42 replies to this topic

[DO1234]

I've gone back and forth on this. I usually alternate between either a smoothie, eggs/veggies or oatmeal with some goodies added to it. I have friends who insist on water first thing in the morning with some fresh lemon juice and MSM. On days where I feel too "lazy" to eat right away I'll often start off with a tablespoon of liquid fish oil.

I'd love to hear what you all consume first thing in the morning and why.

[tunt01]

a small bit of food, often a half cup of pomegranate juice. something to kick in the insulin production before eating a full breakfast. it is part of a process of 'breaking' from an overnight fast. it helps lower your total glucose levels and blood sugar control when the actual full breakfast meal comes.

[1kgcoffee]

Depends on what your body needs right then. Some people need a bit of a protein or fat, some need a bit of water or tea, maybe some fruit or nuts. I don't think there is a universal answer.

[Shepard]

Coffee. Black. Lots of it.

[Skötkonung]

I try and keep the ketogenic state going to help mobilize fat. Usually I will have some heavy whipping cream in a mint tea blend, maybe with a little chocolate whey protein added. And a small portion of blueberries (under 5-10g carb).

[Alex Libman]

I am more likely to subtract from my body before putting anything into it in the morning.

Then - water.

Then - most likely a home-cooked breakfast dish involving buckwheat, soy, flax, vegetables, etc (a healthy substitute for Chinese pork-fried rice, except it's vegan and oil-free).

Then - a basic multivitamin supplement + extra calcium.

[Lester]

Must... not... give... first... thought....

[pmcglothin]

[quote name='prophets' date='Apr 15 2010, 11:24 AM' post='399810']
a small bit of food, often a half cup of pomegranate juice. something to kick in the insulin production before eating a full breakfast. it is part of a process of 'breaking' from an overnight fast. it helps lower your total glucose levels and blood sugar control when the actual full breakfast meal comes.


Great response to a valuable question.

The name of the game for longevity is in part keeping glucose low, so the "Tease meal" you recommend, is an integral part of the CR Way Lifestyle, that I and thousands of others follow. I would just add that it would be wise to add some fat(walnuts, olive oil, for example), which helps activate insulin and makes the resulting lipid better.

Pomegranate juice is a bit of a high glycemic food, so if you check and find your glucose is high, it is better to start with something that demands less insulin.

Paul

[tunt01]

I would just add that it would be wise to add some fat(walnuts, olive oil, for example), which helps activate insulin and makes the resulting lipid better.

Pomegranate juice is a bit of a high glycemic food, so if you check and find your glucose is high, it is better to start with something that demands less insulin.

I neglected to mention that I actually take it w/ a tablespoon of psyllium husk seeds mixed in. Almost all fruit juice lacks dietary fiber found in full body fruits (skin, peels, etc.). Psyllium husk seeds (soluble fiber) seem like a nice addition. Hopefully it gets fermented properly in the large intestine, produces short-chain fatty acids and improves the metabolism/insulin response (broadly mentioned here).


Do you think it would still be wise to add a dietary fat? I guess I should probably get a glucometer and measure.

Thanks Paul.

[oehaut]

fat(walnuts, olive oil, for example), which helps activate insulin and makes the resulting lipid better.

How does fat helps activate insulin? First time i'm hearing this, but coming from you, it must simply be that i'm ignoring something.

[tunt01]

How does fat helps activate insulin? First time i'm hearing this, but coming from you, it must simply be that i'm ignoring something.

that's what confused me. i thought dietary fat simply slowed the dumping of higher GI foods into the body (slowing the digestion rate), reducing the postprandial response.

Example: White Bread + 90g of Almonds




I guess the concern I have with nuts is the notorious PUFA issue... not sure PUFA nuts are the optimal choice.

Maybe a few olives or EVOO might be a good idea tho.

[ajnast4r]

first and foremost: caffeine

then water...

then.. complex carbs, protein & choice of berries

Edited by ajnast4r, 16 April 2010 - 02:44 AM.

[nushu]

16oz unsweetened tea, then 5 whole eggs cooked in a tablespoon of coconut oil and 4 grams of fish oil.

[RighteousReason]

What's the best first thing to put in your body when you wake up?

great question.

for me...

2 raw eggs. coffee.

[Luna]

raw eggs?!

[gregandbeaker]

raw eggs?!

Surprisingly delicious if you have a trusted source.

[TheFountain]

I would say protein and anti-inflammatory foods/supplements. Turmeric, tablespoon of olive oil, 10 grams of protein from either hemp, soy, whey or whatever. Wait half an hour, eat some oatmeal and berries.

[Alex Libman]

I used to consume a lot of raw eggs before I became a vegan - very tasty, especially mixed with a bit of soy sauce, and the proteins digest a little better. I'm particularly fanatical about cardiovascular health nowadays so the egg yolks are an absolute no-no as far as I'm concerned, but egg whites are still quite healthy.

[Mia K.]

Must... not... give... first... thought....

Ha! Lester,

We're all adults here, right?  I had the same first thought.

Clearly though, the OP meant "ingest."

I can wake up feeling kind of dehydrated, so it's always alkaline water w/a pinch of sea salt + potassium chloride blend w/a coupla supps.  Then onto the black coffee.  Breakfast follows a long walk and is small:  protein & fat w/fewer than 7-10g. carb.  Something along the line of 3 eggs or Greek yogurt w/ricotta and whey protein powder, or leftover meat/veg from the night before.  No more than 25g P or 300 kCals.  

If I'm not hungry in the morning I conclude I ate too much the previous night, but a heavy breakfast weighs me down for the day.

Regards, Mia

[DO1234]

Yes, I meant "ingest".

@Mia - Do you have a home system for getting alkaline water? Been looking into that myself...

@TheFountain - I'm try to reduce inflammation so would be interested in starting out that day right as well. That EVOO, tumeric, protein powder combo...do you mix those together? Seems like it would taste exceedingly gross but since I've never tried it I guess I don't really know.

General question for the group. I've heard it stated that some water with lemon juice first thing in the morning before any food will help to clear out the colon. Do you think there's any validity to that?

Great responses by the way!

[Mia K.]

@Mia - Do you have a home system for getting alkaline water? Been looking into that myself...

No Mr. Ocean, we don't have a system for alkalizing water.  I use Fiji w/ or w/o "pH Protector Drops" or essentia.

IIRC, DukeNukem has such a home filtration system.

Best, Mia

Oh, and about the water/lemon juice I've read that (warmed) along with olive oil and perhaps cayenne it's good for the liver.  Dunno much about this though, nor its effect on the colon.

[e Volution]

I am going to go against the grain here and say: nothing! ok maybe a bit of coffee (but with no milk/sugar). I've tried big breakfasts to light snacks, high fat to low fat, and never have I felt as good as I do now on my current regimen of simply fasting till lunch... I don't consider it fasting though as I have never felt the urge to eat breakfast. When I do wake up hungry from time to time, I eat an omelette or a coconut milk, berry & whey shake. The one thing I do try and avoid these days is carbohydrates! Just a small quantity and I find as midday rolls around I am ravenously hungry, but simply skip the carbs and I could almost go all day without eating!

Can anyone give me a good argument as to why skipping breakfast would NOT be the optimum protocol for longevity?

[pmcglothin]

['pmcglothin' post='399941' date='Apr 16 2010, 01:38 AM']fat(walnuts, olive oil, for example), which helps activate insulin and makes the resulting lipid better.[/quote]

['oehaut' date='Apr 15 2010, 10:05 PM' post='399952']
How does fat helps activate insulin? First time i'm hearing this, but coming from you, it must simply be that i'm ignoring something.
[/quote]




Quote (prophets Apr 15 2010, 10:30 PM )

>That’s what confused me. i thought dietary fat simply slowed the dumping of higher GI >foods into the body (slowing >the digestion rate), reducing the postprandial response.

Thanks to both of you for your kind words and thoughtful comments.

One of insulin's jobs is fat storage, studies show that fat acts as an insulin stimulus, increasing its output. You can also find this in physiology books. Insulin stimulus by fat is part of the glycemic control protocol in The CR Way.

Regarding the PUFA issue, in my own testing, I have not found fatty acid elongation to be a concern. Here’s a post I wrote about it from The CR Society forum:


*Mitochondrial membrane peroxidizability index is inversely related to
maximum life span in mammals *

Pamplona, et al

*Journal of Lipid Research*. 1998 Oct;39(10):1989-94 PMID:
9788245



The oxidative stress theory of aging predicts a low degree of fatty acid
unsaturation in tissues of longevous animals, because membrane lipids
increase their sensitivity to oxidative damage as a function of their
unsaturation. Accordingly, the fatty acids analyses of liver mitochondria
from eight mammals, ranging in maximum life span from 3.5 to 46 years, show
that the total number of double bonds and the peroxidizability index are
negatively correlated with maximum life span (r = -0. 88, P < 0.003; r -0.87, P < 0.004, respectively). This is not due to a low content of
unsaturated fatty acids in longevous animals, but mainly to a redistribution
between kinds of the polyunsaturated n–3 fatty acids series, shifting from
the highly unsaturated docosahexaenoic acid (r = -0.89, P < 0.003) to the
less unsaturated linolenic acid (r = 0.97, P < 0.0001). This redistribution
pattern strongly suggests the presence of a constitutively low
{Delta}6-desaturase activity in longevous animals (r = -0.96, P < 0.0001).



Studies such as this one, have a lot of relevance to calorie restrictors not
because they prove that taking fish oil dangerously increases membrane
peroxidizability, but because they point out that low delta desaturase
activity redistributes fatty acid content of membranes away from longer
chain fatty acids. I, along with other calorie restrictors in a pilot study
Meredith and I put together and reported at the CR conference in Madison ,
have noticed that in spades in fatty acid testing, observing that despite
high dietary intake of ALA and regular intake of fish oil, very little EPA
or DHA makes it into membranes analyzed in fatty acid testing. This was
observed in the first human CR study, which Meredith and I created with
MetaMetrix Laboratories in 2002.


Consider my fasting glucose of 70mg/dl yesterday morning – on the low side
of typical for serious human calorie restrictors. When glucose gets that low
and stays low for a period of time, fat is burned vociferously. As you
probably have read in Guarente’s work, SIRT1 blocks the PPAR-gamma fat
receptor.



*Nature*. 2004 Jun 17;429(6993):771-6. Epub 2004 Jun 2.


*Sirt1 promotes fat mobilization in white adipocytes by repressing
PPAR-gamma.*

Picard F, Kurtev M, Chung N, Topark-Ngarm A, Senawong T, Machado De Oliveira
R, Leid M, McBurney MW, Guarente L.

Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
02139


…

Here we show that the mammalian SIR2 orthologue, Sirt1 (sirtuin 1),
activates a critical component of calorie restriction in mammals; that is,
fat mobilization in white adipocytes. Upon food withdrawal Sirt1 protein
binds to and represses genes controlled by the fat regulator PPAR-gamma
(peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma), including genes
mediating fat storage. Sirt1 represses PPAR-gamma by docking with its
cofactors NCoR (nuclear receptor co-repressor) and SMRT (silencing mediator
of retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors). Mobilization of fatty acids from
white adipocytes upon fasting is compromised in Sirt1+/- mice. Repression of
PPAR-gamma by Sirt1 is also evident in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, where
overexpression of Sirt1 attenuates adipogenesis, and RNA interference of
Sirt1 enhances it. In differentiated fat cells, upregulation of Sirt1
triggers lipolysis and loss of fat. As a reduction in fat is sufficient to
extend murine lifespan, our results provide a possible molecular pathway
connecting calorie restriction to life extension in mammals.



PMID: 15175761



Along with the blocking of the PPAR-gamma fat forming complex. desaturase
and elongase enzymes are downregulated, which makes sense since the body
shifts from fat storage and processing mode to fat burning to compensate for
the low energy availability of calorie restriction.



In the unpublished study we created, this was acutely observed when nearly
everyone reported very low levels of long chain fatty acids.

I hope this is helpful. Back to the topic though, psyllium needs a lot of liquid with it to work well and pomegranate juice is just too high to probably be a healthy match up. Another, possibly more effective way to activate peristalsis, control glucose and enjoy some nutrient dense foods to boot is to enjoy some blueberries – say 80 grams with a generous amount of almond milk , a few walnuts if you like possibly some wild rice and then go on a vigorous walk for around 45 minutes. Add some crunches if you feel energetic. You will like your glucose reading at the end of the walk and we now know that keeping glucose low is essential to activating the longevity biochemistry seen in CR’d animals.

Wishing you extraordinary health,

Paul

[oehaut]

Studies such as this one, have a lot of relevance to calorie restrictors not
because they prove that taking fish oil dangerously increases membrane
peroxidizability, but because they point out that low delta desaturase
activity redistributes fatty acid content of membranes away from longer
chain fatty acids. I, along with other calorie restrictors in a pilot study
Meredith and I put together and reported at the CR conference in Madison ,
have noticed that in spades in fatty acid testing, observing that despite
high dietary intake of ALA and regular intake of fish oil, very little EPA
or DHA makes it into membranes analyzed in fatty acid testing. This was
observed in the first human CR study, which Meredith and I created with
MetaMetrix Laboratories in 2002.

[...]

Consider my fasting glucose of 70mg/dl yesterday morning – on the low side
of typical for serious human calorie restrictors. When glucose gets that low
and stays low for a period of time, fat is burned vociferously. As you
probably have read in Guarente’s work, SIRT1 blocks the PPAR-gamma fat
receptor.

Is this something particular to CR? What for someone with hyperglycemia, or insulin resistance, or someone with a more regular fasting glucose level? Would desaturase activity be upregulate?

Thanks for sharing, it would be very great to have your input on this forum more often

I'm going to look at the effect of fat on insulin, I had no idea it had a stimulatory effect. I, like prohet, was under the assumption that it simply slowed down gastric emptying and reducing the GI og given carbs. Thanks!

[Skötkonung]

I'm going to look at the effect of fat on insulin, I had no idea it had a stimulatory effect. I, like prohet, was under the assumption that it simply slowed down gastric emptying and reducing the GI og given carbs. Thanks!

Fat on its own does not stimulate insulin very much. Fat plus carbohydrate stimulates insulin more than carbohydrate alone. Fat plus protein stimulates insulin more than protein, but the effect is blunted by glucagon.

[chris w]

Your significant other's fluids. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

[xontek]

Your significant other's fluids. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

Why apologize? I agree with this.

And I think 2nd best would be water.

[lucid3]

I would say protein and anti-inflammatory foods/supplements. Turmeric, tablespoon of olive oil, 10 grams of protein from either hemp, soy, whey or whatever. Wait half an hour, eat some oatmeal and berries.

What would be the advantage of taking anti-inflammatory foods/supplements first thing in the morning? Is there something about sleep which specifically causes inflammation which should be countered ASAP upon waking? Or is it just that anti-inflammatory foods/supplements are more effective first thing in the morning? Or some other reason(s) I'm missing.

I know this is an oldish thread/post, however if anyone can shed some light on this, I'd appreciate it. Thanks

[TheFountain]

I would say protein and anti-inflammatory foods/supplements. Turmeric, tablespoon of olive oil, 10 grams of protein from either hemp, soy, whey or whatever. Wait half an hour, eat some oatmeal and berries.

What would be the advantage of taking anti-inflammatory foods/supplements first thing in the morning? Is there something about sleep which specifically causes inflammation which should be countered ASAP upon waking? Or is it just that anti-inflammatory foods/supplements are more effective first thing in the morning? Or some other reason(s) I'm missing.

I know this is an oldish thread/post, however if anyone can shed some light on this, I'd appreciate it. Thanks

I have since realized that a generally low inflammation diet is the best option available day and night.

To my understanding that means low arachidonic acid intake (I believe we still need some for growth but no more than a minimal amount in adulthood), low or no trans fat ingestion, and of course a low GI food selection. This means no white flour based foods or processed sugary items. But I am sure most of us know this (hopefully) by now.

[brunotto]

Pomegranate juice is a bit of a high glycemic food, so if you check and find your glucose is high, it is better to start with something that demands less insulin.

Acutally fructose has the lowest glicemic & insuline index... not all the carbs stimulate insuline !!!!
Fructose produces triglicerids but this is a different story...