It pains me whenever I hear that someone has chronic fatigue syndrome (more often called ME or myalgic encephalitis in the UK) or fibromyalgia, and has been told that there is no cure. Sure, these are very complex conditions to treat, and that seems to be a major part of the problem.
Mainstream medicine focuses on identifying specific organs as the source of a patient's symptoms. It has extreme difficulty in recognising or treating ailments caused by a malfunctioning in fundamental processes which cannot be ascribed to one single organ or hormonal problem. As a result, those suffering from CFS or ME and fibromyalgia often end up visiting a string of specialists and undergoing various treatments, without any real, longlasting benefit. All too often, they are fobbed off with 'there's nothing more we can do'.
Yet there's plenty of evidence that the problems underlying CFS, ME and fibromyalgia are becoming better understood, and most importantly, treatable. Thyroid and adrenal dysfunction seem to be common facets of these conditions, and readers of my blog will know that it is my belief (and that of many others) that thyroid and adrenal problems are themselves poorly understood and diagnosed.
One of the best sources of information on the latest understanding of CFS, ME and fibromyalgia, the link with thyroid and adrenal dysfunction and how to treat these conditions is the website of Kent Holtorf MD at http://www.hormoneandlongevitycenter.com/cfidsfibromyalgia#1b. This is must-read information for sufferers of CFS, ME and fibromyalgia and their doctors.
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Diabetes diet - high carb or low carb?
Today I was in a health food shop buying flax seeds to make my usual low carb bread. Just out of interest, I asked the assistant whether the Daily Mail's recent series about the 'All-new Atkins Diet' had increased the number of people asking about the Atkins Diet. Her answer was that she was totally against low carb diets. She then said that she was a diabetic, and therefore needs her carbs! A lady of considerable weight shall we say, I thought this unlikely. I mentioned that there is a lot of evidence now that diabetics get better control on a low rather than high carb diet, but she was obviously unwilling to be convinced. Another customer came along, so I was unable to suggest she look at some of the information about low carb diets in diabetes on my website.
In view of the increasing evidence to the contrary, when are Diabetes UK, the American Diabetes Association and other diabetes care organisations and health professionals going to stop telling diabetics that high carb is the only safe diet for them?
The trouble is, it takes many years for long-held beliefs to change in medical and government health advice circles. This is especially the case where these beliefs are constantly reinforced by the drug companies and agricultural and food manufacturing industries, who have much to lose should healthy eating advice change from the status quo.
Nutritional medicine experts such as Dr Richard Bernstein, Dr Robert Atkins and Weston Price have long maintained that type 2 diabetics can often be cured and taken off their diabetes medications completely by following a low carb diet, but they have largely been ignored by mainstream medicine. Now, however, the weight of scientific evidence is fast becoming overwhelming. Although this is unlikely to translate into official changes in dietary advice for diabetics for some time to come, many diabetics may now feel there is sufficient information on the issues around low fat versus low carb diets for them to make their own informed choice about the diet they should follow. It is important, though, to carry out any changes in diet in consultation with your doctor, as you may need to reduce or even stop your insulin or other diabetes medications.
If you or someone you know is diabetic, particularly type 2, and you want to know more about recent advances in understanding about using low carb diets in diabetes, the Nutrition and Metabolism Society website is a good source to start with, particularly the section on low carb diets and diabetes, the recent research and presentations pages, and the Nutrition & Metabolism Journal review article on low carb diets in type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Remember: it's your body, and your right to make an informed decision on how to deal with your diabetes. Challenging what your doctor or other sources of dietary advice say and seeking out the information you need can be daunting. But perhaps the following might help spur you into action:
Dr Bernstein, diabetes doctor and a diabetic himself, writes in Diabetes Health of his belief that the only way to keep insulin levels down and blood sugars normal is to reduce fast-acting carbs such as bread, pasta and sugar. He says that the American Diabetes Association does not support this approach because they maintain that 'diabetics are either too stupid or lazy to follow it'. He also suggests there is another institutional problem with normalising blood sugars via a low carb diet: doctors' fears of having a patient die from hypoglycemia, for which they could be sued. So doctors might prefer to keep their patients' blood sugars unnaturally high. If they die of heart attacks, or of other disease, as often happens, they won't get sued for that.
Dr Mary Vernon, co-athor of 'Atkins Diabetes Revolution' says on her website that she used to tell her diabetes patients what she had been told to tell them in medical school but it wasn't helping. This made her wonder whether the advice was wrong, so she went back and looked at the biochemistry. This reminded her of a fact which has long been known, but which often gets forgotten. Insulin's primary job is to store fat and block fat burning. What her patients were doing on their high carb diets was to make large amounts of insulin, store fat very effectively and gain weight hand over fist. So she started advising them to eat low carb and they lost weight and improved their blood sugar levels tremendously. The news got around and soon she started getting referrals from other physicians whenever they had patients with metabolic problems.
A low carbing diabetic who contacted me recently told me: 'I get so cross that all my current ills are due to the high carb low fat diets that the doctors had me following. I followed them to the letter but my diabetes etc got steadily worse with all the nasty complications. Every time I had a blood test I was told I was not in control, I told them I followed the eating plans their nutritionalist gave me but they just basically called me a liar! Now I am low carbing and suddenly the blood test that shows how well your control is over a 12 week period came back at 6, it seems 5 to 7 is normal. I told them I am low carbing and proud of it and the nurse shocked me to the core by saying "I thought so, it is the only way you could get those results!". So they do know it works but they still push the high carb low fat diets!'
In view of the increasing evidence to the contrary, when are Diabetes UK, the American Diabetes Association and other diabetes care organisations and health professionals going to stop telling diabetics that high carb is the only safe diet for them?
The trouble is, it takes many years for long-held beliefs to change in medical and government health advice circles. This is especially the case where these beliefs are constantly reinforced by the drug companies and agricultural and food manufacturing industries, who have much to lose should healthy eating advice change from the status quo.
Nutritional medicine experts such as Dr Richard Bernstein, Dr Robert Atkins and Weston Price have long maintained that type 2 diabetics can often be cured and taken off their diabetes medications completely by following a low carb diet, but they have largely been ignored by mainstream medicine. Now, however, the weight of scientific evidence is fast becoming overwhelming. Although this is unlikely to translate into official changes in dietary advice for diabetics for some time to come, many diabetics may now feel there is sufficient information on the issues around low fat versus low carb diets for them to make their own informed choice about the diet they should follow. It is important, though, to carry out any changes in diet in consultation with your doctor, as you may need to reduce or even stop your insulin or other diabetes medications.
If you or someone you know is diabetic, particularly type 2, and you want to know more about recent advances in understanding about using low carb diets in diabetes, the Nutrition and Metabolism Society website is a good source to start with, particularly the section on low carb diets and diabetes, the recent research and presentations pages, and the Nutrition & Metabolism Journal review article on low carb diets in type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Remember: it's your body, and your right to make an informed decision on how to deal with your diabetes. Challenging what your doctor or other sources of dietary advice say and seeking out the information you need can be daunting. But perhaps the following might help spur you into action:
Dr Bernstein, diabetes doctor and a diabetic himself, writes in Diabetes Health of his belief that the only way to keep insulin levels down and blood sugars normal is to reduce fast-acting carbs such as bread, pasta and sugar. He says that the American Diabetes Association does not support this approach because they maintain that 'diabetics are either too stupid or lazy to follow it'. He also suggests there is another institutional problem with normalising blood sugars via a low carb diet: doctors' fears of having a patient die from hypoglycemia, for which they could be sued. So doctors might prefer to keep their patients' blood sugars unnaturally high. If they die of heart attacks, or of other disease, as often happens, they won't get sued for that.
Dr Mary Vernon, co-athor of 'Atkins Diabetes Revolution' says on her website that she used to tell her diabetes patients what she had been told to tell them in medical school but it wasn't helping. This made her wonder whether the advice was wrong, so she went back and looked at the biochemistry. This reminded her of a fact which has long been known, but which often gets forgotten. Insulin's primary job is to store fat and block fat burning. What her patients were doing on their high carb diets was to make large amounts of insulin, store fat very effectively and gain weight hand over fist. So she started advising them to eat low carb and they lost weight and improved their blood sugar levels tremendously. The news got around and soon she started getting referrals from other physicians whenever they had patients with metabolic problems.
A low carbing diabetic who contacted me recently told me: 'I get so cross that all my current ills are due to the high carb low fat diets that the doctors had me following. I followed them to the letter but my diabetes etc got steadily worse with all the nasty complications. Every time I had a blood test I was told I was not in control, I told them I followed the eating plans their nutritionalist gave me but they just basically called me a liar! Now I am low carbing and suddenly the blood test that shows how well your control is over a 12 week period came back at 6, it seems 5 to 7 is normal. I told them I am low carbing and proud of it and the nurse shocked me to the core by saying "I thought so, it is the only way you could get those results!". So they do know it works but they still push the high carb low fat diets!'
All-New Atkins Advantage diet which lets you eat those forbidden carbs and STILL lose weight - Really?
The UK national newspaper the Daily Mail has been running a series this week on the so-called All-New Atkins Advantage diet. Seasoned low carbers and Atkins Dieters have been struggling to see how the diet is 'new', apart from the addition of some of the Atkins Nutritionals bars and other products in the induction phase, and possibly more 'carby' products such as bread at an earlier stage than in previous version of the diet.
I say possibly, because if you read the article carefully, you see that, as ever, you bring these more carby foods back as and when you can tolerate them. And, as ever, most people who need the Atkins Diet or another low carb diet in the first place will find they cannot lose weight when they include these products. So much for the attention-grabbing headlines 'The All New Atkins Diet Plan which lets you eat those forbidden carbs and STILL lose weight'.
I also took issue with the Daily Mail's explanation of 'net carbs'. Although correct for a North American audience, it was factually incorrect and very misleading for a UK audience and for readers in most other countries. I submitted a 'comment' explaining this to the online version of the Daily Mail, but they declined to publish this fairly vital clarification (or issue a clarification of their own). So, for those who are unaware that calculating 'net' carbs is mostly only an issue for our low carbing friends in North America, here is my comment that the Daily Mail felt unable to publish:
"The advice in this article on calculating the net carbs is incorrect for the UK, Europe and most countries except the US and Canada. The article is taken from a book written for an American audience, and in North America, nutrition labelling is different. There, labels list fibre as a sub-category of carbohydrate, hence the need to subtract the fibre to get the net carbs. Elsewhere, including the UK, fibre is shown as an entirely separate category. So in the UK, the carbohydrate value IS the net carbs. There's more information on this at http://www.lowcarbiseasy.com/labelling.htm."
It would have been so much more refreshing had the Daily Mail published an article about the new clinical studies that support the safety and efficacy of the original Atkins Diet, rather than this quick guide to doing the watered-down politically correct version of the diet recently put out by associates of Atkins Nutritionals, who now control the Atkins brand.
And as some dieters have said of the menus in the Daily Mail articles in the various Atkins/low carb online forums, why bother with such fussy menus and recipes when simpler ones are just as good? Those who find these and the menus in the Atkins New Diet Cookbook too fussy or difficult to shop and cook for may like to explore the Low Carb / Low GI Cookbook.
I say possibly, because if you read the article carefully, you see that, as ever, you bring these more carby foods back as and when you can tolerate them. And, as ever, most people who need the Atkins Diet or another low carb diet in the first place will find they cannot lose weight when they include these products. So much for the attention-grabbing headlines 'The All New Atkins Diet Plan which lets you eat those forbidden carbs and STILL lose weight'.
I also took issue with the Daily Mail's explanation of 'net carbs'. Although correct for a North American audience, it was factually incorrect and very misleading for a UK audience and for readers in most other countries. I submitted a 'comment' explaining this to the online version of the Daily Mail, but they declined to publish this fairly vital clarification (or issue a clarification of their own). So, for those who are unaware that calculating 'net' carbs is mostly only an issue for our low carbing friends in North America, here is my comment that the Daily Mail felt unable to publish:
"The advice in this article on calculating the net carbs is incorrect for the UK, Europe and most countries except the US and Canada. The article is taken from a book written for an American audience, and in North America, nutrition labelling is different. There, labels list fibre as a sub-category of carbohydrate, hence the need to subtract the fibre to get the net carbs. Elsewhere, including the UK, fibre is shown as an entirely separate category. So in the UK, the carbohydrate value IS the net carbs. There's more information on this at http://www.lowcarbiseasy.com/labelling.htm."
It would have been so much more refreshing had the Daily Mail published an article about the new clinical studies that support the safety and efficacy of the original Atkins Diet, rather than this quick guide to doing the watered-down politically correct version of the diet recently put out by associates of Atkins Nutritionals, who now control the Atkins brand.
And as some dieters have said of the menus in the Daily Mail articles in the various Atkins/low carb online forums, why bother with such fussy menus and recipes when simpler ones are just as good? Those who find these and the menus in the Atkins New Diet Cookbook too fussy or difficult to shop and cook for may like to explore the Low Carb / Low GI Cookbook.
Friday, 5 December 2008
The high cholesterol causes heart disease myth
If health professionals such Dr Malcolm Kendrick, Dr John Briffa and Dr Joseph Mercola (to name just a few) can be so convinced that high cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease and stroke, then why are our health services still geared towards the reduction of cholesterol levels at all costs? Why doesn't anyone in mainstream medicine or government health departments appear to be able to hear what they say?
If you still believe that (1) saturated fat causes high cholesterol and (2) that high cholesterol causes heart disease, then watch these videos of the presentation that UK General Practitioner Dr Malcolm Kendrick gave to the BMA (British Medical Association)at their meeting in Leeds:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Unbelievably, despite being presented with evidence such as this, the 'healthy eating' industry and mainstream medical profession continue to maintain that the 'reduce saturated fat and cholesterol' message is the right one. See an example of the level of denial they exhibit in the video below of a debate on saturated fat and heart disease at which Dr John Briffa was a member of the panel. See how, when he suggests that the debate was not supposed to be about how best to deliver the 'reduce saturated fat and cholesterol' message, but whether saturated fat intake and high cholesterol levels cause heart disease in the first place, he is told that 'fifty years of evidence exist' and is thereafter virtually ignored. As far as the Food Standards Agency spokesperson and other members of the panel are concerned, the concept that the saturated fat and cholesterol theory could be wrong in the first place just doesn't seem to exist.
Debate on saturated fat and heart disease
Do you remember how long 'officialdom' held out against the growing evidence that smoking damages your health? Don't wait for the nanny state to recognise they're wrong on the cause of heart disease and eventually pass the revised message onto you. It is evident that they still have a long way to go on this issue, and in the meantime, it's your body and your health that is at risk.
If you still believe that (1) saturated fat causes high cholesterol and (2) that high cholesterol causes heart disease, then watch these videos of the presentation that UK General Practitioner Dr Malcolm Kendrick gave to the BMA (British Medical Association)at their meeting in Leeds:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Unbelievably, despite being presented with evidence such as this, the 'healthy eating' industry and mainstream medical profession continue to maintain that the 'reduce saturated fat and cholesterol' message is the right one. See an example of the level of denial they exhibit in the video below of a debate on saturated fat and heart disease at which Dr John Briffa was a member of the panel. See how, when he suggests that the debate was not supposed to be about how best to deliver the 'reduce saturated fat and cholesterol' message, but whether saturated fat intake and high cholesterol levels cause heart disease in the first place, he is told that 'fifty years of evidence exist' and is thereafter virtually ignored. As far as the Food Standards Agency spokesperson and other members of the panel are concerned, the concept that the saturated fat and cholesterol theory could be wrong in the first place just doesn't seem to exist.
Debate on saturated fat and heart disease
Do you remember how long 'officialdom' held out against the growing evidence that smoking damages your health? Don't wait for the nanny state to recognise they're wrong on the cause of heart disease and eventually pass the revised message onto you. It is evident that they still have a long way to go on this issue, and in the meantime, it's your body and your health that is at risk.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
Use of the Atkins Diet in place of the traditional ketogenic epilepsy diet
Epilepsy has been in the news today with a new trial in the UK which showed that a ketogenic high-fat diet can significantly reduce the number of seizures. Although the mechanisms are not fully understood, the ketogenesis alters the metabolism of the brain in a way that can reduce the risk of seizures. The ketogenic diet was in use in epilepsy many years ago, but fell out of favour due to difficulty in keeping to the diet and concerns about the high fat content of the diet and cholesterol levels.
In the UK trial, the researchers called for the diet to be more widely available on the NHS. But why wait for what could be a very long time? The concerns about cholesterol levels have now been shown to be groundless. Moreover, researchers elsewhere have reported that less strict versions of the ketogenic diet, such as the Atkins Diet or a modified version of it, can be just as effective and may not need such close hospital supervision.
Epilepsy consultant Dr Eric Kossoff has been very active in this area of research, and has shown that the traditional ketogenic diet for epilepsy is needlessly restrictive. He uses a modified version of the Atkins Diet (10 g rather than 20 g of carbohydrates for the first few months). He has also found that epileptic kids don't need to start off with a fast, so no initial hospitalization is needed, and their carers can more or less just get the Atkins book and follow it (under the epilepsy consultant's supervision). This, together with the increased availability of low carbohydrate substitutes for making bread and other foods hitherto off-limits on the ketogenic epilepsy diet, should make life much easier for epileptics and those who cook for them.
I see that National Epilepsy Week 2008 is 18 - 25 May (in the UK). My contribution to the Week is to help raise awareness of the work of Dr Kossoff and colleagues. If you know of any epileptics for whom medications are not effective, I urge you to join me in bringing this information on epilepsy diets to their attention.
Here are summaries of Dr Kossoff's recent studies:
'A modified Atkins Diet is an effective and well-tolerated therapy for intractable pediatric epilepsy.'
Kossoff, E.H., McGrogan, J.R., Bluml, R.M., Pillas, D.J., Ruberstein, J.E., Vining, E.P., 'A modified Atkins Diet is an effective and well-tolerated therapy for intractable pediatric epilepsy', Epilepsia, 2006, 47(2):421-424.
'The ketogenic diet is effective for treating seizures in children with epilepsy. The Atkins Diet can also induce a ketotic state, but has fewer protein and caloric restrictions, and has been used safely by millions of people worldwide for weight reduction. ... This provides preliminary evidence that the Atkins Diet may have a role as therapy for patients with medically resistant epilepsy.'
Kossoff, E.H., Krauss, G.L., McGrogan, J.R., Freeman, J.M., 'Efficacy of the Atkins diet as therapy for intractable epilepsy', NEUROLOGY, 2003;61:1789-1791.
'The ketogenic diet is effective for treating seizures in children with epilepsy. The Atkins Diet can also induce a ketotic state, but has fewer protein and caloric restrictions, and has been used safely by millions of people worldwide for weight reduction. ... This provides preliminary evidence that the Atkins Diet may have a role as therapy for patients with medically resistant epilepsy.'
Kossoff, E.H., Krauss, G.L., McGrogan, J.R., Freeman, J.M., 'Efficacy of the Atkins diet as therapy for intractable epilepsy', NEUROLOGY, 2003;61:1789-1791.
'Only a decade ago the ketogenic diet was seen as a last resort; however, it has become more commonly used in academic centres throughout the world even early in the course of epilepsy. The Atkins diet is a recently used, less restrictive, therapy that also creates ketosis and can lower the number of seizures.'
Kossoff, E.H., 'More fat and fewer seizures: dietary therapies for epilepsy, THE LANCET Neurology, 2004, 3:415-20
Footnote:
The recipes in the Low Carb / Low GI Cookbook are particularly suitable for those following the Atkins Diet or a modified form of the Atkins Diet for seizures as they are extremely low in carbohydrates and fit well into the allowance of 10 to 20 grams of carbohydrate per day that are recommended for epileptics using the diet. Good results have also been obtained by starting the diet with a low level of carbs which is then increased after a period of time. The interactive features of the Low Carb / Low GI Cookbook are particularly useful as the carbohydrate values of individual ingredients are shown, and ingredients can be adjusted and carb counts automatically recalculated, according to the changing needs of the person using the diet. Recipes can also be added, and imported from other sources.
In the UK trial, the researchers called for the diet to be more widely available on the NHS. But why wait for what could be a very long time? The concerns about cholesterol levels have now been shown to be groundless. Moreover, researchers elsewhere have reported that less strict versions of the ketogenic diet, such as the Atkins Diet or a modified version of it, can be just as effective and may not need such close hospital supervision.
Epilepsy consultant Dr Eric Kossoff has been very active in this area of research, and has shown that the traditional ketogenic diet for epilepsy is needlessly restrictive. He uses a modified version of the Atkins Diet (10 g rather than 20 g of carbohydrates for the first few months). He has also found that epileptic kids don't need to start off with a fast, so no initial hospitalization is needed, and their carers can more or less just get the Atkins book and follow it (under the epilepsy consultant's supervision). This, together with the increased availability of low carbohydrate substitutes for making bread and other foods hitherto off-limits on the ketogenic epilepsy diet, should make life much easier for epileptics and those who cook for them.
I see that National Epilepsy Week 2008 is 18 - 25 May (in the UK). My contribution to the Week is to help raise awareness of the work of Dr Kossoff and colleagues. If you know of any epileptics for whom medications are not effective, I urge you to join me in bringing this information on epilepsy diets to their attention.
Here are summaries of Dr Kossoff's recent studies:
'A modified Atkins Diet is an effective and well-tolerated therapy for intractable pediatric epilepsy.'
Kossoff, E.H., McGrogan, J.R., Bluml, R.M., Pillas, D.J., Ruberstein, J.E., Vining, E.P., 'A modified Atkins Diet is an effective and well-tolerated therapy for intractable pediatric epilepsy', Epilepsia, 2006, 47(2):421-424.
'The ketogenic diet is effective for treating seizures in children with epilepsy. The Atkins Diet can also induce a ketotic state, but has fewer protein and caloric restrictions, and has been used safely by millions of people worldwide for weight reduction. ... This provides preliminary evidence that the Atkins Diet may have a role as therapy for patients with medically resistant epilepsy.'
Kossoff, E.H., Krauss, G.L., McGrogan, J.R., Freeman, J.M., 'Efficacy of the Atkins diet as therapy for intractable epilepsy', NEUROLOGY, 2003;61:1789-1791.
'The ketogenic diet is effective for treating seizures in children with epilepsy. The Atkins Diet can also induce a ketotic state, but has fewer protein and caloric restrictions, and has been used safely by millions of people worldwide for weight reduction. ... This provides preliminary evidence that the Atkins Diet may have a role as therapy for patients with medically resistant epilepsy.'
Kossoff, E.H., Krauss, G.L., McGrogan, J.R., Freeman, J.M., 'Efficacy of the Atkins diet as therapy for intractable epilepsy', NEUROLOGY, 2003;61:1789-1791.
'Only a decade ago the ketogenic diet was seen as a last resort; however, it has become more commonly used in academic centres throughout the world even early in the course of epilepsy. The Atkins diet is a recently used, less restrictive, therapy that also creates ketosis and can lower the number of seizures.'
Kossoff, E.H., 'More fat and fewer seizures: dietary therapies for epilepsy, THE LANCET Neurology, 2004, 3:415-20
Footnote:
The recipes in the Low Carb / Low GI Cookbook are particularly suitable for those following the Atkins Diet or a modified form of the Atkins Diet for seizures as they are extremely low in carbohydrates and fit well into the allowance of 10 to 20 grams of carbohydrate per day that are recommended for epileptics using the diet. Good results have also been obtained by starting the diet with a low level of carbs which is then increased after a period of time. The interactive features of the Low Carb / Low GI Cookbook are particularly useful as the carbohydrate values of individual ingredients are shown, and ingredients can be adjusted and carb counts automatically recalculated, according to the changing needs of the person using the diet. Recipes can also be added, and imported from other sources.
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Hypothyroid and still suffering the symptoms?
If you're hypothyroid and still struggling with symptoms such as difficulty in losing weight, tiredness, dry skin, brain fog, aches and pains and the rest, read this paper on the treatment of hypothyroidism by expert Dr John C. Lowe. It's long and detailed, but explains everything that is wrong with the treatment of hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid today, and what needs to be done about it.
Fast weight loss - or long term health?
When our thoughts turn to losing some weight we often focus on how fast we can lose it. Any diet will do, as long as we lose those extra pounds fast. Unfortunately, not many of us stop to think about the long term health consequences of the diet we choose. Losing the weight is the only thing that matters, isn't it? And losing weight is a simple matter of going on a low calorie/low fat diet, is it not?
But supposing there's more to it than that? What if we've overlooked a crucial aspect of why we become overweight? Supposing whether or not we put on surplus weight is heavily determined by the way as individuals we respond hormonally to the highly processed foods we now eat? And, if there are hormonal reasons for putting the excess weight on in the first place, wouldn't it be more effective and healthy to follow a diet that takes these into account?
At this point we should be clear that when we talk about hormonal reasons for putting on weight, we're not just talking about those of us of the female persuasion. The hormones we're referring to here are just as much an issue for the male of the species.
The main hormone concerned is insulin. Insulin controls fat storage. High insulin levels mean our bodies are more efficient at storing than burning energy. Insulin acts as the gatekeeper in the other direction too, preventing the release of our stored fat. In other words, we may reduce calories in our attempts to lose weight, but if insulin is too high, the desired release of stored energy from our fat cells can't happen. A double whammy.
So which are the foods which cause high levels of insulin? It's carbohydrates, particularly the highly processed sort, deficient in fibre and nutrients, which have become our staple foods today. For instance, sugar, white flour, white rice, pasta, pizza, sugary drinks, sweets and candy, biscuits, cookies, cakes, pastries, sugary desserts and many savoury foods too, such as corn or potato snacks.
Researchers and clinicians have been saying for years that the low calorie/low fat approach doesn't work long term for many people. The millions of 'yoyo' or serial dieters who keep the low calorie/low fat-focused multibillion dollar diet and diet food industry in business are testament to this. In recent years many clinical studies have been done which demonstrate that diets which keep insulin in balance are indeed more effective at weight loss for many people than the traditional low calorie/low fat diet. Diets which work on this principle include low carb and low GI (glycemic index) diets.
However, that's not all that recent research has discovered. Controlling the passage of fat in and out of our fat cells isn't insulin's only role. Insulin has other, far-reaching effects in our bodies and it is now increasingly recognised that the long term damage that leads to type 2 diabetes and heart disease is down to high insulin levels, too. In other words, low carb and low GI diets are likely to be better for our long term health than the standard low calorie/low fat diet generally promoted as 'healthy eating'.
Unfortunately, most dieters (and, sadly, most medical professionals) are unaware of the latest research and understanding of the part hormones such as insulin play in not only weight regulation but also in conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. I think it is so important for everyone who is interested in their long term health to know about this that I've written an e-book about it, and I'm making it available completely free. My e-book is called "Why You Should Consider a Low Carb or Low GI Diet".
But supposing there's more to it than that? What if we've overlooked a crucial aspect of why we become overweight? Supposing whether or not we put on surplus weight is heavily determined by the way as individuals we respond hormonally to the highly processed foods we now eat? And, if there are hormonal reasons for putting the excess weight on in the first place, wouldn't it be more effective and healthy to follow a diet that takes these into account?
At this point we should be clear that when we talk about hormonal reasons for putting on weight, we're not just talking about those of us of the female persuasion. The hormones we're referring to here are just as much an issue for the male of the species.
The main hormone concerned is insulin. Insulin controls fat storage. High insulin levels mean our bodies are more efficient at storing than burning energy. Insulin acts as the gatekeeper in the other direction too, preventing the release of our stored fat. In other words, we may reduce calories in our attempts to lose weight, but if insulin is too high, the desired release of stored energy from our fat cells can't happen. A double whammy.
So which are the foods which cause high levels of insulin? It's carbohydrates, particularly the highly processed sort, deficient in fibre and nutrients, which have become our staple foods today. For instance, sugar, white flour, white rice, pasta, pizza, sugary drinks, sweets and candy, biscuits, cookies, cakes, pastries, sugary desserts and many savoury foods too, such as corn or potato snacks.
Researchers and clinicians have been saying for years that the low calorie/low fat approach doesn't work long term for many people. The millions of 'yoyo' or serial dieters who keep the low calorie/low fat-focused multibillion dollar diet and diet food industry in business are testament to this. In recent years many clinical studies have been done which demonstrate that diets which keep insulin in balance are indeed more effective at weight loss for many people than the traditional low calorie/low fat diet. Diets which work on this principle include low carb and low GI (glycemic index) diets.
However, that's not all that recent research has discovered. Controlling the passage of fat in and out of our fat cells isn't insulin's only role. Insulin has other, far-reaching effects in our bodies and it is now increasingly recognised that the long term damage that leads to type 2 diabetes and heart disease is down to high insulin levels, too. In other words, low carb and low GI diets are likely to be better for our long term health than the standard low calorie/low fat diet generally promoted as 'healthy eating'.
Unfortunately, most dieters (and, sadly, most medical professionals) are unaware of the latest research and understanding of the part hormones such as insulin play in not only weight regulation but also in conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. I think it is so important for everyone who is interested in their long term health to know about this that I've written an e-book about it, and I'm making it available completely free. My e-book is called "Why You Should Consider a Low Carb or Low GI Diet".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
