Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Do you got LAN???

Thoughts on this?
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/204236.php

12 comments:

  1. Been making my way through Sleep Sugar Lights Out. Holy crap, that stuff messes you up!

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  2. Rudy - I remember you talking about blacking out your bedroom before. How's that working out? I'm seriously tempted to do this.

    On another note, the temp drop is really helping me sleep better! Thank god.

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  3. Just curious where a good place to get jerky is. I bought some turkey jerky at Trader Joe's but seem to be going through a 4 oz. bag a day. Too much jerky? I know it's alot of salt. Checked the tallgrass kind for sale on the paleo website but it's the same price as Trader Joe's but for only 2 oz. per bag. Any recommendations or is sticking to the Trader Joe's the best bet? Also, any alternative ideas for jerky (before I go bankrupt)--it's my staple snack with nuts only. (Avoiding trail mix due to the dried fruit)

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  4. I agree, it's tough to find cheap... especially the good kind. The best stuff is always the most taxed :/

    If you eat that much, your best bet is probably to make your own. I've considered buying a dehydrator before, but I have a tendency to screw shit up pretty bad and I'm guessing this would be no exception.

    Check out the last post. Zach had some ideas for snacks that work well. Anyone have any insight on making their own jerky?

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  5. I can't stand bad science. Or perhaps just bad reporting in this case. I'm not sure which it is.

    I agree on the light at night being bad stuff. It's just that this article is not what you want to use to try to show it.

    The article actually says:
    1) Researchers discovered a link between LAN and obesity
    2) Mice that ate at odd hours gained weight. Mice that ate at regular hours gained no weight. Light had no effect.
    3) Tada, light messes up our metabolism.

    WHAT?

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  6. @John, the blacking out helped me feel more rested. Mandie was/is not a huge fan as she has more vivid dreams and tends to sleep walk/talk more but I say it's just her getting a deeper sleep. I'm cheap and I used a contractor garbage bag and taped it to our window under our blinds.

    @Christina, Make your own jerky. I think Tom Windish has a recipe and I know he has done a good bunch of batches.

    @JJ, I agree I read it acouple of times the LAN changed the times the mice WANTED to eat...

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  7. @ JJ and Rudy, i believe it is bad reporting more so than bad science. I read the actual article in PNAS (quite a reputable journal with high impact factor) and it comes across as sound in my opinion, though, neuroscience is not my cup of tea.

    to clarify, light exposure during the typical dark period resulted in increased body mass and glucose intolerace. Feeding behvior was also altered. Yet, overall activity and food consumption was controlled. therefore, they assessed if the altered timing in consumption contributed to the above primary findings. alas, it did. so LAN screws up clock, which screws up metabolism, blah blah blah...metabolic syndrome.

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  8. Costco has both Beef & Turkey Jerky. you get (2) 9oz bags of (I think 9 oz) for about $11, it's a pretty good deal. I really like it, but am worried about all the salt intake with it...

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  9. Jerky is not great for the salt intake issue, which is going to "help" you retain water, but also because most of it is going to have some form of sugar, usually HFCS, and some of the other seasonings usually involve soy. So, a couple of things that we're trying to cut out. Personally I can't stand eating most of the store bought stuff because it's so tough, so not a hard one to remove for me.

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  10. Here's my very simple recipe for home made beef jerky.

    I buy grass fed flank steak at Whole Foods. I ask them to slice it for me very thing, ideally like thick cut bacon. Getting them to slice it for you is very important to saving a lot of time.

    I marinate the beef overnight. You can use any marinade you like, there are thousands of recipes. I just used hot pepper flakes, cayenne and black pepper. I also use a little soy sauce and apple cider vinegar. You should skip the soy sauce to go true paleo.

    Set the oven on the lowest setting possible. I think mine was 160 degrees.
    Place the meat on baking sheets in the oven. Cook WITH THE OVEN DOOR CRACKED OPEN for 4-5 hours and then flip for another 4-5 hours. It might take less time, you will be able to visually tell if the meat is done.

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  11. Zack - can you explain the correlation with salt & sugar = retaining water? I know high sodium isn't good for you, but don't you just flush it out if you increase your water intake? I guess I'm trying to understand how "bad" it is and reasons to avoid it besides temporary water retention. Thanks!

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  12. Holly - I've been reading a lot lately that dietary salt may not be quite as evil as it is made out to be and as I've noted in the past if you've removed processed food from your diet, you've probably hedged your bets and also removed a lot of other crap in the process. Don't go too crazy on not adding it in to your veggies if it makes them more palitable. I'll find one of those articles on how 'bad' salt is and post it, just don't have one at my fingertips, but here's a general description I found on the water retention side:

    Our bodies rely on electrolytes, most significantly sodium and potassium, to carry the electrical impulses that control our bodily functions. In order for our bodies to function properly, it is important that the concentration of electrolytes in our bodies remain constant.

    A high concentration of electrolytes in our blood triggers our thirst mechanism, causing us to consume adequate amounts of water to return to the proper concentration of electrolytes. This is one of the reasons bars provide free salty snacks like pretzels and peanuts. The salt causes us to become thirsty and purchase more drinks.

    When we consume an adequate amount of water, our kidneys are able to keep the concentration of electrolytes in our blood constant by increasing or decreasing the amount of water we retain. The result of our retaining more or less water in our bloodstream can also affect our blood pressure.

    The water moves beyond our bloodstream, too. Through the process of osmosis, water flows from a lower salinity environment to a higher one in an attempt to balance the levels of salinity. After we consume large amounts of salt, it is the water moving from our bloodstream into our skin that gives us that "puffy" look and makes it hard to get our rings off. Then, when we consume lesser amounts of salt, the same process works in reverse to remove the excess water from our bodies.

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