I needed to disable self sign-ups because I’ve been getting too many spam-type accounts. Thanks.
Resistant starch, SCFAs and modern commodities: a gut issue
Like in the Wikipedia article, Smith mentions that butyrate inhibits HDAC. The inhibition of HDAC promotes epithelial production of retinoic acid.
I think the problem is not so much ingested butyrate and other SCFAs since you mention they are metabolized quickly and wouldn't reach the colon to feed bacteria, but rather RS that reaches the colon undigested and then feeds bacteria that produce butyrate locally which stimulates production of RA from the gut lining.
I don't think it would have as much of an impact on a low carb diet since RS would already be way lower than on a standard diet of wheat, rice or potatoes. Provide feedback if you notice anything even with low carbs.
Quote from Judy on February 11, 2019, 3:44 pmQuote from somuch4food on February 10, 2019, 7:45 pmIt increases vit A by feeding bacteria that produce SCFAs one of which is butyrate which activates the production of retinoic acid in the gut.
I know resistant starch is pinned as a healthy thing on the Internet, but I'm skeptical because we cook to improve digestability and cooking reduces resistant starch a lot.
Why do you want to lower carbs and calories? I don't restrict quantities of anything, but I learn from my body. If I get hungry again not long after a meal, I know that meal didn't sit well with me and my body is fighting it. It might be too much fibers, too much vit A... It's ridiculous that we deprive ourselves when food is so abundant. Fat on the body is beneficial as long as it's not concentrated on the abdomen.
Sorry about the rant, but restricting calories was what increased the speed of my downfall. I was always a bit depressed with low motivation and just starting to eat way more helped a lot.
I don't restrict calories but I have eaten a low-carb/sugar-free/high natural fat diet for 20 years. A low-carb diet does not restrict calories and it keeps you full longer so you don't overeat, but that is not the only benefit.
All non-fiber carbs turn into sugar; excess sugar in the blood produces AGEs. That stands for "advanced glycation end products." The acronym "AGEs" is deliberately chosen because they are a marker for aging. Doctors measure the severity of diabetes by counting AGEs in the blood.
All the effects of butyrate look positive to me. This is from Wikipedia: "
Butyrates are important as food for cells lining the mammalian colon (colonocytes). Without butyrates for energy, colon cells undergo autophagy (self digestion) and die.[1] Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which include butyrate, are produced by beneficial colonic bacteria (probiotics) that feed on, or ferment prebiotics, which are plant products that contain adequate amounts of dietary fiber. These SCFAs benefit the colonocytes (cells of the colon) by increasing energy production and cell proliferation, and may protect against colon cancer.[2]
Butyrate is a major metabolite in colonic lumen arising from bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber and has been shown to be a critical mediator of the colonic inflammatory response. In fact, butyrate is responsible for about 70% of energy from the colonocytes, being a critical SCFA in the colon homeostasis[3]. Butyrate possesses both preventive and therapeutic potential to counteract inflammation-mediated ulcerative colitis (UC) and colorectal cancer. The reason why butyrate is an energy source for normal colonocytes and induces apoptosis in colon cancer cells, is due to the Warburg effect in cancer cells, which leads to butyrate not being properly metabolized. This phenomenon leads to the accumulation of butyrate in the nucleus, acting as a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor[4]. One mechanism underlying butyrate function in suppression of colonic inflammation is inhibition of the IFN-γ/STAT1 signaling pathways at least partially through acting as a HDAC inhibitor. It has been shown that Butyrate inhibits activity of HDAC1 that is bound to the Fas gene promoter in T cells, resulting in hyperacetylation of the Fas promoter and upregulation of Fas receptor on the T cell surface. It is thus suggested that butyrate enhances apoptosis of T cells in the colonic tissue and thereby eliminates the source of inflammation (IFN-γ production).[5] Butyrate inhibits angiogenesis by inactivating Sp1 transcription factor activity and downregulating vascular endothelial growth factor gene expression.[6]" It doesn't mention anything about vit. A.
Another benefit of SCFAs is that they do not need enzymes to be digested. They quickly break down into ketones that provide quick energy. They can feed cells in the absence of glucose, as for people who have metabolic resistance. It helps those with Alzheimer's, which is often called, "diabetes of the brain," because ketones provide nourishment for cells that can no longer use glucose due to the lack of insulin. I have seen amazing results for patients with Alzheimer's, within a matter of hours, when they are fed 8-chain fats from coconut oil.
I'm new to the low-A diet and am still researching its effects. I am currently restricting my intake of coconut oil and resistant starch "just in case," until I decide if there is really a good reason to restrict it.
All bodies are unique and all that, but LCHF diet /low carb high fat fxxed me up badly. Badly!! And yes I did everything according to protocol and tweaked diet according to the "experts" to optimize it and ate only very clean natural foods and fat. Never any junk like bacon or sausages or processed foods. I wish I had never done it because one year of that triggered all my vit A poisoning symtoms big time! And it triggered my horrible severe chronic back pain which, miraculously, went away after 1 week of going vit A free. 10 years of hell gone in a week.
As soon as I stopped and started eating a natural carby diet again, all the age lines on my forehead that had appeared while on high fat disappeared and now 9 years later, despite a high carb diet, they have not returned and look a lot younger than my age. So I don't buy into the whole AGE theory either.
Dont take my comment personally, I get really provoked by low carb propaganda in general 😏
Quote from Judy on February 11, 2019, 3:44 pmQuote from somuch4food on February 10, 2019, 7:45 pmIt increases vit A by feeding bacteria that produce SCFAs one of which is butyrate which activates the production of retinoic acid in the gut.
I know resistant starch is pinned as a healthy thing on the Internet, but I'm skeptical because we cook to improve digestability and cooking reduces resistant starch a lot.
Why do you want to lower carbs and calories? I don't restrict quantities of anything, but I learn from my body. If I get hungry again not long after a meal, I know that meal didn't sit well with me and my body is fighting it. It might be too much fibers, too much vit A... It's ridiculous that we deprive ourselves when food is so abundant. Fat on the body is beneficial as long as it's not concentrated on the abdomen.
Sorry about the rant, but restricting calories was what increased the speed of my downfall. I was always a bit depressed with low motivation and just starting to eat way more helped a lot.
I don't restrict calories but I have eaten a low-carb/sugar-free/high natural fat diet for 20 years. A low-carb diet does not restrict calories and it keeps you full longer so you don't overeat, but that is not the only benefit.
All non-fiber carbs turn into sugar; excess sugar in the blood produces AGEs. That stands for "advanced glycation end products." The acronym "AGEs" is deliberately chosen because they are a marker for aging. Doctors measure the severity of diabetes by counting AGEs in the blood.
All the effects of butyrate look positive to me. This is from Wikipedia: "
Butyrates are important as food for cells lining the mammalian colon (colonocytes). Without butyrates for energy, colon cells undergo autophagy (self digestion) and die.[1] Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which include butyrate, are produced by beneficial colonic bacteria (probiotics) that feed on, or ferment prebiotics, which are plant products that contain adequate amounts of dietary fiber. These SCFAs benefit the colonocytes (cells of the colon) by increasing energy production and cell proliferation, and may protect against colon cancer.[2]
Butyrate is a major metabolite in colonic lumen arising from bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber and has been shown to be a critical mediator of the colonic inflammatory response. In fact, butyrate is responsible for about 70% of energy from the colonocytes, being a critical SCFA in the colon homeostasis[3]. Butyrate possesses both preventive and therapeutic potential to counteract inflammation-mediated ulcerative colitis (UC) and colorectal cancer. The reason why butyrate is an energy source for normal colonocytes and induces apoptosis in colon cancer cells, is due to the Warburg effect in cancer cells, which leads to butyrate not being properly metabolized. This phenomenon leads to the accumulation of butyrate in the nucleus, acting as a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor[4]. One mechanism underlying butyrate function in suppression of colonic inflammation is inhibition of the IFN-γ/STAT1 signaling pathways at least partially through acting as a HDAC inhibitor. It has been shown that Butyrate inhibits activity of HDAC1 that is bound to the Fas gene promoter in T cells, resulting in hyperacetylation of the Fas promoter and upregulation of Fas receptor on the T cell surface. It is thus suggested that butyrate enhances apoptosis of T cells in the colonic tissue and thereby eliminates the source of inflammation (IFN-γ production).[5] Butyrate inhibits angiogenesis by inactivating Sp1 transcription factor activity and downregulating vascular endothelial growth factor gene expression.[6]" It doesn't mention anything about vit. A.
Another benefit of SCFAs is that they do not need enzymes to be digested. They quickly break down into ketones that provide quick energy. They can feed cells in the absence of glucose, as for people who have metabolic resistance. It helps those with Alzheimer's, which is often called, "diabetes of the brain," because ketones provide nourishment for cells that can no longer use glucose due to the lack of insulin. I have seen amazing results for patients with Alzheimer's, within a matter of hours, when they are fed 8-chain fats from coconut oil.
I'm new to the low-A diet and am still researching its effects. I am currently restricting my intake of coconut oil and resistant starch "just in case," until I decide if there is really a good reason to restrict it.
I'm very curious to hear what you eat on a low VA low carb diet because most fatty foods seem to be abundant in VA.
I’m somewhat late to the game and just started watching the scoreboard. Did Smith change his mind about Resistant Starch after linking this following study on his public blog in November, 2018? Excerpts below, my highlights. Hopefully, this post falls within the high-standards of this blog, even if it rattles some cages.
“The studies presented in this dissertation have demonstrated that dietary resistant starch (RS) has a renoprotective role. In these studies, feeding RS promoted kidney health and vitamin D balance in ZDF rats, a well-established animal model of type 2 diabetes. Specifically, high-amylose maize (HAM), as a source of RS, prevented proteinuria and albuminuria, which together, prevented urinary vitamin D excretion through its protective actions in the kidney of ZDF rats.”
“Our novel approach in developing a dietary intervention via the utilization of dietary RS to delay the progression of diabetic nephropathy in ZDF rat model was the key strength of this study. More importantly, the ability of dietary RS to ameliorate other diabetic symptoms, such as vitamin D status, insulin sensitivity, hyperglycemia, and serum triglycerides, support its application in diabetes management.”
No problem here with Smith changing his mind on Resistant Starch, (if indeed he has), we’ve all been there. But I’m noticing different folks saying a variety of things about him and his “advice”. We know that he’s providing it for pay, as well as doling out some for free. A little internet digging and one encounters a few patients he’s left behind to deal with his previous bad advice. Yelp shows a bit of that and posters on the 180Health blog have stories. One in particular has a guy buying a veterinarian product from Europe (not allowed here I presume) recommended by Smith for clearing out gut parasites (not sure)? Four years later and the guy’s still miserable from it, with scant empathy from Smith, and the guy even claims Smith tried to put the blame all on him. I’ll post it at the end of this rant, for ease of access. I saw a post over here at Grant's blog that reminded me of that one, but with less detail on what had occurred, so maybe JP is hanging out here now. Due diligence isn't just a market-oriented practice in my experience.
You never really know about these kinds of reports, unless you're the one who got misled, what with the internet being what it is, but Smith sure seems like a ‘johnny-come-lately’; sort of cashing-in on Grant’s remarkable work and roto-tilling the fertile research soil for papers. We all do some of that for our own satisfaction and such, but giving advice based on a few months of reading? That’s a bit presumptive, don’t you think? I’ll add the Yelp reviews at the end, to give you a sense of what a couple of previous patients thought of his nutritional knowledge.
Smith sounds confident, but I see a real flaw in the post below. I studied the Vitamin D Receptor for two years and can tell you that no amateur is going to get his or her head around it in three months and be able to structure therapy or advice that holds water. Sorry, it’s a lot more complicated than that. Even though my opinion is that most people are probably better off not consuming “Poison/Hormone Insidious D” <sarc>, that doesn’t mean I accept his absolutist comment of “…ever, it ends in disaster”. Professionals will never take him seriously when he says absurd things like that. Might as well have a loose-cannon on board the retinoid-toxicity ship.
This is such an important subject, that putting people off, people who might be inclined to come on board and make a difference, is not a great strategy. Just listen to his audio interview with Matt Stone last November I think it was. Like two frat boys, yukking it up. Does anyone think this goes unnoticed by people following the subject and those involved? I don’t consider the “conspiracy strategy” is very bright either; even if there is foreknowledge on high. That’s a complete and utter misdirection, and is a well-known tactic of those who are not what they say they are, i.e. Alex Jones, for instance. So, I’m not buying into what he’s selling. I’ll read what he has to say, and the papers he digs up, but “advice”, for pay? No way. When he comments below – “That’s a mouthful” – I think I know exactly what he means, i.e. he doesn’t fully understand it. No problem there; it’s the contradictory and unqualified advice that is. Hopefully, he’ll come around.
November 13, 2018, 7:51 pm Resistant starch: implications in kidney health and vitamin D homeostasis in diabetes mellitus https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=5823&context=etd
"Molecular Action of Vitamin D
The actions of 1,25D are mediated by the membrane-bound vitamin D receptor (VDR), a nuclear receptor that belongs to a subclass of nuclear transcription factors. Upon the binding of 1,25D, VDR translocates from the cytosol to the nucleus where it is phosphorylated and forms a heterodimer with the retinoid X receptor (RXR). The VDR-RXR heterodimer complex can then binds to vitamin D response elements (VDRE) and induce transcription of genes [146, 148]. There are two major functional units of the human VDR, the N-terminal zinc finger DNA-binding domain and the C-terminal ligand-binding domain. Gene expression mediated by 1,25D and VDR is initiated by the RXR heterodimerization. The presence of liganded VDR changes the position of H12 at the C-terminus of VDR for coactivator binding, which further promotes histone acetylation and chromatin remodeling [146]. Transcriptional regulation by 1,25D-bound VDR involves a number of steps at the level of the gene."
Dr. Smith quote - "That's a mouthful. It would seem to make sense that Poison/"Vitamin A" toxicity, zinc deficiency (which is nearly everywhere and impacts Vitamin D metabolism as well as Retinol Binding Protein needed to prevent Poison/"Vitamin A" toxicity), and the supposed "Vitamin D deficiency epidemic" (Vit. D is a hormone and should not be "eaten" in supplement form--including cod liver oil--ever, it ends in disaster) are now all tied together and impact the body all the way down to the DNA level."
Uploaded files: Resistant-Starch-dicusses-VA-VD-zinc-connection.pdf
JP on January 17, 2019 at 1:30 pm (from the 180Health blog)
Hey I have an idea for a show. Interview Dr. Smith on how he has patients with gut problems take an animal flea killer called Lufenuron. It’s not meant for humans to use which is why he has patients order it from Europe. The stool test I had after taking it to assess the damage showed it wiped out 100% of my bifido bacteria and acidophilis. It’s been 4 years and I still haven’t recovered yet. Throughout the 8 weeks I was on it I told him I was having diarrhea from it and he attributed it to “die off” and told me to keep using it. Then when the course was done and I felt like hell he blamed me for not telling him I wasn’t feeling well on it. With all the available “kill” supplements you can ask him why he takes this reckless and damaging path.
Sue H. Benson, AZ 10/23/2015 (Yelp review)
Dr. Smith may have a significant understanding of minerals but that falls short of qualifying him as a compassionate, respectful physician. He failed to understand my neurological challenges and was downright belligerent when I expressed sensitivity to some supplements he recommended. I have never been so badly treated by any practitioner! He may know a lot of information but his personal interaction style, which fluctuated greatly, was nothing short of deplorable!
· Mary W. Spotsylvania, VA 6/5/2016 (Yelp review)
My health issues became much worse after taking his advice. My 'distance' phone-consult appointments with him were unproductive, to say the least, and I am still dealing with the fallout.
What was just written here makes me all the more believe that we have to own our health and be wary of any type of medicine.
I am a former patient of Smith's who got sicker as a result of his advice that I paid for. That said, I think your critique of him is a little harsh but maybe my perspective isn't correct. I don't think any doctors or others in health care or nutrition out there have all the info and are experts in all nutrients. Even though I got burned, I think he is probably better than most with his advice. I doubt there are any doctors without bad reviews. Just my 2 cents.
4 year patient of Dr.Smith. Hasn’t been all bad. He helped me get off thyroid meds. When he gets passionate about something that’s all he talks about. His bed side manner or etiquette on the phone and emails.... yeah not impressed. But he does seem to really care and be searching. Not a fan of all the conspiracies either. He’s not perfect, no doctor is. I am thankful for how he has helped me. He has positives and negatives.
I wouldn't trust him with my health, or money, but he has done some good valuable research. He finds connections that are useful. The conspiracy theories make sense and are rational. Fuck the boomer coincidence theorist mindset.
If y'all need someone professional, open minded, polite and intelligent to collaborate with on health issues I highly recommend harry@elementalhtma.co.uk
The JP comment about using the flea control medicine... that doesn't sound like something Dr. Smith would ever recommend anyone to take even once. Has he ever even recommended any pharmaceutical to anyone? He's a naturopath. You can't take everything so seriously, I've seen reviews of businesses that were flat out revenge reviews, but the business is actually a good business, they just had it out for someone working there. Apartments tend to get horrible reviews when someone feels miffed. Happens to doctor's offices as well. I personally refuse to pay anyone to help me with nutrition, and if any practitioner whether they are a doctor or not recommended a flea medicine I'd be running for the hills. Sounds like he miffed someone and they are seeking revenge.