More Incredible Feel Good Success Stories About Healthy Low-Carb Living

Wanna be a low-carb success? Read about other successes!

Success always begets success begets success.

Just in case you haven't noticed it before, I like to encourage people. It's always been in my nature to pass on positive thoughts to those who need an uplifting word to get them through a difficult time. I'm a "can-do" kinda guy and want others to be able to experience all the best that life has to offer them. For all intents and purposes in my mind, it's the way things are meant to be.

That's why I LOVE hearing from people who have been able to accomplish incredible things with their health while livin' la vida low-carb. And that's not by accident either. This way of eating, whether the media and those so-called "experts" ever want to admit it or not, is an incredibly amazing and simple way to bring about massive improvements in not just your weight but your health, too.

I've blogged about so many ways your health is supercharged with low-carb living, but let's just take a look at a few right now, shall we?

When you start eating low-carb:

- Weight loss commences without counting calories
- Triglycerides drop below 100 very easily and quickly
- Blood sugars stabilize
- HDL "good" cholesterol rises above 50
- Sensitivity to insulin is improved
- Blood pressure decreases
- Insulin levels in the body are reduced
- Muscle mass is preserved
- Epilepsy is virtually cured
- Cancer is not allowed to spread and grow
- Concentration and clarity of thought emerges
- Energy like you haven't seen before
- More sound sleep
- A positive mood and attitude
- NO HUNGER!!!
- Beaming confidence about yourself
- Incredible fat loss

I could go on and on and on, but I've blogged about these and so many other ways your health gets better and better as a result of livin' la vida low-carb. Today, I wanted to share some more incredible feel good success stories about healthy low-carb living from some of your fellow readers who were inspired to tells their great news to me.

After sharing about my wife Christine's 55% drop in her triglycerides in just six weeks and my own incredible lipid profile numbers, the floodgates opened up and you couldn't help but express how much the low-carb lifestyle has and is STILL changing your life for the better. Be encouraged as you read these remarkable changes that have happened without the use of any prescription medications or other medicinal interventions.

Just diet, baby--a low-carb one, that is! ENJOY! :D

Hey Jimmy,

I left the American Heart Association diet to eat only meat, fish, eggs, butter and vegetables. No grains, sugar, fruit or starchy veggies of any kind. My blood pressure went down from 141/90 average to 116/65 average also was able to stop all my BP meds. Total cholesterol went from 241 down to 180 and HDL went from 43 to 62. Was able to stop taking Lipitor. Sorry but Atkins was more or less right. I no longer buy the no-fat nonsense.

YOU GO BOY! Your health improvements are indeed SPECTACULAR!!!

Jimmy,

Thank you so much for your support in my new way of eating. I read and listen to you almost every day. I read your blog about your blood sugar woes with great interest. I have been Livin' La Vida Low Carb for about 6 months only for blood sugar issues. I have had high fasting blood sugar for over 20 years. It has never progressed to anything beyond that and all other tests are normal.

I lost 30 pounds 2 years ago through sheer willpower and my fasting blood sugar did not improve. I have low trigylcerides and high HDL, and my BMI is 21. My only issue is the fasting number. My post meal numbers seem normal. I am so lost and I can't seem to get these numbers down. I am lucky my new physician has agreed that 30 carbs is a good daily max. Is there anyone out there can help me understand why nothing is helping these morning numbers!! Maybe I need to eat more fat and less protein.

I did read about a form of diabetes called mature onset diabetes of the young (MODY) where the only problem is fasting blood glucose and it never progresses to anything beyond that if carbs are controlled. I didn't start controlling my carbs at all until about a year ago and then really got serious about 6 months ago.

Can you point me to any good information about this?

It certainly sounds like you're on the right path, so don't give up hope. If you missed my podcast interview with Dr. Keith Berkowitz from last week, then you really should check it out because he may have some information that could help you. I'll be following up with him in another podcast soon, so let me know if you have any specific questions you'd like for me to ask Dr. Berkowitz. You're doing GREAT!

Hi Jimmy,

I found your podcasts today as I embark again on my low-carb "adventure." I have spent most of the evening listening, watching your YouTube videos and reading your blog and it's been a great inspiration.

I too was an Atkins follower back in 2003 and shed about 30 pounds to hit my goal weight and it was great. But things change and I left the low-carb way and I have paid for it. Still here we go again and I'm truly excited and will continue to listen and watch and read you as my body flips back (hopefully!) into the low-carb lifestyle!

Thanks very much and I hope your battle with the 30 pounds is not dragging you down too much. I am sure you will crack it!

THANK YOU so much and welcome back to livin' la vida low-carb. I urge you to make this your permanent lifestyle change and never let life get in the way again. Low-carb eating is HEALTHY eating, so there's no sense in ever eating any other way again, right? As for my recent weight woes, I'm not discouraged. Even if for some reason these 30 pounds refuse to budge, I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that I'm healthier than I'd EVER be eating any other way. The good news is I feel better now at the age of 36 than I have in my entire life. How many people can say that? :)

Hi Jimmy:

It's your fellow low-carb buddy here. I have been following your info about Christine's triglycerides on the blog and I just had to share some related news of my own that I got last week!

I got my first ever cholesterol test done since I've been low-carbing now for about 8 months, and let me tell you it was SOOOO VALIDATING!!!

Here are my numbers:

Total Cholesterol: 197
HDL: 64
LDL: 120
Triglycerides: 61

What I find absolutely fascinating about these numbers is when you compare them to my last test in 2004 when I was in the middle of doing Weight Watchers to lose the last of my pregnancy weight. I have the food journals I kept during that 30-pound weight loss and it was soooo carb heavy (it's amazing I even lost weight). I was also exercising 1 hour a day during that time. So here's what the numbers were:

Total Cholesterol: 210
HDL: 72
LDL: 100
Triglycerides: 188!!!!

When I compared the two triglyceride numbers (61 now on low-carb, 188 then on high-carb, low-fat) I just about fainted. Totally amazing. So I wanted to add my story as more proof that consuming massive quantities of fat-laden foods does not kill you, it makes you healthier--AS LONG AS YOU KEEP YOUR CARBS LOW!!!

Oh, I had such a great time this weekend showing this to all my friends who are FREAKING out because I eat whole milk, butter and steak. It was great. I hope Christine continues to see her levels stay healthy.

The only question I have is: Can you have triglyceride levels that are too low? Any danger in that one? I hope not, cause I'm sure proud right now. Keep up the good work!!!

WOWSERS! I love the enthusiastic response you have for livin' la vida low-carb and can only tell you to keep doing what you're doing. The difference between your low-fat triglyceride numbers and your low-carb ones is astonishing. Not surprising, though, since you eat so many carbohydrates on a low-fat diet. We should pay more attention to triglycerides when we talk about heart health, but doctors usually only give it a cursory glance compared to the LDL and total cholesterol which is their be-all, end-all for determining your cardiovascular risk. Puhleez! Give me low-carb any day of the week. And I wouldn't worry about "too low" triglycerides. Mine were once as low as 43, but when they're below 100 it shows you are indeed doing low-carb the right way. YOU GO GIRL with your bad self!!! :D

Changing the world one dietician at a time!

In all seriousness though, think about what keeps people from doing low-carb in the U.S., which we know works for the vast majority of people, for weight loss and so many other levels. I've thought about this in my own efforts to help those in my own small circle that have asked for advice in achieving some of the success that I've enjoyed with low-carb. Even with the proof of a real human being standing in from of them, it's can be difficult for people to convince themselves that it's worth a try. It's not lack of knowledge, because the research has been done. It's not poverty or lack of access to the right foods. It's what I would call the "social" factors.

I stole this term from the computer world where they refer to computer hackers (sorry to have to use the "h" word) doing "social" hacking, as opposed to "technical" hacking. That is, taking the route of sweet talking or deceiving people into giving up their passwords, as opposed to using some program to guess the password, which is a lot more difficult. The white hat guys that focus their efforts on preventing the "social" hacking, by convincing users to create tough passwords and guard their information, are doing a lot more good, just in terms of sheer scale of hacking prevented, than the guys focused on the technical approach like installing better firewalls.

I make the analogy to what you are doing with helping people get past the barriers to starting low-carb. They're not technical barriers. Rather, it almost takes a rebel these days to do low-carb in the face of official opposition, in spite of the well-documented benefits and logical physiological underpinnings. Most doctors don't advocate it or they even discourage it. The USDA, ADA (OK, a glimmer of hope there), AHA, Ornish, Oz, and other high profile entities actively discourage it. If people can get past these "barriers to entry," then they will, in all likelihood, be successful.

Jimmy, you are helping to break down these barriers and in effect giving people permission to do low-carb without thinking that they will drop of a heart attack after 6 months from the fat intake. In so doing, you're doing more good to address the biggest health issue in the U.S. (and much of the world) today--the obesity and diabetes epidemics--than probably hundreds of doctors do in their lifetimes.

It's not that the technical medical advocates aren't important, but I don't think they have the potential for the scale of impact. You're doing it with ideas, and by making the ideas accessible to millions through the Internet. Let's review that again, because I really mean it, and I get the feeling you may be too humble to have digested it the first time--doing more to help more people than hundreds of doctors do in their lifetimes!

We can only imagine how many more husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, children, and grandchildren would have many more quality years with their loved ones if the professionals and professional organizations were to actually SUPPORT the low-carb approach. And I know you're working on them too! I think that day will come in our lifetimes.

OK, that turned into a long speech. But I've been thinking about these matters a lot since I got past the anger I felt initially after educating myself with information from books like Good Calories, Bad Calories. BTW, I'll be listening to more of your podcasts right after I'm finished writing this.

So, keep up the good work. Hopefully I'll get to go on one of your cruises eventually, but unfortunately I won't be able to make it this year. Phenomenal line-up you've got though, and very reasonably priced as well. Enjoy it.

What can I say to something like that? THANK YOU! I never realized when I decided to start blogging about my experiences on the low-carb lifestyle that my writings and other projects would reach so many people. All I wanted to do was have an outlet for sharing my experiences with this way of eating to show others there is an alternative to the failed low-fat diets that have been shoved down our throats for decades. It is humbling for me to think about the over three million people who have graced my blog over the past three years. I hope to keep this going for as long as the fire is inside of me to write passionately about the transforming power of low-carb living. Right now, that looks like it's gonna be FOREVER! :D THANKS for your support!

Jimmy,

I love your web site and appreciate very much what you are doing. I am just dropping a line to let you know I am a devout follower of yours and am better physically and mentally for it. Please never quit what you're doing for us low-carbers out here. Your impact is tremendous.

I have posted my story along the way on the Active Low-Carber forum. I was chronically obese, adult onset, for over 10 years. I tried dieting with Weight Watchers and on my own versions of a low-fat plan. But it never worked. I had to do something because I was definitely starting to see physical problems compiling.

My family physician--mum on diet plans--suggested I see a psychologist about my weight problem and he has been great. The first visit he had me get a copy of Protein Power. Since that January 2007 visit to him I have lost 125 pounds and counting (330/205/185). My life has improved so much.

I soak in all of your postings, all of the Drs. Eades postings, everything Gary Taubes writes, and whatever else I can find. I feel like I really understand my body now and can keep my weight stabilized without much effort. I have people all the time asking me how I've done it. I say low-carb. Most tell me they could never do it. I say I could no longer eat the way they are now because it was killing me. Anyway, thank you so much again.

Now that's interesting. Your doctor was clueless about what other diet options were out there to put you on, but he recommended a psychologist who said you should try livin' la vida low-carb. HA! That's hilarious. So a mental health doctor is better equipped to help you with your physical health than your own general practitioner?! Unbelievable! Maybe that's why people are losing faith in the medical profession and turning to alternative health sources like psychologists, chiropractors, and even online bloggers like me to give them truth that can help them truly change their lives. Your story is remarkable and probably more indicative of what is actually happening right now in our society. Physicians have let us down, so now we must take back control of our own health.

Hi Jimmy,

Thank you for the wonderful insights and speakers you provide on your blog. I just got through listening to the Berkley talk given by Gary Taubes. Actually, I found you because of him. My sister, who is a writer, is friends with him and told me about his work.

I have really enjoyed your blog and have been living low-carb for a little over a month now. Wow! What a difference! I am so happy that there is somewhere to go that provides insight, cooking tips, and general positive messages.

My husband and I are both eating this way and it has truly opened up an exciting new world. I can't shut up about it and am even chronicling my journey in a book that I am writing. I would love to send it to you when I am finished. This change has been a long time coming, but with all the information out there and my deep desire to make life better, it is a snap judgment. There is no return and that's a good thing.

I love that I have taken away my mode of coping with discomfort (food, sugar, sugar, and lots of carbs) and left myself no other option but to find real solutions. My husband and I both enjoy all the information and tips. (I tell him everything I learn.)

Thanks again and congratulations on Christine's triglycerides.

AWESOME! I look forward to reading that book when the story is completed. :)

Hi Jimmy,

The blogging world sure does take a while to get used to. I have a large number of blogging friends on MySpace and we all blog about weight loss and try and support each other. I am the only one that is living low-carb and I have a few blogging friends who don't like it when I post about low-carb.

One of them posted a blog today called "The Risks of Low Carb." It shocked me since I support all of their different lifestyles and have never posted anything bad about their diets. I was even more shocked when I read what it said. Anyway, to make a long story short I just told her that my lab work shows I am living a healthy lifestyle.

I believe it's healthier to eat a diet that allows me not to have to take my medications rather than eating carbs and have to be on medications all the time to stop the side effects carbs have on my body. It just made me feel so sad for her. She has diabetes and PCOS and I know this lifestyle is what she needs so badly.

What a witness you are for this way of eating and I admire you for standing up for the convictions of your heart about this. I've never understood the abject animosity people have for those of us who are livin' la vida low-carb. Here we are with a diet full of healthy and (GASP!) delicious whole foods like eggs, meats, butter, cream, cheese, nuts, etc. and all they can do is poo-poo it? If somebody wants to eat a low-fat diet, then knock yourself out. You won't find me criticizing you for doing so and I expect the same consideration about the way I eat, too. Remain firm in what you know is right for you and never let anyone convince you otherwise. WAY TO GO!!!

Dear Mr. Moore,

I was on the net today looking for info on Gary Taubes and his new book. I read about him in a magazine and am in absolutely in agreement with his science. The reason why I agree with him is this--I am a 60-year old woman who, when I was 22 or 23, read an article in Time magazine that dispelled the myth of eggs raising the level of cholesterol. At that time, folks were all talking about cholesterol.

A survey for cholesterol was done by some company in America, in which they took a few hundred people and put them on an egg diet. Some folks had one egg a day and the another lot had two, another three and so on up to some having 5 eggs a day. At the end of the survey which I think was done over a year, the amount of cholesterol level that the folks who had 5 eggs a day had risen minimally! There were figures and other proofs but I can't remember them, it was all so long ago.

I was particularly interested in the Time magazine article because my family had a cholesterol problem so it seems with my granddad and my father dying from heart attacks. Anyway I decided at that vain age of 23 that I would go on an egg diet in spite of the family's history and lost several pounds feeling healthier and happier.

Recently, in spite of the Atkins diet being vilified, and me being 28 pounds overweight, after having tried several diets, I reverted to the egg diet and lost those all those pounds within 3 weeks. A month has gone by and now and because of my age, I almost live on eggs and am healthy strong and still enjoying my nursing career.
If you know Gary Taubes email please send him a copy of my email to him. I'm sure he would be really happy to hear about the Time magazine survey of so long ago. Maybe he could pull it out of the archives and say, "There you are, I told you so."

LOL! That's GREAT! You sure are a fireball and I like it. I hope to have at least that much energy and vibrancy when I reach 60 in another quarter century. :) It truly is amazing that low-carb is so well-documented throughout scientific history with studies just like the egg one you noted and yet all we hear about is how Atkins low-carb is just a "fad" that is "dangerous" to your health. Oh really? If it's that bad, then why has it continued to stick around for 150 years if you go all the way back to William Banting's day? Wouldn't we be seeing massive sickness and death of Biblical proportions if low-carb was truly as bad as it has been made out to be? Me thinks these nincompoops protesteth too much! THANKS for your note and I did forward it to Gary Taubes who expressed his sincerest appreciation.

I saw the doctor today and I have GREAT NEWS. Everything went great at my check up!! I got on the scale and it said 266!!!! He looked back in my chart to see my starting weight from when he put me on his low-carb diet and was shocked to see how much weight I had lost!!! 59 pounds to his charts!!! Woohoo!! Woohoo!! Woohooo!!

He is keeping me at 500 mg of Metformin but I don't have to take any others meds!!!! He is a small town doctor here where we live and he told me that in his 30 years of practice he has never had a diabetic patient do so well and change their health around the way I have!!! Another Woohoo!!! He said he wished he could have his other patients follow me around so I could teach them how to do it!!!! LOL! He made my day! I also told him about your blog and he said he was going to look it up!

WOO HOO is right! This is the kind of story that needs to get out there to other doctors who are struggling with knowing what to do for their diabetic patients who keep getting WORSE on their recommended low-fat, low-cholesterol, high-carb diet. Put 'em on low-carb and watch how better they get almost instantaneously. This is what low-carb practitioners like Dr. Mary C. Vernon, Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Jeffry Gerber, Dr. Keith Berkowitz, and so many more so in their practices on a daily basis. Changed lives because of livin' la vida low-carb. It's something EVERY doctor should know about and use for their patients who have not been successful on the more traditional treatment methods.

Dear Jimmy,

Last summer I was sent to a heart specialist who wanted to put me on statins for high cholesterol. I told him that I wanted to try diet and exercise. I followed a low-fat, high-carb diet dutifully for four months and lost 50 pounds. I was so excited to go in and get my cholesterol checked. I was stricken and dumbfounded when total cholesterol improved only marginally and HDL dropped and triglycerides rose.

It has taken since September 2007 for me to read and talk to enough people to finally get to the truth of the matter. I have been re-reading Atkins, Taubes, and other resources recently to figure this thing out. I have been following Atkins imperfectly for the past several months. I say imperfectly because following a non-traditional way of eating requires some very intense faith. My logic and emotions say that Atkins is great. My traditional Food Pyramid, clean your plate upbringing tells me to run to the nearest bag of carrots. With the help of the nurse today and my great HDL reading (85) and low triglycerides (78), the high-fat message has finally sunk in.

Total cholesterol 264
HDL 85
LDL 164
Triglycerides 78

All of those readings are better than my August test after two and a half months of the low-fat program, especially, the two most important indicators of heart health HDL and triglycerides. The nurse was definitely in agreement with a high-fat, low-carb diet. She told me she had been cautioned twice against this by her superiors and asked me not to mention our conversation to anyone. This is a big hospital with a huge pharmaceutical component.

Thanks so much for everything.

Now that's so scary! Here you have a nurse who "gets it" and has to engage in a covert low-carb mission to help patients like you get better. Why does a nurse who doesn't have nearly the amount of education and experience of a doctor (okay, maybe the experience, but not the book knowledge!) know more about healthy nutrition than a trained, professional doctor? What is WRONG with this picture? Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't give you a hard time about your LDL cholesterol being 164 and total cholesterol being 264. My own doctor freaked out with similar number and I haven't even shown him my recent 326 total cholesterol yet. He'd faint if he saw it! Keep fighting the good fight, my friend. You're doing super!

Do YOU have a story of low-carb success you'd like to share with me? I'd LOVE hearing from you, so don't be a stranger. Send me an e-mail with your fabulous low-carb results anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANK YOU for being such a beacon of light in my life and giving me the motivation to keep doing what I'm doing for the sake of livin' la vida low-carb. The truth WILL prevail if we keep sharing it with a world full of people who feel so hopeless and helpless about what to do about their weight and health. God bless you guys!

Eades Blogs About Calories, Colpo Responds With A Rather Ostentatious Outburst

Dr. Mike Eades and Anthony Colpo still sparring over diet

Have you been paying attention to the very public and sometimes nasty feud that has been going on between Protein Power author and low-carb diet expert Dr. Mike Eades and independent Australian researcher Anthony Colpo over the past year or so? It's gotten pretty ugly at times as Colpo continues to openly castigate the low-carb community for being too partisan and monolithic in their thinking on diet (something I happen to agree with him somewhat about and a thought that was first expressed by Dr. Jonny Bowden in my August 2006 interview with him).

I've been a fan of the work Anthony Colpo has done over the years on behalf of livin' la vida low-carb. He blasted the idiocy of low-fat diets while extolling the virtues of low-carb living in his fabulous 2006 self-published debut book entitled The Great Cholesterol Con. That book showed such great promise for Colpo who had firmly established himself as a leader in the low-carb community with his knack for witty, in-your-face writing combined with nearly irrefutable independent scientific research backing up every word he wrote. That's the Anthony Colpo we knew and loved at the time and you could tell his passion for the low-carb lifestyle was deeply rooted in this blog interview I conducted with him in June 2006.

But shortly after the release of The Great Cholesterol Con, some strange behavior started happening with Anthony where you could already see some deeply harbored resentment towards the low-carb community seeping out into the pages of his writings. Who can forget the day when Colpo removed the content from TheOmnivore.com because of what he described as "freeloaders" who forced him to shut it down for good.

Colpo explained his reasons for that decision this way:

"Judging by the sales figures over at [his print-on-demand publisher] Lulu, only a small fraction of my newsletter subscribers have even bothered to buy the book. Yet I still get people emailing to tell me what a great guy I am, how great the (free) info on my web site is and still wanting (free) answers to their questions."

I suppose Colpo expected every member of the low-carb community to immediately go out and buy his book as soon as it released. It's certainly worth having on your mantle because it is chock full of the best research on cholesterol you will find anywhere. But the sales were going "VERY slowly" according to him and it ticked him off that this was the thanks he received for all of his contributions on behalf of low-carb. He even responded in typical fashion to those people who were upset about having to pay extra for the book to be shipped where they live.

"Here I am, having self-published a book that has literally costs me thousands of dollars out of my own pocket (and caused me more than a few headaches along the way) to bring to market, and in return I get disgruntled wankers writing to complain about how they have to pay an extra ten piddly bucks to have the book delivered to their country."

After this incident, I tried to help Anthony out by blogging about his book and encouraging others who support the low-carb message to buy it to support what he was doing and to show him that we aren't all a bunch of "freeloaders" as he claimed. We got the book to crack the Top 1000 at the time which was a pretty major feat that even my own first book has never seen happen.

By August 2006, Anthony Colpo still hadn't brought back his fabulous web site, but was back in usual form with the high-fat, low-carb message responding to a ridiculous study about how one saturated fat meal will clog up your arteries. He was back to doing what we loved about him in the first place--refuting weak research and bombastic claims with real, hard evidence delivered with a healthy dose of attitude. It was good to have him focusing his attention on the failed low-fat diet message again, but unfortunately it wasn't gonna last very long.

Although he created a low-carb bodybuilders forum, released an e-book with his old posts from TheOmnivore, and I named him to my top 10 low-carb movers & shakers of 2006, Colpo apparently still held a lot of anger and resentment towards the low-carb community in general for not rallying behind his book which he spent years researching and writing. And, in his mind, what did it get him? In a way, you can understand the disappointment he experienced, but the way he responded tended to turn off more people than it turned on. Plus, having a self-published book presents limitations that I suppose Colpo didn't anticipate (anyone who's ever done it can relate).

The first time Dr. Mike Eades from Protein Power enters the picture with Anthony Colpo is in October 2006 when I interviewed him and Dr. Mary Dan at my blog. I asked them if they had read Colpo's book on cholesterol promoting the consumption of saturated fat as part of a healthy low-carb lifestyle to help protect against cardiovascular health and here's what Dr. Mike wrote in response:

"I agree with Colpo (though I haven’t read his book, I have skimmed through it) and Dr. Uffe Ravnskov that saturated fat isn’t an issue. There is no conclusive evidence that saturated fat causes any kind of problems."

At this point, both Colpo and Dr. Eades seem to be on the same page regarding a healthy high-fat, low-carb diet. But what happened next that created such an inexplicable ongoing rift between these two is still a mystery to this day. More about that in a moment.

In December 2006, Colpo released an updated and expanded edition of The Great Cholesterol Con in the hopes that it would provide more incentive for people to purchase the book. As far as I can tell, these changes did not measurably improve the sales so I am sure Colpo's disenchantment with the low-carb world was ever-increasing. Even still, he was gracious enough to respond to an e-mail one of my blog readers had for him about low-carb diets and cholesterol in March 2007 from someone who HAD purchased his book and wanted some additional information. He was still on top of his game about what he was sharing and I sincerely appreciated his assistance with my reader who wanted to learn more about this subject.

Colpo's amazing writings and work on low-carb diets was finally noticed by a health newsletter founded by Dr. Al Sears called Total Health Breakthroughs and he was brought on as a contributing writer as I shared last August. In that same month, I asked Colpo to once again share his feedback with a reader who had a question about muscle fatigue on a low-carb diet. At the time, Colpo was promoting his new e-book called The Fat Loss Bible where I couldn't help but notice he started recommending higher carbohydrate counts than I had ever seen from him advise people to eat before.

Here's what he shared with my reader about what she needed to do post-workout when she leaves her spinning class:

"I would suggest you begin drinking 75-150 grams of carbohydrate in liquid form, along with either 30-40 grams whey protein and/or 6 grams of a powdered amino acid formula that is rich in branched chain amino acids, immediately after your spin classes...Suitable forms of carbohydrate include maltodextrin (a.k.a. glucose polymers) or rice syrup, diluted in around 500 ml water. You can add a little glucose or honey to sweeten the mixture."

Colpo was basically recommending she drink sugar water after her workout which seemed a bit odd to me at the time based on all that I had learned about the negative impact of sugar consumption on blood sugars and insulin levels and their effect on the body. It seemed to go against everything I knew about exercise while livin' la vida low-carb. But I didn't argue that point at the time, although a few of my readers reacted to this seemingly out-of-place recommendation in the comments section of that post.

Then in September 2007, it happened.

Dr. Eades wrote a blog post heard 'round the world called "Is A Calorie Always A Calorie?" that basically detailed how and why low-carb diets create a spontaneous drop in caloric intake compared with those following a low-fat diet. He was defending the "metabolic advantage" that so many of us believe exists as it relates to livin' la vida low-carb.

Less than a week later, Anthony Colpo responded to Dr. Eades' post about calories with his now infamous open letter entitled "The Hopelessly Biased 'Research' of Dr. Michael Eades" where he blasts Dr. Eades for believing in the "metabolic advantage" of low-carb diets. The overall tone of this first open letter from Colpo to Dr. Eades was very snide and snobbish like an arrogant teacher chiding a student for missing such an OBVIOUS question like 2+2=4. Quite frankly, if Dr. Eades had chosen to ignore Colpo's antics at this point, I wouldn't have blamed him. What he was accusing Dr. Eades of wasn't nearly worth all the hostility and contempt that Colpo was pouring on.

There was no immediate response from Dr. Eades to this letter from Colpo, but two months later in November 2007, the time was ripe for a refutation of the charges made against him. Anyone who reads Dr. Mike's blog knows he has a unique way of making his points in written format much in the same way Anthony Colpo does. And so he did when he wrote in the lengthy blog post "Learn why Anthony Colpo is MAD and get a free book" where Dr. Eades goes through the charges made by Colpo point by point citing references and links where appropriate. You'll notice in this mammoth response that Dr. Eades isn't very impressed by who he describes as "a pretty slippery fellow" who is "a legend in his own mind."

The war of words had begun and Colpo and Dr. Eades continued this back-and-forth exchange on their various blogs and forums. In late November 2007, Anthony wrote the following to me regarding this rift between him and the low-carb community:

The animosity between the MAD crowd and myself has become irreparably personal. So be it. Contrary to what the MAD crowd claim, they drew first blood. It was they who took such deep offense to my 2005 fat loss article and began attacking my persona on web forums. I get the feeling that some of those folks felt a sense of betrayal, that they felt angry that I dared turn my spotlight on myths *within* the low-carb camp.

I have no time for such nepotism. And I give as good as I get. If they want to keep this up, I'm more than happy to stay in the ring. So far their animosity has inspired the creation of a popular ebook and a mini-PDF that are receiving enthusiastic praise from those who have not hopelessly succumbed to MAD. So if they want to keep providing me with creative inspiration, good luck to them."

In March 2008, I contacted Anthony Colpo about coming on my podcast show to discuss this at the time six-month dispute with Dr. Eades and those in the low-carb community he disagreed with. I was offering an olive branch out to him as a means of giving him a voice to talk about what had him so upset. But he refused stating that the "MAD (metabolic advantage dogma) crowd" as he calls those of us in the low-carb community has become too partisan about their beliefs. Okay, but here I am giving you a chance to share your side of the story, so why wouldn't you take it?

Here is Colpo's decline of my invitation for an interview:

Hi Jimmy,

Thanks for the kind offer to appear on your low-carb show, but I really don't want to be identified with a particular dietary paradigm anymore. It's been my experience that followers of particular dietary paradigms tend to be very myopic and dogmatic, and I have to honestly say that low-carbers are among the worst - if not *the* worst - offenders. As a result, I will be changing the direction of my web presence in due course, in order to shake off the annoying "low-carb" and "Paleo" labels I've been tagged with (partly my own fault). I'm just not interested in catering to the kind of one-eyed crowd that these labels tend to attract.

All the best,

Anthony

As if it wasn't abundantly clear before, it was at this point that I realized the great defender of low-carb we once knew as a brilliant orator of this way of eating was now gone for good. Anthony Colpo had now taken on a martyr mentality and he would do anything and everything to prove he's right no matter what.

At the April 2008 ASBP/Nutrition & Metabolism conference in Phoenix, AZ, I was able to sit down with Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades for an interview with them. One of the questions I had for Dr. Mike was about none other than Anthony Colpo himself. Here's what I asked Dr. Mike Eades about Anthony Colpo in that podcast interview which ran in May 2008:

"I wanted to ask one more question about another gentleman who you have had a very open spout with. Of course, we're talking about Anthony Colpo. What has happened to him? I mean he used to be a champion, I guess, of the low-carb diet and something changed him. I don't even know how to ask the question, I mean, what's going on with him based on your analysis in the midst of this squabble with him. What's happening, is he seeing scientific data that's there that we don't? I don't get where he's coming from."

Dr. Eades very carefully started to answer this question to give his honest opinion about the Colpo situation as he saw it from his perspective. Here's what he said:

"Well, it's a hard question to answer because I'm not inside Anthony Colpo's head, so I don't know how he thinks. So all my analyses are just sorta pop psychology analyses. I mean, when this whole thing blew up because I'd never even heard of him until he wrote something in on my blog and I started checking him out. I read some of the stuff about him.

I got the same impression that he used to be a real proponent of the low-carb diet and actually I have read his old TheOmnivore and I'd read it a while before and I didn't put Anthony Colpo and TheOmnivore together. It was only after this whole thing happened that I thought, 'Oh, that's TheOmnivore guy.' And I actually liked his web site.

So I couldn't figure out what set him off on this thing. And apparently he's just somebody that doesn't deal with people disagreeing with him very well which I saw on his web site, too. I tracked it back and he used to be on these various low-carb bulletin boards and I found a sort of back and forth that I think pushed him over the edge. The sad part of it is I think he was right and the other people were wrong.

He was trying to make the point in this piece that he wrote that low-carb diets and people that followed low-carb diets will spontaneously reduce their intake which is true. The literature is full of studies showing they spontaneously reduce their caloric intake. And when they spontaneously reduce their caloric intake, it creates a deficit and it's that deficit that causes them to lose weight. I think that's absolutely true, I think he was absolutely right about that.

And I think that some people on this web site thought that somehow he was attacking Robert Atkins about that or that their impression of Robert Atkins is that he says you can eat as much low-carb food as you want and you lose weight. And so they got on to Anthony about that saying 'That's not true, how can you disagree with the great Dr. Atkins?' and Anthony was saying, 'Because I'm right. You have to have a caloric deficit.' And you really do!

I think he and I really believe the same thing about that. There's this whole issue of the metabolic advantage which is neither here nor there. But you actually do have to have a caloric deficit, get it spontaneously on a low-carb diet in most cases. But some people don't. Some people can eat enough on a low-carb diet that they don't get the deficit and they don't lose weight. So you've got to have this deficit and I think that just kinda put him over the edge. Because I tracked back and looked at that and I saw him getting more and more and more and more hostile toward low-carbers and then he was just off and running from there.

That's my analysis of the situation which could be totally wrong because as I say I'm not inside his head. Going back trying to reconstruct this whole thing because I couldn't figure out why he was coming on so strong about this. It just seemed so bizarre to me, especially over the metabolic advantage because we're only talking a couple hundred calories. It nothing like saying this is the be-all, end-all and whole huge deal. My God, he's written whole books about me because I believe in the metabolic advantage--it's crazy. And now I think he's just kinda gone the other way and he thinks people that believe in low-carb diets are idiots, that they're non-scientific."

As you can see from the parts of the transcript that I have highlighted in boldface, Dr. Eades says he agrees with Anthony Colpo regarding calories and their impact on weight. If you put aside the differences about the "metabolic advantage" which Dr. Eades says only amounts to "a couple hundred calories" difference, there are really no substantial differences of opinion between these two men. That's right, they actually AGREE! You wouldn't know it with all the hyperbolic language that has been flying around for the past year!

When I told him what Anthony said about low-carbers being too partisan towards our way of eating, Dr. Eades responded this way:

"He's right, you can lose weight on a low-fat diet. I mean people have done it, zillions of people have done it. I don't think it's the best way and I don't think it's the easiest way to do it. If you create the caloric deficit, you're gonna lose the weight. But the problem is this calories-in, calories-out thing. Those are not independent variables.

You can't just reduce calories-in and calories-out stays the same. Pretty soon it goes down, too. And if you go out and exercise more it makes you hungrier, you tend to eat more. People don't realize how little, how few calories that exercise burns up and how little you have to increase your diet to make up for that.

I just think [Colpo] is sorta rigidly locked into this your energy expenditure is whatever it is by the equations and that stays the same no matter what. If you eat less, then you're gonna create this deficit. I think he thinks those are independent variables and not dependent variables and there's a big difference."

Colpo must have missed my interview with Dr. Mike because I never heard a peep out of him regarding what was said during the podcast. But when Dr. Eades emerged from finishing the manuscript to his upcoming book, he decided to pen "Low-carb and calories" that continues the concepts he talked about beginning in that post last September. This controversial post dared to question that calories count on low-carb, although that is something he readily stated as fact during my podcast interview with him. Nevertheless, Anthony Colpo interpreted this post as Dr. Eades providing a mea culpa about calories.

Here's what Colpo sent out to his mailing list on Saturday:

In September of last year, I publicly exposed what I considered to be an extremely misleading blog post by Dr. Michael Eades, author of the best selling book Protein Power.

In retaliation, Eades has gone to great lengths in an attempt to portray me as a "clueless young prat" who has it all wrong when it comes to weight loss.

However, Eades has recently done an about-face. In a recent blog post, he acknowledges that I was right all along!

To get the full story on Eades' bizarre behavior, simply click this link.

Yours in health,

Anthony Colpo

I'm not gonna bother rehashing this latest "book" Anthony Colpo has written about Dr. Mike Eades, but it's just more of the same personal attacks we have seen over this past year. Come on already! It's one thing to have a personal difference of opinion and expressing that opinion with what you believe and why you believe it. But it's yet another to degrade and embarrass yourself with childish name calling and frivolous accusations.

These rather ostentatious outbursts from Colpo are unbecoming of someone attempting to communicate useful information about diet and health to people who are disinterested in all this drama. It's obvious to everyone by now, Anthony, that you are the one who is MAD because the low-carb community didn't all run out in great numbers to buy The Great Cholesterol Con two years ago. I still happen to think it's a fabulous book that everyone should own a copy of, but your crybaby antics we have witnessed ever since have done you no good whatsoever.

My advice to you is to call for a public truce with Dr. Eades. He's right, you're right, we're all right. Calories count, although the jury is still out on whether you actually need to count them while livin' la vida low-carb. But this is a subject you two AGREE with each other on, so enough is enough already!

While you continue on with your verbosity (which I assume my blog post today will warrant yet another book-long response--this time about Jimmy Moore!), the lives of real people seeking to lose weight and improve their health continue. And THEY are the reason why people like you, me and Dr. Eades should be doing what we're doing. Set aside your personal differences with those who you think are out to get you and get back to doing the kind of work that endeared you to so many of us just two years ago. You have a lot to offer with your knowledge, experience, and writing talents. Whether you choose to use these tools wisely for good or whimsically for folly is entirely up to you.

There. After months of sitting on this, I've finally said my peace. Comments anyone?

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 133: Face-To-Face With Protein Power's Drs. Mike And Mary Dan Eades (Part 1)

I interviewed Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades in Phoenix, AZ

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet and greet all the biggest names in low-carb research and science while attending the American Society of Bariatric Physicians and Nutrition & Metabolism Society conference in Phoenix, Arizona. In those few days, I tried to squeeze in as many interviews as I possibly could and over the next few weeks you'll be hearing these on my podcast show. First up this week is a delightful conversation with our good friends Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades from Protein Power.

In Episode 133 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," I asked the dynamic low-carb duo a series of questions about livin' la vida low-carb, including why belly fat is harder to burn as you get older and what to do about it, which is better to consume between fat and protein, why is the "slow-burn" technique better for you than traditional resistance training methods, and so much more! Remember, today is only Part 1, so be sure to tune in again on Thursday for the remainder of the interview.

Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 133:

"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 133 [20:09m]: LISTEN NOW | Download

Although I had met Dr. Mike and Dr. Mary Dan previously at a low-carb science conference in Brooklyn, NY in January 2006 and interviewed them for my blog in October 2006, this was the first time I had been able to interview them for my podcast show. You will not find two more delightful people who treat you with the kind of respect and kindness that Mike and Mary Dan Eades do. They are tremendous ambassadors for this way of eating and I count it a real privilege to stand in their shadow working alongside them in this nutritional tour de force against the continuing low-fat diet enigma. THANK YOU for all you are doing in support for the low-carb lifestyle, Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades!

Hear experts like Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades 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!

Do you have anything you'd like to share in response to my interview with Mike and Mary Dan Eades? Want to share a compliment with them about how much they mean to your in your personal low-carb lifestyle? Leave it in the show notes section of Episode 133. Go visit the blogs by both Dr. Mary Dan Eades as well as Dr. Mike Eades to get more from the reigning king and queen of low-carb living. :D

Be sure to come back again on Thursday as we share the concluding Part 2 of my interview with Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades on "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." THANKS for listening!

Eating Fat For Health Back In Vogue Thanks To 'Good Calories, Bad Calories'

Sometimes it takes a singular event to shake people back into reality when the lines between fact and fiction become blurry and unclear. That's precisely what has happened in the last six weeks since the hottest health book of the year Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes was released to the public with all the unconventional, counterintuitive information contain therein that was gathered from more than five years worth of research. And the evidence is speaking for itself as people are finally being told the truth about carbohydrate restriction and how eating fat, even saturated fat, is indeed an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.

Best of all, real lives are being changed for the better because of this remarkable new book. Take a look at the following e-mail I received from a reader whose shared how her life was forever changed for the better as a result of reading Taubes' masterpiece. Here's what she wrote to me in her e-mail:

Dear Jimmy,

I have never written on a blog or to a blogger before in my life. But, as I recently found your blog site and have been reading through your posts, I wanted to share my story with you.

I have ALWAYS bought into the low-fat hype as gospel, ever since I was 19 and went through a depressed period in my life that caused me to develop anorexia. Now, granted, most people don't take the low-fat diet to that extreme (I am 5'4" and at my LOWEST was 85 pounds!), but the bottom line is that because I was combining such a low calorie/low fat diet with obsessive exercise, it was relatively easy for me to lose weight and keep it off. Of course I use the term 'easy' in the loosest definition imaginable. I was starving myself to death because of emotional issues - trying to stay healthy was the furthest thing from my mind.

It didn't help that my family is made up of emotional eaters - my mother and two of my sisters are very overweight and my other sister is like me - starving herself to stay in control of her life.

Even later, through my early to mid-twenties as my weight stabilized around 105 to 110 or so, I was able to stay at that weight while eating extremely low fat/high carb food. But, again, I was physically hungry all the time, not to mention pretty NUTS - planning out my meals by the minute, counting calories obsessively, refusing to let even a sliver of anything that might have fat in it past my lips. I thought if I didn't make it to the gym on a particular day, I would surely wind up gaining weight.

As I got older, I was able to work through a lot of my issues regarding food (although I was still a control freak about it) and even gained enough weight to be considered pretty normal looking. I got married and had my son (thank GOD my body recovered from the abuse I put it through in order to be able to carry my baby.) But, still even after having him, I was able to lose the weight pretty quickly with a low fat diet. Still obsessing over whatever I put into my mouth, though. Still angry with myself if I couldn't exercise every day and avoid gaining weight from the tiny sliver of pie I might have allowed myself the night before.

Now, I am 33 and divorced and for the first time in my life, I was suddenly having difficulties with my weight (like, I am up to 127 - the horror!). So alarming for someone like me - who has remained in strict control of my weight and my life for so long. I had recently starting dating (and cooking) for someone I cared about tremendously and I realized that my diet had changed dramatically to include many more carbs than I was used to eating on my own. You know the way to a man's heart is his stomach, right? :-)

My mother sent me an e-mail a few weeks ago about the Gary Taubes book. At first, I dismissed it - the whole idea about it was so crazy - eat a lot of fat to get skinny? Aerobic exercise is meaningless for weigh loss? I would be challenging the very foundations of my identity by even entertaining these notions. But, whether it was my recent inability to lose weight or just the timing - I bought the book to check it out.

I started reading everything I could about Taubes and his opinions and his research. And, it was like someone suddenly pointing out to me that the only reason I thought the sky was blue was because everyone on TV and in magazines and on the radio was telling you so. There was actually a good possibility that it was green. It was literally blowing my mind to think that I (and most of the health gurus) had been totally wrong. That all this low fat stuff was based on shoddy research and corporate agendas. And, as I read through the book IT MADE SENSE.

I started eating the low carb/high fat way (which was REALLY REALLY hard for me....) a few weeks ago. And, I feel better than I have in months. But, although I have not lost a tremendous amount of weight (I feel slimmer due to the water weight, definitely), probably because I really don't have a lot to lose to get to my ideal weight, I no longer feel like a slave to my emotional food demons. Or to the gym. Yeah, now I have to worry about carbs a bit - but the food I am eating is real, solid, satisfying food. I am no longer hungry - physically or emotionally. And, the more I read about Taubes and his research (and related research by others), the more confident I am that I am doing what is good for my health, too.

My point is that if someone who was as crazy and obsessed about the low fat/high carb diet dogma as I was can change their ways, then ANYBODY can do it. Please share my story on your site as you see fit and feel free to respond! As an avid writer and recent low carb convert, I think your forum is phenomenal.

This is the kind of transformational story you WON'T be hearing about in the mainstream press. But this woman is merely one example of how Good Calories, Bad Calories is changing the way people think about what a healthy diet really is. If the past three decades has taught us anything, then it should be that fat-phobia is indeed foolish. Fat is your best friend and it is the excessive amount of refined and even those highly-touted whole grain carbohydrates that you should be leery of. That's the clear-cut message that Gary Taubes delivers throughout his book.

I've been keeping you up-to-date on all the latest news regarding Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories book and you can access those previous posts by clicking here. There's still so much happening with the book that it's time to give you yet another update about what's going on. ENJOY!

TAUBES RESPONDS TO 'CLASSIC JUNK SCIENCE' STUDY ON GLYCEMIC INDEX

Examples of the kind of bad research that Gary Taubes wrote about in his book abound and actually are easier to identify now. Take this Junkfood Science blog post about a so-called "study" on the glycemic index and diabetes. One of my readers was very concerned that the conclusions made about consuming carbohydrates ran directly counter to what Taubes wrote in Good Calories, Bad Calories. But leave it to Gary Taubes to explain why studies like this one published in scientific journals are bogus. Here's his analysis of the study:

It's an association study. They measure glycemic index of the foods people ate and follow them for however many years. Such studies tell you nothing about cause. (See my recent NYT Magazine article "Unhealthy Science.")

In this case, for instance, if people who were constitutionally predisposed to gain weight, who will also have an increased tendency to become diabetic, altered their eating habits to maintain their weights -- say, they ate less white bread, drank less beer, etc. -- then this would "confound" the results because the study would identify these people as eating the lower glycemic index foods and yet being more likely to become diabetic.

The problem with all such studies is that if there is any self-selection involved -- and diet is all about self-selection -- and if the self-selection is related to the endpoint being studied -- in this case diabetes -- then the results you get will be impossible to interpret. These people interpret them to fit their preconceptions, and that's classic junk science.

The only way to establish whether sugar or high glycemic index carbs cause diabetes is to do a randomized controlled trial. Take a few thousand people, randomize half of them to a low carb, low sugar diet, tell the other half to continue eating the massive amount of carbs (150-odd pounds of sugar a year, etc.) they're already eating, and follow them for say a half dozen years and see which group has more diabetes. They should fund such a trial to find out the results.

If health and weight management are the true objectives of those researching dietary concepts like carbohydrate consumption and the glycemic index, then why wouldn't they want to fund such randomized, controlled trials as Taubes has suggested? Unless those things don't take precedence and maybe protecting the financial interests of big corporations does...hmmmm?

AUDIO OR ABRIDGED VERSION OF 'GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES' COMING

Many of you have asked about an audio version as well as a more reader-friendly version of Good Calories, Bad Calories to share with your friends and family members who are more likely to check it out in these formats. So far the publisher Knopf, a division of Random House Publishers, has not indicated that either of these is forthcoming anytime soon. But if the book performs well during the upcoming holiday season and shows sustained sales into the new year, then perhaps an audio book will be in order.

Keep in mind that would be one long audio book since Good Calories, Bad Calories is still about 400 pages even after you remove the references. So an abridged version of the audio would be warranted. The greater likelihood is that a paperback and even a mass paperback version of the book will be released about one year from now that will reduce the size of the book to expose its message to a broader audience. When you see this happen, then all of us should start gobbling up copies and distribute them to everyone we know who has weight and health problems.

DR. EADES APPLAUDS TAUBES' RESPONSE TO KOLATA CRITICISM

In my previous Taubes updates, I shared with you a critical review that Taubes' fellow New York Times journalist colleague Gina Kolata had to share about Good Calories, Bad Calories. Let's just say she wasn't impressed. Taubes then responded to this negative criticism which was again tersely answered by Kolata, who has her own self-interests to look after regarding the diet hypothesis she put forth in her book Rethinking Thin.

Respected nutrition expert and Protein Power author Dr. Mike Eades was pleased with Taubes' response to Kolata and added a few more observations of his own as only he can. Dr. Eades was not at all pleased that the New York Times allowed Kolata another opportunity to slam Taubes and didn't pull any punches about it either:

Gary should have been allowed his rebuttal without her refutation of his rebuttal. That would have been equal time for all, with her getting four times the space that Gary did. But that’s not the way the media works when one of their own is attacked. Nor is it the way the media works in general when one of its shibboleths - in this case, the idea that carbs may be unhealthful - is under attack.

Keep spreading the truth, Dr. Eades! We need strong voices like yours to break through loud and clear for these imbeciles to wake up and listen!

CAN I HAVE SOME WINE WITH MY HIGH-FAT, LOW-CARB DIET?

The best part about a book like Good Calories, Bad Calories being released to the general public is it fosters an open discussion of livin' la vida low-carb in the form of some very intriguing questions. Here's an example of that in an e-mail I received from a reader:

I just finished Gary Taubes book, Good Calorie-Bad Calories; I now know more than I ever wanted to know about the history of diets but still don't know if you can have a glass of wine or not or if he thinks one should use lard instead of butter as he said on Larry King. After all that reading I guess I'm back to the South Beach thing....wish I knew his email address! Or maybe you could answer my question.

While I don't pretend to speak for Gary Taubes, I did feel confident about what he would say regarding this inquiry. Here was my response:

THANKS for writing! If you'd like an occasional glass of wine and your blood sugar can remain stable from it so you are not producing high levels of insulin, then I'm sure Gary Taubes would tell you it is okay to drink it. It's all about finding how much your body can tolerate so you reduce insulin production which is at the heart of obesity and disease.

As for fat, butter and lard are both excellent ones for cooking as is coconut oil, macadamia nut oil, avocado oil, and others. Just stay away from margarine and other low-fat substitutes because they don't provide your body any nutritional benefit.

THANK YOU again for your e-mail! And pick up GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES to find out more about what Gary Taubes has been talking about.

Remember that drinking alcohol stops the fat-burning process because it has to be burned up just like carbohydrates do. For more information on why fat is healthy, check out this blog post I compiled about the subject.

MORE SNIPPETS FROM TAUBES' 'LARRY KING LIVE' INTERVIEW NOW ONLINE

Ever since Gary Taubes appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" show a few weeks back, people who missed it have been clamoring to see the video. I released this segment featuring Dr. Andrew Weil endorsing Good Calories, Bad Calories on YouTube, but CNN had been slow to post any video of the interview.

Now they have about 17 minutes of snippets from the show you can watch by clicking here. Again, this was not the totality of the show, but a pretty good representation of what transpired. Dr. Mehmet Oz shows his arrogance, Joy Behar exhibits her ignorance, and "Biggest Loser" trainer Jillian Michaels exudes her intolerance of ideas that run counter to her own.

Whether you've seen the "Larry King" interview or not, you'll DEFINITELY want to watch this again to see what we're up against challenging the conventional wisdom. The status quo hates it!

TAUBES CALMS CONCERNS OF DISTRAUGHT READER OVER CANCER STUDY

Another example of alarmist research regarding cancer was recently released that had one of my readers who started livin' la vida low-carb last year in a tizzy. It was about the subject of cancer, something I've blogged about how changes in the diet may help with as has Gary Taubes in his book. Here's what my reader wrote:

Hi Jimmy,

Love your blog! A low carber by need myself (I follow Dr. Berstein's program since being diagnosed as a diabetic last March), I have to defend myself often from ignorant (misinformed) people who just don't believe that low-carb is healthy. Using Gary Taubes' masterpiece to back me up I have recently started 'educating' my surroundings a bit more strongly.

Today however, I am faced with the publication of the latest report on Diet and Cancer by the World Cancer Research Fund going against red meat, salt, energy dense foods (fat isn't mentioned explicitly but implied) and pro-exercise.

It would be great if Gary Taubes could comment on this report, as it seems to contradict his findings partially and is IMHO another piece of bad science. As I am not able to reach Gary, and I'm pretty sure you can: Could you ask him if he plans to comment (and post it if he does)?

As a matter of fact, he did have a comment about this study to share:

The report is typically disheartening. First, it concludes that excess fat is the primary risk factor for cancer, but then goes back to the 1900s to say that the cause of excessive fat is nothing more than eating too much or sedentary behavior.

It actually does talk about the role of insulin and insulin-like growth factor in cancer formation, a major step forward, but then comes down only on red and processed meat based on the same kind of meaningless observation studies I discussed in my recent NY Times Magazine article.

In fact, clinical trials have been done to test the hypothesis that eating more fiber or fruits and vegetables and less meat has any ability to prevent colon cancer -- the cancer that these experts say red meat causes -- and the trials have shown no effect.

So these experts ignore the clinical trials and instead focus on the observational studies. By not raising the role of insulin in fat accumulation, the report manages to do an excellent job of avoiding an explanation that would cover all their evidence. Instead, it's just more of the usual.

Insulin is credited with a role in cancer formation, but the carbohydrates that elevate insulin are not considered cancer-causing (although, of course, foods with dietary fiber are considered potentially cancer-preventing). Excess fat is credited with a fundamental role in cancer, but the insulin that causes us to accumulate excess fat is not discussed and so it's all about calories.

It's probably worth noticing that the authors are the usual suspects in this business and the report matches up well with the preconceptions they've had since the 1980s.

You hate to say FOLLOW THE MONEY when it comes to dietary research, but that seems to be where we are at right now in the oftentimes dicey world of bad science.

OTTAWA CITIZEN PRESENTS AN INTERESTING TIMELINE ABOUT FAT

Have you ever wondered why we got to be so fearful of fat in the first place? Well, take a trip down memory lane with a history lesson on dietary fat by reading this brilliant timeline published in the Ottawa Citizen explaining the evolution that has taken place since the 1960's. From the introduction of margarine as a replacement for butter to the trumpeting of omega-3 fats in 2007, this is one column you won't want to miss. Taubes' book is listed as part of the change in mindset regarding fat consumption.

NPR'S 'SCIENCE FRIDAY' PROGRAM INTERVIEWS GARY TAUBES

Gary Taubes was given an opportunity recently to appear on NPR's "Science Friday" with host Ira Flatow to talk about his book Good Calories, Bad Calories. Appearing on the program with Taubes was Dr. Robert Krauss from the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California. You'll recall I highlighted this study by Dr. Krauss regarding how low-carb is beneficial to cholesterol. In my previous blog interview with Taubes a few months ago, he described Dr. Krauss as "one of the smarter scientists in the metabolism field."

My favorite part of this interview on "Science Friday," which you can hear by clicking on the play button at the program link, is when Taubes rather bluntly stated "you need to eat carbs to get fat." I never really thought about that before, but there's a lot of truth in that statement since carbohydrates are the root cause of obesity and disease for so many people. Listen to the entire interview and smile if you're livin' la vida low-carb!

BRYANT STAMFORD DOES A HATCHET JOB ON 'GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES'

There are certain people who have access to a newspaper column and use that power they have been given to spread their absolute disgust and disdain for anything positive related to the healthy low-carb lifestyle. One such person is Bryant Stamford whose "Body Shop" column appears in the Louisville, KY-based Courier-Journal newspaper. I've previously blogged about his anti-Atkins drivel here and here.

Now he's at it again with this recent column where he attempts to discredit and rip apart Good Calories, Bad Calories bit by bit. In fact, Stamford hates low-carb so much that he doesn't even mention the name of the book in the first of a two-part column. He again repeated his ridiculous claim that this way of eating failed because people are now fatter than they've ever been. Um, then why isn't it the fault of the low-fat diet recommendations that have been hammered down our throats for three decades, Mr. Stamford? I can hardly wait for part two of this column--NOT!

Tell Bryant Stamford what you think about his idiocy regarding livin' la vida low-carb by sending him an e-mail at stamford@hanover.edu.

ANTHONY COLPO TAKES ON GARY TAUBES REGARDING HIS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Of all the people in the world who would oppose the concepts of Good Calories, Bad Calories, one person you would not name is Australian independent researcher Anthony Colpo. Once an ardent supporter of livin' la vida low-carb and the creator of an outstanding low-carb bodybuilders forum, Colpo's views have noticeably shifted this year as he moves away from the "metabolic advantage" that happens with a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach.

In light of that, it's probably not surprising that Colpo would make some strong statements against the new Taubes book at his forum. One of the members there asked Colpo what he thought about Good Calories, Bad Calories and Colpo responded in typical fashion from him:

"If Taubes' message is that the current obesity epidemic is not due to insufficient activity and/or excessive calories, but simply due to high carbohydrate consumption, then his message is complete bullsh*t."

There are at least 10 pages of comments discussing the book, although most of the people, including Colpo, have NOT read the book. READ THE BOOK, people, before making comments based on your own preconceived notions of what you think the book says. You'll save yourself a lot of embarrassment over a lack of knowledge. I'll be blogging more about Colpo's change of position on low-carb in a future post. Stay tuned!

THE FAT IS GOOD MESSAGE IS FINALLY GETTING OUT

I wanted to share an example of how the message presented in Good Calories, Bad Calories is now helping to shape the discussion regarding dietary fat, especially saturated fat. Once thought of as the great evil nemesis that leads to heart disease, Gary Taubes has opened a lot of eyes with what he uncovered in his research about saturated fat and it is making an impact on some popular diet and health media outlets.

Check out this Men's Health column entitled "What if Bad Fat Is Actually Good for You?" by Nina Teicholz. Absolutely, positively INCREDIBLE!!! You wouldn't have seen this kind of column in the 1980's or 1990's with people like Dr. Dean Ornish or Susan Powter out there claiming fat is why you're fat. Those days are becoming ancient history! Taubes' book is merely the beginning of the end for the low-fat lie.

CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER DISCUSSION OF 'GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES' CONTINUES

Finally, you are invited to get in on the conversation about Good Calories, Bad Calories that we are having over at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Discussion" forum right now. In this chapter-by-chapter discussion, led by my intelligent and enthusiastic moderator Charles Washington, the members there are able to talk about what they learned in each chapter. So far we have covered the Prologue and Chapter 1. This week we'll be moving to Chapter 2 as we continue looking at each chapter one week at a time until we're finished. Won't you join us?

We'll keep updating you on a lot more news about Gary Taubes and his book Good Calories, Bad Calories as it continues to make a difference in the lives of doctors, nutritionists, and patients who are looking for a way to manage weight and health.

CARB WARS Author Provides An Education On Low-Carb Approved Sweeteners

Author Judy Barnes Baker shares what she knows about sweeteners

I recently named the author of the bestselling low-carb cookbook of 2007 called CARB WARS: Sugar Is The New Fat (which is in my top 12 of essential low-carb books) one of my Top 10 Low-Carb Movers & Shakers Of 2007 for her contributions to the low-carb community. And low-carb cooking magician Judy Barnes Baker (check out this 3-ingredient lemon icebox pie--mmmmm!) most certainly deserves it for writing what I described in my review of her book as "so much more than a cookbook."

Today, I am pleased to share with you a very informative post from Judy that appeared on her companion web site about the various sweeteners available on the market today. Most people who are livin' la vida low-carb already know to avoid sugar, but what about other so-called "healthy" sweeteners like maple syrup, stevia, and Splenda. Which ones should a low-carber be using and which should be avoided? Judy Barnes Bakers cuts to the chase and shares her knowledge with you to help you make smarter choices for your healthy low-carb lifestyle.

Special thanks to Judy for continuing what I started in this recent blog post about fructose with a more in-depth look at the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to providing good alternatives to sugar. ENJOY!

I have received questions as to why I did not include some of the all-natural alternatives, like brown rice syrup, agave nectar, and date sugar in the discussion about the different kinds of sweeteners in my book. I did not include most of them because, in my opinion, they offer little advantage over common table sugar. However since the subject continues to come up, I will address it here.

Let me point out at the start that “natural” is not synonymous with “safe.” Nature abounds with natural poisons: arsenic, mercury, lead, death cap mushrooms, puffer fish, anthrax, and snake venom to name a few. Also, keep in mind that many foods that we consider healthful, like parsley, cabbage, beans, celery, tomatoes, and basil contain poisons and antinutrients that can be dangerous in large amounts.

Potatoes can contain lethal amounts of solanine; those big green bananas called plaintains cause heart disease; lima beans, flax seed, and almonds contain high levels of cyanide. (Fifteen bitter almonds, the kind used in the Italian cookies called amaretti, can cause serious illness or death.) In fact, most vegetables, even after thousands of years of selective cultivation, still contain some potentially harmful substances. (Jeffery Steingarten included a chapter titled: “Salad the Silent Killer,” in his very entertaining book, The Man Who Ate Everything.)

Let’s look at some of those “healthy, all-natural, minimally-processed” sweeteners:

-Agave nectar is touted as a healthful, natural alternative to sucrose because it has a very low glycemic index, so it doesn’t cause a spike in blood sugar or raise insulin levels. However, the dangers of fructose are well known and agave nectar is almost 100% pure fructose. High fructose corn syrup contains only 45% fructose; agave syrup has twice as much of this most dangerous of all the sugars. The reason fructose doesn’t provoke an insulin response is that it does not enter the blood stream but is metabolized in the liver where it is converted directly into triglycerides (fats). It promotes fat storage, especially around the midsection and the organs.

It has been implicated as a major contributor to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome. Fructose also increases the formation of advanced glycation end-products, known by the acronym AGEs, because they promote the cross-linking of proteins which speeds up the aging process. According to Dr. Michael Eades, fructose “… is a driving force behind the development of insulin resistance and all attendant problems. When researchers want to give lab animals insulin resistance, they feed the animals high doses of fructose.” Here is a link to an article on fructose by Dr. Eades: "Unclear on the Fructose Concept"

-Date sugar is simply ground up dates. It is more than 96% sucrose; sucrose is about half glucose and half fructose. Date sugar contains some fiber and some trace minerals and vitamins, but it is essentially the same as common table sugar and causes a similar rise in blood sugar and insulin levels. It does not dissolve and is not a useful substitute for sugar for baking or cooking.

-I did include information about stevia in the book. Many people like it, but many find it to be bitter. Some of the more refined brands are said to be less so. Stevia can only be sold as a supplement in this country because it has never been tested orapproved for sale as a sweetener. The FDA has been petitioned three time to grant GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status for stevia so that it will not have to go through safety testing, but it has been rejected so far. If you feel more comfortable with stevia than Splenda, one packet of most sweeteners is equal to 2 teaspoons of sugar so they can be used interchangeably in some recipes for sweetening. Stevia powder does not dissolve, ferment, or caramelize. It is heat stable up to 392 degrees F.

-Maple syrup is made from the sap of maple trees, which is 2 to 3 percent sucrose. It is collected in buckets and boiled down to make a concentrated syrup. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Most of the sugar is sucrose (like
common table sugar), but some, especially in the lesser grades, is glucose and fructose. Maple syrup contains traces of vitamins, especially the B vitamins, and minerals.

-Succanat is cane sugar with the water removed. It retains trace amounts of vitamins and minerals that may be lost in the refining process for regular table sugar, but it is still concentrated sucrose.

- Brown rice syrup is made by fermenting brown rice with enzymes to break down some of the starch into sugar and then cooking it until it is thickened. It is only half as sweet as table sugar. It contains 45% maltose (the kind of sugar in beer), and 3% glucose. The rest is starch. Maltose has a glycemic index of 110, higher than pure glucose (glucose or blood sugar has a GI of 100) and will provoke a very high insulin reaction. It contains 34 net grams of carbohydrate and 132 calories in a serving of 2 tablespoons. I’ll pass on this one.

Note: Brown rice syrup is one of several malt sugars made from grain that include barley malt, barley/corn malt, and rice syrups. Malt sugars are used in making beer, which is why beer is sometimes called “liquid bread.”

Why I prefer Splenda®:
Sucrolose, the sweetener in Splenda, is made from sugar by replacing a few atoms of hydrogen and oxygen on the sugar molecule with three atoms of chlorine, making it 600 times as sweet as sugar.

Splenda has been used in Canada since 1991 and in Australia since 1992. It has been approved in 60 countries worldwide. In 1998, after reviewing 110 studies, the FDA approved it for use in the U.S. It is not required to carry any warning label and is considered safe for pregnant women and nursing mothers. After much anticipation, we finally had a safe alternative to sugar that tasted good and held up to cooking temperatures.

So why suddenly is there so much hysteria about Splenda?

Dr. Michael Eades, co-author of Protein Power, traces the source of the attack ads full of scare tactics, innuendo, and half-truths about Splenda back to the sugar industry. They want to keep us addicted to sugar by promoting it as an “all-natural” product, when it is almost certainly one of the major contributors to the health crisis in this country.

Dr. Eades brings up some very important points about Splenda in this article. He contends that Splenda is not really artificial since chlorine is a natural substance, but that it is instead an altered sugar molecule. Half of common table salt is chlorine (NaCl), and chlorine is a normal part of the makeup of our blood serum. Chlorine is a necessary chemical that our bodies need for metabolism and the amount is carefully maintained by the kidneys at the proper level. At any given time you have about 1 teaspoon of chlorine circulating in your blood which is about 20,000 times as much as you would get in a serving of Splenda, if it were digestible, which most of it is not.

The study most often cited as proof of the toxicity of sucralose is one conducted by the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme of Australia that showed that feeding large amounts to rats caused shrinkage of the thymus gland, which is important to the immune system. The dosage used in the study was the equivalent of 240 grams of sucralose per day for a 176-pound human for 28 days. That works out to 20,000 packets of Splenda every day for 28 days. To put it in perspective: If you drank 560,000 cups of coffee with one packet of Splenda in each one over a 28 day period, you would reach the level of sucralose fed to the rats. But you would have no symptoms because you would be dead within 15 minutes from the caffeine contained in the first 75 cups of coffee.

Dr. Jonny Bowden, fitness expert and author of The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, gave the following response to Jimmy Moore (in this blog post) when asked about Splenda: “…I've looked like mad and can't find any really good, responsible argument against it that can be substantiated. That does NOT mean I won't be proven wrong in a year and I reserve the right to change my mind if there's more compelling stuff coming out. But right now I see it as the least bad of the choices."

This is very much like what I said about Splenda in my book. When you write a cookbook you must use ingredients that are readily available and reasonably priced. Splenda is safe, it tastes good, it is in all the stores, and it is not terribly expensive. There are some other sugar substitutes already available that have the bulk and physical characteristics of common sugar and actually offer some health benefits, but for now they are only available by mail order and are very expensive.

Oligofructose, for example, is made from chicory root. It has been popular in Japan for many years. It consists of long chains of fructose molecules that are not broken down by our digestive enzymes. It is prebiotic, meaning that it selectively feeds the beneficial microbes that live in the lower intestines and so enhances the immune system. (It can be ordered from Low-Carb Specialities. The company also sells fantastic chocolate bars sweetened with oligofructose.)

The decision to eliminate sugar is more important than just avoiding a few extra carbs. Sugar is the prime contributor to the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and the cluster of diseases called the metabolic syndrome that have devastated this country for the last 40 years. In Good Calories, Bad Calories, Gary Taubes explains how sugar and simple carbs may also promote cancer and speed up the aging process.

Most people already know that they need to cut down on sugar, but the goodies and snacks that constantly surround us are hard to resist. If we can have food that satisfies our cravings without harming us, we are less likely to give in to temptation. If you have an iron will and are always in complete control of your impulses, eliminate sweets altogether and more power to you! But if you are subject to human frailties like me, then try the next best thing.

THANK YOU again for sharing your wisdom with us today, Judy! Be sure to pick up YOUR copy of CARB WARS and pay a visit to see Judy Barnes Baker at CarbWarsCookbook.com.