New and Noteworthy: What I Read This Week—Edition 215

Research of the Week
Blending blackberries and apples has a lower glycemic response than eating whole apples and blackberries, possibly due to the pulverized blackberry seeds.

Persian traders interbred with local East African women beginning in 1000 AD, and modern Swahili people are the result.

The state of food systems worldwide.

Stressed plants scream.

Centenarians possess a uniquely robust immune response that lasts well into old age.

New Primal Kitchen Podcasts
Primal Health Coach Radio: So Much More Than Just Eating Fat with Robin Switzer

Primal Kitchen Podcast: Author Ben Greenfield’s Unconventional Methods for Better Health and a Happy Marriage
Media, Schmedia
Restoring brain’s mitochondria could slow aging and prevent dementia.

Amerindians had the horse much earlier than we thought.
Interesting Blog Posts
An evolutionary explanation for why exercise promotes longevity.

Chris Masterjohn’s most recent self-experiments.
Social Notes
Imagine.
Everything Else
How does metformin work?
Things I’m Up to and Interested In
Do you agree?: World’s best steak restaurants.

Interesting correlation: Higher ferritin (iron status), more visceral fat.

How could it be?: A drug that reduces LDL and increases HDL increases death rates.

Interesting idea: Dairy increases salt requirements in the context of carnivore?

It’s almost everything: Muscle.
Question I’m Asking
What’s the most important physical attribute to train, in your opinion?
Recipe Corner

Gluten-free roundup.
Chicken lettuce wraps are a kind of salad.

Time Capsule
One year ago (Mar 25 – Mar 31)

How to Make Butter, Yogurt, and Kefir at Home—Do it right.
How to Read Food Labels—Read ’em.

Comment of the Week
“I increased my protein to at least 100 grams to sometimes up to 150 and I lift heavier weights now. I’m 68 and I’ve definitely increased my muscle mass. Most older women do not eat enough protein. I lifted weights for years with not much progress until I increased protein.”

-It can all be so simple. Nice work.

The post New and Noteworthy: What I Read This Week—Edition 215 appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Read more

9 Types of Protein Powder

Whey protein isolate is the gold standard of protein powders, and it’s the only one I take besides collagen, but it’s not the only one out there. There are reasons for branching out beyond whey into other types of protein powder. Maybe you’d like some variety once in awhile. Maybe you’re just curious about what else is out there, or perhaps you don’t want any animal protein at all. Whatever the reason, I figured I’d give you some info on some of the more popular types of protein powder, including whether or not they contribute meaningfully to our intake of essential amino acids. Before we begin, let’s talk about how we can measure a protein’s usability. The BV (biological value) is one way to measure a protein’s “usability.” Biological value testing measures the amount of nitrogen that appears in the urine and feces after eating it to determine how much was retained and utilized by the body. If very little nitrogen appears in the toilet after eating a given protein, that protein has a high BV. If a good amount appears in the toilet, that protein has a lower BV. The higher the BV, the greater the proportion of available protein that can be synthesized by the body’s cells. Higher BVs usually indicate a greater amount of essential amino acids—those amino acids that the body cannot synthesize or convert on its own and must instead obtain from the diet—but it doesn’t measure them specifically. Note, though, that biological value does not refer to the amount of protein in the powder; it only refers to the usability of the protein in the powder. A particular powder might be 60% protein, and the biological value would tell you exactly how much of that 60% is usable by the body. Different powders have different protein contents. Hemp protein, for example, is often about 50% protein, but it varies by the manufacturer. A quick glance at the nutrition facts should clue you in. There’s also the protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS), which is the method by which the World Health Organization and FDA evaluate protein value. It’s a newer model, and it’s based on the amino acid requirements of humans, specifically children, as well as digestibility and absorption. To determine the PDCAAS, they measure fecal nitrogen and track the amount of essential amino acids in each protein powder. Most promotional materials use the BV, but the PDCAAS is more accurate for what we care about. Whey protein isolate (both isolate and concentrate) has an optimum PDCAAS of 1. A newer method of quantifying protein quality is the DIAAS, or Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score. This is similar to PDCAAS, but instead of measuring nitrogen in the feces, it measures nitrogen in the ileum after it has left the small intestine and before it descends into the large intestine. This is more accurate than measuring fecal protein, because fecal protein may be lower due to protein metabolism by gut bacteria. Measuring it in the … Continue reading “9 Types of Protein Powder”

The post 9 Types of Protein Powder appeared first on Mark's Daily Apple.

Read more