What's Going On Right Now In The Low-Carb World?

Hey there healthy living enthusiasts and thanks for being here for all the latest news and updates about the incredible and miraculous low-carb lifestyle. Sometimes there's so much going on that you may not have heard about that I have to lump it all together in one big blog post for you like I'm gonna do today.

So many stories, so little time--so let's get started! Here are ten hot stories going on right now in the low-carb world:

1. FDA IS STILL GIVING THE SUPPLEMENT STEVIA A HARD TIME

There's a hotly-contested battle going on right now between health advocates like those of us following the low-carb lifestyle and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) over the issue of the supplement stevia. This Organic Consumers Association story explains how the FDA has taken a hard line against the plant-based sweetening agent stevia by not allowing manufacturers to call it a sweetener along the lines of Splenda, Equal, and Sweet N' Low. I've blogged about this battle over whether it's a supplement or a sweetener before and I was hoping the presence of a big name manufacturer like The Coca-Cola Company in the stevia standoff would help soften the acceptability of stevia as a sweetener. It doesn't appear that way yet, but the winds of change may be blowing in the direction of sweetener soon enough if Coke has its way.

2. ORIGINAL BIGGEST LOSER RYAN BENSON GAINS BACK HIS WEIGHT

The success of the hit NBC television weight loss reality show "The Biggest Loser" all started back in 2004 when Ryan Benson was crowned the very first winner of the show by losing 100 pounds. What you may not know is the extent to which he put his body through in order to lose those last few pounds before the final weigh-in. He candidly shared the drastic measures he took in those days before the finale at his his MySpace page. Have you heard about this? Here's a quote from his journal:

"I wanted to win so bad that the last ten days before the final weigh-in I didn't eat one piece of solid food! If you've heard of 'The Master Cleanse' that's what I did. Its basically drinking lemonade made with water, fresh squeezed lemon juice, pure maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The rules of the show said we couldn't use any weight-loss drugs, well I didn't take any drugs, I just starved myself! Twenty-four hours before the final weigh-in I stopped putting ANYTHING in my body, liquid or solid, then I started using some old high school wrestling tricks. I wore a rubber suit while jogging on the treadmill, and then spent a lot of time in the steam room. In the final 24 hours I probably dropped 10-13 lbs in just pure water weight. By the time of the final weigh-in I was peeing blood."

HOLY CRAP! Although he says he has not suffered any ill effects to his health from this, he has put back on the weight and did so rather quickly after winning the $1 million prize for being "The Biggest Loser."

"In the five days after the show was over I gained about 32 lbs. Not from eating, just from getting my system back to normal (mostly re-hydrating myself). So in five days I was back up to 240 – crazy!"

But Ryan did share some real nuggets of truth about maintaining your weight after weight loss that give me hope he will know what to do this time after he reaches goal.

"Maintaining weight loss for me was obviously much harder – as seen in the fact that I have gained weight. Weight loss and maintenance are both the same thing – a complete change in your frame of mind. For many years I have always thought "If I can just lose the weight then I can eat anything I want." Unfortunately this isn't true, you have to keep a similar mind set whether you are losing weight or maintaining weight loss."

Maybe I was wrong when I said that the show was not creating unreasonable weight loss expectations in the contestants. I'm sure Ryan Benson was not alone in the lose-at-any-cost mentality that money can force them into doing. Does it make you as sick to your stomach as it does mine to hear about this?

When I won that local radio weight loss contest back in 2004, the worst thing I did was not eat all day long on the day of the weigh-in. And I thought I was being a rebel doing that! Of course, I ate like a madman when the contest was over and I had won. But I don't think a "Master Cleanse" would have been a consideration for me. EEEEK!

3. THIS IS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST DIET COMMENTARIES I'VE EVER READ!

This Lawrence (KS) Journal World & News column will absolutely speak for itself. If you've ever been on a diet (ANY DIET), then this will make your day. ENJOY!

4. DR. JONNY BOWDEN BUSTS UP 7 COMMON NUTRITIONAL MYTHS

Friend and fellow health advocate Dr. Jonny Bowden, author of two fantastic books that should be on the shelf of every low-carber--Living The Low-Carb Life and The 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth--has penned an absolutely brilliant column for iVillage.com entitled "7 Nutrition Myths Busted" that will shed some light on some of the dogmatic statements we hear so often from the so-called health "experts." Here's what Jonny lines up and shoots down one-by-one:

1. The food pyramid is for everyone.
2. There is a perfect diet that will work for everyone.
3. All low-carb diets are like the Atkins Diet.
4. Stress does not make you fat.
5. Metabolisms are all pretty similar.
6. Blood type does not make a difference.
7. A balanced diet will provide you with everything you need.

See what Dr. Bowden has to say about each one of these. You'll be pleasantly surprised! :D

5. US NEWS & WORLD REPORT ENDORSES LIVIN' LA VIDA LOW-CARB?

So I'm flipping through the September 27, 2007 issue of the magazine US News & World Report when I see an article called "Health Tip: Considering Low-Carb?" and my eyes are drawn to it for obvious reasons. It's a quickie four-sentence blurb about what people who are considering low-carb need to do if they choose this diet plan. WHOA! This just goes to show you that at least for one major publishing outlet, they've taken on the old adage if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Low-carb ain't going anywhere, so they might as well tell people about it! WOO HOO!

6. OMEGA 3 FATS REDUCES RISK OF TYPE 1 DIABETES IN KIDS, STUDY SHOWS

An exciting new study published in the September 26, 2007 issue of Journal Of The American Medical Association found that kids who consume more omega 3-rich fatty acids from such low-carb foods as flax seeds, walnuts, fish oil, canola oil, tuna, mackerel, sardines, salmon, bluefish, swordfish and free range eggs have a reduced chance of having Type 1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes). Get the full scoop about this exciting new regarding fat consumption for kids at the About.com Diabetes web site. I personally love my salmon, walnuts, and fish oil supplements. Free range eggs are still a bit out of my price range right now, but I'd get 'em in a heartbeat if money was no option.

7. IF YOU WANT TO THINK FASTER, THEN YOU NEED TO EAT MORE CARBS, STUDY SUGGESTS

Did you read about the study claiming a low-carb diet slows down cognitive function? Yep, these Australian nimwits at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization-Human Nutrition contend that "very low carbohydrate diets may offer less benefit than a high carbohydrate diet for improving cognitive function." Oh really? You might want to pick up a copy of Dr. Larry McCleary's outstanding new book called The Brain Trust Program about the BENEFIT to brain health that a ketogenic (low-carb) diet has. This conclusion that people need to "eat more carbs" was extrapolated by one of the researcher from this study I recently highlighted. In a word: WRONG-O!

8. BARILLA PASTA COMPANY STANDS BEHIND THEIR THRASHING OF LOW-CARB

To follow-up on a previous blog post where I suggested the whole wheat pasta company Barilla may not be a friend of the low-carber may just happen to be true. After seeing this link about the "dangers of low-carb diets," an e-mail was sent to the company challenging their opinion about livin' la vida low-carb and requesting clarification about why they believe low-carb is dangerous.

Here's how a company spokesperson responded:

Thank you for sharing your point of view on our website content.

We want to assure you that Barilla takes the issue of nutrition and health of our consumers very seriously. As such, we would never publish erroneous information. All of the low-carb diet information on our website comes from notable nutrition, medical and/or research experts and is footnoted with the specific resource. The information is posted on our site to merely present facts to help consumers make their own educated decision on how they eat.

We wish you all the best.

Thank you,

Consumer Relations
Barilla America, Inc.

Okay, but what about all the FACTS about how healthy a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach can be not only for weight management, but also for controlling many aspects of health, too, Barilla? If you're about helping educate consumers, then perhaps you should learn the fine art of sharing ALL the information and putting it out there on the table. Of course, you can't do that because your products, even the whole wheat pastas, are NOT healthy for people on a low-carb diet.

And even if they were marginally good, your utter disdain for those of us who choose to live this lifestyle makes me want to spend my hard-earned money elsewhere. Can you say Dreamfields anyone? :P

9. NUTRITIONDATA.COM CREATES A DIETING & WEIGHT LOSS CENTER

When you have time to check it out, there's an exciting new resource for people losing weight called the "Dieting & Weight Loss Center" brought to you by NutritionData.com. It's not all explicitly low-carb (as you will quickly notice by all the annoying Alli ads when you go there, but it's just another place for information about diet and health that you may want to take a look at. They were nice enough to link to my blog, so apparently they don't mind sharing a variety of voices on the subject. :)

10. GERMAN RESEARCHERS SAY CUT THE SUGAR, EXTEND YOUR LIFE BY 25%

Finally, I've got an exciting new study to share with you that was published in the October 3, 2007 issue of Cell Metabolism. Read the recap about the study in this Reuters story about how researchers in Germany restricted sugar intake in worms and they lived to be 25% older than those worms that consumed sugar. The only thing that irked me about the study was when one of the researchers said that the "body needs glucose (sugar/carbs)" which is not true as I have previously blogged about. I have a feeling that somewhere today Connie Bennett has got to be smiling. ;)

So there you have it! Ten scrumptious low-carb stories for you to chew on to start your week off right. Feel free to comment on any or all of them in the comments section below. THANKS for reading and I look forward to your reactions!

Web Site Busts The Myths About Low-Carb

One of my blogging friends--Carol Bardelli from the "Kudos For Low-Carb" blog--sent me a link to a web site the other day that is a wealth of information about livin' la vida low-carb that goes through what the author Kent R. Rieske describes as the "Nutritional Myths, Distortions and Lies That Will Destroy Your Health."

"This web site will prove that eating red meat and natural animal fats while restricting carbohydrates is not only healthy but will prevent and cure many diseases," Rieske boasts on his web site.

WOW! What a way to start! Just reading that statement alone made me excited about reading on. Let me warn you--it's a VERY long web site, but chock full of scientific studies, statistics, and other evidence supporting the thesis that a low-carb diet is "healthy." If you can't handle the truth, then come back when you can.

Check out this comment made on the site about the Food Pyramid.

"Warning! This diet will cause many diseases when eaten for 20 years," referring to the 60% carbohyrate, 30% fat, and 10% protein diet recommended by government health leaders.

But it's not just Rieske's opinions--you get links to the studies that back up everything he's saying and it is written in a very compelling format and style. I LOVE this guy and he did an excellent job presenting all the information in one place.

There's so much to absorb from this site that you'll spend hours scouring through all the information. Much of it centers around busting the following health myths in an intelligent and thorough manner:

Myth No. 1 - Saturated Animal Fats Cause Heart Disease and Cancer.

Myth No. 2 - Carbohydrates are Healthy and Needed for Energy.

Myth No. 3 - Fiber is Healthy and Required in the Diet.

Myth No. 4 - Red Meat Like Beef, Lamb and Pork is Unhealthy.

Myth No. 5 - Organic Fruits, Vegetables, Eggs & Meat More Healthy.

Myth No. 6 - Cholesterol Causes Heart Disease.

Myth No. 7 - Dietary Protein Requirement is 10% on a Calorie Basis.

Myth No. 8 - Dietary Fat Should Be No More Than 30% of Calories.

Myth No. 9 - Soy Products are Healthy Foods.

Myth No. 10 - Omega-6 Vegetable, Seed and Nut Oils are Healthy.

Bonus Myth No. 11 - People Are All Different.

We all owe our sincerest gratitude to Kent Rieske for putting together this impressive low-carb information site. Send Kent your thanks by e-mailing him at RieskeKR@aol.com.

Don't miss the following eye-opening links towards the end of the page: "Drugs and Doctors May be the Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S.," "Why Most Published Research Findings Are False," and "Pharmaceutical firms are inventing diseases to sell more drugs." Like I said, HOURS upon HOURS of low-carb lovin' facts that'll arm you for ANYTHING the low-fatties will ever throw at you!

'Fatty Liver' Made Worse By A Low-Fat, Not Low-Carb Diet

A "fatty liver" like this not caused by fat, but rather carb intake

I just love bringing up common myths about livin' la vida low-carb and shooting them down with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If we are ever going to convince people that this way of eating is indeed the healthy nutritional approach that we claim it is, then educating them over and over again with solid evidence until it finally sinks in should be our life's mission. It's my distinct pleasure to do just that on a daily basis!

Such is the case today with an issue I've never really addressed before in the more than 1700 blog posts I have written over the past two years. But a recent e-mail from a reader has given me the perfect opportunity to address this issue directly and provide some useful information for you, a friend, or family member who may have similar concerns.

Here's what my reader wrote to me in her e-mail:

I am concerned about my "fatty liver" problem. I've contacted several people about this, but I haven't gotten a response. Can you help me? My doctor tells me it's not a big deal, but my liver function tests keep coming back elevated. Of course, his recommendation is for me to go on a low-fat diet. Now I'm very confused. I do best on the low-carb lifestyle, but I'm scared that I will damage my liver eating this way. With all the people you know, has anyone ever talked about a "fatty liver" being a side effect of low-carbing?

The dreaded "fatty liver" issue certainly deserves some quality space here at my blog and I'm happy to share what I know about this very serious medical condition.

For those of you who are not familiar with what this is, a "fatty liver" is known in medical circles as Non-Alcoholic Steatosis, aka non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which can then lead to a much more serious medical problem called cirrhosis which is the precursor to liver failure. If your liver shuts down, then you need a transplant ASAP or you will die.

Currently, nearly one-fourth of Americans are believed to have a "fatty liver" and it occurs most often in males who are obese and/or diabetic. It is estimated that by the year 2020 non-alcoholic liver failure will be the #1 reason for liver transplants in the United States. But the sad part is liver donations are in short supply which makes them very expensive to obtain. Plus there may not be enough to meet the rising demand.

This possible life-threatening health issue needs to be taken more seriously if we are going to prevent certain catastrophe from happening in a little more than a decade from now. What's amazing is the fact that a "fatty liver" is actually made worse not by the consumption of the much-vilified saturated fat (no, contrary to popular belief, a "fatty liver" is not created by fat consumption), but rather with something even more devious and dangerous to your health--CARBOHYDRATES!

Specifically, I'm referring to those starchy high-carb foods like those cereals being touted for weight loss and other such crazy whole grain products that have been heavily marketed to the public as "healthy." Even the popular and convenient cereal bars are destructive to your health no matter what their manufacturers tell you is good about them in their advertising.

Interestingly, a study by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that the traditional high-carb, low-fat diet recommendation for obese patients suffering from a "fatty liver" actually INCREASES their risk of liver inflammation SEVEN-FOLD compared to the obese patients placed on a low-carb, high-fat diets which were actually found to be "protective" and even reversed the progression of the "fatty liver." WHOA, that's a major finding!

These "fatty" deposits on the liver can indeed be improved by simply lowering the insulin levels in the body. How do you do that? By lowering your consumption of refined carbohydrates like you do when you are livin' la vida low-carb. Cut out the sugar, refined carbohydrates, and bleached flour from your diet. In fact, any foods containing added sugars and even those so-called healthy whole grains should be removed from your diet. Don't get fooled into thinking you can have them just because they are promoted as "healthy." Clearly, they are NOT!

It's a good idea to do this recommendation regardless of why you are livin' la vida low-carb, but make sure to eat protein with every meal you consume throughout the day. Consult with your physician or dietitian about what amount would be best for you in treating your "fatty liver."

For more info, check out these studies on low-carb diets and a "fatty liver":

- The Effect of a Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Pilot Study
- The fat-derived hormone adiponectin alleviates alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases in mice
- Dietary Composition and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Metabolic Syndrome in Patients With NAFLD
- The effect of a low-carbohydrate diet on the nonalcoholic fatty liver in morbidly obese patients before bariatric surgery

So, to my reader who was concerned about causing damage to her liver with a low-carb diet because she has a "fatty liver," I think the better question she and others with NAFLD should be asking themselves is how much damage is that high-carb, low-fat diet recommended by her doctor to treat this condition harming her, hmmm? There's some food for thought!