Leptin

I've been puzzled by an interesting question lately. Why is it that certain cultures are able to eat large amounts of carbohydrate and remain healthy, while others suffer from overweight and disease? How do the pre-industrial Kuna and Kitavans maintain their insulin sensitivity while their bodies are being bombarded by an amount of carbohydrate that makes the average American look like a bowling ball?

I read a very interesting post on the Modern Forager yesterday that sent me on a nerd safari through the scientific literature. The paper that inspired the Modern Forager post is a review by Dr. Staffan Lindeberg. In it, he attempts to draw a link between compounds called lectins, found in grains (among other things), and resistance to the hormone leptin. Let's take a step back and go over some background.

One of the most-studied animal models of obesity is called the "Zucker" rat. This rat has a missense mutation in its leptin receptor gene, causing it to be nonfunctional. Leptin is a hormone that signals satiety, or fullness. It's secreted by fat tissue. The more fat tissue an animal has, the more leptin it secretes. Normally, this creates negative feedback that causes it to eat less when fat begins to accumulate, keeping its weight within a narrow range.

Zucker rats secrete leptin just fine, but they lack leptin receptors in their brain. Their blood leptin is high but their brain isn't listening. Thus, the signal to stop eating never gets through and they eat themselves to morbid obesity. Cardiovascular disease and diabetes follow shortly thereafter, unless you remove their visceral fat surgically.

The reason Zucker rats are so interesting is they faithfully reproduce so many features of the disease of civilization in humans. They become obese, hypometabolic, develop insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Basically, severe metabolic syndrome. So here's a rat that shows that leptin resistance can cause something that looks a whole heck of a lot like the disease of civilization in humans.

For this model to be relevant to us, we'd expect that humans with metabolic syndrome should be leptin-resistant. Well what do you know, administering leptin to obese people doesn't cause satiety like it does in thin people. Furthermore, elevated leptin predicts the onset of obesity and metabolic syndrome. It also predicts insulin resistance. Yes, you read that right, leptin resistance may come before insulin resistance.

Interestingly enough, the carbohydrate-loving Kitavans don't get elevated leptin like europeans do, and they don't become overweight, develop insulin dysfunction or the metabolic syndrome either. This all suggests that leptin may be the keystone in the whole disease process, but what accounts for the differences in leptin levels between populations?

More about → Leptin

Mixed Berries Yoghurt Bread

After reading about KWF's Yoghurt Bread, I couldn't wait to try it. In fact, I have earlier planned to make a yogurt bread base on a recipe from a cookbook. However, I decided to try her recipe first as her lovely buns are just too good to give it a miss!


Instead of shaping the bread into buns, I made it into a loaf...for the sole reason that my younger boy has recently developed this love of spreading half kaya and half butter on a slice of bread. He has since demanded for a square bread every morning, for the past 2 months...and he would rather have just milk with honey stars if there is no square bread on the breakfast table.

A couple of weeks ago, I chanced upon a range of Gold Harvest flour on promotion at the local supermarket. The discounted price was almost the same as the usual bread flour I used. I grabbed one pack of the Harvest King Better for Bread Flour without any further hesitation, even though I had to lug the 5lb (2.2kg) flour, on top of the other stuff I bought, all the way home...on public transport. It was only after making a few other loaves before I got the chance to use this brand of flour for this loaf.

I used my breadmaker to knead the dough for a total of 30mins. Just after the first 15mins of kneading, I could hear the dough banging loudly in the bread pan. This meant that the dough was already smooth and no longer stick to the pan. I stopped the machine after the 20mins of kneading cycle had completed...re-start and let it knead for a further 10mins. Even though the dough didn't exactly passed the pane or stretch test, I removed it from the pan, shaped it into a smooth dough and let it rise in room temperature. Within an hour or so, the dough had doubled in size. I divided it into 3 equal portion, shaped and rolled into 3 smaller doughs and let them proof for the second time in a pullman tin. The second proofing took a little longer...it was way pass 1.5hrs before the dough rise up close to the rim. I baked the bread at 180degC for 30-35mins.


I have used Meiji's mixed berries yoghurt for this bread. As the yoghurt was purplish(it has got strawberries, raspberries and blueberries in it)...the dough became an odd colour during the mixing. I added in a tiny drop of pink food colouring, just to make sure that the bread would not turned into some strange colour. The result was a pretty pink bread :)


The bread was a great success. Look at how soft and cottony the texture was?! Besides the yoghurt, I wonder whether the Harvest King flour had a major role in contributing to the nice texture of the bread??


Although the fragrance from the yoghurt was quite prominent in the bread, taste wise, it was a little plain on it's own, probably due to the small amount of sugar used. It didn't has the 'chew' (嚼劲) as compared to the Hokkaido Milk Loaf (which I baked just two days before this loaf, so I was able to remember its texture). Nevertheless, it went well with my raspberry jam. The bread stayed soft for two days...and as suggested by my friend VB, I kept one slice up to the third day...it was just a little on the dry side. This recipe is certainly a keeper...I will make this whenever I can find a tub of yoghurt in my fridge :D

I managed to borrow this book from the library over the weekend. I really liked the cute toast photo on the cover, and couldn't help but made a copycat version ;p


Here's sharing with you what is mentioned in this book...regarding how to choose a good loaf of sandwich bread. Basically there are 4 factors to look out for:

1. The finished loaf should have a nice even square shape, and the crust should be nice golden brown. The holes on the crumbs should be evenly distributed...and they should not be too big or too small, this implies that the bread has undergone a proper proofing process.

2. The bread should emit just a mere hint of fragrance from the wheat, it should not give a yeasty odor or sour flavour (unless it you are making a sourdough bread).

3. The inside (crumb) should be soft, tender and would spring back when lightly pressed.

4. A tasty sandwich bread should have a light chew to it. It should taste soft and yet a little moist, and not dry. When chewed, it should not form into a lump, giving a doughy texture and taste. In addition, the bread can be shredded/torn into long stripes easily...evidence of a well kneaded dough.

So, did your homemade bread pass all these criteria? Mine certainly has got lots of room for improvement :)

More about → Mixed Berries Yoghurt Bread

Where I'm going, where I've been

I'll start with the where I've been:

After NBC took over Oxygen, our lovely, little agile group got a bit... lost. We lost our product owners and inspiration and little by little, we found other opportunities and now, there is no more group.

Next, I went on to an agile coaching role. While bad experiences can inspire the best writing, this was not the case. I decided to resign quickly.

That leads me to my next bit of news -- I am 20 weeks pregnant. I want to spend every week before embarking on motherhood on a worthwhile and fun adventure!

So, where am I now?

I am consulting in NYC on a motivated and talented team working on WPF applications. Its great to be back in this space!

Where am I going?

No idea. From what I hear, into sleepless nights! I plan on working after the baby, but nothing is official at the moment and I'm happy that way.

What about the hot agilistas?

No worries! Oksana and I will still be at TechEd in June. Pregnant women are hot too! Seriously, 7 months pregnant in June in Florida! Who plans that?

More about → Where I'm going, where I've been

CINNAMON BUN STYLES: THEY'RE ALL GOOD

cream cheese frosting slathered cinnamon bun

I have a 15 year old Black and Decker bread machine stashed away in my cupboard.

You didn't know Black and Decker made bread machines, didja? (no, I didn't buy it at Home Depot!) I have gotten some good use out of my machine and it's still chugging along no problems...knock-on-wood! Though it's an ugly beast it does the job. It doesn't have a little glass window so you can watch the bread mix, rise and bake. I just lift the lid and take a peek. What I discovered is that it's perfect for making really wet and sticky doughs. I just use the "dough" setting and when it's ready I do the rest by hand. I've made foccaccia, brioche and of course cinnamon buns with this great dough setting.

I was flipping through my collection of cinnamon bun recipes and I came across a couple of favourites...

In Vancouver, we have an institution that makes the best Cinnamon Buns ever. They're unique and you have to be a starving university student to understand the cult-like following that these buns have. In fact, you have to be on campus to purchase these buns. The University of British Columbia has the best caramelized cinnamon buns out there. There's no stupid raisins sticking out of the dough. There's no nuts and there's no cream cheese frosting. The texture is lighter and they're not as rich as the ones you buy at the mall. But these suckers are HUGE. Each bun is about 3 inches tall and the size of a side plate. The centres are of course the best with all their sticky gooeyness.

When I was attending UBC, I'd buy one and it would sustain me the whole day. Not a very balanced diet, but this wasn't what I did every day. I acquired the UBC Cinnamon Bun recipe from the local newspaper, The Vancouver Sun, and made them many times. The last time I made it, as I was pulling the roasting pan out of the oven, (yes, they're so huge you need a roasting pan for them) the pan touched my inner forearm and I had the nastiest burn ever. I haven't really made them since.

However, if you're a daredevil and think you could eat the whole batch, I'll include the recipe for UBC Cinnamon buns in this post. It's a traditional recipe, made by hand, and yields enough buns to feed a small country or your kids' soccer team. Just scroll to the bottom.

The next best thing to UBC Cinnamon buns are those that you get slathered with cream cheese frosting. There are different chains producing them in the food courts in malls and some bakeries and coffee shops carry them too.


I have a quick and easy Bread Machine Cream Cheese Frosting slathered Sin-Amen (hey, I coined an oxymoron!) Bun recipe.

The dough is all mixed in your Bread Machine according to manufacturer's instructions...on just the dough cycle. You take out the dough, roll it out and fill it and then roll it up like a jellyroll. You don't even have to wait for a second rise. You just pop it in the hot oven and by the time you finish creaming together the frosting, the buns are ready!

So you can choose your cinnamon bun style today: traditional (i.e. time-consuming), light and caramelized or quick (i.e. bread machine), dense, gooey, creamy and rich


SIN-AMEN ROLLS WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
(BREAD MACHINE METHOD)

DOUGH:
1 T (1 pkg) dry yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 t salt
4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut up into 1 cm cubes

• FILLING:
  1 cup packed golden sugar
  2 1/2 T cinnamon
  1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
  ICING:
  8 T unsalted butter, softened
  1/2 cups powdered sugar
  1/4 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
  1/2 t vanilla
  1/8 t salt


• PREHEAT the oven to 400 degreesF


• DOUGH: following the manufacturer's instructions, dump all the dough ingredients into the bread machine in the correct order. Press the dough setting.


• While the dough is being processed in the machine, prepare the Filling and the Icing.


• FILLING: mix the golden brown sugar and cinnamon well.


• When the dough cycle is complete, roll out the dough to approximately 21 inches by 16 inches. [cakebrain's secret tip: I do all of my rolling on a plastic wrap-lined counter. I sandwich the dough between two layers of plastic wrap and roll with a rolling pin until I get my desired measurements. Yes, it's unorthodox, but I don't make a mess, it isn't sticky, I don't use additional flour and it's a breeze to clean up! Scoff if you must, you professional pastry chefs, but I'm not wasting time cleaning up afterwards!]


• Using a pastry brush, brush the melted butter evenly on the rolled out dough. [don't forget to peel off the top layer of plastic wrap before you do this!]


• Sprinkle the sugar & cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough.


• Roll it up jelly-roll style, starting at the long edge. [cakebrain tip#2: If you were following my tip about the plastic wrap, you'd be doing this step easily. Just pick up one long edge of the plastic wrap underneath, and use it to lift the dough and roll it. I also gently press on the roll to make sure it's not too loose. When you get to the end, just use the plastic wrap to help you move the roll around. You don't have to actually touch the dough...it's super sticky. Of course, when you're all done, discard the plastic wrap.]


• Using a serrated bread knife, and a sawing action, cut the dough equally in half. Then cut each half equally in half again. You should have 4 equally long pieces. Cut each of these into 3 equal lengths. You will have a total of 12 cinnamon buns.


• Place the buns cut side down an equal distance apart in a buttered baking pan


• Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.


• FROSTING: cream the softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. Mix in confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt until well combined. Frost the cinnamon buns with the frosting after they've cooled. [I usually frost half of the buns because some people don't like frosting or like to control how much they have. I just keep the rest of the frosting in a bowl for them to serve themselves]


• these freeze well!

*************

Now, what some of you UBC alumni may have been looking for high and low. These are the legendary, gargantuan

UBC CINNAMON BUNS

(as published in the Vancouver Sun)

DOUGH
3 cups (750mL) milk (2%M.F.)
6 T (90 mL) butter
6 T (90 mL) granulated sugar
1 T (15 mL) salt
1 t (5 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) lukewarm water
2 (8 g) packages traditional active dry yeast
2 large eggs
9 cups (2.25 L) all-purpose flour, about
FILLING
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) granulated sugar
2 T (30 mL) ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (175mL) melted butter, divided

• For the dough: scald milk. Stir in butter, 6 T sugar and salt. Cool to lukewarm
• Dissolve the 1 t sugar in lukewarm water. Sprinkle yeast over water mixture. Let stand in warm place for 10 minutes; stir
• In large bowl, combine lukewarm milk mixture and eggs. Stir in dissolved yeast. Add 4 to 5 cups flour and beat well for 10 minutes. With wooden spoon, gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.
• Turn dough out on to lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed. (This is a soft dough). Place in well greased bowl and roll dough over to grease the top. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in warm place for 1 hour or until double in size.
• Meanwhile, prepare filling: In small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside
• Punch down dough and turn out on to lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half
• Roll out each piece of dough into 18 x 9 inch (46x23cm) rectangle Brush each rectangle generously with melted butter. Place remaining melted butter in bottom of a large 16.5x11.5x2.5inch roasting pan (42x29x6cm)
• Sprinkle an equal portion of sugar-cinnamon mixture evenly over each rectangle. Roll each dough rectangle up tightly like a jelly roll, starting from the long side; pinch seam to seal. With sharp knife, cut into 2inch (5cm) slices. Arrange slices, cut-side down, in prepared pan and cover loosely with greased wax paper. Let rise in warm place for 45 to 60 minutes or until double in size.
• Bake at 350degreesF (180C) for 35-45 minutes or until baked
• Remove from oven and immediately invert on to serving tray.
• Makes 18 large cinnamon buns
• approx. nutritional analysis for each serving: 433 cal, 9 g pro, 14 g fat, 69 g carb

More about → CINNAMON BUN STYLES: THEY'RE ALL GOOD

Hydration: Attempt Only Under Medical Supervision

I've noticed how the word "hydration" has crept into the popular lexicon in the last decade or so. Before that, we were so primitive, we just "drank water". Now you need a PhD just to put a glass to your lips. I'm not sure I'm qualified!

I've been hearing so many people, including health professionals, tell me to drink 8 glasses of water a day for my entire life. In my middle school health class, I was told by my hydrophilic teacher that I should be urinating every hour and my urine should always be clear. For my whole life, I've thought it was nonsense. Yet the message has reached people. Walk around any college campus and you'll see undergrads faithfully carrying around their endocrine-disrupting plastic-water everywhere they go.

You see, our bodies have this very sophisticated mechanism to ensure water homeostasis. It's called thirst. If we need so much water to be healthy, why aren't we thirsty more often?

I skimmed through a paper today in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology that reviews the evidence for health benefits from drinking more water than your thirst demands. Their conclusion: there's no evidence to suggest it helps anything. Water is just a nice harmless placebo.

The term "hydration" has helped fuel a whole industry to satisfy our need for hydration technology. Gatorade claims it hydrates better than water. It must be the high-fructose corn syrup and yellow #5... And make sure to bring your "hydration pack" when you go on your 20 minute jog; you might get lost and end up in the Kalahari desert!

I actually think the water craze isn't totally harmless. Drinking large amounts of water with a meal interferes with digestion by diluting digestive enzymes and stomach acid. Drinking a tall beer does the same. Wine is better because it tends to be a smaller volume.

As far as I'm concerned, with minor exceptions, the only thing to drink is water. I'll have an occasional glass of wine, beer or whole raw milk, but 99% of what I drink is good old-fashioned dihydrogen oxide.

The only time I drink a large amount of water without being thirsty is if I'm about to do vigorous exercise or spend time outside in hot weather.

Thanks to Snap for the CC photo.

More about → Hydration: Attempt Only Under Medical Supervision

Long Knots

*This hair style was submitted by Melissa. THANKS Melissa!

One of my daughter's friends had her hair like this the other day and so I asked her mom how she did it. It was so easy! I couldn't believe it.

You have to have it wet, at least on the top, and use mousse, gel, or whatever you normally use to help hold the do, then hairspray afterwards

Just divide into sections, then divide each section into two parts.

Literally it's just a knot that is wrapped three times intead of just once.

Pull the 'knot' tight and hairspray it.

Cool, huh?

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Low-carb Review Article

The other day, I came across this nice review article from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It gives a thorough but accessible overview of the current state of research into carbohydrate-restricted diets, without all the fatophobic mumbo-jumbo. It points out a few "elephants in the room" that the mainstream likes to ignore. First of all, the current approach isn't working:

The persistence of an epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes suggests that new nutritional strategies are needed if the epidemic is to be overcome.

They claim that preagricultural diets were low in carbohydrate:

In contrast to current Western diets, the traditional diets of many preagricultural peoples were relatively low in carbohydrate (1, 2). In North America, for example, the traditional diet of many First Nations peoples of Canada before European migration comprised fish, meat, wild plants, and berries. The change in lifestyle of several North American aboriginal populations occurred as recently as the late 1800s, and the numerous ensuing health problems were extensively documented (3-5). Whereas many aspects of lifestyle were altered with modernization, these researchers suspected that the health problems came from the change in nutrition—specifically, the introduction of sugar and flour.

But of course, many of them were very high in carbohydrate, and these cultures seemed in fine health as well.

Carbohydrate reduction leads to a normalization of appetite:

It may also be that the mere lowering of serum insulin concentrations, as is seen with LCDs, may lead to a reduction in appetite. In support of this idea, several studies have found that insulin increases food intake, that foods with high insulin responses are less satiating, and that suppression of insulin with octreotide leads to weight loss (27-29).

I can't believe it; all that fat isn't going to clog my arteries??

Several outpatient diet studies have shown reductions in CVD risk factors after an 8–12-wk LCKD, during weight loss, and during weight maintenance (21, 60-62).

The last paragraph is a zinger:

We emphasize that strategies based on carbohydrate restriction have continued to fulfill their promise in relation to weight loss and that, contrary to early concerns, they have a generally beneficial effect on most markers of CVD, even in the absence of weight loss. In combination with the intuitive and established efficacy in relation to glycemic control in diabetics, some form of LCD may be the preferred choice for weight reduction as well as for general health.

More about → Low-carb Review Article