Eating less animal-based foods is part of a strategy of dietary methionine restriction<\/a> (MR). MR has been found to be effective at treating certain cancers. In addition, in experimental animals it has been found to be as effective as caloric restriction (CR) in increasing healthy lifespan1<\/a><\/sup>. Paradoxically, MR increases appetite and food intake2<\/a><\/sup>, while at the same time increasing energy expenditure (EE)3<\/a><\/sup> resulting in weight loss overall4<\/a><\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n How does MR work? Again, it appears to reduce insulin and IGF-1 signalling5<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n How would we go about reducing methionine intake? <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Animal products are highest in methionine content, both because animal proteins have a relatively high percentage of methionine, and because their protein content is usually also high. Nuts are next highest, followed by grains and legumes<\/a>. Other vegetables are lower, and fruits are the lowest of all. The range goes from 1 mg methionine per 100 g of apple, to over 1000 mg per 100 g for beef and parmesan cheese. Thus, MR typically involves a vegan-type diet. In fact, it has been proposed that the beneficial effects of vegetarian diets on health may be due to their inherent methionine restriction6<\/a><\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n You may have identified a paradox here. If you\u2019ve ever looked into how to lose weight, you\u2019re likely aware of low-carb, or ketogenic diets. Since dietary carbohydrates are the most important stimulant of insulin secretion, these diets have been shown to be effective for weight loss and even for reversing type 2 diabetes. How to reconcile that with the inevitable high carb intake on a methionine restriction diet? Because in spite of all those carbs, methionine restriction lowers insulin levels and causes weight loss in overweight experimental animals. It also did so for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t have the answer, but I do have a theory. What if methionine restriction diets stimulated bacteria in the duodenum and small intestine to take up and metabolize the glucose from all those carbs? Then this glucose would not be available for absorption by the animal, and thus would not stimulate insulin secretion. While this theory fits the facts, it\u2019s hard to demonstrate because it\u2019s technically difficult to get at the duodenal or small intestine microbiome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Whatever the mechanism, methionine restriction lowers insulin and therefore will reduce inflammation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Yet another dietary approach to extending healthy lifespan is reducing protein intake. Studies in insects and mice have shown that low protein, high carbohydrate diets are associated with longest lifespan in ad libitum fed animals7<\/a><\/sup>. In humans, low protein diets reduce the risk for cancer and overall mortality in the population aged \u2264658<\/a><\/sup>. Dietary protein restriction in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease results in a slower decline in kidney function9<\/a><\/sup>. Anti-inflammatory effects10<\/a><\/sup> and improved brain functioning11<\/a><\/sup> have also been demonstrated. As for other anti-inflammatory strategies, it lowers insulin levels12<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Why avoid fruit? Everyone says eat more fruit and vegetables, as if they are somehow the same. But think about this: in most parts of the world, fruit is only available two times a year: in the spring when certain berries ripen (think strawberries) and again in the fall. If you\u2019re a hibernating bear, this is perfect; you wake from your long winter nap, very lean and oh-so-hungry, and you can gorge on those fruits to rapidly regain weight. And in the fall, all that fruit is helpful to build up your fat stores to get you through the winter. We\u2019re not bears, but in primitive societies survival may still be based on putting on weight rapidly from eating fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n And this is because fructose (fruit sugar) results in 2 to 3 times higher insulin levels than an equivalent amount of glucose13<\/a><\/sup>. Because insulin is necessary for fat cells to store fat, this evolutionary adaptation works well for the bear. But, appreciable amounts of fruit or fruit juice (or smoothies) every day may cause chronically high insulin levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, most research looking at the effects of plant-based diets lumps fruit and vegetable consumption together, but there are some studies looking at individual effects. Examples: a review found that increased intake of vegetables, but not fruit, was associated with decreased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma14<\/a><\/sup>. Another review reported that dietary vegetable rather than fruit intake was associated with 55% reduced risk of \u201cBarrett\u2019s Esophagus\u201d15<\/a><\/sup>, a condition which may precede adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. More specifically, higher fresh fruit consumption was found to be associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer16<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n With respect to mental health, a review concluded \u201cIncreased F&V consumption has a positive effect on psychological well-being and there appears to be a preferential effect of vegetables (compared with fruit) from the limited data examined\u201d17<\/a><\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n However, there is also evidence that fruit consumption provides health benefits. Fruit is not only fructose; it also has fibre, various antioxidants, and probably microRNA affecting the gut microbiome. So for example, dried fruit consumption is found to be associated with lower cancer incidence or mortality18<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n When considering various dietary sources of fructose, it\u2019s very clear that products containing high-fructose corn syrup, including sugar-sweetened beverages, are bad for your health. At lower consumption levels, fruit is associated with reduced mortality from a variety of conditions, but at higher intakes, the benefit disappears19<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n My advice, then, would be to eat only fresh, unprocessed fruit, so as to maximize benefit from fibre and microRNAs, and to not eat it too often or in large quantities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n As for fruits, some vegetables, eg red beets, carrots, sweet onions, sweet red peppers, or sweet potatoes, are relatively high in fructose content. On the other hand, their content of fibre, antioxidants, and microRNAs may outweigh any negative effects from the fructose load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n The next instalment<\/a> looks at beneficial beverages and at things you should try to eliminate from your diet\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n We can reduce inflammation by eating less of certain foods. This includes animal-based foods, high-protein foods, and possibly, fruit! Find out why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[535],"tags":[116,538,553,367,61,361,309,539,440,540],"class_list":["post-1775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diy-inflammation","tag-diet","tag-fructose","tag-fruit","tag-inflammation","tag-insulin","tag-methionine","tag-methionine-restriction","tag-microbiome","tag-protein","tag-protein-restriction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1775"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1922,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1775\/revisions\/1922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henry.olders.ca\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Eat less protein<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Eat less fruit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fewer sweet vegetables<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
End of instalment 3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Le Couteur DG, Solon-Biet S, Cogger VC et al. The impact of low-protein high-carbohydrate diets on aging and lifespan. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2016;73:1237-1252. PMID 26718486<\/a> ↩<\/a>\n\t<\/li>\n\t
Fructose is a simple sugar found in fruit and honey, but it is also used as sweeteners via added sugars, syrups, or high fructose corn syrup in processed foods or beverages. This is a concern because excessive fructose intake is linked to obesity and its comorbid diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We show that mice consuming a high fructose diet eat more and gain more weight and body fat than mice consuming chow or a high glucose diet. As the brain is a vital organ mediating the actions of fructose, we determined the neuronal maladaptations underlying fructose-mediated obesity. Interestingly, fructose feeding increased excitatory drive to hypothalamic neurons known to stimulate food intake, and this excitatory drive is comparable to that seen during hunger. This presentation will examine the synaptic plasticity and whether it may be reversed with the cessation of fructose feeding. Our findings indicate that central maladaptations following excessive fructose consumption may contribute to overeating and the development of diet-induced obesity. ↩<\/a>\n\t<\/li>\n\t