool present of a cigar box amplifier, which I will demonstrate here:

Paleo Santa, indeed!

Also, I want to give YOU a present or two- a couple of recent recipes that are perfect for the holidays:

Paleo Tom and Jerry mix for a wonderful, hot, healthy, yuletide adult beverage!  AND,

A recipe for a very paleoesque Hollandaise sauce!!

First, Tom and Jerry, a traditional Wisconsin tipple-

Use one egg per serving, so you can adjust accordingly. Separate the eggs. Beat egg whites until firm peaks begin to form. Beat the yolks until they are very thin. Fold whites into the yolks. Add one teaspoon to one tablespoon of sugar (according to taste and consistency) for each egg. Add a touch of cinnamon, allspice, and ground cloves. This is now your batter.

Preheat your mugs with hot water. Put one tablespoon of the batter, 1 oz. Brandy, 1 oz. Rum into the mug. Fill to top with very hot milk or boiling water, stirring gently. Sprinkle with nutmeg.

After trying this recipe, which was great as it is, I tried more of the egg batter this morning in my coffee... I always dissolve about a T of coconut oil in my coffee, and today I topped it with the batter and some spices- very, very good!  Later today, I will try it again as a Tom and Jerry, along with the brandy, hot water, the mix; and importantly, a type of dark rum called Black Label rum from Bermuda- really a great, full-flavored rum, AND whipped cream!!  Always improving things, that’s what we do here at the North Pole Cafe...


Next, for Christmas Morning, a Hollandaise sauce recipe!  If you are not aware, hollandaise sauce is a wonderful Paleo type of sauce, consisting of egg yolks, lemon juice, sea salt, and pastured butter, all made in your Vitamix blender!  This sauce makes anything taste absolutely wonderful; I have already introduced it as the perfect way to camouflage  the taste of liver!!     Here is the recipe:

Easy Blender Hollandaise Sauce Recipe
Yield: Makes about 1 cup of sauce, good for about 4-6 servings.
Add to shopping list
INGREDIENTS
3 egg yolks (see how to separate eggs)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (if using salted butter, skip the added salt)
METHOD
1 Melt the butter slowly in a small pot. Try not to let it boil – you want the moisture in the butter to remain there and not steam away.
2 Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne (if using) into your blender. Blend the egg yolk mixture at a medium to medium high speed until it lightens in color, about 20-30 seconds. The friction generated by the blender blades will heat the yolks a bit. The blending action will also introduce a little air into them, making your hollandaise a bit lighter.
3 Once the yolks have lightened in color, turn the blender down to its lowest setting (if you only have one speed on your blender it will still work), and drizzle in the melted butter slowly, while the blender is going. Continue to buzz for another couple seconds after the butter is all incorporated.
4 Turn off the blender and taste the sauce. It should be buttery, lemony and just lightly salty. If it is not salty or lemony enough, you can add a little lemon juice or salt to taste. If you want a thinner consistency, add a little warm water. Pulse briefly to incorporate the ingredients one more time.
Store until needed in a warm spot, like on or next to the stovetop. Use within an hour or so.

I must give credit to Elise Bauer at Simply Recipes for this recipe!

Use it also on vegetables, eggs, bacon, (asparagus is especially good!)- use your imagination!  Great on BEEF as well!!

And so, there you have it, Yuletide Paleo Tribal Members!  Have a very Merry Christmas, and be sure to enjoy the many tribal connections that are part and parcel of the Holiday!

God Bless us, EVERY ONE!!

J