Dr Kruse has delighted us with yet another endless post, far more coherent this time and backed with more than a hundred "cites", as if challenging the doggedly inclined geeks among us to get him if we can:
http://jackkruse.com...hermogenesis-7/ The gist of the post boils down to the importance of circadian rhythms in regulation of metabolism. In the endless succession of paragraphs this message is reiterated with minor variations in the manner of Leo Tolstoy determined to impart on a reader the horror of war.
It so happened that I was just reading about a Russian maverick, a peasant Porphyry Ivanov, who promoted the same message, albeit succinctly and in plain terms. In order to restore health, he called to let go of trappings of civilization and get close to nature. Thus in the last 50 years of his life he wore only short pants, in all seasons:
During his life he attracted quite a following and after his death in the 1980s (age 85) spawned at least two rivaling sects, who reverently call him The Teacher, in addition to inspiring countless independent devotees throughout the vast expanses of Russia. His major appeal was in his call to embrace nature. He healed with cold and advocated moderation in diet (which is hard to assess since he probably did not even know what a calorie was, let alone counted them). His advice in moderation in diet he coupled with frequent fasts: weekly 1-2 day fasts and the longer ones that he tied to the traditional fasts in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church.
At the height of his popularity, not unilke Dr Kruse, he promised to his followers eternal youth and maybe even life. Alas, Porphyry Ivanov died of the complications of a long-standing infection that he could not heal with cold. Always barefoot, a year or two before his death he cut his foot. You can see his right leg swollen on the photo above. From what I could gather, he died of sepsis aggravated by flu. It seems his immune sys finally took a dip bringing his life to an end.
And so,
returning to Dr Kruse and his Cold Thermogenesis and Leptin Reset protocols, it's hard to argue with the apparent success of his methods among the overweight in his following. Especially since the principles on which they stand, in addition to being intuitively appealing, can be backed by historical anecdotes. As a geek though, I am bothered by his apparent disrespect to a reader: I took a few random shots at his post and saw that he simply piled up whatever quotes google gave for circadian rhythms, apparently with the sole aim to impress. His distinct style readily exposed his own contributions too, one of them being the following:
Cold temperatures sensitize us to leptin by causing it to be released from fat cells over time leading to a lower level in the blood chronically. Low temperatures also cause us to increase our RER, while eating a low calorie diet and still maintaining our lean skeletal muscle mass. These findings show that during very low-calorie diets, and low temperatures , are a stimulant of a FAS inhibitor, like leptin, and would raise malonyl-CoA levels, while decreasing the expression of NPY and AgRP. Clinically this results in sustained satiation for longer periods of time with less food.
Hello? Translated to plain terms, this means that, in the cold, while eating less and spending more (for thermogenesis), one is satisfied with less food while rewarded with more energy. Unfortunately, his generous sprinkling of the terms from molecular biology does not elucidate the actual mechanism that permits this metabolically free lunch.
That's why I am disappointed with Dr Kruse. He failed to explain the metabolic mystery that intrigued me in my personal experience. And so I go back to my old hypothesis that upregulation of mitochondrial metabolism is responsible for both the marked increase in demand for O2 and drastically cut calories, while subjectively feeling warm --nay, hot!-- despite the actual decrease in body temperature.
That's right. The body temperature goes down on low calories in the cold. It is reported in the literature and is confirmed by anecdotal experiences, including mine. It is common for fasters
to feel hot, especially on dry fasts, but the very few who actually bothered to check their temperature with a thermometer, reported that instead of the expected rise, they saw not even normal, but lower than normal temperatures.
On this ends my interest in what Dr Kruse has to say. My BMI throughout my adult life has always naturally gravitated to 19-20, which I guess makes me superbly "leptin sensitive" in his terms. ......which in no way was meant to diminish his contribution for all those who may benefit from his protocols.
Edited by xEva, 23 March 2012 - 07:49 PM.
