A New Year’s Resolution To Consider…And How “Consensus Science” May Have Almost Killed Andrew Revkin

As New Year’s Day approaches here’s something off-topic, but could make a real difference to your health. It has to mine.

Probably the most common New Year’s resolution one hears is “I’m going to get back in shape“. Unfortunately it is also the one that fails the most often. A year ago, at the age of 54, I was about 20 pounds overweight, on blood pressure medicine, and likely starting on that path to years of medication, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, all later eventually leading to bypasses, stents, and eventually a miserable death – if cancer didn’t get me first. However thanks to a major adjustment in my diet, all that has changed dramatically. Now I’m trim and feel better than ever.

What did I do? I ignored the scientific and medical consensus on “healthy nutrition” and changed over to a high-fat, low-carb diet. The results have been beyond anything I expected. Today I’m off the blood pressure medication and my blood values are all okay. Everyone is happy – that is except the pharmaceutical industry and the greedy doctors.

Here are the four steps you need to take:

1) Get off the killer high carb, low-fat diet

It’s a deadly, junk-science myth that has needlessly killed millions of people. Yes, for decades we’ve been bamboozled and deceived by the food, medical and pharmaceutical industry. As David Diamond shows, when your diet changes over to a high fat, low carb one, your health improves dramatically. Carbohydrates, especially processed sugars, are the real killers. So drastically reduce your intake of sugars, bread, starches, potatoes, processed snacks and eat more fresh meats, animal fats, cheese, butter, vegetables, chicken, fish, nuts, bacon, eggs, and so on.

If you start with anything, it should be first getting yourself off the processed carbs and sugar, which also have profound impacts on people’s behavior. This cannot be overstressed. And by all means, absolutely stay away from the artificial sweeteners.

2) Stop eating so-called “healthy whole-wheat grains”

Contrary to what most people believe, so-called “healthy whole-wheat grains” are toxic and pose a serious hazard to your health. There are three reasons why:

a) The gluten protein damages (for some people very severely) the small intestine and thus leads to mal-absorption of nutrients.

b) Wheat is a powerful carbohydrate with a high glycemic index and wreaks havoc with your blood sugar, which we all know has terrible consequences.

c) Wheat is an opiate and is in fact addictive. It causes people to experience cravings. Studies show that people who are off wheat consume 400 calories per day less than people who consume the grain. That means 146,000 extra calories annually – or two months equivalent! No wonder so many people struggle with their weight. Wheat causes cravings and the food industry has long known and shamelessly exploited this.

3) Vegetable oils cause cancer and cardiovascular disease

If you are consuming salad dressings, margarine, sunflower oil, Crisco, or cooking with these oils, stop doing so now. These are loaded with omega 6 fatty acids which are inflammatory and associated with cancer-causing free radicals. Consume instead foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which are non-inflammatory. Before industrialization, the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids consumed was about 1 to 1. Today in the US the ratio is over a stunning 20 to 1. Elevated omega 6 intake is associated with cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, cancer and a host of other diseases.

efa content of oils

Source: here.

Proctor & Gamble and the Edible Oil Industry used fraudulent science to demonize animal fats and to promote vegetable oils as a “healthy alternative”, see 19 min. mark.

4) Supplement with vitamins and minerals

Eating “balanced meals” does not ensure that you are getting the 60 essential minerals, 16 vitamins, 12 amino acids and 3 fatty acids. Much of the agricultural soils are depleted of minerals and today’s industrially processed foods are woefully deficient. Therefore supplementing can lead to dramatic health improvements. If you are into extreme sports, then you are highly vulnerable to serious illnesses or injury from chronic mineral deficiencies. I do moderate sport and take Centrum once a day.

Summary

I’ve pretty much stuck to the above rules and have seen a profound difference in every respect over the last 7 months. The pounds and associated health problems literally shed away by themselves. Of course some moderate regular exercise is essential. The toughest part is finding alternatives to the carbs we have become so accustomed to.

I hope you’ll take the time to watch the videos I’ve linked to…it could lead to adding many precious years to your life. If this post changes the health and life of a single reader, then it will have been worth it.

Andrew Revkin’s “stroke of luck”

Remember that a high-carb, low-fat diet was and is still the “consensus science” – all heartily endorsed by the backwards AMA, NAS, AHA, ADA, etc. Today we are finding out they all have been dead wrong, and even perhaps deceptive. Westerners are more obese and seriously ill than ever. And the situation will explode into a major crisis in the years ahead. When are these institutes ever going to wake up?

On May 13, 2013 in a piece titled My Stroke of Luck, science writer Andrew Revkin recounts his experience of having suffered a stroke caused by a diseased carotid artery in near his brain. The root cause of the potentially lethal ailment may be hotly debated, of course, but these things are rarely “genetic” and more often are the result of years of exposure to an improper diet. Such a condition does not develop out of the blue in generally healthy people. I suspect Mr Revkin probably became an unfortunate victim of the farcical high-carb, low-fat diet that the “medical consensus” had promoted for decades. If 99 doctors tell you high-carb/low fat is good and 1 doesn’t, who do you think Mr. Revkin will listen to? We know his answer on this in climate science.

Mr. Revkin will likely deem my speculation concerning the cause of his stroke nonsense. I may be wrong. But then again, if he isn’t on the low-carb/high fat diet by now, he may want to take a real close and honest look at the lipid hypothesis and the phony data underpinning it, and to do so far more seriously than he does with climate data. Here his life depends on it.

It just goes to show that the idea of science by consensus is indeed a very dangerous one, especially when the data are tainted to begin with.

 

54 responses to “A New Year’s Resolution To Consider…And How “Consensus Science” May Have Almost Killed Andrew Revkin”

  1. John F. Hultquist

    I basically agree with this and am happy it has worked for you.

    The table doesn’t include Olive oil. I thought that odd because lots of cooks like it and many people suggest it. Its ratio of O-6 to O-3 is about 10 to 1. Many sites claim getting under 4:1 is desired and 1:1 is a goal based on human evolution.
    We have used Canola for many years. In 1975 we encountered a 40 acre field of brilliant yellow flowering plants. The owner gave us a 10 minute explanation of the crop and so we tried the oil. It has an advantage of being relatively inexpensive and always brings an image of the fields.
    http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/350/9/1/rapeseed_field_stock_2_by_atticresources-d6y6rha.jpg

    The problem is we like good bread. A local store had a Rosemary/Olive Oil loaf but stopped making it because a regional baker started selling something with the same name. It is not the same but too many folks don’t care and buy it anyway.
    I’ve been making bread with unbleached hard red wheat flour. It makes a light brown loaf and the smell of freshly baked bread compensates for any health risk. One even gets a little exercise making it.

    Happy New Year

  2. sunsettommy

    I lost 65 pounds,by eating a high fat low carb diet,with excercises as well.

  3. DirkH

    Heh… Two notes:
    a) Add Turmeric or curry masalas, all of which contain it. Turmeric is a yellow powder available in bags in Asia shops in Germany. Also available from German discounters at large mark-ups.
    b) We had a goose on Christmas. My mother wondered where she could dispose of the liquefied fat. I said, don’t throw it away, I’ll take it.
    Now I have a pound of goose fat in my fridge which is just great to fry vegetables or meat in.

    Women in my family still believe low fat is the way to go. But fail enough to stick to it to remain healthy. Anyway, that’s how I got the fat. I do try to educate them. I got them on step a) above already.

  4. M E

    A good idea. May I suggest combined Magnesium and Zinc supplements? I heard that magnesium is lacking in many vegetables raised for supermarkets.

  5. Ross Handsaker

    Pierre, my experience is the opposite of yours. For the first 58 years of my life I followed the usual high-fat western diet (cheese, milk and roast beef were particular favourites) until triple coronary artery by-pass operation in 2002.

    Since then I have followed a low-fat plant based diet (no medication or supplements) with these results: cholesterol down from 5.4 to 3.9, blood glucose level down from 5.7 to 4.0/4.9, weight down 4 kgs, and haemoglobin levels up to 159.

    Given that the dry weight of fruit and vegetables is 95% carbohydrate, my diet is essentially “carbs”!

    Contrary to the statement about wheat being addictive (perhaps it is wheat beer) I find bread is a good filler when hungry.

    Most of the animals we eat obtain their vitamins, minerals, protein etc from plants. Why not get these essential dietary items direct from the plants rather than processed through the gut of some animal. With the abundance of different foods now available in developed countries it is possible to eat well (subject to careful planning) without involving animal products.

    1. Jimbo

      Here is the science shocker earlier this year.

      Annals of Internal Medicine – 18 March, 2014
      Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury et al
      Association of Dietary, Circulating, and Supplement Fatty Acids With Coronary Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
      Conclusion: Current evidence does not clearly support cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of total saturated fats.

      Primary Funding Source: British Heart Foundation, Medical Research Council, Cambridge National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, and Gates Cambridge.
      http://tinyurl.com/q3hqfvc

      Here is how we started the consensus.

      Wall Street Journal – 2 May, 2014
      The Questionable Link Between Saturated Fat and Heart Disease
      Are butter, cheese and steak really bad for you? The dubious science behind the anti-fat crusade
      “Saturated fat does not cause heart disease”—or so concluded a big study published in March in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. How could this be? The very cornerstone of dietary advice for generations has been that the saturated fats in butter, cheese and red meat should be avoided because they clog our arteries……..

      Our distrust of saturated fat can be traced back to the 1950s, to a man named Ancel Benjamin Keys, a scientist at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Keys was formidably persuasive and, through sheer force of will, rose to the top of the nutrition world—even gracing the cover of Time magazine—for relentlessly championing the idea that saturated fats raise cholesterol and, as a result, cause heart attacks.

      This idea fell on receptive ears because, at the time, Americans faced a fast-growing epidemic. Heart disease, a rarity only three decades earlier, had quickly become the nation’s No. 1 killer. Even President Dwight D. Eisenhower suffered a heart attack in 1955. Researchers were desperate for answers……

      Critics have pointed out that Dr. Keys violated several basic scientific norms in his study…..
      http://tinyurl.com/m8sczes

  6. John F. Hultquist

    re-sending

    I basically agree with this and am happy it has worked for you.

    The table doesn’t include Olive oil. I thought that odd because lots of cooks like it and many people suggest it. Its ratio of O-6 to O-3 is about 10 to 1. Many sites claim getting under 4:1 is desired and 1:1 is a goal based on human evolution.
    We have used Canola for many years. In 1975 we encountered a 40 acre field of brilliant yellow flowering plants. The owner gave us a 10 minute explanation of the crop and so we tried the oil. It has an advantage of being relatively inexpensive and always brings an image of the fields.
    http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/350/9/1/rapeseed_field_stock_2_by_atticresources-d6y6rha.jpg

    The problem is we like good bread. A local store had a Rosemary/Olive Oil loaf but stopped making it because a regional baker started selling something with the same name. It is not the same but too many folks don’t care and buy it anyway.
    I’ve been making bread with unbleached hard red wheat flour. It makes a light brown loaf and the smell of freshly baked bread compensates for any health risk. One even gets a little exercise making it.

    Happy New Year

  7. Ron Braud

    After getting my cholesterol numbers in line, my triglycerides were still out of whack. We kept going through what I was eating and the doctor kept ruling out the whole wheat bread I was using to make my luncheon sandwiches during the week as a cause. There wasn’t anything else I was eating they said could cause the triglycerides. When I decided to eat mostly salads the couple of weeks before my next test, the triglyceride numbers dropped out of the worry zone.

  8. Loodt Pretorius

    Canola is a name created by the great American advertising media for rapeseed oil. Fortunately, here in the UK it is still sold as rapeseed oil. (We can also buy fish fingers which I believe is sold as fish sticks in North America.)

    Now, my real question is, what do you use instead of bread?

    I will find it very difficult to replace bread in my diet. I started doing my own home making and baking of bread, and that smell of fresh bread in the oven that fills the house is one of the best smells ever. No salad can compete with that smell of fresh bread.

    1. DirkH

      “I will find it very difficult to replace bread in my diet.”

      Try starting a day completely without carbs – for breakfast, if you would normally have coffee and bread with cheese and sausage, (no marmelade!),
      eat the cheese and sausage but leave out the bread. I know, sounds strange, but try it. Now what you did is: you have not filled up your carb storage! Your body was running on fat burning after waking up, and your breakfast did not contain any carbs, so your body must continue running on fat burning. (And once it does so, it is perfectly happy to burn fat from its fat cells, emptying them)

      Avoid filling up your carb storages over the day and observe your appetite. You should notice that you have less hunger cravings (because your insulin levels stay lower).

      1. polski

        In my case I was very active for my whole life with lots of activity which includes an outdoor job. A breathing problem that couldn’t be diagnosed left me wheezing and coughing for six years now. The tests revealed that I didn’t have cancer or a bad heart and that antibiotics worked to certain degree, sometimes for as much as six months.
        After reading about doctors getting their cancer patients to fast for a few days to help “rebuild” their immune systems I tried it along with starting a LCHF diet…Weight fell off and I wasn’t hungry. Lost 15kg in six weeks and felt great. Coughing wheezing better also but still not cured.
        I was brought up in a bakery and loved baked goods of all kinds but the satiation brought on by eating great fats/carbs reduced my “carb hunger pains”. I’ve told my friends in describing how I feel now this way. “Put a nice steak or porkchop in front of me with onions, bacon and mushrooms and I will love it and maybe could eat half of another. But put a box of donuts in front of me and they will be all gone”! Once you get over the need for a carb fix the diet is very easy, at least for me to follow.

  9. johnbuk

    Pierre, congratulations on your improved health and “shape”.
    I have a similar story, am 65 and retired so can factor in 3 games of golf a week, and have similar outcomes to you.
    The concerning issues are, convincing one’s GP you are not a nutty fadist (most seem either oblivious to the “carb” problem or are unwilling to go against the consensus – I’m in the UK with its “world beating NHS”) and the parallels with the CAGW scam.
    The book, “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living” by Jeff Volek and Steve Phinney could just as easily have been about “Global Warming” it’s a very interesting read not just because it explains the process and physiology of reducing carbohydrates within the body but also because it dwells briefly on how the consensus in this field tries to ensure any questioning is stamped on fairly quickly.
    The “statin” consensus could also do with having its underbody exposed to a bit more sunlight too.
    John

  10. johnbuk

    Pierre, sorry, I meant to say as well (after my rant) many thanks for all you do and to wish you a very happy and prosperous new year.

    John Billot

    1. Loodt Pretorius

      Same here, forgot to wish you health and wealth for the new year.

  11. cementafriend

    Sad to read so many have a weight problem. The main cause is not the diet- it is the amount one eats. There is a diet I believe that works and some Medicos (most who call themselves Doctors only have a bachelor of medicine (BM) ie are not PhD’s or have real Doctor degrees such Dr Med ). Can not remember the name but basically it requires starving yourselves two days of the week and eating normally the other days.
    I have no weight problem, normal cholesterol below 4.5 at every test, and an angiogram (after a wrong diagnosis by a specialist) a year ago was completely clear. I did lots of sport and most of my working life had practically no breakfast and skipped lunch.
    Humans originally did not eat every day.
    My solution is excerise , eat less, have a varied diet and everynow and then starve yourself. Do not many religions including Buddhists and Hindus have fasting periods?

    1. DirkH

      “The main cause is not the diet- it is the amount one eats.”

      Well, but that is exactly how a reduction in carbohydrates works – as you will produce less insulin, you will not get the recurring cravings for more carbs.

  12. Bill Illis

    Some of the highest calorie food per weight/size there is, is pasta and rice.

    A normal person eats about 2 kgs in a day to feel full / to feel satisfied.

    If you ate nothing but pasta to make up that 2 kgs (with no pasta sauce or butter or anything), you would be taking in 7,500 calories per day (versus the normal amount one would need of 2400 calories or so depending on your size, gender and age).

    That is the biggest issue with most Carbohydrates, they are very, very high calorie per weight.

    Potatoes are actually fine. Eating 2 kgs of potatoes per day is only 2000 calories and you would actually lose weight if you ate nothing but potatoes to the extent you felt full and satisfied.

    I like math of course. Keep your calories to as close to 1 calorie per gram, (2000 calories per 2000 grams) and you will lose weight while still feeling like you have had enough to eat.

    Pasta, rice, pizza, these are the big bad three. There are others of course but start here. X Calories per Y grams is right on the nutrition label. Stay as close to 1 to 1 as you can.

  13. John F. Hultquist

    Loodt P.,
    I bake bread. It is sooo-easy to eat too much of fresh warm bread. Moderation is a good idea.

    Bill I.,
    Rice is a 2-issue food. Much rice is high in inorganic Arsenic (IA). Some not so much. This is a big issue because when a person tries to go gluten-free the replacement products (for example, rice cakes) are often high in rice and that rice is usually from a high IA source. If a guest, I’ll eat some. I neither have it at home nor order it when out.

    P.G. says “… we are not cows.”
    I’ll add horses (very short digestive tract; need clean food; cows don’t); …
    nor are we deer (forbs + browse, both high in crude protein)
    Humans evolved with animal source foods (ASF)
    http://jn.nutrition.org/content/133/11/3893S.full

  14. Andy Revkin

    Hmm. You must not have read much of my article or related blog posts. http://j.mp/dotstroke I experienced what’s called a “spontaneous dissection” of the left internal carotid artery (which is not in the brain).

    Resulting clots traveled to the brain. Such strokes are not a function of diet at all. My arteries were (and are) clear. These strokes are mainly triggered by physical injury to the carotid – everything from some yoga and chiropractic moves to tipping your head back in certain ways painting a ceiling, even getting a shampoo at the beauty parlor. The video, created by a medical illustration team for someone with a very similar stroke, is informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrNJ-Byuwm4

  15. cementafriend

    Bill Illis, you have to be joking about 2kg of Pasta which comes in packets of 500g.
    I take a 1/4 to 1/3 of a packet ( max 80g per person) cover it with boiling water in a pot and simmer with the lid on for 5 mins. Drain it add a small tin (100g) of John West tuna in tomato & chilli put the pot back on the hot plate, add one hen’s egg or two batam eggs (we have them in our backyard) stir for 2-3 minutes then serve to myself and grandson. That is our occasional dinner – maybe if still hungry from an active day we have a peice of fruit (we have organges, bananas, lychees and mangos in the backyard).
    You should think about chilli. Not only does it add lots of flavour (think of Mexican, Indian and Thai food) it cleans out your system. It will stop you eating too much and drink more. Lots of Germans have holidays in Thailand. Ask them how many overweight local Thais do they see.

    1. ¡No Pasarán!

      I spike virtually everything I prepare with a little cayenne pepper or hot Paprika. It need not be obviously perceptable. It need only be just enough to “wake the dish up” a little.

      This even works with desserts.

  16. Peter Azlac

    In your articles on climate change you argue for evidence based facts and the same should apply here. It would be useful for those wishing to evaluate your claims if you would provide a detailed nutritional analysis of your diet – there are programs on the internet to allow you to do this with ease
    http://www.weighing-success.com/foodplans.html#Food_Planning_Calculator
    In terms of a consensus among nutritionists there is evidence that there is little difference between weight and health gains from low/high protein, low/high fat or low/high carbohydrate diets:
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763382/
    Tthe important factors are: caloric intake; fresh rather than processed foods, especially confectionary and bakery products; adequate intake of fibre (35 to 50 g/d) especially soluble fibre; adequate intake and balance of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids and the correct balance of zinc, copper and iron to allow their elongation into higher chain acids required to build cells; adequate antioxidants; and low intake of free radicals etc and the avoidance of energy from fructose syrups, simple carbohydrates of high glycaemic value and vegetable oils from corn etc – as per your list. The diet that best exemplifies such characteristics is the Mediterranean diet advised by most nutritionists and medical agencies. This is a high fat (30% of calories), high carbohydrate (50%+ of calories) and low protein (17 -20% of calories) diet where the carbohydrate is mainly the complex rather than simple sugar and starch forms. Looking at what you give as your dietary constituents you appear to be on a Mediterranean diet whereas I would guess that many of your readers assume you mean an Atkins type diet.
    Meta analysis of studies on Mediterranean diets show reduced mortality from heart disorders and cancer and reduced risks of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2533524/
    http://campus.fufosa.org/wp-content/uploads/Am-J-Clin-Nutr-2010-Sofi-1189-96.pdf
    http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=http://www.researchgate.net/publication/8330511_Mediterranean_diet_lifestyle_factors_and_10-year_mortality_in_elderly_European_men_and_women_the_HALE_project/file/72e7e522eb3052254a.pdf&hl=en&sa=X&scisig=AAGBfm3UGyNr8oPHhLHZGQq4z5lee9aiQw&oi=scholarr
    There are other studies showing a lowr incidence of the Metabolic Syndrome to which heart diseases and cancers belong as well as obesity and diabetes:
    http://content.onlinejacc.org/article.aspx?articleid=1144261
    Here is a link to what a Mediterranean diet involves – it should be noted that there are many different Mediterranean diets from the different countries around the Mediterranean but the general principles apply.
    http://www.patient.co.uk/health/how-to-follow-the-mediterranean-diet

    1. DirkH

      “This is a high fat (30% of calories), high carbohydrate (50%+ of calories) and low protein (17 -20% of calories) diet”

      20% proteins is about the maximum a human can tolerate over longer periods of time… you shouldn’t use the words high/low as if fat, carbs and protein are the same. I would not for instance say that I’m eating a low zinc diet just because the zinc is 0.01% by weight. So 20% protein is most definitely high for protein.

  17. ¡No Pasarán!

    Welll, I already blew my Stollen intake for the year, so I guess I’ll have to get started.

  18. Bob Tisdale

    Through a reduced-carb diet and a cycle of 3-days of fasting followed by one day of normal intake, I lost 30 pounds in 2014.

    To remind myself that I need to keep it off, I bought an inexpensive backpack and filled it with 30 pounds of sandbags. At least one day each week I wear the 30-pound backpack as I’m standing in front of my computer.

    Cheers!!!

  19. Michael Snow

    Video linked above …don’t miss it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vr-c8GeT34
    Some great quotes on reason for wrong diet:
    “one of the most famous graphs…” “fraud”

    “One of the most poerful graphs…..result of fraud”

    “A generation of citizens…misled by the greatest scientific deception of our times…”

    Sounds familiar re: climate science!

  20. Bernd Felsche

    I gave butter dishes as Christmas presents to my proximate relatives.

    Just a subtle hint.

  21. M E

    http://www.vegetableexpert.co.uk/knowyourvitaminsandminerals.html
    This is good . Note the sections on allergies.
    I have had to keep to a no grain ,no peas /beans diet and have had to avoid potatoes and tomatoes – citrus fruits and many others for many years because once I had myalgic encephalomyelitis…
    All of which makes me applaud your diet. It works for me -very well.
    ( and after all potatoes and tomatoes are not natural paleolithic food having been developed from somewhat poisonous plants in South America)

  22. Peter Azlac

    DirkH
    29. Dezember 2014 at 15:42 | Permalink | Reply
    “This is a high fat (30% of calories), high carbohydrate (50%+ of calories) and low protein (17 -20% of calories) diet”

    20% proteins is about the maximum a human can tolerate over longer periods of time… you shouldn’t use the words high/low as if fat, carbs and protein are the same. I would not for instance say that I’m eating a low zinc diet just because the zinc is 0.01% by weight. So 20% protein is most definitely high for protein.

    Dirk – I referred to high and low in the context of percentage of calories which is a valid usage when defining a diet. For maintenance animals including humans require about 12% of calories as protein except the real requirement is for a certain level and pattern of essential amino acids and achieving such intake when taking into account the protein from carbohydrates or vegetable proteins makes it difficult to do so when the protein content is less than around 17% to 20% of calories. Try doing so using one of the many available formulation programs.

    As to energy values carbohydrates and proteins supply the same 4 calories per gram whereas fats are around 9 calories per gram so it is easier to overshoot your daily calorie needs with high fat diets. Also, the body requires a minimal amount of glucose, especially the brain usually taken as 120 g/d out of the minimal daily need of 160 g:
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22591/
    This requires the consumption of some 640 grams of carbohydrate or 25 to 35 percent of daily calories depending on age and sex (1800 to 2400 calories per day). If this is not provided from carbohydrate the body breaks down muscle protein to recover the glucose from the glucogenic amino acids – this also occurs normally as muscle is replaced – with the result that metabolic rate is depressed and hence daily energy needs with the consequence that if you maintain your normal level of energy intake you will put on weight – a feature of low carbohydrate diets. The body can also substitute glucose with ketones from the metabolism of fat but this is not good for the thought process and for diabetics and marginal diabetics can lead to problems of ketoacidosis. The problem is not in supplying this amount of glucose from simple carbohydrate sources but the speed of uptake of the glucose that allows one to overshoot calorie needs before the brain switches on the hormones (leptin and ghrelin) that signal satiety. This can be overcome by using carbohydrates of low glycaemic value ( rate of uptake of glucose) which also solves the other problem of high rates of glucose uptake of insulin response leading to insulin intolerance and the Metabolic Syndrome.

    As to your comment about zinc I did not refer to a percentage only a balance of three trace elements that are involved in the formation and stability of cell structures, the first two via competing enzyme systems and the latter by promoting free radicals.

    Finally for those here referring to their high rates of weight loss it is important not to confuse weight loss with dehydration. The body contains around 60% of water of which a certain amount is linked to glycogen that is the storage form of glucose i the liver and muscle. Going on a low carbohydrate diet quickly uses up these glycogen stores with an apparent high rate of weight loss but what you really need to lose is body fat, especially abdominal fat that affect liver function. The best measures of this, short of having it measured in a flotation chamber, are either scales that measure electrical conductivity or waist measurement – the old adage ‘ if you can pinch more than an inch” you are overweight.

  23. George Lloyd

    I am a bit late to this post.

    I am a regular cyclist targeting at least 45km per day early in the morning at least 3 times a week at a fairly high intensity.

    I removed sugar and unsaturated oils from my diet some time ago with great results. However, it is unimaginable for me to cycle without a low sugar, high carb breakfast cereal such a sweet is and, occasionally on tough long rides I need an high carb energy boost (usually in a very sugary formulation which makes me feel very guilty) to give me a burst of strength.

    I am at a loss to find an alternative way to satisfiy my energy needs in a non-carb way – any suggestions appreciated.

  24. Peter Azlac

    George Lloyd

    “I am at a loss to find an alternative way to satisfy my energy needs in a non-carb way ”

    George – we have two types of muscle fibre, slow and fast twitch together with an intermediate type:
    http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/MuscleFiberType.htm

    The fast twitch muscles are used when we need instant strength to lift a weight etc and can operate without exhaustion for up to 3 minutes . They operate anaerobically using CP, ATP and glycogen ( stored form of glucose).
    Slow twitch muscles are used in endurance such as your cycling or walking, marathons etc. They operate aerobically requiring oxygenated blood – getting their energy from fatty acids and glucose (glycogen). It is a common saying that “fatty acids burn in a flame of carbohydrate ” such that if your muscles are short of glycogen, or glucose cannot be delivered from the liver, muscle protein is broken down to provide the glucose from glucogenic amino acids and performance is limited.

    Sports medicine has found that the answer to improve performance (endurance) is carbohydrate loading in which the diet supplies a high intake of carbohydrate for around 3 days before the event.
    http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/competition_and_training/carbohydrate_loading

    So you have nothing to be guilty about but could improve by adopting the carbohydrate technique. Incidentally this is a good way of getting rid of adipose fat that is a major cause of Metabolic Syndrome.

  25. George Lloyd

    Thanks Peter, that is both interesting and helpful.

    Happy NewYear

  26. Susan Oliver

    After his personal anecdote, the first reference in Diamond’s YouTube presentation is to William Banting’s Letter on Corpulence. Diamond claims that Banting was prescribed a low carbohydrate diet: Unlimited consumption of meat. No potatoes, bread or sugar. Here is a link to Banting’s book:

    http://www.lowcarb.ca/corpulence/corpulence_full.html

    And here is a direct quote of the advice he was given:

    “The items from which I was advised to abstain as much as possible were: Bread, butter, milk, sugar, beer, and potatoes, which had been the main (and, I thought, innocent) elements of my existence, or at all events they had for many years been adopted freely.”

    Diamond left out the butter, milk and beer. Banting goes on to detail his diet:

    “For breakfast, at 9.0 A.M., I take five to six ounces of either beef mutton, kidneys, broiled fish, bacon, or cold meat of any kind except pork or veal; a large cup of tea or coffee (without milk or sugar), a little biscuit, or one ounce of dry toast; making together six ounces solid, nine liquid.

    For dinner, at 2.0 P.M., Five or six ounces of any fish except salmon, herrings, or eels, any meat except pork or veal, any vegetable except potato, parsnip, beetroot, turnip, or carrot, one ounce of dry toast, fruit out of a pudding not sweetened, any kind of poultry or game, and two or three glasses of good claret, sherry, or Madeira— Champagne, port, and beer forbidden; making together ten to twelve ounces solid, and ten liquid.

    For tea, at 6.0 P.M., Two or three ounces of cooked fruit, a rusk or two, and a cup of tea without milk or sugar; making two to four ounces solid, nine liquid.

    For supper, at 9.0 P.M. Three or four ounces of meat or fish, similar to dinner, with a glass or two of claret or sherry and water; making four ounces solid and seven liquid.

    For nightcap, if required, A tumbler of grog—(gin, whisky, or brandy, without sugar)—or a glass or two of claret or sherry.”

    I’m surprised the alcohol industry hasn’t jumped on this book as evidence of the benefits of alcohol. However, if you look at his total daily meat consumption, it was maximum of 16 ounces a day and certain meats were excluded. I doubt many meat lovers would consider this “unlimited consumption of meat.” He also still had up to two slices of bread a day so didn’t entirely follow the advice of no bread.

    Diamond is either misrepresenting Banting’s book or is relying on a secondary source for his information (e.g. Gary Taubes). The misrepresentation continues throughout the presentation. In particular, he is fond of cherry picking statements from scientific papers and ignoring statements from the same papers that don’t support his hypothesis. For instance the Yerushalmy and Hilleboe paper which he uses in an attempt to take down the Key’s paper also included an analysis of animal fat vs vegetable fat and found that vegetable fat is negatively correlated with heart disease while animal fat has a strongly positive correlation with heart disease.

  27. Peter Azlac

    “The evidence is overwhelming”

    Please overwhelm me with a list of all the science based papers giving empirical data supporting a high fat low carbohydrate diet and not anecdotal evidence such as many of the respondents above have given. It has been shown in several real trials that you can lose weight on any diet providing it reduces caloric intake to around 1200 calories/d for a man and 1000 calories/d for a woman. Then, given that the daily need for calories is between 1800 and 2400 per day depending on age, sex and level of activity – higher if you are very active – your body will grab the missing 800 to 1400 calories/d from your stored energy: first from glycogen such that there is a high rate of weight loss linked to loss of body water and then from a slower use of fat – since fat has over twice the calories as carbohydrate. Weight loss alone will improve health, as you have found, but there is a big difference between weight loss and the effects on long term health.

    1. DirkH

      “It has been shown in several real trials that you can lose weight on any diet providing it reduces caloric intake …”

      No doubt – but the question is whether you actually manage to keep the diet up.

  28. Peter Azlac

    Dirk
    ‘No doubt – but the question is whether you actually manage to keep the diet up.’

    Spot on. The sad fact is that in spite of the claims made by the authors of many diet texts over 90% of diets fail, in that those who attempt them sooner rather than later regain weight. Irrespective of the level of obesity, age or amount of weight lost, up to 60% is regained within twelve months and most within five years and many then gain more weight than before they went on the diet. This is especially so with high protein/fat-low carbohydrate diets because to use the fat requires glucose and if the minimum glucose supply is not maintained the body breaks down muscle protein. Since this tissue is a major contributor to body metabolism the metabolic rate falls and if persons on such diets do not either increase their carbohydrate intake or reduce their caloric intake weight is regained. This also applies as we age with a typical 70 year old requiring only about 1800 calories per day compared to the 2400-2700 per day for an 18 year old. But the former usually exercise less and eat out more so consume calories in excess of needs.

    One of the few studies on this subject is that by Klem and colleagues1 based on questionnaires submitted to the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR). The study provides some useful insights into the reasons for success or failure by the obese to achieve their goals. The results show that the successful group had a peak loss of some 29% of bodyweight (average 66 lb or 30 kg) compared to a normal average loss of 10%. Then over the five-year period of the study, they put on weight, but they were able to maintain an average loss that was 45% of the peak loss (30 lb or 13.6 kg

    Klem ML, Wing RR, McGuire MT, Seagle HM and Hill JO, A descriptive study of individuals successful at long-term maintenance of substantial weight loss. Am J Clin Nutr, 66(2): 239-246, 1997.

    1. DirkH

      “to use the fat requires glucose”

      No; fat is broken down into ketones. Glucose is needed in addition to that for some functions, that’s where the body protein breakdown is used to provide for that glucose.

      Nobody here proposes to live 100% carbohydrate-free. As for how much carbohydrates are needed I simply go by my appetite for bread and fruit. Start with a protein/fat meal like bacon+eggs and add bread/fruit as needed, I would suggest, instead of starting with a base of carbohydrates like cereals with sugar, or pasta.

  29. Peter Azlac

    Dirk

    “to use the fat requires glucose”

    “No; fat is broken down into ketones. Glucose is needed in addition to that for some functions, that’s where the body protein breakdown is used to provide for that glucose.”

    Look up the Krebs or citric acid cycle!

    1. DirkH

      You are running on Ketones when fasting.
      http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com/ketosis.html

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