Future Of Low-Carb Hinges On Research

There are a lot of very intelligent people who visit my blog and support what I am doing at "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" every single day. THANK YOU!!! I am so thrilled to experience the collective wisdom that you all bring to the discussion of important topics as it relates to the subject of the low-carb lifestyle.

One very regular reader of my blog had a "revelation" recently after reading my book and decided to share his comments with me. He hit on some very good points in his e-mail that I think you will find quite interesting.

Here's what he wrote to me:

I just finished reading your book. It was really wonderful. Thanks so much for writing it, and congratulations on your continuing success and ongoing fight to spread the truth against widespread adversity against the low-carb lifestyle. While I was not a triple-digit loser like yourself, your story is still immensely inspirational, motivational and "informational" for anyone desperate to improve their health and literally save their lives.

The more I think about the low-carb revelation, the more I see it goes far beyond any individual "diet," but rather it implicates viewpoint shifts in major elements of our society, including scientific, industrial and governmental, as well as our national self-image. So it is a deeper and more complex shift than even tobacco was, and almost any other knowledge change that has ever happened in the U.S. To ask people to do this consciously is going to take the concerted effort of science, business and government as well as grassroots people-power.

I think our greatest weapon and strength right now in promoting low-carb is successful research, as well as sharing the personal experiences of people like yourself. While it is temporarily discouraging that the media seems to be fighting blindly against low-carb, it is just as clear that they have no scientific basis to do so. Therefore, their methods have the air of desperation, and I believe the slowly accumulating evidence cannot help but eventually become overwhelming. At some point the dike of common awareness must break, even if it takes decades to do it.

Already there is a national movement for schools to get rid of sugary sodas, which is certainly a step in the right direction. This proves that the message has begun to take hold, and it must certainly send a strong signal to the junk food industries. Economic boycotting is by far the most effective strategy against the practices of industries, especially when promoted by the government.

However, medical personnel are not effected by economics, but instead they dread the criticism of their peers. The medical establishment operates largely on a trembling conformity to the supposed scientific "norm." Therefore medical professionals will not come around until the research-based proof reaches a certain threshold, and enough brave "peers" take the risk to endorsing the truth publicly. For all their cherished "objectivity," this shows just how much their opinions are really based on pride, prejudice, inertia and cowardice.

Anyway, this is all to say that you are not just working to change a few peoples minds, but rather you are working to change an entire culture. More power to you and this cause, which promises to transform and save the lives of millions.

Didn't I tell you this was a great e-mail?! And he's dead-on regarding the future attraction of low-carb depending on solid, undeniable research proving the low-carb lifestyle is based firmly on sound nutritional science. This is already happening with research scientists all across America and around the world.

In fact, just today the Associated Press reported that the Atkins Foundation headed by Veronica Atkins, the widow of the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins, donated $2 million to the University of Michigan (where Dr. Atkins graduated from in 1951) for researchers there to conduct studies on obesity and metabolism. The money will be used to pay for an endowed professorship who will look at diabetes, nutrition and obesity and attempt to discover effective treatments for these conditions.

So the science is moving forward even if the consumer isn't aware of it yet. This is very difficult for someone like me who so desperately wants people to know how amazing the low-carb lifestyle can be for them. But I understand these things can take time.

I have come to the conclusion that what I am doing is just as important trying to keep low-carb in the public eye. While the media and others who oppose the low-carb lifestyle have tried unsuccessfully to extinguish low-carb from our culture, the fact of the matter is we need low-carb now more than ever before. That fact alone is what drives me to keep on doing what I'm doing because we're talking about the lives of millions of people.

Whether it is one, one hundred, one thousand or one million people who are positively impacted by low-carb, it is my duty to tell them the truth and let them make the ultimate decision for themselves about what they need to do. Education and encouragement is what drives me and keeps the fire burning within me for what I do at my blog. The potential to reach the millions and millions is indeed mindboggling, but I'll remain right here doing what I know how to do waiting to help whoever comes my way for help.

I refuse to give up or give in. While the future of low-carb hinges on research, I stand ready to be a part of changing the culture when that day in the coming years arrives. Are you ready for it?