Disease Proof's Disgusting Dietary Delusions

The longer I have been blogging about the healthy low-carb lifestyle, the more I have come to realize the opponents of this incredible way of eating will stop at nothing to try to keep people from even trying to lose weight and improve their health forever in this way. It simply confounds me how anyone could actively DISCOURAGE others who have a weight and/or health issue from doing something about their problem rather than remaining in their current state.

As you well know, I am all in favor of people finding what will work for them to lose weight and get healthy, encourage them to follow that plan exactly as prescribed by the author, and then to keep doing that plan for the rest of their life. Whether it is low-fat, low-carb, veganism, or whatever works best for you, this permanent lifestyle change concept is my philosophy in a nutshell. Sadly, not everyone shares this same ideal about diet that I do and instead smugly go around trashing livin' la vida low-carb like it's some kind of disease or something.

One of the most outrageous anti-low-carb web sites out there right now has got to be Disease Proof featuring the low-fat nutritional principles espoused by a vegan named Dr. Joel Fuhrman. He is the author of a book I have reviewed entitled Eat To Live and is a very loud and vocal critic of the Atkins low-carb diet.

I have highlighted some of the vitriol hatred towards the Atkins low-carb diet that has been posted at Dr. Fuhrman's web site previously by his online minion Gerald Pugliese. This anger-filled nitwit has been notorious for writing disgusting article that question how Dr. Atkins REALLY died (which then prompted this infamous e-mail I received from a Dr. Fuhrman fan--SCARY!), unfairly looping all low-carbers as meat-only savages, and then unnecessarily scaring people into believing that eating salt will kill them.

When you see such extreme positions being taken on a subject that the author clearly knows nothing about, the best course of action is to simply ignore it and move on. But so many of my readers have literally begged me to respond to not one, but two of these kind of columns against low-carb that have come out this week from Pugliese at the Disease Proof web site.

I'm hesitant to give them any free exposure since they are so "out there" when it comes to diet and health, but I suppose this will serve a good purpose in educating and illustrating the kind of nastiness and lunacy that exists despite all the positive research about low-carb that continues to pour in from the research community. Are these people so blinded by their own monopolistic vegetarian agenda that they conveniently dismiss and overlook the low-carb lifestyle as a healthy alternative? Apparently so.

The first column that was posted on Monday is called "The Low-Carb Mindset" which Pugliese erroneously describes as a "fad" (not so, Gerald, if you would listen to this podcast I recently did about the REAL diet fads, then you'd know the difference). He went on to make fun of low-carb supporters for believing in a dietary "us vs. them" mentality and even went so far as to call us "borderline fanatical."

Yep! We're fanatical alright! Make that ultra big-time fans of the most delicious and nutritious way to not only lose weight, which is a nice side benefit to livin' la vida low-carb, but also radically improving our health. Just take a good hard look at all of these health ailments that are improved or avoided because of the low-carb lifestyle: fatty liver, infertility, high blood pressure, brain cancer, HDL and triglycerides, GERD, PCOS, diabetes, pancreatic cancer, heart disease, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, insulin resistance, Alzheimer's disease, elevated blood sugar levels, cholesterol, Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis, epilepsy, headaches...

Shall I go on, Gerald? There's plenty more where this came from. This idea that livin' la vida low-carb is ONLY good for weight loss is as irrelevant and absurd as the people uttering such ridiculous jibberish. No wonder people can't trust the same old failed low-fat dietary message from people like Dr. Furhman anymore because he's got ritards like Pugliese working for him who can only feign knowledge and intelligence about health where none exists.

Even still, Pugliese says we low-carbers "rage" against anything and everything that goes against what we believe. His evidence of this was with a recent e-mail he received from a reader described as "one of Disease Proof's blog trolls" who he subsequently has banned from the site (WHAT?! More on that in a moment!). Here's the offensive e-mail:

I am no less polite than your blog and Dr. F. are towards low carb, Atkins, etc. We are not 'crazies' (well, some of us are...), and it's not medical malpractice for a doctor to recommend this diet. It works and the science backs it up, again and again.

You should look forward to my blog, by the way. I plan to make a regular sport of spoofing you guys. Enjoy your rice cakes, my bacon and eggs are almost ready!

Pugliese took this one e-mail from a low-carb supporter and automatically painted us all with a broad brush assuming we think exactly like this person. While I agree Disease Proof is against low-carb living and that the science backs up this way of eating, I don't believe "spoofing" them is productive (although they do it to me and my blog all the time with frequent lampooning mentions). But I can certainly appreciate where the low-carber is coming from.

Now about this idea of banning somene from your web site just because you disagree with them. What's up with that? People who read my blog are abundantly aware that I allow all kinds of views to be expressed as long as it's a salient point that's on topic with what I'm blogging about. This is how we learn from one another and expand our understanding.

The fact that Pugliese would prohibit someone who has views that run counter to his own from publishing a comment in response to something he has written at Disease Proof reminds me of the Nazis running the "Low-Carb Friends" forum. Whatever happened to the open expression of ideas in a free society? Those days seem long gone now.

But Pugliese and Dr. Furhman obviously believe low-carb is nothing more than "propaganda" that has no useful place in modern society. Why do I say this? Just check out the second column posted today at Disease Proof entitled Meat: Grill, Fry or Broil it? Uh-oh! You know this ain't gonna be good when a radical vegan starts talking about meat.

While much of the article is about a new study warning about the toxins that allegedly come from consuming overcooked meats and cheeses, Pugliese does manage to get in his expected jabs at those of us who support low-carb living. Does this man just sit at his computer all day salivating at the opportunity to find something he thinks is gonna be the "gotcha" moment for his readership at Disease Proof? Sheez, man, you've got waayyyyyy too much time on your hands if you're doing that!

Railing against saturated fat, especially cheese and butter, Pugliese quoted from this blog post I wrote where I blogged about the asinine endorsement of the low-fat lie by a grocery store chain. Contending I am spreading "rhetoric" with my "ringing endorsement of frying meat in butter," here's the paragraph he quoted from me:

"I agree with the advice to shun the fried foods specifically because of the breading. But if you want to fry up your meat in a pan full of butter, then knock yourself out. It’s a healthy way to enjoy that succulent protein-loaded food.

While it’s nice to bake, broil, and especially grill meats, don’t fall for the illusion that cooking these ways is any healthier than cooking meat in fat. Avoid the trans fats, of course, but you shouldn’t worry about saturated fats as long as you are livin’ la vida low-carb."

Since when did butter become one of the worst foods for healthy and longevity, Gerald? Just because your cherished Dr. Furhman says it's unhealthy doesn't make it so. Have you read Dr. Jonny Bowden's 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth yet? Apparently not because this leading nutrition expert names butter and even coconut oil (GASP!) among that exclusive list of the best foods you could possibly eat. It's all there in black and white if you would just read the book!

Now who's spreading the propaganda, Gerald? But I wasn't the only low-carb blogger who was the target of his vile disgust and disdain for livin' la vida low-carb. He even took aim at one of my regular readers Victoria and her fantastic "Carbohydrate Addict" blog where she talked about the newfound freedom she has found with the Atkins low-carb approach that was lacking on her low-fat diet.

"I think one of the reasons Atkins was so perfect for me was because I was on low fat/low cholesterol for sooooo many years. All of the forbidden foods suddenly became okay to eat without guilt and my cholesterol is finally FABULOUS. I'm still on a high when I eat them! Egg salad, bacon, chicken wings, mac and cheese, grilled cheese.... YUM!"

Bemoaning this "rant" by Victoria, Pugliese pulled out the standby response about what's he deems as the only healthy way to eat--namely eating fruits and vegetables as the "best" options for health and disease-prevention. I've got a whole blog post in me coming soon about what I believe is the "fruits and veggies copout" answer, so stay tuned!

Interestingly, at the end of his column, Pugliese brags about the average 49-pound weight loss experienced over a two-year period for people following the Eat to Live vegan diet plan. He says it's "the most sustained weight loss ever recorded in a medical study in history." Well whoop-dee-freakin' doo, Gerald! That's less than one itty bitty little pound a week over 24 months. Do you REALLY want to call that a success?

How about the 180 pounds I lost in one year on the Atkins low-carb lifestyle? That was an average weight loss of 3.5 pounds every single week for a whole year! Those are the kind of meaningful results people who are looking to lose weight and keep it off forever would much rather have than a slow and discouraging LESS THAN A POUND A WEEK average eating nasty and disgusting low-fat foods. I'm not going back there ever again!

Best of all, I am as healthy as I have ever been in my entire life. No more prescription medications for blood pressure, cholesterol or breathing for me and my health has never been better. In fact, at the age of 35, I am more healthy than I was at 15 or even 25 years old. And it's all because I'm livin' la vida low-carb. Not even the relentless adersaries over at Disease Proof can EVER take that fact away from me for the rest of my long and happy life for many years to come!

So how about that interview with Dr. Furhman, Gerald? Is he really too scared to be asked a few hard questions about what he believes from a bona fide low-carb success story? Heck, if renowned low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish can agree to and interview with Jimmy Moore, then surely Dr. Furhman could do it, too! What are you all so afraid of, hmmm?

Perhaps that I'll expose Disease Proof's disgusting dietary delusions? Too late! I just did that today so the gig is up.

4-26-07 UPDATE: Bright and early this morning, I received an e-mail from the man who instigated this post to begin with. Gerald claims I amd "lying" about him banning commenters at his blog. Here's what he wrote:

Jimmy-

I wanted to correct you on one thing. The reason that commenter was banned was not due to difference of opinion. DiseaseProof does not ban dissenting opinions--just read the comments in my post, Meat: Grill, Fry, or Broil it?

This particular commenter has a history of insulting remarks. As I think you would agree, that has no place on a professional blog. If you continue to say otherwise, well, then you are lying to your readers.

As a blogger, I'm sure you understand that accusing someone of comment-filtering based on difference of opinion is very insulting. I would appreciate it if you would shelf that particular aspect of your criticism of DiseaseProof, because it is simply not true.

As much as we clearly disagree Jimmy, I would never attack your merits as a blogger.

-Gerry
http://www.diseaseproof.com
diseaseproof@gmail.com

I wasn't accusing you of anything more than what you yourself said in your column, Gerry! Here's the paragraph where YOU stated that you BANNED a reader from commenting. Here, I'll repeat it here so you can see again:

Gerry wrote:
"And low-carbers do rage. Against everyone and anyone who doesn’t goosestep—oh, I mean—fall in line with their beliefs; which usually come in the form of childish us-against-them tantrums, laced with misinterpretations. Want an example? Here’s a recent email I got from one of DiseaseProof’s blog trolls. Asking why I banned him from commenting."

"Banned" was your word, my friend. If that was wrong, then please feel free to clarify. But I would never even think about preventing ANYONE who has a point to make that is on topic from posting their thoughts. If that's not the way you do things, then I can understand why you would accuse me of "lying."

If you are insulted, then the only person you have to blame is yourself. Perhaps you should be a little more careful about the words you use in your "professional blog." Thanks for your comments, though. See, even I let them get posted here at my blog in a prominent position, a courtesy the Disease Proof blog has never afforded Jimmy Moore.

Now how about that interview with Dr. F?

This request has once again fallen on deaf ears. But Gerry didn't mind writing yet again about the banned commenter:

Jimmy-

Said commentor was banned for previous insults, and not dissenting opinions. So yes, he was banned, but not for living low-carb...for the insults. Hope this clears it up.

-Gerry

If you are blogging on a regular basis (and you are), then you have to build up a tough skin, Gerry. People insult me all the time, but I'd never even think about banning them from posting at my blog. You do what you have to do, but I'm not buying your excuse for refusing opinions that differ from yours. That's yet another difference between my blog and yours.

Halt The Ban On Salt For High Blood Pressure

There are a lot of universally-held beliefs regarding health that sometimes we just automatically accept as cold hard facts without ever seriously investigating those claims under a microscope and seeing what the latest research shows. Such is the case with the notion that consuming salt is bad for your health because it will raise your blood pressure. It's just not true and I'll explain why in a moment.

This subject was brought up by one of my very regular readers in a recent e-mail:

Dear Jimmy,

My question for you is about high blood pressure. I have been recently diagnosed with it and frankly I was shocked. I went to a Curves screening to check out my cholesterol (mine was great--low triglycerides, normal blood sugars, low LDL and high HDL), but I was taken by surprise when I saw my blood pressure was elevated.

Predictably, when I went to my doctor he recommended I go on blood pressure medication, immediately start the low-fat DASH diet and include regular exercise into my routine. I do not want to takes any medications if I can help it. However, I do admit to eating more carbs than usual (I really love potatoes) but I don’t eat much, if any, sugar (especially after reading Connie Bennett's SUGAR SHOCK!).

My question is, isn’t a low-carb diet supposed to lower blood pressure? I emailed Dr. Mary Vernon about this to see if the low-carb approach is better than the low-fat DASH diet. No response as yet. I was hoping she would choose it as a question for her blog. I wondered if you have run across any research in this area.

I have chosen to return again to the Induction phase to see what affect that has on my pressure. I will report back to you how it goes! Thanks, Jimmy for great information all the time. You keep us low-carbers so motivated with your endless enthusiasm!!

Isn't it interesting how whenever someone starts having health problems such as an increase in their blood pressure, the first thing the medical community wants to do is medicate and stick the person on a low-fat diet? Um, haven't we done that over and over again and yet these problems still persist? Wouldn't somebody somewhere along the way say NOW WAIT JUST A MINUTE? If not, then let me be the first to ask that question.

Why do we just assume the low-fat diet and drugs is the great cure-all for high blood pressure? Livin' la vida low-carb HAS indeed been found in studies to actually LOWER blood pressure indeed. Just look at the JAMA study out of Stanford University from earlier this month. In it, we find the startling news (not to us low-carbers, but to the medical geniuses who keep pushing a low-fat diet) that the blood pressure readings among the people who followed the Atkins low-carb diet were SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER than all the other groups, including nearly FOUR TIMES LOWER than the poor people that were subjected to the Ornish low-fat diet.

This is quite compelling evidence that a low-fat diet is NOT the great be-all, end-all answer to dealing with high blood pressure. It's no coincidence that doctors need to simultaneously recommend prescription drugs along with that low-fat diet for people dealing with various health issues. They already know the diet is not good enough for the patient, so they get 'em hooked on an expensive medication while they are suffering on that low-fat diet. UGH!

Anyone know what I'm talking about? Yep, we've all been through it!

So, what about my reader? Although she admits to sneaking in some potatoes as part of her low-carb diet (tsk tsk!), she's doing the plan well enough to bring her lipid profile under complete control. Yet, what gives on her blood pressure issues? If livin' la vida low-carb is supposed to work to help keep blood pressure under control (and it has been proven to do just that), then what's happening with her?

Actually, she and I have something in common that is extremely rare--we are what I described in this blog post as "salt-sensitive." This only applies to about 5 percent of the population who sees a negative impact on their blood pressure when they consume even a little small amount of sodium in their diet. For that reason, I need to watch how much salt I take in.

When I weighed 410 pounds prior to 2004, not only did I have to watch how much salt I took in, but I was taking blood pressure pills to keep it at a relatively stable 150/90 reading. Before I started livin' la vida low-carb in January 2004, my doctor was contemplating putting me on TWO MORE blood pressure drugs that would have put a big dent in my budget and very likely not lower my blood pressure more than 10-15 points. Of course, he wanted me to go on a low-fat diet, too.

As you know, I declined that advice and went on the Atkins diet instead. One year later, I was down 180 pounds in weight and was able to stop taking ANY prescription medications for blood pressure. As I sit here typing this blog entry for you in 2007, my weight is not the only vital statistic that has been stablized--so has my blood pressure which has consistent readings of 120/80. WOO HOO! But I still need to watch how much salt is in EVERYTHING I eat.

To be honest, I never have enjoyed salty foods all that much. Sweets were my thing, which could explain why I ballooned up to over 400 pounds. Salt just makes my mouth curl, which is another reason I enjoy eating low-salt EVERYTHING! And when I do need something to be flavored, I actually have found an excellent salt substitute made almost entirely of potassium called Also-Salt. This is a fantastic product for people who are "salt-sensitive" who need to add some flavor to their foods.

And actually this product is extremely beneficial because it actually ADDS potassium to your diet, which is sorely lacking in the diet of most Americans these days. Potassium is a VITAL part of livin' la vida low-carb especially in the first few months of your new lifestyle change. If you supplement your diet with this essential ingredient, then you can ward off such annoying and oftentimes painful experiences such as leg cramps (man, I could tell you some stories of what I went through during my weight loss--ARGH!).

I say all of that to say this: unless you are one of the few who are "salt-sensitive," then salt is only going to cause problems for you if you are not consuming an adequate level of potassium as well. In other words, we are not an over-salted nation as has been so highly publicized, but rather a potassium-deficient one instead. How about some headlines about THAT for a change?

Nevertheless, leave it to the self-appointed experts on all things related to health over at Dr. Joel Fuhrman's "Disease Proof" blog recently when they posted a column on this very subject last month entitled "Salt Wars: The Phantom Menace" which sought to enlighten us all about just how super-evil they think salt is for everybody to eat.

In fact, they quote the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog when I wrote the following:

"Unless you are salt-sensitive (and it just so happens that I am!), there is no reason why you should watch your salt intake. An overwhelming majority have no reason to cut down on their salt intake. NONE! The fact that a minority of the population has sensitivity to salt should not make this a universal recommendation."

Nothing but the truth was conveyed in that entire paragraph I wrote. But not according to DiseaseProof.com's Gerald Pugliese who wrote that column about salt. Describing my assertions regarding the minimized health risks of salt as "dangerous diet information" that "the masses eat it up," Pugliese went on to add that I'm somehow fortunate for being "salt-sensitive."

"So [Jimmy Moore] is limiting his exposure to [salt], but saying that the majority of people have no reason to avoid salt, well, that seems a little misguided because in addition to the hypertension and stomach cancer risk, Dr. Fuhrman associates salt intake with osteoporosis and heart attacks."

Pugliese continues on with his little rant about salt being some great danger to the health of all mankind quoting from Dr. Fuhrman's Eat To Live book. By the way, Gerald, why have you and Dr. Fuhrman continued to ignore my requests for well over a year to interview the fine health doctor at my blog, hmmm? Heck, even Dr. Dean Ornish agreed to an interview with me, so I don't understand why Dr. Fuhrman would be so afraid to answer a few questions from me. How about it already? I don't bite...too hard! :)

So what evidence do I have proving my assertions about salt being an irrelevant factor in raised blood pressure? Well, it just so happens there is a study published in the May 2000 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (hat tip to Regina Wilshire for pointing me to this research) which gives a well-resourced and comprehensive blow-by-blow of this salt fiasco that has been perpetrated on an unsuspecting and none-the-wiser public.

Research author David A. McCarron explains the subject of being "salt-sensitive" at great length and why it is so rare the recommendations to reduce salt intake are simply irrelevant since taking that action has not been found to bring about a reduction in cardiovascular health risk as is so commonly asserted. I highly encourage you to read the entire paper if you are seriously concerned about your blood pressure being raised because of salt consumption. Discover the TRUTH for yourself.

Hopefully, this will put to rest any concerns you may have had about salt once and for all. We need to halt the ban on salt because it absolutely does NOT lead to high blood pressure or other health issues for the vast majority of people. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying to your face despite the scientific evidence to the contrary. Now who's providing the "dangerous diet information?"