Usually there is enough stupidity rearing its ugly head in the medical literature to keep me busy full time trying to deal with it, so I don’t ever run out of stuff to blog on. The problem seems to be an overabundance of material, not a lack. It seems that every time I’m getting warmed up to write one of the posts that I’ve been planning on writing, some researcher or drug company comes out with something that demands a post, so I abandon whatever I’m working on to get to the more current issue. I know all the things I would really like to post on, but I don’t know exactly what you readers would like to read about.
Here’s your chance.
Use the comment section to make suggestions for issues you would like to see covered in blog posts over this next year. I can’t promise that I can get to all of them or even most of them, but I would be extremely interested in learning what it is you want to see from me. If you see that someone else has already posted a comment about what you would like to see, go ahead and second it. The more requests I have for a specific topic, the more likely I’ll be to pursue it.
As with the last post, please don’t go off topic on this one. Thanks for your help.
The official website of Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades, low carb pioneers and authors of Protein Power.
Dr. Eades-
I would appreciate your take on fiber. I remember the brouhaha with the Fiber Menace author (his fault for being a pompous ass but the book had some good ideas). During 60 vegetarian years, I thought that fiber was the reason that I felt and looked so glowingly healthy until I spent two months eating zero carb. It was an astonishing experience. I felt incredibly calm and my body functioned perfectly.
Since the “experts” tell us to eat lots of fruit and vegetables (and grains), I wonder whether the prevalence of colon cancer could be related to fiber intake.
Whatever subjects you choose for 2009, I think you and your wife are the most balanced, sane, interesting people on the planet. You’re both physically attractive; well educated; talented in other areas beyond medicine; loving parents and grandparents. I’m honored to know you.
You are too kind. Thanks for the very nice words.
I’ll add fiber to my list of topics. However, if you put fiber in the search function of the blog, you’ll get a ton of stuff that I’ve written about it. In short, I think it is highly overrated and may well be harmful instead of helpful.
Hormones and why it’s difficult for middle aged woman to lose weight.
Would be nice to read more about the conection between High Intensity Exercise and the low carb lifestlye that minics the life of our paleo “fathers”. Thank you.
Dr. Mike,
Everything, and I mean everything, you blog on has relevance in big and small ways to my life.
What I’d be beside myself over, though, would be menopausal symptoms and solutions relating to the low carb diet.
My life has been immeasureably broadened and enlightened because of your blog. Thank you. Gee, oh, gosh.
I would like to learn about 1) the current best predictors of mortality, and 2) improvements in this area as time goes on.
Eg: what is more accurate: waist size, bmi, ldl cholesterol count, triglycerides, fasting insulin, type of car driven, SAT score, etc etc, or some combination of the above? And what can they tell us about our relative survival odds?
Thanks for the fantastic blog, and the opportunity to ask you questions.
-PCOS and insulin resistance. Particularly addressing thin women with PCOS. I don’t technically test + for IR, and am not overweight. I do have PCOS. It was a challenge to get diagnosed, and I was brushed off repeatedly because I do not have a weight issue. I low carb to manage my PCOS (along with taking metformin).
-I’ve seen several references lately in various reading where it is mentioned that too much saturated fat may worsen IR. I’m wondering what the basis for these statements is?
-Environmental factors playing a part in IR, and the obesity epidemic? BPA (found in clear hard plastic, often labeled plastic #7) has been linked to central adiposity and IR in men. Many children consume their formula (from a BPA lined can) from a BPA containing bottle. Yet another reason to breastfeed when possible. I often wonder about various environmental links to IR.
Here’s a few things on my list:
(1) How are fats (or, more precisely, various kinds of fats) metabolized?
(2) What advice can you offer people who find it hard to eat out? Whenever I eat at a restaurant, I feel like I’m doing battle with the carb-serving waiter. (They’re not being intentionally bad or anything, but they have lots of carbs to serve!) Similarly, any advice for people tempted by the junk that other people bring to office, etc? Or even harder, how do you explain to your parents-in-law that you’re just not going to eat that spaghetti that you used to find so tasty? I’m a pretty strong-willed person myself, but even I find these battles with other people over my food choices exhausting.
(3) What’s the skinny on obesity statistics? I understand that the standards for obesity were changed a while back, so where can I find good statistics about changes in average BMI (or whatnot) over the last century or so? JunkFoodScience argues that obesity levels today aren’t a real problem. What do you think of her arguments?
(4) Do you think the government should be in the business of recommending certain diets as healthy? Why or why not? (Personally, I don’t think that’s a proper function of government, even if they had the right answers. It’s just not their business what anyone eats. Plus as we know, they’ve effectively made all the wrong answers absolute dogma.)
(5) What are the most common reasons that people abandon a low-carb diet — despite liking its effects on their life and health? In other words, what are the most common problems with sticking to something that works so well?
Thanks for all your blogging! I know I’ll be interested in whatever you write about. I read it all eagerly!
On another note, you will be glad to know that when I told my hair stylist that I’d lost 15 pounds on a low-carb diet, the first thing she said was “Like Protein Power?” Only after that did she mention Atkins. 🙂
Your suggestions are noted. Put your hair stylist down for a copy of the PPLP when I get my system set up again. Her words are music to my ears.
Doc, I’d love to hear more about the effects of alcohol on low-carb lifestyles. (no offense, but in a lot of posts it seems like you and your wonderful bride have a fair tipple or two!)
Or three…
I would be interested in second time around issues. Do you think there is such a thing as a “Golden Shot” at low-carb success?
I would love to hear your take on Vitamin K2, which form of it you prefer (MK-4?), and how much of it people should supplement with (if you think they should at all.) (And I’d like to know how you think it should be balanced with D3 and Vit.A intake.)
K2 seems to be about to have its moment in the sun the way D3 is having now, and no one can convey complex science the way you can (with the possible exception of Gary Taubes.)
Here’s an interesting study…it seems to prevent fat from forming and bones from demineralizing:
Vitamin K(2) inhibits adipogenesis, osteoclastogenesis, and ODF/RANK ligand expression in murine bone marrow cell cultures.
Link: http://tr.im/2wnj
(Ultimately, though, I agree with the others that your choice of post topics is impeccable anyway.)
I second the postmenopausal woman blog and the difficulty in losing weight in her 50s. A whole blog entry all in one place. Call it The Old Fat Broad Syndrome. Sigh. I’d like to see a “hypothetical” regime set out for her … tests to take to balance hormones, supplementation, the role of cardio/strength training (if any), etc. I imagine from reading your work that old heavy women (like me) must ake up a good portion of your demographic.
Kudos to you for improving the blog!
BTW, the hubby (diabetic, heart problems) is starting to listen … last night was a lovely strip steak with mushrooms & onions grilled in butter, steamed asparagus with your hollandaise sauce, romaine lettuce with olive oil and vinegar, and not a roll or piece of bread in sight. It was a lovely meal! He’s talking about sending a copy of PPLP to his brother, who has major health issues but loves meat and might give it a whirl. You are changing lives, my friend. Thanks again.
Malicious in-laws who:
deliberately serve carb-laden food to me (and nothing else) and then mock me saying “the diet isn’t working”;
Who leave unsuitable nibblies out and leaves the low-carbers to starve;
who watches every mouthful I eat and immediately tells me that I shouldn’t eat this that and the other because it’s got too much fat or whatever.
In other words, why are some people so malicious to this way of life?
This has been been discussed by others ad nauseam, yet I’m hoping you would have special insights into this phenomenon, like you do on so many other topics.
It’s a real source of friction between me and the other party, but I’m stubborn and not going to let it make me eat stuff that I shouldn’t. The problem is this other person is using it as a tool to cause emotional mischief across the family. Why? And what possible remedy?
Everyone, it seems meets with opposition of one form or another to low carb. It’s a real pain in the tochas, and social morons such as myself really do need tutoring on — not survival — but how to make this way of life look good, in the teeth of such opposition, to others who need to adopt it. (Just being a living example of good health apparently is not enough.)
Following the recent “Oprah” talk, I would love to hear you talk about thyroid function and weight loss.
Some specific questions:
– Lyle McDonald has said that chronic carb restriction can lead to lowered T3… What’s a low-carber to do?
– I’ve also read several times that fasting (even with adequate calorie intake in the eating window) can also be detrimental to people with low T3. What is your take on this? (Personally, I’ve always had appetite regulation problems with multiple meals a day, even on ketogenic ratios. A former binge eater, I am now a die-hard Warrior Diet fan and would find it very hard to give it up!)
– What other dietary modifications (if any) would you suggest for a hypothyroid patient?
– What is your take on “Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome” – where hypothyroid symptoms are present while T3 is in the normal range? Is it a valid concept?
Many thanks! Looking forward as always to anything you choose to write on.
Hi Michael,
Here are a few topics I’d love to see you cover please…
The main thing (still) I’d love to see covered are why some cultures (eg: Japanese) are incredibly healthy despite high carbs. I know Gary Taubes answered this for me before… yet his answer doesn’t seem to fit with the low-carb diet as he said it was refined carbs that were obesity-generating, not carbs per say.
I still find this to be the single biggest counter-example to the belief that a low-carb diet is the single best way. Yes many Asian countries have problems… but Japan is undoubtably one of — if not THE — healthiest country in the world (certainly Okinawan people live the longest)… and good old rice is the staple.
So… can one be just as healthy eating the right carbs?
Yes, we’ve talked about it a few times before so forgive me for sounding like a broken-record.
However, is ALL carbs are obesity-causing in abundance… how do the Japanese do so well given high rice intake?
Also… Gary’s comment about processed rice doesn’t work for me with my current understanding since Japan has had white polished rice for a number of decades now and it’s only since Western Food has come in that any change in obesity has occurred — and my friends there are still amazingly thin and healthy if they avoid processed foods but still eat white, polished rice in abundance.
Have there been any studies on a traditional Japanese diet vs low-carb?
Thanks for all your work — what an amazing blog!
Michael
PCOS and insulin resistance. I’ve fought with this for many many years. I’d like to know the triggers and if this can be a reversible condition. I finally was diagnosed after 10 years of fighting for a diagnosis and finally was prescribed Metformin, that just made me sick.
I’ve tried many diets, yours included (I recently dug out your Protein Power Lifeplan book to re-read) and I’ve found that low carb diets are hard to maintain as they make me ill. That said, I am willing to try again.
What I would also like to know, is the science behind WHY your specific plan works in relation to PCOS.
Although resistance/strength training is the recommended form of exercise in Protein Power I find weightlifting to be boring, so I’m a runner. I enjoy a five mile run at a moderate pace four days per week. Running not only keeps me in great shape, it helps me sleep better at night, relieves stress, and improves my overall mental health tremendously.
Of course, I am an avid subscriber to the benefits of a low-carb lifestyle, and do not experience any adverse effects as a low-carb runner.
The running community, however, continues to insist that runners need to have a significant portion of their caloric intake consisting of carbs, as evidenced by a popular running blog such as this:
http://running.about.com/od/nutritionandhydration/a/runnersdiet.htm
Would you be able to comment on runners following a low-carb lifestyle?
Thanks.
I second Missy’s suggestion. Women and hormones, diet’s part and why is it so hard to reduce body fat without slowing an already slowing metabolism by eating too few calories and still maintain sanity or at least emotional health.
1)At one point you mentioned you had some thoughts on cortisol (and adrenal fatigue?) that you were going to blog on. I have been waiting patiently, so I am glad you asked.
2)Any new information on itermittent fasting would also greatly interest me. Particularly:
how it might affect adrenal and other hormones
Why it makes for good moods.
How it might affect LDL
I wrote a while back that 6 months of IF lowered my LDL from 228 to 154. For the last 10 months I have eaten three meals a day, low carb and fairly high sat fat. I easily kept off the weight I had lost on IF (but hadn’t been able to lose on just low carb when pre IF). But my LDL is back up to 210. Any thoughts on why this might be?
PS I also had the LDL tested for size. Last year I had about half large and half small. The time I still seem to have a fair amount of small, but I can’t really compare as it seems they tested with some other lab and I don’t understand what the new lab is saying. I just got the copies of my tests in the mail and am going to “have a talk” with them about this week. I am at my wit’s end with theses guys.
Does anybody have a good Doc in the Northern Va. Area??
Elliebelly
How about including a poll on your site – list 4 or 5 topics you are ready to write on, and let a reader vote decide which should be next.
I’ve been thinking about this, not just for blog topics but for other subjects as well. It would be nice to know what readers/low-carbers think about a lot of issues. Problem is I don’t know where to find one of those little polling plug ins or programs or whatever one calls them, and if I did know where to find one, I probably wouldn’t know how to install it. If anyone knows of one, I would love to hear about it. I can get my tech guy to make it work.
I’m all ready a lowcarb guy, thanks to you. My interests are more about good health rather than weight loss. My problem is I don’t really cook and I’m lazy. But I’m always trying to answer the question: What the heck should I eat to stay healthy? He are some topics:
1) Meat, what’s good what’s bad? Nitrites?
2) Vegetables, what’s good, what’s bad? Nightshades?
3) Antinutrients
4) Vegetables do we really need them, if the meat and egg supply are good?
5) Inflammation, is this the real worry? How to combat it?
6) Vitamins, what worth taking, D3 and fish oil only?
7) Bio markers, what to pay attention to and what to ignore?
8) Sea Salt and other tidbits of info
9) Intermittent Fasting (IF) research
10) Hormone Replacement Therapy, men and women, what do you think?
Thanks for your site, PP since 97.
Jim…
Appreciate EVERY one of your blogs and the frequency they are published and your generosity.
———–
Would love to know more about the body protecting itself from making changing (positive and negative) adapting itself to survival (“setpoint”, etc.) and what can be done to challenge this (intense exercise protocol, fasting, supplements, etc.)
————
Additional topics: (non-Slowburn) exercise, value of supplements, dealing with hypothyroidism.
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Lastly, sample diets (yours were great but a bit over the top for the average man on the street long-term) of successful Protein Powerites.
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Suerte!
Two burning questions:
1) Helping teens lose weight
2) Why do so many people stall on low carb diets, even when clearly on plan.
Thank you for everything.
As a relative newcomer to your blog, I thank you thank you THANK YOU for all you’ve written. I took you up on your offer for the free copy of PPLP, but couldn’t wait, so I rushed to Border’s to buy it! Have devoured it, as well as most of your blog, as well as a ton of LC foods. (By the way, if it hasn’t yet shipped, and you’d like to save my copy for someone else, that would be ok, as mine is already dog-eared and highlighted!). And have lost 4 lbs. so far (still about 15 to go). I feel LIBERATED now; I can eat foods I enjoy, I don’t have to do hours of boring exercise, and I feel like I can finally keep the carb monster at bay!
That being said, here are a few topics:
1) Salt. I’ve researched the blogs, and I can’t find an entry written entirely about it. I’m looked at like a 3-headed zombie when I ask for the salt shaker. Am I wrong?
2) You’ve written many blog entries about “brain transplants” you’ve had since writing PP and subsequently PPLP. Example: your takes on fiber and exercise. I LOVE reading about these “brain transplants”, because it shows you are still reading, still researching, still thinking, about these issues. Would love to see a post (or a string of posts) specifically updating certain chapters in certain books. I know you’ve written in your blog about fiber and about exercise, but a post saying, specifically, this is an update to Chapter xyz, would be helpful to me. Perhaps even worth a category.
3) You’ve commented that you don’t think BMI is a worthwhile number. Why not? What do you think should be “standardized” height/weights? I’ve always thought BMI was ridiculous because it doesn’t take account age, sex, body composition (i.e. % fat vs. lean, etc.). But what do YOU think?
And I agree with all the above comments as valid suggestions as well.
Again, thank you thank you THANK YOU!
You’re welcome, You’re Welcome, YOU’RE WELCOME.
Just so you don’t have to wait, you can read here what Gary Taubes wrote about salt. Here is another article that expands a bit on Gary’s article. MD and I actually recommend increasing salt on low-carb diets. I plan to post on salt in the coming year.
another request for more on menopausal and post menopausal hormone issues particularly relating to weight gain and loss–and HOW TO FIX IT! please please PLEASE!!
It would be great to hear more about the role of saturated fat in the low carb community. There seems to be a diversity of views: some seem to say sat fat ok, but keep it low while others say don’t worry about it. I think Cordain and Dr Davis are in the ok, but keep it low camp while you seem to say don’t worry about it. It would be great to get some clairifcation and discussion of why there is a divergence of views. Thanks
I would like to see some info and your thoughts on low carbing for pregnant/nursing women and kids. Especially how it affects embryonic and fetal development. I have a 5 1/2 month old baby and low carbed through the first six months of pregnancy but caved a bit to my doctor’s low fat/high carb recommendations when at that point I had only gained two pounds. Now, 25 lbs above where I was when I got pregnant, I regret it. Information on small children would also be great to counteract his grandparents’ Weight Watchers mindsets.
There is endless bad research to talk about; I prefer discussions of the good research (maybe in the context of the bad research like the other day). Give us research about we can use.
Topics that interest me:
low carb diets
diabetes
statins
Why menopausal & post-menopausal women have such a difficult time losing.
Why, when we abandon low carb for even a few days, the pounds come piling back on, so quickly, and are so hard to get rid of.
Actually, I thoroughly enjoy most of the topics you choose, so I think if you just keep on doing what you’ve been doing, we’ll all be pretty happy with your blog, just as we are now.
I would like to see a post about the “nutrient” that nobody gets enough of lately–sleep.
Sleep in relation to hormonal dysfunction, weight gain, inflammation, etc.
I’ve been receiving your blog for just a few months now, Dr. Eades, and have found your objective critique of biased mainstream journal articles and government policy making especially valuable – for example, your “A Tale of Two Studies” and “Making Worthless Data Confess” December 2008 posts and “2010 Nutritional guidelines” November post.
So naturally, I find your archived “Bogus studies” category a valuable library.
One topic I suggest you consider for more coverage, and a distinctive category in your updated blog format, is addiction — the potential causes (e.g, food additives) and behavioral strategies for improving self-control (the principal barriers to optimal nutrition and exercise).
Thanks so much for your work, and all the the best in 2009!
1. your thoughts on near zero carb/all meat type diets
2. alcohol issues: wine vs. beer. vs hard liquour in terms of its effects on the diet beyond the calories issue.
3. if modifications are needed for a low carb diet if you are a very active person in sports
4. if excessive consumption of cured meats such as bacon and cold cuts presents a problem
(beyond the nitrite issue already covered)
5. if excessive consumption of store bought beef from industrial feed-lots presents any health problems for low-carbers who cant afford to buy organic/grass fed all the time.
6. your thoughts on fasting, be it 1 day, or multi-day and juice fasts
7. your thoughts on the oft-trumpeted importance of eating breakfast vs. eating when you begin to get hungry, and if this has any negative effect on the body.
8. outline some general meal plan scenario’s to give low-carber’s an idea of how much they might be eating calorie wise (i always have problems figuring out how much caloires certain things have in a general sense)
9. is chicken actually a good source of protein and fat or does the fat profile of chicken skin make it an undesirable option?
10. is a once a week splurge generally ok if you are consistently below 30 grams of carbs a day? im thinking in terms of having 1 meal per week where i just pig out on the carbs/desserts and then get back to the diet the next day? is this more destructive than im thinking?
11. if hypnosis has been shown to be an effective agent in curbing one’s carb addiction?
thanks for the ongoing work on this blog!!
Hi Doc,
I’d love to see something on iodine. What are daily requirements, optimal levels in the body and how is it accurately measured?
Vitamin D/Vitamin A controversy.
Anything on the importance of vitamin K.
Thanks!
Please write about HRT for post-menopausal women. What’s the best protocol? How to find a doctor who knows what s/he’s doing? How far into post-menopause is it recommended/feasible?
Thanks so much for all you and MD do. You are fantastic resources for us out here in the health care wilderness.
I would like to know your feelings on eating full-fat dairy products. I prefer to have whole milk products because I feel that the low-fat products have been manipulated by adding dry milk to them to make them seem thicker. Also, instead of the natural vitamin A in the milk fat, synthetic vitamin A is added. I enjoy reading your blog very much and look forward to it. Thank you.
I’d like to see your choice of lab tests that are really useful/meaningful for an annual checkup. I am in a running battle with my personal physician (who’s a great doctor in many ways – actually talks to and listens to her patients!!) over cholesterol and statins. I went back on 10mg lipitor based on elevated LDL (but my TG:HDL was decent) – and that lasted less than 2 weeks. I felt like old doo-doo – tired, achy, mentally foggy. I’m low-carb, IFing (feed window daily of 4-5 hours), losing body fat, and feel great.
So I want ammunition when I go back to see her in a few months ;-).
Thanks for the info you provide.
Drs. Eades,
This is a wonderful offer! Thank you.
I think your posts about the various studies and reports… either pro or con… are extremely useful in helping us low-carbers sort through what’s real and what’s just mumbo jumbo disguised as science! You do an excellent job on that front.
I’d also appreciate more information on the exercise chapter in PPLP. I recall a recent blog post where you mentioned re-thinking that part of your book.
Thanks for all you do and best wishes for 2009.
Kim
PS. I’ve added a section on the lipid hypothesis controversy to our website, Smart-Heart-Living.com. It’s a work in progress… it’s a huge topic to write about… there’s lots more to add! Plus I’ve got links there to Amazon for GCBC and others. The section I’m currently writing will have a link for PPLP.
1. Menopause, balancing hormones, when to start and stop bio-identical hormones, etc. — all in the scope of a low-carb eating plan.
2. Sunlight (natural and tanning beds/booths) and sunscreens. I get plenty of sun during the summer and during winter vacations, but I also go to the tanning salon beforehand to lay down a base tan so that I don’t burn. What should I look for with the tanning bulbs? The place I go to is meticulous about changing the bulbs right on schedule, and she says she gets “the kind that don’t cause skin cancer.” And what about the lotions and accelerators they sell for tanning in the salon? Should I or shouldn’t I use them? What about when outdoors? When on vacation at a resort, I pretty much feel that even if I don’t use a lotion, as soon as I step into the pool and back out, I’m probably covered in everyone else’s lotions!
3. I love those blogs in which you debunk the latest “news” story about a study. I love the timeliness of these entries. Gives me ideas for what to say when people throw these studies in my face.
THANKS!!!
Dr Mike,
I like it when you get more technical like here:
http://www.mreades.wpengine.com/drmike/low-carb-library/low-carb-diets-reduce-oxidative-stress/
I like your nuts and bolts descriptions of metabolic processes complete with some (watered down) biochemistry. It would be nice if there were a “Metabolism for Dummies” type book but even if there was, no doubt it would have a Standard American Diet bias. Perhaps it would be possible to have a series of posts the sum of which would be equivalent to a “Low Carb Metabolism for Dummies” by Drs Eades!!!
Here is a specific question. In the comments section of this post:
http://www.mreades.wpengine.com/drmike/ketones-and-ketosis/metabolism-and-ketosis/#more-719
You said:
“The body has ways of dissipating excess energy involving the reduction of protonmotive force across the inner mitochondrial membrane (a subject way too technical to address here, though I may try sometime in a long post), which is precisely what I believe happens when insulin is kept low and calories high.”
I gather that this is part of the science of the metabolic advantage – I’d like to hear more about that.
Regards,
Philip Thackray
Special areas of interest are lc diets effect on hormones and cortisol production, brain connection including food addiction, saturated fats and supplements.
Dr. Mike – I continue to be amazed at your willingness to feed our insatiable appetites for knowledge. I appreciate your intellect, sense of humor and passion, for off topics as well. Thank you. My biggest request… don’t change much.
I’m too old to change much. 🙂
Iodine. You have mentioned this several times in your blog and promised more information. What are the tests and effects? My grandfather, a country doctor, once said that he thought that I might need more iodine. Of course, at that time, over 50 years ago, there were no tests.
I have had a good year, thanks to your blog and wish you, and your wife, and all the other readers/contributors a Happy New Year!
Thanks for the opportunity to input! I love your blog.
Suggestions/areas of interest:
– fueling the body low-carb style around workout times – all the info out about what proteins and how much carb to ingest pre-WO and post-WO is obviously not enlightened by your approach, so knowing a bit more about the best way to feed my body while remaining on a LC WOE would be very helpful.
– second the suggestion on female hormonal cycles and diet success. I am in my late 30s and find that the week before my period my hormones rage a maddening battle against my reason and ability to self-control when it comes to food cravings. Are there particular foods or supplements that can help? What have other women found that works?
– I like MD’s blog and wish it contained nutritional facts for the recipe – either total recipe or per serving. Of course it’s all relatively LC, but if I’m trying to be extra low it helps to know how much I can indulge in some of those foods or when I have to hold off.
Thanks!!
Women and all the hormones–cortisol, thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, etc–is a subject of great personal interest to me. You’re one of the few medical voices I trust to make sense most of the time, so I would love hear your take(s) on the subject.
Please address the issue of white matter foci (spots on the brain) shown on MRI’s of people over 50. Is this something everyone has, a normal aging thing, any connection with dementia and Alzheimer’s, how to prevent or remove them once you have them, how they impact daily life. My neurologist says they’re very common, unimportant, and he put his kids through college on the money he made from people who were worried about them unnecessarily. But my nathuropath said they were not a good thing and recommended I.V. chelation to remove them. We’re eating low carb to keep our body healthy, but we need to know more about brain health.
Also, any new information about bio-identical hormones for men and women is always appreciated. Hormone balance impacts everything else we do to be healthy.
Why don’t you check with Dr. McCleary on the white matter foci issue?
just off the top o’ my head:
vitamin k – what is it, why do I need it, how do I get it? According to Fitday, that is the one glaring vitamin my diet lacks.
calcium. In a comment, I seem to remember you saying not to worry about calcium intake on a low carb diet. I’d love to hear more, as this is something naysayers always bring up.
Intermittent Fasting – that’s always a good subject, anything you want to add to the subject would be relished.
Colpo. Just cant get enough Colpo bashing. You’re probably done with him, but I’d love to see him raked over the coals, repeatedly, haha.
I suspect the prat from Down Under is pretty much history thanks to his idiotic decision to tangle with his betters. 🙂 We probably won’t be seeing a lot more about him on these pages. Or any pages, for that matter.
I’d like to echo the comments of earlier posters who are hoping you will post on PCOS and insulin resistance (I’ve got both!). Would love to hear more on this.
I’d like to see more on buying quality foods.Your comments on grass-fed beef in prior posts have been helpful for me. In fact, that is how I found your blog. Would like to read more about your thinking on dairy products, including the full-fat variety, more on grass-fed dairy products (just found a good source for these in Los Angeles) and how important they might be in the diet, what you think of raw dairy (not pasteurized or homogenized). (I’ve just found a reliable source for raw dairy products such as cow milk yogurt, goat milk yogurt, cottage cheese, etc, here in Los Angeles, but the reason I’m attracted to this is because the animals are grass fed. I am not yet sure what I think about raw dairy, except that I notice that the milk tastes really delicious when compared with other organic milk. Also, your thoughts on the Weston Price foundation and their recommendations about diet.
This may be too “niche” for you, but I would also be really interested in hearing your thoughts on eating for people who have *already* weight loss surgery (I say already because I think I read somewhere on your blog that you don’t really like the concept of weight loss surgery), specifically Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. I presume that this would mean applying your already existing advise on food and perhaps modifying it a little bit (particularly portion sizes), but if you have any specific insights, a post on this would be wonderful. Yes, I’ve had a Roux-en-Y myself (so far doing very well at 6 months post-op), and know several others who have had it (as well as other kinds of bariatric surgery). Low-carbing is a rather accepted concept for post-ops, so I think your advice would be helpful for this community and that it would also be welcome since bariatric surgery patients know that low-carb is part of long-term success. If you did post on this topic, I would definitely want to share the info with the weight loss surgery community (I participate in online forums where we try and help each other with post-op eating concerns).
Weight plateaus from hell (like a year)….
Supplements.
Which is the best, and how do you choose when so many sound so good? I HATE taking a fistful of supplements every day, but I don’t know what to cut out.
What’s best for a menopausal woman who is having a difficult time losing the fat?
For example, my morning regimen is:
2 high-potency multi-vitamins (Thorne Meta-Fem; the “standard” dose is 8 per day)
198 g potassium
150 g magnesium citramte
5,000 IU D3
1,000 mg borage oil
400 mcg chromium picolinate
1,000 mg acetyol L-carnitine
Evenings I take (when I remember; I often forget the PM stuff):
2 high-potency multi-vitamins (Thorne Meta-Fem)
1,000 mg krill oil
300 g magnesium citramate
198 g potassium
(I also do the Vivelle-DOT and Prometrium.)
PS: I’d also like to see the promised blog on iodine deficiency.
Re: Polls
Scott Kustes at Modern Forager includes polls in his page.
http://www.modernforager.com/blog/
He uses Skribit
http://skribit.com/
I’m curious what the sourcing is for Barry Sears and Diana Schwarzbein’s negative comments about VLC diets and what the correct information is.
Sears claims that VLC chronically elevates cortisol eventually leading to muscle wasting. (Yes, we all remember those poor emaciated Plains Indians and their wasted physiques from eating all that buffalo… NOT!)
In the Schwarzbein Principle II, Schwarzbein says (pp72) “If you do note eat enough carbohydrates, you will secrete more adrenaline to convert the proteins you eat and your body’s own proteins into sugar for brain fuel… Eating too few carbohydrates is just as damaging as eating too many.”
Where are they getting this stuff? And what’s the corrected info? More about the hormonal cascade differences between HC/LC/VLC/ZC diets would be very appreciated!
1. how to get proper testing and bioidentical hormone replacement. which hormones? what age? to what levels?
2. how to overcome a physiologically carb/alcohol addicted (adapted) brain.
3. health effects of saturated vs. mono vs. polyunsaturated fats.
I am interested in how to build and maintain muscle mass on carbohydrate restriction.
This seems to be a subject where even dedicated low-carbers say they have to add carbs back in order to do. Insulin is pointed at as being The Way to build muscle. I am in my forties, I have read that my body has a limited time to build up before aging makes it “impossible” to add muscle and I want to get to the age when it starts to decline with enough to keep my metabolism active and my body strong. Some people say you have to add all the muscle before 40, but looking at Jack LaLanne, I have to wonder if that is true.
I am also interested in your thoughts, or maybe Mary Dan’s, on low carb and menstruation. TMI to follow: Before I went low carb, I had a cycle that ran six weeks or so, with a full week of nastiness, I don’t recall what happened when I went low carb 11 years ago, I was too busy being shocked at how great I felt. But for years now I’m right on 28 days/2.5 or so days which is a massive improvement and pretty much guarantees my adherence to low carb eating without any other benefit being needed. I do not descend into amenorrhea, and I note that the week before my period my weight never drops and may increase a little bit, but after the period it drops right back. If I increase carbs my cycle and severity both increase.
Your menstrual experience is a pretty common for one going on a low-carb diet. We have had this reported to us many times by our clinic patients. We also had many women who weren’t having periods begin having them once they got going on low-carb diets. And we also had an enormous number of women who were unable to conceive becoming pregnant after a relatively short time on a low-carb diet. We lost a lot of patients that way – at least until they gave birth and came back. This normalization of the menstrual cycle is just one of the many factors that have led me to believe that the low-carb diet is the diet the forces of natural selection has molded us to function best on.
I share Michael Richards’ frustration: everyone I know opposes what I pass on re low carbs-high protein. I’ve learned I must bite my tongue when tempted to promoted this lifestyle. Makes me heartsick, because I have watched family members and friends slide into ill health and early death over poor choices and following doctors’ dictates unquestioningly. I would love, since I’m not science-trained, to have reference material to hand out (succinct, of course – most people today are not readers). I’ve searched PPLP and GCBC for any zinger paragraphs to print out, without success. Maybe a category on the new website such as “diet highlights” perhaps?
Generally speaking, I prefer the topics in this order:
1) Those that are most constructive to my health and self-preservation, such as the post about curcumin; your thoughts on various other dietary constituents; new dietary information you deem worthwhile; etc.
2) Dissecting and explaining medical studies and their logic (or lack thereof).
3) News about the low-carb battle front — its progress and setbacks.
4) The occasional personal interest post. I don’t always agree with your taste in music, but your perspective is always fascinating and enjoyable to read. I loved the Freddy Mercury and Arlo Guthrie posts.
…
999) Slamming the low-fat mainstream. A little too negative for my tastes. But if there’s a constructive aspect to it, I’m still game.
I’m looking forward to another great year of your thoughts. Thanks for 2008!
Freddy and Arlo… But what about the Hollywood Argyles? 🙂
Hi! I’d like a blog on what supplements and vitamins and minerals you take daily. I don’t think you mentioned this in your food blog, as I’d hoped. I want details…brand, etc! 😀 And a brief explanation of what each thing generally does for our health (I know why about fish oil and magnesium but don’t really know about others…) Thanks!
An afterthought…
It would sure be nice to be able to edit our comments after we submit them, say for 30 minutes after posting them, as some forums allow you to do. I’d love to be able to correct my embarrassing typos and rephrase things as needed.
For example: “A little to negative for my tastes” should have been “A little *too* negative for my taste.” And I’d rather have said “I don’t always *share* your taste in music” rather than *agree* with it.
But it’s not a big deal. 🙂
One of the things I do want to include is the ability to edit comments and a comment spell checker. I spend a lot of time correcting spelling and typos in the comments I receive. As I did with your ‘to’ to ‘too.’
Wow, so many people with so many good suggestions. I think they have read my mind. I am hypothyroid – what are your suggestions when the manufacturers screw with thyroid preps and don’t make them stable. When you can’t buy one you have to switch to another. Waiting for results. How is “Nature’s Thyroid” brand? So you have any thoughts? My chiropractor always trys to push iodine onto me – without a dose recommendation. I finally took the right amount and have been tested many times. I am in the “normal” now without takng it and he say’s down a swig everyday anyway!!!!!
What can you do about getting rid of extra skin called “arm flaps and droop belly after weight loss – besides surgery? I know a person can’t be “tummy tight perfect” but, any suggestions?
I take 4 mg. of prednisone for Rheumatiod and Osteo Arthritis plus 3000 mg of Aspirin per day. What effect does this have on weight loss, if any?? Exercise is limited for me because of the damage to my knees and wrists. But, I am starting a new membership at the “Y” using the treadmill, some machines, and the pool. Any good suggestions on getting more aerobically fit with these condition? Any suggestions, are greatly appretiated. BTW, I have lost 65 lbs. on pp and have never had such as easy time of getting the pounds off. I have recommended the plan to over 30 people. I love it! Thank-you for your knowledge and I hope you and your wife make more of your T.V. shows, I take away a lot of good ideas and tips from seeing you in action.
SB
Dear Dr. Eades,
Please continue to review the nutritional/drug studies. Also, please always share the offbeat things that strike your fancy (e.g., the video you posted of the paper airplane, Freddy Mercury, Alley Oop, etc.). And continue to share highlights of MD’s concerts – always a treat!
I guess the short version would be: don’t change much!
Thank you for all your hard work and I wish you and MD a very happy new year!
Thanks. Happy New Year back.
Just found this blog – very informative and helpful. I am a 45 year old male who has a severe case of hypothyroid disease. I am well-managed now in part due to pretty hefty daily dose of replacement hormone and my efforts to maintain weight using Drs. Eades diet. I would like to have a more thorough understanding of the Eades diet and its relation to hypothyroidism. Everytime anyone (health professional or lay person) hears that I am on the Eades diet and am hypothyroid, I get a lecture (and it is not positive).
Thanks for letting me have my say.
I second all the ‘Hormones and why it’s difficult for middle aged woman to lose weight’
Insulin Resistance testing for, dealing with, and even more important how to get your doctor to even discuss this let alone order labs.
It’s so frustrating out here — a resounding thank you for all you do
Dr. Eades, I think you already do a superb job selecting topics. I love your analysis of studies, and you do this better than any other blogger within the growing paleo-diet/longevity blogger community, so I definitely think this should remain one of your key areas of focus and differentiation.
But, once in a while I’d like to get your opinion on other areas of longevity, such as bio-identical hormone supplementation and plant/food supplements (for example, pomegranate extract, shown to reverse arterial plaque in humans and animals–the punicalagins from pomegranate appear to be the key polyphenol).
I’d also love to know your personal health markers, such are CRP, LP(a), HDL, triglycerides, bodyfat %, homocisteine, and other markers along these lines.
Something I’d like to see covered:
What tests should be on an annual blood report. What’s important, what isn’t? How to read it?
Dr. Eades,
I’d love to see a rebuttal to the China Study. It’s very often-cited by vegetarians on the tubes and I’d like to see where it’s failings are, as I’m sure that it has failings aplenty.
Oh, and thank you for the first edition copy of PPLP for christmas! Is there substantial new information in the updates since this one? I’m finding it justifies the way I live left and right.
Thanks again,
mc
While you’re waiting, Chris Masterjohn has a good analysis of the China Study.
Maybe a thing whereby someone could post something other than you folks and others respond or not…..maybe am being thick and stating the obvious.
And yes what about a wall of shame where people can post others names who are disappearing up their own arses ?
I have a 5 month old and am facing feeding her solid foods. I want her to be healthy (like every mom) and don’t want to give her empty calories. We have opted out of feeding her cereals but all that is recommended at this age is vegetables and fruit. When is the best way or maybe what is the best way to start her eating proteins and what types?
I very much appreciate your analysis of the studies funded by pharm. companies and how journalists report on the results. I find that this kind of factual analysis helps to break down people’s inclination to “swallow whole” what they read in the paper. What I am trying to do is summarize your summary (maybe you could include an summary of your summary at the beginning?) and forward that on to friends and family. My family trusts that I will read things thoroughly and so my summary is respected. So your summary of your summary that I summarize should be just the bite size nugget that can inseminate and grow into a full grown healthy skepticism of what they are being fed. Pun!
Hello, Dr. Eades,
First of all, a happy and healthy New Year to you, your darling wife, and your family.
From what I’ve read above, it looks like you have a boatload of things to blog about–and these are all things I grapple with everyday as I attempt to stay the course and maintain good health via living a low-carbohydrate life.
What I’d love to hear you talk about is not just the consumption of Splenda (which, by the way, has been an absolute lifesaver for me–if you recall in your wonderful book, Protein Power, you were probably the first person to ever write the word, ‘Splenda’ as a suggestion for an alternative to Aspartame, which was the number one non-sugar sweetener at the time–yes, I was amongst the few who took your advice and was having boxes of this stuff [remember the black and white boxes Splenda used to come in?] shipped in from Canada)
but of all non-sugar entities, as sweet as they may be–I’m talking about Stevia, or the new stuff called ‘Truvia,’ and even the good sugar alcohols, like erithrytol, etc.
I’ve used them all, and as of today, Splenda is still my favorite.
Here’s my issue–I’ve heard what happens when insulin is injected directly into the arteries/veins of animals–it corrodes them–I got that part.
My anxiety: Am I slowly killing myself via damaging my arteries every time I use a product with Splenda or any artificial sweetener in it, because I am tricking my body into thinking sugar is on the way, thus causing my pancreas to flood my blood with insulin, only to have my body say, hey, where the hell is the sugar? What’s going on here? Does the insulin get ready for release from the pancreas as soon as it tastes anything sweet? Or does insulin only get coaxed out when there is a chemical structure of any carbohydrate already present in the blood?
I can do without Splenda, but in the long run, I think my adhering to a low carbohydrate life would be better served if I was able to use Splenda or any sweetener, natural or artificial, to satisfy this terminal sweet tooth of mine.
I apologize in advance for taking 10 hours to ask a question, I know you’re a busy man, but let me say I enjoy your writings and your dearth of knowledge in this area.
Thank you for being patient and reading this far.
Sincerely,
Adam Wilk
The short answer is don’t worry about the small amounts of Splenda you’re consuming stimulating enough insulin to harm your blood vessels.
Hi Doc,
In addition to your dissection of nutritional studies I am especially interested in the value of routine medical exams and tests. What should a healthy senior want from his doctor and which tests, if any, are actually worthwhile rather than frivolous wastes of money? For example, colonoscopy comes to mind. A list perhaps? I’m especially interested in current thinking on BP levels and what supplements might help in maintaining good BP.
Thank you for an amazing blog. I have no topics to suggest as everything you write opens my eyes more and more. Just wanted to point you in the direction of some FREE polling software which will give you an easy tour before you sign up to see if it’s right for you: http://www.polldaddy.com/
Thanks for the suggestion and link.
Ditto on the following topics already mentioned above:
difficulties (duh!) in post-menopausal weight loss
bio-identical hormone replacement
hypothyroid issues
insulin resistance
supplements and your recommendations
iodine supplementation
vitamin K
wine, beer, and alcohol in the lc lifestyle
the healthiest cultures in the world, and why
Thanks for the great blogs! I am looking forward to the new book and the updated version of your website.
What is the truth about blood pressure? If I can’t get it down to 120/80 do I really need to medicate? I’ve read some “natural health” stuff that says that the medication is more damaging than the blood pressure.
What are the true “all cause death” statistics for breast cancer and other cancers for that matter? Are we really being lied to about the actual cancer statistics?
What is your take on the book “The Blue Zone”? The book advocates a plant-based diet for longevity.
Dr. Eades,
I thoroughly enjoy everything you blog about. I would like your take on the following issues that have been raised by my alternative practitioner:
The role of Homocystein and CRP in cardiovascular disease
The relationship between gluten sensitivity and obesity as well as gluten sensitivity and PCOS.
The epidemic of thyroid problems – iodine or selenium deficiencies?
Nutrigenomics
Thanks,
Debbie
Reading through the posts on this topic makes me shudder at the amount of work you would have to do to filter out the most popular topics and organize them in a hierarchy.
I know you are in the process of redoing your web. So the first thing I would like to see in terms of changes is a blog thread or a forum of sorts where participants can propose single blog topics that can be voted on and the results tallied on a counter or arranged in a hierarchal ‘most requested to least requested’ sequence in real time. I am not sure what is involved. But this sort of sequencing is something computers do very well and very easily.
The next thing I would like to see is a linking option on blog threads that would redirect off topic posts to existing threads on the topic. Say for example the subject is Vitamin K(2) and someone posts on intermittent fasting. You could insert a link to the IF thread in the initiating post so that anyone wishing to add further posts on the subject would jump to the IF thread.
It would also be nice to have a preview option so we can review our posts and edit them if necessary before posting.
Finally I would like to see a functional approach to subject matter whenever possible. Every concept no matter how complex is based on simple underlying principles. If a subject is approached by first identifying the underlying principles these principles can be used to assess the validity of positions put forth on the subject.
As an example, you recently applied principles of fluid dynamics to support your position that diastolic blood pressure is more important than systolic because diastolic is the pressure that the blood vessels experience the majority of the time.
Using sound principles of science I can take this further by stating the diastolic pressure is the static or operating pressure of the vascular system that results from an amount of fluid in the system sufficient to apply a force to the walls of the blood vessels which is opposed by a force (Newton’s Laws) from the blood vessel walls that is equal to or greater than the force applied by the blood. I can further assert that with regard to diastolic pressure it matters not whether the walls of the blood vessels are rigid. So long as the system is closed the pressure will be determined solely by the amount of fluid contained therein. These principles explain why diuretics, which reduce the amount of fluid in the system, reduce blood pressure.
Using this sort of functional approach one can go forward to posit the factors that will cause excessive fluid and therefor pressure in the system. Challenges to various positions put forth would have to be defended by established (guiding) principles as opposed to emotionally driven opinions.
Hi doc,
I would like to see information on High Blood pressure studies, especially some of the articles on propensity to getting inherited high blood pressure.
I have read that some of the studies that say that an African American has to stay on Blood pressure meds forever! can be skewed….very scary to me, as I currently take 20mg of Fosinopril and water tabs daily.
I’d like the blood report indicators and the acceptable ranges as well.
Another thing…..any ideas and menus to get get kids, pre-teens, teens to eat low carb in the 21st century would be more than appreciated.
Thanks
Hi Dr. Eades,
I am going to have a physical this week. I have been low-carb for almost a year now and continue to lose weight. As I would like to benchmark my progress and health which labs do you suggest I ask my physician to order?
Many thanks in advance.
I’m in with everyone who wants to know more about perimenopause and menpause and their effect on weight loss.
I read Uzzi Reiss’s Natural Hormone Balance for Women (thanks to MD for the recommendation!) and have an appt scheduled with a naturopath who was recommended by the local compounding pharmacy.
Anyway, I’d like to know what ever you all know on the subject.
I’m also curious about the effects of cortisol, isn’t that a stress hormone? That suggests to me that people who are anxious have a metabolic handicap.
At any rate, what ever you choose to write about is very interesting and much appreciated.
Dear Dr Eades,
Firstly, thank you for making your blog so informative, entertaining, concise and well-written (these last two attributes seem to be in fairly short supply, even in low-carb blog-land).
I would appreciate an explanation, in simple language, of the sugar hypothesis, of the long term problems that are associated with high (refined) carb/high sugar intake – and how those problems may be caused by the carbohydrate eaten. I want this mainly so that I can explain to my children why I want them to pass on the vast quantities of bread, pasta, chips, chocolate, biscuits, cakes and sugary drinks that are their preferred food choices. I am trying to improve our family’s eating habits but my children think I am just plain mean. Having read Gary Taubes’ take on the diseases of civilisation, I have been scared out of carb-cravings. But when I try to explain to the family, I get horribly bogged down in detail. They have no problem understanding (at least for now) that smoking, drugs and alcohol are bad: how do I convince them that sugar, in particular, is “pure, white and deadly”?
What is your take on subclinical hypothyroidism? — where there are no symptoms but a high TSH reading. I recently tested 5.34 µU per mL and the doc wants to treat me with thyroid medication based on that test. T3 and T4 were not tested. I do not have any of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. I had just started taking 2000 IU/day of D3 three days before this test and wonder what affect that could have had on it.
I scanned pubmed and didn’t find much evidence that an otherwise healthy person is likely to progress from subclinical to overt hypothyroidism without treatment. While the upper limit of the reference range for TSH has recently been lowered to 2 µU per mL, some of the papers only recommend treatment above 10 µU per mL.
I do eat a low-carb diet — what affect might that have on TSH levels?
By the way, I’m not planning on going on the thyroid drugs based on this one test, but this has aroused my interest in the topic an wonder what you think.
Thanks
I second all the menopausal and bio-identical HRT requests, which lab tests to have and how often plus anything further on IF.
Also…
The pros and cons of taking fish oil supplements. I can’t make up my mind whether I should or shouldn’t take them as there are so many opposing viewpoints out there. Is the case FOR them overwhelming?
Thank you for this opportunity, Dr. Eades.
1) I would like to add to the requests for an article on the menopause issue. I have hysterectomy-induced menopause (or at least perimenopause. . .my one ovary has given up the ghost, I fear), and I am having a very hard time even getting on a low carb plan or any other weight loss plan, for that matter.
2) I’m always interested in any new information on intermittent fasting.
3) Is it necessary to force-feed ourselves a lot of fat if we are on a low-carb diet? There are so many people who swear by moderate protein and high fat, but I’m not sure. I’m not a big fan of fat anyway.
Thanks again, Doc!
~Carol Ann
1. normal low-carb days. what do people eat for snacks, small individual meals, what do they do when they go out for meals, for fast food, etc. readers could participate here. as a single guy in grad school, cooking escapes me, so any simple day-to-day tips are helpful. i know MDE cooks for you and you go to local restaurants, etc. but surely sometimes you hit a fast food joint, no? and i’m sure you have loads of tips from your clients over the years.
2. also, regarding weight loss and energy deficits. in (my free copy of) PPLP (that arrived in about 2 days) you said an energy deficit is necessary, taubes didn’t seem to think so.
3. also, just a sense of the landscape. it seems like low-carb is gaining some greater credibility. do you think we will continue to be on the fringe forever or do you think we are just ahead of the mainstream curve?
4. ways to save money on low-carb. i find it to be a relatively expensive way to eat, especially now that (my free copy of) PPLP convinced me to start buying some supplements. probably also something your clients have shared with you through the years. for one person, i spent 94 bucks at the grocery store yesterday, although this includes some things that will last me for quite a while.
5. i know you had a post on how to talk to your doctor about LC. maybe some ideas on how to talk to other people. i find myself afraid to bring up the topic because most people think LC has been proven wrong and i don’t feel like arguing. but if i get into a serious discussion with someone who’s open, they usually respond well.
This is really great. Thanks!
I’d like to see more info on weight loss plateaus/stalling on low carb. How to address this.
Second time around (or third time around) on low carb, i.e., if you fall off the wagon will you have the same success restarting low carb as when you originally started low carb?
Male hormones and low carb.
Hello Dr. Eades and a very Happy New Year… as a person of Indian heritage, it is hard for me to wax about the glories of eating meat and such when a large part of my people are vegetarian and living in the bay area where veganism is viewed as a virtue (not as a fanatical sickness which is what I think it is) – but I still do 🙂
topics that interest me that I would highly appreciate you posting on:
1. Discussion of whether vlc diets do lower thyroid output and thus if you see a value in carb spikes to boost metabolism and/or leptin, and so on…
2. Do you see any value in raw protein/fat foods – I eat a good portion of my food raw and was wondering on your input, I do a lot of raw egg yolks, tartares, etc…
3. Your thoughts on CQ-10 for people under 40, I have recently started on 200mg Ubiquinol per day, but for body composition purposes as I read that higher doses promote the change of slow twitch muscle fiber to fast twitch muscle fiber
1) What supplements do you recommend for someone with no health or weight issues eating a healthy PP based diet? Are any necessary/beneficial or is it better to get everything from real foods?
2) What tests are good to get during a normal checkup? (eg. 25-hydroxy vitamin D)
3) Not sure if you can answer this but any tips on finding a good doctor who is at least sympathetic to the low-carb/paleo lifestyle?
4) What is your take on beer, particularly it’s gluten content. Assuming moderate consumption of light beers that seems to be the only issue.
5) A common food myths debunked post would be interesting. Similar to the nitrite article you referenced.
Thanks for taking the time to share what you’ve learned with the rest of us.
The nutritional density of paleolithic foods vs. what’s available today (even sticking to the Food Lion’s perimeter) and what supplements are worth taking.
Tangentially, what vitamin & mineral dosages (or blood levels) should we be aiming for?
Hi Dr Eades. Love the blog and read it religiously. My additions:
[1] Also interested in ‘antinutrients’.
[2] Relationships/mechanisms between low carb diets, microalbuminuria, and further damage with diet consuming approx 20% protein. Why? Was dx’ed with IGT SEP04. I’m 54, 5’10”, 140 lbs. Despite TOT-C 169, HDL-C 63, LDL-C 99, TRI 33, A1c 4.9%, and FBG 89 — which my doc loves — but is puzzled why I’m spilling 586 ug/mL albumin (ref range 0-17). I’m scheduled for a nephrology consult Mar 2009 and want to be prepared.
Dr. Eades,
I would be interested in posts on:
1. The effect of the LC diet on mood and anxiety, especially in the beginning of the diet. It seems to be common for people to experience a depressed mood and anxiety.
2. In the past I have had great success with the low carb diet. Now, as I have gotten older and developed digestive problems I can almost be sure to bring on a case of diverticulitis when I strictly follow LC. Beef and high fiber vegetables seem to be real culprits. I would like some suggestions on how to follow LC with a troubled colon.
I made a comment on the previous blog entry (along with comments about the blog structure itself) and perhaps my comments about blog subjects should have been here rather than there. As for blog subjects to write about, I said…
“I am still struggling with the concept that exercise isn’t so helpful with weight loss. I’ve read this and that but geez, it is hard to accept.”
And… “When you debunk a new study or other news item that hits, that’s always welcome.”
In a post above, you said, “This normalization of the menstrual cycle is just one of the many factors that have led me to believe that the low-carb diet is the diet the forces of natural selection has molded us to function best on.” I think it would be incredibly insightful for you to describe the A-ha! moments, revelations you had along the way such as what you said above.
I find saturated fat controversy to be very interesting. It’s been slammed beyond belief but yet, it could be exactly the opposite of what “they” say? This is quite an incredible situation. Sat fat tastes so darn good, and it’s actually good for us?
I suppose I find this the most interesting subject of all — revelations or postulations about the paleo diet and how we can benefit from such knowledge.
Here I go combining different post subjects again, but you asked above about this — polling software. I have incorporated Survey Monkey into a website and found it to be really easy and good.
P.S. One more plug for your forum. Others have said here that they don’t know it exists. I looked for a link on this particular page and don’t see one. It would be nice to have in influx of new members on that forum. So many of your fans who comment on this blog would be valuable members!
One more suggestion. How about a direct reply option that would let us to reply directly to a post, edit the existing text and then insert our own comments.
I’m not sure I understand what you mean here. Walk me through it.
Please, can you address potential mental health decline and its correlation to carb restriction.
Is there something to the argument that some people who are prone to depression *need* a certain amount of carbs to maintain 5-HT levels?
I have been diagnosed with a mood disorder, and I take an MAOi. Time and time again, after a couple of weeks of <50g carbs, I am bed-ridden with severe depression. I eat more carbs, and my mood improves within days.
Am I destined to never be able sustain a VLC or LC lifestyle and a positive mood?
Please, any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hi, I’d be interested in seeing some discussion about inflammation. What it is exactly and how it damages our systems.
I remember reading something years ago in Scientific American about inflammation and heart disease, but I can’t remember many of the details.
Are carbohydrates related to inflammation? If there’s a relationship, I’d like to hear more discussion about it.
Thanks for listening!
Here is a post on inflammation from a couple of years ago in case you missed it.
I’m not sure if this was mentioned already, but some additional information to refute the idea that a whole-grain diet decreases cancer, heart disease, etc. It seems that when I talk to some RDs, they always come back to the need for whole-grains. I know it’s not the right answer, but I sometimes don’t have the best way to justify a reduced-carbohydrate diet.
I have the same questions as Ben Fury, I would like to know your take on Schwarzbien and Sears’s opinion of LC.
I honestly can’t thank you enough for all that you have done for me. Best wishes in the New Year.
I’d love to hear:
1. MD on HRT and its interplay with low carbing.
2. Practical tips for influencing teens in the low-carb direction.
3. The latest and greatest on how to overcome carb cravings.
4. General recommendations for supplements.
5. General protocols and recommendations for annual/periodic lab tests.
6. What you’re doing in Seattle to save the world.
A few times you mentioned a “major post” you were working on regarding the latest Vitamin D research, but I don’t think you ever completed it (unless I missed it somehow). So, I’d still love to see that.
I also enjoy discussion of studies that show low-carb possibly improving or preventing health issues, such as past posts you’ve done on cancer, sleep apnea, reflux, etc.
And thanks for the free PPLP, I was in need of a new copy.
How to deal with the resistance I get when presenting low-carb living to friends and family.
Dr. Eades, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog and your insights about nutrition. I am a clinical social worker and I work on a crisis hotline and I have felt more centered and prepared to deal with people’s crises since I started eating a LC diet. I can’t help but wonder how many people who are diagnosed with “mental” illnesses would be in better shape if they ate a LC diet. With that being said, I would like to hear your take on the relationship between mental or emotional health and being on a LC diet.
I also have read about the obesity paradox on this blog
http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/03/obesity-paradox-14-serious-illness.html
One of the conclusions made in the blog was:
The bottom line, is that obesity itself cannot be blamed for why people die.
I don’t know if you have commented on the obesity paradox before, but I would like to see you talk about that topic and whether or not there is any merit to it. Thank you for all you and MD do for us.
Cheers,
Ivan
I would like to second the suggestion regarding the impact of an occasional (1-2x / week) carb indulgence while normally consuming about 30 carbs per day. An example of an indulgence for me is an ice cream cone, a slice of pizza, a piece of birthday cake, or something equivalent. How does this affect your insulin response immediately after the indulgence and in the days afterwards.
Thank you for a wonderful blog!
Dr. Eades,
I’d like to add my sincerest thanks for the education, insight and entertainment you provide. Your blog is always worth reading, whatever you choose as a topic, but since you asked …..
I would like to know if you have experience with the seemingly inevitable weight gain that comes with anti psychotic medication. What are the mechanisms—is it strictly increased appetite or is there something else going on? Does anyone have good success with a standard low carb diet or are other interventions necessary? It is so very unfair that on top of everything else they have to deal with, those suffering from bi polar and schizophrenia are forced to sacrifice physical for mental well being.
Thanks again for all your time and effort,
Sue
1. Iodine deficiency and supplementation.
2. Carb addiction and emotional eating.
3. Weightloss for women — post-menopausal and otherwise
4. Will mainstream healthcare ever change? Any evidence it is improving? Doctors seem so hostile to low carb diets and supplements.
Dr. Eades,
You have shown excellent judgment about what to write about, so I would primarily love to see you ‘follow your bliss’ when you think about what to post.
Additionally, I would love to see you write more here on a beginner’s guide to adopting healthy changes such as those you recommend, how to adjust intake when upping or changing workout routines, as well as your recommendations for raising healthy children.
Best wishes!
ME: One more suggestion. How about a direct reply option that would let us to reply directly to a post, edit the existing text and then insert our own comments.
I’m not sure I understand what you mean here. Walk me through it.
>
This format is used on a lot of blogs. Here’s how it works. To illustrate the principle suppose my message starts at the > hash mark above and ends at the hash mark after the word REPLY. At the end of my post there will be a link that says
REPLY
>
If someone wants to comment on my post they click on REPLY. The message appears in a new window as follows.
>
David MacPhail:
This format is used on a lot of blogs. Here’s how it works. To illustrate the principle suppose my message starts at the > hash mark above. At the end of my post there will be a link that says
>
The text will be in a different font or set on a shaded background that identifies it as the original post. The person who is replying can edit and delete the original text and insert their own text wherever they want to. The example below shows how it would work. The new text is in all caps since I don’t have the ability to format the fonts with your present software. The advantage of the format I propose is that it enables a comment thread to build on a single post.
>
David MacPhail:
This format is used on a lot of blogs. Here’s how it works.
I THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA. [my new comment]
To illustrate the principle suppose my message starts at the > hash mark above. At the end of my post there will be a link that says
I GET THE IDEA. [my new comment]
REPLY
>
I see, I think. When you say ‘post’ you mean ‘comment,’ right? In other words, this would all work in the comment section? Do you have a link to a blog that does this so I can see it in action?
I second all the requests so far for everything you can possibly think to say about:
1. advice for middle-aged women to lose weight and why it so difficult for us to lose weight;
2. the definitive guide to HRT;
3. what causes low-carb to not work so well for repeated attempts at weight loss;
4. what tests our doctors ought to be ordering to assess our health;
5. continuing analysis of nutrition studies that are poorly conducted.
6. advice for those for whom low-carb apparently does not work or has stopped working. I’ve pretty much given up hope of losing the rest of the weight I need to; in fact, I’ve gained over the last year despite faithful adherence to low-carb principles (including limiting cheese and nuts, meat only for a few days, upping the fat and lowering the protein, upping the protein and lowering the fat; using Fitday to track the diet; I’m really tired of trying to figure out what ‘s wrong and what I should be doing instead. Maybe provide a list of things to try and those who are stalled can try each a month or so at a time to see which, if anything, helps.
I like the “Categories”, “Random Posts”, and “Recent Posts”. What I’d really like to see, though, is a nod to the past when we readers could access the archives by month. If I need to refer to a specific study that you blogged about, I can usually remember the time frame, or can go month by month until I find the right post. Somehow that ability was lost with the last iteration. I realize that may be asking too much. If so, fugedaboudit.
Also, I would like you to write about whatever it is that you like to write about. Our entire family reads this blog, and we’ve enjoyed everything from Music to Nutrition to Medical History to Politics and whatever else. Obviously, the nutrition part is the prime magnet. If something more current comes along, why ditch a post you’ve been working on? Post what you want.
But hey, you’re a great writer (so is your bride), and a great writer brings relevance to any subject.
If you’re seriously trying to make more dollars to cover operating costs, why not include little adds for your supplements here on the blog page? Much like the little pictures of your books, you could have little pictures of your other items as well.
I’ll definitely get the archives working. Maybe as early as tomorrow.
Dr Mike:
The big thing I would like to see you give more detail on is your assertion that it’s impossible to gain weight on low carb regardless of calories consumed. You mentioned you had clients that couldn’t lose weight and you discovered they were eating 4,000 calories, yet they didn’t gain weight because it was low carb.
I lost over 100 lbs on Protein Power, thank you very much 🙂
I’m just struggling with the maintenance phase. During the last 4 months I’ve stayed under 40 carbs per day, but have been eating more calories (fats, nuts, etc) and gained 10 lbs over that time.
So, the question is, can you gain weight on low carb? If not how do Inuit stay alive without ever putting on fat? Wouldn’t they just waste away eventually?
My experience is that it is possible to gain a few pounds even with very strict carb reduction. Would love to hear your take on this question.
ME: I see, I think. When you say ‘post’ you mean ‘comment,’ right? In other words, this would all work in the comment section? Do you have a link to a blog that does this so I can see it in action?
Here is a link to blog I have been looking at recently that has a format I really like. You will note that there are options to Quote parts of a post or Reply (Comment) to it. The great thing about these options is that it facilitates a string of linked comments within a post as opposed to having to jump back and forth in a thread to review similar comments on a subject and then comment in a separate post.
Some posters on Protein Power might be interested in the Resperate biofeedback system for lowering BP. Although my diastolic BP is almost always 80 or less my systolic pressure has been going up at times recently. There is some excellent research published in Heart, a British Medical Journal that has shown that music played with interval pauses of quiet time has a dramatic effect in lowering BP. I have also reviewed all the research done to date on the Resperate system. So I think it has merit. I am about order a unit (see http://www.resperate.com).
You didn’t include the link to the blog.
Menopause, one more vote…
Not nesseserely in connection with weight loss. I keep triyng to find answers for the following:
– If it is a transition – what is the ‘destination point’, how brain will finaly learn to live on the low level of estrogen, how the body is dealing with increasing levels of LH and FSH;
– Is it true that women with high blood glucose level get through menopause faster; if true, what your explanation could be; why some women have simptoms almost to the very end; are the simptoms some sort of adaptive mechanism?
– Some recearches show the ‘core’ temperature building up is to blame for hot flushes – the mechanism of smooth releasing doesn’t work any longer (PubMed). Or Dr. McCleary is right, explaning hot flushes as a little “self-made” stress to raise BG;
– What do you think about Estredox – the form of estrogen only brain can use, wich is on the second phase of testing now. (I’m waiting, but afraid it will be too late for me.)
You are being so generous lately 🙂 that’s why I’m asking probably too many questions.
– PUFAs oxidation: Skhulachev (russian scientist) said it is OK. When oxidized, PUFA is used for fluel. Ray Peat blames PUFA’s for diabetes. Is it possible, if too much of oxidized PUFA MUST be burned for fluel – glucose is left out and stays in the blood stream?
How much PUFA is not too much?
PUFA and immune cells?
PS. ‘Hollywood Argyles’ rocks!!!
Wow, they’re coming in hot and heavy!
I agree with the many commenters that you should keep doin’ what you’re doin’. But you did ask . . .
1) Cephalic phase insulin response (sweeteners)
2) NMR, VAP genre of cholesterol subtesting – useful or does cholesterol simply not matter?
3) Testosterone, or other hormone balance issues for males (perhaps in the new book?)
4) Magnesium/Calcium/Vitamin D/Vitamin K interactions for heart health/general health
5) Response to the low GI advocates who seem to have two theories of what low GI prevents (and that it’s very important to prevent): a) blood sugar spike leads to hypo crash and all it’s nasty effects of hunger, cravings, going mental, etc., or b) low GI creates a low rise in blood sugar that is stable long-term and this is somehow best. Conversely, low total carbs are paramount in the low-carb camp.
6) Is there a certain level of obesity threshold, that, once crossed, tend to whack out systems in ways that tend to need more than just diet change (hormones, etc.)
7) Would love to hear about your clinical experience on the motivation factor, getting people started and keeping it going. Are there particular strategies that have worked better for you? Are there “personality types” of patients that tend to thrive, refuse, drop out? General stats on “free-living” patients success?
8) Second the motion on carbs in conjunction with exercise for (normal, not competitive) muscle building. Some carbs advisable? Timing? Legal cheat?
9) I recall a post somewhere about low-carbers not responding properly to a glucose tolerance test because the enzymes for processing the carbs are no longer at the levels needed for this — resolved by some carb ingestion for a period before the test. In light of this, if true, are episodic carb splurges extra unhealthy for low-carbers?
Well, that was longer than I had intended, but it’s a fascinating subject.
Thanks for the opportunity, and for your tireless efforts to hasten the day of awakening.
I did indeed ask, and I appreciate the response.
Do you have a take on diverticulitis? My brother has it, and at his doctor’s advice is treating it with a high-fiber low-meat diet, which makes me suspicious.
I’d also enjoy hearing whether you think cancer is influenced by diet (other than Vitamin D, where the influence seems well-documented), whether omega-6 oils are really as bad as some people say, and your take on the notion that some carbs are much worse than others (e.g. wheat being terrible because of wheat germ agglutinin, root vegetables being okay if you haven’t messed up your metabolism with lectins and fructose yet).
I also like PamB’s idea of posting a summary of what you would revise today if you were publishing new editions of PP and PPLP.
1) Mental health/illness and low-carb
2) sleep disorders and low-carb
3) pregnancy / healthy baby and low-carb (maternal diet recommendations)
I am interested in one day fasts. How do you get adequate protein if you fast 2 or 3 days a week. My wieght is fine (177 at 6′ 1”). I am interested in maximum health.
Hi, I love your stuff and so look forward to that email from you!! I would like more info on the possibility of low carb/ketosis preventing cancer. Especially your thought on how low carb intake needs to be for that to happen. If glucose fuels cancer cells, could any amount of sugar, including just one apple a day, be enough to fuel the cancer? I have lots of cancer in my family, but I have a hard time staying at less than 20 g/day, 60 g/day is more livable for me. I also read somewhere the thought that wheat may be to blame for multiple sclerosis (an autoimmune reaction to it), that societies that don’t eat wheat don’t get MS, so if you know anything about that, I would enjoy that also (mother-in-law and brother-in-law have MS and are obese, would love to convince them to go low carb).
Hi Michael,
Another issue I thought about…
Omega-3 vs Omega-6… and does it really matter?
Thanks so much,
Michael
Hi Dr Eades,
I would love it if you could write about vitamin D – your take on it. I’ve been reading the Vitamin D Council website and Dr James Dowd’s vitamin D blog for a long time, but I’d like to know what you say about it…..how much you advise people to take, that kind of thing. You said you would early last year…….
When I took 4,000ius D3 (with no sun – winter) for only four months my levels of serum D (25(OH)D) went up to 153 ng/mL and my alkaline phosphatase levels went too high. I stopped taking the supplements for a few months and then resumed at 2,000ius D3 per day (and no sun either) and now my serum D is respectable 62ng/mL. I feel that advice on D is most confusing, especially when we’re told it’s safe to take up to 10,000ius on some websites and it’s patently not safe ! On the other hand, conventional advice of 400 to 800ius per day is not good either.
all the best,
Anne
Reading through everyone’s suggestions reminded me I’ve been meaning to ask about a pet hypothosis of mine that I developed after rereading PP and PPLP a couple of times and looking at the medical problem in my family.
I would love to see a series of posts expanding what you wrote about regarding “leaky gut syndrome” (subclinical celiac disease?), iron overload, vit D deficiency and hypothyroid and how they all relate. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are all linked in a dwindling spiral and get glossed over or undiagnosed. Specifically I’m wondering if an underlying intolerance to grains begins the problem which is compounded by eating iron fortified grains then coupled with vit D deficiency brings about subclinical hypothyroid and then (at least in women) during or after menopause the T-3 finally drops to the low end of the scale and treatment is begun. Of course by this time there is also metobolic syndrome, obesity and other hormone imbalances so it makes it all a sticky tangled mess to sort out. Also by this time there are serious digestive and vein issues.
Thanks for all the wonderful posts and I look forward to continuing to read them. Happy New Year
I, also, like the technical posts with “nuts and bolts descriptions” that go into greater detail.
This may be outside of your area of expertise, but I read an article recently about a man who accidentally cut off the tip of his finger and was able to regrow it by applying extracellular matrix to the end. Apparently, bone, nerve, muscle, and nail all grew back to functioning levels. If you have any insight or explanation, I’d love to hear it.
I think one of the great things about your first IF post is that so many of us had never heard of such a thing. There is so much media attention given to “six small meals a day” that suddenly finding out that there’s a whole other way to go about it was very interesting. So, if you have any ideas for posts that have NOT been mentioned, I’d like to vote for those because they’re the ones that are truly enlightening.
I’d like to second:
-sun exposure and sun screen
-fueling the body low-carb style around workout times
-supplements: which ones you recommend in what amounts
-how to build and maintain muscle mass on carbohydrate restriction
-when and what is the best way to start feeding proteins as solid food and what types
-do you see any value in raw protein/fat foods
-further detail into what the previous commenter quoted: “The body has ways of dissipating excess energy involving the reduction of protonmotive force across the inner mitochondrial membrane (a subject way too technical to address here, though I may try sometime in a long post), which is precisely what I believe happens when insulin is kept low and calories high.”
Hi Dr. Mike,
These comments must be overwhelming. If you can stand one more…I’d love to see low-carbing for type 1 diabetics addressed. I never see any studies on whether this is a good thing or not. The only person who seems to address it is Dr. Bernstein with his rationale that the margin for error in estimating insulin is smaller with a low-carb diet.
I’m a type 1 and I seem to have insulin resistance when I eat a lot of cheese. BS goes up and stays high. Low-carb helps me lose weight but having some carbs and lowering my fat intake oddly seems to help me keep my BS more in control….a conundrum.
It’s frustrating to read about “diabetes” in the news and even the medical literature sometimes as if there’s just one disease when type 1 and type 2 are quite different. There are something like 23 million more type 2s than type 1s in the US these days so I guess it’s understandable. But it would be nice for us type 1s to get some attention and some good advice.
Thanks again for great contributions via your books and the blogosphere.
Best wishes,
Wendy
Have you read Dr. Richard Bernstein’s book? It covers most of the issues you mentioned, and since Dr. Bernstein is himself a type I diabetic, he can walk the walk.
Thanks so much for the blog. I know it must be a ton of work.
I’d like to see updates for those of us who have read PPL. For example, best means to get Omega 3’s, etc.
I would like you to blog about the “ethics” of low-carb eating. I have encountered one or 2 people lately who said they think it is immoral eating low-carb, given how much grain it takes to produce one pound of meat yaddah yaddah…I have also read articles saying the same thing in my local newspaper recently, and i expect the carb industry will also try this strategy. I find that many people are still thinking “Diet For a Small Planet” and I’m afraid buying meat, eggs and cheese is going to become unfashionable, kind of like driving SUV’s or wearing fur coats.
-Dan
Hi Dr. Eades,
Long-time reader, first-time commenter here. I am interested in knowing your thoughts on a few topics…
Fluoride – is it beneficial or harmful (or neither)? I have my doubts, having cast aside several ‘sacred cows’ of nutrition (and government) over the past couple of years.
Iodine & iodine supplementation – I’ve been curious since you mentioned it in the comments several posts back. Any chance this could be related to my suggested topic above?
A post on Vitamin K
I’d like to second the idea of a reader poll, with all the options being topics that you are ‘ready’ to post about. It seems like a good way to keep both audience and author interested. All the same though, please don’t limit yourself. I enjoy reading anything that you post, including the occasional ‘off-topic’ discussions.
As an avid reader of the blog for over 2 years now, I’d like to thank you for all the time & effort you put into it. I was already starting to change the way I eat, but your blog was instrumental in pushing me 100% into the low-carb/paleo lifestyle. Also, thanks to you & MD for the free PPLP offer, which I took advantage of last year. It was a great read, and I just recently passed it on to my parents in the hopes that they can learn a few things from it.
Happy New Year,
-Matt
There is a filter feature the Globe & Mail (newspaper online) is using that I think might be very helpful on your blog.
Go to: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
In the lower RH portion you will see a list of topics under the heading MOST POPULAR with the following filter options: Most Viewed, Most E-Mailed and Most discussed. When you click on them the list of topics changes according to the sub headings. Having filter options on your blog for Most Viewed and Most Discussed or perhaps a tally in brackets showing the number of comments in real time for each thread would give visitors to your site a good idea of which topics the interest is high in.
The ability to get solid, factual, validated information easily is the key to making good decisions. The problem today is sorting through all the nonsense that is being propagated often deliberately with the intent of misinforming.
As usual I was watching the morning news today. When the health component comes on some low fat guru or worse and RD is usually the featured guest. Today’s segment featured an interview with none other than Dr. Agaston of The South Beach Diet fame. With supreme confidence Agaston stated that carbohydrates are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL in the diet. The key is to get the good carbs which are in whole grains, fruits and vegetables and plenty of fiber yada, yada, yada – argghhh!
Aaarrrggghhhh indeed.
Hi Dr. Eades , Cindy here and I would love to hear your take on Vitamin D . I take 7,000 iu’s per day in fall, winter and spring and virtually never get sick . I have been doing this for 3 years and I take the late spring and summer off . Not a cold , flu or any sickness at all . I am not sure this is too high a dose or not but it seems to work for me . I even got my 74 year old mother to do the same this year since every year in the past she has gotten the flu shot and every year gets sick any way but so far this fall and winter she is as healthy as a horse and she is very satisfied .
Thank you and I love reading your blog .
some people already mentioned that – I would be interested if you see some added value in the raw meat, eggs etc – I mean people rarely eat them like that due to aesthetic reasons but do they deprive themselves of something valuable in their food?
second request is – you kinda promised it yourself in a very old post – a brief lecture on confidence levels, statistical significance – the simpler the better, may be something about e.g. estimating weight of a group of people on a train or the like.
(sorry for not including best new year wishes and … ooops I sort of did it)
1. There’s good evidence out there that saturated fat doesn’t cause heart disease. But what is your opinion of studies showing that saturated fat increases insulin resistance?
2. All these studies of lipid levels are done fasting. There are studies showing that elevated postprandial lipid levels are strong predictors of heart disease. (a) What is the relation between insulin resistance and elevated PP lipid levels? (b) What is your opinion of the effect of postprandial lipid levels? (c) Are any physicians measuring PP lipid levels?
Oh yes. What’s your opinion of the graph in “Life Without Bread” showing that a LC diet reduced cholesterol in younger people but not in older people.
Hi Dr. Mike…
Love the blog and will visit it every day no matter the layout…
One of my favorite books of yours that I don’t read much about on the blog is Thin So Fast. I’m a trainer and I’ve had great success with several clients on this plan; I incorporate Slow Burn strength training with it. Would you change anything from Thin So Fast?
1) Less debunking. Keeping after all the shoddy research is like trying to drink from a firehose.
2) The role of carbohydrates. The only constant pre-agricultural source was milk, EVERYONE drank milk as an infant, and there are scraps of info I read which relate insulin, insulin-growth-factor, and human growth hormone in various ways. Is there an optimal intake which is beneficial for children only, and/or is there an optimal non-zero amount for adults?
3) The difference between men and women. No, seriously! Why is low-carb so easy, logical, and beneficial for me and so heretical to my girlfriend? I’ve done this for nine years while she just made a tray of Rice Krispie treats for herself (!) as she prepares to begin her New Year’s weight-loss resolution.
Thanks
How do you find a primary care doctor who is sympathetic to low-carb, skeptical of statins, etc?
I’m good with all of your posts. Really. And I’m not trying to suck up.
But if you want a suggestion, here is mine. You’re in a great position. You have a great platform and you have excellent contacts. I would encourage you to use that and take on the establishment. We’re all here because we know the truth and your entries really only serve to further our understanding, which is really awesome.
But if you could use your influence, Gary Taubes, and others, maybe you can work on creating change. I’ll throw my hat into the ring for help too. I’m a PhD not an MD and I know the mayor of our Houston suburban town. That’s got to be worth something, right?
I know it’s a daunting task and I don’t have delusions of grandeur, but you have to start somewhere, right? Why not? You can even have all of those nasty letters from the corn refiners assocation sent straight to me!
Congratulations on all of your success. It is well-deserved…and I’m serious about that change thing!
Brian
Okay, I already commented above, but just thought of two more things:
1.The “updates” that others have requested to your prior books (what you would change if you were writing them today), that would be a “latest thinking” version of your older books, is a great suggestion, and one which I heartily second. A related question: For those like me who are very new to your blog (like me) who (my apologies) have not read your prior books (even though I do a version of LC eating already), do you recommend that we start out with your new book that is about to come out? OR should we start with PP or PPLP? If starting w/one of the older books, do we need to read both to really get to know your ideas, or will one of them be sufficient (if so, which one?) I assume you have new ideas in the new book, some of which will supercede what was written previously, and I’d like to get your latest thinking and not start doing something that is version 1.0 only to find out that you’re doing version 2.2!
2. Long term food storage for emergency/disaster situations
I happen to live in SoCal and also happen to know a lot of Mormons, so the idea of having emergency food on hand for an acute emergency as well as long-term food stored for a more extended situation, is a concept with which I keep flirting. But most food storage suggestions I’ve seen are slanted towards grains and/or processed foods. If you and MD have any emergency food stores, could you please share with us what they are? Or if not, if you were to pretend you were going to set one up, what specific foods (and supplements) would you and MD include, in order to eat as healthily as possible? Are there any foods that you wouldn’t generally eat under normal circumstances but that you would compromise by including in food storage? An example I can think of is dry powdered milk, which I read somewhere (maybe in a comment on your blog?) is “bad” for some reason I don’t remember, and UHT milk in tetrapacks, which I find kind of sterile tasting, and I would only drink it if no other milk was available.
Just wanted to add a comment–I’m very new here but love your blog. Also, my whey protein powder of choice is Jay Robb’s brand because I according to his web site, the whey is from cows that are grass-fed. Isn’t that cool?! Thought you or your readers would want to know.
Thanks for your great work,
Cynthia
What about specific recommendations for:
1-Breaking through weight loss plateaus,
2-Helping people who are so carbohydrate sensitive that 20 grams of carbs rocks their scale,
3-The kinds of meats and poultry that are appropriate for PP.
4-A collection of sure-fire PP recipes (easy, complicated, slow cooker, bbq, etc.).
Marly Harris,
Do search here for fiber and you’ll come up with a very informative post from Dr Mike called “A Cautionary Tale of Mucous Fore and Aft.” It totally changed my view on fiber and it’s so-called “importance” in our diets.
Elle
Hi Dr. Eades:
Thank you for the generous gift of this blog. Best wishes to you and your loved ones in the New Year.
I confess not having read all the comments, so if someone else said this, I am echoing the request:
A post on the value/effectiveness of glycemic load as a dietary guideline would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Eddie
I wrote a post a while back on my thoughts on the glycemic index and the glycemic load.
Creatine supplementation for building and maintaining muscle while LC’ing
I’m approaching 41 and I’m female. Blogs reviewing the literature on the role of hormones on weight and health would be very welcome.
I’ve read, briefly, that if someone is on “lots” of meds (lots not being a defined term) or severely obese, then that person should not try IF as it could be fatal. Literature review on that and guidance would be useful to those of us who have friends who want to try what we’re trying. (obviously Protein Power would be more than acceptable for these folks.)
Information on the effects of popular or frequently prescribed medications on weight and health. I was prescribed doxepin for several years for IBS symptoms. fortunately the protein power/paleo diet/IF approaches have allowed me to drop this medication. however, in researching the side effects of dropping it, i found that several nasty side effects to weight gain and health that I’d been unaware of.
I recently read this, what do you think about it?
Another reason to avoid high-fat diet – it can disrupt our biological clock
http://www.alphagalileo.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=readrelease&releaseid=534984
One general interesting topic would be the thyroid.
Another interesting topic is leptin. Can fat cells ever be killed or can they just get smaller? If yes, how? I think I read somewhere that leptin actually can kill fat cells. Is this true?
ME: You didn’t include the link to the blog.
Whoops. Try this http://forum.resperate.com/index.php?showtopic=847
for an example.
If you click on Reply a new window will open with the original message. You can insert comments and edit it as if it were a new message. The original post you are replying to is not lost when you post the original message with your comments.
Thanks. Seems more like a forum than a blog, though.
Hi Dr Eades,
First, thanks for your reply to my question on a different post the other day about dieting when breastfeeding! I am studiously avoiding any caloric restriction while being very very strong on staying LC, and I’m feeling pretty good, and my milk seems to be just fine.
There are many things other people have suggested I’d also be eager to read about, but here are a couple of others:
1 – a simple one. I was looking in protein power and searched on the blog but i couldn’t find anything – what is your take on yoghurt and LC? do you agree with those that say most of the lactose is converted by bacteria and so it’s much lower carb than the label says it is as long as it’s bio-yoghurt? Do you think it’s ok to eat regularly?
2. I’ve been a total convert to LC for 7 years now – but then I know I’m insulin resistant and carb addicted and can’t eat carbs normally without binging and put on pounds if I even look at a bagel. However, my husband is actually one of those tall very skinny guys who doesn’t stop moving, is always hungry, and is actually slightly underweight – he could do with putting on 30 pounds. He has been educated in the LC way, but if he ate totally LC he says he’d be even hungrier than he already is. As a healthy 33 year old who actually could do with putting on weight, is never sick, and clearly has no insulin problems, what would you recommend for his diet? Having read Gary Taubes, most of the carbs he eats now are of the whole grain/whole wheat/brown rice variety etc, and he limits sugary stuff – do you think that is adequate to protect against illness for someone who obviously doesn’t have insulin/carb sensitivity problems? So to extrapolate that out to generalities, what would you recommend as a healthy diet to someone who has no sensitivity to carbs and no weight issues? A complete avoidance of sugar, or small amounts? A complete avoidance of grains and complex carbs, or just sticking to brown rice/wholewheat pasta etc and making sure you get plenty of protein and fat etc?
Elle-
Thank you for your comment. I went back to reread Dr. Eades’ post re fiber together with the very interesting responses from readers. Here’s the link:
http://www.mreades.wpengine.com/drmike/uncategorized/a-cautionary-tale-of-mucus-fore-and-aft/
As i wrote previously, I’ve experimented with zero-carb eating (meat and fat only) and found it to be ideal. It’s just those momentary doubts that occur when you live against the grain that sometimes cause me to question the wisdom of what I’m doing.
So, Dr. Eades, thank Elle, because you’re off the hook as far as my request about fiber.
Thanks, Elle.
I’d like to see a follow-up to the post about the guy making a movie responding to Super Size Me.
I am planning an update post on this movie soon. It has been made, it has a distributor, it has been shown in Israel (of all places), and will be available as a home DVD in about a month.
I have only two suggestions.
1. A concise summary of your hierarchy or relative importance of all things health related for someone starting from square one. Stop smoking, then cut carbs, then get your omega-3’s, then…etc. as far as you care to take it. Getting the most important things right is a great way to start improving health. Alternatively, maybe someone would choose a few slightly easier options just to get started and later hit the big ones. Just knowing what matters most would be helpful.
2. An updated summary of supplements, vitamins, minerals you take or recommend and why. Basically anything outside of real food. Important points such as taking with food, avoiding taking two things at the same time, side effects to watch for etc would also be helpful. Perhaps a link on your main blog page would be easiest so we could find this info easily, and know we are getting the latest greatest info since you could update this as your recs change over time.
Great blog! Many thanks for the ongoing education, and for the time and effort you obviously put into this site! Have a safe and healthy 2009!
Don’t change too much…love the topics you pick to share and how you make them easy to understand. Great job!
I echo the above with a hearty THANKS for Thin So Fast…lost 80 pounds (with about 20 to go) before I found out I was pregnant…sort of a cool side effect of low-carbing!
Topics I’d like to see in the coming year (from you or MD) include many that were listed above regarding Low-Carb
–Peri-Menopause while Pregnant
–Pregnancy and safely Low-carbing
–Menopause related issues
–Hormones & weight loss
–Post-Pregnancy (mom & baby)
–Babies & solid food safely low-carbing
Can’t wait for the new book to arrive…I wish for you and your family all the best in the new year!
One more-
Ghost writing in medical journalism (pharma companies paying fees to have others write their studies-professors/faculty, etc).
Wow! That’s a lot of responses and advice. I don’t know . . . maybe you ought to write a book or something? Maybe addressing the the “middle-aged middle”? Nah. Never mind. Too corny.
Catchy title, though.
Wow. Thanks for asking!
#1 – gluten intolerance. I discovered this year (by experimentation, no thanks to any doctor) that eliminating all, even trace amounts, of gluten from my diet eliminates lifelong problems with depression, migraines, acid reflux, and more. Why don’t most doctors know about this? Why do they always just reach for the prescription pad?
– grains, carbs aside, how bad are they? Is there a big health benefit to eliminating them entirely?
– legumes, besides the carbs, whats wrong with them?
– dairy, apart from the carbs, how does the casein and lactose (or any other component) affect me? If it makes my throat mucousy, does that mean I’m intolerant and should stop?
– when consuming carbs, which is the least harmful: grains, legumes, dairy, booze, fruit, potatoes, yams, sugar? Does it make any difference?
– vitamin d3: essential or overhyped?
– in general, how important is any specific advice on the scale of things? For example, if you’re recommending magnesium supps, a multi, fish oil, krill oil, which is the most important? Or how does taking supplements compare in importance to cutting carbs or getting exercise or getting adequate sleep or eating organic foods, for example. When one topic is discussed in isolation it’s hard to get a sense of its relative importance. We all have limited time and money, as you know.
– this is difficult, but could you please address the environmentalist argument that we must all cut down on our meat consumption? I know it’s really not your field, but could you answer Michael Pollan and the others?
– lastly, could you please convince your co-author to post more on academic topics?
Thank you so much. I think you are a truly great person for being so generous with your time and expertise.
I checked with the co-author. She says she is the lifestyle poster. She leaves all the academic posting to me.
ME: Thanks. Seems more like a forum than a blog, though.
Yes, it is a forum. The reason I suggested this format is that I don’t think your format fit the typically format of a blog where the initiator puts up an article and then hides in the trenches while the posters either engage in monologues or slug it out with other posters.
There are a lot of smart people posting on your blog, many of whom I learn from in addition to yourself. I tend to learn a lot more in an interactive forum where positions are actively, even aggressively, challenged than I do where posters are relatively passive in terms of challenging authority. I don’t mind getting beat up from time to time if I learn from the experience. If you aren’t making mistakes from time to time you aren’t pushing the envelope of your knowledge.
I am doing the same thing right now as I could do with the forum format I gave you a link to. It is just a lot more work.
What is this? Comment 144? You’ll never see it.
Please just keep being spontaneous and writing about what moves you at the moment.
I did see it.
Almost every poster has covered my ‘wish list’ for post, Mike, so I guess I’ll just reiterate some of them:
– What’s the main obstacle for sticking to, say, Protein Power (is my model of a low-carb diet), and the one I follow and try to stick to for the most part; is it psycho- or physiological, or both? (or is it environmental?)
– Maybe your take on the literature I sent you a while ago with respect to how wired we may be to select food with fat and how that, combined with sugar, may play a role in derailing our efforts sometimes.
– Women and hormones
– The ‘salt issue’
– The myths of low-carbohydrate/highER protein diets and how to debunk them in a colloquial conversation; perhaps a quick review of key published studies that can be referenced to back up the ‘debunking’. I’m used to do this but sometimes I feel I may be missing up to date information.
Like other said, you have a knack for choosing topics that are right on the money… I wouldn’t change anything but since you kindly asked, here it is! 🙂
Oh… how could I forget about this one since it has been a subject of personal interest as of late…
– Low-carb/adequate protein diets as therapy for cancer; I’m particularly interested in bone cancer, but any information, discussion or up to date information will be great!!
Thanks again!
How about dosage of supplements? There is a bewildering variety and brands. How do I chose a good one? What kind of side effects should I watch out for? What’s junk, what isn’t?
I’ve had people, both in person and online, tell me low-carbing didn’t work for them, or stopped working after a while. I’m sure that in most cases they simply weren’t doing it right, and when we got down to going over menus, that’s what usually turned up. (It’s so easy for extra carbs to sneak in there, even when you’re an old pro at this.) But some insisted they were doing it right. So, something you might touch on would be: do you think it’s possible to low-carb “by the book” (your book, of course) and not lose weight? If so, what factors would cause that? I can think of two possibilities: drastically overeating protein, enough that gluconeogenesis produces enough sugar to mess things up; or a hyperadrenal state overproducing cortisol, which seems to have some similar effects as insulin. Do you think those are possible causes, and are there others?
Thanks for asking!
Ditto on the following:
1. The one on hormones and why it’s difficult to lose weight as you get older.
2. I also second the one on hormone replacement therapy for men and women.
3. I’d also like to hear about the lab tests that are useful/meaningful for an annual checkup. That is a great suggestion.
Other thoughts are:
1. Sample diet plans . I recently started the low-carb diet and I’m trying to retrain myself “how to cook” or come up with new meals. I need variety otherwise I get bored. I realize there might be tons of recipes on the internet but as a first timer on low carb eating I’d like recipes that are “tried and true” delicious.
2. If you cover vitamins can you add bone health to that? My grandmother had a knee operation last year. I believe the cartilage was gone so her bones were rubbing against each other (that’s what they explained to me). How can I avoid problems with my bones as I get older ? I already have a mild scoliosis developed when I was younger, so I’m concerned about bone health and I wonder what would be the right combination of vitamins/minerals for prevention.
3. For beauty, how does a diet affect your nails, hair, and skin? With the emphasis on hair. I realize a lot of people have a problem with thinning hair or losing hair. I know some of it may be hereditary but I don’t think that’s the case for everyone. When I was young I had TONS of curly thick hair and now that I’m older I have less of my gorgeous curls. My hair has thinned out and I’m always told “don’t wet your hair so much!!!! it thins out your hair”. I suspect that it could be related to diet but I’m not sure. I have bumped into women in the streets who have the same question. Why is this happening? I know you don’t cover all aspects to this topic, but it would be good to know how diet relates to it, if it does in any way.
Thank you so so much for taking the time to educate the general public. You are one of a kind.
Doreen
I did a post on diet and hair loss a while back that you may find interesting.
I second that one!
“Creatine supplementation for building and maintaining muscle while LC’ing”
Also CLA and the grass-fed connection.
Be well,
Ben Fury
I’d like to read about cortisol and how it works with insulin and affects weight loss and gain. Thanks for the opportunity.
How about if the Steve Jobs vegetarianism is serving him well?
http://munfitnessblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/skinny-apple-steve-jobs-sick-1.jpg
I haven’t quite figured out what’s going on with ol’ Steve. I suspect that if he doesn’t have a malignancy that he’s got an overproduction of glucagon, giving him a sort of type I diabetes. If so, he’s converting all his muscle mass to sugar via gluconeogenesis and urinating it away.
How about reaction to popular books that are health related recently released and analysis of specific sections (i.e. In Defense of Food…..especially last part of book) http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Eaters-Manifesto/dp/1594201455/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231246663&sr=8-1
Also, is there any way that you can offer ways of mitigating associated medical problems related to hormones, corn fed diet, antibiotics of protein such as beef, chicken, lamb, pork, etc. and mercury and fish without spending vast sums of money on so called “organic’ foods. Very confusing and disturbing.
THANKS!
I am also for the menopausal women weight issues.
And for the proposal of Diane Hsieh about how different kinds of fat are metabolised.
The cortisol question is interesting, too.
If there is any room in your schedule for new topics, my wish would be: your take on Codex Alimentarius and are we really going to allow our Orwellian governments to forbid us the use of supplements? Should we be doing something about it, and what? Are you planning to do something? I completely agree that the incompement, stupid, greedy imbeciles shouldn’t be dictating our meals, but to take away the supplements is another class of perversion and nazi suppression altogether. Especially since so far we haven’t seen any bans on cigarettes, sugar, trans fats, artificial food, processed food, industrially made vegetable oils full of plastics, fluorine in water, teflon, aluminium cookware, aspartame and MSG, HFCS, pesticide use, etc. from their side …
It is our money that is paying these people. We already allowed them to make us fat and sick with the above things. Are we also going to let them take away from us the things that can help make us well?
Being a father now, I’d love to know your thoughts on diet for pregnant/nursing mothers, and nourishing babys and infants.
For instance, for babys (after 6 months when they start to eat solid foods with the mother’s milk) they recommend the same high-carb, low-protein diet that for adults, and warn that protein will damage kid’s kidneys. Salt is a no-no too etc. Do these things have a sounder basis than the same recommendations for adults?
Thanks , all the best this year.
I would like to see a post on the USDA advisory group and what we can do to help sway their thoughts. Jimmy Moore had a similar post today and I have already submitted a public comment. I don’t think we can get them to go all in just yet, but a nod to the low carbohydrate science would be a step in the right direction.
One more vote for information on how cortisol, CCK, insulin, glucagon and other hormones act in relation to carb, fat and protein ingestion.
I would like to see a post on thyroid, adrenal fatigue, fluoride, and ortho supplementation with iodine. Of course, I would settle for only one or two of these. Thanks so much Dr. Eades for sharing your wealth of information.
Olga
Thanks for taking requests! I second all the comments on low-carb guidelines for pregnant/nursing moms, babies and kids. In particular, I was intrigued by your discussion of fetal programming in the recent Oprah post and would love to learn more about this.
I also second the questions about choosing the healthiest kinds of meat and dairy when organic is too expensive.
Finally, does soy have any place in a low-carb diet? I used to eat quite a bit, but with pregnancy and breastfeeding I have shied away, not knowing what developmental effects the phytoestrogens might have. Are certain forms of soy healthier?
Thanks so much for this blog – I always enjoy it, especially the detailed analyses of the latest nutritional studies.
Coconut oil… Good, Bad or Ugly? Is it true that taking coconut oil (an MCT) will stop or interrupt the body from burning body fat (an LCT)? An in depth, final word on this would be useful.
Anyway, great blog!
Coconut oil: Good. No, coconut oil won’t stop the body from burning fat.
Thanks so much for your blog – your technical discussions are very valuable to all of us info seekers fighting the weight battles.
You are unparalleled in making highly technical medical information understandable to laypersons.
My votes (many of them mentioned above):
1) Technical discussion of womens hormones and menopause and how they relate to weight gain/loss and insulin resistance. I’m in the middle of this and it’s hell losing an ounce.
2) The “Golden Shot” concept – does low-carb work well only once and after that you’re screwed if you’ve fallen off the wagon. Given that I’ve not only fallen off the wagon, but rolled under it ::sigh:: this is of great interest to me.
3) Thyroid technical discussion – TSH and it’s value (or lack thereof) in diagnosing hypothyroid. Also the biochemistry of T3 and T4 and the frees of them and how they relate to weight loss and low carb dieting. Also any thyroid-related links to womens hormone issues would be great – I’m desperately trying to understand the big picture of how all these hormones interrelate.
4) ANY technical information concerning insulin resistance: it’s origins, the genetics of it, the biochemical mechanisms involved, and any activity/substance/anything that aids in overcoming it.
5) Detailed info on the effect of various fat types on metabolism and insulin resistance – namely saturated fat. I’m still concerned that the sat fat might make IR worse for me.
6) Cephalic insulin response triggered by artificial sweeteners. Also the metabolism/non-metabolism of sugar alcohols and how they affect insulin response.
7) The role of excess cortisol in obesity, and is there a thing such as such as subclinical Cushings disease? Also, what’s the truth regarding “adrenal fatigue”?
8) Vices and insulin resistance/weight loss/gain – namely coffee, alcohol, and cigarettes (the first two of which I’m loathe to completely give up. I’ve already quit smoking).
Thank you!
Dr Eades:
Here is my vote:
1. The menopausal women weight issues.
2. More information on thyroid. What are good numbers for T3 and T4? What iodine does, can you get too much and what would be the symptoms, how to adjust.
3. Information on Vitamin K
I read everything you write and love all of it. Thanks for everything,
dearest dr mike
I love your random, “whatever strikes my fancy” posts. Please don’t abandon your practice of posting on non-medical/diet issues. Tell us what you are reading — that could be a regular feature.
james
Hola James–
I’m working on it in the new blog design. You know me, I can’t very well not post on the non-medical issues near and dear to my heart.
Cheers–
M
Hey Doc:
I’m interested in learning more about the nitric-oxide pathway and your take on L-arginine as a potential supplement for restoring health to damaged arteries.
Thanks!
Hi Dr. Mike,
I didn’t know where I should post this, but you asked me to let you know when our low-carb ideas blog carnival was up. Here it is, fresh off the press:
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2009/01/healthy-low-carb-meal-ideas-our-first-real-food-wednesday-blog-carnival.html
I appreciate your willingness to post it, I hope many will link with their favorite low-carb ideas and recipes. I need all the help I can get to make this a lifestyle change, not just a “diet”. 🙂
Thanks again,
Kelly
You’re up. Good luck!
1. Chiming in on the female issues, especially pregnancy. I let myself get pressured into basically giving up during pg/bf-ing and paid the price by being now heavier than before I started LC.
2. Also dealing with low-level disapproval/disbelief from spouse (because “you need carbs!”) so any information on the social issues is helpful. I was single the first time around and it was SO much easier.
3. While reading PPLP I was thinking I need to make an outline folding all the recommendations into an actual life routine – do you have such a thing? “Take x-y-z supplements in the sunshine while working brain-teasers” 🙂 It seems like someone on a LC board would have done something like that, but I haven’t found it. Heck, maybe I’ll just do one!
Regardless, I love this blog and it has been enormously influential in how I read anything in the news and think about science in general. I also like the peeks into your meals and even the diversions like the awesome Queen post.
I’m glad to hear you like the diversions because I like the diversions. All nutrition and no play makes Mike a dull boy. 🙂
Other ideas:
How can we find a MD supportive of low carb/PP?
Which vitamins, minerals, supplements that would be helpful and reliable brands?
What are some strategies for starting a conversation (minimum) to making changes (maximum) in K-12 school food policy to more PP/Low Carb?
Other nutrition issues: flouride, vaccination, soy isolate, etc.
In the January 2006 artice, Statistacal Humbug, you promised a future article on simplified statistics. Being a numbers bug, I am hoping that you have not forgotten.
I haven’t forgotten. I just haven’t done it yet. It’s now back on the list.
I don’t usually post unless I read all the comments, so I appologize if this has already been mentioned…..but….is it possible to set up your links so they open in a separate window? I often click the links to read the linked article at a later time and opening in the same window kind of forces you to read it now. Of course right clicking on the link allows me to select a new window (or tab), but I know not everyone is aware of this.
Otherwise….as long as you keep posting I’ll be happy! I love the way you seem to be able to simplify things without sounding like you’re “talking down” to us!! I’m a team leader on a low carb weight loss team and have posted links to several of your posts. The women on my team are desperate to learn, but often don’t understand articles or know how to pick the gems out. Yours are all gems!!! Later today I’ll be posting a link to your observational studies post!!
Keep up the good work!! We all appreciate it!
Thanks. I’ll see what I can do.
Since so many studies are done on mice as they cannot be done on humans, I would like a post on when one should consider such studies worthy of being extrapolated to humans and when one should say oh that is interesting but…
I also would like to see more blogs on anything to do with weight loss difficulties and hormonal imbalances. Especially if there is any basis for the Schwarzbein and Sears claims with respect to hormonal imbalances.
Thanks for doing what you do.
I’d like to read about any updates/further thoughts/addendums/developments to each of the chapters in PPLP. Or better yet, I’d like to buy a copy of PPLP 2nd Edition. Newly revised and updated. 🙂
I wish I had a copy of PPLP 2nd edition, revised and updated. But that’s not my call, it’s the publisher’s call. And so far they’ve expressed no interest. Same with the publishers of Protein Power.
At the time of this writing, there were 171 comments to this post. How about numbering the comments to make it easier to find a specific comment, or where it was you left off reading them?
That one is in the works.
The use of Low dose naltrexone to treat immune problems.
To treat immune problems or addiction problems?
I don’t know if you’re familiar with Jimmy Moore’s “sweet free challenge”, but I’d love to hear your thoughts (or any actual data) on whether artificial sweeteners raise insulin levels, or otherwise make it difficult to lose weight.
The data I have read so far is inconclusive. But, I’m not sure I’ve read all the data out there.
I’d love more info and your take on leptin, leptin resistance, and how that hormone interconnects with the other ones (particularly female hormones).
I’ve also read that triglycerides block leptin signaling in the brain and that milk fats are mostly triglycerides – so does dairy block the proper action of leptin?
Thanks for all you do!
Here is a post I wrote on leptin that may answer some of your questions.
Dr. Eades, I just remembered one other thing.
I break out ridiculously badly sometimes and I’m convinced that little dietary transgressions of mine have something to do with it. Is there any evidence for acne being a disease of civilization?
Thanks again!
There is much evidence that acne is a disease of civilization. Loren Cordain has published on this topic extensively.
I’d first like to note a couple of things that you already cover which I really like and want to continue to see more of: I like the breakdown of various studies and the discussion of what they really show versus what they’re spun to supposedly show, and I like the posts where you go into the details of how a particular metabolic process works. One particular issue that I don’t think you’ve covered and that I’d like to see is how hypoglycemia works — things that can trigger an episode, how the liver (and any other organs involved) responds to one, what processes occur and what substances are released in that response, and so on.
Some other things I’d like to see (I think all of these are “me-toos”):
1. More on supplements, and in particular I’d like to see a sort of summary, what and how much and whether that ought to vary seasonally or by body weight or with other factors. If the form of a supplement (either the chemical form, or the physical form such as capsules versus tablets) matters, I’d like to know that too.
–As a subset of this, I’d like to hear what you think of liquid colloidal mineral supplements, versus tablets. I recall that in Protein Power, you wrote that chelated minerals were absorbed more readily because they got past the stomach with its limited receptors and were absorbed from the intestines; since improved absorption is supposed to be the big benefit of the colloidal minerals, I’d like to see those dots connected.
2. More on low-carb for kids, and in particular any studies or information that would pertain to minimum or maximum levels of protein for kids of various ages. I’m hesitant to just apply the formulas for adults, since kids aren’t just adults in miniature. Also, should their carb targets be different? I’d love to hear more about what your kids feed your grandkids, if they’re willing to have you share that.
3. Ideas on low-carb emergency supplies. I live in the hurricane zone, and need to be prepared to go several days without power (at least for refrigeration, and with cooking methods limited to grill or gas-fired burner), with potentially limited water supplies, with no chance to purchase fresh perishables at the stores, and probably at the hottest time of the year. I’d prefer to be able to do it without blowing up my blood sugar, and I’d love to hear your ideas, and other readers’ ideas in the comments, about what makes sense to stock.
Oh, and I loved the photo diary — I’d like to see you do that again, from time to time, at different times of the year (maybe a more typical week when you’re eating more at home, in particular). I found that particularly inspiring, and I’ve started my own photo diary, which I’m blogging at http://sara.blogspot.com.
Pretty good looking food blog – all but the last out of focus shake that is. 🙂
As always, appreciating all the information you provide.
1) yet another vote for women’s hormonal/menopause issues related to weight loss
2) an overview of adipose vs. muscle vs. liver insulin resistance, how they’re related to each other and to body composition and health in general, how they change with diet, weight loss, age, if there are gender differences
3) Since the Obama posed the question to the nation of how health care in the USA could be improved/made less costly, have you given this any thought and if so what changes would you suggest?
Low carb diets preventing cancer, as in sugar “feeding” cancer cells, so by definition wouldn’t LC prevent CA from ever starting or growing. I think you posted something about a German study where they did this with end-stage patients and it seemed to shrink tumors.
Low-calorie low-carb (LC/LC) diets. I have the most success keeping my weight down if I do “LC/LC” several days a week, keeping meat choices lean, with perhaps some higher-fat days interspersed during the week.
Being more carby around intensive workouts. What about marathon or half-marathon training?
Anything you want to write about I will read! :o)
I would love to see more written about low-carb in relation to pregnancy, breastfeeding, and feeding babies and small children. Additionally, I would be particularly interested to learn more about how low-carb diets affect the incidence of gestational diabetes. There is much controversy over gestational diabetes without low-carb nutrition even entering into the discussion, so I’m very curious to hear your opinion.
Might I slip in one more question regarding hormone balance and menopause? I’ve suffered from severe joint pain (knee) for a couple years now. It started wtih pain in the BACK of my knee when I would try to squat down. Now my knee locks up and then gives out several times a day.
Obviously, there’s a problem with inflammation.
My question is … do you think your regimen of curcumin, etc. (“I take two ProOmega caps made by Nordic Naturals along with two krill oil caps along with a 500 mg curumin capsule”) would help? You wrote about it here: http://www.mreades.wpengine.com/drmike/uncategorized/ditch-your-nsaid-meds/
I’m already taking a fistfull of supplements every morning and evening (magnesium, D3, Chromium picolinate, high-potency vitamins, potassium, borage oil, krill oil, acetyl L-carnitine). I’ll take on more, if it will help. I’d only have to add the ProOmega and curcumin.
Thoughts?
THANKS so much for opening up your blog to suggestions. Yours is, by the way, the only blog I read.
If you are following a low-carb diet, I would recommend that you ditch the borage oil from your regimen as it can actually cause some joint pain. I do think adding the ProOmega and curcumin might help. It certainly helped me. Now I’ve been able to cut back just one krill oil softgel per day and one 800 mg curcumin.
One more question regarding the curcumin. In the description for Super Curcumin in your Products section, it says, “Curcumin’s multifaceted effects include protecting against estrogen-mimicking chemicals, protecting against damaging free radicals, and promoting normal cell cycle growth.”
Since I need all the estrogen I can get (and am supplementing with Vivelle-DOT in addition to Prometrium), will the curcumin prevent the supplemental estrogen from being absorbed in any way?
And yes, I’m definitely LC; most days are <20 ECC per day. Here and there are the odd higher-carb days, but RARELY over around 50 per day.
I was taking the borage oil because it’s supposed to be good for my nails and hair. Yes, I’m a wreck,. The menopause has made my nails very brittle so that they split and break all the time, and I seem to be losing a lot of hair in the shower. The borage has GLA, which I thought was supposed to be really good for you. Oh well. Live and learn!
So, it would be better to take 2 ProOmega, 2 krill, and 800 gr of curcuimin and skip the borage oil. Right?
The curcumin protects against estrogen-mimicking chemicals, not against estrogen itself. I think the 2 ProOmega, 2 krill and 800 mg curcumin without the borage oil will help. The borage oil contains GLA, which, in my experience, under the influence of a low-carb diet can convert to pro-inflammatory substances. I’ve had many patients who had been taking borage oil or GLA for back pain or other arthritic pain and had the pain get worse. They would increase their dosage and they pain intensified. Once I had them quit the borage and/or GLA, their pain subsided. Give it a try.
for my own personal benefit, I’d love to hear what you have to say about gout and low carb.
Here’s why: I seem be presenting (as you medicos say it) symptoms of gout. I’m seeing a doctor tomorrow to find out tmore. I googled gout and I was alarmed at what I found – supposedly red meat and booze are big culprits… Lord I hope not! Help! I’ve been low carbing for over 7 years and this is the first sign of trouble.
Typically gout responds extremely well to a low-carb diet. It is my treatment of choice. Sometimes when a person is having an acute attack of gout, you’ve got to give some medications along with the low-carb diet. But once the attack had diminished, the low-carb diet generally keeps the condition at bay. If you don’t have a family history of gout, it’s unlikely that that is what you’re experiencing. And if you’ve been on a good quality low-carb diet, it’s unlikely that it’s gout. Keep me posted.
One more Dr. Eades…
We eat a lot of 100 % grass-fed, hormone/antibiotic free local beef. I have read a lot of positives about CLA. I’ve also read that taking it in supplement form (which I do not take) may actually *worsen* insulin resistance. I haven’t dug into this much yet, but can you shed some light on this topic? I’m assuming the naturally occurring CLA has to be a good thing….feeding cattle grass vs. vegetable oils, soy, etc.
The natural form of CLA (a mixture of isomers of linoleic acid) that comes from grass-fed cattle is good. The kind that comes from manufacturing plants usually contains specific isomers of CLA, some of which are good, some of which aren’t. Problem is the research isn’t clear right now on which is which. So, until it is, I pretty much leave CLA supplements alone.
I would love to hear you take on Acylation Stimulating Protein in regards to fat storage. One of the big advantages that are linked to low carb eating is the low levels of insulin required which is meant to equal to a metabolic advantage but ASP seems to just take over from insulin.
Also i would love to hear about the dangers of polyunsaturated fats.
And if you’ve been on a good quality low-carb diet, it’s unlikely that it’s gout. Keep me posted.
I maintain a very high quality low carb diet! well, cough cough, except for over the holidays… anyway, doc says my symptoms (lumpy finger joints-the ones closest to the fingernail, and a really sore toe joint, which appeared outta nowhere) dont look like gout. He thinks it’s garden variety arthritis. Blood tests and xrays on the way…
thanks for the info on gout/low carb, I think I’ll pass it on to someone I know who really does have gout. Of course he blames high fat foods…
Keep me posted. I didn’t think it was gout.
I add my wish for the post-menopausal details.
And, I have to tell you that I’ve tried your NSAID replacement (2 Pro-Omega, 2 Krill and 1 Curcumin) and have to THANK you. With moderate fibromyalgia, I’ve been off of Tylenol and Ibuprophen for two weeks now using your mix. It gives noticeable relief from the leg and back pain! I only use it once per day – in mid morning usually, but tried it once at night and it helped then, too. Google search didn’t tell me if it would be safe to take two doses of the combination in one day, i.e. 4, 4, 2. Sure would like to know.
Another topic… clarification on percentages of protein, fat, carbs. I’m recording my food consumption (I know I don’t HAVE to, but want to get a sense of things), and it seems I’m ending up every day with under 10% carbs,, 20-30% protein, and 50-60% fat. I know what you say about fat, but want to be reassured that that’s not too high for a post-menopausal gal. I also note that I am fully satisfied and not hungry, (was snarfing down every carb in site this past fall!), and eat well, but calorie intake is only about 900Kcal per day. I’m fine with it (recovering from foot surgery, so not very active right now), but it seems low on paper.
My son would like to see information on low-carbing for men who recreationally body build. So many of the bodybuilding sites promote very high carb, and say that he’ll burn muscle without high carbs, and develop kidney problems, so he’d like the Dr. Eade’s opinion on this. How does the protein, fat and carb balance work with this???
Finally, could you discuss any updated information that has come out after your Low-Carb Comfort Cookbook re: Soy protein. I have a Soy protein shake 3-4 times per week because I don’t prefer whey; however, you mentioned in the preface to the cookbook that some research was suggesting that the manufacturing process for soy protein isolates might make it harmful.
It appears from all of these comments that you may have several years’ worth of bloggin to do! See how needed and appreciated you are!
Thanks so much
Thanks, Dr. Eades.
Just finished your New Year gift, Protein Power Lifeplan, cover to cover. It was helpful because it allowed me to rededicate myself to the PP plan. (Once again, thanks for your generosity!)
What has changed in your thinking since the book was released (in addition to exercise)?
On another topic……Like all organisms, the human body’s biggest concern is survival. It adapts itself to great changes from our Paleolithic wiring. The setpoint point theory is quite interesting to me. One of your past blogs dealt with fasting and timing of meals to try to “fool” the body into positive changes. Your conclusion was that the effort was just not worth it. Would the PP diet, if rotated or modified every once in a while (i.e. 1X per week/month/etc.), ensure that the body’s systems never becomes complacent. For instance, what would happen if we stayed strict to the PP plan but purposely pigged out on a boatload of carbs every 10 days (as an example) and then returned to a strict PP protocol the day after?
Have you looking at this and other food intake variations (i.e. new ketogenic diets) for weight loss or muscle development? Anything look promising?
Again thanks for all of your selfless health information!
I would welcome your judgment of comparative significance of different food features and factors in our lifestile that influence our health. You usually write when some food or feature has positive impact, or negative impact and why. I understand that there is usually no scale, but I would still like to know the magnitude/significance of each impact.
E.g. we know that high heat will turn vegetable oil into trans-fat. So food fried in a bath of cooking oil hot or repeatedly heated many times will have plenty of trans-fats, which are unhealthy. That’s primarily why we consider KFC, donuts and French fries as junk-food/unhealthy choices. But what about frying food with vegetable oil at home in a frying pan? Will it have comparable negative impact? Probably not. What about using butter instead of cooking oil for frying? Would it be significantly better? I would like to compare these things.
Another example from PPLS: scrambled eggs vs. boiled eggs or sunny side up. When we break the yolk while cooking, we expose the heated yolk cholesterol to air, converting cholesterol to harmful peroxides. How bad is their impact? I suspect that is a subtlety. But can I ignore it? I don’t know for sure.
Thanks for your work.
Actually, it’s been shown that repeated frying at high temperatures doesn’t create trans fats. Trans fat creation requires heat, pressure and a nickel catalyst. What repeated frying does is oxidizes the oils, if they are unsaturated oils to begin with, which most are now days.
I wouldn’t worry too much about breaking a yolk every now and then. I don’t think the occasional dose of oxidized cholesterol is all that harmful.
Hope I’m not too late with this suggestion – it is the result of a recent conversation with my husband.
My GP retired last year (he wasn’t pro-low-carb but I did have a long history with him). I am yet to find a new one that I feel comfortable with. I went to a new doctor for a check up and part of that was the usual cholesterol test. My LDL came in high (175) but my trigs (53) and HDL (117) were fantastic (as were all the other standard test results). The doctor was fixated on the LDL and not at all interested in the other values. I was quite upset when I left her office after being told to go “low-fat” and decided not to return.
This is my question: “should I lie to my doctor about the way I eat?”
If I have any health issues in the future (last time I was sick was 2001 with the flu), I’m worried that based on the doctor’s knowledge of my LC diet, they’ll fixate on IT rather than look at the real problem.
……also what happens in the event that someone who is well adapted to a VLC diet (6 years for me) ends up in hospital on a drip? Aren’t those things glucose? Could it be dangerous?
You should definitely be straight with your doctor about your diet – if you can’t without a lot of hassle, then you need to find another doctor. Any doctor fixated on an elevated LDL level in the face of a 117 HDL level should have his/her lipid treatment privileges suspended.
The glucose drip – should you ever need one – shouldn’t cause a problem. I doubt that you would get one, however, unless you were unable to eat. Typically doctors put patients on a normal saline drip (a salt solution that is similar to the salt level in blood0.
In your most recent book you discuss the desirability of increasing one’s intake of omega-3.
Could you discuss meeting this increased need through non-traditional food sources such as Omega-3 enriched eggs? As an example, we have eggs available which claim to contain 660 mg of Omega-3 per egg.
The cost premium over regular eggs is minimal and intuitively, the bioavailibility seems like it would be good.
Thanks
Jim Gray
Michigan
I keep coming back with more questions LOL.
-Flax? Are the phytoestrogens a concern? I avoid soy but do use flax sometimes for LC baked goods. But then I cringe about whether this is a good idea. Perhaps you could address soy isoflavones, etc. as well for those who do use soy.
-More on PCOS…d-chiro-inositol? Interplay of vitamin D (there have been some studies showing upping vitamin D helped restore cycles), calcium and magnesium? A cluster of different “syndromes” related to fertility but all under the blanket of PCOS? I’m not overweight, not too many external pcos symptoms. Acquired genetically in utero? My parents do have symptoms of IR (are now LCing though). Xenobiotics exposure in utero? What supplements for PCOS? I’m thinking of adding bioidentical progesterone for half my cycle. I’m on metformin currently (2000mg). I low carb but don’t really need to lose weight, but obviously believe it is important for my health. I”m working on upping my vitamin D intake (have done CLO in the past but am now wondering about some stuff I’ve read about vitamin A competing for binding sites? I use a CLO that isn’t super high in A though). ALA? D-chiro-inositol?
I have two children, one conceived through infertility treatments, one “surprise” while on metformin. I still don’t have regular cycles and am stumped on what else I can do (besides metformin + diet + maybe upping D…maybe adding d-chiro and magnesium?)
-cut out dairy for PCOS?
-My mom has been LCing for a year. Tris have dropped to well under 100. She went off her statins about the same time. Her total cholesterol is still hovering close to 300. Her HDL isn’t super high but I think around 60ish. Just genetic predisposition? SHe was using south beach initially (despite my urging to not go low fat) and her cholesterol was lower during that time…but she had only recently come off her statins at that point. She switched over to a more high fat way of eating, and added in coconut oil. Her cholesterol went up. We thought maybe it was the coconut oil but even w/ cutting that out, it has still been high, and she’s now been LCing for a year or so. SHe is down about 30 lbs though to about 140ish at 5’3″ and maintaining okay.
Well, I see quite a few posts here, but one problem that I can’t seem to shake is Night Eating. This is an enormous problem for me in terms of losing weight. 99.9% of the time it has nothing to do with hunger. It’s purely emotional.
If you could address this issue that would be great.
Effects of having a carb blow-out say once a week (I have to get my fish & chips fix at the weekend (UK))
Slow Burn – Is there any benefit from the return stroke being slow as well? (hoping to reduce the amount of time even more!)
I think I’m correct in saying that High Carb + High Sat Fat is bad – Above what level of carbs does this apply?
It’s better to have a blow out once per week than to have one daily. Better yet to have one every two weeks. But, better to not have one at all.
The return stroke is supposed to be slow in Slow Burn. It should take as much time coming back as it did going out. With no stopping and no resting.
The high-carb + high-sat fat diet is bad, but only because of the carbs. I would suspect that the sat fats are actually somewhat protective. It’s the carbs that do the damage, not the fat.
Can you cover Dr. Weil’s new diet.
http://www.threebrothershealth.com/2009/07/006-health-food-diet-dr-weil.html
the site has some interesting articles that you could spin ideas off of…
What can I say? He has simply moved the grains up a notch in the pyramid. Still not what I would condider a great diet even with the fruits and vegetables on the bottom.
I’ve read through from August to January 2009, so far. My areas of special interest are:
THYROID (low with incapacitating chills – related to low carb? – how to get medical treatment with normal TSH and how to get natural desiccated prescribed) Does low thyroid relates to Diabetes type 2?
HORMONES, MIGRAINES (especially hormonal migraines, even with bioidentical)
DEPRESSION, RAGE (serotonin sources? what do you recommend when antidepressants don’t work?)
DIGESTION: does systemic Candida cause permanent digestive damage?
SUPPLEMENTS: what’s the best plan and testing for levels vitamins, minerals, iodine, iron/anemia?
PROTEIN/FAT Is a diet of all fullfat cheese ok if that’s all you can digest?
HYPERSENSITIVIES to almost everything, unable to digest most foods, supplements
CHANGING CIRCADIAN after quitting smoking: from nightowl to morning lark
INFLAMMATION, MERCURY POISONING, HYPERHISTAMINE (niacin, hives), EXCITOTOXINS/msg etc.
HOW CAN WE FIND A DOCTOR LIKE YOU (even a weak facsimile)? I’ve had a lot of “medical care” that keeps me getting sicker and sicker, and wonder if it’s possible to reverse. Lowcarb keeps blood glucose in check.
Thank you very much for all the information based on your take on medical science.
3 wise men bearing gifts of knowledge: Gary Taubes, Richard Bernstein, Michael Eades.
To answer the previous comment, you might want to consider Vitamin D. Here is my own personal experience with thyroid related problems:
I had an unnecessary hemithyroidectomy (despite having no symptoms) about 5 years ago for a benign goiter after my second pregnancy and have felt unwell ever since. I could never find a dose of synthroid that would work well. I would need a dosage adjustment upwards in the late fall and then in the spring I would feel hyper and need to lower the dose. This went on for 3 years in a row and I finally asked my Dr. if this could be due to Vitamin D since it’s the only seasonal variation that made sense to me. She of course said that was unlikely.
I did lots of reading on the topic and found that many people that have half a thyroid don’t need supplementation, so I asked her if I could try going off the meds to see if my thyroid could make enough hormone on it’s own. Other than being tired and having heavy periods I felt not too bad. At 3 months I was iron deficient so I started consuming liver once or twice per month, and after about 3 months started feeling ill with joint pain, digestive problems, fatigue, insomnia. It took me another 6 months to figure out that people who have familial hyperlipidemia have a tendency to overdose on levels of vit A that would be fine for most people. Too much vit A leads to a relative deficiency in vit D. Here are a few of the papers that finally gave me some answers:
http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/105/6/877
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/71/4/878#R25
And again the symptoms worsened in the fall. I developed a cold that lasted 4 months! Finally I insisted my DR. check my vitamin D level and in September it was 72 nmol/L. She was surprised and put me on 1000 IU of vit D3. Over the next year I waffled between taking synthroid or Armour and going off it because I felt so awful and didn’t know what was wrong. I think the Vitamin A was confounding the recovery process. A major breakthrough came a couple of months ago. I was on the lowest dose of synthroid (in the fall of course), my thyroid function had improved enough over the past 2 years that the lowest dose was enough, and I started taking 5000 IU of vitamin D. Within 2 weeks, I started having severe hyperthyroid symptoms. I told my Dr. that I thought the vit D was improving thyroid function and that I wanted to go off the synthroid yet again. Within 2 weeks the hyper feeling slowly subsided. I’ve upped my dose of D to 10 000 IU and I am feeling better daily. I am waiting 3 months before having my thyroid levels and vit D checked again by my Doctor. My only remaining symptoms are joint pain (less now than a year ago), and mild fatigue, even the constant hunger, despite being on a low carb diet, (which made me feel great before the surgery) has resolved. My mood is much better and my mental clarity has improved dramatically. Over the past year my TSH off medication has dropped from 12 to 4. I am hoping that in 3 months or so it will be almost normal.
Here is one of a few papers I found about low levels of Vitamin D following a hemithyroidectomy:
http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Doi=182696
I had my iodine level tested (24 hr.urinary iodine loading test) and it was found to be normal. I wonder now if the nodule was cause by low levels of vit D during two winter pregnancies along with a prenatal supplement which was high in Vitamin A relative to Vitamin D in a Vitamin A toxicity susceptible person. I found a few papers on-line which suggest vit A can be a cause of thyroid goiter.
Bottom line, all the symptoms you mentioned can be caused by low vitamin D levels. A very simple solution to a complicated problem. So get your levels tested. Here is a link to the vitamin D council’s web site. http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/