'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 153: Atkins Diet Expert Jackie Eberstein (Part 2)

Jackie Eberstein answers YOUR questions about the Atkins diet

If you missed Part 1 of my podcast interview with Jackie Eberstein, then you really need to go back and take a listen. She is the foremost authority on the Atkins nutritional approach today having worked alongside the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins for nearly 30 years and continues extending his legendary low-carb legacy at her fabulous "Controlled Carbohydrate Nutrition" web site long after his death. Jackie is a real asset to the low-carb community and I am thrilled to have had the chance to share just a few short moments of her with you this week.

In Episode 153 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," we pick up with Part 2 of my interview with Jackie and she continues answering questions from readers and listeners about the Atkins low-carb lifestyle. When you've been around patients for as long as Jackie has seeing many of them going through all the ups and the downs that come from any weight loss and health experience, you get a sense for how to help people when they run into difficulty during their own low-carb journey. She hopes through this podcast interview that people will be encouraged to know that they are doing something positive for the sake of their long-term health by being on Atkins.

Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 153:

"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 153 [31:17m]: LISTEN NOW | Download

Jackie Eberstein gets into the nitty gritty of Atkins low-carb living in today's portion of the interview talking about inflammation, the criticisms of low-carb, the perfect way to combat metabolic syndrome, her work with Dr. Jay Wortman and filmmaker Mary Bissell on the low-carb documentary called My Big Fat Diet, and what she is doing on her web site as well as The Veronica Atkins Foundation web site to share the TRUTH about what the Atkins diet is REALLY all about.

If you have never been to Jackie's site, then you have to look at her responses to the Atkins myths, her recap of what the Atkins lifestyle is all about, and stay up-to-date on all the latest low-carb research. This is the kind of information that has unfortunately been removed from the Atkins Nutritionals web site in recent years, so Jackie is helping to restore this information for the benefit of those people looking for reliable information about this healthy way of eating.

Go back and listen to interviews like Jackie Eberstein anytime by:

1. Listening at the official web site
2. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez
3. Subscribing to the RSS feed
4. Going to iTunes--Click here to subscribe!

Jackie Eberstein is one of the most intriguing podcast interview subjects I've ever had on my show and I'm glad you were able to hear from this amazing woman with so much knowledge about the Atkins diet. In fact, she's agreed to come back as a regular guest to answer your questions for her about the Atkins low-carb approach. Go ahead and start sending me your questions via voicemail by calling (206) 202-6516 or by e-mail at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. Then we’ll have Jackie answer them in an future podcast. Here's your opportunity to have ANY question about livin' la vida low-carb answered by a REAL expert.

What did you think about my interview with Jackie Eberstein? Did what she say make sense to you and were you helped at all by the things she shared? Tell us what you thought about it in the show notes section of Episode 153. Be sure to check out her "Controlled Carbohydrate Nutrition" web site as well as the book she co-wrote with Dr. Mary C. Vernon entitled Atkins' Diabetes Revolution to learn more about the work Jackie is doing to further the Atkins low-carb message to the masses. And if you'd like to meet her in person, then go sign up for The 2nd Annual Low-Carb Cruise coming up in January 2009. Jackie will be there along with Dr. Jonny Bowden, Dr. Eric Westman, low-carb recipe author Dana Carpender, and many others (yep, I'm going too!). :D

Don't you dare miss next week's podcast interviews with Cassandra Forsythe, author of Women's Health Perfect Body Diet on Monday and the "Diet Detective" Charles Stuart Platkin on Thursday. You're gonna enjoy these and I've got plenty more coming in July, including Christin Sherburne talking about life after being the Kimkins cover girl of Woman's World magazine one year later, Dana Carpender, Dr. Jonny Bowden, Colette Heimowitz from Atkins Nutritionals to talk about the changes happening there, and my follow-up interview with Dr. Keith Berkowitz answering your questions about reactive hypoglycemia. THANKS so much for listening to "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore."

Declining Health Illustrated: The 'Disturbed Way Of Handling Carbohydrates' Tree

The original 1972 book that made Dr. Atkins famous!

Sometimes I don't even think we realize just how brilliant the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins really was for espousing what he did during his amazing career. Sure, low-carb diets had been out there in the public eye for over a century (most notably from William Banting in 1864 with his Letter On Corpulence) before he came along. But it was the charisma and enthusiasm for the low-carb lifestyle that Dr. Atkins brought to the public arena that captured the attention of millions of people worldwide who were interested in learning more about how low-carb could help them shed the pounds and restore their good health.

When the original Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution was published in 1972, it ignited a firestorm of controversy that still lingers on to this day. Despite all the best efforts by those who have appointed themselves the "experts" in diet and health in the United States over the years, none of them have been able to slow down the momentum that the healthy Atkins low-carb nutritional approach has had in the United States and around the world. And if I have anything to say about it, we'll keep that ball rolling for many more years to come.

While his original book has since been updated several times since with Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, there were some incredible nuggets of truth shared in that original book that make it worth having a copy of for your low-carb library. ORDER A COPY and read it from cover to cover because you will learn more about livin' la vida low-carb in just that one book alone that was written nearly forty years ago. Like I said, we're only just beginning to realize what a genius Dr. Atkins really was.

One of my blog readers from Green Bay, Wisconsin named Dave Hatch wrote to me recently stating he had read Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories and that inspired him to go back to the original Atkins' Diet Revolution book from the 1970's and read it again. When he did, a light bulb moment happened for Dave when he saw the following quote from Dr. Atkins.

"A TREE WITH DEADLY BRANCHES. There is a tree...it's branches are called, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Overweight, Low Blood Sugar, Peptic Ulcer, Migraine, Allergy and half a dozen other diseases that are so common nowadays. The name of the tree might be, A Disturbed Way Of Handling Carbohydrates."

That quote appears on page 48 of Atkins' Diet Revolution and it got the wheels turning inside of Dave's head to recreate that image into the shape of a real tree illustration to vividly demonstrate these signs of failing health and their connection to carbohydrate intake. He did a masterful job of showing that carbs are the roots that feed all of these diseases that Dr. Atkins talked about in his book.

Click on the image below to see a larger version of Dave's tree:



Isn't this GREAT?! Dave did a yeoman's job of taking that quote from the 1972 book and illustrating it perfectly so that anyone and everyone will be able to see the carbohydrate connection to all of these conditions. And every single one of those health ailments have been documented in the research literature to be tied to the consumption of carbohydrates.

My favorite part of the tree analogy is the trunk itself. As I stated, the roots are the "intake of carbohydrates" and the branches are the negative health manifestations from eating all those carbs. But look right there in the middle of those two things at what is the real reason that most people should be livin' la vida low-carb--INSULIN!

Yes, this "flooding" of insulin into our bodies is a direct result of consuming carbohydrates, especially in the amounts that are being recommended by people supposedly in authority over matters concerning health. And don't even get me started on the diet diabetics are told is best for them by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). UGH! If a doctor or dietitian tries to convince a diabetic to include eating lots of "healthy" carbs, then they ought to have their medical and nutritional credentials revoked!

If you control the insulin, then you can prevent these diseases from happening in the first place. And the best way to control this insulin release is by following a significantly reduced-carbohydrate diet. There's just no bones about it, this way of eating that we talk about here is not just a healthy diet (which it is), but it is the ONLY way you can eat to prevent this insulin rush from happening. Try eating a low-fat diet and you'll find yourself trying to make up that lost fat intake with (surprise, surprise!) MORE carbohydrates. This in turn produces MORE insulin which leads to the vicious cycle of disease all over again. Why do that to yourself?

While low-carb is often dismissed by its critics for supposedly being too "high-protein" (it's not high in protein, but rather moderate in protein) and/or "high-fat" (which is not a negative factor for your health when you are reducing your carbohydrates and only the total caloric percentage of your fat actually goes up), the fact of the matter is neither of these other macronutrients have the instantaneous insulin response that carbohydrates do. Carbs equals insulin equals disease. Nobody can even dispute this fact.

It's impossible to ignore the indelible link between carbs which heavily increases insulin in the body which then manifests itself in all of these terrible health conditions. Dr. Atkins saw this coming decades ago and yet we still ignore all the warning signs and try to come up with a pharmaceutical answer to these health problems in 2008. Haven't we learned ANYTHING in the years since 1972 when Dr. Atkins wrote his book?

You very likely don't need a prescription drug to treat that medical condition you have. Just take a closer look at your diet and realize you are feeding your disease by the foods you are eating. Fix that and you'll very likely fix your health problem. Low-carb is not some "magic pill" for every health problem you will encounter. But it will certainly address MANY of the ones that are tied metabolically to carbs. And there's a bunch of 'em!

Dr. Atkins, you were indeed a bona fide genius and your legacy will continue to live on strong for many years to come! Special thanks to my reader Dave Hatch for sharing his tree illustration with us and I think he'd appreciate hearing what you have to say about it in the comments section. Do you think he encapsulated what Dr. Atkins was talking about in the quote? Or does that illustration lack essential part of the equation? Share your thoughts about it below.

Frivolous Lawsuit Against Atkins To Continue

A lawsuit filed by a man who claims the Atkins diet caused him to have blocked arteries will continue on against Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. despite the news today that they are filing for bankruptcy.

Jody Gorran, who paid a visit to "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" a couple of months ago, announced in a press release on Monday that he and his radical PETA-loving organization Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) would proceed with the lawsuit and seek to have warning labels attached to all Atkins products.

Gorran first responded on my blog with comments about this post and has undoubtedly been following everything I write about the Atkins diet and livin' la vida low-carb since the inception of this blog in April.

Attempting to blame the Atkins diet for leading him to poor health, Gorran believes his strict adherence to the Atkins diet as outlined in the book by the late Dr. Robert Atkins caused him to develop heart disease. However, those of us who follow this eating lifestyle know that the Atkins diet it is a completely safe and effective way to lose weight and maintain that weight loss. Extensive research is currently underway to provide further evidence of this truth.

While this whole lawsuit is nothing more than a big publicity stunt by an organization with an anti-meat agenda, you certainly cannot discount the financial impact that this has had on Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. With an all-too-willing media hanging on every word coming from Gorran and PCRM, it's a minor miracle that ANYONE would continue to follow the Atkins diet after listening to them.

Thankfully, though, most of us realize just how utterly ridiculous the claims against the Atkins diet by Gorran really are as long-term low-carbers continue to be living examples of how this way of eating has permanently changed them physically. While people like Gorran get all the media's attention, people just like me and you are out there living our low-carb lifestyle as an example for others. People like Gorran may try to discourage you from continuing with your low-carb plan, but they will not prevail because we know that livin' la vida low-carb works!

Lo Carb-U Markets Unique Foods For Your Carb Conscious Appetite

Do you live in an area where there aren't a whole lot of choices when it comes to finding foods for your low-carb lifestyle? Do you ever wonder if there are any great-tasting low-carb alternatives to many of your favorite foods?

If you answered "yes" to either or both of those questions, then let me introduce you to a company called Lo Carb-U Foods. This Los Angeles-based business is a one-stop shop for anything and everything low-carb. They carry most of the Atkins products, but also offer many of the niche products you won't find at your local supermarket or Wal-mart.

I recently received some products from Lo Carb-U Foods and would like to share with you some of my favorites:


CINNAMON NUTRAGEOUS GRANOLA SNACKS

Do you miss the taste of a granola bar at breakfast or for a snack? This crunchy cinnamon snack can be eaten like cereal with some low-carb milk or as a stand alone cure for the munchies. Made with pecans, almonds, flax seed, oats and more, this product only has 1 net carb for a half cup serving. This is a great food to have when you just want a little something sweet, but nothing heavy. Even my wife LOVED it!


THINKRISPS ORIGINAL CHEDDAR

Have you wanted to taste something crunchy with the flavor of a Cheeze It cracker? Well, here it is! This baked cheese snack is amazingly made with JUST cheddar cheese, but it is oh so good. At just 1/2 gram of carbs per 16g serving, what a great snack as you are livin' la vida low-carb!


EVERYTHING BAGELS

Who says you can't have a bagel when you are on a low-carb lifestyle? These surprisingly delicious bagels are made with everything, but the kitchen sink and are loaded with lots of fiber which is good for you when you are low-carbing it! Also, that fiber can be subtracted from your carb intake, which gives you a net carb total of just over 5 1/2 carbs for each bagel. I made some excellent turkey and cheese sandwiches with these bagels or you can eat it by itself with some cream cheese. Livin' la vida low-carb is so much easier to do with products like this!


WHITE CORN TACO SHELLS

You can add Mexican flavor back to your low-carb program with these superb taco shells. Just brown some ground beef and add some taco seasoning (watch out for hidden sugars, though!). These 3 net carb shells help you make a low-carb fiesta for your mouth to savor again and again. I was really surprised by the texture and taste of these tacos!


CRISPY CARAMEL CANDY BARS

For that sweet tooth, you will enjoy these aptly named Splurge candy bars made with stomach-friendly, maltitol-free sugar substitutes, including oligofructose and erythritol. This particular flavor sort of tastes like the Whatchamacallit candy bar I used to love as a kid. It only has 3 net carbs and is an outstanding product to supplement your low-carb lifestyle.


CHICAGO DEEP DISH PIZZA

I saved the BEST for last. If you love to eat pizza and you like a good deep dish crust. then your low-carb dream has come true! At just 4 net carbs for a personal-sized pizza, your taste buds will go into overdrive at this delicious offering. And you won't need to eat 30 of them to feel satisfied. 8-)

There are literally hundreds more products to choose from when you shop at Lo Carb-U Foods. Check them out some time and let us know which products you enjoyed the most. You can click on the banner at the top of this blog anytime to go to the Lo Carb-U Foods web site. Or, if you want to talk to someone LIVE and place your order by telephone, you can call them at 1-877-LOCARBU. Keep in mind they are on the West Coast, so please don't call before 11:00am EST. :-)

Tell Jason and the gang at Lo Carb-U Foods that Jimmy from "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" said HEY!