PLEASE UPDATE YOUR BOOKMARKS TO LIVINLAVIDALOWCARB.COM/BLOG
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Literary Agent: Forget About Highlighting 'Low-Carb' In Your Future Books
Ever since I wrote my self-published debut book Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year in October 2005, that "itch" to write another book has been growing and growing. I've bounced around ideas in my head these past few years for books with low-carb success stories, user-friendly low-carb research studies, a best-of-the-blog compilation (which I'm currently working on), and the most requested one from readers has been a low-carb cookbook (which I would LOVE to write!).
I have talked with quite a few publishers since 2005 to let me write books for them. Of course, my biggest obstacle is the fact that the theme of my books is "low-carb" and that's become taboo among editors lately. Dana Carpender, the most famous low-carb cookbook author out there, was forced to remove "low-carb" from the title of her column (which she no longer writes for as of January 2008 because of the editor's deemphasis on "low-carb") and prevented from putting "low-carb" in the title of her latest low-carb cookbook (Every Calorie Counts) for the first time in her writing career.
Dana told me in this blog interview as well as my upcoming podcast interview on Monday that she is moving away from using "low-carb" in favor of low-glycemic load (which she'll be releasing this Fall in conjunction with Rob Thompson) or controlled carbohydrate, but it's all basically low-carb. I can certainly understand her reasoning to get the low-carb message out there in a stealth manner because at least the message gets out there.
But I am not in that camp. I still think "low-carb" is viable considering my various sites and online projects garner nearly a million visitors a month. Not too shabby for an idea whose time has supposedly passed already. This is why I refuse to sidestep the term "low-carb" and proudly name it and claim it in the name of just about everything I touch--"Livin' La Vida LOW-CARB!" Wouldn't my blog be dead as a doorknob if nobody was interested in hearing about "low-carb" anymore? One would think.
So, with that knowledge in hand, I approached a literary agent recently about finding a publisher for a "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Cookbook" to gauge their interest. Most publishers just want to know if you have the marketing mojo behind the books on their label and I've told them all about how enthusiastic all of you guys are about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. But, as you will see from these candid remarks I received back from this literary agent, they just don't care because somebody out there has fooled these editors into thinking low-carb is dead.
Dear Jimmy,
Thank you for your kind words about our agency. Your cookbook query came my way and I'm afraid we would not be interested at this time in representing a low-carb cookbook. We have an extremely full list of projects currently, and we are taking on few new clients, regrettably. It's also a volatile time in the publishing industry, and I can't say with conviction that a low-carb book would be appealing to publishers at this time.
I will say that I do know the term "low carb" itself has lost favor with editors, so you might consider other ways to title your book that focus on healthful eating rather than highlighting the low-carb focus (but that's just a thought and you may disagree!).
Kind regards and we appreciate your interest in our agency.
So there you have it! They're not interested in "low-carb" and it's the same thing I've seen over and over again as I've approached publishers. That's too bad because I REALLY believe in my heart of hearts that a publisher brave enough to give me or another low-carb author a chance to show them what we can do with a "low-carb" book using that exact term in the title would not only sell well, but exceed their flimsy expectations. I wouldn't need any marketing help from the publisher either. Who's gonna take that chance on my future low-carb books?
In the meantime, I will go back to self-publishing my books and proudly put "low-carb" in the title of every one of them. The best way to show these publishers how wrong they are is to prove they can sell despite that term. I'm looking forward to releasing my "best-of-the-blog" trilogy later this year and that low-carb cookbook in early 2009. THANKS for all of your amazing support of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb."
I'm Gonna Be In And Out The Next Two Months, Visiting My Brother Kevin Soon
I wanted to give you a quick update about what's happening with my schedule before I leave out of town on Sunday after church. I'm about to go into about eight weeks of nearly non-stop busy, busy, busy with my schedule. Some of that time I will be near my computer and able to blog as usual. But other times I won't.
Here's a rough sketch of what is coming up for me:
Sunday, July 6, 2008 I'll be in Durham, North Carolina again to meet with the Triangle Low-Carb Meetup group as they gather together at 6:30pm at the Golden Corral on NC-55. Christine and I will be there and will have lots of fun and valuable door prizes to share with those in attendance. If you missed us on our last visit to Durham, then I hope you can make it out this time around. Anyone who is interested in the healthy low-carb lifestyle should come out and meet your fellow low-carbers in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area.
Monday-Tuesday, July 7-8, 2008 Christine and I will be visiting with Dr. Eric Westman at the Duke Lifestyle Clinic to see if he can help identify what is happening with my weight this year. We've got a series of tests set up, including a glucose tolerance test to measure blood sugars and insulin after I consume a low-carb meal. I'm anxious to see what this finds. We'll also be running cortisol levels, vitamin D, and a few other blood tests to try to rule things out. We'll be discussing the reactive hypoglycemia theory espoused by Dr. Keith Berkowitz to see what role it might be playing in this. I'm anxious to figure this thing out already!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 I've been invited to New York City to be one of the first to see, hear about, and taste the new products from food manufacturer Cargill Foods that are made with Truvia--a sweetener derived frm the stevia plant. You'll recall I blogged about Cargill and The Coca-Cola Company trying to get FDA approval for stevia as a sweetener and apparently that ruling is coming soon. The event I will be attending is located at The Rockefeller Center and will be taking place at the Truvia Greenhouse where there will be tons and tons of stevia plants all over the place. They've invited me to bring my video camera, so I plan on shooting some YouTube footage while I'm there. I'll be flying in from Raleigh/Durham that morning and flying back that afternoon, so it'll be a quickie trip! But I'm excited since it's only the second time I've ever been to NYC--we won't talk about the nightmare I had the first time I was there two years ago (this time I will have a car service taking me to and from the event so I don't have to worry about a crooked New York City cab driver again!).
Tuesday-????, July 15-???, 2008 Christine and I will be driving down to Pensacola, Florida to visit with my brother Kevin perhaps for one final time before the good Lord takes him home. I want to tell you how much I sincerely appreciate all the outpouring of love and support for me and my family during this difficult time with not knowing how much longer Kevin will be with us. I hope and pray we can spend a week or so one last time together and have one final happy memory with my only full-blooded brother. He's a good man who deserved so much more from this life than the hand he was dealt. I'm honored to be called Kevin's brother and will cherish this time with him and the rest of my family. I will not have any Internet access while I am in Florida other than on my iPhone, so there will be no blogging while we're there that week or so.
Saturday, August 16th to Monday, September 1, 2008 Coming up in August, I've got something pretty incredible happening in the Nashville, Tennessee area. You'll recall I interviewed former "Biggest Loser" contestant Isabeau Miller about her experience on the weight loss reality show. Well, she's now a personal trainer and wanted to give average, everyday people a chance to feel what it was like being on the show. That's why she started FitCamp which will take place over a two-week period in July and then again in August. Christine and I will be coming to the August session along with several of my readers who were the winners of an essay contest and received scholarships to come. I have already told Isabeau that I want to go through all the daily exercise and activities just like everyone else and I'll be video-blogging the entire experience as well as checking in each day with pictures and how it went. Considering I haven't lost any measurable weight since my sudden 30-pound weight gain earlier this year, this could be a great chance to get the scale moving in the right direction again. I'm so excited about this trip and can't wait to meet Isabeau and everyone else who will be there.
So that's about it going on in my life the next two months as far as trips go. I'm also in the midst of writing at least one and probably several books that will feature many of the most popular blog posts I have written at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. This has been a special request from many of my readers who know I've blogged about an issue they care about, but they can't seem to find it. I'm trying to remedy that problem by putting my best blog posts in a series of books. The working plan right now is to release a trilogy (Volume 1-3) that will contain thematic groupings of my best posts on a variety of subjects, including vegans and vegetarians, the failed low-fat diet, inspirational and motivational posts, the real fad diets, and so much more! I'm excited about this project and will be telling you more about it when we get closer to publication.
I've gotta get some sleep now since our choir is singing at the early service tomorrow morning for the 4th of July weekend. And you're not gonna believe what my church is doing as a churchwide event--they're serving red, white, and blue pancakes!!! UGH! The red comes from strawberries, the white is the whipped cream and the blue is from blueberries, but COME ON! PANCAKES?! I guess I don't have to tell you that Christine and I will be going to Denny's for a Grand Slam to get some good eggs, bacon, and sausage for our healthy low-carb lifestyle. Okay, rant over. SEE YA SOON! :D
Low-carb researcher Cassandra Forsythe talks about her new book
I have great hope for the future of livin' la vida low-carb because there is a whole generation of young people who are championing this cause right now and will be for at least the next half century! That should get you very excited if you believe in the solid scientific foundation of the healthy low-carb lifestyle and I am privileged to be a part of something like this that is making such a positive difference in the lives of this generation and quite possibly many generations to come. My guest today on my podcast show is another one of these young people who is making waves for low-carb.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 154:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 154 [31:18m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Cassandra gets into a lot of subjects during this half-hour interview, including what it's like to try to appease a book publisher who thinks "low-carb is dead," who needs to be following a low-carb diet more than anyone else, what it's like working with Dr. Volek, her discovery of glucomannon fiber to help you feel fuller after eating, how your body fuels your workouts in the absence of carbohydrate, and an in-depth discussion about her Perfect Diet book. With all that's happening in her life right now with an impending wedding and finishing up her doctorate degree, I was appreciative of Cassandra's generosity of time to do this interview.
Connect with all my interviews whenever you'd like by:
Did you like what you had to hear from Cassandra Forsythe? Do you think she adequately responded to the criticism about her new book? You can talk about it in the show notes section of Episode 154. Visit Cassandra Forsythe's web site and her fabulous blog to stay on top of all the latest low-carb information she is providing the public.
The original 1972 book that made Dr. Atkins famous!
Sometimes I don't even think we realize just how brilliant the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins really was for espousing what he did during his amazing career. Sure, low-carb diets had been out there in the public eye for over a century (most notably from William Banting in 1864 with his Letter On Corpulence) before he came along. But it was the charisma and enthusiasm for the low-carb lifestyle that Dr. Atkins brought to the public arena that captured the attention of millions of people worldwide who were interested in learning more about how low-carb could help them shed the pounds and restore their good health.
When the original Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution was published in 1972, it ignited a firestorm of controversy that still lingers on to this day. Despite all the best efforts by those who have appointed themselves the "experts" in diet and health in the United States over the years, none of them have been able to slow down the momentum that the healthy Atkins low-carb nutritional approach has had in the United States and around the world. And if I have anything to say about it, we'll keep that ball rolling for many more years to come.
While his original book has since been updated several times since with Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, there were some incredible nuggets of truth shared in that original book that make it worth having a copy of for your low-carb library. ORDER A COPY and read it from cover to cover because you will learn more about livin' la vida low-carb in just that one book alone that was written nearly forty years ago. Like I said, we're only just beginning to realize what a genius Dr. Atkins really was.
One of my blog readers from Green Bay, Wisconsin named Dave Hatch wrote to me recently stating he had read Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories and that inspired him to go back to the original Atkins' Diet Revolution book from the 1970's and read it again. When he did, a light bulb moment happened for Dave when he saw the following quote from Dr. Atkins.
"A TREE WITH DEADLY BRANCHES. There is a tree...it's branches are called, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Overweight, Low Blood Sugar, Peptic Ulcer, Migraine, Allergy and half a dozen other diseases that are so common nowadays. The name of the tree might be, A Disturbed Way Of Handling Carbohydrates."
That quote appears on page 48 of Atkins' Diet Revolution and it got the wheels turning inside of Dave's head to recreate that image into the shape of a real tree illustration to vividly demonstrate these signs of failing health and their connection to carbohydrate intake. He did a masterful job of showing that carbs are the roots that feed all of these diseases that Dr. Atkins talked about in his book.
Click on the image below to see a larger version of Dave's tree:
Isn't this GREAT?! Dave did a yeoman's job of taking that quote from the 1972 book and illustrating it perfectly so that anyone and everyone will be able to see the carbohydrate connection to all of these conditions. And every single one of those health ailments have been documented in the research literature to be tied to the consumption of carbohydrates.
My favorite part of the tree analogy is the trunk itself. As I stated, the roots are the "intake of carbohydrates" and the branches are the negative health manifestations from eating all those carbs. But look right there in the middle of those two things at what is the real reason that most people should be livin' la vida low-carb--INSULIN!
Yes, this "flooding" of insulin into our bodies is a direct result of consuming carbohydrates, especially in the amounts that are being recommended by people supposedly in authority over matters concerning health. And don't even get me started on the diet diabetics are told is best for them by the American Diabetes Association (ADA). UGH! If a doctor or dietitian tries to convince a diabetic to include eating lots of "healthy" carbs, then they ought to have their medical and nutritional credentials revoked!
If you control the insulin, then you can prevent these diseases from happening in the first place. And the best way to control this insulin release is by following a significantly reduced-carbohydrate diet. There's just no bones about it, this way of eating that we talk about here is not just a healthy diet (which it is), but it is the ONLY way you can eat to prevent this insulin rush from happening. Try eating a low-fat diet and you'll find yourself trying to make up that lost fat intake with (surprise, surprise!) MORE carbohydrates. This in turn produces MORE insulin which leads to the vicious cycle of disease all over again. Why do that to yourself?
While low-carb is often dismissed by its critics for supposedly being too "high-protein" (it's not high in protein, but rather moderate in protein) and/or "high-fat" (which is not a negative factor for your health when you are reducing your carbohydrates and only the total caloric percentage of your fat actually goes up), the fact of the matter is neither of these other macronutrients have the instantaneous insulin response that carbohydrates do. Carbs equals insulin equals disease. Nobody can even dispute this fact.
It's impossible to ignore the indelible link between carbs which heavily increases insulin in the body which then manifests itself in all of these terrible health conditions. Dr. Atkins saw this coming decades ago and yet we still ignore all the warning signs and try to come up with a pharmaceutical answer to these health problems in 2008. Haven't we learned ANYTHING in the years since 1972 when Dr. Atkins wrote his book?
You very likely don't need a prescription drug to treat that medical condition you have. Just take a closer look at your diet and realize you are feeding your disease by the foods you are eating. Fix that and you'll very likely fix your health problem. Low-carb is not some "magic pill" for every health problem you will encounter. But it will certainly address MANY of the ones that are tied metabolically to carbs. And there's a bunch of 'em!
Dr. Atkins, you were indeed a bona fide genius and your legacy will continue to live on strong for many years to come! Special thanks to my reader Dave Hatch for sharing his tree illustration with us and I think he'd appreciate hearing what you have to say about it in the comments section. Do you think he encapsulated what Dr. Atkins was talking about in the quote? Or does that illustration lack essential part of the equation? Share your thoughts about it below.
IT guy Charlie Hills has had a lifetime of weight loss wisdom
It's FRIDAY and my special "Week Of Weight Loss Wisdom" has sadly come to an end. But what a week-long event this has been and I appreciate all the positive feedback you have given to me about it. I'm always happy to share success stories with you because it might be exactly what you need to be encouraged, educated and inspired to lose weight and get healthy for yourself. In this final interview of the week, we hear from a man who knows a thing or two about the struggles of dieting.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 151:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 151 [31:12m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Charlie Hills has hit on something that so many people overlook when they begin a diet and weight loss plan like low-carb. They start it with every intention of losing the weight forever, but somewhere along the way they lose their enthusiasm, get their focus off eating healthy, and basically give in to the desires of their heart (or stomach, in this case!)--and GIVING UP ON THEIR WEIGHT LOSS ATTEMPT FOR GOOD! Can anyone relate? Sure you can because we've all been through this rollercoaster ride.
So what can you do to beat this ruthless and seemingly inevitable scenario from happening to you? Charlie discusses in my interview with him about how you will still go through challenges here and there, but you can overcome the weight and health issues that come your way. I greatly admire that Charlie never gave up. Whenever something didn't work for him, he tried something else and something else until he settled in on eating a low-glycemic diet (basically livin' la vida low-carb!) that works best for him. His tenacity in getting there is an example we can all learn from.
Get access to interviews with people like Charlie Hills anytime by:
The fifth and final podcast interview in this special "Week Of Weight Loss Wisdom" with Charlie Hills today is done and in the can. What's your impression of his very familiar journey to weight loss success? Did you see some of yourself in what Charlie had to say? Tell us your thoughts about it in the show notes section of Episode 151. And be sure to pick up a copy of Why Your Last Diet Failed You and How This Book Won't Help You on Your Next One to learn even more from all that Charlie has gone through to get where he is today. Check out his two VERY funny blogs that are spoofs of some famous movies: Back To The Fridge and Lord Of The Onion Rings.
Share your feedback about "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" on our podcast hotline at (206) 202-6516 or e-mail me questions and comments anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. Come back next week as we get back on our regular Monday/Thursday schedule again with an excellent two-part interview with arguably the most knowledgeable Atkins diet expert in the entire world named Jacqueline Eberstein, R.N. She worked directly with the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins for three decades and is well-versed in why this way of eating is so incredibly healthy for anyone who is dealing with obesity, diabetes, or virtually any health ailment. YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS THIS INTERVIEW!!!
Dr. James E. Carlson boldly proclaims "the calorie means nothing!"
If you somehow missed hearing Part 1 of my podcast interview with Dr. James E. Carlson on Monday, then you really missed one of the most fascinating and encouraging interviews about livin' la vida low-carb that I've EVER conducted. Dr. Carlson is quite articulate and makes the low-carb way of eating sound so enthralling and irresistible that you can't imagine anyone NOT doing it!
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 146:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 146 [34:48m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
In Part 2 of my interview with Dr. Carlson, he gets into the health aspects of livin' la vida low-carb discussing a whole host of conditions where low-carb can help: obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, PCOS, pregnancy, high triglycerides, low HDL, cancer, and so much more! Listening to this man speak so eloquently about the healthy low-carb lifestyle is so uplifting because I wish we could get more doctors to understand it as well as he does. It's certainly not surprising why he was chosen to become the Nutrition Expert at WalkRadio.com.
Access interviews with Dr. James E. Carlson anytime by:
Again, his book is called Genocide!: How Your Doctor's Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You!!! and it is, as I stated in the interview, the PERFECT companion book to Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories because it takes all of the scientific knowledge from that book and puts it in practical terms for average, everyday people to understand and grasp rather easily. And as you heard in my interview with him this week, he is an enthralling communicator so you will not be bored reading this book!
Next week will feature a special week-long series of podcasts Monday through Friday in a series I'm calling "Week of Weight Loss Wisdom" and it will highlight the stories of five people whose lives have been changed through weight loss success, including Sue Knorr who is the official spokesperson for Dr. Barry Sears' The Zone Diet, Micah McCain who is currently a contestant on the hit Bravo TV show "Workout,"Kent Altena (Bowulf) who lost over 200 pounds on the Atkins diet, Rebecca Wilhoit who got into shape on Cassandra Forsythe's The Perfect Body Diet, and Charlie Hills who has been on every diet known to mankind and survived (he's quite an interesting character who's written a rather funny, but brutally honest book about a lifetime of going on diets called Why Your Last Diet Failed You and How This Book Won't Help You on Your Next One). It's gonna be so much fun next week with DAILY podcasts for you to listen to and enjoy. :)
As always, please feel free to provide us with instant feedback about the show, ideas for future guests and/or topics, or whatever else is on that pretty little mind of yours simply by calling us at (206) 202-6516 and leaving a message (we LOVE hearing your voice when you call, so don't be bashful!). Yes, you can still e-mail me your comments, complaints, gripes, whines (okay, maybe not too many gripes and whines!), and just about anything else you'd like at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANK YOU for your continuing support of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." We've got lots more interviews coming up this month and beyond, so don't miss a single episode!
Dr. Carlson says doctors are engaged in a dietary "genocide"
I've interviewed quite a few people over the past couple of years who are ardent supporters and believers in the principles of livin' la vida low-carb for helping people lose weight and radically restore their health in ways they never even imagined could happen. Researchers, doctors, patients, advocates, authors and so many more have talked to me about how low-carb living is making a positive impact on weight and health and each person has their own unique way of expressing it. But never have I encountered someone with quite the background, verbosity, and vivacity of one Dr. James E. Carlson.
In Episode 145 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," Dr. Carlson unleashes his absolute disgust and disdain for the failed high-carb, low-fat dietary recommendations that have become the accepted norm for physicians to use with their patients. As a doctor, lawyer, economist, biochemist, and cellular physiologist, he is well-qualified to authoritatively speak about this issue from a number of angles and I am pleased to share an extended two-part interview with Dr. Carlson this week.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 145:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 145 [34:39m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
In Part 1 of my interview with Dr. James E. Carlson, you'll hear him talk about his explosive new book Genocide!: How Your Doctor's Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You!!! that meticulously dispels the low-fat diet as the archaic dietary approach that it is for dealing with obesity and disease. Dr. Carlson realized after reading Drs. Mike & Mary Dan Eades' Protein Power that it's not the fat that's making people fat and sick, it's the carbohydrate that is driving insulin levels way up and THAT is the reason why we are experiencing what he describes as a "genocide" all with the blessings of the medical profession. He's hard-hitting in this interview, but is incredibly passionate about this subject as you will hear in both Part 1 today and then again in Part 2 on Thursday. DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!!
Hear amazing interviews like this one with Dr. James E. Carlson anytime by:
What do you think about what Dr. James E. Carlson had to share in this podcast today? Do you buy into the use of the term "genocide" in describing what is happening in our society putting people on a low-fat, high-carb diet? Tell us what you think in the show notes section of Episode 145. You'll DEFINITELY want to pick up your own copy of Genocide!: How Your Doctor's Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You!!! because it will give you more ammunition in your arsenal against those who would tell you that low-carb diet of yours is harming your health. Get locked and loaded with the truth Dr. Carlson provides you with in his book. I have no doubt you'll eat it up!
Come back again on Thursday as I conclude my two-part interview with Dr. James E. Carlson on the next edition of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." THANK YOU for listening and showing your support for the work I am doing to spread the message of low-carb living. We'd love to hear from you, so leave your feedback for the show by calling (206) 202-6516 anytime. Of course, you can always e-mail me comments too at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
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?
Blogger Jennette Fulda shares about her 200+ pound weight loss
It's one thing to blog about losing weight for the entire world to see. But it's yet another thing to actually LOSE weight and cut your weight in half. That's exactly what popular weight loss blogger Jennette Fulda did on her way shedding not just triple digits, but over 200 pounds! And guess what? She did it following a lower-carb South Beach diet and exercise program. WOO HOO!!! Way to go, Jennette!
In Episode 138 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," you'll hear directly from Jennette who shares about what life was like for her when she weighed over 370 pounds, how she was able to overcome her old habits by implementing smarter diet and fitness choices into her routine, and how all of these dramatic changes increased her confidence so much so that she penned all about her experiences in her debut book release entitled Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 138:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 138 [19:25m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
I gotta tell you, Jennette is a real trip! If you've never seen her "Half of Me" blog (which I first told you about in this blog interview from last year), then you are missing out on some of the best free entertainment on the Internet. This woman is an amazingly talented writer who has been on both sides of the fitness equation. She knows what it's like hearing the fast food calling out your name, but she also knows why you should resist the urge to splurge. Although that perky personality has always been there, losing weight has shone a bright light on this beautiful young lady as she provides hope and inspiration to others who struggle with obesity like she once did.
If you were watching NBC-TV's Today show on Sunday morning, then you probably already saw Lester Holt interview Jennette about her weight loss and new book. She did an amazing job on the show, although I thought it was funny they wouldn't allow her to say the same of her book because of the word "ass" in the title. In fact, when they showed the front cover, there were two stick figures where the "ss" was. Too funny! And Jennette, bless her heart, tried to get in as much of the title at the end of the interview as she could. Ironically, I've heard MUCH worse on NBC (but that's another story!).
Get inspired by weight loss successes like Jennette Fulda by:
Are you inspired in your weight loss efforts after hearing from Jennette Fulda today? Is there anything you'd like to tell Jennette about how her story has impacted you? Share what's on your mind in the show notes section of Episode 138. Don't forget to check out Jennette's incredible blog for before and after pictures like you've never seen before, inspiring and hilarious blog entries, and everything else you'd expect from someone who has so dramatically changed her life for the better.
I'd like to remind you of a new feature we now have available to the listeners of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." You can provide audio feedback for me anytime by dialing (206) 202-6516. We'd LOVE to hear from you with your questions, comments, rants, or whatever is on your mind. Just share and you may hear yourself on a future episode the podcast. Also, don't forget to sign up for you chance to win your own copy of the hit Canadian low-carb documentary called My Big Fat Diet simply by going to the show notes section of Episode 137 and sharing a brief essay explaining how a high-fat, low-carb diet has transformed and changed your life forever. We'll be announcing the THREE winners on Monday, so hurry and enter TODAY!
And the wait is almost over! Coming up on Monday is Part 1 of my highly-anticipated and very exciting interview with award-winning science writer and bestselling author of Good Calories, Bad Calories Gary Taubes. I met him in person at the 2008 ASBP/Nutrition & Metabolism conference in Phoenix last month and he sat down and shared quite a bit about what has happened since the release of his book last Fall and discusses what's coming next for him in our 45-minute interview. I really think you're gonna enjoy what Gary has to say, so join us for Part 1 on Monday and Part 2 of my interview next Thursday. THANKS so much for listening! I really appreciate it.
The low-carb lifestyle changed my life much more than physically
After you lose weight, a whole lot about your life changes. Besides the obvious physical differences in how you look and feel, there are some rather unexpected emotional and psychological issues that happen whether you know it or not. Some of them are good and others will blindside you if you aren't ready for them.
In Episode 34 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube," Christine and I talk about the amazing changes that happen in your life after experience low-carb weight loss. It's the fun part of going on the low-carb lifestyle being able to reap the rewards of your efforts and basking in the glory of achieving success and accomplishment when so many others have not been able to do the same. Hopefully seeing how our lives have changed following the low-carb miracle will encourage you in your lifestyle change.
See just a few ways our lives have changed in today's video:
In my book Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year, you will see exactly how much my life has changed since I was that 410-pound gargantuan man in January 2004 compared to the man I am today. The changes were dramatic and the way people treated me seemed to suddenly switch, too. To this day, that is the one thing that surprised me the most about my weight loss experience.
The book I wrote about my low-carb weight loss experience
Just a friendly reminder, you only have a few days left to enter my 3rd blogiversary giveaway contest, so be sure to sign up for your chance to win one of 100 great low-carb prizes! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
Catch up on all our previous YouTube videos and then go subscribe to our videos for the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube" series. E-mail us your thoughts and questions anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net and feel free to share a topic of interest you would like for us to cover in a future video. THANK YOU for watching and supporting our YouTube videos.
In Episode 118 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore", Dr. Ornish and I talk about his diet philosophy where he gets rather angry at me for suggesting that his dietary recommendations are a low-fat, high-carb diet. He repeated asked me to stop characterizing his work as a "low-fat" diet and that he's tired of compartmentalizing the dietary debate as "low-fat vs. low-carb." I couldn't agree more, although the totality of what he wrote in his book is overwhelmingly a low-fat, vegetarian diet. The truth hurts, Dr. Ornish!
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download Part 4 to your iPod to hear Episode 118:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 118 [21:33m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
You'll notice very quickly in this episode that Dr. Ornish was getting a bit testy and didn't appreciate the questions I was asking him. It was as if he was hoping for another breeze of an interview like the one we did back in October 2006. Nope, not this time. I had to call his bluff when I believed he was wrong, although Dr. Ornish insisted that we don't disagree on many points. That was a clever tactic he kept using, but I wasn't buying it and neither was anyone listening.
I'll be expounding on my post-interview thoughts in a blog post very soon, but for now let's just say it was good to see that we at least could come together to talk about a very real difference ideas without resorting to needless name calling or disparaging remarks. You could tell at the conclusion of the interview that Dr. Ornish appreciates the work I am doing and acknowledged it as much in his closing remarks. I appreciate and respect that he sees the positive of what I do despite his disagreements with what I share.
Check out the latest info from top health experts anytime by:
My interview with Dr. Dean Ornish is finished now, so please share your comments in the show notes section of Part 4 in Episode 118 to compile what you think about Dr. Ornish and his new book The Spectrum. Was there anything I forgot to ask him about? What did you like best about the interview? Is there anything I could have done to make it even better? Please share your thoughts!
As I previously stated, I will be writing a blog post in the next few days with my thoughts about this Ornish interview. I certainly give him credit for being willing to speak with somebody like me because he didn't have to talk to me at all. But he came to me requesting the interview and I was grateful for the opportunity to share about his new book and his attempt to continue forging that "common ground" with low-carbers. Although he's still got a long way to go, it's an important first step.
We'll be keeping the lines of communication open for future opportunities to interview Dr. Dean Ornish and any other low-fat diet supporters who want to appear on my podcast show. Hopefully I've shown that we can disagree without being disagreeable and that an open and honest debate of ideas is always welcomed for better understanding of diet, health and nutrition. THANKS for listening and we'll be back again on Monday with another episode of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore."
Dr. Dean Ornish talks with me about his new book The Spectrum
Before I left for vacation last weekend, I teased you when I revealed there would be a special 4-part interview with someone in the realm of diet, health and nutrition beginning this past week and continuing into next week. Now that I'm back, I guess you've discovered who it was already--low-fat diet advocate Dr. Dean Ornish. He contacted me about a month ago and asked if I would like to interview him again about his new book entitled The Spectrum: A Scientifically Proven Program to Feel Better, Live Longer, Lose Weight, and Gain Health. As my regular readers will recall, that previous 4-part interview in October 2006 was pretty much an open invitation for Dr. Ornish to share what he believes without any challenge whatsoever. Listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of that interview to hear what he had to say.
But in Episode 115 and Episode 116 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore", you'll notice a decidedly different tone this time around by design. Even Dr. Ornish requested me to feel free to challenge and question him on areas where we disagreed. And boy did I ever! Although Dr. Ornish continually tried to say we agreed with each other about various concepts, it was very evident that we clearly DO NOT agree as much as he thinks. You'll hear the frustration in my voice when he claims "we all agree" on this and that when we obviously don't. The back and forth exchange was fiery at times, but that sure makes for an entertaining podcast interview to listen to, though! :D
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download Part 1 to your iPod to hear Episode 115:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 115 [22:10m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download Part 2 to your iPod to hear Episode 116:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 116 [28:46m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Dr. Dean Ornish is very polished in his presentation of what he believes about a healthy diet. The only problem is he is so deep into his own philosophical views and talking points that he forgets to answer the questions that are presented to him in black and white. Several times I asked him questions that merited a direct answer and he breezed right over them with something tee-totally different. Why is that? Is it so difficult to give a direct answer to a direct question, Dr. Ornish?
Get more exclusive interviews and health news anytime by:
We've got two more segments of my 100-minute interview with Dr. Dean Ornish, but tell us what you think about what you've heard so far. Leave your comments in the show notes section of Part 1 in Episode 115 as well as Part 2 in Episode 116 to share your thoughts about what you have heard from Dr. Ornish and his new book The Spectrum.
Incidentally, here is the breakdown of the five groups in The Spectrum from "most healthy" to "least healthy" according to Dr. Ornish (I OBVIOUSLY disagree with his definition of "healthy" and categorization of what that constitutes):
Group 1 These are the most healthful foods, predominantly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, soy products, nonfat dairy, and egg whites in their natural forms, as well as some good fats that contain omega‑3 fatty acids.
Group 2 These are also predominantly plant-based but somewhat higher in fat (predominantly monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat) such as avocados, seeds, nuts. Oils are included but in small amounts, since they are so dense in calories. Group 2 also includes foods canned in water (rather than sugary syrup or oil), canned vegetables (if sodium is not too high), low-fat dairy products (1%), decaffeinated beverages, low-sodium soy sauce, and so on.
Group 3 These foods include some seafood, some refined carbohydrates (Dr. Ornish has an interesting explanation in Part 2 of my interview about why these were not listed in Group 5) and concentrated sweeteners (in moderation), some oils that are higher in saturated fat, some reduced fat (2%) dairy products, margarines free of trans fatty acids, sweeteners containing high fructose corn syrup, and higher sodium.
Group 4 In this group foods contain additional fat, higher animal protein and fewer protective nutrients. These include poultry, fish that are higher in mercury, whole milk/dairy products, margarine, mayonnaise, pastries, cakes, cookies, and pies.
Group 5 In general, these foods are considered the least healthful. They are the lowest in protective substances and are highest in “bad fats.” Some food included in this group are red meat, egg yolks, fried poultry, fried fish, hot dogs, organ meats, butter, cream, and tropical oils like coconut oil.
UGH! As you can see, he's just about got the Groups backwards! When you see that refined carbohydrates are middle of the road "healthy" and egg yolks, butter and coconut oil are considered "least healthy," then you know we have a very clear difference of opinion regarding what is healthy and what is not. Keep listening to the rest of the interview to hear more about why Dr. Ornish thinks The Spectrum is far superior to anything he has ever written about nutrition before and why I think it is nothing more than the same old, same old we've always heard from him. I'll let YOU decide who to believe after listening to the final two segments of the interview on "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore."
Dr. Jonny Bowden talks about the best natural health cures
Continuing my fascinating conversation with low-carb nutrition expert Dr. Jonny Bowden in Episode 114 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore", we delve deeper into his brand new book on Fair Winds Press called The Most Effective Natural Cures On Earth to discuss the various conditions that are improved by using a low-carb diet. While much of the medical establishment chooses to shun livin' la vida low-carb publicly, the fact of the matter is there is no better treatment for acne, PCOS, diabetes, insulin resistance, high triglycerides, high blood sugar, cholesterol, and, of course, weight loss. Listen in as Jonny addresses each of these and explains how and why low-carb works to treat them.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear today's podcast:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 114 [27:46m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Grab your copy of this book for some healthy natural cures
Dr. Jonny Bowden has done a great service with this new book to help people who are seeking to get healthier without the use of risky prescription medications. He has done the research and examined the evidence to see what can be naturally done to help treat and even prevent many of the most common health ailments from happening. One common theme that you'll always hear from Jonny is how inflammation is at the very heart of most diseases and excess insulin in the body is the primary culprit.
Access exclusive interviews with the experts anytime by:
So what do you think about The Most Effective Natural Cures On Earth now that you've heard Dr. Jonny Bowden talk about it? Do you think he's on to something spectacular or do you think this is just another one of those same old, same old "natural cures" books that blow a lot of smoke with no real answers? Let's hear what you think in the show notes section of Episode 114 and give YOUR feedback to what you heard today. Especially if you have read this book, share what your favorite parts of it were.
As you may or may not know, I will be on vacation and on a follow-up business trip starting tomorrow and all of next week. But that doesn't mean there won't be any new podcast shows next week. Have I got a special surprise in store for you and I'll just tell you that you WON'T want to miss a 4-part interview that I conducted earlier this week with someone in the world of diet and health you will all immediately recognize when you hear it.
Part 1 will be available on Monday, February 25, 2008 and then Part 2 on Thursday, February 28, 2008 at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com. We'll share Parts 3 and 4 the following week when I return from vacation and it's a goodie! Spread the word and don't miss this podcast interview--I promise you're gonna LOVE it!
