The Carb-Sane Asylum

s ummary This post discusses a few studies on BMI and body composition and CVD mortality.  It was prompted by a Twitter conversation wherein Rob made claims regarding  frail obese people , and that obesity science must address body composition to move forward.  The idea being that people with BMIs up to 40 don't have a "weight" problem, they have a fat problem, and the solution is to gain more lean mass then lose fat mass whether or not there is net weight gain/loss/neutrailty in the process.  BMI is essentially a useless measure.     There are a lot of people, particularly in the "strong women" and Healthy-At-Every-Size (HAES)/related communities putting forth a similar message, that weight doesn't matter, and the former, especially, promoting lifting heavy weights and "thickness".  A sizeable proportion of people from just about every corner of the internet is fixated on the concept of preserving and/or building lean mass.   ...

I have much to be thankful for this year, and this is a day for celebration.    Wishing you all the best day, I'm thankful for all who read here!   I'll be making an apple pie (crust from scratch too!) and there's a slice with my name on it ... it will be worth every calorie!  Also my sister makes the BEST pecan pie only once a year on Thanksgiving, so you better believe I'm having a slice of that too!  I hope you all enjoy the special foods at your celebrations, but more importantly the family and friends you celebrate with.   Have a great day!

The Noakes Foundation has put out a new book entitled Diabetes Unpacked * , edited by Dr. Zoe Harcombe PhD.   It is a compilation of chapters written by a who's who of the low carborati.  This installment deals with Chapter 3 by Dr. Jason Fung, a nephrologist masquerading as an obesity specialist and diabetologist.  He has no formal training in either, and his grasp of some pretty basic physiology is tenuous at best.  That latter "charge" can be backed up by fact checking (or attempting to fact check that which isn't simply Fung POOP (Pulled Out Of Posterior) ) any of his various blog articles, books, podcasts or YouTube videos.   * That's my Amazon affiliate link This post will be an evolving one of sorts that I'll bump if and when content is added.  I've avoided giving Fung much "ink" here, frankly because I never thought anyone would take him seriously enough to deserve it.  Clearly I was wrong.  There's apparently no lim...

T his mix of snarkasm and practical advice is brought to you by Facebook Memories reminding me of a post I made around a year ago -- The #LCHF Weight Loss Industry & Evangelizing Low Carb  -- and the upcoming Keto Clarity Academy event featuring Melanie Miller and Jimmy Moore "influencing" people on how to stay healthy for the holidays. The holiday season will be soon upon us, and even those who celebrate no December holidays will likely still have to navigate related social engagements.  Let me preface this by saying that I recognize there are a number of people who absolutely cannot, or probably should not, stray from their dietary regimen.  There are others who, when they do, have a much harder time getting "back on the wagon" compared to whatever issues staying on plan will cause.  If you are any of these people, this blog post is not for you.  This blog post is aimed at all of those who are angst-ridden going into and through the upcoming holi...

BUMP NOTICE:  I'm bumping this post due to some recent discussions on social media regarding the reversibility of Type 2 Diabetes and the role of low carbohydrate diets in the growing "curing diabetes" paradigm.  Recently Dr. Roy Taylor (the investigator I most closely associate with the crash diet, though this is an extensive group) and colleagues, who implemented a "crash diet" to cure diabetes -- by reducing pancreatic and hepatic (liver) fat concurrently with rapid weight loss -- published the following in BMJ:   Beating type 2 diabetes into remission .    The criteria are non-diabetic markers for a period following reversal of the progression.  Here is where various low carbohydrate interventions "fail", as many are able to maintain normoglycemia only by avoiding carbohydrates.  The question remains if this is effectively the same as other reversals.  I contend it is not, as normal pancreatic function -- specifically GSIS -- has not ...

I think this post has needed a bump for a while.     I also think the data on growing animals eating a keto diet should be cause for at least caution in encouraging such diets for kids, teens or even young adults. ORIGINAL POST DATE 3/20/2012 One of the more difficult things to sort out from the enormous amount of information out there is the actual effect, if any, of dietary composition on resulting body composition.  This is complicated from the get-go by many rodent studies that are done on reproductively mature animals that are still growing.  How to compare this to humans who cease growing vertically once they reach adulthood?  Next we have to sort through the studies that are done, and the implications of them, in the context of weight loss/underfeeding vs. those in the context of weight gain/overfeeding.  Clearly there are compensatory mechanisms at play in both situations that are drastically different.  Lastly, and here's where we probab...

Bumping Again! New Article in BMJ:   Analysis: Beating type 2 diabetes into remission * The original posting of this was shortly after the first papers published on the success of a very low calorie diet -- essentially a 6-800 calorie protein-sparing-modified-fast, protein shakes + non-starchy veggies -- in curing diabetes in relatively short order.  You may also be interested in the following posts: The Diabetes "Crash" Cure Revisited  (a follow-up to this one) Diabetes "Crash" Cures: VLCal vs. VLCarb Check Featured Comment (if any) for further updates from me. *In light of commentary below, I'll add that I am not a fan of using the term remission here.  Cancer does seem to strike at random most times and recurrence seems to be equally random.  At best we have few if any ways to predict who will see cancer return etc.  But Type 2 diabetes doesn't work that way in most.  The source of the beta cell dysfunction is pretty well k...