Crazy Kamikaze Low-Carb Update Time

I don't normally like to do this because it doesn't give me a chance to be as opinionated as I wanna be in my blog posts, but that annoying hack attack and Blogger shutting down my blog for a week has me backed up with a ton of low-carb news that I can't wait to share with you. So, rather than hoarding all this great content, I'm just gonna throw it all out there for you to enjoy. There's a lot to share, so here goes.

This IndyStar column about a new study claiming low-fat diets are better for cardio health than low-carb ones. Only 20 people were included in this "study" and it's unclear how they quantify why low-fat was better. Hmmm, ya think it could be based on a biased OPINION rather than any actual data analysis? They really should check out this REAL study on the long-term heart health of people following a low-carb diet.

The long-term consequences of the Atkins diet are questioned in this WXII-TV story and it wasn't half bad. Usually there's such a bias against the low-carb lifestyle over the long-term, but this was pretty good. CHECK IT OUT!

Did you catch the March 2008 issue of Good Housekeeping? In a rather inconspicuous column about adult acne is women 30-50 years old, you'll never believe what an amazing low-carb nugget of truth that was found in it--listed among the reason why adult women suffer from acne after stress and hormones was a "carbohydrate-laden diet." Yippee! :D

Many of you have been asking about the Canadian documentary "My Big Fat Diet" which I was privileged to screen while attending the 2008 ASBP/Nutrition & Metabolism conference in Phoenix, AZ a couple of weeks ago. This film was shot by independent filmmaker Mary Bissell and her team at Bare Bones Productions and they are fully committed to bringing this to the United States. Contact your local PBS station to ask them to show the documentary. Additionally, they're working on making this available on DVD, so stay tuned for more information about that. Also, I have an interview set with Mary to share with you on my podcast show soon.

I love a good grassroots campaign when it's for a good cause. And my fellow low-carb blogging friend Regina Wilshire from the "Weight Of The Evidence" blog has a good one for you to participate in right now. It seems there is a petition that has been submitted to the FDA by various special interest groups in favor of pharmaceuticals trying to completely destroy and annihilate the dietary supplement industry--their primary competition. This is trying to be pushed through without any input from the public, so go read Regina's plea for us to get involved at her blog.

Wanna see some brand new "no sugar added" products coming out? Click here to see what's on tap.

One of my regular readers and low-carb success Burt stumbled across some pro-low-carb mentions at a rather strange place--The Disney Channel! As the father of a 4-year old and a 16 month old, the television stays on Disney. Burt said he's noticed several times a character talking about carbs. One of the shows was "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" where one episode shows a character pretending to be a dog eating a doggy biscuit when she suddenly replies, "Ewww, that's too many carbs!" The other example is on a show called "Phineas and Ferb." The sister of one of the main characters was offered a shaved-ice snow cone and she turns it down muttering something about too many carbs. COOL STUFF, HUH?! ;) THANKS for the tip, Burt.

Did you hear noted celebrity vegan Natalie Portman went on the Atkins diet? (Note the date of this column for the full scoop!) Speaking of Atkins, last Thursday (when my blog was still down!) was the 5-year anniversary of the tragic slip-and-fall accident that took the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins from us prematurely. Read long-time Atkins nurse Jackie Eberstein's moving tribute to the man she worked with for 30 years helping people understand the healthy Atkins low-carb nutritional approach.

The "World's Fattest Man" Manuel Uribe just keeps losing weight on a low-carb diet and inspiring millions in the process. He's approaching 600 pounds lost and counting...KEEP IT UP MANUEL! Check out all of Manuel's progress from his starting weight of 1230 pounds at my links blog.

Finally (for now!), I'd better be careful with my career as a blogger because apparently blogging for a living is a death wish. I don't see it that way as long as you set up the proper boundaries for yourself by not getting so engrossed in the work of keeping content on your blog that you sacrifice your health in the process. My formula for writing is to take lots of breaks throughout the day, rest when I'm tired, and spend quality time with my wife Christine when things get tough. Blogging has been the best job I've ever had and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I LOVE IT (although there's not enough time in the day to get everything I want to talk about in)!

That's it for now because it's getting late and I have to get out of town for the next few days. My sister-in-law is having a bridal reception on Saturday in Virginia Beach, so we'll be heading that way on Friday and coming back late on Sunday night. There'll be plenty more to blog about when I get back, so keep reading!

Atkinspedia: Wikipedia For The Atkins Diet

Combining the format of Wikipedia with Atkins diet information

Are you a fan of the online information web site Wikipedia? Have you tinkered with it any at all to see what you could find on just about any subject you can think of? I know I have and it's really a lot of fun, too! Sure, the information is not always 100% accurate since it is provided by anyone and everyone who thinks they know something about just about any subject. But it does serve as an excellent guide for people desiring to educate themselves better about a particular topic of interest.

Wouldn't the Wikipedia format be great if there was one place where you could go to get all the Atkins/low-carb information you are looking for? Well, actually, that place already exists and it's called Atkinspedia.

Atkinswhat?

Just as the name suggests, Atkinspedia is an invaluable low-carb resource which I have listed under the "Low-Carb Information" section at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Links" blog because it gives you the format of Wikipedia with all you ever wanted to know about the Atkins/low-carb way of life. Since its inception on July 15, 2006, Atkinspedia has always been "an encyclopedia/knowledge base that anyone can edit" as part of "an ongoing project to educate the masses on the Atkins Nutritional Approach and health as a whole."


The popular Atkins All The Way forum sponsors Atkinspedia

I only heard about Atkinspedia last week while listening to Brian Z's fantastic weekly podcast show which serves as an audio support for the members of the Atkins All The Way forum. Atkins All The Way is the sponsor of Atkinspedia and invites anyone and everyone to visit their site to not only use in their own research of livin' la vida low-carb, but to also contribute to the growing database of information.

"Feel free to create an account and begin editing and adding articles at will," the web site states. "You can't break Atkinspedia so don't worry about destroying the site."

However, as enthusiastic as so many of us are about the low-carb lifestyle, they do ask that anything you add to Atkinspedia be written using neutral language so that others who are curious about Atkins/low-carb can simply read, learn, and decide for themselves about whether this healthy lifestyle change is for them or not.

"This will help people make up their own minds when reading Atkinspedia and it won't be read as propaganda for the Atkins Nutritional Approach."

More than anything else, the good people over at Atkins All The Way want you to "have fun" and "be bold" about making changes at Atkinspedia.

"You can't break it, you can only make it stronger. It's the indestructable encyclopedia."

Keep checking back from time to time for new information as it appears on the site.

"Atkinspedia won't be built in a day."

No, it won't, but you are well on your way with it. What an amazing resource for those of us who hunger for knowledge about Atkins/low-carb and seek to pass on our wisdom and experience to others attempting to learn as well. I highly encourage you to be interactive with the Atkinspedia because it will only make it better.

THANK YOU to BrianZ and everyone behind-the-scenes at Atkins All The Way for coming up with this awesome tool for low-carbers and potential low-carbers to become more educated about Atkins/low-carb. I can see this quickly becoming THE ultimate reference tool for anyone and everyone looking for information about low-carb. Visit Atkinspedia TODAY!