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Dean Pomerleau

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It's unclear what you mean by "add oat" - what kind? I eat oats Saturday and Sunday (on weekdays, I only eat oat bran). My preparation is very simple. I use *steel cut oats*, which I boil for 5 minutes, then turn off and leave the pot for 12 hours. The next day, the oats are ready to eat. Ordinarily, you boil steel cut oats for about 30 minutes, but you can soak them instead for some hours without boiling - I've done that, but I prefer my compromise solution of boiling for 5 minutes and then leaving for 12 hours... minimizes AGEs compared to boiling for 30 minutes.

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I mix steel cut oats and flax meal , add a bit of water, and heat it in the microwave for about 2 minutes (it boils for about 45 seconds or so).  Then I add frozen berries and let it sit for a few minutes until it's just under room temperature.  I find it rather delicious, but many probably wouldn't.

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4 hours ago, TomBAvoider said:

It's unclear what you mean by "add oat" - what kind? I eat oats Saturday and Sunday (on weekdays, I only eat oat bran). My preparation is very simple. I use *steel cut oats*, which I boil for 5 minutes, then turn off and leave the pot for 12 hours. The next day, the oats are ready to eat. Ordinarily, you boil steel cut oats for about 30 minutes, but you can soak them instead for some hours without boiling - I've done that, but I prefer my compromise solution of boiling for 5 minutes and then leaving for 12 hours... minimizes AGEs compared to boiling for 30 minutes.

Sometimes I use old fashioned oats and other times steel cut. Doesn’t really matter except of course the water/oat ratio. 1/4 cup of steel cut per cup of water and 1/2 cup old fashion oats per cup of water. With old fashion oats you can dump them into boiling water and immediately put the other ingredients in. With steel cut it varies depending on the brand, but you definitely will have to cook them for some time before adding all the other ingredients.

the point of course has to do with nuts and soaking. This Recipe makes that Simple and very tasty as the nuts are in the fridge within the wet structure of oats etc. 

Edited by Mike41
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On 5/18/2020 at 9:47 AM, TomBAvoider said:

Dr. Greger on cyanide in flaxseeds:...

Here is a study, supporting Greger's claims.  Microwaving appears to be a great way to reduce cyanide in flaxseed -- it's actually also one of the least nutrient destructive methods of cooking :)

Effectiveness of different processing methods in reducing hydrogen cyanide content of flaxseed

The HCN content was 377 mg kg−1 in raw feed‐grade FS and 139 mg kg−1 in a human food‐grade FS. All processing methods tested significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the HCN content of FS. Autoclaving FS reduced its HCN content by 29.7%. Microwave roasting of FS reduced the HCN content by 83.3%. Because of the 5.7% water loss recorded after 4 min of FS roasting, this reduction could be related to more evaporation of the newly formed HCN.

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Ron, interesting numbers on cyanide content in flaxseed. that prompted me to search its content in almonds, and what came out was this article.

Quote

According to “Committee on Toxicity” (COT), apricot kernels contain almost 1450 mg/kg of cyanide, approximately 0.5 mg/kernel. Consumers are advised to eat only five kernels in one hour and no more than 10 per day [11].

So the safe level of HCN according to COT would be 2.5 mg per hour with a max of 5 mg per day.

In feed-grade FS we would have 0.14 mg/g, which would result in a safe dose of 18 grams in one hour, 36 grams in the whole day. Roasting FS might cause the destruction of some nutrients, especially so omega-3s, but I don't know which ones.

The following are the concentrations found in almonds, which would limit the average safe amount at 100 grams in an hour, 200 grams max in the day. 

I assume the above safe levels are related to average male bodyweight.

Quote

The toxicity of cyanide is largely attributed to the cessation of aerobic cell metabolism, which causes central nervous system and cardiovascular dysfunctions, by cellular hypoxia [9].

image.png.921c1466a06ddb785ba4cfbfcd815893.png

 

One last thing, the samples were collected in Tunisia. As I wrote in a previous post, some varieties of almonds are more bitterish and this is probably suggestive of a larger amount of HCN. Californian almonds seem to be at the lower level of HCN content by crude comparison.

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ARFD= 20microgram/kg bw= 1.4 mg in a 70 kg person. That's less than the previous dose of 2.5 mg, which is distributed in an hour though. The take-home lesson is maybe that some individuals should be very careful to the almonds, flaxseed and other foods containing cyanide glucosides.

Evaluation of the health risks related to the 1 presence of cyanogenic glycosides in foods other than raw 2 apricot kernels 3 4 EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain ( CONTAM ) , 5

12 In 2016, the EFSA CONTAM Panel published a scientific opinion on the acute health risks related to 13 the presence of cyanogenic glycosides (CNGs) in raw apricot kernels in which an acute reference dose 14 (ARfD) of 20 μg/kg bw was established for cyanide (CN). In the present opinion, the CONTAM Panel 15 concluded that this ARfD is applicable for acute effects of CN regardless the dietary source. Estimated 16 mean acute dietary exposures to cyanide from foods containing CNGs did not
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8 hours ago, mccoy said:

Ron, interesting numbers on cyanide content in flaxseed. that prompted me to search its content in almonds, and what came out was this article.

So the safe level of HCN according to COT would be 2.5 mg per hour with a max of 5 mg per day.

In feed-grade FS we would have 0.14 mg/g, which would result in a safe dose of 18 grams in one hour, 36 grams in the whole day....

Hm, you are making me nervous now.... :)  I have amped up my almond intake to about 30-35g per day, eaten all at once, with walnuts, cacao nibs, a banana or a pear and a Brazil nut.

I am getting a blood test done next week, will definitely include cyanide based on your post.  Thanks.

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I've been consuming about 75g of almonds virtually daily (except when I fasted) for decades now, most of the time paired with about a tablespoon of flaxmeal, and it's all-at-once. I'm still around, and not worried about cyanide.

I've tried to look around for health effects of long-term lowish-level cyanide exposure, and coming up pretty empty. Meanwhile, there are tons and tons of dire effects of arsenic with cancer a prominent danger. Thus, I'm far more worried about low level arsenic than low level cyanide. I figure unless you actually overdose with cyanide, small amounts don't seem particularly worrisome. Arsenic is a different matter. YMMV.

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5 minutes ago, TomBAvoider said:

I've been consuming about 75g of almonds virtually daily (except when I fasted) for decades now, most of the time paired with about a tablespoon of flaxmeal, and it's all-at-once. I'm still around, and not worried about cyanide.

I've tried to look around for health effects of long-term lowish-level cyanide exposure, and coming up pretty empty. Meanwhile, there are tons and tons of dire effects of arsenic with cancer a prominent danger. Thus, I'm far more worried about low level arsenic than low level cyanide. I figure unless you actually overdose with cyanide, small amounts don't seem particularly worrisome. Arsenic is a different matter. YMMV.

Good point and good to know I am not commiting suicide :) 

I'll still test my levels though, especially since I am getting close to 50g of flax (microwaved with water for 2 minutes) per day, and will report when I get the results in a week or two.

I assume that organic arsenic is less harmful, but who knows.

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1 hour ago, Ron Put said:

Good point and good to know I am not commiting suicide 🙂

I'll still test my levels though, especially since I am getting close to 50g of flax (microwaved with water for 2 minutes) per day, and will report when I get the results in a week or two.

I assume that organic arsenic is less harmful, but who knows.

I had give up eating hijiki, a very nutritious Japanese seaweed, because of the discovery that it is full of inorganic arsenic. Removing it from my diet was a tough one for me. 

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I believe that in practice the real danger of HCN intoxication from almonds occurs when eating bitter almonds, used in some pastry recipes and sometimes (in the past) found among sweet almonds. But it probably takes 20 of'em at one time for acute intoxication, which is more than any average person would stomach.

Edited by mccoy
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18 hours ago, TomBAvoider said:

arsenic with cancer a prominent danger. Thus, I'm far more worried about low level arsenic than low level cyanide. I figure unless you actually overdose with cyanide, small amounts don't seem particularly worrisome. Arsenic is a different matter. YMMV.

According to my mephrologist, organic As does not appear to be dangerous; it's the inorganic stuff that's severely poisonous.

(I have my heavy metals tested in my semi-annual bloodwork -- this is to test for Hg, since I eat fish.  All numbers come back vanishingly low -- except for As.  So, we did additional testing -- it's organic As -- at a level that would be fatal if it were inorganic.  I'm perfectly healthy.

  --  Saul

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  • 2 weeks later...
8 hours ago, InquilineKea said:

will i get substantial postprandial inflammation if i eat 1lb of almonds all at once?

Probably doesn't matter if  you rarely do it.  Doing it often would interfere with a CRON way of eating,  No one can accurately answer this question for you.  Get a markers of inflammation panel, eat the almonds wait an hour, repeat the labs.

 

Edited by Todd Allen
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9 hours ago, InquilineKea said:

will i get substantial postprandial inflammation if i eat 1lb of almonds all at once?

Everyone reacts in his or her own ways. If I ate 1 pounds of almonds presently my hearth rate would go up like crazy, my stomach would bloat and I'd be of a very nasty mood.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 6/4/2020 at 4:16 PM, TomBAvoider said:

I've been consuming about 75g of almonds virtually daily (except when I fasted) for decades now, most of the time paired with about a tablespoon of flaxmeal, and it's all-at-once. I'm still around, and not worried about cyanide.

My cyanide blood test shows 0.050 mg/l

According to the lab:

Normal:
Non-smoker:   <0.025
Smoker:   0.410

Exposed:
Levels of 0.200 are non-toxic
Levels of 0.500 to 1.000 are associated with tachycardia and flushing

Toxic:
Levels of 1.000 to 2.500 are associated with obtundation, coma and respiratory depression above 2.5
Levels of 3.000 and above are associated with death.

My guess is that the slightly elevated levels are due to the vaping of pot for better sleep, rather than with almonds or flax consumption.  So, the pot is out.

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I personally have nothing against pot - morally - I believe everyone should be free to ingest/smoke whatever it is they desire and it's nobody else's business. I've also read a lot of positive articles about a variety of possible health benefits of pot. I avoided it partially out of inertia - I'm not a smoker or vaper and make no effort to become one - but also simply because there are so many compounds in pot that it's hard to know what you're getting. It's a big bag of "mystery chemicals" - which makes me personally uneasy. That said, I don't think occasional smoking is harmful and the cyanide levels you cite don't seem alarming, assuming it can even be traced to pot. YMMV.

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39 minutes ago, TomBAvoider said:

It's a big bag of "mystery chemicals" - which makes me personally uneasy.

This is a part of the reason why I decided to cut it out.

I have no moral objections to drugs, of any kind, since I don't believe it's my business to tell other adults what they can do with their own bodies, no matter how harmful.  Heck, alcohol abuse kills more people than meth.  But I personally don't put stuff in my body without having a reasonable idea of what it is.  Pot is legal where I live and I buy brands that use clean extraction methods and are organic (although the plant is hardy enough that is almost never sprayed with anything, AFAIK).

I started switching to pot as I aged and noticed that the daily glass or two of wine started disrupting my sleep and sometimes giving me headaches.  So I thought pot is a good solution to obtaining a good night's sleep.  And it worked for a long while, helping me sleep through the whole night as heavy as a log.  But as my body got used to it, I needed more puffs. 

I noticed that I stopped dreaming, or at least that I never remembered my dreams.  I continued reading about pot use and while there is very limited research and mostly the studies that are out there don't show any of the serious harm associated with tobacco, there is some emerging evidence that ultimately it's not completely harmless.  So, I actually stopped it about a month ago, and while I do wake up a couple of times in the middle of the night, I fall right back to sleep, so I don't miss it.  And I dream a lot now :)

Since I got my blood tests, there are two which differentiate between non-smokers and smokers: cyanide and CEA.  I am slightly above the non-smoker level for both, although not close to the smoker levels.  Which is the reason I attribute the slightly elevated results to the vaping.  I am not worried about it, of course, but I am curious and will repeat both tests next year.

If the cyanide is still elevated, however slightly, then the 30g+ of almonds and 30-50g of flax may be blamed :)

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15 hours ago, Ron Put said:

I noticed that I stopped dreaming, or at least that I never remembered my dreams.  I continued reading about pot use and while there is very limited research and mostly the studies that are out there don't show any of the serious harm associated with tobacco, there is some emerging evidence that ultimately it's not completely harmless. 

Matthew Walker insists about that: Alcohol and Marijuana tend to suppress REM sleep, which can be very detrimental, to the extreme point of hallucinations (the brain needs dreams and tries to make up for their lack with hallucinations while in the waking state).

Why the body needs both non-REM sleep and REM sleep is explained at length in MW's book. I, for example, might be a good candidate for Marijuana use since I dream a lot and I suspect my non-REM sleep suffers a little. But I do have both practical and moral objections to the use of narcotics. Moral because many people do not have the mental strength to avoid addiction.

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2 hours ago, mccoy said:

Alcohol and Marijuana tend to suppress REM sleep

I can testify to that :)

But, since I have been tracking both sleep patterns and blood pressure, I have found measurable patterns that coincide with how I actually feel.

With marijuana, I sleep like a log, do not dream, but my Fitbit score remains high, usually in the 80s (for what it's worth).  My resting heart rate remains in the high-40s to low 50s range, which is normal for me.

With alcohol, my sleep pattern is disrupted: I fall asleep easily, but often wake up after a few hours and I am more restless throughout the night.  My Fitbit score generally dips significantly and my resting heart rate goes up significantly (3-5 beats higher, on average), and it takes a couple of days to return to normal.

While I still drink wine when I go out, I try to do it as little as possible and have actually stuck to water now that the restaurants are open again.  Bad for the restaurant and the waiter (I try to tip a little more :) but I feel better.  Of course, YMMV.

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  • 8 months later...

I have been thinking about my consumption of cacao nibs lately, and how the fat I consume daily from them (I've reduced my intake to about 5g-10g per day) and the fat I consume from nuts and avocado stacks up.

A couple of recent studies from Australia seem to suggest that a 7 or 8 to 1 ratio of (whole) carbs to fat is optimum, and if I remember, that's close to what the traditional Okinawan diet was as well. My fat intake is currently between 25% and 30%, most of it from nuts, cacao nibs, and flax (or less often, chia).

And I've been thinking that most studies extolling the benefits of nuts, avocado or cacao use seem to incorporate them as substitutions to unhealthy fats. So, last night I did a quick search and I found a video that may be on to something. I am not saying that it is a definitive answer, but it gave me a pause and I think it's worth exploring:
 

 

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