How Much Seed Oil Is Too Much? Short-term Consequences of Going Off The Wagon

A cold day in Hell's Canyon

Have I mentioned I got married?

So this post is going to be a joint effort with my wife, Jen.

We went to high school together in Connecticut, and reconnected after many years and found ourselves to be a very good fit.

Unbeknownst to me, she had been suffering from a chronic auto-immune disease, fibromyalgia, for decades, since shortly after we graduated high school.

"Fibromyalgia affects about 4 million US adults, about 2% of the adult population."

When we reconnected in 2019, she was a Greger-style near-vegan, running her own organic farm in upstate New York, and producing most of her own food. She was also quite ill, overweight, and on a number of medications.

So at our first dinner together, after negotiating with the waitress about what food I could eat and winding up with a plate of sausages and a hard cider, I mentioned why I eat the way I do, and told her what to eat:

"Avoid seed oils, refined carbohydrates, refined sugars, and make sure to eat animal protein and animal fats."

Just a sentence. While we were friends, I didn't want to get into a diet debate with a vegan.

A few weeks later she let me know that she had fixed her diet, and was down 17 lbs already (for a total of 56 lbs over the next few months, back to beauty-queen weight).

What she didn't mention until much later was the fibromyalgia. What a near-vegan diet, a physician's care, and drugs hadn't accomplished was fixed with a paleo diet in a few months: the pain went away, for the first time in decades.

She had also suffered from cracks in her heels. I first learned about this from the Barefoot Sisters (podcast at the link), who were also vegetarians. I've long had a suspicion that heel cracks were a function of a low animal-fat diet, and along with the fibromyalgia, the heel cracks resolved.

So two years into this process, we went to LA for a few days for the Ancestral Health Symposium 2021, where I spoke. Since we were staying in a (very nice!) hotel where the conference was held, it was unavoidable that we were going to have to eat out in restaurants, something we do very rarely at home.

We are always careful when we eat out, since I am ridiculously gluten-intolerant. I have no choice. But seed oils are much harder to manage when eating in restaurant. We went to an In-N-Out Burger joint, for instance, and ordered burgers without buns or sauce, telling them I had a wheat allergy. But it's not possible to determine in what they are cooking the burgers. What do they use to lubricate the grill? Obviously we skipped the fries!

Same problem with the restaurant at the hotel: what are the vegetables cooked in? Given that they wouldn't put butter on the table even when they served gluten-free toast (what was in the toast?), I doubt they were using butter for the bread or the sautéed vegetables.

My general assumption is that since I don't have an acute reaction to seed oils, a little bit when I rarely eat out isn't going to harm me.

So when we get home, Jen reveals that her fibromyalgia is back. So are the cracks in her heels. She also had a rather severe intestinal distress which she'd rather not detail here! 

All three are improving, but that's a pretty severe reaction to a few days of not rigorously controlling her diet! The intestinal distress required a fast and a period of carnivory to resolve.

When fibromyalgia was full-on she describes it as having a "whole-body sprain", but now it's just in a few locations, like her hips.  Now the connection between fibromyalgia and seed oils is pretty clear (Albrecht et al., 2019; Cordero et al., 2011; Meeus et al., 2013), and I've helped others put it into remission via a low n-6 diet, but I've never heard of it coming back from just a few days of not-so-careless eating!

Luckily she's improving already.

So this raises a number of questions: 

1. What is the amount of n-6 fats that causes these illnesses?
2. What is the  amount stored in adipose tissue, and how does this interact with dietary intake?
3. How long does it take to clear these fats out of the body, until one can tolerate a small intake?

Jen's only been eating this way for 2 years, after years of being on a high n-6 diet. It took me 5 years to really start feeling totally well, and the last odd health improvement happened after 7 years.

Five years is about how long it should take adipose tissue to lose stored n-6, based on the half-life of fats in adipose tissue. Some tissues with a high turnover, like the skin or gut, appear to happen quickly, some, like cartilage, likely take years, if ever.

In celiac it is recognized that a lack of exposure builds tolerance, and that symptoms also may take a while to return. This was my experience, and my tolerance to small, accidental exposures has grown. Not sure if this will directly apply to Jen's auto-immune condition, however.

In talking to Aaron Blaisdell, the founder and director of AHS, he described how he put his 'genetic' porphyria into remission, he said he suspects it was the seed oils that caused it (an update from his previous position.) For a guy who used to blister under the sun and had to wear denim and canvas when outside, he's looking quite tan!

But a lot of the answers to the above conditions are going to have to be addressed individually, since, as in Aaron's case, there are genetic factors driving individual responses to environmental triggers, and they're not always well understood.

---

Albrecht, D. S., Forsberg, A., Sandström, A., Bergan, C., Kadetoff, D., Protsenko, E., Lampa, J., Lee, Y. C., Höglund, C. O., Catana, C., Cervenka, S., Akeju, O., Lekander, M., Cohen, G., Halldin, C., Taylor, N., Kim, M., Hooker, J. M., Edwards, R. R., … Loggia, M. L. (2019). Brain glial activation in fibromyalgia – A multi-site positron emission tomography investigation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 75, 72–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2018.09.018

Cordero, M. D., Alcocer-Gómez, E., Cano-García, F. J., De Miguel, M., Carrión, A. M., Navas, P., & Sánchez Alcázar, J. A. (2011). Clinical Symptoms in Fibromyalgia Are Better Associated to Lipid Peroxidation Levels in Blood Mononuclear Cells Rather than in Plasma. PLoS ONE, 6(10), e26915. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0026915

Meeus, M., Nijs, J., Hermans, L., Goubert, D., & Calders, P. (2013). The role of mitochondrial dysfunctions due to oxidative and nitrosative stress in the chronic pain or chronic fatigue syndromes and fibromyalgia patients: Peripheral and central mechanisms as therapeutic targets? Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 17(9), 1081–1089. https://doi.org/10.1517/14728222.2013.818657

Happy Birthday, Birthday Shoes!

"Well, yesterday marked the 10 year anniversary of BirthdayShoes.com."

"Runner’s Notes: Barefoot running is still a thing"

See here for some track runners who compete barefoot.

"How fast can we run?"

"Marathon-ready Daniel Lieberman offers evolutionary perspective on Bannister 4-minute mile, human speed limits, and ‘Man Against Horse’".

"...He did talk about the kinds of shoes that he wore back in the day, and was fascinated by — and not particularly approving of — how running shoes had gotten so built up. He, like any fast miler, was a forefoot striker. We published a few years later the paper in which we made the argument that, essentially, prior to shoes pretty much everybody ran the way Bannister ran. He felt that was clearly the best way to run.

"I remember him describing how he had his shoes made by a cobbler in London. You couldn’t go to a shoe store back then and buy a pair of running shoes. He basically had to have his shoes custom made. I remember he discussed how hard it was to get the right kind of material — light but durable enough not to fall apart...."

Read the whole thing!

"A Bunch of Running Nerds on Their Favorite Shoes"

Interesting list, with people like Magness, Dicharry, and Lieberman:

“I wear a variety of different shoes to mix it up, but all are zero drop, because I’m a forefoot striker and don’t need or want any cushioning on the heel, otherwise I end up running like a ballerina”...

"4 Ways to Fix Your Running Stride"

Worth a read: "A seasoned biomechanics expert offers his top insights on running-form danger signs"

Soft Tissues In Feet And Shoe Type

Interesting study. It's been shown before that minimalist shoes increase muscle size in the feet, an effect that any barefoot-style runner has experienced first-hand.

But I wonder how much of the differences noted here are a chicken-and-egg situation, where runners with the right traits self-select into minimalist shoes? In other words, do the people whose Achilles tendon is too thin have injury and stop using them?

It's not known how much a tendon can adapt, and I can't certainly attest that it's no small task to try to make them!

The abductor hallucis is the muscle that controls the big toe. I get consistent soreness in that muscle in my weak foot, for instance, and you would think that eight years of nearly exclusive use of minimalist shoes and barefoot would be enough time to adapt...

Similarly, do the runners with a thinner heel pad select the insoles because they need insoles to heel strike?

"RESULTS:
"Recreational runners using minimalistic shoes demonstrated stiffer foot arches than those using neutral shoes. Among the selected foot muscles, only abductor hallucis showed a significant morphological difference between shoe groups. Runners using minimalistic shoes had the thickest abductor hallucis. The minimalistic shoe runners also showed a thinner proximal plantar fascia and a thicker Achilles tendon than other runners. Insole runners had a thinner heel pad than neutral shoe runners."

The morphology of foot soft tissues is associated with running shoe type in healthy recreational runners.

"Running in a minimalist and lightweight shoe is not the same as running barefoot: a biomechanical study"

Yep. Now it's official!

"Experimental conditions
"The protocol involved four experimental conditions: (1) barefoot; (2) a minimalist shoe (NIKE Free 3.0); (3) a lightweight racing flat (NIKE LunaRacer2) and (4) the shoe in which they were currently completing the most training mileage (herein called regular shoe)....

"Conclusions
"Barefoot running was different to all shod conditions. Barefoot running changes the amount of work done at the knee and ankle joints and this may have therapeutic and performance implications for runners."

Full-text at the link.

"People walked slightly different in Medieval times"

Interesting discussion of how gate changed historically with the introduction of structured shoes.

Direct link to the YouTube video.

Eight Years Later: Ouch.

So it finally happened. After eight years of barefoot-style running, I finally had to cut short a run due to a foot injury yesterday.

I was out on a trail, running over a damp stone wall, when my trailing foot slipped out from under me, leaving me unsupported. I landed hard on the leading foot on a flat rock, and kept running. I thought I was uninjured.

But about five minutes later, I realized something was wrong with the foot that had slammed into the rock.

I seem to have bruised the top of the arch on that foot, and as almost every step involved hitting another rock with the bruised arch, it was going to be a long run.

I decided to bail at that point, and was able to slowly jog back to the parking lot.

Limped around all afternoon, but it seems OK this morning.

Not a bad stretch to go without an injury!

I was wearing my Luna Sandals on this run. But a damp, slippery rock will be a hazard regardless!

P.S. As the foot felt fine this morning, I did a three-mile run. Arch twinged a little during first mile, then was fine.

Amazing how fast feet heal! It's like they're meant to be banged against rocks!

"How a decade-old sports science article changed my relationship with running for the better"

In the span of a few pages, anthropologist Daniel Lieberman and biologist Dennis Bramble explained how human physiology is better suited for distance running than almost any other animal’s. And what’s more is that running was critical in allowing our ancient ancestors to out-compete other predators for prey. Running wasn’t an invention of modern fitness culture, it was as natural and uniquely human as the capacity for abstract thought.

I had a similar reaction to learning about Lieberman and Bramble's research, although my exposure was through Born to Run, which is a fantastic read on its own.

Prof. Lieberman is one of the most learned individuals I've ever had the pleasure to encounter. If you'd like to learn more about his research and thinking, I highly recommend his The Story of the Human Body.
 

Putting the Icing on the Cake: Zach Bitter and Phil Maffetone

So what happens when a top endurance runner (two American records and a World) who's Paleo and runs in Minimalist shoes, takes up the Maffetone Method?

He gets faster, quickly.  Although starting at a 6:15 MAF pace doesn't hurt!

A great podcast at Endurance Planet.

@tawneeprazak Zach Bitter (@zbitter) took up MAF. You should get him on the podcast w/ @DrPhilMaffetone! https://t.co/2RsvahTnIS

— Tucker Goodrich (@TuckerGoodrich) July 21, 2016

From the looks of it, he's getting the hang of trail running, too.

Barefoot Running and Working Memory

"The aim of the present study was to compare the potential cognitive benefits of running barefoot compared to shod. Young adults (N = 72, M age = 24.4 years, SD = 5.5) ran both barefoot and shod on a running track while stepping on targets (poker chips) and when not stepping on targets. The main finding was that participants performed better on a working memory test when running barefoot compared to shod, but only when they had to step on targets. These results supported the idea that additional attention is needed when running barefoot to avoid stepping on objects that could potentially injure the foot. Significant increases in participant's heart rate were also found in the barefoot condition. No significant differences were found in participants' speed across conditions. These findings suggested that working memory may be enhanced after at least 16 minutes of barefoot running if the individual has to focus attention on the ground."

Emphasis mine.

The certainly falls under the "No Duh" category of scientific studies!  Anyone who's ever run barefoot can attest to the fact that you pay much closer attention.  The idea that it may have some larger benefit is neat, of course.

And the higher heart rate is likely just a factor of novice barefoot runners.  I've consistently noticed over the years that my HR drops a few beats per minute when I take off the shoes during a run, even if they're minimalist shoes.


Via:

Running Barefoot Improves Working Memory https://t.co/PgzlVjSryR

— Bill Lagakos (@CaloriesProper) July 21, 2016

"The Foot’s Arch and the Energetics of Human Locomotion"

A weak arch, especially in my weaker foot, has been the main cause of my running woes.  And no, minimalist/barefoot running alone did not fix it.

"...Since the initial study by Ker et al.⁵ the hypothesis that the foot is an energy-saving spring has never been tested directly during locomotion and it is unknown to what extent the compression, and subsequent storage and return of elastic energy in the foot’s longitudinal arch affects the metabolic cost of locomotion. Here we propose that the metabolic energy saved by the arch spring is a function of the amount of positive mechanical work it supplies passively (non-metabolically) and the cost of performing that work had it instead been done by active muscle requiring metabolic energy.

"We test this hypothesis experimentally using custom-manufactured orthotic insoles designed to restrict arch compression and thus reduce arch elastic work. To test our predictions about the effect of arch strain on locomotor cost, we used orthotic insoles to vary arch strain during walking and running at different inclines and foot strike types (rearfoot strike [RFS] vs forefoot strike [FFS])....

"...Our analyses and model generally support the hypothesis that the arch spring saves metabolic energy by reducing the mechanical work that would otherwise need to be generated by active muscle (Fig. 2). Indeed, the elevated metabolic cost of level running after restricting arch compression near-maximally (~80%, FAI) and by ~60% (HAI) was predicted within 1% and 2.5%, respectively, of the measured values based on the cost of replacing lost elastic arch work with muscular work. The agreement between the modelled and experimental effect on the metabolic cost of level running was remarkably robust across a nearly two-fold difference in arch compression (FAI 10 mm reduction in compression vs HAI 6.5 mm reduction; Fig. 1a), strengthening the interpretation that the elevated metabolic cost results specifically from lost arch elastic energy...."

"...Despite confirming that arch compression is greater in FFS compared with RFS runners in the minimal shoe only level run (p = 0.022; Table 1), our hypothesis that forefoot runners would be more affected by restricting arch compression was not supported....

Really interesting stuff.

via Ben Greenfield

Arch supports may make you a less efficient #runner: https://t.co/1hAxtTgDRo #Exercise

— Ben Greenfield (@bengreenfield) February 5, 2016

"Why Aren't Shoes Preventing Running Injuries?"

Good question.

"Barefoot running shoes and shoes with extra cushioning seek to protect runners—but despite all the new technology, running injuries are no less common than they were 30 years ago."

Most runners are still running in the same sort of shoes that they've been wearing for the last 30 years. It shouldn't be surprising that we're seeing the same outcome, if we assume that running shoes can affect injury rates.

"In the past 30 years running has changed from something done by trained runners who competed for sport, to an activity that is enjoyed by the masses."

This is silly. I'm pretty sure that "the masses" have been running for a long, long time. As this account makes clear, foot racing has long been a regular part of recreation:

"The Clary Grove boys, the Island Grove boys, the Sangamon River boys and the Sand Ridge boys, each designated by the part of the country from which they came, would gather there to indulge in horse racing, foot racing, wrestling, jumping, ball playing and shooting at a mark."

So it's a typically weak article on the topic, but he at least gets points for quoting Jay Dicharry and Dan Lieberman, and mentioning Born to Run.

"Confronted with the baffling array of running shoes, the prevailing wisdom seems to be to pick a shoe that fits your running style, not to hope a shoe will change you."

Of course the high-heeled cushioned sneakers that most all wear today were created to do exactly that:

"...Over the next 40 years, we have seen the height as well as the cushion gradually increase. These developments inadvertently made runners adopt a “heel to toe” gait or “heel strike” when running. Bowerman and W.E. Harris authored a primer entitled Jogging: A [Medically Approved] Physical Fitness Program for All Ages in 1967. In this very popular book, they noted the most efficient way to run should be landing or striking on the heel first. The authors specifically stated that forefoot striking is incorrect and not the proper way to land.

"Bowerman and Harris had no scientific basis for this explanation. Several years later, they went on to create a running shoe that contained a cushioned heel...."

That shoe was Nike.

Barefoot Running In NYC and The State Of Barefoot Shoes

Nice!

"Chris Hawson didn't run much in New York City until he took off his shoes. That was three years, and more than 9,000 miles, ago.

"You can blame Chris McDougall and Born to Run for that,” he says while sipping hot chocolate in a coffee shop near the Union Square Paragon Sports where he works as an outerwear buyer. “It was inspirational to me. I didn't treat it as a technique manual, but it set me off on a path.”

"A health scare in 2009 prompted Hawson, now in his mid-50s, to start running a couple of times a week, but he found his IT bands, knees, and shins started to hurt, forcing him to resort to inline skating. Then Hawson, who spent a decade leading bike and ski trips in Northern Scotland, discovered Vibram FiveFingers and ran a few hundred miles during the summer and fall, mixing them in with a couple other pairs of more traditional shoes. But winter came, so he packed the FiveFingers away because of the cold. That plan didn't last long, however, and pretty soon he had ditched conventional shoes entirely."

Read the whole thing.

I went to see In the High Country (a movie about ultra-runner Anton Krupicka) in NYC last night, and Chris was there. (Paragon organized the showing.)

Chris, as the Outdoor story makes clear, is the real deal. I've run with him a couple of time in various McDougall-organized "events". He really does do the bulk of his miles barefoot.

As a buyer at Paragon he had some interesting thoughts on the minimalist shoe market: it's fading. In large part because the minimalist shoes last so long. With no foam to break down, you replace your shoes when they tear, or when the sole wears through. Chis explained that he just tossed a pair of Altras that had 2,500 miles on them, because the sole wore through and he had torn the upper on a rock.

Given that the typical running shoe companies recommend that you replace their products every 300 miles, that's a major difference. He then mentioned that he probably had bought enough pairs of minimalist shoes to last the rest of his life, at that rate. I also have enough to last quite a long time.

Altra Torrin: not minimalist.

He explained that there are no new minimalist shoe designs coming out: even Altra's new line has a lot of cushion built in. We both wondered about the future of Merrell's Vapor Glove, one of my personal favorites. It was nice to see them in Merrell's winter catalog, but I wonder if they'll last through next summer. New Balance's Mimimus line does doesn't seem to be doing well (according to a New Balance store I visited recently), as the most minimal models are falling by the wayside.

Guess it's not too surprising... When Dr. Munson first invented the barefoot-style shoe after World War I, they put millions of them on the feet of American soldiers. They were very popular, but then the whole thing disappeared as generations turned over, and they were forgotten...

Hopefully a few companies will stick with the idea so folks like me and Chris can replace our shoes when we need to.

Luna, Russell, and Skora seem to be pretty committed to the minimalist idea. [P.S. And VivoBarefoot!]

But there's more research coming along showing the clear advantages of barefoot over shod foot-binding, so hopefully the idea will stick around.

After 10 miles running in the snow.

My running rotation has been barefoot, Luna Sandals, Vapor Gloves, and Vibram Fivefinger Speeds. None of them show much wear on the sole. If I do a trail race, I'll wear the Trail Glove, and I wore the Sonic Glove the other day when I did a 10-mile run in the snow. I can't really see any reason why I'd ever want to go back to the sort of sneaker I used to wear.

(Found the Outdoor story via Chris McDougall on Twitter.)

Barefoot 'Granny' Wins 3k Race In India

BBC News:

"Lata Bhagwan Kare [age 61] performed the feat wearing a nauvari - a traditional sari named after the term for a single nine-yard (8.2m) piece of cloth - Indian newspaper Daily News & Analysis reports. She started the race in the western town of Baramati wearing slippers. When one came off, she discarded the other too. Within minutes, she had apparently left all the other runners way behind.

"I used to go for morning walks daily, but I had never run. If I had even tried to run, people would have found it strange and they would have asked me uncomfortable questions," Kare says. She tells the paper she felt "a little awkward" at the starting line as the other participants were staring at her outfit. "However, when the race began and I started overtaking them one by one, I gained my energy." Throughout the... race, she kept telling herself she wanted to win - "And I did it." She says she'd like to take part in more races, but "only god knows whether I remain as strong then as I am today"."

This seems to be the original story, with the picture above.

No word on her finishing time.

P.S. File this one under "Too good to be true", or maybe "why journalists aren't to be trusted"...

The first commenter on this post provides a link to a more likely version of the story: that the lady in question won a 3k race held at a marathon, not the marathon itself. I looked around before posting this suspecting something like that was the case, but wasn't able to find any thing. So thanks to La Gazza Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) for setting me straight.

"61-year-old barefoot woman labourer wins 3-km race at Baramati marathon"

This story provides the most likely version of events, and the title ("Sixty-six-year-old granny runs 'marathon' in a saree in Maharashtra", with marathon in scare quotes) explains how the story changed from the facts:

"Kare's dress code was a traditional Maharashtrian saree, and no shoes at all! She won the senior citizen's category running 3 km and was awarded a cash prize of Rs 5000 and a certificate.

"Over 9500 people participated in the race in four categories but clearly the highlight was the 66-year-old farm worker. After running her first marathon Kare, who is a grandmother, now wants to run more races. With better footwear and running gear, you never know, she could just be another Fauja Singh in the making...."

"Better footwear". Dumb journalists...

So she won the senior category in a 3k race. At 66! Congratulations, nevertheless.

And a good lesson on how the press can twist a story, and how failing to check news reports adequately can lead to error...

Low-Carb Athletes: World-Record Ultra-Runner Zach Bitter

Hold your hats: World Record: ran 101.66 miles in 12 hours; American record: 100 miles in 11:47:13. The world record he broke was Greek God (that's not ironic, it's literal) Yiannis Kourus's* record.
That's a 7:04 pace (minutes per mile), for more than 100 miles. Wow.

And, just to make it extra cool, he did it wearing minimalist shoes and eating a low-carb paleoish diet.

He has a recent post on his blog describing his diet:

This post has moved to Substack.

"What a Natural Human Foot Looks Like If You Never Wear Shoes"

Go look!  Very cool.

Interviews With Daniel Lieberman And Reviews Of His "The Story Of The Human Body"

Newest first:

Minds and Brains: Book Review: Daniel Lieberman’s The Story of the Human Body.

Lieberman argues that all of these diseases are in some sense a result of cultural evolution speeding ahead of natural evolution with the result that have humans manufactured a psychologically comfy and satisfying environment that is paradoxically unhealthy without fundamentally affecting our reproductive fitness. Lieberman calls this this paradoxical unhealthiness “dysevolution”.

The Colbert Show: Daniel Lieberman. Interview starts at about minute 14.

PaleoRunner: "The Story of the Human Body: Daniel Lieberman" (embedded below):



Food Navigator (this site is so annoying that I caution against clicking on the link, but include for completeness): "Type 2 diabetes a ‘mismatch disease’ for our Paleolithic bodies"

The Guardian: "The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease by Daniel Lieberman – Review"

National Public Radio: "How Our Stone Age Bodies Struggle To Stay Healthy In Modern Times"

Mail Tribune: "The Human Body Wasn't Built For Modern Life"

Boston Globe: "‘Human Body’ author talks ‘mismatch diseases’"

Everyday eBook: "The Story of the Human Body: Straight Answers to Big Questions"

Outside Online: "The Human Body has a Story to Tell"

Far North Endurance: "A review of The Story of the Human Body, by Daniel Lieberman"

Harvard Magazine: "Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman discusses health and human evolution"