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Saturday, July 12, 2008
Post-Low-Carb Meal 5-Hour Glucose Tolerance Test Produces Rather Odd Results
My arm had so much blood sucked out of it for these tests
I just returned late on Thursday from my 3-hour trip up I-85 North to Durham, North Carolina to spend some time with the Triangle (and Beyond) Low-Carb Meetup group there as well as seeing a great low-carb doctor from Duke University named Dr. Eric Westman to conduct some tests and talk about my recent blood sugar woes and pesky 30-pound weight gain in 2008 that won't come back down again no matter what I do. It was a good time away although I missed blogging and updating you about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. And I'll be leaving again on Tuesday to go see my brother Kevin in Pensacola, Florida for at least a week where I will have ZERO Internet access besides my iPhone (and, no offense, but I ain't up for blogging on that thing with the hunt and peck typing!), so I'll be trying to squeeze in as many posts as I can before then. It's gonna stay busy for me the next couple of months.
But so many of you have been wondering about how my visit with Dr. Westman went that I wanted to make sure I provided an update, especially with the results from my five-hour glucose tolerance test (GTT) following a low-carb meal which was conducted on Monday. If you thought my home testing of my blood sugars was interesting enough, just wait until I tell you what happened during the GTT. Unbelievably crazy! I'll share more about that in a moment.
First, let's look at the bazillion other tests Dr. Westman ran for me to see if there are other culprits going on with my health. A few of these I requested done because Dr. Keith Berkowitz (who I will be sharing a special two-part follow-up podcast interview with the first week in August about this answering your questions), who espouses the "reactive hypoglycemia" theory for long-term low-carbers, suggested I have them run.
Here were the results:
Vitamin B-12--529 (normal) Cortisol--8.9 (surprisingly normal) Homocysteine--6.7 (normal) 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3--42 (normal) HbA1c--5.0 (a little low, but normal) LDL particle number--1453 (borderline high) Small LDL particle number--30 (low is less than 600!)
By all accounts of these tests, I'm one extremely healthy guy! My thyroid function was all fine and so was my liver function. So it's good we can rule those out as culprits. I was quite frankly shocked to see my cortisol levels in the good range considering all the stress I've experienced lately, but this just confirms my body handles it all very well apparently. The A1c number was also encouraging since it is so spectacular and out of the diabetic range completely (although Dr. Berkowitz thinks it is a little low--a sign of the reactive hypglycemia according to him).
My LDL and total cholesterol are higher than normal as I've previously blogged, but look at the particle number of the dangerous "small" LDL--a measly little 30! That's just 0.02 percent of my total LDL particle number...in other words, quite negligible and protective considering over 95 percent of my LDL particle size is the large, fluffy kind. :D I'm not at all worried about my lipid profile with my HDL at 65 and triglycerides at 77. That's an HDL/triglycerides ratio I'd put up against anybody else's every day of the week.
Alright, so what the heck is going on with my blood sugars? And, more importantly, what is happening with my insulin levels when my blood sugar drops even after a low-carb meal? Inquiring minds, myself included, sincerely want to know. Here are the results of my GTT after eating a low-carb breakfast consisting of eggs and cheese with a chicken breast from Chick-Fil-A:
Fascinating test, huh? And it's just about what I expected was happening. My fasting glucose and insulin levels are perfect, but within a half hour of eating even a low-carb meal I'm seeing a TRIPLING in my insulin levels to keep my blood sugars in check. This would be a typical response if my insulin then came back down again within the first hour or two, but it doesn't.
As you can see, the insulin sustains at that higher level for two hours lingering at 13.7 then slowly dropping to 11.1 and then hitting 9.0 before dropping back down significantly in the third hour to get closer to baseline. During this time of elevated insulin, my blood sugar falls below fasting down about 10 points before rising back to where it started once the insulin comes down again. A normal response would show blood sugars going up quickly and then falling quickly, but not for Jimmy Moore. Lucky me, eh?
So what am I to make of this and what plan of action does Dr. Westman and his colleagues suggest I implement to limit this insulin response so that maybe I can get my recent weight gain to come back down again? I wish I could tell you it's a pretty cut and dry "do this and all will be well" solution, but it's not. The reality is I need to tweak this slowly by only changing one thing at a time. That one thing for me will include eating LESS protein than I have been and watching my specific portions of protein and overall intake just to see if it makes a difference.
Yes, I know cutting portions and even counting calories is almost taboo to talk about within low-carb circles and I'm not interested in that debate right now because I'm not fully convinced of it. Only time will tell. I haven't once counted calories or measured out my portion sizes in the past four and a half years of livin' la vida low-carb, so this is a tough sell for me. But I'm certainly game for doing something different to get my weight to come back down again, especially that little bit that has come back to my midsection.
Interestingly, Dr. Westman suggested I cut back on the amount of protein I have been consuming because it is possible that my body through gluconeogenesis is converting much of the dietary protein I have been consuming into glucose/sugar/carbs which COULD be the reason why I haven't been able to get my weight back down again. And this theory certainly has some merit since I consciously increased my protein intake when I started lifting weights for the first time in December 2007 shortly before my weight gain.
Sure, I also took creatine in the first six weeks and that may have had some impact on the weight gain. But consuming more protein-based foods in an effort to help with my muscle growth could have sabotaged my weight maintenance efforts somewhat. Although I have experienced quite an increase in the amount of muscle on my body after six months of training, it's not implausible that upwards of half of that weight gain is indeed muscle mass. The rest of the 15 or so pounds of weight I have put on over this period of time may be the result of excess glucose from protein.
Beginning yesterday, I started adding in more fat and deliberately trying to eat less total protein (not as a percentage, but overall) to see if it makes a difference. One way I'm doing this is to make sure any protein source I am eating is offset by an addition of more fat. For example, if I'm eating a chicken breast that is basically all protein and little fat, I'll slather it in butter and add cheese on top. Cheese in the form of brie or other fatty ones as a meal will also be a way to increase my fat while decreasing my protein. Cooking eggs in butter and adding cheese also will help with this. Nuts, coconut oil, heavy cream, and other high-fat foods will become more and more prevalent in my low-carb menus.
Since I already eat most of those foods anyway, this shouldn't be difficult to implement. Simply cutting back on protein could be as simple as eating half a steak or only one burger patty or chicken breast. Making sure I contribute fat and fiber to my meals will keep that ratio of fat to protein at the 3-1 ratio I am hoping to attain. Carbs, of course, will remain reduced to basically non-starchy, green leafy veggies.
What do you think about all of this? I'd love to know what you think about the results of my GTT. I'm also frightened to think what would happen if I did a traditional GTT with a glass of sugar water--EEEK! My insulin would go even MORE berserk! Your thoughts as always are welcomed. :)
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.
What Exactly Is Happening With My Bewildering Blood Sugar Levels
Ever since I blogged about my recent struggle to lose 30 pounds that have refused to budge since I put them on in the first couple of months of my resistance training which began in December 2007, the comments, e-mails, and overall good wishes that so many of you have shared with me have come pouring in and I sincerely appreciate everyone's advice and positive reinforcement for me through this frustrating time. I realize I am not alone in this and that is what drives me to want to get to the bottom of the issue to help others who have a similar predicament.
While there are likely several issues going on right now that might be the culprit in my case, I kinda stumbled onto something accidentally yesterday that was quite odd to say the least. For perhaps the first time in the more than four years I've been livin' la vida low-carb, I may have figured out something that has happened to my body somewhere along the way that goes against everything you've ever heard about the physiological mechanism of blood sugars. This totally freaked me out because I've never experienced anything like this before.
Out of pure curiosity, I decided to go to my local Walgreen's and purchase a blood glucose monitor on Tuesday along with all the lancets and testing strips to check my blood sugar levels. I couldn't believe the monitor was like $15, but the test strips cost $55 for a box of 50! WOW, paying over a dollar a pop for a tiny little test strip was a bit pricey, but Christine and I have considered buying this thing for a long time just to see where we are with our blood sugars.
No, we're not diabetic or even pre-diabetic and don't really NEED to check this, but I was just very, very interested in seeing something for myself--what happens to my blood sugar AFTER I eat? We've all talked about one of the major benefits of livin' la vida low-carb is stabilized blood sugars and keeping it from spiking so high after a meal. It makes sense, we believe it is true, now let's see. And so I did.
After a full night of fasting, I attempted to test my blood sugar levels yesterday morning. I say "attempted" because I had trouble using the lancet to provide me with enough blood for the testing strips. After reading the instructions about poking yourself in the forearm since it's not supposed to hurt as much there, I cocked that baby back on the "3" setting and let 'er rip! OUCH! Shoot, they didn't say it was gonna be like a shotgun coming out with that little pointy needle! That bad boy left a pretty big bruise on me today:
Then, when I attempted to put the blood into the test strip for my reading, apparently there wasn't enough blood for the test and the monitor shut off automatically. AAAACCK! I turned it back on again and the stupid thing showed "Er3" which I assumed was some sort of error message. Dangit, that mistake cost me over a buck and I pulled out another expensive test strip to try again.
After trying to produce blood (out of a turnip!) from my forearm three more times with no success, I reluctantly went to my fingers. UGH! I type with these things all day long, so the thought of pricking the tips of my fingers was not very delightful at all. I have SO much respect for diabetics who do this EVERY SINGLE DAY! Oh my gosh, more power to ya and I bow down in your honor. I used my index finger the first time and it produced a painful, yet productive flow of a drop of blood for the monitor this time around. On subsequent readings, I alternated to my ring finger, a few times on my thumb (more bruises!) until finally figuring out the side of my middle finger works the most pain-free of them all. I feel like I'm gonna leak if I drink something with all these holes in my fingers! :)
Okay, so I finally get my first reading after a full 15 hours of fasting--107 mg/dL. It seemed a little high after no food for such a long period of time, but I was pleased with it being well within "normal" range. I took my fish oil supplements and vitamins prior to this test, so I'm wondering if they might have impacted my blood sugars a bit. Even still, I wasn't at all concerned about my reading. It was right where it needed to be.
So Christine and I decided to eat a pretty large meal for lunch which you can see at my menus blog for May 27, 2008. Although it was a low-carb meal, there was still plenty of carbs from spinach, eggs, Ranch dressing, dried cranberries, cheese, mashed cauliflower, and the protein that gets synthesized into carbs in the body (remember gluconeogenesis?). So you would expect that my blood sugar would go up even slightly, right?
Well, not exactly.
When I tested my blood one hour after this meal, I was in for a BIG SHOCK! Hold on to your hats with this people, but it literally stunned me--my blood sugar levels DROPPED 26 points down to 81 AFTER my meal. What the? How did? Is it possible? HUH?!?! Now, wait a minute. I thought your blood sugar was supposed to go UP after eating a meal? I ate all these carbs, so wouldn't my blood sugar go up under normal circumstances? Strange, huh?
Oh, but it gets even better. Three hours after eating, I decided to check my blood sugars again (man, my fingers REALLY hurt with all this testing!) and it had risen back up to 94 again, but still well below my fasting blood glucose of 107. Although it was on the rise again, my blood sugar was still kinda low and made me hesitant about eating something else lest it drops again. I know it sounds funny to say that, but what else am I to think about this bewildering blood sugar predicament?
You'll see from my menus blog yesterday that I ate a slice of homemade key lime cheesecake in the afternoon followed by a Stallone chocolate protein pudding prior to my Tuesday night volleyball games at church. This fueled me up for the 150-minute cardio workout I received and kept me satiated throughout all my games. When I got home, I was curious to see where my blood sugars were three hours after the last time I ate (the protein pudding). The readout? I was at 91. Weird doesn't even begin to describe this.
I have to tell you during my lunch meal on Tuesday, I experienced a rather excruciating splitting headache from temple to temple across my forehead. I don't usually get headaches, but this one was a doozy. I took three Aleve when I got home and it went away within an hour, but I can't help but think it may have something to do with my blood sugar DROPPING while I was eating my meal. Counterintuitive? You bet it is!
Yes, I realize my blood sugar numbers are fabulous and that people with very serious hypoglycemia have their blood sugars drop dangerously below 60 with all kinds of negative side effects, including headaches, the shakes, sweating, numbness in the extremities, thirst, hunger, heart palpitations, and worse. I would NEVER want to have to go through that myself and I know many of you have.
But does your blood sugar ever go DOWN after eating? Everything I've ever heard and read about blood sugars is that they go UP following a meal and then come back down again over the next few hours. In fact, that's exactly what Christine's did when we measured her blood sugars at the same time as mine. She started at 83 after a full night of fasting and then hers jumped up to 127 one hour after eating lunch before falling again down below 100 a few hours later. That's a normal blood sugar response. So what the heck happened to mine then?
Being the ever-inquisitive investigative reporter-type that I am, I couldn't resist the chance to experiment today and you're gonna think I've lost my marbles when you hear what I did. Because of the way my blood sugars responded to that low-carb meal for lunch yesterday, I wondered what would happen if I consumed an especially high-carb meal today for lunch. Some of you suggested I hearken back to my controversial "planned splurge" idea again to see if that will get the scale moving downward again, and so I did--I went to Pizza Inn and had their buffet!
It was weird going to a pizza place for the first time in about three years (the last time was my infamous 30 slices of pizza splurge when I was visiting my dad in Tennessee) and I was preparing to hate it. Actually, it wasn't too bad. I was hungry, the food was pretty tasty, and I ended up eating about 15 slices in all. I fully expected my body to react to all these carbs (which undoubtedly numbered well over 300 grams!) by being lethargic, bloated, and miserable. And I also predicted my blood sugar would JUMP way up.
Before we headed off for the pizza feast, I tested my fasting blood sugar this morning and it was 91 (lower than yesterday's reading of 107, but I didn't take my vitamins and fish oil prior to today's measurement). Would eating a very high-carb meal make any difference at all in the way my blood sugars react to it today? I wanted to know and see it with my own eyes.
I ate and ate slices of garlic cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, bacon cheeseburger pizza, sausage pizza, and even chocolate chip pizza. I ain't gonna lie, it was good! But I wouldn't want to eat like that everyday. As has happened in the past when I ate a bunch of carbs, I usually feel miserable the rest of the day regretting my transgressions. That's what I was expecting today along with a spike in my blood sugars. Did it happen?
The answer is no to both. I feel great right now over five hours after eating all that pizza and interestingly my weight is only a couple of pounds up from what it was this morning when I weighed. That's curious since my weight has been known to fluctuate as much as 8-12 pounds after a big meal like that. But even more remarkable is what happened with my blood sugar just one hour after eating all those starchy and sugary pizza slices. I should have expected this.
My reading was 90--that's right, my blood sugar dropped a point from my fasting level one hour after my meal. I had to see my two-hour reading and it FINALLY rose above my fasting level to 100 and then my three-hour reading started coming down again to 98. What's going on here? Am I producing excessive insulin which is keeping my blood sugars very low even after a meal? Is this what they call "reactive hypoglycemia" at work here? If so, how did I get it and what can I do to overcome it?
Thankfully I have a whole host of low-carb experts at my disposal to discuss this phenomena and I suspect a lot more of us low-carbers are dealing with this issue than we would like to admit. Is this part and parcel of eating this way over the long-term and is there anything necessarily wrong with this happening? What can we do to counteract it if it is something that needs to be addressed?
In the meantime, I'm finished eating pizza for a LONG time and back to the healthy low-carb lifestyle again. If all of this doesn't have at least SOMETHING to do with my recent inability to get rid of those 30 pounds I've put on since beginning weight training, then I don't know what else is happening. It seems too coincidentally odd that all this is happening simultaneous to the weight gain, so I'm pursuing this further with my doctor to see if it will shed some light on my situation.
You'll be the first to know when I hear ANYTHING about this, so THANK YOU again for all of your encouragement, advice, and support through this. I appreciate the friendships I have seen in action over the past few months as you all remind me of the great community we have surrounding the low-carb lifestyle. We're just real people living our lives and trying to figure out what works best for weight and health management. We KNOW it's livin' la vida low-carb which is why we LOVE it! :)
Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences about these blood sugar fluctuations. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has seen this happening while following a low-carb nutritional approach. Thoughts anyone?
5-28-08 UPDATE: I just took another measurement of my blood sugar six hours after my meal (no, I'm still not hungry after all those pizza slices!) and it was 90--back to my fasting baseline again. Hmmmmm...
Mary Vernon leads the charge for low-carb diets for diabetics
I have lots to share with you that I heard and saw at the ASBP/Nutrition & Metabolism conference in Phoenix, AZ I attended earlier this month. It was an amazing experience being around the superstars of the low-carb scientific world and hearing the very latest research that unequivocally supports livin' la vida low-carb. Anyone who tells you there isn't any real evidence that low-carb is a viable nutritional approach has chosen to ignore the literature. It's there!
As I previously noted, I met an extraordinary couple while in Phoenix who head a television production company called Atlanta Teleproductions. Richard and Melanie Vogan have over three decades of filming experience each that was put to good use with all these amazing low-carb researchers in one place. Anyone who was attending that meeting would have seen Richard behind the camera taking video footage of Melanie interviewing everybody they could during those few short days. They were kept quite busy moving their equipment from location to location.
Although the original plan was to try to piece together a documentary of sorts with all these experts, Richard and Melanie now believe the videos they shot are much too important to chop up and remove key elements. For the sake of the integrity of the answers that were provided and to expose the positive message to a wide online audience, they are posting the interviews commissioned by the Nutrition & Metabolism Society individually in an exclusive Internet series.
"The interviews that we got are so incredible we realized they should not be edited," Melanie explained to Livin' La Vida Low-Carb. "We now have lots of content and the possibility of lots more. As much as I would love to do a documentary, for now this is the most viable option."
And that's why they created a new web site called DiabetesNewsStand.com which is "dedicated to the education and prevention of the diabetes epidemic." How is gonna do that? By sharing amazing videos online with the most knowledgeable and successful doctors and diabetes experts in the world today. It's am ambitious project that certainly warrants the support of anyone who cares about taming the exploding diabetes epidemic with real, innovative solutions to the problem--not more of the same failed treatments centered around prescribing more and more medications and insulin.
Regular "V-Issues" will be presented on this new web site to share from the researchers, physicians, authors, nutritionists, and advocates of healthy living for people suffering from diabetes. As they are posted, I will highlight each of them here at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog so you'll be made aware.
First up is this interview with Dr. Mary C. Vernon, who discusses insulin resistance, the role of insulin in the body, blood sugar abnormalities, traditional vs. dietary measures for controlling diabetes, and so much more. As you will quickly notice, Dr. Vernon is arguably the most articulate and ardent supporter of a low-carbohydrate dietary approach for controlling diabetes in the world today. Her enthusiastic and impassioned plea for people to take notice of livin' la vida low-carb is difficult to ignore.
Kudos to Richard and Melanie Vogan for starting off their new "V-Issues" series with a bang by presenting this fabulous interview with Dr. Mary C. Vernon to the online world. You'll be seeing a lot more of these in the coming months, so be sure to check DiabetesNewsStand.com for even more outstanding interviews and comments from the biggest names in low-carb living!
If you would like to support this effort to share even more videos from low-carb experts in the future, then e-mail Melanie at melanie@diabetesnewsstand.com or call her in her Atlanta office at 770-777-1265. After spending some quality time with Richard and Melanie, I can tell you they are as committed to the cause of sharing the truth about livin' la vida low-carb as I am. Whatever you can donate to this cause I know will be used for the greater good of promoting low-carb to those who need to hear it the most.
Dr. Andrew Weil now recognizes the importance of carb control
Light bulb moments can happen at virtually anytime to anyone. We all have our own biases and predetermined beliefs about just about everything in life that make up who we are. But even when you try to keep an open mind and stay objective, those rock solid ideals that encapsulate who you are can be difficult to change. Only the strongest among us are able to admit when we were wrong about something and then completely change our way of thinking based on new evidence that has come to light.
That's exactly what has happened with one of the world's most recognized and renowned health leaders of our day Dr. Andrew Weil. For the past three decades, this man has dedicated his life to the subject of health by authoring a plethora of books, lecturing about the negative impact of unhealthy eating, and establishing himself firmly into diet and nutrition by encouraging a comprehensive integrative approach to treating disease. He really is a legend in the health industry which is what makes what I am about to share with you all the more astounding!
You'll recall that right after the release of Gary Taubes' bestselling blockbuster book Good Calories, Bad Calories was released last Fall, there was a panel discussion about the book on CNN's Larry King Live show with Joy Behar guest hosting along with guests Taubes, Dr. Mehmet Oz, personal trainer from "The Biggest Loser" Jillian Michaels, and others. Right smack dab in the middle of that discussion was commentary from Dr. Weil about what he thought of the book. Click here to see a nearly 7-minute clip of what he had to say.
For anyone who watched that October 2007 show which Taubes described as "quite a circus," this short segment with Dr. Andrew Weil's comments was indeed the most valuable and surprising revelation that came out of it. Guest host Joy Behar described Dr. Weil's comments as a "Valentine" for Taubes and it was obvious to everyone that he was the ONLY person on the panel who had actually read Good Calories, Bad Calories prior to coming on the show. But this "light bulb moment" for Dr. Weil was extraordinary to watch happening right before our very eyes.
This is the equivalent of low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish coming out and saying that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins was right and that there are some people who should be eating more fat and less carbohydrates if they need to manage their weight and health. Following my recent interview with Dr. Ornish, I sincerely doubt THAT will ever happen. But Dr. Weil's virtual endorsement of livin' la vida low-carb was unmistakable and it didn't end there.
It turns out that he himself decided to begin implementing carbohydrate-restriction in his own personal weight management routine with AMAZING success! According to this interview with Dr. Weil appearing on his web site this week (hat tip to my reader Peter who pointed this out to me!), reading the Taubes book has changed his life because he now realizes he is "quite sensitive to high-glycemic-load carbohydrates."
"Most of the processed, refined, manufactured foods are the ones that are quick digesting and problematical," Dr. Weil explained. "Cutting back on them has helped me get my weight down, because my metabolism is certainly carbohydrate sensitive."
Can I just tell you how incredibly HUGE this is?! Dr. Weil acknowledges that there is "a real explosion of quality research" coming out so far in this century about carbohydrate restriction and the impact it can have on insulin sensitivity and weight gain. And he's even coming around on the subject of saturated fat, too.
"With regard to saturated fat, I tell people that you can have some saturated fat in your diet; just think about where you want to spend your saturated fat budget. I choose to spend mine on quality cheese," Dr. Weil stated.
Oh man, I'd love it if Dr. Weil could attend that Nutrition & Metabolism Symposium in Phoenix, Arizona in April where the very latest research on saturated fat consumption and heart disease will be presented by some of the best and brightest researchers and scholars on the subject today, including Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Richard Feinman, Dr. Jeff Volek, Dr. Patty Tarino, Dr. J. Bruce German, Dr. Mary Vernon, Dr. Jay Wortman, Dr. Steve Phinney, and Gary Taubes. I'll be there covering the event for my blog and interviewing many of these participants for my podcast show. It would not surprise me to see Dr. Weil sitting there soaking in all the very research that is quite literally changing his life forever.
Wanna see how low-carb living has changed Dr. Weil? Check out this recent video of him posted on YouTube:
Doesn't he look fantastic? And I'm confident his health has also seen a correlating improvement along with the weight loss. Dr. Weil says he is "much happier" now eating less carbohydrates and the remarkable impact that it has made on him personally. Can you imagine how this personal transformation is going to seep into the very crevices of everything Dr. Weil does now with his work helping others with their weight and health? It's gonna revolutionize everything he does and make it that much better.
For those of you who think livin' la vida low-carb isn't making an impact on our society like it should, I just want you to remember what you have seen happen to Dr. Andrew Weil over these past six months. You cannot underestimate the power of a changed life and especially when that life is one that has been making recommendations about health for so long. Be encouraged everyone--better days are DEFINITELY coming!
I've written to Dr. Weil requesting an interview with him for my podcast show to talk about the changes he has made in his mode of thinking and where he will be going from here both personally and with the people he counsels regarding diet and health. It's a long shot, but wish me luck landing that one. And, by all means, take the advice of Dr. Andrew Weil and keep on livin' la vida low-carb! :)
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!
It's the dawn of a new year, but low-carb hasn't slowed a bit!
Waving goodbye to the end of another year simply means it's time to say hello to a new beginning as the calendar year turns over yet again. While 2007 was indeed a year to remember, I'm so looking forward to 2008 and all that awaits people who are contemplating, in the midst of, or head over heels about the amazingly healthy low-carb lifestyle.
Good things are happening all the time and it is always a pleasure to share with you the very latest in the wonderful world of livin' la vida low-carb. My commitment to you is to keep doing this in the new year so you'll always stay ahead of the game. In fact, I'm happy to share with you a collection of positive low-carb news right now to help kick off your 2008 the right way. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!
I've shared with you many times over the past few years how researchers are beginning to see an unmistakable connection between the prevalence and growth of cancer tied to the existence of high levels of insulin in the body. Most notably was this Time magazine article on German researchers using a high-fat, low-carb diet to combat cancer in the most dire of patients with astounding results.
Now researchers out of Yale University have found that women with high levels of insulin in their body are likely to develop breast cancer. Although the lead researcher Dr. Melinda Irwin recommends "exercise and eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat," what they need more than anything is a sugar-free, low-carb diet rich in healthy amounts of fat, including saturated fat, to combat and prevent this disease.
The problem I have always had with generalized recommendations from people like Dr. Irwin who say we should "eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with a low-fat diet" is that it is not backed up by the latest published research and in my opinion is simply a copout for providing guidance about which foods are better. Not all vegetables are good for you (potatoes and other starchy ones especially) and neither are all fruits (bananas alone have 29g carbohydrate in them!).
It's nice to see the research is finally showing the detrimental role that insulin is doing to our health brought on by a high-carb diet, but it's high time we start matching up our dietary recommendations to adequately take on these health challenges properly. Share your comments and concerns with Dr. Melinda Irwin about her study by e-mailing her at melinda.irwin@yale.edu.
This Atkins book co-written by Dr. Stuart Trager and Collette Heimowitz
I've been reading through this "new" Atkins diet book and the overriding message that I am seeing is that there are different levels of carbohydrate tolerance for each individual and this book will help guide you regardless of the amount of carbs your body will permit you to eat. There are menus for varying levels of carbohydrate intake from 20g a day to 80g a day, so you never have to guess about what to eat.
Dr. Trager is a fitness expert who uses his experiences in Ironman competitions and implementing a low-carbohydrate nutritional approach to help others reach their weight loss goals. I've blogged about him previously in this blog post and he devotes a major portion of the book on specific exercises you can do to go along with your Atkins diet.
As for Collette Heimowitz, I've interviewed her at my blog before talking about the continuing role of Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. in the realm of diet, health, and nutrition. She has been a long-time supporter of livin' la vida low-carb sharing with others all the research and data supporting low-carb living.
I will likely be sharing a book review of The All-New Atkins Advantage as well as some possible giveaways real soon, so keep reading the blog for those updates! This looks to be a good book for anyone needing a little bit of extra hand-holding as you begin the low-carb lifestyle.
A few weeks ago, my wife Christine and I shared with you some great low-carb gift ideas to share with people who are livin' la vida low-carb on special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, and other such events involving presents. One of those products I told you about was something called the Cal-Carb Clicker which allows you to keep track of your calories, carbohydrates, and water intake all in one device that's super-easy to use.
Well, this little gadget is gonna hit the big time on New Year's Eve as the clock strikes midnight to head into 2008 because it will be featured for the first time ever on the QVC television shopping network. If you are up late watching the ball drop in Times Square, then be sure to switch over to QVC to watch Sandy Martucci, one of the two sisters who invented this gizmo, talk about it sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. This thing is expected to blow the doors off of QVC and it's exciting that one of the things it measures is carbohydrate intake. AMAZING!!!
If the Cal-Carb Clicker does as well as QVC expects selling at around $12, then they will keep offering it as part of their regular programming. This is excellent news because more and more people are discovering the importance of carb control and this tool will help them keep better track of it. And that's a VERY good thing! :)
As much as all the evidence keeps pointing to low-carb as being one of the healthiest ways you could possibly eat, I have come to the conclusion that there will ALWAYS be somebody out there who thinks the sky is green. When it comes to the alleged healthiness of a high-carb diet, this guys takes the cake (both figuratively AND literally!).
Joining in on the lunacy are researchers from Arizona State University who put out this damning press release against low-carb diets recently that claims (among many things) ketosis from a low-carb ketogenic diet will kill you, your bones will dry up and crumble like a cookie, and your LDL cholesterol will go up so high your arteries will explode! Okay, maybe it wasn't filled with that much hyperbole, but it might as well have since all of those flimsy excuses are the same ones we've heard over and over again for years.
What do they recommend instead? Eating a more "moderate" level of around 120g of carbohydrates daily as a STARTING POINT and much more than that if you even dare try to exercise a little. They say your body needs carbs but we know better don't we? It's called gluconeogenesis and is a very natural part of human physiology and metabolism.
These pompous, self-proclaimed researchers--Carol Johnston and Pamela Swan--need to get off their high horse every once in a while to start living in the real world like the rest of us rather than the fantasy land of higher academia! I'm sure they'd LOVE to hear from YOU, so feel free to e-mail them at carol.johnston@asu.edu and PSwan@asu.edu.
If you haven't been to the "Nutrition Data" blog yet, then you are doing yourself a huge disservice because they offer some really fantastic information about diet, health, and nutrition. And they also are quite the fans of livin' la vida low-carb, too. In this recent post about dietary dogma against low-carb diets, an excellent response was provided by Monica Reinagel for people confused about how to discern the good information from the bad as it relates to low-carb studies that seem to contradict themselves (as will frequently happen when the zealots release their biased research while genuine studies show the truth).
I especially liked Monica's four tips about what to do for living healthy:
1. Do what works...If a low-carb diet is the only way for you to do it, then the possible risks are probably justified.
2. Consider your health history. If you are diabetic or have metabolic syndrome and have weight to lose, a lower-carb diet may be a better choice.
3. Monitor your risk factors. Regardless of which dietary dogma you ascribe to, have your cholesterol, triglycerides, and inflammation markers (CRP) tested on an annual or bi-annual basis.
4. Don't over-simplify...A diet rich in low-glycemic carbs like vegetables and legumes is not going to have the same negative effects as a diet high in high-glycemic carbs like rice cakes and white bread.
See what I mean...don't you LOVE it when you find someone of like mind? In 2008, make it a point to visit The ND Blog early and often! And let Monica hear from you about what you think of her site by e-mailing her at feedback@nutritiondata.com.
Speaking of this fabulous web site, I just had to share with you about a recent poll conducted by NutritionData.com that simply asked the question, "What motivates you to eat healthier?" Wanna know what the surprising results were depending on what part of the United States you live in? Check this out:
One-third of Americans want to look good (33.3%) and just under a third want to feel better. But the results of the poll showed that Americans have different motivations for eating healthier based on where they live.
- Americans living in the Heartland States want to change their diets to lower their risk of diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer
- People living on the East Coast of the U.S. eat healthier in the hopes that they will live longer
- People in the South and on the West Coast try to eat better in order to lose weight and/or look good
- Americans on the West Coast change their diets for the better so that they will have more energy
What do you think about this? Is it true based on where YOU live? This should be a lively discussion in the comments section. :D
Have you been looking for a page on the Internet that would accurately describe what the low-carb lifestyle is REALLY all about, explain in simple terms what makes this way of eating so effective, and put it in language we can all understand? Well, look no further than "Why Low-Carb Diets Work" by author Adam Khan. He did a yeoman's job of breaking it down in digestible chunks for virtually anyone to grasp the basic concepts of livin' la vida low-carb. Whether you are a low-carb expert or a novice, this one's WELL worth the read!
Lead researcher Dr. Kelvin Yamada, professor of Neurology at the St. Louis, MO-based Washington University School of Medicine, and his team of researchers found that the key to helping people with epilepsy the release of leptin brought about as a result of a ketogenic low-carb diet. The science is a bit complicated to follow, but the bottom line is livin' la vida low-carb was shown to help reduce the occurrence of seizures in laboratory rats.
One of the greatest low-carb resources on the Internet is the About.com Low-Carb Diets page from Laura Dolson. She works tirelessly to provide accurate, informative, and professional information regarding anything and everything that has to do with the low-carb lifestyle. I wanna be like Laura when I grow up! :)
Recently, Laura shared a post entitled "Seven Steps to Greater Carb Control" that is essential reading for anyone who thinks livin' la vida low-carb is an impossibility for them. It's amazing how making some very minor changes in your current habits can reap huge rewards in both your weight and health management. I know from talking to Laura that health is a HUGE part of everything she does, so take some advice from someone who has been there and cares.
Now that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has given the green light to low-carb for diabetics, it will be very interesting to see how many amazing stories of blood sugar control that start happening for people who will try this for perhaps the first time as a means for treating their diabetes. While the ADA is focused on the weight loss aspect of livin' la vida low-carb, it's what will happen as insulin production slows for Type 2 diabetics that will be the really fun thing to watch for.
Here's a quick excerpt, but be sure to read the whole column:
"I essentially eliminated refined carbs, such as white bread, white potatoes, rice, pasta, sweets, muffins, and starchy veggies. The result? My sugars indeed dropped. They were consistently lower, and my insulin doses dropped. Maybe best of all, I was no longer chasing high blood sugars - you know, the ones that come from refined carbs, where you just can't seem to knock them down all day. My Lantus dose went from 20 to 12.5 units, and my pre-meal Humalog was all but cut in half. The results were so dramatic and made my life so much easier that I never went back to my old ways."
Riva's story is merely the first in a long line of successes that are to come now the the ADA has given recognition and credence to the healthy low-carb lifestyle. If you have an amazing story you'd like to share about how low-carb has helped you control your diabetes, then please feel free to send it to me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. It's important for the ADA and other health entities like them to know that real people are getting healthy eating this way. THANKS for sharing!
I had the privilege of interviewing one of the most brilliant low-carb researchers in the world today in June 2006--Dr. Richard Feinman from the Brooklyn, NY-based SUNY Downstate. He told me in that interview that he believed the ADA was close to coming out in support of livin' la vida low-carb and 18 months later he was right!
As a strong advocate of the metabolic science behind low-carb living, we have seen Dr. Feinman challenge the status quo and now he's at it again on the popular diabetes and health web site called dLife.
In a guest column called "What if Saturated Fat is Not the Problem?" he shares about some of the latest research behind saturated fat to reveal it's not the public health menace we've all been led to believe. He notes this study from University of Connecticut researcher Dr. Jeff Volek that found a diet low in saturated fat actually increases saturated fat in the blood compared to a diet high in saturated fat. Counterintuitive? You betcha, but that's what the data shows.
Here's a taste of classic Feinman at his best:
"Carbohydrate, through its effect on insulin, is the key player. Insulin not only sweeps up glucose from the blood but it also plays air traffic controller, making the call as to whether that glucose is turned into fat or is used for energy. Most importantly, insulin determines what happens to dietary fat — whether it gets stored or oxidized for fuel. In fact, insulin has so much control over how dietary fat is metabolized that when levels of fat are measured in the blood, they are not strongly associated with a person's diet. In other words, one person who has a high intake of saturated fat may turn out to have a similar ratio of saturated to unsaturated fat in the blood as someone who consumes very little saturated fat."
There's plenty more nuggets of truth to chew on in Dr. Feinman's column, so read the entire thing, print it out, and give it to your doctor and anyone else whose health you care about. This is a subject that we've only just begun to scratch the surface on and will be at the center of debate in the months and years to come.
We often hear from all those so-called "experts" who tell us we need to create a calorie deficit in order to manage our weight. But those of us who consume a high-fat, low-carb diet with no regard for calories have always believed that theory was bogus--but we didn't really have any way to back it up other than our own personal experiences.
Allow me to introduce you to a Wisconsin man named Jeff. Over the course of 30 days during the entire month of December, he has conducted an experiment on his own body a la what Morgan Spurlock did in his Super Size Me movie. Jeff attempted to eat as many calories as he possibly could on his 169-pound frame to prove you can maintain your weight as long as you keep your carbohydrates reduced.
Check out his daily log of calories consumed and a list of the foods he ate to average a whopping 3822 calories for thirty days in a row! His high day was on Day 5 when he hit 4620 calories and his low day was on Day 30 when he only got to 2998--three-fourths of which was FAT! WOW! You go Jeff!!!
Conventional wisdom regarding calories would say that Jeff should have gained close to 14 pounds on this diet of his. But guess what? He didn't gain 14 pounds. He didn't even gain 10 pounds or even 5 pounds. The shocking result--HE MAINTAINED HIS WEIGHT!!! Incredible! I'd love to interview Jeff about his little experiment if someone who knows him will have him e-mail me. THANKS!
A friend of mine pointed me to a rather fascinating interview with Dr. Walter Willett, a nutrition expert from the Harvard School of Public Health. While I've both praised and been critical of Dr. Willett at my blog, I'm pleased to share this interview conducted by PBS and their "Frontline" program with you because it has some good information from this leading American health expert on a variety of subjects.
Yes, he still subscribes to the Ancel Keys theory regarding fat causing obesity among other things, there are moments during the interview that Dr. Willett comes to the defense of fat consumption and livin' la vida low-carb. Here are some of my favorite parts:
"The reality is that during this campaign for fat-free and reduced-fat products, actual fat consumption did go down, but Americans got much fatter during this period of time. Now of course lots of things were going on at the same period in time, but I think it's highly likely this focus only on fat calories to the neglect of carbohydrate calories has contributed to this epidemic of obesity." ********** "The evidence that we accrued really suggested not only that the type of advice that people were getting was not useful, but it actually could be dangerous, because some people were eliminating the very healthy types of fat that actually reduce heart disease rates." ********** "The thinking in nutrition about carbohydrates really had broken them down into two classes: sugars and so-called complex carbohydrates, which are mostly starches. The idea has been pushed that all forms of so-called complex carbohydrates are really the poster child of nutrients, and we should be eating them in large amounts. That's what the pyramid tells us to do. But in fact, these kinds of starches -- white bread, white rice, potatoes -- are starches that are very rapidly converted to glucose, really pure sugar, and almost instantly absorbed into the bloodstream. And these are the kinds of carbohydrates that we really should be minimizing in our diets." ********** "Actually, careful studies have shown, demonstrated that you get a bigger rise in blood sugar after eating potatoes, a baked potato, say, than you do from eating pure table sugar. Really." ********** "First of all, when the blood sugar goes skyrocketing up, the body wants to bring it back down. So our pancreas pumps out a big blast of insulin, and as a result, the blood sugar comes crashing down rapidly. In fact, in many people, after three and four hours, it overshoots and actually become a little hypoglycemic, and that rapid crashing down of blood glucose and insulin stimulates hunger. That would be no problem, except that it's often all too easy to go in the refrigerator or find a snack, and if we do that frequently throughout the day, that can add up to too many calories over weeks and months and years, and contribute to obesity.
Second, these high rises in blood glucose and insulin have a bad metabolic effect on the blood cholesterol fractions. Specifically the HDL, the good cholesterol, is driven down, and triglycerides, another type of fat in the blood that leads to heart attacks, goes up.
Third, after many years of demand for high amounts of insulin, the pancreas tends to give out. And at that point in time, we've got type 2 diabetes." ********** "Interestingly, in traditional Asian societies, people were very lean, very active, and therefore had low insulin resistance. They could eat large amounts of rice, even white rice, in the diet and have low heart attack rates and have low rates of type 2 diabetes. But if you take that same person, and they [now] may be living in Beijing and driving a car and watching a television, and they put on a few pounds, they're going to have much more insulin resistance. So if you take that same diet, high in carbohydrate and white rice, they will have a much worse metabolic response and much higher rates of type 2 diabetes." ********** "If you're overweight and living in the United States, and you go to a hospital and see a dietician, almost for sure, you're going to be put on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet." ********** "Dr. Atkins was saying as much as 30 years ago, that if we reduce our carbohydrate intake to quite low levels, that will make it easier to control our caloric intake and thus promote weight loss. As it turns out, there is a strong element of truth in that. A number of studies in the last year have looked in a very careful way, comparing low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets with reduced-carbohydrate diets, and in general people have done better on the reduced-carbohydrate diets in terms of their weight."
This was one incredible interview and I hope you take the time to read it all for yourself! While Dr. Willett is certainly no low-carb champion, he at least understands the mechanism behind why it works for those of us who choose it to manage our weight and health. This is something more health experts should get in the habit of doing.
Got some low-carb news you wanna share with me? I'm always happy to hear from my readers, so don't hesitate to e-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
Has the American Diabetes Association endorsed the Atkins diet?
We've heard a growing undercurrent of rumblings over the past month or so that the all-powerful American Diabetes Association (ADA) is FINALLY beginning to consider giving credence to low-carb diets as a means for diabetics to control their health. Much anticipation has been steadily building among supporters of livin' la vida low-carb that perhaps maybe, just maybe, a major breakthrough could be happening within one of the most influential health institutions in the United States upon the release of their new dietary recommendations scheduled for Friday, December 28, 2007.
First to the good news. After years of failing to even acknowledge that low-carb diets like Atkins were an option for people with diabetes to consider, the ADA released their 2008 Clinical Practice Recommendations used by diabetes health providers in helping their patients adequately treat their disease and stated that low-carb diets are now indeed a strategic method for producing weight loss. This comes after years of pushing a monopolistic high-carb, low-fat diet as the ONLY nutritional approach for diabetics to follow in order to control their weight and health despite the fact that carbohydrates have been known to raise blood sugar levels and spike insulin production--two things you try to avoid when treating diabetes.
Now, as I suggested earlier this year, low-carb diets will be promoted alongside low-fat ones to give people a choice about which one will work best for them. The one-size-fits-all mode of thinking within the ADA is now history and now diabetics who have not yet been exposed to the joy of the low-carb lifestyle could very well find this way of eating suits them perfectly.
This is pretty huge news not just for diabetics, but for anyone who needed to know that low-carb is not the dangerous "fad" diet that it has been made out to be! While the preponderance of the evidence from the research community has continued to pour in over the past few years in support of controlled-carbohydrate diets (we'll examine some of it in just a moment), it's a major announcement that a group like the ADA would step outside the conventional wisdom of the day and make these kinds of changes within the language of their recommendations--much to the chagrin of the other self-appointed dietary gods telling us how to eat for our health.
Don't you know the powers that be over at the American Medical Association (AMA), American Heart Association (AHA), Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have got to be beside themselves today because the ADA has basically chopped off the legs on their crumbling low-fat diet scheme that has lasted untouched for the past three decades? If a health organization like the ADA gives ANY credence to livin' la vida low-carb, then it forces the hand of those other groups to follow suit in like manner.
If the AMA, AHA, FDA, and USDA do not fall into line with these same recommendations themselves, then the American people will begin to question exactly who is lying to them. As long as they were all on the same page touting the same old low-fat mantra, then everything was hunky dory and the bamboozle could continue. But obesity has gotten worse, Type 2 diabetes is way out of control, and preventable disease is all around us despite the heavy promotion of the great and mighty low-fat diet.
I want to publicly applaud the ADA for being the first to break ranks with the establishment and realizing that the health of diabetics is much more important than preserving a failing dietary philosophy that has been a decisive abomination for the vast majority of people who have tried it. The time is ripe as we enter a new year for another alternative to be given an opportunity and low-carb fits the bill perfectly.
But...
As much as I'd like to be overjoyed by the ADA's decision to add low-carb diets to their recommendations for diabetics, I cannot. Why? Because rather than looking at all the studies that have come out, especially in the past year or so, showing the vast improvements in insulin control, A1c levels, blood sugar stabilization, lipid profile, and other key health indicators with a low-carb diet, the ADA has made this change based solely on weight loss over the short term.
They have taken the very small handful of studies showing low-carb is as effective as low-fat for shedding pounds over a one-year span like this one published in JAMA out of Stanford University in March 2007. And because some people can stick with a low-carb diet better than they can a low-fat one (AMEN!), the ADA says diabetics should pick the one that suits them best to bring about the same weight loss result. Sounds logical, right? Not exactly because they still don't acknowledge an important part of livin' la vida low-carb--the health improvements that happen exclusive of weight loss.
Wanna see some of these studies for yourself? Check them out:
This doesn't even count all the research that shows how unhealthy eating the traditional high-carb, low-fat diet can be for your health. Here are just a few examples of this:
There's plenty more research I could present in favor of low-carb diets for improving health as well as how high-carb, low-fat diets can be detrimental to your health. But it's out there for anyone willing to open their eyes and see it. Livin' la vida low-carb is about so much more than just weight loss. It is indeed the healthiest way to eat which is my primary reason for supporting it today.
Yes, I lost 180 pounds on the Atkins diet and it has done a wonderful job of helping me maintain that triple-digit weight loss for the past four years. But more than that, my health did a complete turnaround and I shudder to think what it would look like today had I not started on the low-carb lifestyle. Heart attack, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, or even death was probably in the cards for me and low-carb REVERSED that trend completely. I'm healthy and that's all that matters!
And for people who already have diabetes, livin' la vida low-carb gives them a chance to not only shed a few pounds but to find a diet that would allow them to control their blood sugars and insulin levels naturally with little to no use of diabetes drugs or insulin. Why would you want to continue taking drugs and insulin when you could quite possibly eliminate them from your life by eating a low-carb diet? Why indeed!
Albright supports low-carb for weight loss, not health
Dr. Ann Albright, president of Health Care & Education at the ADA and a Type 1 diabetic herself, said they now realize that people need "realistic ways to lose weight" and livin' la vida low-carb is certainly part of that equation.
"The evidence is clear that both low-carbohydrate and low-fat calorie restricted diets result in similar weight loss at one year. We’re not endorsing either of these weight-loss plans over any other method of losing weight," she said in a statement. "What we want health care providers to know is that it’s important for patients to choose a plan that works for them, and that the health care team support their patients’ weight loss efforts and provide appropriate monitoring of patients’ health."
All I can say is WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME! This is precisely the message I've been sharing with people for nearly three years since I've been blogging and I'm glad the ADA understands that individualization of a diet program that works is what low-carb supporters want. We're not trying to eradicate the low-fat diet if that way of eating is helping someone bring their weight and health under control. On the contrary, we've been supportive of people finding what works for them and then doing it.
If that means a low-carb diet, then so be it. There shouldn't be any judgment placed on those of us who choose to eat this way. Irresponsible comments about low-carb describing it as a "dangerous" diet that can "kill you" needs to stop because that is simply hyperbolized conjecture in a civilized discussion of proper nutrition. This open dialog begun by the ADA today needs to trickle down not just to the health care providers, but also to government officials in charge of health policy, journalists who wield influence through the use of their public platform, and all the so-called health "experts" who have been railing against livin' la vida low-carb for years.
Of course, Dr. Albright continues the scaremongering hyperbole that has run rampant about low-carb living by warning any diabetics who use a low-carb diet about their cholesterol going up. Um, hello, I'd be willing to bet that people who follow an organized low-carb plan like the Atkins diet will see their triglycerides fall below 100 and their HDL "good" cholesterol rise to above 50. It's the tell-tale sign that someone is on a low-carb diet and studies have shown these are better markers for cardiovascular health than LDL and total cholesterol.
She also adds that since "high protein diets may also worsen kidney problems," anyone with kidney disease should talk to their doctor about watching their protein intake. Again, what's this all about? How many people actually have a kidney issue, Dr. Albright, hmmmm? Obviously anyone making ANY dietary changes should talk to their doctor first to make sure there are underlying problems they need to be aware of.
And that includes going on a low-fat diet. Are we worried about people who produce high levels of insulin going on a high-carb, low-fat diet in the same manner that we show concern over people with kidney issues going on a low-carb diet? Not hardly. And yet I would argue there's more concern over the former than there is the latter, so let's keep our priorities straight, shall we?
Additionally, a low-carb diet need not be high in protein as is often claimed by those who oppose this way of eating. In fact, my own diet is very heavy in fat, even saturated fat, with nearly 65-70 percent of my calorie consumption coming from this macronutrient. Protein has been around 20-25 percent up until the past few weeks when I began resistance training and upped it to around 30-35 percent. Carbs are kept to a minimum around single digits.
Like clockwork, Dr. Albright also cautions about weight loss being sustainable by stating that "what is most important for health is keeping the weight off long-term." ABSOLUTELY, Dr. Albright, I couldn't agree with you more which is why I have chosen to continue with my low-carb diet for the past four years and counting to improve my health. It's the best thing I could have ever done for my weight and health and I'll never regret it!
Stuck in the sound bytes that seem to pervade most health leaders these days, Dr. Albright makes sure we don't forsake the need for getting proper exercise while eating a low-calorie diet.
"We also want to continue to emphasize the importance of regular physical activity, both to aid weight loss from calorie-restricted diets, and also for the positive health gains associated with exercise that are independent of weight loss," she exclaimed.
True enough, exercise is important, but there should be more specific instructions provided for what this means. What kind of physical activity, how vigorous should the workouts be, how often should you do it, how long does it need to be in order to produce results, and what ratio of cardio/resistance training is necessary? None of these are addressed by the ADA or most other health organizations when they put out these recommendations. They just assume people inherently KNOW what to do.
It's like the silly notion that we always hear from the "experts" to just eat a healthy diet and exercise. WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN?! People need to be educated with specifics about what constitutes a healthy diet and what kind of exercise is beneficial for various aspects of weight and health management. Obviously anything is better than nothing, but people need to be guided about what to do.
To see the ADA's 2008 Clinical Practice Recommendations for yourself, it will be published on the Diabetes.org web site in January 2008 (or you can pay to see them right now at Diabetes Care). You can also request a copy by e-mailing the ADA at AskADA@diabetes.org or by calling 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Regardless, let them hear from you about what you think of their new recommendations for diabetics. And feel free to share your reaction to their focus on weight loss rather than health with livin' la vida low-carb. Are they still missing the boat?
"Carbohydrate restriction and the resulting control of insulin secretion is much more than weight loss," she wrote. "It’s not the weight-it’s the metabolic state your body is in, that generates disease or well-being. I suppose we'll have to wait another 5-10 years before the ADA catches up with the rest of the science."
Maybe not, Dr. Vernon, if enough of us voice our sincere concerns and opinions to the ADA, our representatives at both the state and federal level, our doctors, and in letters to the editor at our local newspapers. We have a unified voice with a message backed up by the data, but the question remains whether we will choose to use it or not. Our silence has long been interpreted that we accept what we've been told is true. Is that the message you want to be making?
Dr. Jeff Volek says controlling insulin is vital to blood lipids
A little over two years ago, I shared with you this study on the connection between metabolic syndrome and livin' la vida low-carb. The researchers were Dr. Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut and Dr. Richard Feinman from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY and they were absolutely fascinated by the rather obvious intertwining of a natural dietary approach like low-carb improving virtually every single area of metabolic syndrome (a precursor to diabetes, heart disease and stroke), including obesity, high triglycerides, low HDL "good" cholesterol, high blood sugar, hypertension and insulin resistance.
Now there is brand new research from these same two researchers with something quite startling regarding a comparison between a low-fat and a low-carb diet as it relates to inflammation and saturated fat in the bloodstream.
Lead researcher Dr. Jeff S. Volek, PhD, RD from the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Connecticut and his team of outstanding researchers (including Dr. Feinman, Dr. Stephen Phinney, and the soon-to-be Dr. Cassandra Forsythe, among others) tested the various components of metabolic syndrome comparing a carbohydrate-restricted diet with a low-fat diet in overweight men and women over a 12-week period. The study participants were split into one of two groups:
VLCKD (very low-carb ketogenic diet)--1504 calories Fat/Protein/Carbohydrate ratio of 59/28/12
OR
LFD (low-fat diet)--1478 calories Fat/Protein/Carbohydrate ration of 24/20/56
What did Dr. Volek and his team of researchers find?
Total saturated fatty acids in the blood actually DECREASED in the VLCKD group while the anti-inflammatory markers also "significantly decreased." Meanwhile, the LFD group, which consumed two-thirds less saturated fat than the VLCKD group, saw an INCREASE in total saturated fat in the bloodstream despite reducing fat intake.
This was totally unexpected as the conventional wisdom regarding saturated fat consumption is that it causes an increase in inflammation which leads to a worsening of the metabolic syndrome conditions and overall health. But that's not what happened.
"A very low carbohydrate diet resulted in profound alterations in fatty acid composition and reduced inflammation compared to a low fat diet," the researchers concluded.
So what are we to make of this research in light of all we've ever been told about saturated fat? Doctors and nutritionists have long told their patients with metabolic syndrome symptoms to eat a low-fat diet and now science like this one is showing the shortsightedness of this unproven recommendation. Livin' la vida low-carb is making great strides behind-the-scenes because it is an excellent way to reduce triglycerides and other essential health markers related to inflammation.
Dr. Volek says this new study shows how a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach is "adding to the evolving picture of improvement in general health beyond simple weight loss in keeping blood glucose and insulin under control." And he believes this hyperinsulinemia is the root cause behind obesity, diabetes, and a whole host of other preventable diseases that all improve with the use of a low-carb diet.
Interestingly, the Volek study in Lipids is only a small portion of a much larger study currently under peer review. The full study shows even more improvements in blood lipids (cholesterol) with the stunning conclusion that "lowering total and saturated fat only had a small effect on circulating inflammatory markers whereas reducing carbohydrate led to considerably greater reductions in a number of pro-inflammatory" markers. Dr. Volek says this puts the onus of health risks back on the consumption of carbohydrates.
"These data implicate dietary carbohydrate rather than fat as a more significant nutritional factor contributing to inflammatory processes," he stated.
Meanwhile, Richard Feinman, PhD from the biochemistry department at SUNY Downstate Medical Center says this new research demonstrably shows why carb-restricted diets work so remarkably well.
"The real importance of diets that lower carbohydrate content is that they are grounded in mechanism: carbohydrates stimulate insulin secretion which biases fat metabolism towards storage rather than oxidation," Dr. Feinman explained. "The inflammation results open a new aspect of the problem. From a practical standpoint, continued demonstrations that carbohydrate restriction is more beneficial than low fat could be good news to those wishing to forestall or manage the diseases associated with metabolic syndrome."
Most damning against the low-fat diet hypothesis is the fact that although there was a three-fold higher saturated fat consumption by the VLCKD group, it was the LFD group that experienced higher saturated fat in the blood. Counterintuitive? You betcha!
"This clearly shows the limitations of the idea that ‘you are what you eat,'" Dr. Volek explained. "Metabolism plays a big role. You are what your body does with what you eat."
I like that--YOU ARE WHAT YOUR BODY DOES WITH WHAT YOU EAT! And that's why I'm livin' la vida low-carb because I have all the confidence in the world with what my body will do with the low-carb foods I consume. Controlled blood sugar and insulin levels, reduced triglycerides, lower blood pressure, increased HDL "good" cholesterol, and so much more than I could have ever expected from a high-fat, low-carb diet. It's hard not to appreciate something like this when your life has been so radically changed for the better. Now the research is showing us why.
Dr. Feinman succinctly repeated and summarized what I blogged about in this previous post regarding saturated fat consumption on the low-carb lifestyle in the following statement about this new study.
"I think even if you allow for tremendous error, it says that if carbs are low, saturated fat doesn't have much effect on the plasma composition," he remarked.
And that is why I don't worry about how much saturated fat I consume as long as my carbs are reduced. Now we have the science to back us up!
You can share your appreciation to Dr. Jeff Volek for his fantastic research by e-mailing him at jeff.volek@uconn.edu as well as Dr. Richard Feinman at rfeinman@downstate.edu.
