Cooking

Avocado and lamb cutlets

Posted 2023-11-25 by Gary

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care for my rambling palaver.

If you’re not seeing new posts each week, I suggest refreshing your browser and clearing your browser’s cache regularly.

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. 😊 My target audience is readers who live alone and are keen to cook meals for themselves. If you’re part of a couple, I hope the recipes are adaptable for you, too.

I also share my opinions (not advice) 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 sharing my opinions (not advice) on some food and non-food-related topics. Your comments are welcome, even if I may disagree.

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

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

The weather is getting warmer, and with warmer days and evenings comes a greater sense of well-being, at least for me. Today, it is also wet, I don’t mind wet weather. I know many readers prefer colder, dry weather. We’re all different.

Last week, I cooked kangaroo steaks. Coincidentally, this week, I was engaged in conversations at work about kangaroo/wallaby meat and parasite infestation. I enjoy discussing biological threats and their implications for human health, especially when they overlap with my interest in food and cooking.

Work is getting busier, so I enjoy it when my job and personal health and nutrition interests intersect, and I can read and learn more about food, food safety, and human health.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation

I’ve now finished the seventh and final season in this series. It had some excellent episodes, and in my opinion, the final episode, which wraps the series, is one of the best in the franchise.

I’m going to start watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

What have I been reading?

Standard mental health first aid manual

My employer is encouraging employees to undertake Mental Health First Aid^® training. The hope is that collectively, as an organisation, we will look out for each other through greater awareness.

The core of the training is a book, viz., “Standard mental health first aid manual” (fourth edition). (Kitchener, 2017)

During the week I took part in the training and found the manual to be well written and very helpful.

More information can be found at the Mental Health First Aid^® website.

Lipoprotein(a) and diet—a challenge for a role of saturated fat in cardiovascular disease risk reduction?

The authors consider new information on dietary recommendations to reduce saturated fat intake to modulate an individual’s global risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). While it is known that lowering dietary saturated fat intake decreases low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations, the findings increasingly show an opposite effect on lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) concentrations. Many studies have shown a role for an elevated Lp(a) concentration as a genetically regulated, causal, and prevalent risk factor for CVD. However, there is less awareness of the effect of dietary saturated fat intake on Lp(a) concentrations. The authors discuss this issue and highlight the contrasting effect of reducing dietary saturated fat intake on reducing LDL cholesterol and increasing Lp(a). It appears that a low carbohydrate, high saturated fat diet can reduce Lp(a). (Law et al., 2023)

Honey, what’s in a name?

During the week, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), issued a media release seeking comment on whether the honey from Australian stingless native bees should be permitted. It comes down to definitions of honey, and at the moment, it seems the food standard definition doesn’t accommodate Australian stingless native bees.

With Jeremy Clarkson in mind, if the Australian Native Bee Association Inc. is unsuccessful, perhaps they should call it Australian stingless bee juice. 🤔

If you are not familiar with the connection with Jeremy Clarkson, in a search engine (I use Duck Duck Go, but Google, Bing, and others will work), enter search terms like “Jeremy Clarkson”, “Diddly-Squat” “Bee juice” and hopefully you will see the connection.

What have I been listening to?

Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul’s Greatest Letter (Wright, 2023)

Tom Wright (also known as N. T. Wright) is an Anglican bible scholar who (in my opinion) articulates the historical facts of the bible in a compelling way. I’ve enjoyed listening to his podcast and watching him speak via YouTube videos. He has a winsome approach to teaching doctrine.

Recipe

The more I read about meat in the human diet, the more I favour ruminant species. I’m eating more beef and lamb and less pork and poultry. For my palate, foregut fermenting mammals have a more pleasant flavour and texture in their meat and fat.

I also eat New Zealand Pacific salmon over locally farmed Tasmanian Atlantic salmon. The difference in flavour and texture is distinct. I’m also conscious of the criticisms of the Tasmanian salmon farming industry. This week, I read a newspaper report suggesting the criticism of the industry may create economic hardship for many people residing in Tasmania. I hope they find a solution that allows them to keep employed and improve the health and well-being of the salmon they farm.

Eat me, Gary.

I saw a rack of lamb ribs in the supermarket and felt it speaking to me. “Buy me and eat me, Gary”.

I’m also adding a modified guacamole 🥑 for tonight’s meal. During the week, Lorraine, from Not Quite Nigella, posted a recipe for what she believes is the BEST guacamole recipe.

Equipment

Oven
Meat thermometer
Gas torch

Ingredients

Rack of lamb
Iodised salt
Garlic
Rosemary
Avocado
Red onion
Coriander (some people call it cilantro)
Lime (for the juice)
Birdseye chilli
Pork rinds made with lard (no seed oils used)

Instructions

Heat the oven to 120 °C for a low cooking temperature.
In the baking tray, add bruised garlic cloves and stalks of rosemary (I bruised the garlic with a metal weight).
Place the lamb on a wire rack over a baking tray.
Insert the meat thermometer into the thickest portion of meat.
Place the lamb into the oven and cook until the internal temperature reaches 55 °C.
If the fat isn’t brown enough, use a gas torch to sear the fat.
When the lamb has rested, carve the cutlets from the rack and sear the cutlets in a hot frypan with some of the lamb fat collected in the baking tray.
Keep the lamb fat for future use. I hope to keep my Lp(a) low with some saturated ovine fat. 😉 🐑
In a medium-sized bowl mix the onion with the lime juice and salt and allow to sit on the counter for 20 minutes.
Tear the coriander leaves and stalks.
Place the avocado 🥑 flesh into a bowl and smash with a fork. I like my smashed avocado to be chunky rather than smooth.
Stir in the onion, marinating juices, chilli, and coriander (leaves and stalks).
Eat the guacamole with the pork rinds before the avocado oxidises because of exposure to oxygen in the air.
If you don’t like avocado, consider serving the lamb cutlets with vegetables or eat it with some extra seasonings like iodised flaky salt and freshly ground black peppercorns. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the meat will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. If you’re low-carbohydrate 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, some sautéed asparagus with hollandaise sauce would be great. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this animal meat won’t be suitable.
Always give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion. For this meal, I ate the meat lollipops by holding the rib bone and gnawing the meat from the bone. 🦴 I dipped pork rinds into the guacamole and put them in my mouth with my fingers. I didn’t need to dirty a knife or fork. 🍴

Cooking guide for rack of lamb

Doneness	Internal Temperature (°C)	Internal Temperature (°F)
Rare	49–52	120–125
Medium-rare	54–57	130–135
Medium	60–63	140–145
Medium-well	66–68	150–155
Well-done	71 or higher	160 or higher

Cooking guide

Thoughts on the meal

Tonight’s roast was an experiment. Many recipes suggest a higher oven temperature, e.g., 200 to 220 °C. Those recipes also recommend searing the lamb before entering the oven. I was interested in knowing the texture if I used a much lower oven temperature and took a low and slow approach to hopefully render the fat better.

It turns out, this approach works well. It takes longer, but the outcome is good. I recognise that many others will disagree and cook their rack of lamb differently. I’m trying to simplify the process and maintain the flavour and texture that suits my palate. This low-temperature approach also resulted in some great pan juices that didn’t evaporate.

Since changing my diet, I’ve been enjoying more lamb. The money I’m saving by not buying starchy, high-carbohydrate plant food and processed food is going into buying better-quality meat.

The birdseye chillies and lime juice gave the guacamole a nice zing. 🔥

While I’m probably eating more meat-only meals, avocado 🥑 is a regular feature in my meals. I am conscious that, unlike beef and sheep which are environmentally friendly when you consider the carbon dioxide sequestration and soil care in regenerative farming, avocado farming has problems. This is especially true for water requirements. (Buxton, 2022)

Disclaimer and comments

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

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

References

Buxton, J. (2022). The great plant-based con: Why eating a plants-only diet won’t improve your health or save the planet. Piatkus.

Kitchener, B. A. (2017). Standard mental health first aid manual. Mental Health First Aid Australia.

Law, H. G., Meyers, F. J., Berglund, L., & Enkhmaa, B. (2023). Lipoprotein(a) and diet—A challenge for a role of saturated fat in cardiovascular disease risk reduction? The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 118(1), 23–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.05.017

Wright, T. (2023). INTO THE HEART OF ROMANS: A deep dive into Paul’s greatest letter. SPCK Publishing.

Legend

BMI = Body mass index.

CGM = Continuous glucose monitoring.

CSIRO TWD = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Total Well-being Diet.

CVD = cardiovascular disease.

FMT = Faecal microbiota transfer.

FSANZ = Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

LCHF = low-carbohydrate healthy-fat eating.

Lp(a) = lipoprotein(a).

LDL = low-density lipoprotein.

Red meat = is the meat of mammals, including pork.

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

T1DM = Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

T2DM = Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

T3DM = Type 3 diabetes mellitus is a new term some people are ascribing to Alzheimer’s Disease.

TOS = Star Trek: The Original Series.

TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation.

ENT = Star Trek: Enterprise (originally called Enterprise).

DS9 = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Kangaroo

Posted 2023-11-18 by Gary

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

If you’re not seeing new posts each week, I suggest refreshing your browser and clearing your browser’s cache regularly.

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. 😊 Yummy Lummy is a blog for readers who live alone and are keen to cook meals for themselves. If you’re part of a couple, I hope the recipes are adaptable for you, too.

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 sharing my opinions on some food and non-food-related topics. Your comments are welcome, even if I disagree.

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

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

While driving this week, I nearly hit an eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus). When I first arrived in Canberra, kangaroos were replete. The local government has kept numbers in check with a careful program of culling by professional shooters. With extra fencing along main roads, the number of dead kangaroos on the streets is much smaller.

It got me thinking about eating some kangaroo this week. 🦘

World Toilet Day

Tomorrow, Sunday, is World Toilet Day. In the days when I was eating a carbohydrate-rich, low-fat diet, I was always keen to know where the nearest toilet was because my irritable bowel was unpredictable when it came to the urge to purge.

These days, because I’m eating a low carbohydrate diet, my stools are much better in terms of the Bristol stool chart, and my bowel frequency is more manageable. That doesn’t mean I don’t get sudden urges; I still do, but life is a lot easier to manage. I think I’ll still be keenly interested in the location of the lavatories. If you’re in Australia, we have an Australian Government funded toilet map for public conveniences. It’s part of the national continence program.

This week, I met with other medical practitioners and regulatory affairs scientists at work. The topic of discussion was faecal microbiota transfer (FMT). The main speakers were a gastroenterologist and a regulatory affairs expert. I was asked to share my clinical experiences with FMT, and a new phrase has entered my workplace lexicon, “Gary’s super stools”.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation

I’m now in season 5. Gene Roddenberry had already died when this season finished production, but his influence remains. The Star Trek ethos centred on a future where humankind evolves beyond conflict and petty behaviour to be morally and ethically mature. That doesn’t mean conflict and petty behaviour aren’t encountered in space and amongst other humanoid and non-humanoid sentience.

What have I been reading?

Kangaroo and food safety

Last week, I was reading about ducks; this week, it’s been kangaroos. Specifically, I was reading papers about the contamination of kangaroo meat.

Most specialist microbiologists and infectious diseases physicians will mention toxoplasmosis when asked about the risks of eating undercooked kangaroo meat. Most people don’t want to overcook kangaroo because it’s lean. That’s why pasteurisation using sous vide gives a good result. (Mirza Alizadeh et al., 2018)

I know some readers have left comments on the blog before that they’ve never been sick after eating kangaroo, which is excellent. Most people don’t have a problem. The problem is if someone who is immunocompromised, e.g., an organ or bone marrow transplant recipient, is infected via a muscle cyst, which is a lower risk than from a tachyzoite from feline faeces, toxoplasmosis brain abscesses are life-threatening. Fortunately, in Australia, most commercial licensed suppliers know that freezing helps reduce the risk, while proper cooking is necessary to minimise the risk.

There are also other risks associated with eating kangaroo meat, including salmonellosis and finding too much lead from being shot. (Geesink et al., 2017)(Shapiro et al., 2020)(Borkens, 2021)(Ratnasiri & Bandara, 2017)(Hampton et al., 2023)(Dubey et al., 2021)

Fibre and Crohn’s disease

Fibre is becoming a controversial topic in human nutrition. The widely held view is that fibre helps keep the human microbiota in good condition. Fibre is converted to saturated fats by bacteria, and the human colon absorbs the saturated fat. However, the downside of fibre is its inflammatory properties and people with inflammatory colon diseases may suffer from them.

Unlike most other primates, humans don’t have a large caecum for fermenting fibre (hindgut fermentation). The human alimentary tract may not need dietary fibre.

I read an interesting paper by a group that examined why fibre-deficient exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) works in patients with Crohn’s disease. EEN is a type of medical nutrition therapy that involves replacing all food and drinks with a specialised liquid formula for a period, usually 6-12 weeks. The formula is designed to provide all the nutrients, including fat, calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

The authors looked at a commensal bacterium, Mucispirillum, which becomes pathogenic when nourished by fibre (i.e., a pathobiont). The authors demonstrated that using a fibre-deficient diet managed the symptoms of Crohn’s disease in a mouse model. (Kuffa et al., 2023.) I love the entirety of microbiology beyond my specialty clinical training and experience.

What have I been listening to?

Podcasts relevant to the conflict involving Israel and Palestine.

Each week, the pastor of the church I worship in sends an e-mail with links to podcast shows and articles he’s listened to and read over the preceding week. This week, Tim shared a few shows that discuss the conflict between the people of Israel and Palestine from a reformed evangelical Christian perspective.

One of the results of listening to these shows is that I stumbled on a show featuring N. T. Wright, who was talking about his new book on Paul’s letter to the Romans. I have bought the audible book and plan to listen to it soon.

Recipe

Unlike most other meat sold in Australia, kangaroo meat can potentially contain cysts of Toxoplasma gondii. While the faeces of cats and other animals may transmit tachyzoites, muscle meat cysts still pose a potential problem. For that reason, kangaroo meat should be frozen before sale and then appropriately cooked to ensure cysts are inactivated.

Many people in Australia and other countries (that farm kangaroos for meat production) have never been concerned about the parasite load in wild or farmed kangaroos. They will eat it in a way that is not near a pasteurisation temperature. (Mirza Alizadeh et al., 2018.) Most people infected with Toxoplasma gondii will have no appreciable effect. The encysted parasite will exist dormant for years. The problem occurs in people who become immunosuppressed (especially transplant recipients) and develop symptoms of a lesion. Often, the lesion is in the brain. It used to be expected in patients with advanced HIV infection. To be fair, the likelihood of this occurring is remote, but it remains a possibility.

Equipment

Precision cooker
Water bath
Frypan
Gas torch

Ingredients

Kangaroo
Duck fat
Iodised cooking salt to season the roo meat.

Instructions

Dry brine the meat overnight. Dry brining means seasoning the meat with salt and putting the steaks on a rack uncovered in the refrigerator.
Place the meat and duck fat into a vacuum bag. I do this because kangaroo meat is lean and doesn’t have much fat.
Cook the meat at 55 °C for 2 hours to ensure medium doneness and sufficient time and temperature for pasteurisation.
Remove the meat from the bag and dry the surface with a paper towel.
Sear the skin in a hot frypan and finish with a gas torch (if necessary).
Serve the kangaroo with vegetables or eat it with extra seasonings like iodised flaky salt and freshly ground black peppercorns. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the meat will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. If you’re low-carbohydrate 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, potato mash, rice or pasta with gravy would go well with the meat. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this animal meat won’t be suitable. I’m unaware of any commercially produced faux kangaroo meat suitable for plant-only eaters.
Always give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion. For this meal, I used a knife and fork.

Kangaroo steak with duck fat (hidden) in a vacuum bag

Thoughts on the meal

Kangaroo is not my favourite meat. I like beef and lamb. Kathleen loves kangaroo. I hope she enjoys how I cook kangaroo.

In my opinion, kangaroo has a neutral taste and chewy texture. It benefited from a lot of flaky salt and black pepper. The duck fat meant it seared better. While it would not be my last meal if I were on death row, I’d rather kangaroo every night of the week than ultra-processed food. (Cordova et al., 2023.) I’d also prefer real kangaroo over faux kangaroo meat.

If you’ve never eaten kangaroo or wallaby, it’s worth a go so you can decide for yourself. I know many people love the taste and texture of roo meat. The best macropod meat I’ve tasted was raw wallaby tail, done in a fashion similar to steak tartare. I should probably measure my anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. 🤔

Fun stuff

Needless to say, I will not be participating in fairy bread festivities.

Disclaimer and comments

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

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

References

Borkens, Y. (2021). Toxoplasma gondii in Australian macropods (Macropodidae) and its implication to meat consumption. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 16, 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.09.004

Cordova, R., Viallon, V., Fontvieille, E., Peruchet-Noray, L., Jansana, A., Wagner, K.-H., Kyrø, C., Tjønneland, A., Katzke, V., Bajracharya, R., Schulze, M. B., Masala, G., Sieri, S., Panico, S., Ricceri, F., Tumino, R., Boer, J. M. A., Verschuren, W. M. M., Van Der Schouw, Y. T., … Freisling, H. (2023). Consumption of ultra-processed foods and risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases: A multinational cohort study. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 100771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100771

Dubey, J. P., Murata, F. H. A., Cerqueira-Cézar, C. K., Kwok, O. C. H., Su, C., & Grigg, M. E. (2021). Recent aspects on epidemiology, clinical disease, and genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii infections in Australasian marsupials. Parasites & Vectors, 14(1), 301. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04793-4

Geesink, G. H., Van Den Heuvel, A., & Hunt, W. (2017). Meat quality attributes of Agile Wallabies. Meat Science, 133, 173–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2017.06.016

Hampton, J. O., Pain, D. J., Buenz, E., Firestone, S. M., & Arnemo, J. M. (2023). Lead contamination in Australian game meat. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(17), 50713–50722. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25949-y

Kuffa, P., Pickard, J. M., Campbell, A., Yamashita, M., Schaus, S. R., Martens, E. C., Schmidt, T. M., Inohara, N., Núñez, G., & Caruso, R. (2023). Fiber-deficient diet inhibits colitis through the regulation of the niche and metabolism of a gut pathobiont. Cell Host & Microbe, S1931312823004201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2023.10.016

Mirza Alizadeh, A., Jazaeri, S., Shemshadi, B., Hashempour-Baltork, F., Sarlak, Z., Pilevar, Z., & Hosseini, H. (2018). A review on inactivation methods of Toxoplasma gondii in foods. Pathogens and Global Health, 112(6), 306–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/20477724.2018.1514137

Ratnasiri, S., & Bandara, J. (2017). Changing patterns of meat consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in Australia: Will kangaroo meat make a difference? PLOS ONE, 12(2), e0170130. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170130

Shapiro, A., Bosward, K., Mathews, K., Vincent, G., Stenos, J., Tadepalli, M., & Norris, J. (2020). Molecular detection of Coxiella burnetii in raw meat intended for pet consumption. Zoonoses and Public Health, 67(4), 443–452. https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.12707

Legend

BMI = Body mass index.

CGM = Continuous glucose monitoring.

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

FMT = Faecal microbiota transfer.

LCHF = low-carbohydrate healthy-fat eating.

Red meat = is the meat of mammals, including 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.

TOS = Star Trek: The Original Series

TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation

Duck breast

Posted 2023-11-11 by Gary

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

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. Yummy Lummy is a blog for people who live alone and are keen to cook meals for one. If you’re part of a couple, I hope the recipes are adaptable for you, too.

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

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

My mobility is improving. I managed a walk to the Belconnen Owl this week. The first time since the accident. I’ve also got more strength-building exercises to do. I can see my quadriceps becoming more pronounced.

While I’ve been working full-time, I’ve been doing it remotely from home. I’m undertaking a graduated return to the office. Sitting on a proper office chair and using my desktop computer with two large monitors is good.

Today is Remembrance Day (originally Armistice Day) here in Australia and other Commonwealth (formerly the British Empire) countries and Veterans Day in the USA. Forgetting the service and sacrifice of defence force personnel is never an option.

Something curious

I also noticed something curious about my blogging statistics. It’s uncommon to see a spike like this. I think I know what is behind it. New readers, you are welcome even if you’re here for a single visit.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG)

In light of Kathleen’s generous gift of Patrick Stewart’s memoir, I am continuing my rewatch of TNG. I’m now into season four. I’m reminded of how much I enjoy the characters of Captain Picard and Dr Crusher.

While Star Trek: Enterprise (nee Enterprise) is my favourite series, TNG built on Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) in a way that opened the Star Trek realm to so many more people.

While I have no interest in Shakespeare, aficionados of TNG will be familiar with S3:E10, “The Defector” and the connection with Shakespeare.

The more I watch TNG, the more I appreciate Stewart’s stage acting experience. It doesn’t give me any desire to attend stage plays or the like. My desires lay elsewhere.

What have I been reading?

If you are over 60 with high cholesterol, you have nothing to fear from it.

Fellow blogger, Katharine from Diabetes Diet recently shared an article, viz., “Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review”. (Ravnskov et al., 2016)

Most people in middle- and high-income economies receive a common message that elevated serum cholesterol is associated with poor health outcomes. Like most messages from so-called communications experts, the information is shortened and simplified for broader appeal. Sadly, this often means the removal of important nuance, context, and detail. As more was learnt about serum cholesterol, attention turned to low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The popular yet mistaken label for LDL is “bad cholesterol”. The result is a poor understanding of the role of LDL in human physiology.

One outcome of this simplification of a complex message is that medicine has turned its focus to lowering serum cholesterol and LDL through the use of medications. These medications are valuable to manufacturers and fund a huge aspect of the pharmaceutical industry. The focus has swung from health and wellness to prescribing drugs for disease.

Needless to say, all registered therapeutic agents undergo regulation for safety, efficacy, and effectiveness; however, all drugs have a side effect profile.

Before taking any medication, patients should be informed and made aware of the drug’s intended and unintended effects.

The key idea from the article is that for older people, a serum cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein greater than the higher value of the population reference range is not associated with death at rates any more than any other factor.

This article is aimed at older sapiens. For younger humans, the interpretation will be different. Like a lot of nutrition epidemiology, nothing can be said in terms of cause and effect.

If you are concerned about your own serum cholesterol and LDL, please speak with your general practitioner. Your general practitioner is the best person to guide you.

What human pathogens are transmitted by wild ducks?

I was reading about ducks this week and thinking about ducks as vectors for human disease.

Wild ducks can transmit several pathogens to humans through direct contact, contaminated water, or undercooked or contaminated meat consumption. Some of the notable pathogens transmitted by wild ducks include:

1. Avian Influenza Virus (AIV):

Transmission Route: Direct contact with infected birds or their droppings, contaminated water, or surfaces.

Potential Impact: AIV can cause severe respiratory illness in humans and has the potential for pandemic outbreaks.

2. Campylobacter spp.:

Transmission Route: Consumption of undercooked duck meat, especially contaminated with Campylobacter bacteria.

Potential Impact: Human Campylobacteriosis can lead to gastroenteritis with symptoms like diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and fever.

3. Salmonella spp.:

Transmission Route: Consumption of contaminated duck meat or eggs and direct contact with infected birds or their environment.

Potential Impact: Salmonellosis infection can cause gastroenteritis with symptoms similar to Campylobacteriosis. Severe cases may lead to more serious complications.

4. Cryptosporidium spp.:

Transmission Route: Contaminated water sources, including those frequented by wild ducks, can lead to Cryptosporidium infection in humans.

Potential Impact: Cryptosporidiosis causes gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, abdominal cramps, and dehydration, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.

5. Escherichia coli (E. coli):

Transmission Route: Consumption of contaminated duck meat or water, especially in settings with poor hygiene.

Potential Impact: Certain strains of E. coli can cause food poisoning with symptoms like diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and vomiting.

It’s important to note that the transmission of these pathogens can be mitigated through proper cooking practices, good hygiene, and avoiding direct contact with wild ducks or their habitats.

Australians are unlikely to give up meat and become vegetarian to help the environment.

I read a media article published on Monday focusing on a survey conducted by a pair of academics from La Trobe University who asked 700 Facebook account holders about their beliefs on climate change, meat consumption, and the effect of meat consumption on the environment. (Rattenbury & Ruby, 2023)

It seems most respondents, who were all residents of Australia, didn’t believe reducing meat consumption affected climate change.

It reminded me of Jayne Buxton’s arguments in her book, “The Great Plant-based Con: Why Eating a Plant-Only Diet Won’t Improve Your Health or Save the Planet”. (Buxton, 2022)

I don’t think this response is because Australians aren’t concerned for planetary health. Quite the contrary. I think Australians know that intensive farming practices damage the soil and the land. Intensive farming also kills many animals, mostly insects and small mammals, which are ecologically valuable species. Regenerative farming practices that allow primary production on non-arable land help the soil and the land and supply nutrient-dense food for the community. It makes for good land care and carbon dioxide sequestration.

What have I been listening to?

Making It So: A Memoir by Sir Patrick Stewart

I completed the book during the week. (Stewart, 2023)

I loved listening to Stewart’s reflections on his time making Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series and movies and his recent work in making Star Trek: Picard.

Stewart also described his three marriages and other romantic relationships and how those relationships influenced his attitudes. I particularly enjoyed the end, where he tied his emotional maturity to the final scenes, he had planned for Star Trek: Picard.

Thanks, Kathleen, my love, for this beautiful gift.

Recipe

It’s been a while since I’ve cooked any poultry. Given a choice, I think I’d eat beef and lamb most days. I don’t really need variety to keep me happy. However, since I was reading about ducks, I thought I would cook duck breasts this weekend.

Equipment

Precision cooker
Water bath
Frypan
Gas torch

Ingredients

Duck breasts
Iodised cooking salt to season the duck breasts.

Instructions

Score the skin of the breasts with a knife.
Season the skin and flesh of the breast with salt.
Allow the meat to dry brine, uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.
Sear the skin in a hot frypan. I do not always sear meat before cooking it in a water bath. I wanted to try a pre-water bath searing phase.
Place the breasts into a vacuum bag.
Cook the breasts at 57 °C for 2 hours. This will ensure a medium cook and sufficient time and temperature for pasteurisation.
Remove the meat from the bag and dry the skin with a paper towel.
Sear the skin in a hot frypan and finish with a gas torch if necessary.
Serve the duck with vegetables or eat them alone. If you’re following a meat-only, just the meat 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. Potato mash would go well with the duck if you’re not concerned with carbohydrates. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this duck won’t be suitable.
Always give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion. For this meal, I used a knife and fork. I could have used chopsticks. 🥢

Dry brined duck breast cooked by sous vide and seared in a frypan.

Thoughts on the meal

Duck breasts are not like chicken breasts. The meat is darker and usually more tender. Sous vide duck breast ensures a consistent result. I like the flavour and the texture of duck meat. Given a preference, I’d prefer duck thigh, but I rarely see duck legs at the supermarket. I’m curious about buying a duck thigh, putting it into a vacuum bag with ample olive oil and cooking it in a water bath to simulate a confit duck thigh.

If you don’t have a precision cooker and water bath, duck breasts can be easily cooked in a frypan. With care and attention, a suitable result is achievable.

Disclaimer and comments

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

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

References

Buxton, J. (2022). The great plant-based con: Why eating a plants-only diet won’t improve your health or save the planet. Piatkus.

Rattenbury, A., & Ruby, M. B. (2023). Perceptions of the Benefits and Barriers to Vegetarian Diets and the Environmental Impact of Meat-Eating. Sustainability, 15(21), 15522. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115522

Ravnskov, U., Diamond, D. M., Hama, R., Hamazaki, T., Hammarskjöld, B., Hynes, N., Kendrick, M., Langsjoen, P. H., Malhotra, A., Mascitelli, L., McCully, K. S., Ogushi, Y., Okuyama, H., Rosch, P. J., Schersten, T., Sultan, S., & Sundberg, R. (2016). Lack of an association or an inverse association between low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol and mortality in the elderly: A systematic review. BMJ Open, 6(6), e010401. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010401

Stewart, P. (2023). Making it so: A memoir. Simon & Schuster Australia.

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, including 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.

TOS = Star Trek: The Original Series

TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation

Beef chuck steak

Posted 2023-11-04 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. If you’re part of a couple, I hope the recipes are adaptable for you, too.

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. Comments are welcome, even if I disagree.

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.

My week was mostly enjoyable. I’m more mobile, and I’m able to exercise more. I attended a follow-up consultation with my surgeon, and he is delighted with my progress. He was complimentary of the physiotherapist I am attending.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Considering Kathleen’s generous gift of Patrick Stewart’s memoir, as I was listening, I developed an urge to rewatch TNG.

Watching "Encounter at Farpoint". I've been listening to "Making It So" by Patrick Stewart, and I experienced an urge to begin a Star Trek Next Generation rewatch.
— Gary (@garydlum) October 29, 2023

What have I been reading?

Blood biomarker profiles and exceptional longevity: comparison of centenarians and non-centenarians in a 35-year follow-up of the Swedish AMORIS cohort (Murata et al., 2023)

The authors hoped to better understand ageing by comparing a set of biomarkers.

The authors sought to:

describe and compare biomarker profiles at similar ages between 64 and 99 among individuals who become centenarians and shorter-lived peers,
investigate the association between specific biomarker values and the chance of reaching age 100 and
examine to what extent centenarians have homogenous biomarker profiles earlier in life.

Participants came from a study spanning 1985–1996 and were followed for up to 35 years.

The authors considered biomarkers of metabolism, inflammation, liver, renal, anaemia, and nutritional status.

One thousand two hundred and twenty-four participants (84.6% females) lived to their 100th birthday. There were 44,636 participants in the study.

Higher levels of total cholesterol and iron and lower levels of glucose, creatinine, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, and total iron-binding capacity were associated with reaching 100 years.

The authors suggest that genetic and possibly modifiable lifestyle factors reflected in these biomarker levels may affect longevity.

The paper describes an observational study and cannot make claims about causation.

Nevertheless, the author’s message for me is to maintain a low-carbohydrate, healthy fat, and no alcohol diet. Another key message from this paper is that longevity is not the be-all and end-all. I’d rather live well and die without lingering and suffering than live past 100 and be miserable.

What have I been listening to?

Making It So: A Memoir by Sir Patrick Stewart

I’ve been enjoying Kathleen’s gift. So far, I’m up to Stewart’s period with the Royal Shakespeare Company. (Stewart, 2023)

It’s fascinating listening to Stewart’s adventures with the RSC. I was meant to read about half a dozen of Shakespeare’s works in high school. I never did. I was not a fan of English as a school subject. Of all the plays and books on the reading list, I only read one book. That was “The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith”, written by Thomas Keneally and published in 1972. (Keneally, 1972)

I preferred reading non-fiction, especially biology or space travel. I barely passed humanities subject examinations in high school.

The total book will take more than 18 hours of listening. I’m about halfway through. I’ve been listening in the evenings.

Thanks, Kathleen, for this beautiful gift.

Today’s lunch

I bought some smoked New Zealand Pacific salmon for lunch and added it to scrambled eggs made with butter.

Scrambled eggs made with butter and New Zealand Pacific smoked salmon

Recipe

The beef chuck is often regarded as a cheap and tough cut of meat. With beef and lamb becoming more expensive, cheaper cuts are becoming more desirable. The burden of the cost of living is especially true for people watching their pennies and keeping to a budget.

Equipment

Slow cooker
Air fryer
Gas torch

Ingredients

Beef chuck steaks — The two steaks (see photographs) cost $AUD12. I’ll get two meals from these steaks.
Iodised cooking salt — 1 tablespoon.
Tap water — ½ cup.
Salted butter

Instructions

Place the meat, salt, and water into the cooking vessel.
Slowly cook for eight hours on low heat.
Remove the meat and place the beef on a tray and into the air fryer for 20 minutes at 160 °C (320 °F). An alternative to the air fryer is a frypan. I’d use a carbon steel or cast-iron frypan to sear the surfaces of the steak.
For the air fryer choice, once out of the oven, place a lump of salted butter on top of the steak and melt it with a gas torch.
Set aside some of the beef for dinner, put the rest into a container, and refrigerate. I will use the meat for lunches during the week.
Filter the cooking liquor and add it to my perpetual master stock.
Serve the beef with vegetables or eat them alone. If you’re following a carnivore diet, just the beef 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, potato mash would go well with the beef. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this beef won’t be suitable.
Always give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion. Tonight, I used a steak knife and a fork.

Thoughts on the meal

Chuck steak has the beefy flavour of more expensive cuts like rump and scotch fillet (also known as ribeye in North America). The marbling gives the meat a rich, buttery flavour.

The melted and torched butter added a nutty flavour.

Slowly cooking the meat ensured tender muscle fibres, and the fat was nicely rendered.

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

Keneally, T. (1972). The chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. Angus and Robertson.

Murata, S., Ebeling, M., Meyer, A. C., Schmidt-Mende, K., Hammar, N., & Modig, K. (2023). Blood biomarker profiles and exceptional longevity: Comparison of centenarians and non-centenarians in a 35-year follow-up of the Swedish AMORIS cohort. GeroScience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00936-w

Stewart, P. (2023). Making it so: A memoir. Simon & Schuster Australia.

Legend

RSC = Royal Shakespeare Company.

TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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

LCHF = low-carbohydrate healthy-fat eating.

Red meat = is the meat of mammals, including 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.

Pork loin roast

Posted 2023-10-28 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 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.

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.

Instructions

Place the meat and the stock into the cooking vessel.
Slowly cook for six hours.
Remove the meat and place the roast on a tray and into the air fryer for 20 minutes at 160 °C (320 °F).
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.
Filter the cooking liquor and keep it as the perpetual master stock.
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.
Always give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with whatever implements you prefer. This includes your fingers.

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.

Introduction

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation

What have I been reading?

Standard mental health first aid manual

Lipoprotein(a) and diet—a challenge for a role of saturated fat in cardiovascular disease risk reduction?

Honey, what’s in a name?

What have I been listening to?

Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul’s Greatest Letter (Wright, 2023)

Recipe

Eat me, Gary.

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Cooking guide for rack of lamb

Thoughts on the meal

Disclaimer and comments

References

Legend

I'd love it if you shared

Like this:

Introduction

World Toilet Day

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation

What have I been reading?

Kangaroo and food safety

Fibre and Crohn’s disease

What have I been listening to?

Podcasts relevant to the conflict involving Israel and Palestine.

Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Thoughts on the meal

Fun stuff

Disclaimer and comments

References

Legend

I'd love it if you shared

Like this:

Introduction

Something curious

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG)

What have I been reading?

If you are over 60 with high cholesterol, you have nothing to fear from it.

What human pathogens are transmitted by wild ducks?

Australians are unlikely to give up meat and become vegetarian to help the environment.

What have I been listening to?

Making It So: A Memoir by Sir Patrick Stewart

Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Thoughts on the meal

Disclaimer and comments

References

Legend

I'd love it if you shared

Like this:

Introduction

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation

What have I been reading?

Blood biomarker profiles and exceptional longevity: comparison of centenarians and non-centenarians in a 35-year follow-up of the Swedish AMORIS cohort (Murata et al., 2023)

What have I been listening to?

Making It So: A Memoir by Sir Patrick Stewart

Today’s lunch

Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

Thoughts on the meal

Disclaimer and comments

References

Legend

I'd love it if you shared

Like this:

Introduction