Today we return to Examine.com and a summary of another totally useless study where they do not understand the simple biochemistry and biological reaction of taking a poison. And no kind of “word play” as in rewriting polyphenols as poly-lean-ols will make it more believable. In that case, try calling it poly-poison-us instead.
So, let’s see what they f**ked up this time.
Quick Summary
In this systematic review of 13 randomized controlled trials involving 1,079 adults with overweight or obesity, the researchers looked at additional supplementation with various polyphenols and any changes to markers of body fat.
Key study details
“The interventions lasted 1 to 18 months and involved the following forms:
- Capsules with different polyphenol types (like resveratrol and flavonoids) and concentrations (8 studies)
- Green tea extract (4 studies)
- Apple juice (1 study).
The dosages ranged from 150 milligrams/day to 5 grams/day. Most of the studies compared polyphenol supplementation to a placebo. Two studies used caloric restriction (250–300 calories) along with supplementation.”
Flavonoids are a large family of over 5,000 hydroxylated polyphenolic compounds belonging to the category of polyphenols, as in plant defense chemicals (also known as plant-based “antioxidants”) — compounds specifically made by the plant to deter, maim, sterilize, and kill any insects or animals who try to eat the plant. And yes, that does of course include humans as we are also a species of animal (and even more so as humans are classified as obligate hyper carnivores and not herbivores or omnivores.)
Throughout the past 7 years, I’ve covered and debunked the alleged “positive” effects of many flavonoids, including the extremely toxic resveratrol. Out of these “supplemental forms” listed above, green tea extract may likely be the most toxic as it contains a lot of different polyphenols and antinutrients, followed by apple juice with its many polyphenols and fructose, and then the concentrated capsules who hopefully only contain one or a few of these toxic compounds, albeit in much higher concentrations (which at many times can be just as bad or even worse.)
“The main outcomes assessed were markers of body fat, such as:
- Waist circumference
- Fat-free mass
- Body fat mass
- Visceral fat area
- Visceral adiposity index
All of the studies showed improvements in at least one outcome.”
At least ONE outcome of these? Well, that’s a big failure as far as real loss of body fat goes. If you follow our species-appropriate carnivorous diet and have days of less eating or even fasting, you will not only lose a ton of body fat, but you will improve ALL of these markers. Any sensible fat loss approach should show improvements in ALL of them.
And the fact that the effect of polyphenols only increased one or a few of these markers proves my point and the real biochemistry and physiology behind the results. Let me explain if you haven’t already figured this out.
All these tens of thousands of polyphenols found in different plants are defense chemicals. They are made by the plant to keep it from getting damaged and killed by predators such as bugs, insects, and other animals. Even herbivores can only eat a small amount of most plants or they will get poisoned.
So, when a stupid human for some strange reason believes that he or she is a herbivore with a completely different digestive system compared to everyone else and consumes some plants, consuming these extremely toxic compounds will cause an acute fight-or-flight stress response from the rapid increase in the toxic load. Your body will prioritize to deal with this poison by slowing down all other ongoing bodily processes and instead focusing on eliminating the new and current threat. It does this by upregulating hormones to keep you alert and aid you to escape the threat. These hormones trigger a series of physiological changes, including increased heart rate, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels, as well as the mobilization of energy stores (fatty acids) to prepare the body for immediate action. Also, your metabolism and detoxification pathways will increase in activity to clear out the toxins as best as the body can depending on your current health status.
In other words, your body will expend a lot more energy for a short time after consuming something toxic. And even if you’re not specifically on a diet, that artificially induced stress response from poisoning might contribute to losing a little bit of body fat over the long run. And this is also why only one or a few of the markers were affected, as it is the result of a stress response and your body taking damage. It’s not natural fat loss. Likely, visceral fat will not be affected, and might even increase due to the repeated exposure to stress, as in the fight-or-flight response.
Of course, it goes without saying that this approach, this idiocy of taking “fat burner” supplements, as in poisoning yourself with polyphenols and the like is incredibly unhealthy and one of the most retarded ways imaginable to achieve a few tiny percent more fat loss.
I feel genuinely sorry for the poor participants of these studies as they got severely poisoned every day for months on end. And for what? Perhaps an additional pound or two of fat loss? Something that is extremely easily achieved in less than a week following our species-appropriate diet and simply refrain from eating twice a week, which will also eliminate your toxic exposure and any tissue damage.
Examine.com’s take
“Polyphenols are thought to reduce body fat through several mechanisms, such as regulation of lipid metabolism, increased fat oxidation, and decreased inflammation. These results should be interpreted with caution because most of the studies did not account for polyphenol levels or dietary intake, and there was a broad range of supplement types, doses, and outcome measures across studies.”
Inflammation is the healing process and the only way to decrease inflammation is to actually heal the damaged tissue, which takes time and will run its course naturally. If something suddenly reduces inflammation, it is because it is so extremely toxic that it has induced an acute stress response from severe poisoning and your body has to shift it resources to the new threat, which will reduce healing and detoxification in other parts of the body, hence and illusionary “anti-inflammatory” effect. That is simple biochemistry, biology, and physiology, and also very logical and should be common sense. Thus, decreased inflammation only shows how toxic these compounds are.
And fat oxidation is of course from the same acute stress response as the body is trying to break down and eliminate these compounds, a process that requires a lot of energy, both glucose and fatty acids. Fat oxidation, also known as beta-oxidation, is the metabolic pathway through which fatty acids are broken down to generate energy in the form of ATP.
However, an increase in lipid metabolism can be a double-edged sword. Lipid metabolism in the human body involves the synthesis and degradation of fats for energy, as in the storage or release of fatty acids from cells. This could be from the demand of more energy if the toxic polyphenols were taken before a meal or on an empty stomach. An increased lipid metabolism can also indicate that the body struggles with eliminating the polyphenols and instead have to store them in fat cells, which actually can hinder fat loss, or skew the results, as in only seeing results in one or a few of the markers of body fat. I’ve explained the different processes of fat gain in my article “What Makes You Fat?,” which explains how toxins can contribute to fat gain and even the formation of new fat cells as a protective mechanism.
So, again, Examine.com, same as the authors of this systematic review, failed to understand basic biology and biochemistry; that all plants are toxic to humans as they are chemically different and also constructed to deter us from eating them. There will never be a single plant-based compound that can have a positive effect on the human body, it is simply biologically impossible.
If you understand this simple universal truth, then it becomes much easier to find the real underlying reasons for the effects that can be measured in studies and that often are totally misinterpreted and misunderstood.
If you need help with any kind of health problems or transitioning from your current way of eating to our natural species-appropriate, species-specific way of eating, I’m available for both coaching and consultation.
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