What's Going On Right Now In The Low-Carb World?

Hey there healthy living enthusiasts and thanks for being here for all the latest news and updates about the incredible and miraculous low-carb lifestyle. Sometimes there's so much going on that you may not have heard about that I have to lump it all together in one big blog post for you like I'm gonna do today.

So many stories, so little time--so let's get started! Here are ten hot stories going on right now in the low-carb world:

1. FDA IS STILL GIVING THE SUPPLEMENT STEVIA A HARD TIME

There's a hotly-contested battle going on right now between health advocates like those of us following the low-carb lifestyle and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) over the issue of the supplement stevia. This Organic Consumers Association story explains how the FDA has taken a hard line against the plant-based sweetening agent stevia by not allowing manufacturers to call it a sweetener along the lines of Splenda, Equal, and Sweet N' Low. I've blogged about this battle over whether it's a supplement or a sweetener before and I was hoping the presence of a big name manufacturer like The Coca-Cola Company in the stevia standoff would help soften the acceptability of stevia as a sweetener. It doesn't appear that way yet, but the winds of change may be blowing in the direction of sweetener soon enough if Coke has its way.

2. ORIGINAL BIGGEST LOSER RYAN BENSON GAINS BACK HIS WEIGHT

The success of the hit NBC television weight loss reality show "The Biggest Loser" all started back in 2004 when Ryan Benson was crowned the very first winner of the show by losing 100 pounds. What you may not know is the extent to which he put his body through in order to lose those last few pounds before the final weigh-in. He candidly shared the drastic measures he took in those days before the finale at his his MySpace page. Have you heard about this? Here's a quote from his journal:

"I wanted to win so bad that the last ten days before the final weigh-in I didn't eat one piece of solid food! If you've heard of 'The Master Cleanse' that's what I did. Its basically drinking lemonade made with water, fresh squeezed lemon juice, pure maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The rules of the show said we couldn't use any weight-loss drugs, well I didn't take any drugs, I just starved myself! Twenty-four hours before the final weigh-in I stopped putting ANYTHING in my body, liquid or solid, then I started using some old high school wrestling tricks. I wore a rubber suit while jogging on the treadmill, and then spent a lot of time in the steam room. In the final 24 hours I probably dropped 10-13 lbs in just pure water weight. By the time of the final weigh-in I was peeing blood."

HOLY CRAP! Although he says he has not suffered any ill effects to his health from this, he has put back on the weight and did so rather quickly after winning the $1 million prize for being "The Biggest Loser."

"In the five days after the show was over I gained about 32 lbs. Not from eating, just from getting my system back to normal (mostly re-hydrating myself). So in five days I was back up to 240 – crazy!"

But Ryan did share some real nuggets of truth about maintaining your weight after weight loss that give me hope he will know what to do this time after he reaches goal.

"Maintaining weight loss for me was obviously much harder – as seen in the fact that I have gained weight. Weight loss and maintenance are both the same thing – a complete change in your frame of mind. For many years I have always thought "If I can just lose the weight then I can eat anything I want." Unfortunately this isn't true, you have to keep a similar mind set whether you are losing weight or maintaining weight loss."

Maybe I was wrong when I said that the show was not creating unreasonable weight loss expectations in the contestants. I'm sure Ryan Benson was not alone in the lose-at-any-cost mentality that money can force them into doing. Does it make you as sick to your stomach as it does mine to hear about this?

When I won that local radio weight loss contest back in 2004, the worst thing I did was not eat all day long on the day of the weigh-in. And I thought I was being a rebel doing that! Of course, I ate like a madman when the contest was over and I had won. But I don't think a "Master Cleanse" would have been a consideration for me. EEEEK!

3. THIS IS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST DIET COMMENTARIES I'VE EVER READ!

This Lawrence (KS) Journal World & News column will absolutely speak for itself. If you've ever been on a diet (ANY DIET), then this will make your day. ENJOY!

4. DR. JONNY BOWDEN BUSTS UP 7 COMMON NUTRITIONAL MYTHS

Friend and fellow health advocate Dr. Jonny Bowden, author of two fantastic books that should be on the shelf of every low-carber--Living The Low-Carb Life and The 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth--has penned an absolutely brilliant column for iVillage.com entitled "7 Nutrition Myths Busted" that will shed some light on some of the dogmatic statements we hear so often from the so-called health "experts." Here's what Jonny lines up and shoots down one-by-one:

1. The food pyramid is for everyone.
2. There is a perfect diet that will work for everyone.
3. All low-carb diets are like the Atkins Diet.
4. Stress does not make you fat.
5. Metabolisms are all pretty similar.
6. Blood type does not make a difference.
7. A balanced diet will provide you with everything you need.

See what Dr. Bowden has to say about each one of these. You'll be pleasantly surprised! :D

5. US NEWS & WORLD REPORT ENDORSES LIVIN' LA VIDA LOW-CARB?

So I'm flipping through the September 27, 2007 issue of the magazine US News & World Report when I see an article called "Health Tip: Considering Low-Carb?" and my eyes are drawn to it for obvious reasons. It's a quickie four-sentence blurb about what people who are considering low-carb need to do if they choose this diet plan. WHOA! This just goes to show you that at least for one major publishing outlet, they've taken on the old adage if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Low-carb ain't going anywhere, so they might as well tell people about it! WOO HOO!

6. OMEGA 3 FATS REDUCES RISK OF TYPE 1 DIABETES IN KIDS, STUDY SHOWS

An exciting new study published in the September 26, 2007 issue of Journal Of The American Medical Association found that kids who consume more omega 3-rich fatty acids from such low-carb foods as flax seeds, walnuts, fish oil, canola oil, tuna, mackerel, sardines, salmon, bluefish, swordfish and free range eggs have a reduced chance of having Type 1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes). Get the full scoop about this exciting new regarding fat consumption for kids at the About.com Diabetes web site. I personally love my salmon, walnuts, and fish oil supplements. Free range eggs are still a bit out of my price range right now, but I'd get 'em in a heartbeat if money was no option.

7. IF YOU WANT TO THINK FASTER, THEN YOU NEED TO EAT MORE CARBS, STUDY SUGGESTS

Did you read about the study claiming a low-carb diet slows down cognitive function? Yep, these Australian nimwits at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization-Human Nutrition contend that "very low carbohydrate diets may offer less benefit than a high carbohydrate diet for improving cognitive function." Oh really? You might want to pick up a copy of Dr. Larry McCleary's outstanding new book called The Brain Trust Program about the BENEFIT to brain health that a ketogenic (low-carb) diet has. This conclusion that people need to "eat more carbs" was extrapolated by one of the researcher from this study I recently highlighted. In a word: WRONG-O!

8. BARILLA PASTA COMPANY STANDS BEHIND THEIR THRASHING OF LOW-CARB

To follow-up on a previous blog post where I suggested the whole wheat pasta company Barilla may not be a friend of the low-carber may just happen to be true. After seeing this link about the "dangers of low-carb diets," an e-mail was sent to the company challenging their opinion about livin' la vida low-carb and requesting clarification about why they believe low-carb is dangerous.

Here's how a company spokesperson responded:

Thank you for sharing your point of view on our website content.

We want to assure you that Barilla takes the issue of nutrition and health of our consumers very seriously. As such, we would never publish erroneous information. All of the low-carb diet information on our website comes from notable nutrition, medical and/or research experts and is footnoted with the specific resource. The information is posted on our site to merely present facts to help consumers make their own educated decision on how they eat.

We wish you all the best.

Thank you,

Consumer Relations
Barilla America, Inc.

Okay, but what about all the FACTS about how healthy a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach can be not only for weight management, but also for controlling many aspects of health, too, Barilla? If you're about helping educate consumers, then perhaps you should learn the fine art of sharing ALL the information and putting it out there on the table. Of course, you can't do that because your products, even the whole wheat pastas, are NOT healthy for people on a low-carb diet.

And even if they were marginally good, your utter disdain for those of us who choose to live this lifestyle makes me want to spend my hard-earned money elsewhere. Can you say Dreamfields anyone? :P

9. NUTRITIONDATA.COM CREATES A DIETING & WEIGHT LOSS CENTER

When you have time to check it out, there's an exciting new resource for people losing weight called the "Dieting & Weight Loss Center" brought to you by NutritionData.com. It's not all explicitly low-carb (as you will quickly notice by all the annoying Alli ads when you go there, but it's just another place for information about diet and health that you may want to take a look at. They were nice enough to link to my blog, so apparently they don't mind sharing a variety of voices on the subject. :)

10. GERMAN RESEARCHERS SAY CUT THE SUGAR, EXTEND YOUR LIFE BY 25%

Finally, I've got an exciting new study to share with you that was published in the October 3, 2007 issue of Cell Metabolism. Read the recap about the study in this Reuters story about how researchers in Germany restricted sugar intake in worms and they lived to be 25% older than those worms that consumed sugar. The only thing that irked me about the study was when one of the researchers said that the "body needs glucose (sugar/carbs)" which is not true as I have previously blogged about. I have a feeling that somewhere today Connie Bennett has got to be smiling. ;)

So there you have it! Ten scrumptious low-carb stories for you to chew on to start your week off right. Feel free to comment on any or all of them in the comments section below. THANKS for reading and I look forward to your reactions!

A Good Old-Fashioned Low-Carb Roundup

What a week for conglomerated low-carb blogging with this and this post wrapping up some of the latest news and headlines in the world of low-carb living. Well, I'm still in busy mode and have so much to share with you, I barely know where to begin. So let's just have ourselves a good old-fashioned low-carb roundup! YEE HAW!

INSPIRED BY DIABETES WANTS YOUR CREATIVE SUBMISSIONS

There's a really neat contest sponsored by the diabetes awareness web site located at InspiredbyDiabetes.com. What they are looking for are submissions by people who have been touched by diabetes that shares their story through some form of artistic talent, including essays, poems, photographs, drawings, and musical composition. It's called the Creative Expression Competition and they are awarding a Grand Prize of a $5,000 contribution to the diabetes-related charity "Life of a Child" and a trip to the Inspired by Diabetes art exhibition. The deadline for entering is January 31, 2008, but don't delay in sharing YOUR diabetes story in this most unique way! You could even share how livin' la vida low-carb is keeping your disease in check--that'll wake 'em up, don't ya think? :D Winners will be announced in the Spring 2008.

DANA CARPENDER DISCUSSES EXERCISE WHILE ON A LOW-CARB DIET

If you exercise, then you need to eat your carbs right? Well, not so fast says low-carb expert Dana Carpender in her latest nationally syndicated column entitled "Keeping up your stamina while lowering your carbs". The bottom line is unless you are training for athletic competition (like this Olympic athlete who recently e-mailed me), then you DON'T need to "carb up" prior to exercise. Read what Dana has to say about people who are wanting to get in a little physical activity while on their low-carb lifestyle.

IS WONDER BREAD GOING OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE OF LOW-CARB DIETS?

Interstate Bakeries, the maker of such high-carb foods like Wonder Bread and Twinkies, is in trouble again after deciding to close up shop in Southern California because of "the low-carb diet craze" (YOU GOTTA LOVE IT!). I've blogged about how livin' la vida low-carb is making Interstate bite the dust (confirmed by this market analysis of their bankruptcy last year) just as it has for Krispy Kreme doughnuts in recent years, too! It's just another sign that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins has left an indelible mark on our culture that will continue to be felt for generations to come.

THE MIGRAINEUR RAILS AGAINST THE ADA'S POOR ADVICE FOR DIABETICS

I think I've found a new favorite blog for you to check out: The Migraineur. I only recently discovered this AMAZING blog because of an awesome post chastising the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for being "no friend of the diabetic." WHOA! Why have I never heard of this blogger before?! WOW!!! I think the following quote from the blog post says it all:

"If you wanted to deliberately devise a diet that would cause a diabetic to die a slow, painful death, you couldn’t do better than the diet currently recommended by the ADA. The organization’s insistence on a high-carbohydrate diet, in the face of mounting evidence that diabetes is better managed by limiting carbohydrate consumption, would be laughable if it was not endangering the health and the very lives of the people it claims to advocate for."

This is something I've recently blogged about and even highlighted comments made by low-carb researcher Dr. Richard Feinman along the same lines. The Migraineur blogger says it was that New York Times article by Gary Taubes that led him to start livin' la vida low-carb! Yet ANOTHER reason to Celebrate Gary Taubes Week!

IS THE FDA FORCING CHOCOLATE MAKERS TO USE VEGETABLE OIL, NOT COCOA BUTTER?

In one of the most bizarre food stories I've seen in a while, it appears the geniuses at the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have put out a call to the major chocolate companies letting them know they need to replace the cocoa butter in their chocolate with vegetable oil. Have you heard about this? It's in response to some industry groups who are afraid of the saturated fat content in cocoa butter causing health problems as well as making it cheaper for the consumer. But THANK GOD at least ONE company has told the FDA where they can shove it: Mars, makers of Snickers and M&M's. This isn't about making better products, it's about reducing quality just to make things cheaper. That doesn't make it better and they had better not mess with my favorite sugar-free, low-carb chocolate bar made with cocoa butter!

900-POUND MAN NEEDS FORKLIFT, FIREFIGHTERS TO BE RESCUED FROM HOME

Have you seen the opening scene of the Adam Sandler movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry? There's a burning building and a frantic woman cries for someone to help save her baby who's still trapped in the apartment. When they reach the kid, it turns out this "baby" is a morbidly obese 700-pound man who is bedridden. The scene is pretty hilarious with the firefighters, played by Sandler and Kevin James, getting crushed under the weight of the man while trying to save him.

That scene flashed across my mind as I read this story about a group of firefighters in Lansing, Michigan who had to chop a hole in the side of a 900-pound man's house to rescue him after a nurse said he needed medical help as soon as possible. They even had to implore the use of a forklift to get the 33-year old man out. It turns out he has a rare condition called Prader-Willi Syndrome like the infamous obese 8-year old named Connor McCreadie does.

This story reminded me of the 500-pound truck driver who also had difficulty getting rescued by emergency workers because of his weight in July. It's so sad to hear the helplessness of people like this and it makes you wonder if these traumatic experiences make ANYTHING click inside their mind to finally get their weight and health under control. You have to wonder.

BARILLA PASTA COMPANY NO FRIEND OF THE LOW-CARB LIFESTYLE

Some people in the low-carb community have hailed the Barilla brand of whole wheat pasta as an excellent alternative to regular pasta for people on a low-carb diet. But have you seen this diatribe on the dangers of low-carb dieting posted right there on their web site? It's obvious to anyone with half a brain that their "concerns" are nothing more than the same old tired excuses that have been proven to be myths time and time again. For that reason alone, I would say AVOID Barilla and just stick with the good stuff--DREAMFIELDS!

Well, that's about it for now, but I still have lots more to share with you as I continue catching up to so much stuff to blog about this week. THANK YOU for your devoted readership of my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog and I look forward to your feedback on these stories. Come talk about them at my forum, too!