Examining the relationship between low-carb diets and dental health Last updated: April 2017 When you eat a healthier diet and lose weight, you can reasonably expect good news from a medical exam. I've gotten such good news in the past few months: lower blood pressure and improved blood lipid numbers. But I wasn't expecting diet-related good news from my semi-annual dental cleaning and exam. I got some anyway. My teeth were fine. I have a bunch of fillings from years ago, and sometimes one … [Read more...]
What to do when your vegan diet doesn’t work? Go “Beyond Broccoli”
I've never been tempted to become a vegetarian, let alone a raw foods vegan, and after reading a new book by Susan Schenck, LAc, I'm glad of it. Schenck spent several years eating and promoting a raw vegan diet before realizing it was seriously compromising her health. She then curbed her carb intake and added animal-based protein. She has written about her experiences in Beyond Broccoli: Creating a Biologically Balanced Diet When a Vegetarian Diet Doesn't Work (247 pages, Awakening … [Read more...]
Building your own breakfast special
Back in my carb-eating days, my favorite meal to eat out was breakfast. There were a couple reasons. First, breakfast is an affordable meal to eat out. You can usually get a hot breakfast for a few bucks. Even in Manhattan, on the edge of the theater district, Anita and I got a breakfast special at a Greek diner that included eggs, meat, toast, two cups of coffee and a small glass of juice for five dollars each. In mid-Michigan, breakfast specials typically start at $2.99. Second, breakfast … [Read more...]
My low-carb breakfasts
Often after I've told a friend or acquaintance about my low-carb way of eating, and explained that I no longer wheat, corn, rice or potatoes, one of the first questions I get is, "But what do you eat for breakfast?" Breakfast seems to be the carb-lover's favorite meal. I know my own breakfasts used to be carborific. My standard morning meal was cereal, milk, orange juice and coffee. I frequently added a slice or two whole-wheat toast with jam. Some mornings, I skipped the cereal and … [Read more...]
Progress Report 9-5-11: Six months on a low-carb diet
After half-a-year eating the low-carb way, I have good news to report on my weight and other health factors. Last Friday I had my annual physical exam. The doctor's scale confirmed that I was 44 pounds lighter than at my physical a year ago, and 47 pounds lighter than my all-time highest recorded weight. My doctor characterized my blood lipid numbers as "the best ever." "I'd prescribe a lot fewer meds if my patients just lost weight like this," he said. He noted that my Body-Mass Index a … [Read more...]
Low-carb omnivores of the world, unite!
Over the months that I've been eating a low-carb diet, my views on what that diet is have evolved considerably. First, at the start, I thought my goal was simply to lose weight, and that any improvements in my health would be the result of eliminating the beach ball of blubber that was my middle. Second, I thought that eating a low-carbohydrate diet meant eating lots of meat relative to other kinds of foods. In other words, being more carnivore than omnivore. Now I see better health as my … [Read more...]
Targeting a healthy weight loss
In weight-loss and all other endeavors, goals are vital to success. To put it less pretentiously, we may not always hit what we aim at in life, but the odds go up when we are, in fact, aiming. Dumb luck carries you only so far. (Believe me, I've tested the limits of dumb luck. Planning is better.) Some goals are obvious. For a mountain climber, only getting to the top will do. But there will be intermediate goals along the climb to the summit. Other goals are trickier to set. Over … [Read more...]
Rounding up more of the usual suspects: soy
In my last post, I speculated about my sensitivity to wheat, noting that having virtually eliminated wheat from my diet, I have also eliminated chronic digestion problems that seemed to be getting worse as I aged. It was easy to finger wheat, which has a growing reputation as a bad dietary player for many people. Both the gluten and lectin families of proteins in wheat have been connected to health problems that fall under the heading of "inflammation." In the post, I considered a couple … [Read more...]
My problem with wheat
"Wheat... lots of wheat... fields of wheat... a tremendous amount of wheat." Woody Allen as Boris in Love and Death, 1975. Grains are the humble seeds of grasses and of civilization. Without grains, we wouldn't be where we are today: fat, miserable, malnourished -- hunched over an iPad or a plate of Fettucini Alfredo. No, where we would be is hunched atop a rock with our trusty spear in hand, waiting for some game to come by, hoping that the game would be the kind we could eat and not get … [Read more...]
Another typical day in my life after carbs: 8-15-11
The first time I wrote about a typical day of eating low-carb, it turned out not to be completely typical. But it was a real day. The truth is, I don't have a set routine, a rigid plan, but just some general guidelines. Mostly, I aim to keep my total net carbs per day under 45 and my total calories under 2,100. (Net carbs are total carbohydrates minus fiber.) I pay little direct attention to calories. If I only eat when I'm hungry and avoid grains, starchy vegetables, sugary treats and … [Read more...]