New study done at the University of Chicago demonstrates interesting, but expected results: Sleep deprivation causes decreased insulin sensitivity with 30 percent in healthy young individuals. These results were seen only after 4 days of 4.5 hours of sleep! Insulin sensitivity is the opposite of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance means that on a whole-body level…
I’ve been using different forms of stevia for several years now. I always wondered if stevia is safe in normal and even in higher doses. I did a search in the scientific literature. I went back to 1968 for individual studies and I found compilation studies as well. Before I tell you what I discovered,…
First, I used to be a natural bodybuilder and although I no longer compete I continue to live a similar to a competitive bodybuilder lifestyle (just without the extremes and the damage they cause). This means I continue to appreciate and seek to enrich whatever foods I personally “process” with good amounts of protein. Second,…
Have you ever forgotten an opened bag of potato chips in the pantry and by the time you remembered about it the chips were tasting “funny”? It’s because of the oils that the chips had been fried in have gone rancid? How did that happen? Read on… Before I talk about the ways cooking oils…
In part 1 I wrote about proteins as ingredients in functional food design. In part 2 I touched on carbohydrates in the same role, and this part 3 of the Functional Food Design Rules is dedicated to the third and last macro nutrient – fats or lipids (Greek for “fat”). For a good primer on fats I…
In part 1 I explained the term “functional food” and also discussed proteins and their inclusion in the design of functional foods. In this article I will discuss carbohydrates (fats in post 3). 2. Carbohydrates – types, health-promoting forms (sources) and quantities in foods There are 5 types of carbohydrates that I am concerned with when formulating…
First of all, the phrase “functional food design” implies that functional foods do not exist in nature and they have to be “designed” or formulated, or processed in some way, which is not exactly accurate. There are plenty of examples of such foods in their natural, unprocessed or wholesome state (different forms of algae come to mind here). On…
We have so totally departed from our normal ways of eating – the way we ate several thousand years ago – it is simply beyond belief! At least for those who can recognize that fact… I was watching a cooking show on the TV yesterday. The guy was demonstrating three super quick home deserts (I…
Just recently I posted a Low-carb Key Lime + Whey Protein Ice Cream recipe, but being the major chocolate lover I am, I couldn’t refrain from converting this recipe into a Low-carb RICH Chocolate Ice Cream functional formula – again with loads of whey protein isolate. I hope by now you’d know why my recipes are low-carb and…