Atkins

Atkins blog posts

Pork loin roast

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. Yummy Lummy is a blog for people who live alone and are keen to cook meals for one.

I also share my opinions on topics others may (or may not) be interested in. With my recent change in diet (SAD→CSIRO TWD→LCHF), the blog’s emphasis is shifting to my opinion on some food and non-food-related topics.

I cite most journal articles or books I’ve read and mentioned. You can see the citations at the bottom of the post.

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care to read my views.

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week. I was meant to be in Geneva (Ville de Genève) this week for a meeting. I ended up attending virtually. It worked out that I could complete my normal work and attend the Geneva-based meetings from 1800 to 0200 AEDT for two nights. I was tired by the end of the week. It almost felt like I had jetlag without any jet travel.

The photographs below are from trips to Geneva I’ve made in past years for work.

Water Jet Lake Geneva
Water Jet Lake Geneva
Téléphérique Salève Cable Car Mont Salève Geneva View
Téléphérique Salève Cable Car Mont Salève Geneva View

Now that I can walk more with my cane, I’ve been able to visit the supermarket and purchase one or two items that I can carry home with one hand. I’ve also been able to visit the seafood shop so I can purchase wild-caught salmon rather than farmed salmon.

New exercise ball and a rubber band for physiotherapy exercises.

I was hoping to purchase a rugby league ball, however, the only ones on sale were for teams I do not support.

With more movement, my anorexia (loss of appetite) has lessened, and I’ve been eating more and gaining weight.

Weight chart showing the weight associated with muscle atrophy and the recent increase in weight.

What have I been watching?

Senate estimates (Supplementary Budget estimates)

Three times a year, Australian senators ask questions of senior officials in Australian Government departments in formal hearings at Parliament House.

Years past, I’ve sat at “the table” and answered questions posed by senators. These days, my betters appear, and answer questions posed by senators.

It’s an important opportunity in our democracy for questions to be asked in a public forum and for the government of the day to reply via its public servants.  

What have I been reading?

Red meat intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in a prospective cohort study of United States females and males (Gu et al., 2023)

I saw some popular news services report on a paper recently published by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The authors of the paper advise that red meat may raise the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Most news services did not cite the publication, so readers had to rely on journalists to interpret the journal article. When I’ve looked at some of the journalists doing the reporting, it’s not clear they have a critical approach to examining data.

Most media accounts do not provide an analysis of the paper in sufficient detail. The general reader will take away a message that eating red meat may cause T2DM. In my opinion, this is an inaccurate interpretation. This journal article raises some questions.

For example:

  • The journal article is observational and, therefore, cannot claim causation.
  • The studies assessed by the authors used food recall questionnaires, which ask participants to remember and record what they have eaten over various intervals, ranging from a couple of weeks to a couple of years. It’s difficult to believe that all the participants remembered accurately the food they consumed, including the amount of food.
  • The studies used by the journal paper authors include sandwiches and lasagne as red meat. I suggest the bread and pasta are the problem and not the meat.
  • Red meat has negligible carbohydrates and likely zero glucose, so how can it contribute to T2DM?
  • The absolute risk is minuscule, while the relative risk looks impressive. This style of presentation is a confidence trick of epidemiology.
  • Body mass index (BMI) isn’t adjusted because the authors claim BMI is higher due to red meat consumption. Yet, the BMI could be higher because associated carbohydrate consumption (the accompanying food with meat like potatoes and sweetened drinks) was higher. For example, someone who consumes too many meat pies will become clinically obese compared with someone who eats scotch fillet (ribeye) steaks without the pie casing and the flour for the gravy. I think it’s the carbohydrates contributing to an increased BMI and the T2DM rather than the red meat per se.
  • The journal article also suggests that women eat more red meat than men. I don’t know about that.

My concern is that meat eaters who are obese should be compared with 1. low-carbohydrate, healthy-fat meat eaters and 2. those who adhere to a standard American (or Australian) diet. If such a study was done, I’d expect negligible T2DM in the low-carbohydrate healthy-fat meat eaters compared with the other two arms of the study.

If the raw data were examined again, I expect lean red meat eaters would not feature in terms of any possible association with T2DM.

The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is known for its plant-based preference. You can find a page titled “Why plant-based diets are good for human and planetary health” on their website. The page shares how one of the school’s professors was a co-author of the EAT-Lancet Commission guidelines, which are mostly plant-based.

The school also advocates for Meatless Mondays (—or more). I might change to Salmon Sundays and Meat-filled Mondays to keep the alliteration.

Do you have days of the week dedicated to a specific meal?

Blood glucose monitoring devices: current considerations

This Australian Prescriber article (Sly & Taylor, 2023), provides an easy-to-read and relatively comprehensive overview of the available blood glucose monitoring devices in Australia.

The authors conclude that continuous monitoring is recommended for persons with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and those with T2DM who need daily insulin.

Some Yummy Lummy readers are interested in diabetes mellitus and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). I hope this article is of interest.

Do you continuously monitor your blood glucose?

Is snoozing losing? Why intermittent morning alarms are used and how they affect sleep, cognition, cortisol, and mood (Sundelin et al., 2023)

As part of my daily trawl through the “medical news”, this article piqued my interest. It used the term chronotype, which I’d not come across before. It refers to a person’s natural inclination for sleep at certain times. I came across this website, which describes the various chronotypes. I’m a lion 🦁 who tends to be a dolphin 🐬

Apparently, using the snooze button on your alarm clock or smart device is not a bad thing for many people.

What’s your chronotype?

The Importance of Dietary Carbohydrates in Human Evolution (Hardy et al., 2015)

The authors (one of whom is based in Sydney at the University of Sydney) propose that plant foods having high quantities of starch were essential for the evolution of humans. They acknowledge that earlier studies have highlighted a shift from plant-based to primarily meat-based diets as critical in developing the brain and other human traits. The authors argue that digestible carbohydrates were also necessary to accommodate the increased metabolic demands of a growing brain.

Furthermore, they describe the role cooking played in improving the digestibility and palatability of carbohydrates. The authors propose the auxiliary role of salivary amylase in increasing the importance of starch in human evolution following the origins of cooking. They say salivary amylases are ineffective on raw crystalline starch, but cooking substantially increases energy yield and glycæmia.

This paper, argues against a core tenant of people advocating for a low-carbohydrate healthy-fat way of life. (Noakes, 2023)

What have I been listening to?

I haven’t been listening to much because of the meetings in Geneva and watching Senate estimates hearings.  

Recipe

I went for a wander through a supermarket and saw this pork loin roast and thought it would make a great meat source for this weekend and for lunch meat this week.  

Equipment

  • Slow cooker
  • Air fryer

Ingredients

  • Pork loin
  • Beef, chicken, lamb, and pork stock — you can use any meat-based stock for this. You could also use a plant-based stock or a meat and plant stock. I’m using this because it’s what I have at hand.
Pork loin roast In the plastic (recycle plastic) packaging.
Pork loin roast sans packaging.
Pork loin roast and gelled stock in a slow cooker vessel

Instructions

  1. Place the meat and the stock into the cooking vessel.
  2. Slowly cook for six hours.
  3. Remove the meat and place the roast on a tray and into the air fryer for 20 minutes at 160 °C (320 °F).
  4. Set aside a part of the pork for dinner, put the rest into a container, and refrigerate. The pork can be used for lunches during the week.
  5. Filter the cooking liquor and keep it as the perpetual master stock.
  6. Serve the pork with vegetables or eat them alone. If you’re following a carnivore diet, just the pork will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. If you’re low-carbohydrate, healthy-fat eating, the meat and some plant-based real foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, stewed apples and sauerkraut would go well with the roast pork. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this pork won’t be suitable.
  7. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  8. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. This includes your fingers.
Pork loin roast
Pork loin roast
Slowly cooked pork loin roast with red cabbage and sour cream

Thoughts on the meal

If you like pork with a good amount of fat, you’ll like this roast.

The loin isn’t a tender cut of meat, even when it’s slowly cooked. The fat meat was tender, but the loin meat was a little dry. Overall, the slices of pork loin roast were good and coupled nicely with the cabbage and sour cream.

Do you like pork? What’s your favourite cut of pork, and how do you cook it?

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog do not constitute medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

References

Gu, X., Drouin-Chartier, J.-P., Sacks, F. M., Hu, F. B., Rosner, B., & Willett, W. C. (2023). Red meat intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in a prospective cohort study of United States females and males. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, S0002916523661192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.08.021

Hardy, K., Brand-Miller, J., Brown, K. D., Thomas, M. G., & Copeland, L. (2015). The Importance of Dietary Carbohydrate in Human Evolution. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 90(3), 251–268. https://doi.org/10.1086/682587

Noakes, T. (2023). Ketogenic: The science of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction in human health. Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier.

Sly, B., & Taylor, J. (2023). Blood glucose monitoring devices: Current considerations. Australian Prescriber, 46(3), 54–59. https://doi.org/10.18773/austprescr.2023.013

Sundelin, T., Landry, S., & Axelsson, J. (2023). Is snoozing losing? Why intermittent morning alarms are used and how they affect sleep, cognition, cortisol, and mood. Journal of Sleep Research, e14054. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsr.14054

Who to follow.

Zoë Harcombe, PhD

If you’re interested in food and nutrition, I suggest following Zoë at her website and on X (nee Twitter).

Dr Harcombe reviews published nutrition articles and provides a critical analysis of the quality of the data and the recommendations and/or conclusions of the authors.

Zoë describes herself as “…a real foodie first and foremost. I’m passionate about real food. What do I mean by that? Oranges grow on trees; cartons of orange juice don’t. Fish swim in the sea; fish fingers don’t. Cows graze in a field; Peperoni sticks don’t. Hopefully, you’ve got the idea. Food should come from fields, not factories.”

Legend

BMI = Body mass index.

CGM = Continuous glucose monitoring.

CSIRO TWD = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Total Wellbeing Diet.

LCHF = low-carbohydrate healthy-fat eating.

Red meat = is the meat of mammals, which includes pork.

SAD = Standard Australian diet (rich in carbohydrates, poor in healthy fats, and heaving in processed and ultra-processed products).  

T2DM=Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Lamb lettuce wraps

Posted by Gary

Jump to the recipe if you want to skip the introduction.

Introduction

Dear Reader,

Hello there. I hope you enjoyed a good week. I’m still euphoric from last weekend’s trip to Brisbane and time with my daughters and parents.

Returning to Canberra reminded me again how good Brisbane is.

What have I been reading?

I’ve been reading nutrition articles in my spare time.

I came across an excellent paper describing the nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide (NO) pathway. Dietary nitrate has various beneficial vascular effects, including reducing blood pressure, inhibiting platelet aggregation, preserving or improving endothelial dysfunction, and enhancing exercise performance in healthy individuals and patients with peripheral arterial disease. (Lidder & Webb, 2013)

Some studies with nitrate or nitrite also show the potential to protect against ischæmia-reperfusion injury and reduce arterial stiffness, inflammation, and intimal thickness.

I was interested in the ramifications of blood pressure control and other potential physiological benefits.

It also raised a question about the difference between the nitrates in leafy green vegetables and those found in cured meats like bacon.

To answer the question, I visited three large language model artificial intelligence platforms, viz., Bing, ChatGPT, and Bard. Check out the answers at the end of this post.

Noting that the main difference is the pathways to either nitric oxide or nitrosamines, I wonder what the outcome would be if I ate bacon with antioxidants. That would be an interesting experiment.

What I find interesting is the assumption that observational studies, including meta-analyses and systematic reviews are accepted without question by so many. The difficulty is that unlike the situation with cigarette smoking and lung carcinoma where the association was strong with odds ratios >30, for the nitrates and gastrointestinal carcinoma, the odds ratios are much less and in the order of just over 1.

The absolute risk is low when you take into account that gastrointestinal carcinomas occur in people who have never consumed cured meats. That said, it would be unethical to undertake a randomised controlled trial exposing a group of people to a diet with a lot of cured meat in it. Cause and effect may never be proven.

For me, this tells me that bacon, Spam®, and cured sausages are not everyday foods, but when I put them into the context of low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating, these foods are not anathema. Nor are they forbidden to me. The danger from sucrose, refined carbohydrates, and even complex so-called slow carbs is far greater in terms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, and obesity. There is a growing belief that many malignant events are a result of insulin resistance.

Please note, reader, this is my personal opinion as it applies to my own health. I’m not providing advice to anyone. I get questions from friends and family, and I find writing out my thoughts here useful. The most important message for anyone reading this and thinking about their own health is to speak with their regular general practitioner. If you don’t have a GP, I urge you to find one and develop a strong relationship.

Recipe

Equipment

  • Slow cooker

Ingredients

  • Lamb bones
  • Lamb shanks
  • Iodised salt
  • Iceberg lettuce

Instructions

  1. Brown the lamb shanks and lamb bones in a hot oven.
  2. Place the lamb shanks and lamb bones into the slow cooker.
  3. Cook for 9 hours.
  4. Remove the meat and bones and then pass the cooking liquor through a metal sieve. The filtrate is the start of what will become bone broth with a few more uses with other joints of meat.
  5. Pull the meat from the bones and place into a refrigerator container. Discard the bones.
  6. Wash the lettuce leaves and spin them in a lettuce spinner to remove as much water as possible.
  7. Place some of the meat along with some olive oil and apple cider vinegar into a couple of lettuce leaves and roll them to form a bite-size bundles.
  8. You can serve these bundles of meat with a anything you like. I chose a little salad of avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives dressed with olive oil and apple cider vinegar.
  9. Give thanks to the Lord.
  10. Eat with your fingers.

Thoughts on the meal

There’s nothing special or difficult about this meal. It requires no skill and given most of the cooking happens slowly the big advantage is that my flat is filled with the aroma of lamb fat and lamb meat.

Photographs

Pulled lamb wrapped in iceberg lettuce leaves with a small salad
Lamb bones and lamb shanks
Slowly cooked lamb bones and shanks
Pulled lamb
Pulled lamb wrapped in iceberg lettuce leaves
Pulled lamb wrapped in iceberg lettuce leaves
Pulled lamb wrapped in iceberg lettuce leaves

References

Lidder, S., & Webb, A. J. (2013). Vascular effects of dietary nitrate (as found in green leafy vegetables and beetroot) via the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway: Vascular effects of dietary nitrate. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 75(3), 677–696. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2125.2012.04420.x

Bing

What is the difference between the nitrates in leafy green vegetables and those in cured meat like bacon?

Nitrates are a set of compounds that involve nitrogen and oxygen molecules. While they are often associated with cured meats, green, leafy vegetables are much richer in nitrates1. The nitrates found in vegetables may help reduce the risk of carcinoma, whereas eating foods high in added nitrates can cause health risks.

Cured or processed meats such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and ham often contain added nitrates and nitrites. These compounds prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, add a salty flavour, and make the meat appear red or pink2. Nitrates convert to nitrites, and in the stomach’s acidic environment, nitrites interact with specific components concentrated in meat to form N-nitroso compounds, which are potential carcinogens.

In summary, while the nitrates in leafy green vegetables may have health benefits, those in cured meats like bacon can have adverse health effects.

ChatGPT

What is the difference between the nitrates in leafy green vegetables and those in cured meat like bacon?

Both leafy green vegetables and cured meats like bacon contain nitrates, but there are essential differences in their sources, roles, and potential health implications:

Source and Chemical Structure:

Leafy Green Vegetables: Nitrates in vegetables come from the soil and water in which the plants are grown. They are naturally occurring and absorbed by the plants during their growth. Nitrates in vegetables are primarily in the form of nitrate ions (NO3–).

Cured Meats (Bacon): Nitrates in cured meats are additives, primarily in the form of sodium nitrate (NaNO3) or sodium nitrite (NaNO2). These additives are used in the curing process to preserve the meat’s colour and flavour and inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria.

Conversion to Nitrites:

Leafy Green Vegetables: Vegetable-containing nitrates are converted into nitrites (NO2–) by bacteria in your mouth and gastrointestinal tract. These nitrites convert to beneficial compounds like nitric oxide (NO) in your body.

Cured Meats (Bacon): Nitrites are additives in cured meats. Nitrites play a crucial role in preserving the meat’s colour, flavour, and safety, as well as preventing the growth of harmful bacteria.

Health Implications:

Leafy Green Vegetables: Vegetable nitrates are generally considered beneficial for health. Nitric oxide, produced from the conversion of nitrates, promotes healthy blood vessels, regulates blood pressure, and supports overall cardiovascular health.

Cured Meats (Bacon): Concerns exist about the potential health risks of consuming large amounts of processed meats containing added nitrates and nitrites. High consumption of processed meats is associated with an increased risk of specific health issues, including colorectal carcinoma and other chronic diseases. The nitrites in cured meats can react with amines in the meat to form compounds called nitrosamines, some of which are considered carcinogenic.

Dietary Context:

Leafy Green Vegetables: Consuming a variety of leafy green vegetables is generally encouraged as part of a balanced diet due to their high nutritional content, including vitamins, minerals, fibre, and antioxidants.

Cured Meats (Bacon): Processed meats like bacon are typically higher in unhealthy fats, sodium, and calories and are often low in essential nutrients. As a result, consume processed meats in moderation and choose leaner and less processed protein sources.

In summary, while leafy green vegetables and cured meats contain nitrates, their potential health implications differ. Leafy greens provide natural sources of nitrates that can positively affect health, whereas the nitrates added to processed meats can raise concerns when consumed excessively.

Bard

What is the difference between the nitrates in leafy green vegetables and those in cured meat like bacon?

The nitrates found in leafy green vegetables and cured meat are chemically the same but have different effects on the body.

Nitrates in vegetables convert to nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide has many beneficial effects, including lowering blood pressure, improving blood flow, and reducing inflammation.

Nitrates in cured meat convert to nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are compounds linked to carcinoma.

Nitrates in vegetables are not harmful because of accompanying antioxidants, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, which help prevent them from being converted into nitrosamines. Cured meat, on the other hand, does not contain these antioxidants, so nitrates are more likely to be converted into nitrosamines.

In addition, the processing methods used to make cured meat, such as smoking and salting, can also increase the risk of nitrosamine formation.

For these reasons, it is safe to eat leafy green vegetables, even though they contain nitrates. However, limiting your intake of cured meat is best, mainly processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs, and sausages.

Here are some tips for reducing your intake of nitrates from cured meat:

  • Choose fresh meat over processed meat.
  • Look for meats labelled “no nitrates added” or “minimally processed.”
  • Cook meat at lower temperatures and for shorter periods.
  • Avoid smoking or salting meat.

Following these tips can reduce your risk of exposure to harmful nitrosamines.

Lamb rack and spinach

Posted by Gary

If you want to jump to the recipe, skip the introduction. 

Introduction 

Dear Reader, 

I hope you had a good week. Mine was busy with lots of stakeholder meetings.

What have I been listening to this week? 

I listened to a book by neurologist David Perlmutter titled “Grain brain: the surprising truth about wheat, carbs, and sugar – your brain’s silent killers” (Perlmutter, 2019). The author focuses mainly on the role of gluten in neurological disease; he also advocates for a low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating lifestyle. He is a proponent of the concept that gluten sensitivity is a spectrum rather than a binary abnormality. By that, many will say that proper gluten sensitivity is coeliac disease. If a diagnosis of coeliac disease cannot be achieved using conventional criteria, then the patient doesn’t have gluten sensitivity. Perlmutter proclaims that gluten sensitivity and coeliac disease should not be bound solely as gastrointestinal diseases but also neurological ones. He cites many examples from his own clinical practice and helpfully also shares citations from the observations of other neurologists (Cherbuin et al., 2012; Li et al., 2023).

I’ve also been listening to “Kitchen Confidential” (Bourdain, 2000) by Anthony Bourdain (1956 – 2018). I had picked up a bit about Bourdain based on his TV shows and what I’d read in the news. Listening to him read his book authenticates the stories he’s telling. I never realised how many illicit drugs he was snorting, smoking, ingesting, and injecting.

What’s on the menu tonight?

I was scrolling through low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating groups on Facebook. I noticed some were enjoying a rack of lamb. It got me drooling.

Recipe 

Equipment 

  • Oven
  • Meat thermometer
  • Frypan

Ingredients 

  • Lamb rack
  • Iodised salt
  • Spinach
  • Cream
  • Olives
  • Cherry tomatoes

Instructions 

  1. Turn the oven on and set the heat to 160 °C.
  2. Season the lamb with salt.
  3. Insert the thermometer.
  4. Put the lamb on a rack and into the oven and cook until the internal temperature is about 54 °C.
  5. Slice the rack into cutlets.
  6. Wilt some spinach in rendered lamb fat and then add some cream.
  7. Add the other bits of vegetation.
  8. Put the food and the vegetation on a dinner plate.
  9. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  10. Eat with a steak knife and fork. 

Thoughts on the meal 

I love lamb, and I love a rack of lamb. I chose a frame with lots of fat. It was delicious. I’ll have plenty of lamb cutlets left for lunches during the week.  

Final thoughts 

  • Do you have gluten sensitivity? Do you think it’s affected how you think?
  • Do you like watching Anthony Bourdain’s TV shows?
  • Are you a fan of lamb? Do you like lamb fat?

Photographs 

Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes
Rack of lamb
Rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb
Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes
Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes
Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes
Roast rack of lamb with spinach, olives, and cherry tomatoes

References 

Bourdain, A. (2000). Kitchen confidential: Adventures in the culinary underbelly (1st US ed). Bloomsbury.

Cherbuin, N., Sachdev, P., & Anstey, K. J. (2012). Higher normal fasting plasma glucose is associated with hippocampal atrophy: The PATH Study. Neurology, 79(10), 1019–1026. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e31826846de

Li, C., Guo, J., Zhao, Y., Sun, K., Abdelrahman, Z., Cao, X., Zhang, J., Zheng, Z., Yuan, C., Huang, H., Chen, Y., Liu, Z., & Chen, Z. (2023). Visit-to-visit HbA1c variability, dementia, and hippocampal atrophy among adults without diabetes. Experimental Gerontology, 178, 112225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2023.112225

Perlmutter, D. (2019). Grain brain: The surprising truth about wheat, carbs, and sugar – your brain’s silent killers. Hodder & Stoughton.

Picanha and oysters with hollandaise and crispy kale

Posted by Gary

Jump to the recipe and skip the introduction. 

Introduction 

Dear Reader, 

I hope you enjoyed good health and eating last week. 

What have I been reading?

I’m close to the end of Gary Taubes’ Good Calories, Bad Calories Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health(1). It is a very long book at 640 pages or 25 hours and 35 minutes of listening time. The basic summary is that calories are not all created equally. As a unit of energy, a calorie is consistent; however, the form of the calorie is critical. A calorie of fat will not stimulate the elaboration of insulin like a calorie of sucrose will. Gary advises we must not agree to the thermodynamic equation for weight loss and obesity management. The message is that simply reducing the calories in and increasing the calories out will not always work. The biological effect of that calorie must be considered. Moreover, calorie restriction without restricting carbohydrates will result in constant hunger and craving. Having listened to CASE FOR KETO: the truth about low-carb, high-fat eating(2), Taubes advocates for low-carbohydrate, healthy fat eating.

I’ve also started reading a new 426-page textbook. I am reading this book rather than listening because it’s unavailable as an audiobook. Ketogenic: the science of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction in human health(3) is for health practitioners, including medical practitioners, nutritionists, and professionals in related fields. I wouldn’t ordinarily read a textbook cover to cover (Apart from Pathologic Basis of Disease(4)), but this is a book I’ll likely read comprehensively.

A new low for me 

One of the unintended consequences of transitioning from the CSIRO TWD to a low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating way of living is a new minimal mass. I do not intend to lose more weight, but this week of low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating has had that effect. This meal will hopefully add some weight.

I know the body mass index (BMI) is an imperfect tool, but in my opinion, while crude, it is useful. I currently sit in the healthy weight range but at the upper limit. When I looked at the numbers, I could remain in a healthy weight range and lose another five kilograms. If I keep losing weight, seeing how it makes me feel will be interesting.

Weight Chart 20230729 This spans 2022 and 2023. The horizontal lines are 1 kg increments.

Glucose monitoring

I’m toying with getting a glucometer and measuring my blood glucose after each meal. I’m curious to compare such measurements with a specimen collected on getting out of bed.

Picanha steak

For the first time, I’ve seen Picanha in the supermarket. Picanha is a cut of beef that is popular in Brazil.

Beef cuts Brazil.svg
From wikipedia

The most well-known proponent of picanha on the internet is probably Guga from Guga Foods and his other channel, Sous Vide Everything.

Here is an old video of Guga discussing what he describes as the Queen of Steak.

Recipe 

Equipment 

  • Air fryer
  • Microwave radiation oven
  • Stick blender

Ingredients 

  • Oysters 
  • Picanha steak
  • Lime juice
  • Iodised salt (flaky)
  • Kale
  • Egg yolks – 3
  • Curry powder – 1 teaspoon
  • Apple cider vinegar – 1 tablespoon
  • 100 mL of melted butter

Instructions 

  1. Dry the surface of the meat with a paper towel and lightly season with salt.
  2. Wash the kale leaves.
  3. Put some wet kale leaves into the base of a baking dish and then place a trivet for the steak over it.
  4. Cook the steak (and kale) in an air fryer for five minutes on each side (of the steak) at 180 °C.
  5. Make a hollandaise sauce with the stick blender.
  6. Lay the crispy kale onto a plate and place the steak on it. Add some oysters in shells.
  7. Season the oysters with lime juice and flaky iodised salt.
  8. Pour the hollandaise sauce into a ramekin and use it as a dipping sauce or spoon some over the steak, oysters, and kale.
  9. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  10. Eat with a steak knife and fork. 

Thoughts on the meal 

I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I could have had more vegetables.

The steak was good, and the oysters were plump, firm, and fresh. It all worked well together.

I have no complaints.

Final thoughts 

  • Would you acquire a glucometer to measure your blood glucose?
  • Have you tried picanha steak? What did you think?
  • Do you like oysters?

Photographs 

Air fryer picanha with oysters and hollandaise sauce on a bed of crispy kale
Picanha (I discarded the chimichurri sauce).
Picanha and kale
Pacific Ocean oysters and hollandaise sauce
Pacific Ocean oysters and hollandaise sauce
Air fryer picanha with oysters and hollandaise sauce on a bed of crispy kale

Bibliography 

  1. Taubes G. 2008. Good calories, bad calories: fats, carbs, and the controversial science of diet and health. Anchor, New York.
  2. TAUBES G. 2022. CASE FOR KETO: the truth about low-carb, high-fat eating. GRANTA BOOKS, S.l.
  3. Noakes T. 2023. Ketogenic: the science of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction in human health. Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier, London.
  4. 2021. Robbins & Cotran pathologic basis of disease Tenth edition. Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA.

LCHF Crumbed steak

Posted by Gary

If you want to jump to the recipe, skip the introduction. 

Introduction 

Dear Reader, 

I hope you have enjoyed a good week. 

I’m continuing to listen to books when I’m not working. 

I’ve finished “The Case for Keto” and am in the middle of “Good Calories, Bad Calories“. The science and health journalist Gary Taubes wrote both books. 

These books are consolidating my understanding of lipid metabolism and the interplay with cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and other aspects of metabolic syndrome. 

I remember in medical school not being fond of eucaryotic biochemistry as opposed to procaryotic biochemistry. Reading these books, plus books by Timothy Noakes and Nina Teicholz, have at least got my attention. 

I can see the arguments for low carbohydrate, healthy fat eating to inhibit insulin resistance and stave off diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. 

I wanted to see if I could make crumbed steak with pork rinds tonight.

Recipe 

Equipment 

  • Air fryer 
  • Blender 

Ingredients 

  • Porterhouse steak (thinly sliced) 
  • Pork rinds (commercially bought)[1] 
  • Egg (beaten) 
  • Olives 
  • Avocado 
  • Cherry tomatoes 
  • Olive oil 
  • Apple cider vinegar 

Instructions 

  1. Convert the pork rinds to a crumb using a blender. 
  2. Beat an egg. 
  3. Dry the surface of the steak with a paper towel. 
  4. Dip the steak into the egg. 
  5. Dredge the steak through the pork rind crumb. 
  6. Cook the crumbed steak in the air fryer for 10 minutes at 180 °C. 
  7. Make a salad with olives, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. Dress the salad with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. 
  8. Serve the steak and salad with some Dijon mustard and sour cream. 
  9. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  10. Eat with a steak knife and fork. 

Thoughts on the meal 

I liked it. The pork rinds aren’t as crunchy as panko breadcrumbs, but they did the trick. Air frying the steak was also quick, easy, and free of lots of smoke and mess.

I’ll be doing this more regularly.

Photographs 

Pork rinds
Pork rinds
Pork rinds (crumbed)
Thinly sliced porterhouse steak
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives.
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives.
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives.
Pork “crumb” porterhouse steak with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and olives.

Footnotes 

  1. The only problem with these is the rice bran oil ingredient. Its nutrient characteristics are 38% monounsaturated, 37% polyunsaturated, and 25% saturated fatty acids. I’m not sure if rice bran oil is hydrogenated or not.