For dinner one summer night, I ate a chunk of slow-cooked roast-beef, some raw veggies, and as a treat, a bowl of halved fresh strawberries, whole fresh blueberries, and two table-spoons of heavy whipping cream. Berries are the only kind of fruit I eat anymore. (I count the avocado as a berry, one that brings its own creamy fat.) I calculate that the berry bowl contained 137 calories, 9 grams carbs, 2 grams fiber, and 10 grams fat. All of the fat and the majority of the calories came from the … [Read more...]
High-carb, low-fat diets associated with increased risk of early death
A major new study has found an association between low-fat diets and an increased risk of premature death. The large epidemiological cohort study, published in The Lancet, followed more than 135,000 people in 18 countries around the world to uncover the relationship between dietary macro-nutrients and cardiovascular disease and mortality. High, middle, and low-income groups were included. The researchers documented nearly 5,800 deaths and 4,800 major cardiovascular disease events in the … [Read more...]
This week’s nuggets: June 13-17, 2017
This week on the Low Carb Nugget Podcast, I attacked sugar and defended saturated fat. In other words, it was business as usual, but at least I had my voice back. Take a listen! You can subscribe to the Nugget via any of the following: Apple Podcasts Google Play Music Stitcher TuneIn (If you have an Amazon Echo, try the command, "Alexa, play The Low Carb Nugget Podcast on TuneIn.") #16 What's in a name? Does it make a difference what you call a diet? Should Jim call his diet “low-carb” … [Read more...]
It’s time to fix the dietary guidelines
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is age-old advice that's hard to argue with. The problem is, people often disagree about whether a thing is broken or not. That's the case with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, first foisted on American citizens by their federal government in 1980, and since revised every five years. This year will see the release of the next revision. But will it be a fix? Many see the Dietary Guidelines as seriously flawed and in need of fixing. I'm in that camp -- no … [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...]
Beliefs can cause inflammation of the brain
How dangerous is that beef-steak? Beliefs, dogmas and habits of mind are powerful things. I'd sooner have them on my side in an argument than the puny forces of reason and evidence. Take the belief that saturated fat is the source of all evil in the modern diet. It's a deeply and widely held notion in the Western World. Somehow, we all just know that eating red meat will kill us by clogging up our arteries with its saturated fat. Doctors, nutritionists, media pundits and ordinary people have … [Read more...]
Yes, tax bad food — after we all agree on what it is
Because thou art vegan-leaning, shall there be no bacon cheeseburgers? Taxing other people's vices always seems like a win-win. It allows the majority to feel holier-than-thou and adds money to the public coffers. For instance, I've favored the enormous taxes placed on tobacco. As you can probably guess, I'm not a smoker. I have no vested interests that keep me from seeing the logic of the standard public health argument. Smoking is implicated in widespread health problems that cost … [Read more...]
Why Americans say they diet
More American adults say they have changed their diets to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables (71%) than say they have changed their diets to lose weight (65%). Right away, you have to wonder how honest the people polled were. Or you have to wonder if they know what constitutes a fruit and vegetable. Two-thirds of Americans say they changed their diet to improve their health. Only one-third say it was to change their appearance. I'm with the majority on this question, but who … [Read more...]
Setting the stage for tragedy: changes in the U.S. diet, 1970-2006
In the years 1977-1984, the U.S. government pushed out dietary recommendations to the American people to cut their intake of saturated fats (as in butter, lard and red meat) and increase their intake of carbohydrates and fiber (as in grains, fruits and starchy vegetables) and of "healthy" fats (as in poly and monounsaturated vegetable oils). The goal was to prevent heart disease. The theory was, dietary fat -- especially saturated animal fat -- causes a build up of fats in the blood, leading … [Read more...]
Exploring the HuffPo: Sugar, Paleo and Plaque
Man does not live by steak-and-eggs alone. Woman either, from what I can see. Having consumed plenty of editorial red-meat in recent days, I decided to venture beyond the low-carb blogosphere this weekend to see who else was writing about diet and health. There was bound to be somebody. I ended up at the Huffington Post. All Internet roads seem to lead there. The HuffPo (as we insiders call it) is the New York Times of the Digital Age, except that apparently the HuffPo doesn't pay its … [Read more...]