Sunday, 28 October 2007

• Pass Me Some Lard. Please...

  Angi1972 commented me yesterday, asking if I had saved some of my birthday cake for breakfast. It made me laugh, as we had discussed the joys of having birthday cake for breakfast some time ago. It used to be one of my favorite things to indulge in the morning after a birthday, as gross as it may sound to some. I commented Angi back, and let her in on a little secret: I didn’t have birthday cake at all for my birthday.

  Now, before you feel pity for me, I must tell you that this was by choice. As a matter of fact, since July 6^th of this year, I haven’t touched sugar, flour, starchy vegetables, or processed foods of any kind. That’s right, no bread, potatoes, sweets, rice, tortillas, or the like for almost 4 months. Instead I’ve been eating a lot of beef/steak (with the fat), chicken (with the skin), pork, butter, heavy cream, non-starchy vegetables, and on occasion some fresh berries. I eat when I am hungry, and I never starve. And guess what? I’ve lost 25 pounds. And that’s a good thing, since I was turning into quite the heifer over the last year or so. I’m not done yet with the weight loss, but I know one thing for sure: even if I never lost another pound I would continue eating this way anyhow. Do I miss the things I do not eat now? Not once after the first two weeks of eating this way.

  My sister said it the best a few days ago, “You just glow since you’ve started this eating plan!” And I do, I think. I feel so much better! No more mid-afternoon crashes where I’d have to lie down to nap because my eyes wouldn’t stay open (hypoglycemia/pre-diabetes in action). My energy level has skyrocketed. My kids have been sick, and I usually follow close behind, catching whatever ick they have. Not this time! I’m well, and I attribute my boosted immune system to the way I have been eating…this low carbohydrate lifestyle I’ve adopted.

  I’ve already had people tell me that this way of eating will make me sick, possibly kill me. I just smile and tell them I know better, and that I now have a better chance of outliving my peers who eat a low fat, high carb diet. Not only that, but my triglycerides are great, my blood pressure is well within normal range (it was pushing high before), and my blood sugar has stabilized.

  How can this be? Aren’t we all told that we should be basing our diets on mostly breads, cereals, and grains, and avoiding fats, according to the USDA’s Food Pyramid in order to be healthy and try to prevent this obesity epidemic that is sweeping our nation?

  

  Yep, that’s what they tell us. But guess what? They are lying to us, and perpetuating this false information for the sake of the almighty dollars they line their pockets with, and in the meantime their sage advice is making our nation sick, and really fat. Scientists have twisted the results of their research and studies to support their hypotheses, never daring to go against the big businesses that fund their research. Sounds like a conspiracy theory, you say? Hmm, well, it would, if it were a theory.

  Gary Taubes, an award winning science journalist, has recently come out with a book entitled Good Calories, Bad Calories that he spent 7 years researching. The result is an eye opening plethora of information about the (bad) science behind the Low Fat Diet advice that’s been pushed on us for the last 30 years, and the science behind a healthy low carbohydrate diet. It’s not a diet book, and it’s not light reading, but if you care about your health, and the health of your loved ones, you need to read it. Truly.

  

  Since I have no intention of writing a book of my own right here, right now, I will close this post with the first part of a major challenge (get ready my Scurvy Dogs and Salty Wenches!) I will be announcing soon…though this will not be the last time I speak about this topic.

  If you are overweight (and even if you are lean), or Type II diabetic, or are on statins to lower cholesterol, or have heart disease or high blood pressure, a low carbohydrate diet may be worth looking into. Many, many people who have changed their way of eating over to a low carb diet have found that they are able to lower their dosages of medication (under their doctor’s supervision), or are able to go off of meds entirely. Yes, even some Type II diabetics have been able to stop using insulin. Too good to be true? It’s not, trust me.

  So, the first part of the challenge is to go to the following links and read. If you find the information intriguing, get to a library, or a book store, and pick up Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution by Dr. Atkins, and Protein Power by Dr. Michael R. Eades and Dr. Mary Dan Eades.

  What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?

  Do We Really Know What Makes Us Healthy?

  Does Exercise Make Us Thinner?

  The Soft Science of Dietary Fat

  Protein Power

  Dr. Michael Eades Blog

  Dr. Barry Groves

  Livin' La Vida Low-Carb

  And below is a representation of the things I eat now, replacing the USDA Food Pyramid with this new and improved version:

  
  

  Do you have any questions, concerns, or anything you’d like to debate with me about low carb diets? If so, please leave it in a comment, and I will answer you in my next post (or in my comments here, so check back).

  Next time I’ll tell you what the turning point was for me to start following this way of eating. Stay tuned!

  ---

  
  ETA: I'd just like to address a comment from franksabunch here (my responses in yellow):
  
  I commend you on your determination to lose weight (I would be in ecstatic if just 5% of my patients lost weight when I asked them to).
  
  Thanks so much! Patients? Are you a doctor, or what, if I may ask?
  
  The problem with low carb diets is--as with all "fad" diets--that they are difficult to sustain.
  
  A low carbohydrate diet is not a fad diet. Low carb was around long before the idea that dietary fat and cholesterol had anything to do with heart disease (which it does not). If you have not heard of William Banting and his Letter on Corpulance from the mid 19th century, you should look him up. Here’s a link. Actually, I find this way of eating very satisfying and very easy to maintain, as do many others.
  
  If the average American would take ownership of their health and just simply cut out 10% of their portions and exercise, then as a whole we would be better off as a nation.
  
  Been there, done that. I sacrificed my gallbladder to it, actually. I was a very thin 113 pounds on my 5’ 2 ½” frame – very thin. I found the miniscule amount of food that I could ingest in order to keep my weight there to be unsustainable. I also worked out 6-7 days a week, both with weights and aerobics. I have lost this 25 pounds without much physical effort, though my energy level has increased and I have become more active because of my diet. Exercise does not make one thinner. Gary Taubes in his book Good Calories, Bad Calories deals very well with this myth – and of the tendency of people (yes, even doctors) to lay moral blame on those with weight issues. The words “glutton” and “slothful” do not describe me, nor the majority of those with weight issues.
  
  Some of the physiology behind the Atkins diet is similar to that with diabetic ketoacidosis, if I am not mistaken.  And that is worrisome.
  
  You are mistaken. Ketoacidosis and Ketosis are not the same thing. Ketosis is merely a natural occurance, where ketones are the byproduct of the lypolysis which occurs during the breakdown of fats in the body, when the body uses ketones instead of glucose for fuel. Specifically, ketosis is a metabolic state where your body switches from primarily using glucose for energy to primarily using fat for energy. The fat used for energy will come from both dietary fat sources and body fat. Ketosis is the natural result of limiting carbohydrates in your diet to a low enough level that your body can't meet its energy needs primarily from glucose, so it burns fat instead.
  
  In the minds of most laypeople & even some ill informed doctors ketosis is often confused with Diabetic Ketoacidosis.
  
  Ketoacidosis is the consequence of insulin deficient individuals (Type I diabetics) having out-of-control blood sugar levels.
  
  Ketosis & Ketoacidosis may sound alike but the actual conditions are practically polar opposites. Ketoacidosis is distinguished by the fact that the Type 1 Diabetic in this state has been consuming excess carbohydrates & has extremely high blood sugar which is the exact opposite of Ketosis where the person has been consuming practically no carbohydrates.
  
  It is a scientific fact that the human brain runs most efficiently on ketones, rather than glucose. It is also a fact that a Ketogenic diet is what is best for those who have epileptic seizures, but that is really neither here nor there for this discussion.
  
  There is evidence that a diet that is too high in protein is associated with kidney disease in the long run (glomerulosclerosis, to be more specific).
  
  Glomerulosclerosis is not associated with a low carb diet.
  
  I don't think money has anything to do with why certain diets are popular.  Look at Atkins.  He made a killing on his theory.
  
  Dr. Atkins was a cardiologist with a practice in New York, even after his book was published. He was an underappreciated genius, and I don’t begrudge him making money from the sales of his book.
  When funding for research is provided by companies with an interest in the outcome, I think money has a lot to do with it.
  
  Speaking of Atkins, he developed cardiomyopathy before he died.  Coincidence?
  
  Dr. Atkins was born with a congenital heart defect. He did not die from cardiomyopathy. See How Did Atkins Die?
  
  And the last generation that embraced the high protein, low carb diet was that of the cavemen, who had a life expectancy of 3 decades.  (That's just a joke.)
  
  Heh. Well, I’m past that already anyway.
  
  But I do commend you on your weight loss.  I would hope that you will be able to sustain it.
   
  Thank you! I shall.
  
  

  
  

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