Healthy Hairstyling #5: Phony Ponytails & Buns

2008: From twistout fro to kinky phony ponytail
(I used a pack of kinky hair to create the look.)

The "phony" ponytail, puff, and bun are not only creative ways to add length to your hair but healthy options to protect your ends. Here are a few youtube tutorials:

PHONY DONUT BUN:

PHONY PONYTAIL:

PHONY FRO HAWK:

Grains as Food: an Update

Improperly Prepared Grain Fiber can be Harmful

Last year, I published a post on the Diet and Reinfarction trial (DART), a controlled trial that increased grain fiber intake using whole wheat bread and wheat bran supplements, and reported long-term health outcomes in people who had previously suffered a heart attack (1). The initial paper found a trend toward increased heart attacks and deaths in the grain fiber-supplemented group at two years, which was not statistically significant.

What I didn't know at the time is that a follow-up study has been published. After mathematically "adjusting" for preexisting conditions and medication use, the result reached statistical significance: people who increased their grain fiber intake had more heart attacks than people who didn't during the two years of the controlled trial. Overall mortality was higher as well, but that didn't reach statistical significance. You have to get past the abstract of the paper to realize this, but fortunately it's free access (2).

Here's a description of what not to eat if you're a Westerner with established heart disease:

Those randomised to fibre advice were encouraged to eat at least six slices of wholemeal bread per day, or an equivalent amount of cereal fibre from a mixture of wholemeal bread, high-fibre breakfast cereals and wheat bran.

Characteristics of Grain Fiber

The term 'fiber' can refer to many different things. Dietary fiber is simply defined as an edible substance that doesn't get digested by the human body. It doesn't even necessarily come from plants. If you eat a shrimp with the shell on, and the shell comes out the other end (which it will), it was fiber.

Grain fiber is a particular class of dietary fiber that has specific characteristics. It's mostly cellulose (like wood; although some grains are rich in soluble fiber as well), and it contains a number of defensive substances and storage molecules that make it more difficult to eat. These may include phytic acid, protease inhibitors, amylase inhibitors, lectins, tannins, saponins, and goitrogens (3). Grain fiber is also a rich source of vitamins and minerals, although the minerals are mostly inaccessible due to grains' high phytic acid content (4, 5, 6).

Every plant food (and some animal foods) has its chemical defense strategy, and grains are no different*. It's just that grains are particularly good at it, and also happen to be one of our staple foods in the modern world. If you don't think grains are naturally inedible for humans, try eating a heaping bowl full of dry, raw whole wheat berries.

Human Ingenuity to the Rescue

Humans are clever creatures, and we've found ways to use grains as a food source, despite not being naturally adapted to eating them**. The most important is our ability to cook. Cooking deactivates many of the harmful substances found in grains and other plant foods. However, some are not deactivated by cooking. These require other strategies to remove or deactivate.

Healthy grain-based cultures don't prepare their grains haphazardly. Throughout the world, using a number of different grains, many have arrived at similar strategies for making grains edible and nutritious. The most common approach involves most or all of these steps:

• Soaking
  
• Grinding
• Removing 50-75% of the bran
  
• Sour fermentation
• Cooking
  

But wait, didn't all healthy traditional cultures eat whole grains? The idea might make us feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it doesn't quite hit the mark. A recent conversation with Ramiel Nagel, author of the book Cure Tooth Decay, disabused me of that notion. He pointed out that in my favorite resource on grain preparation in traditional societies, the Food and Agriculture Organization publication Fermented Cereals: a Global Perspective, many of the recipes call for removing a portion of the bran (7). Some of these recipes probably haven't changed in thousands of years. It's my impression that some traditional cultures eat whole grains, while others eat them partially de-branned.

In the next post, I'll explain why these processing steps greatly improve the nutritional value of grains, and I'll describe recipes from around the world to illustrate the point.


* Including tubers. For example, sweet potatoes contain goitrogens, oxalic acid, and protease inhibitors. Potatoes contain toxic glycoalkaloids. Taro contains oxalic acid and protease inhibitors. Cassava contains highly toxic cyanogens. Some of these substances are deactivated by cooking, others are not. Each food has an associated preparation method that minimizes its toxic qualities. Potatoes are peeled, removing the majority of the glycoalkaloids. Cassava is grated and dried or fermented to inactivate cyanogens. Some cultures ferment taro.

** As opposed to mice, for example, which can survive on raw whole grains.

Recap: Wednesday's Hair Growth Tips!

Growing healthy hair from the inside out. Click on the links below for a full post on each tip.

WEDNESDAY'S HAIR GROWTH TIPS:
1. Maintain a clean scalp.
2. See a doctor regularly.
3. Exercise.
4. Drink green tea!
5. Essential oil massage.
6. Drink your water!
7. Eat sufficient protein.
8. Eat hair foods!
9. Get adequate sleep!
10. Take your multivitamins!

GIVEAWAY Update!!

Alrighty, it's a little quiet so I'll extend this giveaway to newbie naturals too! (Newbie natural = those who big chopped less than or 1 year ago.)

Here we go again ...

Alright, stretchers, transitioners, and newbie naturals. This giveaway has been a few weeks in the making. What's the prize? An arsenal of goodies to help you tame your new growth or new fro and feel pretty while you stretch, transition, or rock your new natural hair! What do you have to do for it? Scroll below and see.







INCLUDES:
- Cathy Howse's "Thinning Edges: A Chemical Reaction" (used Paperback)
- Lekair Cholesterol Plus
- 4oz sample of Fantasia IC Gel w/ olive oil
- 3 green butterfly clamps
- $1 coupon for any Pantene Shampoo or Conditioner
- Revlon Illuminance Creme Quad Eye Shadow (Moonlit Jewels)


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

THE RULES ...

1) You MUST be stretching, transitioning, or a newbie natural
- newbie naturals are those who big chopped less than or 1 year ago
- be honest :o)

2) Leave a comment below stating ...
- whether you are a stretcher/transitioner/newbie natural
- how long you plan to stretch/transition OR how long you've been natural
- AND 5 tips for maintaining healthy tresses during a stretch/transition/newbie natural stage

The giveaway closes May 1 at 11:59pm EST. I will then choose a winner based on her comment and abidance to the rules. The winner will be announced on May 2 and have 72 hours to claim her prize before it is forfeited and a new winner chosen.

REVIEW #5: Avocado Detangling Conditioner

Purpose: Natural alternative to a detangling conditioner. (Loo's recipe.)

Number of trials: 1

Ingredients & Materials:
Blender,
overripe avocado,
extra virgin olive oil,
unrefined shea butter,
apple cider vinegar (optional),
bowl,
mixing spoon

Instructions Cut up one avocado, mash with a mixing spoon, and put in blender. Add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of unrefined shea butter to blender. (No need to melt the shea butter ahead of time.) Finally add approximately 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) to blender. If you wish, add 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (ACV) to blender. (The ACV will aid in the blending process and in flattening the cuticles.) Blend all the ingredients thoroughly and continue to add EVOO until the mixture reaches your desired consistency. When done, pour mixture into a bowl and apply to hair as a detangling deep conditioner. NOTE: It is important to blend the ingredients well to eliminate avocado bits that stick to the hair. If desired, sieve the mixture before applying.

How I used it: I applied this detangling conditioner after a pre-poo and wash in twists. Then I tied a plastic bag around my hair and allowed the mix to soften my hair for 40 minutes. Afterwards, I undid each twist and detangled with a wide tooth comb followed by a medium tooth comb. Then I placed my hair in several big twists, rinsed out the conditioner thoroughly, and styled as usual.

The review:
The avocado detangling deep conditioner did the job well. After 4 weeks in twists - which means 4 weeks worth of shed hair - I was really impressed with how smooth the detangling process went. The conditioner was lubricating, thick, and heavy, all of which are needed to give my kinks slip, moisture, and loosening for detangling. It was also relatively easy to rinse out compared to the thicker store-bought cholesterol conditioners I use. (The latter leave a residue and fragrance in my hair that I can't stand.) I love this homemade detangler and plan to use it again once I finish my unused tubs of LustraSilk and LeKair Cholesterols. (Actually, maybe I'll give away these tubs ... giveaway, hint hint.)

PROS: all natural, thick, provides slip for easy detangling, moisturizing, penetrating, inexpensive

CONS: slip disappears after rinsing (I can see it being a con for those who desire post-rinse slip); avocado bits in the hair (IF not blended well)

RATING:
Overall, I rate the Avocado Detangling Conditioner a 5 out of 5 stars. I have no complaints whatsoever and was impressed by the slip considering that it's an all natural conditioner.

IDEAL FOR THOSE:
*wanting an all natural detangling option
*with thick tresses

FOR THE MIXOLOGISTS OUT THERE: You can experiment with using an overripe banana or banana baby food in place of the avocado for finer hair. (Blend well.) For a protein boost, add an egg or use yogurt + egg or mayonnaise + egg in place of the avocado. For scalp stimulation, add a few drops of peppermint oil to the mixture. Instead of olive oil, use coconut oil for added strength.

FOR THE NON-MIXOLOGISTS OUT THERE: You may want to check out these avocado conditioners:

Avocado Conditioner

Dinner with Taubes, Eades and Hujoel

Gary Taubes gave a lecture at UW last Thursday. Thanks to all the Whole Health Source readers who showed up. Gary's talk was titled "Why We Get Fat: Adiposity 101 and the Alternative Hypothesis of Obesity". He was hosted by Dr. Philippe Hujoel, the UW epidemiologist and dentist who authored the paper "Dietary Carbohydrates and Dental-Systemic Diseases" (1).

Gary's first target was the commonly held idea that obesity is simply caused by eating too much and exercising too little, and thus the cure is to eat less and exercise more. He used numerous examples from both humans and animals to show that fat mass is biologically regulated, rather than being the passive result of voluntary behaviors such as eating and exercise. He presented evidence of cultures remaining lean despite a huge and continuous surplus of food, as long as they stayed on their traditional diet. He also described how they subsequently became obese and diabetic on industrial foods (the Pima, for example).

He then moved into what he feels is the biological cause of obesity: excessive insulin keeping fat from exiting fat cells. It's true that insulin is a storage hormone, at the cellular level. However, fat mass regulation involves a dynamic interplay between many different interlacing systems that determine both overall energy intake and expenditure, as well as local availability of nutrients at the tissue level (i.e., how much fat gets into your fat tissue vs. your muscle tissue). I think the cause of obesity is likely to be more complex than insulin signaling.

He also offered the "carbohydrate hypothesis", which is the idea that carbohydrate, or at least refined carbohydrate, is behind the obesity epidemic and perhaps other metabolic problems. This is due to its ability to elevate insulin. I agree that refined carbohydrate, particularly white flour and sugar, is probably a central part of the problem. I'm also open to the possibility that some people in industrial nations are genuinely sensitive to carbohydrate regardless of what form it's in, although that remains to be rigorously tested. I don't think carbohydrate is sufficient to cause obesity per se, due to the many lean and healthy cultures that eat high carbohydrate diets*. Gary acknowledges this, and thinks there's probably another factor that's involved in allowing carbohydrate sensitivity to develop, for example excessive sugar.

I had the opportunity to speak with Gary at length on Thursday, as well as on Friday at dinner. Gary is a very nice guy-- a straightforward New York personality who's not averse to a friendly disagreement. In case any of you are wondering, he looks good. Good body composition, nice skin, hair and teeth (apologies to Gary for the analysis). Philippe and his wife took us out to a very nice restaurant, where we had a leisurely four-hour meal, and Dr. Mike Eades was in town so he joined us as well. Mike has a strong Southern accent and is also a pleasant guy. Philippe and his wife are generous and engaging people. It was a great evening. The restaurant was nice enough that I wasn't going to be picky about the food-- I ate everything that was put in front of me and enjoyed it.


* I'm talking about prevention rather than cure here. I acknowledge that many people have had some success losing fat using low-carbohydrate diets, including two gentlemen I met on Thursday.

Copper in Food

Sources of Copper

It isn't hard to get enough copper-- unless you eat an industrial diet. I've compiled a chart showing the copper content of various refined and unrefined foods to illustrate the point. The left side shows industrial staple foods, while the right side shows whole foods. I've incorporated a few that would have been typical of Polynesian and Melanesian cultures apparently free of cardiovascular disease. The serving sizes are what one might reasonably eat at a meal: roughly 200 calories for grains, tubers and whole coconut; 1/4 pound for animal products; 1/2 teaspoon for salt; 1 cup for raw kale; 1 oz for sugar.

Note that beef liver is off the chart at 488 percent of the USDA recommended daily allowance. I don't know if you'd want to sit down and eat a quarter pound of beef liver, but you get the picture. Beef liver is nature's multivitamin: hands down the Most Nutritious Food in the World. That's because it acts as a storage depot for a number of important micronutrients, as well as being a biochemical factory that requires a large amount of B vitamins to function. You can see that muscle tissue isn't a great source of copper compared to other organs.

Beef liver is so full of micronutrients, it shouldn't be eaten every day. Think of it in terms of the composition of a cow's body. The edible carcass is mostly muscle, but a significant portion is liver. I think it makes sense to eat some form of liver about once per week.

Modern Agriculture Produces Micronutrient-poor Foods

The numbers in the graph above come from NutritionData, my main source of food nutrient composition. The problem with relying on this kind of information is it ignores the variability in micronutrient content due to plant strain, soil quality, et cetera.

The unfortunate fact is that micronutrient levels have declined substantially over the course of the 20th century, even in whole foods. Dr. Donald R. Davis has documented the substantial decline in copper and other micronutrients in American foods over the second half of the last century (1). An even more marked decrease has occurred in the UK (2), with similar trends worldwide. On average, the copper content of vegetables in the UK has declined 76 percent since 1940. Most of the decrease has taken place since 1978. Fruits are down 20 percent and meats are down 24 percent.

I find this extremely disturbing, as it will affect even people eating whole food diets. This is yet another reason to buy from artisanal producers, who are likely to use more traditional plant varieties and grow in richer soil. Grass-fed beef should be just as nutritious as it has always been. Some people may also wish to grow, hunt or fish their own food.