As to the medical practitioner issue, I appreciate all that you’re doing in trying to educate the medical establishment. It can be very frustrating for me and my spouse (a type 1 diabetic) in our struggles to find an endocrinologist who subscribes to (or even tolerates) low carb – let alone understands, that low carb is not bacon-eggs and cheese, with a little steak thrown in. Shouldn’t the endocrinologists study this more acutely,(the Boston/RI corridor is not poorly educated), and do more than promote insulin pumps as a solution to diabetes? Unfortunately Dr. Atkins did not live long enought to erase the notion that it isn’t just that, but was anyone listening anyways? I’m thrilled that you and Dr. Eades have expanded from the protein power label (which certainly included low carb all along!) to the “Low Carb Cookworx” moniker. I think that you’ll be GREAT spokespersons for the “whole foods idea”, because as my wife and I note (last night with the Thai chicken and spagaroni) – you always explain the healthful aspects of every item you use. And the statistics from WHO on Thailand and heart-related and cancer were shocking! All that my wife and I can do is to continue to present this evidence to our doctors, and hope that the light goes on eventually.

Once again, thank you. You can sleep well at night in the knowledge that the diet you advocate will be spread by us, and others like us, perhaps incrementally in terms of success, but eventually science will win out.

Finally, from my background as a practicing chemistry educator, I’m wondering — is the expert command of chemical compounds and the biochemistry that you demonstrate on your show – all self-taught, or were your undergraduate degrees in that field? Impressive!

David Futoma

Hi David–

Again, thanks for the kind words.  We try our best to spread the word, but we need all the help we can get.  Thanks for pitching in.

When I was in medical school my plan was to become a surgeon.  Surgeons are macho and they don’t have time for biochemistry, which is for geeks.  Consequently, I almost failed my biochem course in med school.  All my biochemistry knowledge, such as it is, is self taught in the years since I became interested in nutrition, which is nothing but applied biochemistry.

Cheers–

MRE 

David and Susan Futoma

Huh?  Don’t worry about it.  We don’t stand on formality around here.

Cheers–

MRE 

The colors of the food look great – which leads me into the junk food issue. What you have done for my wife (a diabetic) and I, that Atkins never succeeded at, is allowing us to feel good, mentally, about what we put into our bodies – in a holistic sense (from organic dairy products and meats, to judicious use of oils). Yesterday’s show on pizza waffles was so good that I can’t wait to make them tonight – we used to put cheese, veggies and meat on the La Tortilla low-carb wraps to make pizza, but your idea is fresher and will be more deep-dish like in nature. And our kids who hate veggies will now be fooled with the added purees. I can’t help but people-watch like you and I notice that people who go to, or talk about their fast-food excusions generally feel guilty about it. They know its not good. My wife goes crazy with me because I rarely if ever cheat on this diet, and the reason is that mentally I know that what I’m eating is healthful and good for me, and on the flip side that the high carb junk will destroy me if given a chance. What you and MD have done is elevate, to an even higher level, the feel-good nature of eating downright tasty food. When my wife and I devoured the clam chowder made with celery root last week along with the rye bread (try adding caraway seeds – are they healthful?), it tasted great and we knew it was good. Thank you.

Two questions, are you thinking of expanding past the recipes you have in the Low Carb Cookworx and the Comfort food book (we have both), and second, is there a reason other than familiarity that you always use almond meal and olive oil (as opposed to the hazelnut flour and peanut or sesame oil) that we would like to try? I have been eating almonds for years and have read about their health benefits – not sure of hazelnuts. I have two degrees in chemistry and a law degree so perhaps understanding the science behind what you talk about makes sense to me, but what holds back the large majority of medical practitioners from also endorsing low carb? Please don’t tell me its a money issue.

Thanks again and I don’t expect a speedy response! Both of you are life-savers!!

David and Susan Futoma

Hi David and Susan–

Thanks for the kind words about the show. We’re glad you enjoy it.

In answer to your questions, we use almond flour because that’s what we’ve used for years. Before we could get it, we made it ourselves. There is no reason that other nut flours wouldn’t be just as good. We use olive oil because we like the taste of it and it has a pretty good fatty acid composition. If we cook at high temperatures, however, we use coconut oil, which is mainly saturated and doesn’t break down or oxidize in the heat. Both peanut oil and sesame oil aren’t too bad, but we prefer the coconut oil for its better fatty acid profile. Unless we’re cooking Asian, in which case we use sesame oil for the taste.

Most doctors don’t buy into low-carb because most doctors have neither the time nor the inclination to spend a lot of time studying the situation. The ones who do, go low-carb. The ones who don’t, rely on the mainstreamers to tell them what to do, which is all too often, information that comes directly from the pharmaceutical industry.

Finally, as to expanding our recipes…we’re always working on them, or I should say MD is always working on them.  If you haven’t found it already, catch her blog, which is devoted primarily to cooking and recipes.  

Cheers–

MRE

I think you a missing the boat a little with the low carb junk food. Yes, ideally a person should eat only low carb whole food. However, given a choice between low carb junk food or traditional American junk food, the healthiest choice must be the LC junk food. People who eat the LC junk food are weaning themselves off sugar and white flour and allowing their bodies to perform with less insulin surges. We must acknowledge, too, that the surges that they do have must be less intense if the net carbs in their junk food snack are closer to 10 instead of closer to 100.

I agree the traditional American junk food may taste better, but the health benefits, whether or not one is losing weight, of eating low carb food is the key here.

Hi J.C.–

I don’t think I missed the boat.  Of course I would rather people eat low-carb junk food than regular junk food, but I would rather they ate no junk food at all.  That’s the point.

One of the problems with the American diet is that it is filled with all kinds of snack foods that weren’t available 30 or 40 years ago before everyone became obese.  The best way to wean oneself from this snack-laden diet is to convert to a whole food low-carb diet.  Merely switching to a lower-carb version of the same junk food diet doesn’t really accomplish a whole lot.  Sure, insulin levels may go down a little and blood sugar may get better, but no real dietary habits have been changed, which is what is required for long term success.

Cheers–

MRE 

Shirataki noodles are sweeping Low-Carb Nation right now, but I’m among those who leave them on the shelf–I bought a package, opened it up, and the fishy smell grossed me out so much I couldn’t bring myself to eat the noodles (I loathe fish). I’m told that the smell goes away once the noodles are cooked, but I couldn’t get past it. Speaking of noodles, I was wondering what your opinion was of (if you know about it) Dreamfields pasta, which purports itself to be low-carb but lists wheat as its first ingredient. It tastes like regular pasta … and with me, unfortunately, acts like regular pasta, e.g. bloating me up. Other low-carbers I know, however, swear they’ve had no setbacks in eating it.

Hi Patricia–

I’ve had the same reports on Dreamfield’s Pasta.  Some people seem to think it causes them no problems; others–especially diabetics–claim that it sends their blood sugar skyrocketing.  Since I don’t eat pasta (I don’t particularly like it) I haven’t given Dreamfield’s Pasta all that much attention.  As I understand it, Dreamfield’s has got some special treatment that somehow prevents the absorption of the carb in the pasta that they don’t want to reveal until they’ve got their patent approved.  That excuse is BS because a preliminary patent can be had easily and will give patent protection until the full patent comes through.  Seems to me that they’re hiding something.  I’m going to a huge natural foods expo in about a month and a half.  I’ll see what I can find out.

Best–

MRE 

I also like to make ice cream. Yum! I haven’t had much luck with sugar-free batches (too icey) but with reduced sugar qty it tastes great, stays creamy, and doesn’t seem to have much impact on my blood sugar as long as I have a good low carb dinner first.

Anna

Hi Anna–

Thanks for the map to the shirataki noodles; I want to give them a try at least once.

Get some polydextrose and use it to replace sugar in your ice cream recipe.  You’ll have to fool with the amounts and the sweetener (we use erythritol and/or Splenda) to get it to work right.  You have to use a little less sweetener because the polydextrose is a little bit sweet itself.  At any rate, that should get rid of you iceyness problem.

Keep me posted.

Cheers–

MRE 

Hi Carly–

You’re living proof that every cloud has its silver lining.

Cheers–

MRE 

Here’s where I get mine.

Hi Victoria–

Thanks for the info.

MRE 

Dr. Eades, they are found in the refrigerated section.Our grocery store just began selling them. I have also purchased them at Whole Foods. I have had the fettucine shaped noodles here at home. I have had the ramen typed noodles in a chicken soup prepared at a low carb cafe.When you open them they should be rinsed well. They are fully cooked so all you need to do is heat them.

Hi Mary–

Thanks for the info.  I’ll track some down as soon as I get back home.

Best–

MRE 

I’ve had to monitor mine for a long time.