“Heart Health”
a Dialog Dinner on 110218 with Steve Fowkes
(outline for further discussion and blogging)
1. The truth about dietary fat and obesity.
a) Overeating carbohydrate during insulin resistance is the fastest way to become obese. b) Being in fat-burning mode prevents the conversion of carbs into stored fat.
2. Why cholesterol can be good for you.
a) Cholesterol stabilizes membranes and neurons. b) Cholesterol makes sex and adrenal hormones. c) Oxidized cholesterol is dangerous. d) Antioxidant defense system protects cholesterol.
3. Why insulin resistance, not obesity, is what to pay attention to.
a) Obsity in the absence of insulin resistance is low risk. b) Non-obesity with insulin resistance is high risk.
4. How to address carbohydrate cravings and a sweet tooth.
a) Tryptophan (or 5-HTP) dissolved in predigested collagen drink raises serotonin in 5-15 minutes. b) Ketosis, AKG, glutamine, MCT, coconut oil. c) Long-term ketosis.
5. What fats can raise metabolism, and other fats that suppress inflammation.
a) Short- and medium-chain fats promote fat metabolism. b) EPA, DHA, GLA suppress inflammation.
6. Lowering inflammation through diet.
a) Reducing or eliminating delayed-hypersensitivity foods. b) Wheat, milk, corn.
7. Collagen therapy for strong arteries.
a) Vitamin C, bioflavonoids, copper and silicon. b) Lysine, proline, glycine. c) Check serum ferritin. d) Rath protocol for reducing plaque and strokes (vitamin C and lysine, now with proline included).
8. Chelation therapy instead of bypass surgery.
a) Reduce cross-linking of plaque with EDTA so that it can dissolve. b) High-dose vitamin D with magnesium, and without supplemental calcium.
9. Mitochondrial nutrition for congestive heart failure.
a) Coenzyme Q. b) Alpha-lipoic acid and low-dose naltrexone IV’s for cancer and organ failure. c) Basal metabolic rate. d) Heavy metals.
10. How to control homocysteine as heart-disease risk factor.
a) Methylation nutrients (B12, folic acid, B3, B6). b) Trimethylglycine (TMG, e.g., betaine).
11. Thriving on stress, cultivating relaxation, and using alcohol safely.
a) Being happy. b) Liking your job. c) Cultivating blessings. d) Alcohol detox formula.
12. Hormone replacement therapy.
a) Testosterone and progesterone increase energy pathways and protein synthesis. b) Inflammation and estrogens decrease energy pathways and inhibit protein synthesis.
Dialog Dinners are a sit-down-format, four-course dining experience with a featured speaker, hosted by Chef Joni Sare at private homes. Events are held around the San Francisco Bay Area, in homes with suitable seating and kitchens. Seating is limited to 8-16 people per event, depending on the particular home. Call Joni to inquire about hosting a Dialog Dinner in your venue. Meals vary from Paleolithic format to vegan and raw food, depending on the speakers and guests. On advance notice, special dietary requirements can be accommodated. See www.JoniSare.com and click on “Events” to see future Dialog Dinners or to register for the dates that work best for you.
5-htp is the best supplement i’ve used for anxiety and depression.
Both 5-HTP and L-tryptophan are effective in raising serotonin in people who do not have chronic inflammation. 5-HTP is a direct precursor to serotonin, and tryptophan is a two-step precursor to serotonin. They both use the large-neutral-amino-acid transporter to get from the blood stream into the brain (i.e., across the blood-brain barrier).
In people who do have chronic inflammation, high levels of indoleamine dioxygenase (IDO) break down the 5-HTP and tryptophan before it can be transported across the blood-brain barrier. So they do not get as much benefit from 5-HTP and tryptophan, and they often notice a kind of malaise (a not-quite-right feeling or a non-specific lack of wellbeing) from the toxic byproducts of tryptophan catabolism (which are known) and 5-HTP catabolism (which are not known). Such people rarely share your enthusiasm for 5-HTP.
There is a patch. Predigested collagen protein 1) contains peptides that solublize tryptophan and 5-HTP in water, so they can be absorbed faster and more gets into the brain, and 2) does not contain amino acids that compete with tryptophan and 5-HTP at the large-neutral-amino-acid transporter. So people with inflammation may be able to enjoy the benefits you notice by dissolving their 5-HTP or tryptophan in water with predigested collagen protein (also called hydrolyzed collagen protein). This combination amplifies the serotonin response regardless of inflammatory status, so you could try it, too. I get a roughly ten-fold amplification; 200 mg of L-tryptophan (from Ajinomoto) with collagen gives me the effect of 2000 mg without collagen. My best ratio is 200 mg tryptophan to 2 rounded teaspoons of collagen powder in a full glass of water. It works best on an empty stomach.