The Carb-Sane Asylum

Bump Again! I've bumped this before.  I'm still alive and working on blogging, finishing off an installment about the Sugar Slammers. I think this post is worth a read or re-read.  The Laura and John Arnold Foundation funds several non-profits all engaging in targeting sugar as the ultimate cause of everything. Such funds are obscured as donations to universities.  Additionally other non-profits with clear agendas present themselves as taking no industry funding.  It's a dense mess. ORIGINAL CONTENT PUBLISHED MARCH 16, 2015 I'm working on another post regarding conflicts of interest and such, and this came up on the background gathering.  A number of journals are adopting "noble" policies of no longer accepting industry funded studies. Mind you, many of these same journals appear to have no qualms publishing the works of individuals with clear biases and conflicts. I think this hard line on industry funding is wrong-headed.  Not that I'm...

gratuitous image of the Drs. Eades, early 2015 A little while back I wrote  Nutritional Ketosis is an Oxymoron .  I was taken to task a bit in comments for the inappropriate use of oxymoron, but I'm going to plead for leniency in the spirit of the use of the term.  The crux of that post was that the terms nutritional (as in being in a calorically sufficient, weight stable state) and ketosis are metabolically contradictory.  This is perhaps evidenced in no more profound manner than the extremes required to produce and sustain such a state, and the ease with which it is abolished. Ketowars rage on as the standard bearer appears to be imploding on the sidelines ...  I got into a discussion on Twitter with Dr. Eades about a side issue, and here you go ... SUMMARY: Starvation ketosis is distinctly different from nutritional ketosis. No human populations in sustained nutritional ketosis (not even the Inuit). Dietary reasons why the Inuit weren't in nu...

Timely Repost! Here's a question for y'all.  How many obese people do you see in concentration camps?   How do you think their cortisol levels are doing?   Jimmy Moore is at it again, lying about his weight.  You see, he insists that he hasn't changed a thing since May of 2013, and the same fasting 18-24 hours at a clip and 2000 calorie boluses of fat laced with protein has not only failed to produce additional weight loss, but has resulted in what appears to be a complete regain of the 2012-2013 NuttyK "Experiment" weight loss.   It's the stress Jimmy claims.   It's hard to believe it's been three years since most in the paleo community actually "met" Jimmy Moore.  At the time, he was going on various podcasts and exclaiming that he was the healthiest he's been in his life.  Jimmy didn't go on many other people's podcasts until that time, and it became rather frustrating to hear his protestations of health despite object...

Previously ... Part I: The Journal Article & The Headlines T here is so much about the recent study from principal low carbohydrate advocate Jeff Volek, that this may well be the subject or impetus for several posts here as we close out 2014 -- it is so much more than just the study, but more what it embodies vis a vis the whole low carb/keto schtick.  Along with Stephen Phinney and ten -- count them, TEN! -- others who claim to meet the PLOS One standards to be designated as authors, we were brought the following study: Effects of Step-Wise Increases in Dietary Carbohydrate on Circulating Saturated Fatty Acids and Palmitoleic Acid in Adults with Metabolic Syndrome In a way this tops off a year of disgraceful behavior on the parts of just about everyone in the IHC who seem hell-bent on deceiving people into adopting their extreme lifestyles. If the science were really so clear, then why can they not address it honestly? There is nothing, N.O.T.H.I.N.G. in ...

Yes folks! Yet another study has hit the presses to tell you everything you thought you knew about nutrition is wrong, wrong and more wrong!!  The Journal Article Effects of Step-Wise Increases in Dietary Carbohydrate on Circulating Saturated Fatty Acids and Palmitoleic Acid in Adults with Metabolic Syndrome Brittanie M. Volk, Laura J. Kunces, Daniel J. Freidenreich, Brian R. Kupchak, Catherine Saenz, Juan C. Artistizabal, Maria Luz Fernandez, Richard S. Bruno, Carl M. Maresh, William J. Kraemer, Stephen D. Phinney, Jeff S. Volek . Count 'em ... a dozen authors.

For the past couple of months, I've been somewhat obsessing about thermodynamics having written the AARR piece and a few blog posts, not to mention revisiting several dating back to near the beginnings of this blog.  I began this a while ago as a single lengthy post, but it's gotten out of hand and finding time to tidy up such a post vs. publishing shorter chunks in parts became impossible.  Not sure how many parts this will have.  This series will put several members of the IHC "on the record" so to speak.  While I've done so in the past, the hope is to have it all in one place. Robert Atkins the Calorie Guy!    Surely Atkins is an honorary member of the IHC, even though he passed away over a decade ago before this community reached the level that it has.  Most of the "greats" have learned something (perhaps essentially everything) they know about low carb diets and tangentially about thermodynamics/calorie theory from the "late great one...

Those who follow me on social media know that I broke down and purchased a copy of Keto Clarity .   I'm deciding on whether to bother with a formal review of the book or Jimmy Moore's contribution.  With respect to Jimmy Moore, this is a second volume of convincing himself and the world that his crazy diet schemes are healthy rather than unhealthy, as if repeating it often enough will make it so.   But for the rest of the world, it is more Dr. Eric Westman's stamp of approval and co-authorship that is problematic for his credibility.  In Cholesterol Clarity , he signed off on a book where Jimmy's horrific lipid panel including, at times, LDL-P over 3000, LDL-C over 300, TC over 400.   In Keto Clarity , the fact that Jimmy Moore's biomarkers did NOT improve, despite a temporary weight loss of almost 80 lbs, is magically presented as a healthy dietary lifestyle.  

Hey folks ... I don't have the time to blog on this today, but I wanted to post Jimmy Moore's interview in what I'm calling the 2014 Reversing Diabetes ^ Knowledge Summit. This video (audio) will only be live at this link until 10am EST tomorrow morning.  Anyone who thinks I have been unfair or maligned Mr. Moore by spreading misinformation should listen to this. UPDATED:  Read these posts about Jimmy's "reactive hypoglycemia"  You might find them enlightening. Dealing With Possible Reactive Hypoglycemia--One Month Later The LC Doc was ... drumroll ........ Dr. Eric Westman. Post-Low-Carb Meal 5-Hour Glucose Tolerance Test Produces Rather Odd Results That meal was like 1000 calories of several eggs, butter cheese and a Chick Fil A chicken breast.   ← the obvious culprit in his metabolic woes!!! The above are from mid 2008.

You hear it all the time -- the randomized controlled trial is the "gold standard" for clinical research.  Unfortunately, just because something is an RCT doesn't make it a good study, not by a long shot.  I blogged recently calling for an end to diet comparison RCTs  because I don't believe this model is productive in identifying what a healthful non-obesigenic diet is for humans.  All of the foods that have been blamed have been around for far longer than this problem has, so, frankly it really isn't the food.  There's no magical macronutrient ratio, no superfoods that will impart you with superhuman powers, and no foods that are inherently fattening or slimming ... even butter and celery, but please no buttered celery.

Random Bump & Flashback! Because someone just asked me about this Eco-Atkins vegan vs. Ovo-lacto vegetarian study on Twitter:   Effect of a 6-month vegan low-carbohydrate (‘Eco-Atkins’) diet on cardiovascular risk factors and body weight in hyperlipidaemic adults: a randomised controlled trial Pretty much all of the paleo, WAPF and Weizen Wampe dick und krank demon foods included!!  Veggie oils ... check!   Gluten ... check!   Soy ... check and check!   Heck, even 21 Day Sugar Detox no nos ... those sugar habit triggering cashews!   As with the previous metabolic study, participants were encouraged to eat only 60% of their estimated caloric requirements in order to continue the body weight reduction started on their metabolic phase. 38–40 The prescribed test diet was a low-carbohydrate vegan diet containing 26% of calories from carbohydrate, 31% of calories from vegetable proteins and 43% from fat (primarily vegetable oils).

There are at least two bona fide dietary approaches for the overweight individual -- restricting calories and restricting carbohydrates.  Both approaches, in my opinion, are meritorious and generally beneficial to most persons who are overweight, and both represent a decided improvement over the use of amphetamines or other medications, useless gadgets or doing nothing at all. Statement of Robert C. Atkins, MD to the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs April 12, 1973

So the LC Hills are alive with the sound of music to the ears of low carbers once again.  A 2-year NIH funded study pitted a classic lowfat CRD against a DANDR stye low carb diet.  DANDR fared equally with low fat on most measures and even posted a modest sustained improvement in HDL. Here's the summary : Background: Previous studies comparing low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets have not included a comprehensive behavioral treatment, resulting in suboptimal weight loss. Objective: To evaluate the effects of 2-year treatment with a low-carbohydrate or low-fat diet, each of which was combined with a comprehensive lifestyle modification program. Design: Randomized parallel-group trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT00143936) Setting: 3 academic medical centers. Patients: 307 participants with a mean age of 45.5 years (SD, 9.7years) and mean body mass index of 36.1 kg/m2 (SD, 3.5 kg/m2). Intervention: A low-carbohydrate diet, which consisted of limited carbohydrate...

Westman, Volek and Phinney were among the contributers (and Westman headlined) the following, partially Atkins Foundation funded, review: Low-carbohydrate Nutrition and Metabolism I can't recommend reading this highly enough. I've listed the references in a separate post , numbered (the formatting farkled the last few but I'll let you count ;) ) For a non-gimmicky discussion of how low carb diets REALLY work for weight loss, this is where it's at!

One of my big issues with TNA is the concept of subtracting sugar alcohols from Net Carbs. IMO, the most fraudulent practice in the LC field is the total subtraction of SA's in the calculation of net carbs.  There are 1.5-2.5 cal/g for most of them (except erythritol which is 0.2 cal/g) and these calories are from carbs! Here's what TNA says on the subject: "When it comes to low-carb foods, you subtract grams of sugar alcohols (including glycerin), as well as of fiber, from total grams of carbs to get the Net Carb count." "Many low-carb products are sweetened with such ingredients as glycerin, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, isomalt, lactitos and maltitol. ... Because sugar alcohols are not fully absorbed by the gut, they provide roughly half the calories that sugar does, although each one varies slightly. The incomplete and slower absorption results in a minimal impact on blood sugar and insulin response. This means that sugar alcohols don't sig...

This post is a general review of: The New Atkins for a New You by Drs. Westman, Phinney, and Volek. I probably haven't posted enough here to expose my sometimes cynical side of low carb eating, but if there are any visitors from the LC-www who recognize me, you've probably have seen this side of me.  I didn't expect to learn anything groundbreakingly new in this book but was curious to see what was updated and how it was presented by these respected researchers.  Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. Overall Rating:    ☼ ☼ ☼  ☼ ☼ The Good:   Reads well Well organized Success stories are separated (so folks like me can skip over them ), and appear to avoid the sensational (based on my skimming of a few). Referenced throughout Encouraging Lays out the plan clearly Focuses on long term way of life over a "diet" Acknowledges that for Maintenance there are two paths -- one of which being maintaining a significantly restricted carb intake for life....