Protein PowerIt is difficult for me to believe, but Protein Power is coming up on being 20 years old. It was written in 1995 and published in January of 1996.
There has been some talk between our agent and the publisher about a 20 year anniversary edition of the book. MD and I have decided that if we go along with this project, we don’t want to just do a new Introduction and make a few tweaks here and there. We want to do it up right and make Protein Power 2.0 (or whatever it will be called) the most up-to-date and comprehensive book on low-carb dieting available. And we want it to hold up for another 20 years.
Both of us have reread Protein Power within the past couple of weeks, and we know more or less what needs to be updated and/or amplified. Most of the book is still pretty good, but some of it gives me hives when I read it.
For example, the chapter on cholesterol. The vast majority of what I wrote in that chapter is accurate, but by reading between the lines, I can tell what my mind set was at the time. Back then I had bought into the lipid hypothesis hook, line and sinker. Consequently, the thrust of the chapter is about how a low-carb diet improves lipid values. No real mention of any benefit to saturated fat because – at that time – I believed saturated fats in excess could be problematic. This is one part of the book I guarantee will be changed.
When we wrote the book, it was in the midst of the low-fat frenzy the country is just now beginning to emerge from. At that time, there were no recent studies on low-carb diets, so we had to cobble together our data from old studies and our own clinical experience.
That has all changed now. The medical literature is awash with low-carb studies, so now we have no trouble documenting the results we were seeing clinically way back then. And we would have no trouble demonstrating that the low-carb diet is the best way to shed weight and improve health for the vast majority of people.
But we come to this from a different perspective than those who are seeking information. The two of us have a wealth of information and a combined fifty years of clinical practice in treating patients with low-carb diets. We know how to provide all kinds of answers – what we don’t know, however, is what are the questions burning in people’s minds.
Which is where readers of this blog come in.
I would love to know what you would like to see described, explained, detailed, diagramed and presented in a book about low-carb dieting.
Back when we wrote Protein Power, we had to go to great lengths to justify the scientific basis of low-carb dieting. Now, that is pretty much taken for granted. Based on the thousands of patients we had taken care of, we had a pretty good notion of what we thought people would want to read about, but we didn’t really know. We must have hit the mark fairly closely, though, because the book has sold over 4 million copies.
But now we have the internet and blogs such as this one. A unique situation exists allowing authors to actually query potential readers before writing a book.
So, we would like to crowdsource Protein Power 2.0. Please tell us in the comments section below what you would like to see in an updated version. What would make the book work for you? And don’t hold back. The more commentary, the merrier we’ll be.
Our goal is to make the new Protein Power a user-friendly guide for those coming to low-carb dieting for the first time as well as to those who, like us, have done it for years.
Whatever questions, comments, complaints, requests you have, let us know. Don’t be shy.
Once we’ve gathered and sorted, I’ll tabulate and put up in a post. If there ends up being too much to put in a single book, I may figure out how to use Survey Monkey or one of the other such pieces of software so folks can vote for what they think needs to make the cut.
When all the dust settles, I’ll put up a table of contents reflecting the proposed new outline of the book.
MD and I both will be very appreciative of any help and advice you can give us on this. We’re writing the book for you.
Thanks very much.

432 Comments

  1. I would like you to emphasize the importance of the right kinds of fat in our diet. In addition to the increase sugar and processed carbohydrates in our diet I believe that the most serious error was removing healthy fats from our diet. I try to explain this to all of my friends but they just have a hard time understanding how fat is good for you.

  2. Dear Michael,
    I am on a low-carb diet for 1,5 years and never look back. Read about every book and piece on the internet about it. One question that is unanswered for me is: how come that we like carbohydrates so much if they are not essential for us survival and have so much potential to damage us?
    True carnivores like cats couldn’t be bothered.
    Next to LCHF, I am also looking very much in the Paleo direction (see first question). I think both LCHF and Paleo directions could and should be united. However, I still see reluctance on the Paleo side to embrace fat (see Staffan Lindeberg for example) and high fat dairy. I would appreciate a chapter on LCHF from an evolutionary perspective.
    And a big thank you to you,Taubes, Attia etc. who have the courage to rethink mainstream nutrion science and to come up with solutions to address diabesity that work!

    1. I don’t know why we like carbs so much. I’ve thought about that one for a long time and haven’t come up with any reason I feel is the drop dead certain one. Having sweet taste receptors would have indeed given us a survival advantage, so that if game weren’t available, we would eat other things. About the best I’ve come up with.

      1. Doc,
        I think it’s the same reason everybody who tries heroin loves it. The effect on the brain pleasure centers seems quite profound for many. I believe that particularly sugar, triggers addictive pathways in the brain, the phenomenon of craving ensues blocking our rational thinking centers from being able to intervene. I would like to see more attention paid to the hyperphagia of food addiction stimulated by carbs. If I’m on a low carb regimen ,within a week, food obsession, craving, and hunger abates. As soon as I start eating carbs it starts again. On my brain, simple carbs are simply drug like.
        I have been successful the last 3 years doing low carb M-F and then enjoying some carbs I enjoy Sat-sun. As long as I get back on my protein Mon morning I avoid a binge cycle from stating again. In conclusion, please address sugar/simple carbs as an addictive substance. Looking forward to the new book. Your work is inspirational, keep up the good fight. As you mentioned, the tide is beginning to turn ,and your work has been a light in the darkness of ignorance and conventional wisdom.

        1. I’m a fan of this theory. There are many substances that are bad for us, but because of the enjoyable reactions they produce, we continue to go back for more! I’ve seen several publications related to this theory.
          Still, I wonder if it’s the pleasure or the “quick high” we get from the simple sugars… personally, I only tend to crave high carb or sugary foods when sleep deprived or otherwise tired… as if my body is asking for a quick-fix pick me up.
          Dr. Eades, perhaps a section about the correlation/importance of sleep would be helpful to help us understand that when we crave sugar, we’re really just craving better sleep routines… Can’t wait to see the new book!

        2. As someone who treated her body like an amusement park during her twenties I beg to differ about “everyone who tries heroin loves it.” All it did for me was make me nod, lose the vision in my left eye, and puke until I thought the next thing that would come up would be my intestines. Maybe it was bad stuff, but I’m not about to find out.

        3. I’ve tried to reason the dopamine pathway before with carbohydrate, but cannot substantiate it. Main reason is, I can salivate just as much for a thick piece of fatty steak with oily pesto smothered on it as I would for a slice of buttered toast…or an Almond Joy.

        4. thanks. it works the same way for me. once i let sugar creep in on me it shut down my rational mind just drug-like.

      2. I think we “like carbs so much” principally as a reaction to being deficient in something, whether it’s a nutrient or something else:
        It’s pretty easy to demonstrate deficiency — take someone who doesn’t eat much meat and/or fat and get them to eat meat and fat every day. They’ll usually back off the carbs and sweets on their own, and not miss it.
        I have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and perhaps the single strongest symptom when I need to up my thyroid med a bit is that I tend to want to eat a lot of sugar — probably to make up for the glucose that’s deficient in tissues, due to insufficient thyroid hormone. And per the research I’ve read (thank ghu for the Journal of Endocrinology!) hypothyroidism is probably the single most under-diagnosed medical issue in the middle-aged and older.
        What I’ve found is that when everything is balanced, you might occasionally binge on sweets, and will eat some carbs, but it’s self-limiting — you quickly tire of it, or just don’t feel the urge.

      3. I have just returned from a visit to an addiction recovery center. There I saw an excellent movie, Pleasure Unwoven, produced by an M.D. in Utah.
        He suggested that neuroscience research into addictive behavior has come up with a sort of “dopamine-mapping” theory of how we perceive pleasure, and how we deal with it through the four higher levels of the brain. In addiction, the theory continues that the more addictive a substance, the higher the pleasure spike (to the central brain) – he even draws a periodic table of intoxicants. That pleasure phenomenon (probably the craving effect, as mentioned in Jeff B’s response) becomes the addicts sole focus, hence addiction.
        In the same way, but with far lesser consequence, all pleasurable things and substances probably register on our brains and elicit a response of seeking more. I think immediately of sugar and chocolate.
        I’m low carb for 7 years, thanks to you, and the pleasure spike from good fat is my candidate for addiction.

      4. I think it is a great idea! I so appreciate your research and dissemination of the Protein Power message. I say continue in the same vein and include the updated research. My one suggestion to make the book truly user-friendly is to list page numbers whenever a recipe is mentioned so it is easy for the reader to proceed with the plan. That would make the book perfect! I look forward to the book.

      5. Lierre Keith in “The Vegetarian Myth” which you reviewed on this site posits that it is exorphins which are opiates which act on pleasure centers in the brain.

    2. I think we like simple carbohydrates because some of them can easily be broken down to quickly bring the glucose levels up and relieve the effects of starvation. If the food tastes sweet that is also a signal that the food may be energy dense. Those individuals that appreciated carbohydrates more might tend to survive better in a scarce food environment. Unfortunately, those same individuals that liked carbohydrates more might contract diabetes at a higher rate in the food-rich environment that most of us now experience.

    3. Guido, that was a great comment! It’s very insightful all the way around and I have had much the same experience as you describe. In fact, if I stray from LCHF and eat high carb food, my body feels different and not in a good way. And you are correct about the reluctance of some Paleo people to accept/understand dietary fat consumption.

    4. I think to understand the reason for us getting addicted to sugar we need to look into our past and what role sugar played. For it to taste so good, it must have played big role in our survival.
      Where would we have gotten our sugar? From fruit.
      When is fruit readily available? In the autumn.
      What effect does sugar have on our body? It makes it fat.
      I believe that, over millions of years of evolution, our bodies worked out that when we taste something sweet, winter is almost upon us and we need to store some fat to get us through that period. It also worked out that it’s not around for long, so we need to scoff it down quick while it’s available; hence the addiction.
      An example of this in the wild is bears, who eat fruit in the autumn and pile on weight before they hibernate.
      There are lots of other examples of this in animals. Have a watch of Prof. Richard J. Johnson’s The Story Behind the Fat Switch on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1afyKN18S0&index=3&list=WL) Very interesting.

  3. Great idea! Here’s to another 20 years! Really enjoyed the book as is.
    I’d love to see an enlargement on the benefits of waiting an hour or longer to eat after a workout to boost HGH. I keep hearing about the 30 minute window, even from sources in favor of low carb for athletes. What gives?
    Similarly, would love to see an additional section discussing the role, non-role, or myth in the idea carbs/insulin is necessary for muscle growth.

    1. I’ll second Jim’s comment. I’m just reading PP for the first time and noticed the 1 hour+ wait after exercising recommendation. Is the 30 minute window more up to date or just a different POV?

      1. The 30-minute window is probably more up to date, but the truth is, I haven’t looked at the data on that in a long time. So, I can’t give you a definitive answer at this point.

  4. I would definitely like to buy your future PP2.0 as the first one is one of the few books in paleo/low-carb I didn’t purchased. I considered it probably too dated at the time, and by now I’ve taken some distance from this line of thinking.
    I still think paleo give a lot of good advices(*) and low carb is often a good thing for a lot of people. I’m somewhat paleo compliant, and an intermitant lowcarber. But I have a very hard time with the cherry picking and selective blindness i now see from authors and advocates in these fields. There are so much studies and ethnographic datas showing very good health or longevity in (some) high carb consumers, that I think “we” deserve better than the usual black & white logic : if you have to recommand LCHP (and i acknowledge there are good reasons for that) i would like to see it done not by trashing carbs in general, and not as THE only possible way of getting better. You don’t have to demonize Russians to state the goodness of Americans.
    I know it’s not good for marketing, as oversimplification and scapegoats are hallmarks of best selling success… but i’m somewhat a dreamer…
    There could be tons of examples of this king of things, but lately i came on to this one : the Malhotra “indian railway” study used to show how SAFA is good, but taken out of context, as briefly discussed here : https://twitter.com/puddleg/status/471395853190447105
    Context is everything !
    * : but for bad reasons, not unlike new vegans experimenting improvement in health and attributing it to the wrong cause

    1. Maybe the case is, that if you take out the ghee, which was supplying 20.3%E as SFA (Raheja, B et al 1993), you then see marked intolerance to carbohydrate, as here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19375591
      “Compared with participants in the bottom quartile, participants who were in the highest quartile of refined grain intake were significantly more likely to have the metabolic syndrome (odds ratio, 7.83; 95% confidence interval, 4.72-12.99). Higher intake of refined grains was associated with insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome in this population of Asian Indians who habitually consume high-carbohydrate diets.”
      Consistent with Mozaffarian et al. who found markers of dairy fat consumption strongly inversely associated with diabetes diagnosis in 2 prospective studies of western populations (OR 0.38, 2010, OR 0.52, 2013) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21173413

      1. George, maybe! I’m not afraid of saturated fats. But i’m not afraid of carbs (and even grains) in reasonable amount, provided they leave enough place for other good nutritive food… including meat, fish, eggs and lot of veggies and fruits.
        In the first study you cite i can’t access the full text, so i don’t know what gets displaced. Malnourishment is easy to obtain with any food consumed in excess, cereals included!
        Moreover, as anybody here sings (rightly) about studies bashing SAFA/cholesterol, corellation is not causation… that’s also true when talking about carbs/grains!
        For the second one, that’s just one of many showing benefits with cheese. Even studies showing harm from animal fat sources are more favorable to dairy. Rest assured i’ll keep eating Beaufort and Camenbert!

  5. Dr. Mike, if you write it, I’ll buy it.
    What I would like to see addressed, however is how the LC dietary process works for those of us who are “seniors” (I’m 67, but I hate to use words like “declining years”). I can attest to the fact that the physical results occur more slowly than they did when we were 50. And my wife struggles sometimes achieving any observable result, which I think may be a gender issue with LC dieting. We still have some weaknesses that are hard to shake off, but for the most part we are active and careful about what we eat. It seems as if the body, at this age, likes to settle into its own “comfort zone,” and defy the dramatic results we benefitted from at an earlier age.
    We look forward to your new Protein Power 2.0.
    Regards,
    Steve

    1. Agreed. A lot of people who read Protein Power in their 40s are where you are now. Excellent suggestion. I’m actually working piecemeal on a blog post about this very subject, so you may get the info before the book.

      1. Excellent!
        Now one more issue has surfaced in my feeble brain, as I read the commentary on women’s hormones. What about the male equivalent? I have been using what they call a “bio-identical” testosterone gel from a compounding pharmacy since my early 50s. While I cannot compare it to what life would be like without it, I suspect that i have benefitted significantly in energy, musculature, libido, etc. Still waiting to find out what the downside is, but I’d be willing to bet male hormonal treatment combined with LC lifestyle can be a bonus to long-term health.
        Hope you will find this subject appropriate for the new book.
        Steve

        1. For men with low testosterone levels, taking testosterone may improve some desirable attributes. It may also be masking a fundamental problem with your metabolism. It may be a similar approach to statins used as a primary prevention. Statins may lower your cholesterol levels but the underlying problems remain.
          Before going on the LCHF diet I experienced low testosterone levels that was treated with testosterone replacement. After I went on the LCHF diet I lost some weight, my blood-pressure improved and my oral health improved immensely. I also ran across a paper which showed that men who had metabolic syndrome tended to have a lower than average testosterone level. I felt that, with the adoption of the LCHF diet, I had made the transition from approaching the metabolic syndrome state to a normal state. I finally decided to go off of the testosterone therapy and when my testosterone level was tested, it was at a healthy normal level. Obviously, there is a complex interaction occurring between all of one’s hormones.

      2. I lost a lot of weight (~50 lbs) in the 1970’s with the Atkins diet. Then there was so much bad publicity about the high fat that I went to more mainline. That was a BIG mistake. But in the 1990’s when I was in my 50’s, I read PP on an airplane and got back to my target. I hope you cover some history about how the establishing mislead us into bad diets.
        Now at 73 and living in an assisted living, I need motivation. I am stuck. I agree with the comments about how hard it is in later life.
        Several other topics:
        You recommended Dr. Davis to me. He really thinks that wheat is worse than other carbs. Do you agree? Where do you agree and where do you part ways?
        Research shows that some alcohol is good. How does it fit into this life style.
        Glad that you are blogging and writing again. Missed you during the appliance dealer phase.

        1. I’m 67 and have been trying to lose weight for a long time. I tried Weight Watchers, would lose 7 pounds and stall – forever! I tried high protein and would not lose weight. It wasn’t until I read Dr. Davis’ Wheat Belly, and then Maria Emmerich’s blog and learned that too much protein turns into glucose! That was an eye opener for me. Since October 2013 I’ve lost 27 pounds simply by substituting recipes, drinking more water and incorporating more coconut oil into my diet (3 tbls. daily). I exercise more, have more energy, no longer require blood pressure medicine…I’m a happy camper! It’s been a long series of trial and error trying to find out what works best for MY body and this is it.
          Would love to see low carb high fat recipes in your new book! Thank you Dr. Mike for all that you do!

      3. So pleased to hear that I am not alone with the challenges that are part of following PP in my mid-60’s. I first followed PP when in my early 50’s, did really well, then got remarried and got into carbs more. Finally, on April 1 this year I started PP again. While I am losing weight (16 lbs. into my 30 lb. loss plan), it is going so very slowly compared to my previous attempt.
        I’ll be buying the updated version if you go for it, and I would love to get the info you are sharing with Steve.
        Thanks for your continued commitment to our good health!

      4. In your new book, please consider writing about hypothyroidism, and
        the effect of salt on blood pressure. Am so glad to have successfully used the basic LC diet for several years, before running into these problems.
        Bertie

      5. Looking forward to that! I’ve been lc for several years (mostly thanks to you and Taubes) basically keto for about 6 months, and I can’t loose a pound. I’m not going to go back to carbs because I feel so much better, and at 68 I’m not really worried about my figure, but I’ve gone from “sick and obese” to “healthy and obese,” and I can’t help thinking there’s something else I can do.

    2. Steve’s comments hit home with me. I’ve been low carb for over a year, and initially lost ten pounds. I liked being leaner, but began adding a few carbs, like sweet potatoes back in occasionally, and then there’s my love of chocolate (72%) and coffee with real cream in the morning, and now I’m five pounds heavier. I picked up an old copy of Protein Power and it has helped me understand why I’m going backwards (eicosanoids out of balance, lack of water, and not enough protein, as I haven’t been able to ditch my morning oatmeal, though I’m now using only a half-serving of steel-cut oats). A nutritionist I consulted insists that even though my blood work says my thyroid function is OK, that I’m sugar sensitive and need to start the day with cod liver oil, followed by 24 grams of protein. For various reasons, this is hard for me to do. But I’m taking the fish oil (in a pleasant form) and it’s helping me get back on track. It’s just hard for me to eat meat in the morning. As Steve suggests, it meddles with my comfort zone of coffee and real cream, a couple of hours of housework and walking the dog, followed by the oatmeal topped with some almonds. I usually then have a couple of eggs before I walk out the door for work. I’m 66, but still work part-time. If I eat heavy upon rising I’m starving by 11 a.m. So I’d like the new book to address timing issues, as well as Arachidonic Acid sensitivity in light of anything new in the literature. Paleo means meat. And you can only eat so much chicken. I’m actually able to find grass-fed beef in my area, and buy it whenever I get the chance. But like most people I’m still leery of eating so much red meat. And your discussion on AA only made me more leery. Also, I know that you are a big fan of coffee, and seem to tolerate it well. I’ve only been a coffee fan for about 10 years. I like it because it tamps down my over-active appetite. Now I read in various books that caffeine drives cortizol which drives insulin, which leads to weight gain. I’d like to see that subject explored more fully by someone. So many authorities just say DO NOT DRINK COFFEE. They say it taxes the liver and leads to toxic liver etc. I can’t see the harm in one tiny cup in the morning with real cream. I think it sets my day off just right and gives me the energy I need to get things out of the way before work. But the nutritionist believes I need to eat the protein first, then if I want a cuppa, OK. I know this is a small matter to some, but it’s just one example of the need to fine tune any worthwhile program. (As a sidenote, I gave up the coffee and cream for Lent and it didn’t stop me from continuing to add weight, little by little. I lost it little by little, and I’m gaining it back the same way. So I’m thinking the Eicosanoids have something to do with it.) Anyway, this is becoming a book in itself. I’d just like to know how to stay lean without eating food constantly.

      1. When I hear experts say DO NOT DRINK COFFEE, I don’t listen to them. There are tons of studies out there showing the multiple health benefits of coffee consumption. Enjoy your coffee.

        1. Thank God! I am gearing up to start PP (again) in a week. I have a lot to drop, and I’m jump-starting myself with the “ski team” diet (please don’t hate!). It’s working, but I also feel really deprived some times. Knowing that I can go on drinking coffee, which is a comfort ritual for me, is a blessing.

    3. I would also like to see the issues of seniors addressed specifically. After all, we seniors are the principal buyers of your original book! We have issues that younger individuals do not have. For instance, many of us are diagnosed with GERD and put on PPIs, while in fact, low stomach acid could be the problem. I can’t get my gastro doc to test for low acid other than through invasive tests, and the information about testing on the web is a mixed bag. He wants me on PPIs, which I thus far have resisted, but at the same time am afraid of the physical consequences for doing so.
      Also, paleo versus low carb should be discussed.

  6. What a great idea!!! Protein Power is still my go-to book on the LC lifestyle (though Phinney & Volek’s “Art & Science” books are next on the list).
    1. I’d love for you to go into adequate amounts of protein. I got from PP that 100 grams of protein per day is about right for me (and coincides with what Phinney and Volek say). And yet there are SO many sources that put the maximum amount of protein around 75 grams per day and that any more than that will derail efforts to lose weight as any more protein than that will simply be converted to glucose.
    2. A chapter on women grappling with menopause would be great (something other than simply, “balance your hormones,” which is not very helpful). Might women need more/fewer grams of protein/fat/carbs?
    3. How much plant food is really necessary? This is a big one for me. Strangely enough, the more veggies I eat, the worse my constipation gets and the more weight I tend to gain (could it be the sugars in even complex carbs like broccoli and other veggies–not talking grains here–trigger something that makes me want to eat more SIMPLE carbs?). Constipation is not an issue for me with a diet high in fat, moderate in protein, and very low in carbs.
    I’m sure as other comments come in, I’ll be thinking “Yeah, that too!!!”
    Again, let me say that writing “Protein Power 2.0” is a great idea.
    Where do I pre-order? 🙂

    1. Don’t hesitate to comment multiple times as more ideas strike you.
      The hormone issue will be a tough one, which is why most people simply advise to balance hormones. It truly is an individual thing.
      I have a good friend who has a tough job. He’s the gynecologist to the stars (a demanding clientele, as you might imagine) and has a high-dollar practice in Beverly Hills. I asked him about his strategy for taking care of his aging stars hormonally. He told me he gives them natural progesterone and estrogen, and that he keeps bumping the progesterone levels until they develop symptoms while reducing the estrogen levels until they develop symptoms. He then backs off on the progesterone a touch and increases the estrogen a bit and keeps things there. He then tweaks as they age.

    2. Try digestive enzymes – with children and aging adults fiber gets hard to digest due to lack of/decline in enzymatic production. Barbra Watson’s Enzymes are the best.

  7. Are there different or additional protocols needed for the more seriously or morbidly overweight?

  8. MD, Mike,
    Protein Power is THE book that started me on a low carb diet back in 2005.
    In 2005 I did not fear saturated fat and in combination with your book I found my way to a mildly ketogenic diet, greatly minimizing carbohydrates, eliminating vegetable oils and emphasizing saturated animal fats for calories (and pretty low in fiber as well).
    All that we have learned since (from people NOT on the drug or carbohydrate producer payroll) further supports what you outlined in PP.
    When I’m asked “where can I learn more about the low carb life style” the authors I steer people to are you guys and Phinney and Voleck. When I suggest PP to someone, the second phrase out of my mouth is something like “but it is not about protein, it is about saturated fat exchanged for carbohydrates”. Unfortunately the book title does not imply that. I have read your explanation of the origin of the title and I know that you are not real happy with the title either. Could that be changed?
    You guys were absolutely right a long time ago – congratulations! An upgraded PP would be most welcome as the popularity of this life style is booming.
    Thanks for all you do!
    Philip Thackray

    1. I would love to change the title, but, given the book’s success, I doubt seriously the publisher would go along with it.

      1. But you could add on a subtitle that refines the message. So glad you’re doing this and looking very much forward to PP 2.0. It was the book that put me onto the low-carb approach and I have no regrets, other than I wish I’d found it before menopause so I would have had an easier time shedding the high-carb weight I gained over the years.

      2. Yeah, I can’t imagine they’d be thrilled with “FAT POWER” however appropriate it might me… I have some thoughts for you, but they’re still coming together in my head…
        PP plus GCBC have probably saved my life.

  9. I’d say the main questions remaining currently are:
    1 – how correct LC doesn’t cause thyroid problems but rather can alleviate them
    2 – how to properly understand the Warburg effect without making exaggerated claims
    3 – the genetic variabilities that means some people do better on 75g a day and others on >20g
    4 – how LC affects epigenetics, improving your health but also those of your unborn children
    5 – how HC affected your epigenetics, so why what your mom ate contributed to making you fat
    6 – latest studies on obesegens, esp. soy & common chemicals
    7 – what the 40+ peri- & post-menopausal women have to do to get to their desired weight, instead of stalling at 35 lbs above it
    8 – latest research on LC & fertility
    9 – the latest evidence on why grain-avoidance is best, aside from the gluten issue
    10 – how to support your microbiome for best health on LC without resorting to eating processed potato starches

  10. I would like to the following points addressed in PP2.0:
    1) My experience is that if I eat too much protein, I get hungry too soon. E.g., I can eat a 6oz steak, which doesn’t really fill me up at the time, but after a half-hour, I am satiated. The satiation continues for anywhere from 6 to 8 hours. OTOH, I can eat a 16oz steak, which fills me up, but 2 hours later, I’m hungry again.
    2) Although I have lost significant weight (>100 lbs) on a low-carb diet, I have “stalled out” at approximately 50 lbs over goal. The 6-week cure plan took off about 15 lbs, which I slowly regained over a 6-month period. The 50 lbs over has been for over a decade now. Recently, I have experimented with upping my fat (esp. butter), and the weight seems to be going down slowly. We’ll see how long that lasts.
    3) My blood pressure is drifting up. Rather than put up with my VA medical center pill-pusher giving me crap that causes a number of side-effects, I would like to find the underlying cause and fix it. I am 100% convinced that I do NOT have an amlodipine besylate deficiency.
    4) My “high cholesterol” is about 210, as measured by the Friedewald test (a VAP, which I got on my own nickel, says 201). From what I have read, 210 is a bit low if you are concerned with all-cause mortality in males. But my pill-pusher insists that I need to take a known muscle-toxin with unacceptable side-effects to lower it.
    5) I have found that the addition of a small amount of raw carrot (about 1/4 cup) once a day definitely improves the quality and regularity of my bowel movements. I haven’t tested the impact on blood glucose yet, but the additional satiety would lead my to expect to see a minor improvement. I haven’t tested my BG lately, because I saw it holding between 90 and 95 over a 6-month period, and I have not radically changed anything since then.
    6) I like bulletproof coffee! (h2ha.com/bpckit) It is very satiating, and a morning BPC holds me until my daily meal, which is usually around 3pm. (if I eat a couple of eggs with it, I’m hungry by noon, which I find a bit puzzling) However, I’ve noticed that Mr. Asprey seems to occasionally go off into the deep end of weird.

  11. I second what the other menopausal women say. That its easy at first, but subsequent efforts get harder to get results as we get older.
    Also- would love to see some commentary on how popular anti-depressants and other popular meds mess up our metabolism.

        1. Ditto ditto to menopausal issues! And to, um, those issues that come up when we hit 60, which I did this year.

  12. There is a lot of talk on resistant starch and how important it is. Would like to understand the long term benefits or problems by not incorporating these back into the diet. Also, carb backloading is another topic. Is it more beneficial than lifting in a fasted state to get max results from weight lifting.

  13. I would like more information on sugar substitutes. Current info is all over the map. Is it bad for you? How does the body process it? Does it raise blood sugar even though it has no carbs? Does it mess with hormones? To be honest, I’m totally confused. Everyone has a different opinion based on what? Thanks!

  14. If the main point of the book is to provide a “diet plan,” then most of our opinions are going to be not what the book needs. Your best bet is reaching out to people who don’t have a clue about LC diets and find out what it is they don’t know, are afraid of, and want to achieve the most. Weight loss is probably number one, so provide details how to do it and monitor it. For example, I would tell people to first NOT change anything about their diet. Take a baseline of bloodwork and track food and exercise in a program like myfitnesspal. Then start the diet. People never know how much carbs, calories, fat, etc. they ate BEFORE they start. How much weight loss should be expected? Initial water loss may lull someone into a false sense of accomplishment. There are so many other resources for the science that I’d just give the layman the broad overview. Use links to your website if they want more details.

  15. Michael,
    For me the two main issues would be an indepth repetition of some of the stuff you talk about here a lot –
    1. How to re-start your LC lifestyle again, after having successfully done it once before, and why is it so hard etc?
    2. The Science Behind The Stall: why it happens and how to beat it. I’m almost thinking you could write a whole book on that one subject and sell it by the truck load. 🙂

    1. Try a purchasing and using a glucometer.
      Blood testing will tell you whether your glucose is high, low, or just right.
      If you’re stalled (like me) you may learn that you’re eating too many carbs for your metabolism. We’re all different, what’s right for someone who’s discussed in a book may be too much for you or me.

  16. I’ll just give you my experience, and if it helps draw any conclusions re: your audience, that’s great. If not, feel free to ignore.
    I did a very low-carb eating plan (Atkins-like) for a while. I never felt better, lost weight, etc. BUT… it was too low carb for me to stick to over the long haul. The options were too limited in public.
    So my continuing confusion relates to how low is low enough? And, how do I balance my fats when not in ketosis? It’s easy when you can eat all the fatty food you want, because you know you’re in ketosis. But since I can’t realistically maintain a ketosis state for the long haul…?

  17. I would like to read more about intermittent fasting or fasting in general and its impact on this diet. Our ancient ancestors went for long periods of no or little food. Should we take a rest for chowing down?

    1. I second this! I work out with weights two mornings each week, and I do it in a fasting state. I don’t think I could do it after eating anything. I feel better the longer I wait to eat. But there is a tipping point. I can be just fine one moment, the next my blood sugar drops like a stone. And it seems to take me most of the day to recover from the drop. You hear a lot of talk these days about eating within a small window of time (6-8 hours). I have a friend who does this kind of fast, and she is thriving on it. However, she takes a good many supplements. So perhaps her body is getting all it needs in pill form.

  18. I second many of the suggestions already made. As a 60+ woman, I want to know why does it work for a while and then not seem to work (concerning weight loss) and I even gain while still keeping the carb under 20 g/day? Even with all that, I still fell better so will continue it, but would like to know what to do to see better results.

  19. I’ll buy the new edition. I just bought and read “The Big Fat Surprise” on your recommendation. I have two copies of Protein Power. I would say you need to be nicer to saturated fat in the new edition and you might want to cover the ketogenic diet. I had a heart attack last August. The cardiologist was a superb surgeon but he then put me on a low fat, low salt diet. I was looking at what they were giving me to eat and noted that a vanilla wafer and some nonfat ice-cream was okay, in moderation, but a salty oily olive was off limits. As soon as I got out the hospital I for out my old copy of Protein Power and lost twenty five pounds. He put me on several medicines – blood thinners, blood pressure, and cholesterol. About a month in to this protocol I started having memory problems—I couldn’t recall vocabulary. I dropped the statin and after a month my memory has come back. Much to my doctors dismay I have made myself a test subject for the low carb diet.

    1. Wow! Thanks for the interesting history. Took some real courage to go against your heart doc’s advice given the circumstances. Glad it worked out, although I would have predicted it would.

  20. I’m glad you’re considering taking this on. You have been my most reliable source of information. I compare any new information I come across with what I learned from you lo these many years ago. Now I’d like information on wheat specifically, and its appetite stimulation effects. Since I’ve gone wheat-free, I’ve been able to maintain a low carb regimen with no problem at all. I recognize that when I’ve faltered in the past, it is always on the altar of crackers, pretzels, etc. Salty wheat-y cravings.

  21. I’ll definitely buy the next book! I would like to see some info on just how many carbs is ok? I’ve been low carbing for about 3 years and try to keep it around 60 grams or less a day. Is this negating the effect of the diet? I maintain my weight, which at 68 years is 120 lbs, 5′ 5″. Can’t seem to do without the morning toast and coffee with sweetened “creamer”. So, I guess my questionn would be, what is a safe carb daily limit?

    1. You don’t have to wait for the book. The answer is, It depends. It’s different for everyone. You just have to fiddle around with it till you hit the sweet spot, which is defined as giving you enough carbs to allow you to appreciate life as you live it yet low enough to trigger the biochemical responses you need to have triggered to lose weight and stay healthy.

  22. I lost over 100 lbs and lowered my a1c to 4.8 after 2 years doing low-carb. I am 76 and female. Now I am struggling to lose the 30 pounds I have gained over the past year. I am craving carbs again. I would like to see more information about low carb and 70+.
    I would also like to see a discussion of the recent research in low-carb eating with a list of references.
    More discussion about the effect of exercise.

  23. Is Protein Power different from Protein Power Lifeplan ? I have the latter, I had no idea you’d done two books with similar titles – I’ve always thought they were the same book but looking on Amazon I see they are different !
    In Protein Power Lifeplan your section on vitamin D has always concerned me as you imply that 400IU per day of D is enough whereas we all know that we should be getting more of that, SO if you also write about vitamin D in Protein Power I hope it is more up to date.
    I’ll buy it as soon as it is out !!!!

    1. Yep, Protein Power is different, much different, in fact. Back in the day in which the Protein Power LifePlan was written, all the new info on vit D wasn’t available. I would greatly increase the dosage of vit D now.

      1. I take 4000 IU of D3 daily and my blood level is about 65 which seems to be optimum. Remember PP is 20 years old and the new information on D is only a few years old.
        I hope that the new book has some current supplement recommendations. I am still using many from the 6 Week book and Dr. Davis.

  24. Protein Power was one of the first books from which I learned so much when I was trying to help my late husband with his diabetes.
    In the past years I have read a number of blogs including that of Dr. Ron Rosedale.http://drrosedale.com/blog/2011/11/21/ron-rosedale-protein-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#more-318
    Wherein he states:
    “On the high protein diet, the leptin messenger RNA did not decline upon fasting after a meal. It stayed up for a while. Chronically elevated leptin causes leptin resistance and leads to metabolic devastation.
    Regulation of leptin secretion from white adipocytes by insulin glycolated substrates and amino acids. So the two things that will cause leptin spikes and chronically elevated leptin are sugar through a pathway called the hexosamine pathway and amino acids.
    Amino acid precursors of citric acid cycle intermediate potently stimulates basal leptin secretion, insulin having an additive effect.
    And the MTOR is one most people don’t know about yet, which is unfortunate. Because the MTOR pathway is intriguing, and may be one of the most, if not the most, important nutrient sensing pathway in the body, aside from insulin. And here, if you get nothing out of this talk, but this one sentence, MTOR is activated by free amino acids. MTOR is a pathway that senses protein concentrations. More specifically, amino acid concentrations. MTOR is also linked to leptin, and amino acids stimulates MTOR stimulates leptin.
    Protein increases leptin, also triggers the hexosamine pathway, and the ugly. High protein apparently accelerates aging and therefore all the chronic diseases associated with aging.
    The role of specific nutrients in caloric restriction. Dietary restriction has been shown to increase longevity which indicates it’s having positive results. However, it appears it is not caloric restriction but the carbohydrate and protein restrictions in the diet, the medi-ate the effects, at least in flies, and it appears in other organisms, also.
    Why would protein be so important in the regulation of aging. Life is a constant battle between damage and damage control. If we could repair damage as fast as it occurs, we would live forever. Ultimately, unfortunately, we damage the damage control mechanisms, and that’s really what does us in.
    I would love you to clarify something like this in your new book and would be first in line to buy Protein Power 2.

    1. Don’t know if you know this or not, but Ron Rosedale was our partner for a number of years and is still a friend. We agree on vastly more than we disagree on. One of the things we disagree on is the protein issue. I’ll probably write a post on that before the new book comes out, so you may not have to wait that long.

  25. I am a diabetic who was able to go off my meds after going low carb by following Mark Sisson’s books. I would like a section of your book to cover the interplay between blood glucose and ketones and what the normal ratios should be.
    For example: at times my BG can be between 7.0 and 10 and a few hours later be completely normal at 6. Ketone levels tend to be at the low end 0.2 – 0.3.
    At what BG do I need to consider using my meds again?
    Some explanation of this interplay would help my understanding of my metabolism.
    Thanks

  26. I too have questions about the right amount of protein to eat. I am age 62, female weigh 195, 5’5″. Lately I have been looking into the Ketogentic diet plans. They say to eat much lower amounts then your books says, so very confused as to what to do on that. I can’t wait for the new book, and I like 2.0 as the Title.
    Debbie

  27. We are often told today that we need not be concerned about elevated cholesterol levels; however, is there a point where it becomes too high? Like mine–350 (with good ratios).

  28. PLEASE write the follow up book. I will be one of the first to buy it. I kept my copy of the original for years and would pull it out when I needed inspiration. I have lost over 70 pounds, thanks to low carb. I gave my copy to my sister but I don’t know that she ever read it. I have friends that say I lost my weight on “that meat only diet.” I am quick to correct them and say I lost my weight on Protein Power, a way of eating, not a diet. Bravo! Write that book!!!

  29. Revise the title! It isn’t about a protein-centric diet. It’s a very low-carb, high in high-quality fats, moderate protein. Every time we share with people how we lost pounds (actually, using your plan in The Six Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle, which is brilliant title), we have to explain it ISN’T like Atkins, it’s not about high protein.

    1. Re the title… I know. I’ve always hated it. But in the publishing world the author has control of what’s between the covers while the publisher has control of what goes on the cover. The cover is their marketing piece. MD and I complained bitterly but to no avail. No after 4 million plus in sales with their title, I doubt our complaints will even register.

  30. Hi Mike & Mary Dan! I would love to see another “How To” portion added to a new book, much like your “30 Day LC Solution” book, for newbies and not-so-newbies alike. I just looked at a shake alternative (Isogenix), but creeped upon the ingredient list, only to see fructose there-YIKES!! This is what is being touted as healthy around here in Nova Scotia, as of late. I wouldn’t touch the stuff now that I know what’s in it. -I loved your shake ideas from the “30 Day” book and while I know I can revisit it from said book, it is refreshing to see new recipes from two low carb gurus. :)) I believe in 30 carbs or under in order to help peri or full menospausal women to at least maintain their weight if they can’t lose-at least in my experience. It would be nice to revisit quick, handy ingredients/recipes used with maybe a “2 meal a day” plus snack approach or 3…with a carb varience (i.e. 0 to 20 or 30) for those who are truly metabolically resistent to weight loss. Thank you!!

  31. Dr. Eades, I would like to have explained the advantages, and disadvantages, of eating store bought meat, poultry, etc, vs. grass fed versions of the same animal.

    1. YES!!!
      I’ve tried grass-fed beef from three different (local) sources, and hated them all. Gristly and with an odd unpleasant taste.
      But I’m all in with grass-fed butter ala Kerry Gold!

      1. Check out sites on cooking grass fed meat it’s well known for being tougher if not cooked right as it’s got less fat amongst the muscles than grain fed and the fat melting thru is what tenderisers the grain fed beef.
        Try less cooking time and maybe marinades or tenderising before use. It’s the better ratio of omega 3 to 6 that you want. Rather than it being the meat perhaps try cooking it differently?

  32. I like to see some information for those of us that stall on low carb. I lost 40lbs on low carb and have kept it off for 9 years but I haven’t been able to lose any more. I still have 50lbs to get off.

  33. I’d like to see the issue of supplements addressed.
    6 weeks cure has a list of supplements which we (myself and my husband) have been taking for 4 yrs, while eating very low carb.
    We feel great on the very low carb plan, including all the supplements. However, they are rather expensive.
    Your website has prepackaged daily doses, which is MUCH less expensive than our former regimen, but when I compare the dosages, the prepackaged one has much less of many supplements than that on the 6 weeks list.
    Please advise on how much supplements and dosages are generally required/advised/suggested.
    Thanks

  34. Your book started me on my journey to better health five years ago, and I’ll be thankful for that.
    With such a tremendous number of people, especially women, suffering from Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, I feel the thyroid and how low-carb affects it should be covered in detail.
    I was low-carb for a couple of years before I had to start adding back in some carbs. It was just too low with my Hashimoto’s. I simply tanked and I had difficulty finding much information to support this.

  35. When I first got a copy of Protein Power in the late Nineties, I did so on the recommendation of a friend who sold it to me as a smart guide to LC. “It explains more about what goes on in your body,” she said–I remember this vividly. And it really did, and I was very grateful for that, and remember yelling in rage at Atkins for not bothering to explain much about the actual biochemistry of what goes on in your body. I still call PP the best low-carb book out there because it has that whole Paleo angle to tell you that it’s not just some trendy BS but the original diet human bodies were meant to eat, explains what goes on in your body logically and in detail, *and* gives you simple, easy-to-follow instructions about how and what to eat. A hell of a lot of books that have come on the market since are either dumbed down (to the point where it’s easier to fail if you can’t find certain foodstuffs or then the diet is tailored to an average person so much that it doesn’t work for your own particular metabolism) or then they present lots of facts and studies to to the point of ranting but don’t really give you a good practical guide into how you should go about low-carbing.
    And I would also talk more about how these things affect women differently, because we’ve got estrogen gathering fat in our bodies and so many hormonal fat-packing changes what with puberty, pregnancies and menopause and so on that men just don’t go through. We have a much harder time of it than the guys do, sadly–and I, as a very petite thirtysomething woman with serious insulin resistance (who regained all the weight she lost and had to move back to hardcore LC again only a few years ago), can’t really go over about 50 grams of protein a day without stalling or gaining. The same happens if all of that protein comes from meat and whatever it does to one’s blood sugar–I only managed to reach normalweight when I ate more zero-carb omelettes for lunch and took up thrice-a-week intermittent fasting (just omitting the breakfasts and exercising instead). And once I started taking 2500 mg of arginine a day to lower my excess estrogen, the fat finally started to come off my arms and hips (and I no longer had periods from hell either). It involved a lot of experimentation. So it is really tricky, and I’d love it if you could go through more of these pitfalls a lot of people experience when they seem to be doing everything right otherwise.
    I have to confess that I did find Middle-Aged Middle dumbed down and didn’t really learn much from it, but I know you were kind of pressured into simplifying stuff a lot. All I’d ask for you would be to keep PP from going down the same route and avoid having really specific lists of ingredients for certain meals, because they aren’t as easy to come by in other parts of the world. I live in Finland and in the late 90s you couldn’t get some of those vegetables or sweeteners here at all. Likewise, no such thing as half and half or double cream here and pork scratchings are hard to come by, etc… So having options for substitutions is always great–and you did have that in PP, just saying that you were allowed this much of that vegetable or that much of the other one until you hit your carb limit, which I really loved. It really helped me learn how to count the carbs in various vegetables myself and having some variety in my diet instead of just blindly following what some book said.
    What I also loved was that it was all tailored to one’s measurements. And that you made a point of every person being different metabolically, that one diet wouldn’t just fit all. Of course, the whole calculation itself was tricky, but you’ve had a lot of moaning and groaning over the past 20 years on the difficulty of calculating one’s LBM and all that, so I’ll spare you that. And I was kind of shocked about the protein counts in the charts you had in the later books because they were *way* too much for someone as small and as metabolically slow as me. Again, not a problem for guys, but for petite/aging women, excess protein is a really big problem and I’m surprised how that’s something that gets talked about a lot on forums but it is very rarely addressed in any of the literature. What I’ve usually tried to tell other stalling women is that a really good rule of thumb is to take your weight in centimetres, then minus one hundred, and you’ve got your ideal protein gram count–but depending how huge you are, you’ll need more protein just to move the fat about. So after years of experimentation, we arrived at “Your height in centimetres minus one hundred is the minimum, and your weight in kilograms turned into grams is the maximum.” So a 152 cm woman weighing 79 kg would eat somewhere between 52 to 79 grams of protein per day. (But now I’m rambling. I just struggled with the damn protein amounts for so long I had to share…)
    Hm, what else… upping the fat has probably been mentioned before–vital if you’re seriously obese and have a lot to lose. I managed to lose my excess 10-ish kilos in 1999 in about six months when I was a sprightly 20-year old without slathering on that much fat (I wasn’t avoiding it), but in my thirties, losing 40 kilos took me three years and I’m pretty sure I would have gone utterly mad if I hadn’t upped my fat intake to about 150 grams a day, which meant slathering everything in butter. It really helped my mood as well. At first I was confused about the massive amounts of fat Scandinavian low-carbing seemed to be about when it came here a couple of years ago, because it just seemed more than what your average hunter-gatherer would ever get from their diet (even from the fatty animal parts!), but I don’t really care because it makes me happy and it’s the best fuel for my body anyway. But in comparison to that, the original PP is–while, again, not avoiding fat–much lower in fat and I’m not sure if that wouldn’t make a lot of people fail simply because they weren’t getting enough energy. So while you’ve got protein counts and carb counts, I’d love to see some counts for fat as well–meaning giving people the minimum at least, because I doubt there is such a thing as excess fat when it comes to weight loss; any excess will just send you running to the toilet anyway. The original PP, as it is, while not low-fat, could get too low in fat (and make one miserable) if one wasn’t careful.
    So, in a nutshell, I’d say these were the strengths:
    -The Paleo angle and the history–don’t ditch any of this! The Indian Knoll and the mummy stuff and the stuff about hunter-gatherers’ bones being stronger were incredibly important factors in convincing me.
    -The fact that you told people what it was that LC did to your body
    -Simple directions that were still flexible enough to allow for variety, the lists of foodstuffs with 5 grams of carbs or 10 grams of carbs or this and that amount of protein
    And no other LC book has had these three together in such an accessible, yet smart way enough to satisfy a nerd like me and also to be simple enough for the average Jane/Joe.
    And what I’d add:
    -More stuff about hormonal issues specific to women and how one’s diet really needs to be made-to-measure because everyone’s so different metabolically.
    -Upping the fat/making sure people will get enough fat, how it helps your brain, how it’s the main fuel your body is now using, etc.
    -Dealing with that protein overdose issue and maybe adjusting the charts or adding notes on how if you are petite/aging/seriously metabolically resistant, you can drop this and that amount (wasn’t there a footnote of something of the sort in the later books? I forget)
    -Perhaps something on intermittent fasting–the best solution I’ve had to stalls so far
    -Updated stuff on supplements. And here I’m going to have to thank you for not just saving my life with the original PP, but also introducing me to glutamine’s healing effects on the gut–it works wonders.
    Again, thanks for your hard work and I really appreciate you guys listening to us about our experiences. Looking forward to the 20th anniversary edition so I can get several copies to pass around to everyone I know, just as I did with the original!

    1. I second KJT’s request on how to determine how much protein. At 5’1″, and late 50s (now early 60s) female, I determined by feel that 65g – 105g/day worked for me. My goal weight (Nota Bene – use goal weight, not current weight, IMO) is ~65kg max, so the 55-65g limit is pretty close. Additionally, I find my protein “need” (aka seeking behavior) lags workout intensity by 24-48 hours. Interesting …
      I would add covering the major role of insulin in managing current normoglycemia, damn the long term consequences, and the effect of hyperglycemia on the brain. “Grain Brain” is a little simplistic for my tastes (which run more to trying to understand Peter at Hyperlipid – his FIAF series is my go to …). I think the mental aspects of high carb coupled with high levels of industrial oils are the next medical disaster shoe drop.
      And thank you for asking us.

  36. I bought Protein Power when it came out, and 30 pounds, 6 waistline inches, and 19 years later I follow the lifestyle in good health. But I’ve had to do it without the help or support of any doctor, none of whom wants to hear about high-fat, low-carb diets or what tests they should run on me.
    The most important single thing you could do is tell readers how to find a doctor who already understands and supports the protein power lifestyle, preferably in their own local communities. Is there not an association or even an informal network of well-informed physicians? It would be hugely helpful to know how to find a doctor who did not need to be educated and who did not resist being educated.
    Good luck with 2.0!

  37. I refer people to your book all the time and buy used copies when I see them so I can hand them out to patrons. I’ve read others but yours has, by far, the most understandable explanation of what happens when we take a bite of different foods (carbs, fats, proteins). That breakdown is worth the book….and it has the best information on what happens with leaky gut I’ve ever read (and I’ve probably read 2000).
    As for things to add/update, off the top without really thinking, here are my thoughts (clearly based on where I am).
    What to do when weight loss stalls or slows to such a slow creep (1 lb in 2 months) that you just get frustrated. I’m more low carb than anyone I know…(and I like eating that way so I don’t get mad and binge), and still, it’s going so slowly now it’s insane.
    On the periphery of LC is it’s benefit to treat disease states. In that realm, Lyme Disease is newly acknowledged by the mainstream medical community and there is benefit to the diet. I know people who follow it with good results for MS as well. Maybe something on that.
    Also, how much of stalled weight loss could be due to parasites? How major of an issue are parasites for the average American? And how should they be treated…is there a natural approach? And just some tactical approaches. (This came up with a friend’s son who eats LC and it’s been a nightmare clearing him of them.)
    Like a few other commenters, I’ve aged and how does the LC plan fit or need changed as we age? I’m active (make my living teaching aquatics), but yeah, things have changed a bit over the years………..

  38. This may not be a common concern, but how well does low carb eating work or not, to keep weight in check for those who gain hugely as a result of anti-psychotic meds?

  39. Another thought – isn’t it more about high fat/low carb rather than protein ? Can that be reflected in the title of the book ?

    1. The publisher controls the title, and with the success of the book with that title so far, I’m doubtful they would agree to a change.

      1. Since you cannot change the title, I like 2.0 as it sound somewhat technical and your books always explain the science behind your recommendations. That why I have been following you for the 20 years.
        Thanks!

  40. I read and benefited from your book many years ago. I also very much appreciate your blog. I currently follow the Perfect Health Diet (Jaminet). Currently, my daily caloric intake is slightly under 3400 (77% fat, mainly from a stick of butter from pasture-fed cows and coconut/coconut oil), 271 cal protein (60.2 g), and 505 cal carbs (112 g). My weight is stationary at 149 lbs. To promote intermittent fasting, I juice nonstarchy vegeetables, cook the pump, and eat with coconut oil and butter from breakfast. I drink the juice later. I follow Dr. Mercola’s advice about short, intense intervals of exercise, also advocated in the book, the Calorie Myth. I would appreciate your addressing the issues raised in both THE PERFECT HEALTH DIET and THE CALORIE MYTH in your forthcoming book. In my own personal experience, both books are on the right track.

    1. And I, as a post-menopausal woman, gained 10 pounds in no time by following the principles in the Perfect Health Diet, and to a lesser extent The Calorie Myth. I couldn’t possibly eat as much as was recommended in The Calorie Myth.
      I’ve also heard of many other women having the same issue with Perfect Health Diet.

  41. Hello Doc,
    My journey with LC diets began 5 years ago. I lost over 120 lbs in 6 months and maintained that loss for over a year or so. I have regained about 25 lbs and seem to reside at this weight (220-230lb).
    I used a medical based program called Ideal Protein, created by Dr. Tran Tien Chanh. By the way, he has spoken highly of you and MD in private conversation with me. This diet was such a ‘game changer’ for me that I started offering it to my patients and saw very predictable, repeatable, and measurable results. With my own research i came across PP and have read it cover-to-cover, twice.
    The points my patients ask me about the most are:
    1. info regarding the “gluten free” craze…why, what is it, alternative choices
    2. hormonal balancing (both male and female) with LC dieting.
    3. MAINTENANCE using LC dieting regardless of how the ‘initial’ weight was/is lost.
    4. Lastly, your 5-10 most recommended links, peer reviewed articles, or evidence based resources for our PEERS to somehow ‘bring them over’ to reality, especially with what we all face with the Affordable Care Act!
    blessings,

    1. Thanks for the list. #4 is interesting. I have a ton of resources – just hadn’t considered selecting the top 5-10. That will take some thought.

      1. I second the motion for sources for the medical community as we have a number of docs in our family that are mainstream all the way – one a gastro who is morbidly obese but refuses to look at what he puts into his body as a potential source of the problem, blaming it on genetics and choosing by-pass surgery and drugs instead!
        But would also like to see a top ten list of like minded blogs/books that the average joe can relate to.
        Thanks again for all you’re doing and sharing!

  42. I would love to see, in one place, an extensive list of what “normal” blood work parameters are for those of us who have been on low-carb diets for extended periods of time, if they exist. Just a thought…and please let me know if there is a list already in existence. Thanks!

  43. I’m a long-time low carber, but still have questions. Coconut oil is supposed to be the best fat to use, but there seems to be some disagreements about it. First, does the deodorized, more refined coconut oil still have health benefits, or is it inferior? I prefer to use it for cooking where I don’t want the taste. Secondly, there is a lot of disagreement about whether or not coconut oil calories “count”. Are they somehow metabolically magic, lol? And while we’re on the subject of fats, I’m confused about whether or not peanut oil is evil or not. It seems to be an excellent oil for deep frying, and I won’t touch canola oil again.
    Thanks so much for embarking on this project. I loved Protein Power, and I enjoy reading your blog posts!

    1. Better even than peanut oil for deep-frying is lard.
      Lard is a saturated fat, for one thing, whereas peanut oil is not –– and we’ve been treated to lots of discussion of how important are the saturated fats.
      As long as you don’t over heat it or deep-fry breaded items in it, Lard will stand up to multiple deep-frying sessions before it needs to be refreshed. Much more durable than peanut oil.
      I usually use bacon grease, having been pouring it into a container through a couple of layers of cheesecloth after pan-frying the bacon until I have put away enough for filling the deep frying pan (usually a wok). Or I will buy lard from the store, if I am for some reason low on bacon grease.
      After some experimenting, I decided that the only thing I used oil for where I might want the flavor note of something other than lard or coconut oil was when I popped popcorn on the stovetop. (The coconut oil is too sweet for my taste.) With popcorn I often use corn oil, for a more intense corn flavor, though peanut oil was a not-too-distant second, for flavor. But lately I’ve gotten used to popping corn in lard, and I think I’ll stick with it, for its saturated fat. It adds enough flavor that I don’t feel it necessary to add butter. But butter always adds well, when wanted.
      Anyone else share my passion for lard?

      1. MD and I share your passion for lard. It’s just about the only fat we cook with. And when MD gets dragooned into making birthday cakes for various friends and/or family members (because she’s a helluva birthday cake maker), she always does the fondant, cake and other frosting with lard. And everyone – even the vegetarians – always comment on how good it is.

        1. Now that’s validation! Thank you.
          I’ve never done frosting or fondant with lard, but it’s on my list of projects. I the meantime, I’ve got a great recipe for pineapple upside-down cake with lard if anyone wants it.

          1. My sainted mother used bacon grease every time any recipe called for fat. You haven’t lived till you’ve had pie crust made with bacon grease instead of Crisco.

  44. Congrats on the book deal!
    Most of my thoughts were covered here already by others. But to say it again:
    1. The importance of eating right for the gut. Call the chapter “A Gutsy Diet.”
    2. Why the book really should be called “Fat Power.” The importance of a high fat, not a high protein diet. Call the chapter “Fat is Phat.”
    3. Explain why you never said that carbs are evil – that refined carbs are. Call the chapter “Refined Defined.”
    Give good menus as examples of what a typical weeks meal plan might look like.
    And…how strength training puts the icing on the PP cake. 🙂

  45. Dr Eades –
    I bought PP and New Atkins at about the same time (both fresh off the presses) and they set me on a path that made all the difference in my health – thanks!!
    I would like to see PP 2.0 provide a detailed analysis of ketogenic dieting – it seems to me that this is where LCHF dieters have the greatest disagreements. Also – although I wouldn’t touch the title, it might be more accurate if you thought in terms of “fat” power rather than “protein” power (or maybe I’m way off the mark?). Finally, as we move into the third decade of PP I believe we must be giving very careful thought to the quality of our food – here I’m thinking about healthy choices, whether it be eggs, dairy, meat, fat, veggies, etc. I still find myself wondering about the GMO debate, for example.
    I am very excited to hear of your new project – best regards.
    Don

  46. Mike, MD – boy, you are both very brave!! That said, and I applaud your courage in tackling this again (and agree with all the above suggestions), how about using a word besides ‘diet’ – I wonder if the entire book could be written avoiding it? I didn’t see it in the old title but you keep mentioning the “low carb dieting plan”.
    On another note altogether, I am simply loving the book The Big FAT Surprise. Thanks so much for that review – and for all your good work.

  47. Please write another book. I relate to the comment above by CD MaY31st. I am 84. Female. Will not take the meds main stream medicine tells me to take. HB, Thyroid, Statins. It makes no sense to me. I see no reason at 84 that my blood pressure should be as it was when younger,hormones change, my skin has changed. That is what nature wants and no amount of medicine is going to change nature, etc. I have looked into Paleo, but too many opinions and options.
    Not good for me. I bought the first book but as per usual with most of us I presume, we wanted to have fun in life. Socializing with food is always a good thing so consequently pretty hard to stay in ketosis “while having fun”. Although the two of you have manged this. At this point I want one book I can follow. I am sure I will read some things on the internet now and then but, not many anymore because I have learned I don’t need to read it all because in doing so I remain confused and scattered in my thinking. I have told my friends who have gone Paleo that I am going back to Protein Power. It is straight and to the point and will keep my life simple. I think by reading your blogs you will understand the point I am making. Good Luck and please rewrite you book.

  48. Dear Dr. Eades, I am 66. I have classic symptoms of “Metabolic Syndrome”; high cholesterol, high blood pressure and pre-diabetes. I have had high fasting glucose (>100,<126). I have taken statins, red yeast rice, citrus bergamot among others. Cholesterol has never been way high; about 286 has been the highest. I am taking 3 blood pressure meds (not willingly I might add), metformin and either atorvaststin or simvastatin. The statins have kept cholesterol under 200. But here is my question/comment: Does consuming a fair amount of cheese for an evening meal adversely affect glucose? Here's why I ask. Recently my doctor started me on a glucose monitor to measure sugar every morning. I have been consuming a simple dinner probably 5 nights a week consisting of about 5 servings of cheese on a low carb tortilla and microwaving to melt the cheese. Glucose has been running between 100 and 123 mornings upon waking. I didn't have the cheesy dinner for a few nights and this morning afters the glucose was between 83 and 94. This is only based on about 4 data points and I will continue monitoring. But I was under the impression that carbohydrates were the main sugar/glucose culprits. I am an Atkins follower as well and for years ager lots of cheese, eggs and bacon. So now I am trying to monitor servings and eat a more balanced diet. But the cheese/glucose connection mystifies me. Any thoughts? For my breakfast I have settled upon a low carb plant protein shake mix using either soy, coconut or almond milk which seems to be working fine so far for about a year. Thaank you for your blog and writings.

    1. It’s hard to say without knowing how much is a “fair amount of cheese.” The more important measurement would be your HgbA1C, which is a measure of average blood sugar over time.

    2. Roger, why are you so sure it’s the cheese and not the “low carb” tortilla? If you’ve “only just” begun to monitor your BG, you probably have not done a post-meal testing regime: 1, 2, and 3 hours after your tortillas — you’re relying on the company that makes the tortillas to be telling you the truth. That may not be your best choice! (How many “low-carb” foods have we seen pulled from the market for turning out to be high carb after all?!)
      Please also look into the ‘dawn phenomenon’ which many diabetics (and pre-diabetics) have. I recommend very highly Jenny Ruhl’s diabetes website — a power-house of information — called Blood Sugar 101!
      (p.s., do you know that red rice yeast has, natively, the same chemicals/molecules as actual Big Pharma statins?! Maybe ask your doc if it’s okay to be doubling down?!)

      1. Elenor, I will look at that website. Thanks so much for your comment. I think I have one data point that eliminates the tortilla. One evening I had a serving (between 1/4 and 1/2 cup) and a half of shredded mozzarella with my salad. Next morning the BG was 116. Every other morning so far it has been between 83 and 94. I will continue monitoring. Funny enough, these tortillas are made by Joseph’s Middle Eastern Bakery of the Joseph’s that is owned and run by a diabetic.
        I did hear that they were similar (Red Yeast Rice and statins).
        I am so glad I was directed towards Dr Eades’ website and blog by a former coworker who was also trying aspects of LC dieting. I am a throwback to the 90s when I first started the Atkins diet. I have never been more than maybe 10 pounds overweight and tried Atkins when other coworkers at the time were on it. I ate bacon and eggs and cheese all the time. I hope my body isn’t irreparably damaged!

    3. Roger
      A lot of pre-diabetic people find that too much protein at night causes high blood sugar in the morning.
      Eat less protein at night, and more at lunch. Yes, that means cheese. You are eating too much cheese at night. 😀 You are suffering from gluconeogenesis, like many pre-diabetic people do.
      Best wishes!

      1. Dear Greensleeves (one of my favorite songs, BTW), thanks for your amplification of what I was trying to describe and naming it for me. Just to clarify, were you saying I might want to try eating cheese earlier in the day? I am open to trying that experiment, but I am finally hearing the low fat recommendations prevalent for diabetics. Now I am wondering what the BG would do if I stopped taking the 1000 mg of Metformin I take daily and have been for about 7 years. My doc didn’t think I should change the amount of Metformin I take. I don’t either….

        1. Yes, eat your cheese at lunch, and limit your protein at dinner (night) to just 3 or 4 oz of beef, or salmon. Stay on your Metformin, many people find it helpful. Talk to your doctor & monitor your BG carefully. Dr. Bernstein argues you should try to keep you BG level at below 90 AT ALL TIMES. Best wishes.

        2. I have one follow up comment on eating protein and fat at night as I had done previously with the frequent 5 one-quarter cup servings of cheese on a tortilla. Last night I consumed a half of a small can of peanuts (about 3 servings at 14 gm fat per serving) which afforded me about the same amount of fat as the cheese (although a different type of fat). BG this am was only 84. So the next thing I will try is consume the cheesy tortilla at lunch and see if BG is as high the next morning. I imagine it will be higher at a point post postprandial from that as it would normally be so I am not sure after all this what I am accomplishing. Maybe I should just drop the cheese from the diet permanently.

  49. Interested to know whether you think Kiefer’s Carb Nite Solution fits PP.
    Is its effect on hormones necessary? i.e. a weekly kick start.

  50. Thank you for your solicitation. What a good idea. Including more information on the low-carb diets and the elderly may be of interest. The elderly often have other medical concern (e.g. arterial fibrillation, type 2 diabetes, gout and other forms of arthritis) that are not always or even necessarily caused, as the popular belief would have it, by obesity (although it can play a part without doubt), but also by genetic disposition and the price for youthful experiences and exuberances (SCUBA, gymnastics, and the like) as well as having followed well-meant misinformation. Also of particular interest may be stalling in weight control for the elderly. By elderly, I mean those in their late 70s and beyond, for there shall we all go, eh?

  51. Dear Michael,
    A copy of Protein Power from the library years ago kicked off my interest in diet/health/disease. Thank you for your pioneering and ongoing efforts!
    I’ve done a lot of reading and experimenting since. At 67 I’m in the minority of body types and metabolism: hard to gain weight esp. muscle, I can eat carbs without gaining weight, and I respond to dietary cholesterol. There are a few of us out there, but very little written to help us understand what’s going on and how to structure our diets.

  52. I went through about a quarter of the over 500 emails I have from the readers of my http://www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com website over the past 3 years, and here were the top question categories:
    No weight loss/stalls
    How much protein?
    Hypoglycemia: I write about this because I experienced it when I started and it almost put me off the diet; I had to figure it out on my own. In my opinion, it is very important that people know what it is, what it feels like, etc.. otherwise it scares the heck out of people.
    Supplements: what to take, how much, etc..
    Too much weight loss – how do I stop?
    Gall bladder issues
    Constipation/stool issues
    Hair loss issues: This is a big one that doesn’t get discussed much.. need an explanation of how lower insulin and thyroid function can effect this.
    Gout flare up issues
    How does alcohol effect diet/can I drink?
    Ways to add fat to diet
    Recipes and meal plans
    How to still stay vegetarian
    How to do the diet without eating dairy products
    Artificial sweeteners
    Hormonal effects
    Sleep/insomnia issues
    LDL/TC issues
    Be glad to send you the whole lot if you want to comb through them.

      1. Sure, email me and I’ll send you the lot as an indexed PDF portfolio.. it allows for searching.

  53. I am a ‘senior’ woman who lost close to 200 lbs post-menopausal and hypothyroid–and have been maintaining that loss for 4 years.
    ProteinPower was my Bible. I think you have the best simple explanation of how low carb works than any other book I’ve read.
    I also found the emphasizing protein was the key to my weight loss and subsequent management. That’s why the major thing I’d like you to address in this edition is the importance of eating protein to one’s requirements–to lose fat and minimize muscle loss.
    Thanks to the NK craze (and misreading of Volek and Phinney), I read on low carb boards constantly about ‘too much protein’ and the need to reduce protein. People don’t lose because of too much FOOD, and this fad of demonizing protein is nonsense.
    Also, when you deal with fat, you may want to research a little because I’ve never been able to tolerate ‘high’ fat, and I’ve read that many senior women have a similar issue–we don’t process fat effectively. I do fine with moderate fat.
    FINALLY, I wish you’d address the calorie issue intelligently. Too many people complain that low carb ‘doesn’t work’ because they assume that they can continue to eat humongous meals. I only lost weight (and maintain now) by being careful with my calorie level–even though I eat very low carb.

  54. If you can fit it in, can you do a chapter or provide something for those of us who had metabolic damage caused by SSRIs and/or atypical psych meds?
    As a life-long very low carb dieter, the SSRI packed on an additional 50+ pounds in just a few months with no change in diet. this was 20 years ago. The weight will not come off.
    Only recently have there been medical studies that point toward this phenomenon with SSRIs (it was noted earlier with the atypicals). Some recent studies point to a destruction of metabolic function that leads to diabetes. There was a meta analysis of the literature done by a research group in Korea in 2013 methinks, sorry I don’t have the cite handy.
    so, if there is a tweak to protein/fat eating that will work for those stuck with medication caused intractable weight and very deranged damaged metabolisms, we who have sustained this damage would appreciate.

  55. I can’t wait for this book! I would be very interested in a section on low carb and the thyroid. There is so much confusion on the internet, with some saying that a low carb or ketogenic diet can lead to hypothyroid, and others saying that it is actually low calories and not low carbs that can cause a problem and, others saying that there is no correlation at all. Some clarity would be much appreciated!

  56. I am a 63 yo female – two yrs ago was feeling old and sluggish, found the paleo plan and jumped in with both feet. Initially I felt terrific, lost weight & had lots of energy then started feeling really, really crummy with heart racing and insomnia being the worst symptoms. I found The Perfect Health Diet and have felt much better adding some “safe starches” back into my diet but have gained weight back so need to tweek things a bit. Like someone else said earlier, I have not read your PP book as I felt the info would be dated. Will definitely buy the 2.0 version.
    Please consider:
    As an adjunct to the book, a phone app to track carbs, carbs, protein, etc eaten on a daily basis. Am thinking a checklist using measurements that non-scientific types can relate to like 1/2 cup vs grams Starting with optimum foods then going down to good foods, foods to indulge in occasionally and forbidden ‘fruits’. Reading books are easy but putting the learning into action can be difficult so any tools to help would be greatly appreciated!
    Thank you so much for your willingness to share information on your blog – looking forward to the book!

    1. Susan, when I started LC, I needed quite a bit of magnesium for my GI muscles to work properly–750g in supplements. When I went VLC, I had the same fluttery, racing heart you describe. I took a potassium pill every time I felt that way and it really helped. (Since carbs give me horrible acid reflux, going back to eating them wasn’t an option.) I came to think of potassium as a chill pill and mention both minerals since a deficiency in one can mean a deficiency in the other.
      Re: conversions, if you have recipes in grams you’ll need a food scale since grams are a weight measurement and the volume will vary with the food. They’re only about $10.

    2. There are low carb diet trackers out there already. I use the Low Carb Diet Assistant for the iPhone.

  57. To new low carbers who have a propensity to eat lots of sweets, that they should not do the one thing that you say is ok (which is to eat a more sugar) on the weekend. I feel that just a little sugar can trigger bigger things and for people who know their weakness, to just concentrate of getting the weight off.
    I, read Atkins, Protein Power, and tried PP for that weekend thing of eating what I could not have during the week (wrong move for me) an epic fail for me. That is like taking an drug addict to don’t do drugs during the week but take a “hit” over the weekend only. Either you are on it or your not.
    Had to switch over to Atkins and just go cold turkey until I was able to add more carbs and distinquish if it made me “gain or lose” (to find my carb tolerance).
    I now know that I have to do it the strenuous way and stay away from all types of flour, bread, cakes if I want to do the diet right.

    1. You must be confusing PP with another book. We never recommended eating sugar, or other carbs, for that matter, on the weekends.

    2. I think you’re referring to the Carb Addict’s Diet, also a husband & wife M.D. team. I’ve had the same experience as you, a cheat weekend will lead to a cheat week/month/year.

  58. Happy 20th! Words are not adequate to thank you for the positive effects you have had on us.
    Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, sleep deprivation may be about as poorly understood today as cholesterol / fat / heart disease was 20 years ago. William Davis touched on schizophrenia a bit; however I recommend the many papers by Pamela Butler in which she carefully documents the visual dysfunction which underlies schizophrenia – and it seems she pretty much gets ignored. What’s the physical model?
    Also recommend “Markers of gluten sensitivity in acute mania: A longitudinal study” by Faith Dickerson. Maybe the trigger is faulty “raw primal sketch” formed in the retina? If so, how exactly is that initiated. I suspect as usual we poison ourselves and then blame God.
    There has to be a physical model; and who better than a former engineer to explore this frontier?

  59. Congratulations on surviving 20 years of living in a carb-heavy society! I look forward to your new book.
    If you have them, I would be very interested in any new ideas on the following:
    – How does low carbing mesh with Longo’s research into IGF-1 and protein? Would it make any sense to do a low carb version of the 5:2 or alternate day diets?
    – Is it possible never lose a pound on low carbing yet still get health benefits?
    – There is an idea that a formerly overweight individual at, say, 130 pounds currently needs 20% less (sorry for the word) calories than a never-overweight individual of 130 pounds. Does that make sense and does that apply to low carb diets as opposed to calorie-restricted ones?
    – Is there a best way to use and understand blood glucose and ketone readings?
    – what is it that medical science does not actually know and needs to research?
    – what do you and yours actually eat on a given random day?
    Thank you and good luck on your new old book.

  60. A question and my experience with Protein Power Plan.
    Question
    This is regarding cortisol & CPR levels on a low carb diet. Just this week, I read a comment (copied below) which stated that study findings revealed a dangerous increase in cortisol after the participants followed a VLC diet.
    Study title: Effects of Dietary Composition on Energy Expenditure During Weight-Loss Maintenance.
    The study “compared people on a high glycemic diet, a low glycemic diet (whole grain) and a very low carbohydrate (high fat/meat) diet. This study did show a slight improvement in metabolic syndrome components in the low carb diet over the low glycemic diet, but the low carb diet raised cortisol and CRP (C-Reactive Protein) levels considerable. Previous studies have shown a 5-fold (that’s 500%!) increase in cardiovascular mortality with the higher levels of cortisol and CRP and thus the conclusion of the study authors was that the low carb diet was too dangerous to recommend.”
    S’up with that?
    My Experience
    😀 Back in the late 1990s, I bought the Protein Power Plan package that was advertised on Tv. It included cassette tapes and a series of little books, taking one step-by-step thru the PPP weight loss and maintenance. I loved it!
    Many years before (1970s)I had tinkered with Atkins, so I had an inkling r/t low carb…but not really. That PPP package was phenomenal. I lost 50 pounds. Sadly, over the years, I’ve regained 30 of those pounds, but that has been because I keep trying to convince my self I can eat processed carbs in moderation. Yeah. That’s gone well…
    Despite my delusional thinking on carbs, Protein Power Plan gave me am excellent foundation in the workings of low carb eating–and it is the PPP that I return to when sanity resurfaces after the numbers on the scale has climbed.
    I would LOVE an updated version!
    Thank you for your past, present and future works!
    And I’m surre looking forward to the PPP evolution edition!
    Deb

  61. I am transitioning from meds for Type II to low carb protocol. Left off oral meds March 17, have hit a slow weight loss area and probably need another 10 lbs off. Have gone from 186 to 170 so far and BS have really improved. I’d like to see more information on navigating this transition. List of likely sources for the slow down in weight loss – I know carb intake may be too high (40) and I need to increase exercise but are there other problems. For instance, after 3 wks I began to get horrible a charley horses upon awakening in my calves…which with online research I traced to Mg deficiency and started supplements but I am finding that dermal application of Mg brine is more effective and I stopped taking any Ca. So actual problems and solutions that people have found would be wonderful.
    I’ve also started baking with combo of homemade blanched almond flour and coconut flour – muffins are 3 g of carbs…a list of recommended low carb cook books could be useful. Sorry have not read the first version of your book,

  62. Dr. Eades,
    I think Ellen brings up some excellent topics.
    I would like to see a book that really dedicates a section to the breakdown of the various fatty acids, the modern science supporting how they affect health, lipids (SFA like Lauric raising both LDL and HDL-C, certain PUFA’s lowering both, etc.), and the foods/ratios that contain those acids.
    I am eager to see all of the new clinical trials and evidence that is out there presented clearly.
    I would like to see an “intelligence gaps” section outlining the questions that remain to be answered by clinical research. What are the questions that keep Dr. Eades up at night regarding diet and health? What area’s do you feel need more research? If anything, that could be an interesting blog post that spurs a nice discussion.
    I appreciate your time and look forward to reading 2.0.

  63. I read often how LC impacts diabetics but recently I was diagnosed as having a mild blockage in my neck and heart. I want to continue my LC lifestyle and I would appreciate it if more information was given on the impact of heart disease. It’s a bit scary with all the contradictory info out there. Also can you devote a portion of your book to guiding people to LC doctors? What I wouldn’t give to be able to walk into a LC clinic to ask questions and get the help I need. Ask your colleagues doctor, we need doctors who are accessible and available to give medical advise for a LC lifestyle. Thank you.

  64. My husband, son, and I have all lost weight via low-carb diets. While I have seen improvement in the numbers my internist keeps track of, my husband has not. If we don’t see “results” in blood numbers, what might be some reasons?
    Also, I agree with the people who have asked about artificial sweeteners. I have avoided aspartame for a long time, but don’t see much on Splenda. I’d like to just stick to stevia and other more “natural” solutions when the “sweet” craving hits, but unless I’m making something myself “from scratch,” there isn’t that much available. I’d like to know more about whether or not there are studies on the effects of Splenda and the sugar-effect it does or does not have on the body.
    Thanks for all you do!!!

  65. Love your blog! Yes, I am one of the “seniors”. Turning 65 today, have been Paleo, gluten free, for about two years. Feel great, certainly don’t feel 65. Take no meds except natural thyroid. Would love more info for us older women. Lost some weight, but can’t seem to lose the last 25 pounds.

  66. Dr. Eades: I had heart bypass surgery (5 arteries) about a year ago, and all I thought I had learned over the years went out the window. When my husband and I quizzed the surgeon as to why my arteries clogged, all he could suggest was “genetics”, since there are heart issues big time in my family. I believe I was born with celiac disease (from my Irish father), and have always had high cholesterol, which has come down on Lipitor. From my current reading, I believe I’ve also got low thyroid and borderline diabetes issues. I would love to learn how to prevent this catastrophe from happening again. Any thoughts?

  67. In late Jan. 2014, I made a conscious effort to avoid all grains, carbs and sweets. I jump started my new eating habits with a three day fast. Since then I have lost 25 lbs. Had my annual physical last week and blood work was perfect . All measurements were within normal range, on the low side. Cholesterol was down 18 points and CHD ratio was 3.3. I am 75 years old and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 3 years ago. It was my hope that a change in diet might help with the Parkinson’s. I would like to see Protein Power 2.0 include some discussion on a zero carb approach ( good or bad ) and is there any evidence that diet could help with Parkinson’s.
    .

  68. Dr. Eades, how about , Apo E genes, especially Apoe 3/4 and Apoe4/4/
    in regards to saturated fats. Those with this genes are supposedly, are sen sitive(hyper absorber), to saturated fats.
    Also higher risk for development of Alzheimers?
    How about higher LDL in Low carb, high fat diets compared to High Ldl,
    in SAD diet. Are they the same?

  69. The hardcover edition of Protein Power changed my life for the better.
    Years later, I re-read a paperback version and noticed that the most powerful, telling, persuasive argument had been edited our (or relegated to the appendix): the studies of mummies and how Egyptian society suffered from obesity.
    Please don’t let them talk you out of that again.
    This time, win that argument!

    1. I shall. That was my biggest regret about the paperback version. The info was all there, but a lot of people don’t read epilogues.

      1. I came to PP late in the game, after reading many of the other resources that are out now. I want to say that for me the most persuasive thing in the book was the section on the ancient Egyptians and their health. Yeah, you can read Weston Price and get the point, but Egypt is such a potent symbol in our minds and everybody has a mental image of Tutankhamun (and the other mummies) that learning about the problems they had is just a major (and unexpected) reinforcement of your point. I only read about it because I am one of those people who do read appendixes, LOL. So even though it is really outside the main purpose of your book, I’d like to see this section not only included, but if possible, expanded.

  70. I am totally on board with the changes you have already mentioned. I read your book when it was first published and Protein Power has been my LC Bible every since. I am now 50 and yes indeed very close to fully menopausal (although I am still Peri-Menopausal with a cycle every 3 months or so). Yes it is harder to fight the middle age spread even doing LC. I do have one suggestion that is working for me. I would like to see you include a chapter on Earthing. I have recently discovered Earthing and since I began doing that I have not had any hormonal problems – no hot flashes, no more horrible carb cravings – I am Zen once again. I love your work and am very thankful for you.

  71. 1. The biggest shortcoming I find in any book regarding dietary advice relates to practical implementation. Most do not measure grams of Pro/Fat/Carbs(at least in my experience of speaking to people) and therefore may only crudely have some idea if they are complying with the author’s recommendation for macro nutrient intake based upon the goals they want to achieve. This is most likely the case for those who are out of the house to work at 7am and not back until 7pm.
    So, if one knew that a tablespoon of olive oil was “x” grams of fat, they could determine what they take in for fat grams at a biz lunch.
    Similarly, grams of protein; if you could eyeball the meat and say its “x”grams, and the same for the carb. Eyeball two handfuls of veggies and you get “x” carbs.
    All of that would be helpful.
    2. Why some lose weight when they add carbs to their diet and not so much when they have less carbs
    3. While sat fat has been unfairly demonized, any number of people will have a worsened LDL-P profile due to increased chol synthesis.
    Good or bad? With family history of heart disease for some, perhaps not good. How best to determine if it is an issue for you?
    4.With a slow down in the metabolic machinery due to aging, perhaps carb intake needs to be reduced with age even for those who at younger ages can tolerate hi levels of carbs. Also, maybe protein intake should increase with age?
    Thanks.

  72. Greetings Doc!
    In the past twelve months I read your two books with Dr. M.D.E., both books from Volek & Phinney, the second book from Taubes, and am a chapter into Teicholz. I’ve changed my diet significantly, lost a few pound, and feel quite a bit better on a day-to-day basis. I have a ways to go to hit my goals, but I like the trajectory. (By the way, I gave my copy of Protein Power to my [calorie-in, calorie-out] physician, but, well, you can lead a horse to water….)
    I also read Dr. Thomas Seyfried’s book on Cancer as a Metabolic Disease. To be so brief as to risk doing him an injustice, he suggests that a hypocaloric ketogenic diet may be beneficial when dealing with some cancers (especially brain cancer). The explanation is exceptional, centering on cancer cells’ complete dependency upon glucose (inability to process fatty acids). If you are up on Seyfried’s work, perhaps you give us your thoughts in a blog post or even in your new edition?
    Thank you for your hard work.

  73. I’m the old diva who lost 145 pounds in my late seventies (I’m now 81). I never did reach my goal weight but 20 pounds more to lose didn’t seem daunting. Then I became obsessed with Seyfried and ketogenic diets. I cannot stand that regimen in any form. I’ve tried it endlessly to no avail.
    The only food that seems like real food to me is meat/fat with as much meat as I want. That, coming from someone who was vegetarian for 60 years. I began at 13 and saw the carnivore light at 73.
    Perhaps it’s my inborn gluttony that attracts me to my form of low-carb eating, i.e., unlimited quantities of meat.
    So, my question is gluconeogenesis. I worry about it. I have no cravings for anything other than animal protein and fat. I’ve been grain free for 14 years, no A/S, no dairy, no sugar, no vegetables, occasional grapefruit and grapes.
    Since 81.85 is quoted as the average lifespan for a white woman living in California, I’ve almost reached that point. Maybe I should just continue to eat all the meat that I desire and not kvetch about it.
    But, that creepy gluconeogenesis keeps nibbling at my brain.

    1. Don’t let it nibble at your brain. I’ve got a bunch of studies showing large doses of protein – at least meat protein – don’t run blood sugar up, even in diabetics.

      1. Agreed Dr. Mike. It’s the cheese/milk protein that seems the worst. The cheddar/parmesan/sour cream. Pre-diabetic people tending towards NAFLD seem to struggle with this the worst, even the old Atkins board folks say this. Cheese/sour cream etc. is great, but in moderation. Steak, however, go to town. . . 😉

      2. It would be great to get more detail on this and other discrepancies I read in Taubes, Davis, Pulmutter etc. For example too much protein can result in gluconeogensis, You should avoid heavy cream because it can be treated as a sugar in the body etc. I would like to know once and for all if non sugar sweetners like Stevia and Splenda trigger insulin spikes etc. And are nuts really okay or do they have too much carbohydrates. Oh and please dispell my worry about CJS in regards to red meat! I am ready to eat pasture raised but I am scared- moving out of vegetarianism is hard but I know necessary~
        Also I just bought your book- not because I need to lose weight- I am in great health and weight- but because I have a fungal infection that requires an almost completely carbohydrate free diet… I also enjoy your blog posts and find your perspective refreshing and much needed!
        I will definitely buy your next book! I think the low carb community would much appreciate it!
        ~Thank you!

  74. How long is this part of the process open for Mike? I’d need to reread your book to see if I can pick some things up to comment on. Although reading through the comments above all those eyes and hearts looks like they are giving you a great overview to build on.
    I’ve given you and MD the honour of being first on this page http://daragrennie.com/health/low-carb-high-fat-how-many-doctors-will-it-take because Protein Power was the first book I read that laid out what to do in a way I could mentally grasp and physically follow.
    Your comments in this blogpost about how you were still caught up in the saturated fat issue made sense of how I needed to come to that through other sources, so yes, I’d love to see your update on that.
    A chapter on any contraindications to LCHF would be useful. As well as one on when LCHF needs extra special discipline and focus like KJT’s comment post above.
    I remember when I read and applied Protein Power I felt like I did a paleo/primal version of it as I’d been wheat free for many years. I’d been a vegetarian since medical school and a wheat free vegan for 10 years before testicular cancer and bad blood fats woke me up to the fact that maybe I’d got it wrong. But I know there is a real issue with grain and a lot of doc’s pointing towards being grain and legume free and some comment on this I believe is important. David Perlmutter is probably one of my favourites on this as it was refreshing to see the same recommendations coming from a neurologist’s perspective.
    How to address emotional resistance would be an interesting chapter. Your request for questions has sidetracked me on a post I was about to write about that:)! I plan to simplify it to 3 things that I see: Helplessness, rebellion and addiction. By addiction I mean both physical biochemical addiction as well as mental addiction to ideas, philosophies and being right!
    I look forward to the day when all this is accepted knowledge and thank you for the major role you’ve played in it over the decades.
    Darag

  75. A lot of people need help getting started and staying the course. My oral surgeon researched LC and paleo diets last year and tried it, but said he couldn’t stick with it more than three days. I told him the first few weeks were the hardest and a lot of people (but not all) lose their cravings for high-carb food. He was also trying to LC with high-carb food in the house and didn’t know where he could go out for a LC meal. He said it himself–“I need a plan.”
    Also, if people could get their family on board, it would help them. To that end, a section on other benefits of LC diets besides weight loss would be great. A lot of teenagers would give up milk and cereal and pizza if they found a wheat-free and dairy-free diet prevented acne. Anyone in the household suffering from GERD, IBS, roller-coaster energy levels, diabetes, or dental problems might be willing to give LC a try if they found it helped them, too. It would keep a lot of high-carb food out of the house and make less work for the family cook.

  76. I would like to know how much protein really is necessary for building muscle size and strength in the context of a low carb diet. I’d also like to know more about gluconeogensis and how it helps or hinders fat loss so that one can avoid it by taking in to much protein.

  77. Hi Dr. Eades, glad to hear you’re going to write PP2.
    If possible could you please examine potential health benefits of staying in continuous NK, and perhaps come up with practical nutritional recommendation for both weight loss and long term health. There’re claims out there that NK almost defies 1st law of Thermodynamics, it would be nice if you could examine this as well. Finney/Volek’s books have been out there for a while and I wonder if there’ve been new concrete scientific developments since then on the topic of NK.
    The reason I’d like to have answers to these questions is because it takes quite a bit of effort to maintain NK, so the big question is: is it worth the effort? Unfortunately information on this topic is all over the place as I’m sure you know.
    Thank you and looking forward to your book.

  78. I would like information on how to determine how much protein is my healthy sweet point.
    A list of essential supplements as well as information on the food I can eat to provide at least some of whatever the supplement provides.

  79. I would like to see more discussion about the connection of hypothyroidism with heart disease, and that low carb diets do not cause hypothyroidism. According to Dr. Broda A Barnes, MD, back in the 1930s, elevated cholesterol was an automatic diagnosis of hypothyroidism.

  80. I guess I’m late to the party, and many others have made suggestions that cover my concerns – weight loss for seniors – post-menopausal women, etc.
    One thing I’d like to know is whether or not it is more difficult to lose the weight when you have been obese for a long time. Taubes said something in an interview about the longer you’ve carried the extra weight the harder it is to lose, and that some of us may have missed our chance to reduce. Any suggestions for those of us trying to lose ‘old fat cells’ would be appreciated.
    I do want to thank you for the original Protein Power, and I’m very excited at the thought of an updated version.

  81. I’d like to read some discussion of how and why real foods differ from purified ingredients.
    Nuts are full of linoleic acid but seem to be good for the heart. Safflower oil, not so much.
    That sort of thing.
    Protein Power was a great book, I would love to read an update.

  82. If you guys write 2.0, I’ll buy it for sure! I might even read it!
    Here’s my suggestions:
    How to drop that last 10, 15, 20 pounds. Seems that an awful lot of low carbers stop losing somewhere around that point. Maybe some strategies on how to drop some more, if you want to.
    Cheating! Pros and cons of going off the diet from time to time.
    Blood sugar issues. Also seems an awful lot of low carbers have slightly elevated fasting blood sugars (just over 100 or so). Is it a problem? What to do about it?
    And finally, nearest and dearest to my heart (and liver): BOOOOOZE!!! Maybe cover what to drink, what to avoid, a warning that your tolerance will plummet (nobody told me about this, I found out the hard way haha).
    I really wish someone had told me the effects low carb has on those of us who like to imbibe. For one, I found I couldn’t drink nearly as much as before, which is definitely a good thing.

  83. Effects of alcohol on hormones and weight loss. Every damn low carb book seems to ignore this vital, vital food group ;-/

  84. Please do write PP2.0, I’ll buy a copy new!
    Version 1 is one of my mainstay references. “The Heart of the Matter” parts one and two (HOTM 1 & 2) along with Jonny Bowden’s and Steve Sinatra’s hour long YouTube videos say very strongly that the scientific conclusions continue to change – a lot (science is not knowledge – it’s a process for acquiring and organizing knowledge).
    Dr. Bowden pointed me toward Denise Minger’s “Death by Food Pyramid” (2013) about the best summary imaginable, to date. Then I found that Cordain and Friel’s “The Paleo Diet for Athletes” (2005) still mentions “artery clogging saturated fat”, as you say in HOTM 1, while still providing useful information on how the paleo foods aren’t readily available today and what today’s athletes should/can do with what is available.
    As a 73 year old type II diabetic I don’t feel I have time to wait for the medical establishment to get it right.
    Ned Dodds

  85. PS. Atherosclerosis (PAD) is another issue I’m dealing with and worrying about. Hopefully, the LowCarb diets will help reverse both that and the type II Diabetes.
    Ned Dodds

  86. I have just started re-reading your blog, and I’m excited to see a new edition of PP in the works! It was my first introduction to LC. I initially lost 40 pounds, changed my blood work drastically for the better, and brought my A1C down to the 6s. I didn’t stick with it, though, and have been derailed more times than I can count. That was about 15 years ago. I’m back for good, as is my entire family.
    I thought you might be interested to know that my doctor recently left his group practice and opened a private clinic, with a monthly fee for “members” who have access to him 24/7 via cell phone. He has a gym in his clinic, but the interesting thing is that his bottom line is low carb living. He gives lectures on it every Friday afternoon, teaches it to all of his patients one-on-one, and believes it is far more effective treating a multitude of diseases than just handing out pills. He does a full metabolic workup yearly, and prescribes meds as needed. He read Phinney and Volek a couple of years ago, and it changed his own life and sparked his desire to open this clinic. I gave him my PP and PPLP books a week or two ago to read when he gets the chance; he loves the scientific aspects of low-carb, so I know he will appreciate your work.
    As far as the new book, I’d love to see a section on extreme insulin resistance. I have received the most benefit in recent years from a more ketogenic approach, with higher fat and moderate protein. Even too many non-starchy vegetables can be a problem for me.
    I’m also menopausal, and diabetic; my metabolic panel just came back last week showing an A1c of 12.9, hyperinsulinemia, and my triglycerides are through the roof. I had only been back on LC for about a week when the blood was drawn, so I’m looking forward to seeing a change in a few months. For those of us metabolic syndrome “poster children”, especially when we’ve been off and on LC, I’d love to see some recent research about the optimal macronutrient ratios and best supplementation to turn the syndrome around.
    And, lastly, any tips on re-starting LC? I know there’s been some discussion on various forums about the “golden shot”, the first time being the best time, but is there any truth to that? Can’t we succeed after several failed attempts? And what tips or methods work best for making it a way of life, and not just a way of eating?
    Sorry for the rambling post! I am becoming rather passionate about the LC WOL, and would love to see what you have to say about it in PP 2.0.
    Donna

  87. My wife and I started on a LC diet over 4 years ago but switched to a Paleo/Primal lifestyle about 2 years ago after reading the Primal Blueprint. We do eat dairy because neither of us has a problem with it. I just read the book, Eat the Yolks by Liz Wolfe, and enjoyed it immensely. The book talked about how industrial farming is nutritionally bankrupting us. I knew there were some problems in this area before reading the book but now I’m more aware than ever before. I think we all need to be more aware of where our food is coming from and the importance of eating properly raised animals and other foods produced naturally. It would be good if you could touch on this topic in your book.

  88. Dr.,please speak to post menopausal women and the value of moderating carbs when transitioning to fat burning is a long term fall out. Is there something in between? We older ladies will appreciate your effort. I am a total failure. I was dx with gestational diabetes when I was 29 , RA at 30, and Hashimotos when I was 31. I am turning 60 and have never taken supplement. RA is not an issue………I keep my sugar under 95…all day, pre and post prandil. I am very active. I run and of recent, do serious hard yard labor pulling out bamboo rizhomes that go 3 feet dkown in the dirt. This has been the toughest year in my life, for family issues not my own, and I have picked up the awful muffin top. Nothing I own fits like it should. We eat right, we sleep right……what is your perspective when treating active post menopausal women? I am not big, 5’7 at 127…….but nothing I own fits anymore and it is because of FAT!

  89. One of the primary sub-keys under low-carb diet is grass -fed beef (GFB). I drink raw milk and I eat pastured eggs and they’re good and good for me. But not so GFB. I have bought GFB from three different vendors and it all tastes like liverwurst that was left out in the sun. I have been roundly thrashed on various internet chat sites (chowhound, et al) for suggesting that GFB is not wonderful: it’s delicious and I’m a snob. I think that the fact that Morton’s, Smith and W, et al do not (to my knowledge) serve GFB must say something. Where shall truth be found? Do we now take our steak like we once took our cod liver oil?

  90. I am being bombarded by these comments on my email, and I’ haven’t checked that I want to be notified of new posts!
    How do I make it stop?

    1. Sorry. I’ll see if I can figure it out myself. If not, I’ll have to get my tech guys to do it Monday. I really apologize because I hate it when this happens to me.

  91. Just learned about your tentative plans for a new book. I need to think this over to be as helpful as I can, and write in a bit more detail soon, but for

  92. Though I have two copies, it has been awhile….so from my memory:
    Expand the discussion of such factors as nutrition, health, disease and longevity of the Egyptians, with perhaps additional elaborations of anthropological work on these “factors” for the Native Americans. Such a discussion can quadrate nicely with both your own important clinical experience and your thorough knowledge of recent nutritional research.
    For me, that would be the book.
    With such knowledge then each, if alert to their own being, can fiddle as each must to find one’s own unique “diet”.

  93. Hi there! Really appreciate all you have done to promote fat as a fuel source versus carbs. So, direct to the point, why the heck don’t you title your next book “Fat Power” instead of “Protein Power”. You’re not really advocating a high protein diet, you’re advocating a high fat diet with moderate amounts of actual protein. Seems to me “Protein Power” as a title is really kind of misleading.
    I didn’t read your book “Protein Power”, so it’s difficult to comment on the changes you should make. I read your book “The 6 Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle”. Having said that, I’d be interested in the following:
    The difference between fat and carbohydrate metabolism.
    The different types of fats. For instance, lard, beef tallow, coconut oil, etc. and the actual percentages that are saturated versus mono or poly unsaturated. You don’t need quite the level of depth Mary Enig has in her book “Know Your Fats”, but some basic information on the different percentages and the impact on metabolism would be interesting and helpful. For instance, I eat a lot of coconut oil and ghee in addition to fat from meat I eat and bone marrow. The ratios may make a difference.
    How about vegetarians? A high fat diet based around butter, ghee, cream, and coconut oil, with vegetables and little or no meat and grain based carbs – how well would that work? Protein could come from the vegetables with perhaps some cheese and nuts to fill in the gaps.
    What about optimal protein versus fat ratios? Lately I’ve cut back on meat. I try to consume very fatty meat in smaller quantities (I still eat meat virtually every day, but typically 8 ounces or less), and am adding generous amounts of ghee (which I make myself from organic grass feed Jersey milk) to my vegetables. I also consume about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and have been eating fatty nuts (1/2 cup or so a day). I’ve started soaking the nuts overnight, and then drying them in the oven to reduce the antinutrients.
    What about omega 3 versus 6 ratios? How much of each do you need on a high fat diet? I’ve hear the body can get by on less, that it uses them more efficiently on a diet rich in saturated fats.
    Any benefits to lipase? Raw fat versus cooked? If so, where to get lipase in bulk? What about enzymes in general?
    Our body stores toxins in our fats. So, when we lose weight on a high fat diet, any recommendations around helping the body to get rid of the toxins, rather than having the liberated toxins getting redeposited in the fat or in the brain? Dr. Mercola posted a very interesting article recently on using niacin, exercise, and sauna to mobilize fat and help eliminate toxins, which I’ve started following.
    I’d also like to see all of the supplements you recommend, in general and to address problem issues.

  94. Shoot, forgot to mention intermittent fasting, I’d like to see more on that. It seems to work well for me, and I’d be interested in your clinical experience with it.

  95. Just read about your tentative plans for a new book. I need to think this over and write more, but for RIGHT NOW, my answer is a very enthusiastic YES ABSOLUTELY write this book!
    I’ve wanted to ask you to do just this, for these reasons:
    -You are a great communicator. That is invaluable.
    -People are listening, more than ever before to this issue. The time is right.
    -Your PPLP is a treasure but there are so many =diet books= that it may have gotten lost in the masses of (go on this) diet books.
    The new one should NOT be a (go on this) diet book. It should be a (humans were meant to eat like this and here’s how we know it) diet book.
    Please go forward with this book. And include ALL the stuff from PPLP about the archeological digs, early humans’ taller stature, etc and what they ate. And ALL the physiology about what insulin does. You make it so clear, anyone can understand it.
    If I was an octopus, I’d give it 8 thumbs up! Or a millipede, I’d…well you get the idea.

  96. I keep coming back to Ravnskov. I get the impression that he is a pariah in the Swedish medical establishment and has limited access to publishers. I think his hypothesis is a seminal contribution to the field of artery disease:
    If carrier proteins have the ability to encapsulate cholesterol it’s logical to conclude that they also encapsulate other compounds, such as microbial toxins, as Ravnskov says.
    It’s also logical to conclude that the large, fluffy proteins would do a better job of this than the small, dense ones. We would therefore expect to see a positive statistical correlation between small, dense particles and artery disease, not because the small, dense particles are atherogenic, but because the small, dense particles are relatively ineffective as immune system components.
    Ravnskov says that carrier proteins with encapsulated cholesterol and toxins are zapped and oxidized in a process called phagocytosis. This explains why so much of the cholesterol in plaque is oxidized. Maybe oxidized cholesterol isn’t dangerous after all.
    If we make the stipulation that the immune system mobilizes itself against microbial intruders, we would expect to see a positive statistical correlation between cholesterol and artery disease, not because cholesterol causes artery disease, but because the artery disease causes the cholesterol!
    Ravnskov says that LDL particles enter the artery wall from the outside, through tiny vessels called vasa vasorum. In arteries there is a pressure gradient through the wall thickness; this gradient acts as a headwind against LDL particle movement, and explains why arteries get plaque formations and veins don’t.
    Paul Ewald, in “Plague Time”, also discusses microbial causation of artery disease.
    I would like to see a comprehensive exploration of the hypothesis of microbial causation of artery disease; I think it would shake the nutrition establishment to its core.
    Norm Houtz

  97. Please go into which sweeteners are acceptable or not, I use erythretol a lot also Splenda, now I find out I’m killing off my gut flora! I can stick to my WOE a lot easier with just a nibble of peanut butter mousse after a meal. (a little PB +cream+Splenda) or some sweetened blueberries and cream. I’ve lost over 50 pounds so far with another 25 or so to go. It hasn’t been hard and with a sweet indulgence now and again I don’t feel deprived, BUT I don’t want to adversely affect my health. How about all the other sugar alcohols that don’t give you the trots like mannitol? Or monk fruit? Or coconut palm sugar? I haven’t tried either of those yet-been kind of holding off until I can find out more about them. I don’t do regular sugar or anything with dextrose. It would be nice to have a definitive guide to help. I have both your previous books and dig them out once in a while to refresh on the info. Thanks for all you do for us. I appreciate it.

    1. I don’t eat sweets very often, but when I do I use Splenda. Lately I’ve been wondering if in fact regular sugar might be better for me on those rare occasions when I do indulge. At least it’s “natural” and not a substance made in a laboratory.
      What do you think? If I did use sugar, would “raw sugar” be better?
      Yes, a discussion of all forms of sweeteners would be appreciated in the new book. Like … if you must use a sweetener from time to time, at least use .
      Thanks!

      1. MD and I have pretty much switched to stevia-based sweeteners – when we use them at all. But I don’t spurn Splenda if I happen to come across it in something. I figure it’s better than the sugared version.

        1. OK, that helps. “No” to sugar.
          I’ve tried “real” stevia that you add by drops, and also Truvia. Hated the taste of both. Anyone out there have any recommendations on a brand of stevia that actually tastes good?
          Oops! I used angle brackets at the end of my first comment on sweeteners to enclose the phrase “fill in the blank.” Guess it was taken as html code. Maybe I should have written:
          “… if you must use a sweetener from time to time, at least use … what?”
          But I guess you answered that question. Thanks again!

          1. If you can find some Reb A, you should try it. Reb A is the sweetening molecule that has been isolated from stevia. Has the sweetening without the bitterness.

          2. I’ll play Devil’s Advocate: With the surfeit of reasonably good low-carb/paleo books and continually updated websites on the market, why does Protein Power need to be re-issued at all? Taubes and Teicholz, along with others, have covered the duplicitous history of the low-fat, low-cholesterol insanity. Denise Minger demolished The China Study vegetarian nonsense. The updated Atkins, “Practical Paleo,” “The Primal Blueprint,” “The Perfect Health Diet,” and “Your Personal Paleo Code” have made the case for a lower-carb diet quite well. Blogs and too numerous to mention (including yours) and user-driven forums continually update us on lower-carb nutrition and pulverize shoddy science that supports the low-fat lies.
            Most of the suggestions, save for the effects of low-carb on those over 50, have already been handled by the sources I mentioned above. What additional information would a new edition of your book bring?

          3. That’s why I’m asking you guys what you would like to see that’s not available elsewhere.

  98. One of the differences in opinion in the LCHF diet community involves starchy vegetables, the so-called safe starches. I am eating them and doing very well, but really don’t know that this is *right* approach.
    I’d love an in-depth examination of this topic: how much carbohydrate to eat and what kind? In other words, the Jaminet’s diet vs. the much lower carb diets.

    1. When Jaminet coined the term “safe” starches, all he meant were those sources of starch that appeared to be free of obvious toxins. When Consumer Reports reported that 100% of the American rice they tested contained non-trivial amounts of arsenic, he stated that he would monitor developments on this issue and possibly revoke the “safe” status of white rice.
      Jaminet’s done the paleo and low-carb communities a big service by pointing out that throughout history, healthy populations have included significant amounts of starch in their diets. I think where his paradigm falls short, though, is the lack of recognition of how our polluted environment and the hormonal derangement it causes (especially for women) fundamentally change the nutrition equation in modern times. In addition, if you’ve grown up eating the SAD, your body might have become unable to thrive on any of humanity’s traditional mix of macronutrients.
      While Jaminet cites an impressive number of studies to support his ideas, we need to remember that the vast majority of nutrition studies are (a) observational and (b) poorly done. The majority of Jaminet’s evidence for the benefit of his dietary ideas is self-reporting from his readership, which will always have the confounding factor of eliminating nutrient-poor processed foods from their diets.

  99. How fantastic! I’ve often wondered why you and MD didn’t update your book which I regard as a classic.
    My suggestion: Please ask MD to write a companion cookbook which includes updates of all the recipes that have appeared in all your books and websites. For example, I still love many of the recipes from the original PP, but I think some ingredients (such as Wondra flour) need to be changed to reflect more contemporary research and food products. I also wish she would develop a truly authentic tasting roux so I can prepare Cajun dishes. I would willingly pay a great deal for such a cookbook companion to your PP 2.0
    Thank you for your excellent research, advice, and heartfelt caring for your readers’ health and well being.

  100. I’d love to see a chapter on digestion (perhaps with Dr. Robillard)–GERD, SIBO, leaky gut, using digestive enzymes, probiotics, and other gut healing techniques. (I had complete and total relief of GERD after two weeks on PP tthe first time, but still having problems this time around).
    Your recipes were pretty good in that they were mostly whole foods, but I hope that any new recipes eliminate grains, soy, and artificial sweeteners.
    My first round of PP ended up in pregnancy (suprise) because it regulated my PCOS. I hope you’ll address PCOS and PP’s safety for pregnancy and children. I have you and my wonderful endocrinologist who recommended your book for my 13 year old daughter, who is a great joy! Don’t know if I ever said thank you–thank you very much!

  101. I’d like to see some discussion on micronutrient drivers for CVD, such as iron, fat soluble vitamins, iodine, PUFA

  102. Two suggestions:
    1) You have a loyal reader base that will buy your book (like me!) but if you want to influence American health in a significant way your book must be influencing doctors (esp PCPs & Cardiologists) to recommend LCHF to their patients. If you write the update of PP with this in mind, I would be very happy to buy my PCP and my Cardiologist a copy and recommend they use it in their practice. But it must be convincing to doctors! Leverage could be enormous.
    2) I’m an athletic 72 YO male and have been in nutritional ketosis for 2.5 years (fasting ketones typically 0.6-1.0). I love it, and I believe it is the best anti-inflammatory diet and should have positive benefits wrt ‘diseases of ageing’ as they are quaintly called. I have one unresolved ‘problem’: when I converted to LCHF my Triglycerides went up (100-400) and HDL went down (55-35). I know, it is not supposed to work that way, but in my body it did! I have sought an answer from specialists as well as running experiments which include measuring trigs & HDL at home with a Cardiochek, so far with no explanation. My last calcium plaque test showed virtually no calcium, so I have decided to ‘live with it’, but it really bugs me because I expect LCHF should help, not exacerbate the important lipid measurements. If you have any insight into how this happens (I’ve got to believe it is a low percentage of the population), please include it in your update!

    1. Your results are indeed unusual. As you say, it almost always goes the other way. But if your calcium score is zero at age 72, I would think you don’t have much to worry about.

    2. John:
      Have you had the genetic test? do you know if you are APOE 4/4. Because this will happen to people with this genetic condition; Dr. Davis will tell you so.
      Best wishes.

  103. I would like to know what are the most promising avenues to try when low-carb doesn’t work (no weight loss, no heath improvement).
    Should we try “harder” in the same direction, and go ketogenic? Should we do something completely different, 180 degrees? Should we try switching meal time/sizes? Avoid dairy? Restrict calories (if so, how do you not go crazy from the hunger)? Should we focus on non-diet-related issues (sleep, thyroid, stress)?
    I don’t expect that you could find any hard data on this (I certainly didn’t find any), but maybe experience could inform your suggestion as to what has the greatest chance to help.
    Thanks.

  104. The #1 thing I would like to see in your book is for you to tackle the issue of how in the world can we get something SO wrong for SO long! You mentioned a book one time that showcases how humans have screwed up royally with many things throughout history. Colossal errors such as the LF diet. I can’t recall the name. It would be a chapter that shows how this can occur. I think this should be the first chapter, it’s top priority in my mind! My own elderly mother finds it almost impossible to buck mainstream medicine. If I mention something, such as low carb, she just can’t comprehend doctors can screw up by recommending the exact opposite of what we need.
    I love your writing, you are my favorite doctor/author. Keep it up!
    I also love the name Protein Power 2.0.
    Bill

    1. “The #1 thing I would like to see in your book is for you to tackle the issue of how in the world can we get something SO wrong for SO long! ”
      That book that he recommended in an earlier post – “Big Fat Surprise” – goes into this in great detail.

  105. 1. Absolutely the number one thing I’d like to see is saturated fat being labelled as one of the “good fats”. Followed by a clarification that you mean to include animal fats in that goodness, and not just coconut oil. It’s time to end the war on saturated fats.
    2. Also, a lot of people don’t understand that most fat sources are a mixture of MUFAs, PUFAs, and SFAs, but just assume that animal source = all saturated and plant source = all unsaturated. A bit of a lesson here might be worthwhile. Lard and olive oil are not really all that different from each other, but partially hydrogenated margarine is.
    3. A point about dietary cholesterol having little/no influence on blood cholesterol.
    4. How leptin contributes to the regulation of metabolism and fat storage.
    5. A point about how you may never reach your goal weight, because of the damage you’ve done to your body in the past, i.e. causing insulin resistance and leptin resistance. Such people should be counselled that their lowest possible stable weight can be achieved by lowering carbs to their lowest possible level, and that they need to learn to be happy with that. Sure they could then go “diet and exercise” lower than that, but like 95% of all other people who try that, they will not be able to maintain that weight loss, because very few people can stay hungry forever. If they then give up on low carb completely, they’ll just go back to where they started at the very beginning, and all their real, positive gains will be lost. So a warning about that, and some counselling about accepting their lower stable weight instead of reaching too far would be beneficial. After all, they are already way better off at the lower weight than where they started from.
    6. If there are any real, concrete, scientifically proven ways to increase insulin sensitivity (especially of non-adipose tissue, we don’t want our fat to be insulin-sensitive right?), and leptin sensitivity, please let us know and teach us how it is that they work.
    7, An explanation of the differences between fructose and glucose in how they are metabolized in the body and their unique effects on hormones. An explanation of how excess quantities of either one can be bad in its own unique way.

  106. Dr. Eades, I am plagued by EOE–Eosinophilic Esophigitis. I don’t see anyone addressing EOE in any of the LCHF, Paleo, Primal etc. blogs. It is likely some allergic reaction. I have tried the 6 food elimination diet on my own to find a trigger, but had no success. LCHF is so fantastic for so many apparently disparate conditions–I keep hoping it somehow holds an answer for EOE too.

  107. I would like to see discussion of the various artificial sweeteners that are on the market now and what health effects they have, not only on blood sugar/insulin response and staying in ketosis, but also beyond that — what other problems might they cause?
    Also, I think a discussion of gluten and how it affects the brain and other organs (As is detailed in the book Grain Brain) would be an excellent addition to the book. After reading Grain Brain and other books like it, I wonder if our addiction to carbs is really an addiction to gluten or if it’s to sugar or both. Is there any data on which is more detrimental and addictive between gluten and sugar? I’ve read many books and some people contend it is the sugar that is the problem; others the gluten.
    Lastly, you’ve already mentioned the Cholesterol revamping needed to be done. I found the book ‘The Great Cholesterol Myth’ very enlightening in that regard and I think the points they make about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ cholesterol and the lack of evidence tying cholesterol to heart disease, need to be included.
    Thank you for all you do!

  108. Hi, I’m a 51yo woman. I low carbed from 2009-2011, gradually failing in my quest to keep refined carbs out of my life. In 2012 I started on a quest to eat as many carbs, refined or not, as I could. I defeated myself over the two years low carbing by not being able to stick to the WOE as I craved carbs all the time and eventually gave in to those cravings. In 2012 I gained 20kgs. In 2013 I was diagnosed with breast cancer (100% Oestrogen fed). I now know that being an overweight female my fat effects my oestrogen levels. Did I cause my breast cancer by my year of eating lots of carbs and putting weight on so fast? Maybe you could approach the sugar/processed foods cancer link? Also, I am coming to the end of my treatment and am still confused about what I should be eating. Should I go back to low carb? Having chemo brain doesn’t help my decision making, lol. Obviously I don’t want the cancer to come back and what I was doing before diagnosis (eating lots of carbs) wasn’t the right thing to do. I realise also that it may not have been my diet that caused the cancer, sometimes things just happen :-). Thank you, Alison

    1. It’s really impossible to say. Most cancers people discover have been growing for a long time, so don’t beat yourself up over it. It was probably there, though small, before 2009. In my view, the low-carb diet is better for a multitude of reasons than a low-fat, high-carb diet where cancer is concerned.

  109. A section on fast burning and marathon running. Effects of Ketosis on thyroid and sleep and adrenals. Any dangers of longterm Ketosis. Circadian rhythms. Thanks Mike

  110. I agree with those who ask for more help with menopause issues. My blood sugar is far more stable, brain fog gone and so on, but I just don’t lose weight!
    Also, it would be good to know how to tackle serious health issues. Like one of the commenters here, my husband had a heart attack. We are battling to find a doctor who has a grasp of LCHF, let alone buys into it; yet we are convinced that low fat and high carbs plus statins will only worsen his health. (He was off low carbs because he had been in chemotherapy for non-Hodgkins lymphoma.) It’s really hard to follow your convictions in the teeth of all the medical care around you; it would be nice to be able to haul out some evidence of healthfulness or an argument for this as an okay diet for the seriously ill to show oncologists, cardio et al.

  111. Section on the validity of genetic tests on insulin resistance & carb burners vs fat burners.

  112. Dr. Mike:
    I would appreciate more guidance about becoming fat on a low carb diet. I was the envy of my middle-aged friends for years, what with my 30″ waist on a low carb diet. But then, in my late 50’s, I started gaining weight on a low carb (30-50g ECC per day) and ultimately became about 60 lbs over my optimal waistline — maybe 30 lbs over what most people would consider “thin”. I don’t eat any of the high carb “food groups”: legumes, grains, fruit (except berries), sweeteners, starchy root vegetables. I just overeat on “approved” low carb foods.
    I don’t really believe that my weight gain proves anything negative about the low carb diet, since heaven knows what I would currently weigh on the SAD, but I would appreciate if you would address the fact that it is (obviously!) possible to put on quite a bit of extra weight from over-eating on a low carb diet, and some hints as to what to do about it.
    I seem to recall Dr. Bernstein writing about how overeating _anything_ will trigger an insulin reaction, so I’m not amazed I got fat over time, but any tricks or recognition of this problem would be great.
    Joe

  113. Timing of meals: would love to see this in your new version. I find that when I stop eating at 3pm and put off eating breakfast by 16 hrs, I can lose weight. If I eat after that even though the food is high fat, moderate protein and low carb, I gain weight…..am I alone here?

  114. The chapter on the Egyptian mummies made a great impression with me. I’d like to see more historical evidence of diets and their effects. This, after all, is the real proof.

    1. Yes, yes! I read and re-read this chapter and have used its information to help other newbies. More please.

  115. In your first book (p 163 in hardcover), you say that if you’re trying to lose weight, especially if you’re small, you need to control your fat intake somewhat, so you’ll burn your own fat instead of ingested fat.
    I think this is important and needs discussion in text, as some people don’t read footnotes. Some LC advocates are putting sticks of butter on their steaks to get the fat content up. That might help control appetite, but it wouldn’t do a lot for fat loss. Some people have gone from “don’t eat fat” to “eat as much fat as possible.”
    If you are very large and need a lot of food, the satiating effect of fat will probably kick in before you’ve overeaten. But if you’re very small and need very little food a day to maintain weight, it’s easy to overeat.
    I’d like to see this discussed in more detail.

  116. I’d love to see a discussion of fecal pH, colonic ammonia levels, colonocyte apoptosis, and low SCFA levels in the colon of low carb dieters and how they are immune to the dangers of a low fiber diet.

  117. It must please the heck out of you two that you suggest this update and a couple hundred people immediately leap on board! In case you ever forget — here’s one more proof that you are LOVED!!! (I haven’t even read the blog entry and 192 comments at this point — just the number made me smile with joy!) (Oh, I guess I make it 193 comment!)

  118. I’ve always been a low carb fan, but had a hard time staying on it, because it restricts so many comfort foods and foods we love to have once in awhile, such as holidays or memorable meals with friends.
    So I adjusted my low carb diet after discovering how easy it was to go for long periods without food when the body is adapted to fat burning. (we get our sugar from our bodies)
    So, why not address the following enhancements to low carb eating that can retain its major benefits:
    1) Semi fasting. (small high protein breakfast and then nothing else until dinner) I do this 3 times a week. (mwf) This allows me to . . .
    2) Programmed cheating. We all cheat on diets; low carb is no exception. By semi fasting three times a week, I have programmed cheating into my lifestyle diet by building up a calorie credit. I then allow myself some indulgences on the weekend or on special occasions. (with moderation) Once my body adapted to the variable calorie intake (as our ancestors did all the time) I found it easy to move back and forth between occasional over-indulgence and restriction.
    3) Meagan dieting. Protein is good, but an excess of red meat is probably not and bad for the environment too. I’ve gone to a “meager meat” diet by reducing my animal protein by half and adding in more plant protein. So, talk more about alternate sources of quality plant protein that can be used to supplement our animal sources.

  119. Hi Mike, wonderful news! I always thought that another book on Protein Power was needed! Having read all your books on it (PPLF, Staying Power, etc.), the next book will be the icing on the cake… no pun intended!
    I may be one of the few that didn’t mind the title of the book, and thought that Protein Power is not just about carbohydrate restriction/control, but also about proper nourishment with the right amount of protein depending on individual size and level of physical activity. For some reason, however, is very hard for people in general to stay away from terms like ‘low’ or ‘high’. Anyway, since the new book will shed much needed light on the positive effect of saturated fats, in my opinion, it will only complement the wealth of knowledge already included in PP.
    I particularly enjoyed the writing style in PPLP, which mixed the science behind it with easy-to-understand application as a life plan say of living and eating. I hope the new book will follow on that style as well.
    To the list of possible things to include, I would add:
    – Low carbohydrate and cognitive abilities (there is emerging research on the subject).
    – LC and cancer (there is also research suggesting the benefits – R. Feinman and collaborators comes to mind).
    – Some ‘paleo-punderings’; there is much noise from the paleo-movement, that it has become rather confusing. What distinguishes PP from what is now commonly known (or unknown) as ‘paleo-diet’.
    – An evolutionary perspective behind why we, as a species, evolved to thrive on many things, but never on a diet is solely plant based. I remember that post on your blog whether we are carnivores or vegetarian originated a lot of comments, some very interesting, some not worth their cyberspace, but it is clearly a topic still subject to debate. Scientific insight into this question, I think, would be great in the next book.
    I’m sure I’ll come up with more, but the above are at the top of my head right now.
    Thank you again for the good news!

  120. Dear Dr.Eades….your blog is the best and your new book will be much appreciated. I am an 80 year old still playing tennis and grateful for robust health. I have been a long time user of the whole food phytonutrient type of vitamin made by Standard Process labs. I am wondering if you would be able to include research on the various types of supplements and what their benefits are. Also, my nutritionist recommends taking coconut oil now, which is supposed to be beneficial for the brain and I am hoping that will be a new inclusion. Thank you for interest in people’s input.

  121. Need help making the protein power diet work now that I am 60! Not losing anything, which is disturbing since it worked SO well for me in the 1990’s. Please address whatever changes we might have to make in our 60’s after menopause, as something in my original PP plan doesn’t work now.

  122. A few questions, concerns:
    “Big Fat Surprise” suggests that finally there is evidence that a very low carb diet for at least two years appears safe. (Before now it was conjecture — Dr.Phinney, for example, was wary about strongly recommending it as a permanent diet — because data was yet not out there.) So — is a permanent very low carb diet safe for sure?
    Coconut oil — again, BFS poses evidence on both sides about this tropical oil. Probably heart healthy but also mildly associated with cancer (Austrialian study.) What is your take on coconut vs. olive?
    Different sources of saturated fat — do they make a difference or not?
    Dairy vs. beef vs. chicken vs. oils. Are some preferable to others?
    Grass-fed meat vs. industrial meat. How much is this the latest hyped fad,
    and how much is real, in your opinion? How strong are the studies?
    It is possible to buy uncured versions of “forbidden” foods like bacon,
    salami, sausage. They spoil faster but have fewer additives like nitrites.
    Important — or again just hype?
    Sugar is starting to emerge as a possible villain in the worldwide growth of obesity and diabetes II. How strong is the evidence? Do you believe people should try to eliminate it as much as humanly possible, or is that goal (like eliminating fat once was) foolishly perfectionistic?
    If on a low-cab diet, one’s triglycerides drops but LDL rises, has one’s cardiovascular risk dropped or increased? In other words, what would be your advice on how to read lipid tests (and how can an average reader go about determining whether his or her LDL is predominantly small-sized or large-sized.)
    What biomarkers do you follow regarding health risks, and what does a low-carb diet do for them? Do supplements have an effect on any biomarkers?
    Are vegetables and fruits essential or not?
    Do metabolisms vary among people (as is sometimes claimed by those touting diets according to blood type)? Are some people better on a vegan diet and others on an Inuit diet of fatty meat? (Is the problem with the standard American diet that it combines both those approaches, where either alone is healthier than the middle?)
    Presuming that you do come out whole-heartedly in favor of a permanent low-carb diet, what are your recommendations on how to overcome the low-fat mindset which has been so thoroughly and almost religiously ingrained in us over the past 50 years? Do you have examples of people who have made the switch. What are the pitfalls? (Such as eating lean meats exclusively because low-fat is such a strong habit.)
    I’m sure you planned to cover all these issues but they are ones I personally would love to see you explore. Thanks!

    1. Much food for the thought. Thanks for taking the time to write such a long and thoughtful comment.

  123. I have been a past patient of the Drs. Eades for 16 years. I am down about 30 pounds on controlled carb diet, and my wife joined me in “middle-aged-middle”. I would like to get about 15 more pounds off my gut, but I look so much better than in my unhealthy past.
    1). Long term stories of success ( mine is relative, but I am Extremely glad that the Drs. Eades came into my life).
    2). Measurement and treatment of IRON overload, which was killing me. My ferritin was reduced from 890 to less that 10 ( everyone but my cardiologist and hematologist were surprised how well my heart has recovered by this extreme low ferritin…To readers, this is way below the accepted levels for ferritin so DO NOT use this as a level to achieve!!!)
    3). My cardiologist in the distant past loved the mediterranean diet and followed me through 2 heart attacks and FOURTEEN intracoronary stents. I have gone 6 years now with my new Cardiologist and a second Heart Failure Cardiologist (iron induced right heart failure). I am currently stable.
    4). My wife loved the recipe outlines in Middle-Aged-Middle.
    Thank You Mike and Mary Dan, from deep within my heart

  124. I like the work of Dr’s Phinney and Volek. Their work showing an increase in essential fatty acids without any increase in intake- probably connected to reduced oxidative stress causing less damage to essential fats- is work that I think is very important.
    Another area of interest for me is the effect that carbohydrate intolerance has on peristalsis. This is probably at the back of endometriosis, as per the work of John Mathias, MD, and at the back of many disturbances in digestion.

  125. Save the Earth, eat beef.
    There are two canards that you might want to debunk.
    1. The notion that eating “too much” red meet is bad for you. (Yea, ask any one of the Sioux warriors who ate mostly buffalo)
    2. The notion that plant food production is somehow more environmentally friendly. You might want to listen to this guy. Allan Savory: How to green the world’s deserts and reverse climate change. Ted Talk
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTHi7O66pI

  126. I have been thinking about this thread since this morning, when I stumbled across it. My two comments, after reflecting on what I’d like to see:
    1. Please address the issue of post-menopausal women and difficulty losing weight on the low carb-higher fat diet. (My wife specifically asked for this, and I see other commenters doing it as well)
    2. Please (if possible) expand the Egyptian section; it has some pretty compelling stuff in it which I have used with people who are skeptical about the whole low carb approach. “Well, the Egyptians ate lots of grain and THEY managed to build the pyramids, their empire lasted for millennia”, etc., etc.

    1. I also found the Egyptian section interesting. But I wouldn’t basis a lot on such accounts as we really don’t know how accurate they are. “Egyptians” includes lower-class people who ate mostly bread and onions and upper-class people who ate more meat and fruit and probably ate to excess. The people who were mummified were from the upper classes. Many variables and many unknowns.

  127. An updated book is a great idea!
    I’d like to learn more about fiber. Do we need fiber and, if so, how much? Is it really true that fiber is not digested and therefore doesn’t count as a “carb”? Does the type of fiber matter? And, what about resistant starch? Is that really fiber?

    1. Believe it or not, we had an entire chapter about fiber in the original Protein Power. Our editor didn’t think fiber was all that important and hassled us unmercifully to delete it until we finally gave in.

  128. My understanding is that low carb diets can resolve infertility. If so, your and MD’s work has resulted in hundreds (probably thousands) of births that otherwise might never have occurred.
    So here’s my idea — see if you can collect past testimonials of people who have written you that they’d finally conceived thanks to your work, and gather as many together as possible into a giant “family photo” of you and Mary Dan, surrounded by dozens of happy parents and the healthy kids who owe their very existence to your work.
    If you do this, make sure you have a video crew or two documenting the making of the photograph, and capturing the parents thanking the two of you. (In fact, the shooting of the picture would make a great centerpiece of a 60 Minutes or 20/20 profile of you both.)
    If you do it, ask your friend Tim Ferriss how best to leverage it.

    1. It would certainly be an undertaking. I’m not sure MD and I would be able to organize and pull it off. But I can guarantee you that if we could, Tim would be able to promote it.

  129. Since Mary Dan has so much free time (kidding!), maybe SHE should write the “Protein Power Life Plan for Women” book? On hormones and peri/menopause and so on… Or maybe y’all could put out an “expansion pack” for the new book — all the additional info just for women!
    I also second the Mary Dan cookbook. I’m always saddened when y’all announce a new Sous Vide cookbook — because there’s never a low-carb cookbook for the magical machine!

  130. Hi Dr. Eades,
    I’m pretty sold on the benefits of low-carb, though I’m starting to realize that in eating this way there may be somewhat diminishing returns; that is, I’m not sure that “as low-carb as absolutely possible” is necessary, though many people in this subculture seem to think that it is. I’m sort of getting into Paul Jaminet’s work, along with the Paleo superstars, though I do believe I need to be a bit lower-carb than they recommend (or practice themselves).
    Further, I believe this way of eating can, if done properly, make my Type 2 Diabetes progress much more slowly, and improve cardiovascular markers. I’m curious about the kidneys; I’ve heard before that once the kidneys are damaged, it may be possible to prevent more damage, but there is no reversal possible. Then a bit more recently I’ve heard that perhaps some reversal is in the cards, after all.
    My bottom-line question, that I’d like to see addressed, is the possibility of not just halting the “Syndrome X” co-morbidities, but on actually improving upon them. Essentially, can I get better, not just “not get much worse”? I want to know this regarding diabetes, vascular issues, and kidneys. Perhaps a chapter with follow-ups from long-term patients might be something to consider. I know that reading not just success stories regarding weight loss, but regarding actually being physically healthier, would do my motivation a world of good.
    Thank you!

  131. I bought the first Protein Power book over a decade ago. Since then, I have bought other books from you, as well as books that you recommend. But the first Protein Power book is still my favorite. It explains so clearly the things I want to know, things that I didn’t know anything about until I first read it. I have since recommended it to lots of friends, but if it comes to be that in future, there will be a new edition of Protein Power, I will be quick to get a copy of it.

  132. Protein Power may be the most Important book I’ve read. I’m very glad to hear about the new edition.
    I hope it will include lots of information about how the low carb diet interacts with the diabetes drugs which have come on the market since PP was published. I hit a bad patch last year and boasted an a1C reading of 9 at the first of the year. After getting serious about low carbing again and using Victoza and Invokana, 3 months later a1C was 5.5. My doctor tried to insist back then that I go on insulin and it took a real struggle to get the prescriptions I wanted. Now that the proof is in, I asked why the insistence on insulin. She told me that they know the drugs can only bring about a reduction of 1% in a1C, and only insulin can bring it down sufficiently (never mind that the seriously insulin resistant patient would need a nearly lethal dose to accomplish the task).
    Which reminds me – my doctors, even endocrinologists, are never interested in checking my insulin levels. I requested and got a fasting insulin measure with my last blood work. It was at the low end of the normal range, which thanks to PP I know I have to thank for my greatly improved lipid profile. This is another point I think it would be good to emphasize in the new edition.
    The doctors I have see over the years are always interested in trying to rescue me from my dangerous illnesses with drug bludgeons like insulin, statin drugs, blood pressure drugs and bariatric surgery, all of which have horrible side effects it seems. I’m always looking for ways to improve health, avoiding the need for rescue. I’d like to see that emphasis in the new book as well.
    I hope this feedback is useful, and hope you’ll keep us informed on your progress with the new book.

    1. The feedback is unbelievably useful. I will definitely keep everyone posted as things progress.

  133. First, I’ve gone from ok but deteriorating health to very good and getting better health, largely due to your guidance, so a huge heapin’ helping of thanks for that.
    Several suggestions:
    Several people mentioned blood sugar in a general way, however I think the concept of “physiological insulin resistance” in response to a low carb diet needs a really thorough discussion. My FBG jumped up a bit when I went low carb, which I now understand is very common, but I think a discussion of 1) what to expect, 2) what is the normalization timeline, 3) what does normalization look like, 4) when and by how much should one add back in carbs when adding carbs actually lowers blood sugar and 5) proper interpretation of A1C, FBG, PPBG. For example, Stephan Guyenet described a group of low carb traditional culture people who had very high (160 or so) FBG but who were apparently in perfect health. I see this type of issue a lot in comment sections and I have never seen a really good, detailed write-up on it from any of the low carb luminaries.
    I am also really looking forward to a detailed post re: Ron Rosedale, mTOR and IGF1. That seems like a really critical point to get straight.
    I would also add another vote (per the earlier comment) for some commentary on John Keifer’s carb nite concept and specifically his point that the body needs a periodic insulin spike. I have not seen anything that really confirms this, but he is a smart guy and a lot of what he says has worked well for me. I think it is key to keep in mind however that his clients are well-conditioned athletes, so others may not benefit as much. There are a couple of interviews with him on Jimmy Moore’s podcasts, specifically ATLCX.
    Thanks again for your work and for seeking input.

  134. FALLIBILITY OF MEDICINE AND SLOW PAINFUL ADAPTATION OF EVIDENCE BASED SCIENCE
    I feel that a dissertation on the “90 % of medical papers are technically incorrect” issue would be a good beginning, and then some discussion of how difficult it is to change a widely accepted (but lacking rigorous proof) idea would be useful. I suggest the prior belief that the stomach was so hostile to bacteria that bacteria could not be the source of stomach ulcers as the belief, and the correction was the subsequent Nobel Prize given to the pair of doctors who demonstrated that the idea was false, and that a substantial number of stomach ulcers are cured today with antibiotics.
    Somewhere along the line would be an introduction of your marvelous articles on the non-causation of the findings of virtually all observational studies. And the confusion that this over-reliance generates with coffee being healthy in one study and unhealthy in the next. That in a large part, journalistic news reporting (and science journals) are often non-scientific.
    Another overused tool is the epidemological study tool for which you have also previously written excellent material.
    I am sure that you could use your experience to expound upon how difficult it would be to rigorously prove something like the “Diet – Heart” hypothesis. And why nutrition is stuck with having to try to do science when the real science is too expensive and demanding for the “average researcher”.
    Maybe the whole thing can be used to set the ground for a better understanding of the reader of how truly difficult science of diet is and how pathetically the prior research has been conducted.
    SCIENCE IS NOT COMMON SENSE
    COMMON SENSE IS NOT SCIENCE
    Science is the repeated attempt to test whatever it is that has been hypothesized from the data and to attempt to improve the ability to more specifically understand the phenomena.
    1500 years of Aristotle “mechanics” was gradually replaced by Newtonian mechanics which was refined by Einstein’s relativity, and Quantum Mechanics was a whole new field of physics that had to be invented for the very small modern particles which did not obey the mechanics of either Newton or Einstein.
    There is no reason to believe that today’s medical (or dietary) knowledge will not be replace or enhanced by the brilliant minds yet to come.
    You could put all of this into 2.0, but maybe it is just a useful exercise to find how to add a different flavor to not be “just another diet book”.
    Your past writings on this blog should somehow show up in your book as they are too thought provoking to not be somehow used or mined.

  135. The link that Morton posted above, the video by Allan Savory, is an amazing video. Wow, there is hope? You’re kidding! A pretty cool showcase for science achieving a solution to a most severe crisis.

  136. Thank you for opening it up to the denizens of the interwebs for ideas! It’s been a long time since I read Protein Power, but it is one of the few I recommend to others. I have been eating low carb (in fits and starts) for about 15 years now and there are a few basic tools that still elude me. They are:
    -How to break a stall and how long to wait impatiently through a stall before making changes to try and break it.
    -What are the most useful things to discuss with your physician or have tested/monitored while eating low carb/paleo.
    -How to explain to naysayers in a succinct way that animal fats are good for you.
    -Smart Indulgences – How to prevent a few drinks, side of sweet potato fries or a slice of birthday cake from becoming an excuse to keep carbing up. Extra water? How you handle the next day’s meals? Or is it truly just personal willpower in charge?
    -Healthy treats! So we don’t lapse into the indulgences zone, there have to be a few healthy treats available to us now and then. The internet is lousy with them, but it’s difficult to sort through which treats are “healthy” and which are not. Along the line of the various sweeteners…some kind of tips, rules or guidelines to tell the healthy treats from those that we just want to believe are good for us. Examples: Fat Bombs, Bulletproof Coffee, sugar free cheesecake, low carb ice cream, cookies made with alternate flours.
    -Where to draw the line between a leisurely trip to the market and a measured, number crunched, weighed, specifically portioned set of meals. It’s easy to read a few posts on http://www.reddit.com/r/keto and start feeling that I need a math or science degree just to make sure I am eating right. It’s equally easy to become overwhelmed by all that number crunching (especially when searching for answers about how to break a stall) and start to wonder if this is just too difficult to pull off. So, how far into the number crunching rabbit hole is too far?
    I hope that’s helpful feedback and thanks again!

  137. I would like to have some more information about gaining weight. I’m recovering from anorexia but its so difficult to read any good information on the mechanism regarding starvation and the subsequent weight gain process. It would be very interesting to get some dietary guidelines (besides eat a lot) and some general information on that end of spectrum. Everyone always talks about losing weight but some of us have the opposite problem. I also have a hard time building muscle which could also be addressed.

  138. Dental health. Given the importance of dental health to wellbeing (not just because being pain-free is such a Good Thing, but because of the links between cardiovascular health and inflammation of the gums), is there anything I should be doing differently on a low-carb diet?

  139. Mike I found your post on how the metabolism works (the starvation model) to be a great use in understanding and teaching about the benefits of low carb for folks with excess body fat. It makes clear why IF can be good, and how metabolic flexibility is natural and good. If that’s not also well detailed in PP, I recommend you build on your blog post for PP v2. Everyone’s onto the idea of being a “fat burner” vice a “sugar burner” but I think understanding why, which that blog post explained, is important for insight.

  140. Thank you for revising the Protein Power book. I am diabetic and I have been on a low carb for almost 2 years. It helps me a lot for blood sugar control (A1C is between 0.61-0.66) however my fasting glucose is still very high in the morning (around 8) and I lost only 20 pounds and now my weight is creeping back. I was wondering if there are new techniques to apply LC diet. I tried intermitent fasting and resistant starch with disastrous results. May be I am not doing it right. I am back to VLC almost carnivore diet. I am feeling great, my blood sugar is under control, however I am still overweight and I am wondering if there are any updates/changes that I could use. Thanks. Your first book was a great help for me. Another thing I want to mention and the reason I think a new book will be usefull: I was diagnosed as diabetic in 2004 and I started LC diet in 2012 – so 8 years in total denial. I read your book and put in on a shelf for years saying I can not do it, until my numbers got worse. SO maybe for the new book a little more motivational speech for people in denial like me.

  141. Would love to see something on the mTORR pathway and how much protein may be too much, also protein as it relates to high intensity exercise, thanks!

  142. I would like to see a section addressing the issue of whether we are seeing a surge of autoimmune diseases in this country and how a low-carb and clean diet can address those issues.

  143. At my last visit to the doctor, discussing my blood test results, my doctor wanted to prescribe me statins even though my cholesterol and lipids numbers were good. He insisted saying that American Diabetes Association is advising statins for all diabetics over 55 REGARDLESS of cholesterol numbers. We are in Canada and CDA did not start such thing but my doctor was saying we will follow shortly. So I was thinking, maybe the new PP can shed more light about statins and cholesterol.

  144. The number of responses you’ve received so far is many, so if my suggestions are a repeat, please forgive.
    1. Why do suggestions about a starting point for daily carb intake vary when beginning a low-carb lifestyle? Dr. Atkins originally started with zero, then vamped it up to 20g per day gross carbs, then 20g net carbs. Then PP came on the scene and allowed even more. Why can’t someone start at 60 and take it from there?
    2. I think a blurb on diarrhea as a side effect would be beneficial. Constipation is always a hot topic, but what about those of us with the opposite problem? As long as I consume a minimum of 50 to 60g carbs per day, I don’t have that problem, would be interested in knowing the possible reasons why.
    3. You once wrote that you “don’t know why” some people have a reaction to dairy, when it comes to stalls and plateaus. More information on why some people who don’t have issues with dairy still have to drastically limit or eliminate cheese to get the scale moving would be nice.
    4. Years ago, you once sold a savory protein bar. Is there a way you could include a recipe for that, without revealing any trade secrets? They were delicious and did not taste sweet; they were buttery.
    5. A section on sugar alcohols, their origins, effectiveness, and related topics would be of interest, I think.
    6. I have found that foods resembling flours, like almond meal and ground flax, etc., cause problems for me. I’ve also read that overconsuming almond products may cause an inflammatory response in certain individuals. I would be interested to read about that.
    7. Is it really necessary to have protein at EVERY feeding? Some days, I have veggies with home made dressing for a snack.
    8. I would like some kind of definitive on oils. Is canola okay or not? Peanut oil? What is the low-down on olive oil?
    9. It would be nice to educate people that there really is no such thing as the mediterranean diet. It’s my understanding it was a diet put together based on the observations of what people in that geographical region eat.
    Thank you, Dr. Eades!

  145. This sounds great. I was converted to the low carb diet based on the evidence not just following a fad. I am convinced that it is the best diet for me and everyone else who has metabolic syndrome. But I keep getting arguments from my doctor for one and others the vegetarian diet is the best and there are many athletes who follow the veg diet and are very strong and health competitors. My doctor sees no reason why anyone should eat animal products especially fat even though I have given him many articles supporting the low-carb diet. Here are some things I feel need to be emphasized or addressed, since they are questions that I either get from others or have for myself.
    I would also like to see you address the impact of the low carb diet on the prevention of Altheimer’s Disease, if you would. I read several places that chronically elevated levels of insulin have a lot to do with Altheimers, so the low carb would be an excellent choice for this.
    I am hearing that the low-carb diet is hard on the kidneys and even can cause kidney failure. Could you address this?
    Next, do you have anything on Omega 7 which is being promoted heavily by Life Extension Foundation as a way to fight metabolic syndrome, etc.?
    The whole grain myth?
    Do organic foods really make that big a difference on health or are other certified vegetables just fine? I suspect that organic may have an effect on certain health issues, but overall nothing significant. There may not be enough good studies to really make solid conclusions regard this.
    Is there any real good study that shows that salt has that big an impact on blood pressure, etc? I again suspect that this is hyped up very much. I know that you recommend salt, potassium for the low carb diet.
    How significant is exercise in losing weight? Is not diet the major source for losing weight and better health? Of course exercise is important for many different reasons, but why should I run a 10K every 3 weeks or feel I need to ride my bike 15 miles every day as the primary way to lose weight?

  146. PP was the inspiration for my initial journey into a lower carb lifestyle back in 2000…..I was in my late forties, menopausal and carrying a few extra pounds which I lost on your new dietary strategy. I’ve never looked back and today, at 62, I’m lean and healthy. I read Wheat Belly January of 2013 and further eliminated all wheat/gluten/grains/sugar.
    Eagerly looking forward to PP 2.0…..would be interested in more info on 1.) the permeability of our gut damage and correcting our micro biome 2.) genetic variables which can impact blood sugar spikes 3.) gluten sensitivity and the damaging effects of wheat/grains etc. 4.) what is all this chatter about RS?
    p.s…..love your book recommendations!

  147. PP dovetails very well with the nutritional findings of Dr. Joel Wallach (DVM, ND) concerning the importance of minerals and vitamins, and the dangers of eating wheat gluten, fried foods, nitrates, etc.

  148. The way to change the title is to beat the marketeers at their own game: Paleo Protein Power With Antioxidants!
    You once said the PP was about Low Carb and weight loss and PPL was about Low Carb and Health. I’d like the book more health oriented than weight loss oriented. Ketosis and keto adaption are subjects that interest me. Lots of science, science, science! You and your wife both do such a great job of explaining the science.

    1. My feeling tends to be the opposite of Walter’s. Although I appreciate reading the science (please don’t take that away), I would also like guidance on how to lose excess fat and reach a normal weight.
      In so many books and blogs it seems like the recommendations are aimed at the healthy, normal-weight person who simply wants to “improve their game” rather than at the person who is overweight or obese. Surely the approach would necessarily differ depending of if you’re already at a normal weight or are overweight/obese.
      If 1 in 3 people today are overweight or obese, then clearly the focus of your next book should be on helping those people get to a normal weight.
      For example, I’ve read in so many books and blogs that you need 1800 to 2000 calories in order not to put your body into “starvation mode” and so that you have enough nutrient intake to enable your body to release fat. However, I’ve also read that you need to restrict calories to maybe 1300 in addition to restricting carbs to lose weight.
      Phinney/Volek (in Art & Science) show a chart aimed at what a 5’6″ woman should eat to go from 180 pounds to 140 pounds. There are four levels: induction, weight loss, pre-maintenance, and maintenance. Calories start at 1300 in the induction phase, and go up to 2200 calories in maintenance. Protein remains steady at 100 grams in each phase. Carbs go from 25 to 75 grams through the phases, and fat goes from 88 to 166 grams.
      And yet other books and blogs say 1300 calories is way too low, 100 grams of protein is way too high, and 35 grams of carbs is way too little.
      Who’s right? I know it’s individual, but how do you even know where to start? I could pick any starting point, but how do I know it’s the right starting point? How long do I stay there to know if it’s working or not? If I start gaining, do I abandon that plan immediately, or give it maybe 2 weeks to even out? If I stall for 2 months, do I stick it out or try something else? How do I know what to tweak? Do I go higher or lower fat, higher or lower calories, etc. Those of us who are overweight or obese need guidance.
      So many of the comments here are from people who are well-versed in HFLC eating, and yet remain over their ideal weight. Many report losing weight successfully, but can’t seem to lose the last 20 or 30 or 50 pounds. Others report that despite following all the “rules” they keep gaining. In other words, HFLC works for a while, and then inexplicitly stops working.
      A focus in your next book on guidance for those of us NOT at our ideal weight would be greatly appreciated.

  149. I’d most want to see a chapter on weight maintenance– most people relapse, and some of the science shows it’s because our bodies are desperate to regain the weight and most people can’t overcome that biological hunger– versus just willpower. Any tips on how people can be that 5% that keeps off a major weight loss permanently?

  150. I thought of something else. I thought I read PP in 1995 but I guess it was 1996. The revelation for me was that you said something like your practice had never failed to see a patient improve his/her lipid profile if they stuck to a LC diet. I don’t recall how you said it exactly but, as one on on LF diet for a very long time, running marathons and such, that hit me like a ton of bricks. You write with a credible pen and I believed you. I was dumbfounded with you saying that I could eat bacon and eggs and pork chops and steak, butter, etc and improve my lipids. I decided to try it and after a test period of several weeks (maybe six, maybe 12, I don’t recall), my lipid profile was the best ever.
    So, I would like to see that in a sidebar or in bold print or some way to highlight such an amazing statement (to the average person). Let people know that society has it bass-ackward, as we say in the south.
    Bill

  151. Protein Power is a wonderful book and it changed my life for the better – thank you. I got rid of 35 pounds in 2001 happily and easily and never felt more alive – not being hungry all the time was a revelation! – but then alas decided the job was done, started eating carbs again, and now am in the lamentable position of having to do it all over again. I see that I am not alone in this regard. Therefore, my recommendation for PP 2.0 would be to have an in-depth chapter on Long Term Success – now that you’ve lost the weight, what are the requirements and strategies for keeping it off forever? What does it mean and what does it look like to live PP long-term?
    Along with that, I think a new chapter on Success Stories would be great, both with people who did the PP approach one time and have kept the weight off for 20 years and others who found themselves having to take it all off again (I know, sounds much sexier than it is) and did that happily and successfully.
    Also, now that Primal/Paleo is such a big thing, it would be helpful to have an explanation of the difference between PP and those other approaches and the benefits of the PP plan. To me, that difference has come down to what Mary Dan wrote in her blog (which I love too), basically that yes sweet potatoes are a whole food but they do have carbs so watch out. But that’s not very nuanced and having more information would be great.
    An additional thought, in the original PP you mention the transition period into low-carb eating as somewhat rocky, with a short explanation about the changing of the guard in terms of enzymes. A more detailed account of what to expect and why it’s happening could be very helpful – signposts in the sea, as it were – along with a good timeline of when the sailing gets much smoother. I’m sure it’s different for everyone but an overview of general expectations would be a lifeline for the early weeks when the transition is underway and everything seems so grim.
    Finally, I’d be interested in an examination of carb “addiction” – if that’s actually a physiological thing and not just a psychological one. Again, it would be helpful in terms of the long-term success of the eating approach and also getting started in the first place. Are carbs in fact like booze and for some people they’re impossible to moderate? Or is that a pop-psych idea that has no basis in reality?
    Thank you again for your truly life-changing work. I am looking forward to the new book.

  152. Sorry, did not mean to suggest that Mary Dan’s blog was not nuanced, but that my understanding of the issue has lacked nuance. Thanks.

  153. I would love to hear your take on the Mediterranean Diet. Many folks who think I’m nuts promoting HFLC use the MedDiet as the crux of their argument for why low carb and saturated fat is bad and unnecessary. It seems to me people with an agenda create their own version of a MedDiet to support whatever their agenda is and call it the definitive MedDiet.

      1. Kate M., June 3, 2014 at 12:57 pm
        Your comment is awaiting moderation.
        I think it is a great idea! I so appreciate your research and dissemination of the Protein Power message. I say continue in the same vein and include the updated research. My one suggestion to make the book truly user-friendly is to list page numbers whenever a recipe is mentioned so it is easy for the reader to proceed with the plan. That would make the book perfect! I look forward to the book.
        Reply

  154. Hi Dr. Eades. I am so excited that you will be updating and re-releasing Protein Power. I’d love for you to include information on Intermittent Fasting and your current thinking on the helpfulness of it. Also, what about the so-called “safe starches” and “resistant starches’? AND–Re-itering tips on how to stay low-carb for a lifetime (maybe some new ones!) and also, what to do if you’ve had several rounds with low carb over your adult lifetime and it just doesn’t seem to work anymore. oy!!!!

  155. Love the idea of anniversary follow-up book.
    I’d like to see all charts in one section in front or back, so they’re easier to find. In PPLP, they’re sprinkled throughout the book, hard to find.
    When discussing supplements to take during l.c. and after, use a chart and locate with other charts.
    When discussing caveats to l.c. lifestyle (health checks for iron; using enough salt; drinking enough water, etc.) use a chart and locate with other charts, otherwise hard to find and frustrating.
    Generally make the book more user-friendly so that important info can be found easily, all in one place.
    I liked PPLP better than PP, thought it to be much more informative, persuasive, helpful, and interesting.
    Love your carb-counter book but that shouldn’t be in the new book. I don’t want meal plans or recipes in the new book, only info relating to how to “do” l.c., why low-carbers should do what you’re going to talk about, and what’s the most efficacious way.
    People who aren’t diagnosed as diabetic but who get fat and sick on carbs need to read the truth in an honest book. I lost 50#, but stalled for 2 years. Recently bought a glucometer — very revealing, confirming that I often have high b.s. which of course is stalling further weight loss–no glucagon in presence of insulin; our carbs are very low. Maybe the gluose info, over time, will help with further fat loss. In the a.m. b.s. is over 100; at bedtime, usually under 100. Fluctuates during the day, I don’t worry about that but do worry about the high numbers in the morning.
    Have read articles saying HGH may be responsible for high number in the a.m. but if other things can affect morning reading I’d like that to be discussed in the new book. One article claims that coconut oil raises blood sugar; if so, seems that should be in the book also, given that c. oil is one of the fats of choice.

  156. Hi Dr. Eades!
    Thanks for recommending the Big Fat Surprise book!!! I have been through it a few times, now. I think I’m going to buy several copies and keep one with me at all times to give away. People need to read it.
    About Protein Power 2.0… my interests for the new edition would be:
    the ketogenic diet
    a discussion of intermittent fasting and meal timing. (My own history indicates frequent meals (<4 hours) makes my BG go haywire. If I limit to 2 meals a day, my BG is MUCH more stable.)
    gut microbiome, and how to optimize your gut bugs… are there special challenges on LC? Like this resistant starch movement. Are there gut bugs that I'm not feeding by avoiding all starchy foods? Do I get a benefit from getting and feeding those bugs?
    thanks for blogging!
    Ramona Denton

    1. Hi Ramona. Great to hear from you; glad to hear you’re doing well and liked BFS. Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Cheers– MRE

  157. I’m stuck, mid-60s, female, obese, feel lousy, and not sure what to address first: really high levels of stress (long-time friend has heart & pulmonary issues, another has statins side effects, another is bipolar, and mom has increasing cognitive issues *sigh*), exercise which I hate, thyroid that tests OK & then really flow (TSH & free T3 & 4), I’m off wheat tho I do eat organic Einkorn pasta once a month, I eat lower carb but give in to desserts too often (too tired to cook desserts when I come home & weekends are errands for me & my diabetic legally-blind friend with the heart & pulmonary issues). Plus, I have sleep apnea; melatonin keeps me asleep but I have trouble falling asleep even using emWave trainer and sleep entrainment tapes. Do use topical progesterone (3 wks on, 1 wk off). Use CAN-C drops for the cataracts they detected in 2004 and there’s been remission to a good place. I take enough supplements to equal a mini-meal! They help but wow the cost, yikes!
    Please give us stressed-out baby boomers some help in dealing with an aging body, changing hormones, intellectually demanding jobs, friends who have the same if not worse situations. This is so challenging. Which of the 52 cards floating above my head do I grab and deal with first is the constant refrain. Deal with one and another pops up. If it were easy, we’d all be slim again right? Some guidelines/suggestions please.
    The idea is to eat sufficiently low enough carbs to initiate fat-burning evidenced by ketones–right? Too, eat sufficient healthy fats (not polys or too much monos) to make food enjoyable but not stop fat burning–right? Exercise to ensure no age-related strength loss, maintain bone density, and add stretching to remain limber and retain balance/proprioceptors — right?
    Loved the books, bought PP 3 times (kept getting borrowed) and …LifePlan. Still have the mini-cheesecake receipe from the paperback…I add lemon extract & zest when I find time (been at least 2 yrs now) to make & bake ’em…yum. Please update PP and add a section for us ‘getting older and it’s not so much fun’ folks.

  158. I’d love to see a section on insulin resistance related hormonal issues for women, like PCOS and the relative newcomer on the research horizon, Insulin Resistance related lactation failure. I’m sure that men also have hormonal problems related to the Insulin master being dysregulated, but the lactation issue is a pet of mine. I am an admin on a support group for women with lactation failure, where the vast majority joining show signs of IR. We need your message now as much as ever!

  159. Thank you, Drs. Mike and Mary Dan, for your plans to update PP. We would urge you to keep the sense and style of PP2 the same as PP, but with more information about the prehistory and prehistoric-man-findings of your studies, greater depth of current data, and addition of new findings. PP needs NO improving – only updating. It is a Bible. It presents nutritional truth.
    About PP content and title: Do not let your publisher kill a God-Given Gift for any reason. We need your knowledge and judgment. You may have to consider doing a series of books to help your many followers with special needs, but we feel PP must continue to present the fundamental nutritional science that optimal health requires. Beyond that, the body will heal itself; many problems will be cured.
    You are the true pioneers in nutritional science. Your dedicated and detailed study of prehistoric man combined with years of successful clinical experience led you to the unearthing of the first and most important natural law that describes the appropriate fuel for the human metabolic energy system. That law is the directive for low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets.
    We believe that the general public and even some authors of nutrition texts do not have the slightest understanding or appreciation of your discovery. They think it is just another interesting diet plan. We believe that, in essence, the law you brought to light says that intake of glucose-producing foods (carbohydrates) must be kept within an amount that supports normal blood glucose levels but does not disrupt normal insulin (or other system) physiology (we are sure you could define it better).
    This law is compatible with the many levels of individual biochemical needs in carbohydrate intake, all of which are still within the boundary set by the law. We consider that your recommendations on carbohydrate consumption represent natural law because they are explained by and consistent with the science of nutritional biochemistry and they are reproducible clinically.
    We second the comments that suggest exercise as a topic. We have been very concerned that the fitness folk have taken over the low-carbohydrate diet, which they call the Paleo diet and make it a subordinate issue. We think they have their priorities reversed. No amount of exercise will correct damage done by unsound nutrition. Optimal health comes first and then whatever activities you enjoy and make you feel good.
    Since the Paleo movement was started by coaches and trainers, they may have assumed that Paleo man spent a lot of time body building. We feel it is more logical that Paleo man behaved more like his contemporary predator cats; ran like crazy after game, made and gorged on the kill, and then fell asleep for a day or two with a full belly. In any event, “Paleo diet” has become like “Mediterranean diet” – a label whose specifics must be defined to be understood. This is why we refer to the Eades diet (the diet laid down by natural law) as the evolutionary diet.
    Bless your noble works and the good health and wellbeing you have brought to more people than you will ever know. PP2 will continue as your gift to generations yet to come.

  160. In one of your blogs you told of the three patients who had the greatest effect on your medical practice. Their stories need to be in the book!

    1. I think one or two may be in Protein Power, at least I’m pretty sure one is from my recent retread. But it’s a good idea to put them all. Thanks

  161. Im getting different ideas of what the science says about the harmful affects of to much protein. What’s the latest research teaching us. Ive heard that if you go over a certain percentage it will shorten life. Everyone says they are only following the science but thet seem to conflict. I’ve had your book for almost 20 years on my bookshelf, thanks for all you two have done! Rich

  162. My apologies if this has already been said but some serious detail on cholesterol levels. I’m a 42 year old healthy female with what is considered very high chol (242) but my ratios are great, etc. All of my numbers are fine (high hdl, low triglycerides, very low VLDL) except maybe the LDL is a little high but I *think* as a woman this is not something I need to be worried about. But I would love a section that talked about when and if a high total # is something to worry about and details what we now know about inflammation being the culprit etc. For as much as I’ve read (a ton) it is still really hard to ignore my doctor when he says it’s too high, go on a low fat diet (never. ever.). My gut tells me my numbers are probably perfect, for me. And protective. But I would sleep better hearing that from Dr. Eades. 🙂

      1. And I will. Thank you. Glad the tide is finally turning, thanks to the relentless work of you and others (I bought and read “Big Fat Surprise” and loved it). PP is still my bible; looking forward to the update.

  163. Firstly I think PP 2.0 is a great idea and thankyou for writing for us all.
    For me TPD, PP and GCBC books between them gave me the conviction to persist in changing my diet until I arrived at a happy medium which is sustainable, this took a few years, maybe many people found it a lot easier than me, but I think the psychology involved in weaning yourself off a high-carb diet deserves a lot more attention, I found your book MAM very useful in this regard, so any more tips in this area I think could be useful for some readers.

  164. Salts / electrolytes, leg cramps and constipation.
    Also is the typical “bad breath” association with ketosis actually due to ketosis (acetone doesn’t smell the same) or is it an excessive amount of protein leading to ammonia based odours where people don’t embrace high fat.

  165. It would be great if you could shed some light on the debate about Saturated Fat – supposedly being inflammatory and its negative effects on Leptin.
    The traditional low carb view tends to be that saturated fat, in the absence of carbs is OK, but some authors (e.g. Leo Galland and Ron Rosedale) seem to suggest that saturated fat intake has highly significant effects on Leptin and that, in turn, will make weight loss much less efficient.
    It would be great to have your take on this as long term low carbing without the pleasant aspects of saturated fats is a much harder road to follow.
    Many thanks.

  166. To me, one of the most striking parts of your previous book was the pair of photos of the same man when he was low-fat high-cardio versus low-carb and resistant-training. I show this to friends and family who can’t believe it’s the same person. I am struck by how scrawny and sickly the first guy in the first photo looks compared to the well proportioned guy in the second. I could almost see an introductory page asking the question, “does this person *look* healthier in the first or second photo?”
    Also, it would be great to read more about the actual science behind the biochemistry of how foods get broken down by enzymes into other molecules and transported around the body (the Ottobanis come to mind).
    For me, eliminating or reducing foods that increase blood sugar, trans fats, and seed oils has been straightforward — along with increasing saturated fats (mostly through butter, coconut oil, and eggs). However, for further “health”, I feel that there are things like thyroid health, leaky gut, etc. would best be done with a healthcare professional. Would you want to describe where people can go for professional help? I know of a couple websites (paleodocs), but I feel greater visibility could be shared in this area.
    Finally, for those of us who enjoy our vino, and inherently know that too much is bad–but would enjoy hearing about wine (or alcohol) within the context of low-carb, it would be great to have a section addressing how alcohol is metabolized versus carbs, proteins, fats, etc.
    Thanks!

  167. Why do we like sweets so much?
    How about: Paleolithic man was already programed to seek sweet by evolution (minor genetic mutations or adaptations?) to protect his blood glucose level? He could not help it!

  168. I would like to know in more detail about having some carbs before a big run. I have heard about having complex carbs / starch ( like in the form of sweet potato that has been cooked, cooled, and then eaten) and the effects. I would also like to know if you do serious damage by having an occasional cheat meal. If this cheat meal is even more damaging on the low carb / high fat diet than if you didn’t eat this way. Please she’d some light on this subject. I have eaten this way for years now but do have pizza occasionally. I’m sorry, I’m weak. I would like to be perfect but I’m not.

  169. You and others have provided a lot of good info, and every book has an index, but I’d like to see something in more of a flowchart form.
    Some people follow the recommendations and have great results, but others may have specific issues (that you’ve seen over and over), and I think a flowchart would be much more useful.
    Example:
    Do you feel sluggish? — then this could have several branches with questions, which you could put resources/page numbers on with suggestions.
    or
    Are your cholesterol numbers getting worse? — what tests should you do, which numbers you should care about, what things you should try

  170. I’m 61 and have been an Avid Bodybuilder, since my early 50’s. I’m continually looking for any New Thoughts on Diet for my Age Group. I first read your Original Protein Power Book in the late 90’s, and it Really Struck a Chord with me, since I was already eating High Protein, High Fat, and Low Carb. So if there’s anything New that you’ve come across. I would be Greatly Interested.

  171. Dr. Mike, after reading your blog post and all the comments submitted so far, I think you will have to write an encyclopedia to cover it all! Whatever you write will be eagerly read because your writing style is terrific. Wit and wisdom keep us coming back for more.
    Thanks again for your time and knowledge!

  172. You have an excellent understanding of what good science (the method) *should* look like. I think this is a truly rare gift and you should try to impart it on others. Explicitly.
    Your book could be the perfect opportunity to provide some general science education, using the field of nutrition for current & historical examples (of the good & the bad). Not a rehash of GCBC (hence ‘nutrition history’), but more like a history of the scientific method with a particular focus on nutrition for context.
    Thanks in advance! 🙂

  173. 1. A specific A1c target is needed imo because no matter how many times an epicurean diabetic patient has it tested they somehow never convey the target A1c number back to the stoic person doing the grocery shopping, meal preparation, etc.
    2. Just finished The Big Fat Surprise (and also sent a copy to my doc daughter). So now “lard” is showing up in the grocery stores – but it is 40% or 60% hydrogenated. Then there’s all the “gluten free” foods that are ruined in other ways. “We” are going to need our own “stamp of approval” on foods to seriously improve our batting average in the grocery stores.
    3. Woefully inadequate treatment of the financials. Maybe it has to be that way?
    4. Your appliances are not only bigger than my budget, they are bigger than my kitchen. Long shot, but could they replace our typically like new – but never used – dishwasher? Again only now do I learn neoglucogenesis not a problem with meat. Aaaaargh.
    5. Have mutliple copies of all your books. 6 week sucked imo but all the rest are great. Even 6 week had useful information (but I’ll never get back the weeks I spent questing after “leucine”. I think Chuck Berry singing “leucine” honey is that you? Might as well just have sung it for the looks I got questing after leucine). 6 week also sucked because to work you have to clear the liver by going off depacote / divalproex except if that’s being used to control MANIA how likely is that to be a good idea?
    You’re the best there is but there is still new information and a huge need to get better imo.

      1. Wow. Thanks.
        Adding this to “slow burn” and a few other things maybe I can finally slam dunk a basketball this year at age 66:-)

        1. Tom,
          This is 2014.
          I can list quite a number of places where it was not to be found when “6 weeks” was first published; which was the relevant gripe.
          Also, I could point out that the “6 weeks” book / subsequent discussion acknowledged many readers were baffled at where to get leucine and even posted that an online resolution would be forthcoming – which it never did iirc.
          Finally, you must know that any worthwhile supplement quickly has about a zillion spin-offs with extra ingredients all supposedly having further efficacy, more appropriate dosage, etc.
          The whey protein powder I used for a while DID already include leucine but it took serious effort to find it on the label. Now years later leucine is not on the label.
          I’m in Minnesota. We do have an abundance of pests already,

          1. You’re probably right. L-leucine may have been a lot harder to get back then. I wasn’t thinking of that.

          2. Howard, I bought the book the week it came out. And the day it arrived I ordered leucine at the first place I looked, true protein. And I got it unadulterated – I didn’t have to buy it in any other supplement.
            Google is pretty good at finding those needles in a haystack. (And Google was around when the book came out.)

  174. It’s great that you’ll be writing an updated book.
    I lost significant weight with low carb, which I was never able to do by following a low calorie, low fat diet. I understand why low carb works, but I don’t understand why some people can lose weight eating low fat. I’d like to know the explanation for that.
    Here’s my most crucial question:
    After getting down to my final weight, I developed severe insomnia, often accompanied by anxiety. I tried many different supplements and remedies, then several prescription drugs for insomnia. Only two of the drugs worked, but both caused rapid weight gain. I don’t take either drug now, still have insomnia, and can’t get rid of the excess weight. Is it possible for drugs to have a permanent effect on the metabolism? Is there anything I can do? I eat very low carb and I do not cheat. I eat even more strictly than I did while I was actively losing weight, but I’ve lost only about 6-8 lbs in the past year, and have another 12 or so to get back to where I was.
    I’ve also had noticeable (to me) hair loss over the past couple of years. My doctor dismissed it as just heredity, but it seems to have happened rather suddenly. I take biotin daily, but I don’t know that it makes any difference.
    I’m also interested in the connection between low carb and autoimmune conditions. I know that Loren Cordain has written and spoken about this, but thought you might want to address this issue.
    Thanks for asking for our input. I hope you’ll still have time to post on this blog. A new post is always a treat.

  175. Do LDL particle sizes or LDL particle numbers really mean anything or is this more chasing details down the wrong rabbit hole? What percentage of the population has had this advanced lipid testing? Enough to draw any meaningful conclusions, associations or conjectures? What about blog reports of people with very high LDL particle numbers and zero calcium scan scores?
    I have read that people with heterogenous FH who live beyond middle age (45-60?) have no different life expectancy than anyone else of the same age(Anthony Colpo’s The Great Cholestrol Con, Appendix H with references on page 409).
    If the chronic immflamation theory of CVD is the more likely correct theory and lipid hypothesis wrong, can we just stop testing lipids. Just what do these lipid numbers mean?
    If someone is already eating a well-formulated low carb diet (ala Phinney & Volek), getting adequate daily movement, enough sleep and fresh air, what would any numbers mean in terms of change in lifestyle?
    Thanks for asking for our input. Looking forward to the second edition.

  176. Hey Dr. Mike…
    Is there any chance of an update to your very cool SHORT book, THE 30-DAY LOW CARB SOLUTION?
    This would be a great book to update, and one you COULD change the name of, maybe something like THE PROTEIN POWER 30-DAY QUICK START GUIDE or something along those lines. I have bought this book for a number of people who I am pretty sure would get bogged down in the length and the science in the longer description in PP.
    I confess, so far, not one person I’ve given this book to has become a long-term low-carb follower. But I do believe in the value of having a quick start book to give to people who are ready to try, but need very simple instructions without all the science and references and road blocks. A HOW TO, without too much WHY. That’s why I continue to give this book to people who want to know more about low carb.
    just an idea…

    1. Thanks for the suggestion. The 30-day book was printed by a different publisher, so updating it would involve an entirely different set of people. Maybe after Protein Power.

  177. Hi!
    I’ve been low-carb for about 3 years.
    I’d like the book to be an up-to-date compendium of all your books – that’d be the most important, having all the important information in one place.
    Some miscellaneous topics I’d be interested in are the acid-alkaline diet and more on exercise and growth hormone – since reading PP I’ve seen other, conflicting information. I think i’m forgetting some things…I’ll add another comment when I remember.

  178. Just reading all the comments is enlightening and leads to further research and learning possibilities, seeing them even partially addressed in your new book would be helpful. I fall in the category of older women who have stalling problems. In the above comments the thyroid has been mentioned, however, I would like to add the adrenal gland and fatigue and how cortisol and the diet interact. Hopefully if you wife isn’t up to writing a book then someone else reading your blog will take up the challenge. Thanks for leading the dietary information revolution.

  179. I would like to see some of the information in “Protein Power Lifeplan” incorporated into this book, including research updates and information on supplements. Wouldn’t mind a revised addition of that book either! (as a cardiac RN it’s easier to talk to skeptical colleagues with research based evidence…) Also, any age related discussion, i.e. nutrition for teenagers and young children. (Do they NEED extra carbs for growth, energy, etc? Any connections between ADD-type probs and carbs in children?)

  180. Started low carb mid-May 2014. Drinking 64+ ounces water. Struggling with pain back of my legs and ankles. Feels like tendon pain. Achey not crampy. Not doing any strenuous activity. Out of shape so being careful not to do more than daily activities. Started potassium, but still haven pain. Very uncomfortable.
    Help. Starting week 5. Would walking on my treadmill help?

    1. It might help. Give it a try to see. And make sure you’re getting plenty of sodium. You really need extra when starting a low-carb diet.

      1. Oh, I didn’t realize. It makes sense now that you point it out because the processed foods have a lot of salt added. How much sodium should I consume each day and is a particular type of salt better than another? I never salted when I ate processed foods. Now cooking more and eating more veggies.

    2. I started taking my potassium with magnesium after reading above in this blog that they should be taken together and it has made a difference in the back of my legs and in general.

  181. The table on BF calculations in Thin So Fast was outstanding. Haven’t seen anything like that anywhere else before or after. Could merit a reprint.

    1. Agreed. When we compared those to bioimpedance measurements in our clinic, they were right on the money. In fact, we used them to double check our devices when we thought we had incorrect readings.

  182. I will chime in with others who have requested some help for menopausal women. I lost 25 lb easily the first time I did low-carb (using the Protein Power book) in 1998. Then I regained (having thought PP was a diet, not a lifestyle, and I could go off it); lost the same 25 pounds again in 2004 (using, I think, the Protein Power LifePlan book, which I liked better for its explanations of things and clearer guidelines).
    After 2006 and menopause it became increasingly difficult to lose weight or keep it off, and my husband actually has the same difficulty now that he’s older too. So maybe some attention to the older person in general.
    I don’t have an autoimmune condition but my husband does, dermatitis herpitiformus (which I figured out after a gastro MD ran tests and told him he didn’t have celiac disease and should take wheat fiber pills). So we’ve been gluten-free for about 9 years without resorting to GF frankenfoods. I guess you could call it gluten-free paleo. You’d think that would keep us slim, but it doesn’t, or at least an 80/20 or even 90/10 approach does not. It’s just maddeningly frustrating to be at our age and feel we are doing everything right short of starving ourselves, and still it’s a struggle to lose weight or maintain weight loss.
    We are very close to 60 now, and the only thing we’ve seen some results from recently is the very strict approach of Sarah Ballantyne in her book The Paleo Approach. Wow, no alcohol, coffee, dairy, tomatoes, or even eggs – not to mention the foods we were already avoiding (grains, seed oils, sugars, and the usual other suspects). But I’ve shed 8 pounds and he’s lost 15.
    Glad to hear you’ll be working on this updated volume and I’ll look forward to ordering it when it comes out.
    Anne

    1. Hi Anne
      Thanks for weighing in. It is really clear that folks who read Protein Power 20 some years ago were those in their 40s first struggling with excess weight. Now those same people are in their 60s and finding the same efforts just don’t get the job done any longer. We’ll certainly address these issues in the new edition.

  183. We started PP in 1999. The first 2 yrs were great. Then, after having a baby, I noticed there were times of intense craving for food. These cravings continued until I dumped the wheat from our diet. You recommendation of Dr. Davis Wheat Belly was VERY important in helping us get rid of the cravings, and MANY other lingering health problems.
    I feel that the PP diet must have almost no grains as a source of carbs.
    Another issue that needs to be addressed in the rising incidence of hypothyroidism. We don’t just need Vit C, and Potassium, but also more iodine added into our diet.
    The next thing I feel needs to be addressed, is the importance of fat for our brains. Grain Brain has been wonderful.

  184. Hi Dr. Eades ~
    I’ve been a fan since reading “Protein Power” way back in 1997 or so. Have you addressed body aches? I don’t believe that I’ve seen anything on it, although I have to confess not reading all of the comments above.
    If there is a connection between LCHF and even thyroid issues, I’d love to hear about it. Thanks for your work. How lucky we are that you are such a wonderful science nerd! I’m very grateful to have found the Eades (plural).

  185. I have followed your books since the start and have always appreciated your honest and scientific approach to diet and nutrition and a projection of real concern for the health of your readers. In spite of the many books I have read on nutrition ( started reading Rodale and adele Davis way back when and have read Atkins and others in addition to yourss) I have found myself getting stuck from time to time just as badly as a newbie who is just starting to learn low carbing. My suggestion is to organize the application section in a way that allows a reader toneasily navigate the informationp through thr stages from the beginning, stage by stage to long term maintenance. The visual/graphical approach could be organized around a road map; with major and minor roadways that lead you to what to do when, how much to eat, what to avoid; obstacles to avoid, landmarks to watch for along the way. The map would allow you to quickly find where you are and where you are going at every stage of the low-carb journey. An alternative metaphor might be a ship navigating an indeterminant ocean with many directions and routes to healthy weight and living depending on individual needs. In both scenarios, you and/or your wife serve as navigator(s) The traveler along the road or by boat/ship could also jump levels as in a nintendo game as a way to get the the next diet stage after achieving certain milestones. In any event, the reader would be able to see where they are in the process without having to re-read a long section of the book.

  186. I hope everyone understands that you will never be able to do service to each and every one of the topics mentioned here in a single book, or even in a series of new books.
    Not only that, but many of the basic questions some are asking can easily be answered with a quick search on your blog. “Any tips for starting a low-carb diet?” Ummm, that’s almost verbatim the title of a two-part series here.
    You’ve been most generous with giving out tons of information for free on this blog. Regardless of what you include in your next book(s), I’ll have them on pre-order with Amazon (through this site) as soon as they are announced.

    1. I truly appreciate your support through all these years. And you’re right, we’ll never be able to write on each and every one of the topics people commented on. But I want to see them to know what the greatest number of people want to see.

  187. Would love to see a section, chapter, list…whatever is easiest for readers to reference…of all the many, many, throughout history, proclamations of settled science which later were proven to be both untrue and ultimately harmful in pursuit of the truth. Earth center of the universe; Ulcers caused by stress; Saturated fats clod arteries; Man made global warming…..etc, etc.
    Most appreciative of all you and MD have done. Don’t know where all the energy comes from, but sure pleased you good folks have it! Many thanks.
    Tom

    1. Tom
      What? You are a denier? A skeptic? Even despite all the cogent proofs, like, ad hominem, appeal to authority, red herring, begging the question, Argumentum verbosium, holier than thou…
      I am shocked Sir.

    2. The science on anthropogenic climate change has just got firmer and firmer over the years. The consensus among scientists is now so strong that, at the last count, out of well over 2000 papers published in a year, only ONE did not accept that consensus. I know this is off-topic, but I follow the global science as a science writer (and there’s masses of it!), and I just can’t let such a comment pass unchallenged. In fact, there are links between our plight as people who gain weight and the human activities that have triggered or exacerbated climate change.

  188. YES! Please give us an updated Protein Power! Perhaps you can include a chapter on fasting – I do 16:8 and feel so much sharper and clear headed. It took a good month for my morning hypoglycemic episodes to vanish, but vanish they did, and I’m the sharpest 60 year old in our early morning Bible study.
    Also, please give a concise way of eating low carb that does not involve counting! After a lifetime of counting carbs, calories, fat grams (the early 90’s if you recall), Weight Watchers points, food exchanges and the like, I just can’t do it anymore. If you could just outline what it takes to do low carb without the numbers game, I’ll bet many of us would be thrilled. We are older and burnt out on “counting.” I personally feel that’s one reason paleo is so darn popular, and also why South Beach Diet caught on like it did. No numbers.
    So please – update your book! It’s long, long overdue!

  189. I shall definitely be one of the first to pre-order PP2.0! Ten years ago a friend recommended PP and following its guidelines I dropped 15 pounds and watched my total cholesterol plummet from 242 to 183. Alas, I succumbed to carb creep and put my weight back on and then some. Last fall I pulled myself together and have lost 30 lbs. I am 70 now and although I anticipated slower weight loss …
    1. Total cholesterol is edging UP. My GP wrote a scrip for Lipitor which I refuse to take. I am taking niacin, however, hoping my numbers will come down and thereby soothe my dr’s worries. (Triglycerides did drop drastically.)
    2. As a result of what seemed like nonstop labwork, I have been diagnosed with stage 3 CKD. This is apparently the side effect of 25+ years of daily doses of prescription strength nsaids. As my nephrologist said, there is no such thing as a totally benign drug.
    Eliminating ALL nsaids my GFR readings have improved although some other numbers are still out of whack. Protein level is normal and my UA was clean.
    My question is: Are there health conditions which would preclude LCHF?
    A friend insists that protein will damage my kidneys. The nephrologist didn’t even bring the subject up. He did specify low salt at which point I told him that my BP is coming down enough that I am occasionally light headed. I am expecting that Rx to change after my next visit. He also suggested that I be switched to a BP med that does not include a diuretic.
    I realize you cannot cover a dozen different medical conditions. With my kidneys something I need to be concerned about, I am doubly adamant not to go on statins. I could use some ammunition when I see my GP. Except for her fixation on cholesterol levels, I really like her and hate to quarrel with her.
    My best wishes for your labors.

  190. 1. My husband’s LDL cholesterol has gone way up on a low carb diet. He is otherwise very healthy. I have read everything I can to try to understand why this has happened, and although most low-carb authorities say not to worry if all the other numbers are OK, I’d still like to better understand what’s going on. This seems to happen to a lot of people who low-carb and it would be comforting to have some clarity on the issue.
    2. I am 53 years old and was very disappointed that you only recommended hormone supplementation in Middle-aged Middle to aid weight loss in women my age. Under no circumstances do I wish to mess around with my hormones! I have been very, very slowly losing weight by eating an extremely low carb diet, keeping my calorie intake fairly low (1600-1800) and being very patient! (I also eat Paleo with minimal dairy.) I am sure there are many other women who would appreciate advice and encouragement along these lines as well. (PS I am otherwise extremely healthy with absolutely no menopausal issues other than difficulty losing weight – very low carbing really seems to help.)
    3. I have supplemented my diet with various vitamins, etc., over the years and I am definitely better off without them. Supplementation for a few months or up to a year for people just starting low carb/paleo may be a good idea, but there is the possibility that long-term supplementation may be risky, especially fish oil. I wish you would discuss both the pros and cons of supplementation, because it is not a black and white issue.
    Looking forward to the new book – thanks so much for all that you do!

  191. I would be very interested if you could refute Paul jaminet’s safe starches arguments and the need for 100-150g carbs a day. Read the zero carb dangers posts. He claims that its possible to have a carbohydrate deficiency. (and he also doesnt count veggies as a source of carbs). If you could make a post on that or answer me in a comment about this issue I would appreciate it.

    1. I may address all this before the book comes out. I’ve just recently gotten the book, so I need to read it before I can comment intelligently.

      1. Good news ! I’ve been anxious to hear your review of his dietary strategy…..the whole ‘safe starch’ thing didn’t resonate with me.

  192. Susan, thanks – glad I’m not alone! I believe that those of us who are older (and if we well remember Protein Power from 20 years ago…yeah, we’re older!) are just totally burnt out on counting anything anymore.
    Doctor Mike, I truly believe you would have a runaway best seller on your hands if you take the fantastic information you have given us over the years, and just give guidelines on what to eat, what not to eat, etc. Simplify it as much as possible. Honestly, I am so done with any diet old or new that asks me to count another carb gram. That’s no way to live!
    Dr. Mike, your blog is and has been the absolute best. Thank you for years of smart blogging and all the informative, smart, deeply helpful information you have given us.

  193. Wow, I completely understand if you don’t get down this far in the comments for feedback on the new edition! Isn’t it great to have these many readers of your blog and participants in the process.
    I’m a health educator and advise people on diets, stressing low carb and ketogenic. So here are my suggestions:
    1. A great description of ketosis – your blog post on it a few years ago was fantastic as I remember. I think Volek and Phinney did a pretty bang up job of it in The Art and Science, but a lot of people reported to me that they couldn’t get thru that book very well because it was a little more clinical. I’ve not read a really good description of it in any other diet book. The description should include not only what it is metabolically, but what are the parameters for getting into it (like is 20g really necessary and can you hack it a bit by doing stuff like MCTs, which according to Terry Wahls, give you more ketones per gram of fat and lets you get away with a little more CHO); and how to best measure it. Also please stress that it’s a process, not an event, and that full keto-adaptation takes a few months and you might feel off with exercise until you’re better adapted. Folks tend to set themselves up for failure by going hog wild all in, all at once: e.g., 20g CHO plus CrossFit in week 1.
    2. Realistic expectations on rate of weight loss. I’ve been doing this a long time and my experience is that the big early drops in weight loss in ketosis are only in folks who have a lot of fluid retention. Most folks take a good long time to lose significant weight and expectations to the contrary given to them by diet book authors are a formula for feeling as though they failed.
    3. Yes, the aging repeat dieter! My two cents on that are that calories are a bigger issue initially and need to be monitored more carefully (we have, in fact, gotten used to bigger portions which may not be a problem for the youngsters, but is trouble for the aging hormonally challenged metabolism). This isn’t quite an issue once in solid ketosis as hunger goes away and calories drop naturally. Also, in my experience, the exercise piece is critical for dropping blood sugar (and probably also stimulating muscle LPL in menopausal women and older men). I know a lot of younger folks do well losing weight in ketosis without exercise, but not over a certain age it often seems.
    Addressing the menopause issue would be helpful as well. I see a lot of high insulin scores + high CRPs (like really high) in the mix of menopausal women trying to lose weight. And their scores stay pretty high even after significant weight loss (like some even after 40+ pounds).
    4. I agree with others here that carb cravings are related to dopamine. We’re probably mostly dopamine burned out by our stressful lives. Adaptogens like rhodiola, or amino acids like phenylalanine or glutamine seem to have some support.
    5. The thyroid thing! The Kopp 2004 paper (Medical Hypotheses: 62, 871-874) that suggested that the metabolism of dietary carbohydrate is thyroxine demanding, and that reducing dietary CHO creates a modification in thyroid hormone levels that are not reflected in physical signs or symptoms (like temperature) is compelling to the argument that’s been going on in the low-carbosphere. As you’re well aware I’m sure, Rosedale says it’s an adaption; others say you’re killing your thyroid. I can report that it’s out there enough that patients are afraid.
    6. Maybe a discussion of the Ludwig (JAMA 2012) paper, in which folks on the HFLC diet regained much of their pre-weight loss resting energy expenditure. That’s a huge benefit for weight loss maintenance (dare I say it’s the closest thing we have to an actual metabolic advantage, but I don’t want to rouse The Colpo).
    Congratulations on the 20th anniversary (I actually read it 20 years ago), good luck on the revision, and I look forward to the new edition!

  194. Can you also help me through science convince my Dr. Husband that its time to move on from being a vegetarian?! I don’t even love meat that much and I feel that the science is indisputable…

  195. “My question is: Are there health conditions which would preclude LCHF?”
    I second KateQ’s comment. I realize you can’t write the all-inclusive encyclopedia we all want, but a *short* chapter mentioning conditions in which the diet wouldn’t be recommended would be a plus.
    Instead of comprehensive discussions of some conditions that might be pretty rare, you could include references for additional reading about them.

  196. Have all your books (even audio cassettes) plus your recent recommended books e.g. Volek & Phinney, Teicholz, Minger. Extremely helpful.
    The person I care most about helping is my wife who sort of seems to get it, then watches Dr. Oz or some other poseur and detours to another planet. Its like he’s on TV so it must be true.
    Rereading your 6-week book (since I made a snarky comment about it recently) good grief you were once again ahead of pretty much everybody, and right about saturated fat, and right to be still a bit cautious at that time pending further studies. There’s all kinds of great info in that book. My frustration was more how we botched the implementation.
    So why have I done such poor job of helping my wife? Sadly, its probably a great job compared to most, but the way I score its still pathetic.
    One example: 3 years in a row I had to copy a chapter from your book on cholesterol (great science and great writing imo) and hand carry it to my wife’s primary care doc just to keep her from being coerced into taking statins. Why does my wife keep this doc? Because she’s a woman and because she seems to care and because she’s a department head. OK, so there’s that aspect of the challenge.
    You attempt to get fast convincing results along the lines of “6 week” first 2 weeks – and you’ll find affordable blenders are so loud your spouse wakes up ready to kill you before the first shake is even prepared. How much will the average person spend for a blender if they only intend to use it for 2 weeks and have zero extra kitchen counter space?
    You attempt to make a low carb pizza and eventually you discover the labeling problem is so severe the stuff labeled “cheese” actually contains “potato starch”. Have enjoyed the many posts here about label follies.
    Maybe its just not practical to get older folks through an induction stage for this and many other reasons and I noticed the updated Atkins book and also Volek & Phinney allow for a “ongoing weight loss” starting point.
    Thyroid / iodine is another challenge. Docs test total T and if low they prescribe T4-only meds, total T comes down, and then they rest. May have no connection to actual condition of the patient. David Brownstein, et al are pushing the iodine loading test (and iirc you followed that approach and I may have liked to), but in his book he admits just the test put his mother in law in the hospital – but he dismissed it as some people just seem to react to everything. Being from Michigan he should know there are times when its too cold to sleep on the lawn which is what would happen in this household if the “some person” was my spouse. We did eventually get a full thyroid panel for my wife by paying for it ourselves – and did find a different doc – but somehow we just ended right back in the T4-only sand trap.
    Dare I use the word “slacker”? The original complaint against the obese that they eat too many calories and don’t exercise enough turns out to be mostly a bum rap. But maybe they are kind of slackers when it comes to fully understanding the science and advocating for themselves. The suffering is real, I can vouch for that. Maybe there needs to be chapter for slackers and their doctors? Realistic objectives and much simpler: many a pizza a day and 3 shakes could actually work if the many traps could be avoided?

    1. Chapter 10. Slackers and their doctors.
      Does have a certain ring to it. I’ll see what the publisher says.
      All kidding aside, sounds like you’re in a tough spot. I’ve had a few friends who constantly fall for whatever TV doc is ascendant at the moment recommends. Or worse, they fall for an article in one of the Sunday news mags. Many people know what they want to eat and so search until they find some ‘guru’ who tells them to eat it. People often lose all their skepticism when magazine articles or TV doctors tell them what’s right. Always reminds me of the great quote (probably falsely) attributed to George Carlin:

      Tell people there is an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they will touch it to be sure.

    2. I had bought and read Protein Power and it helped both my husband and myself. 6 Weeks for some reason never caught my attention until I read this blog last week (thank goodness for Kindle when you live overseas) – I obtained the D-Ribose and Leucine and started, what a difference in 4 days. About the blender, I think it will be useful in repeating the Protein Shake week every so often and therefore justify the cost.
      Treating the symptom and not the underlying cause is the order of the day and just read this interesting piece:
      http://chriskresser.com/the-right-and-wrong-way-to-treat-hormone-imbalance
      Medicine is kind of like a democracy, you need a well educated population.

  197. A search on “blood pressure” found several mentions here–but no one requesting an in-depth discussion of it, as it relates to carbs, fat, and protein and (I suppose) vitamin supplements, and, finally, age. What IS the lowdown on BP? It’s about the most confusing matter I’ve run up against, and none of your previous books really address it head-on and in-depth. But it’s certainly one of the most “popular” means the doctors have, of getting one on a regimen of pharmaceuticals (which usually proves useless–or worse), and on a schedule of pricey visitations (which also usually proves useless–and often worse). I think–I suspect–that “treating” hypertension is still one of medicine’s bigger con games. An in-depth discussion would be invaluable to many, I suspect.

    1. It has been my experience that about 75-80 percent of elevated blood pressure can be normalized quickly by following a low-carb diet. The other 20-25 percent doesn’t completely respond because there are other underlying problems.

  198. Several suggestions and some have been made:
    Low carb for those over 70 and ideas on meals that may be more appealing? My mother has become a little too thin and frail. As much as I want her to uptake her fat–the idea of anything other than yogurt and fruit in the a.m. is unappealing and all her other meals are quite small. Switching someone in their 70s to a healthy low carb diet can be tough.
    Second topic: What supplements? I realize the dieticians all say that if you follow their advice, you will get those vitamins, however, I have been reading that many fruits and veggies do not have nearly the vitamins due to soil depletion and losses occuring as they sit on a truck and a supermarket produce bin. Also have read that some vitamins cancel each other out and should be taken separately to avoid this result? What about vitamin K2? Fact or fiction regarding artherosclerosis(sp.?)
    Intermittent Fasting–how much of a difference to eat two meals a day instead of three?
    One big advantage this time is that there are so many more ingredients available for those that are passionate LC foodies. The non-sugar substitutes are great compared to twenty years ago. The availability of almond flour is super.
    How important are the fats: 6’s vs. 3’s? Does coconut oil offer a big advantage?
    Thank you for updating your book. I look forward to reading it (again)!

  199. Hello Dr. Eades!
    Congrats on the new book deal!
    Here are some topics I would love to be addressed. I’m currently doing my own personal research, and I’d love to hear your experience, expertise and advice on these issues. Thanks for your time 🙂
    1) For people who don’t need to lose weight, but want to build bigger muscle, what’s an effective and healthy strategy? Is ketosis a good strategy for building bigger muscles? Or not?
    2) How do ketogenic diets effect the functions of the thyroid, adrenals, other endocrine organs and systems? Can ketogenic diets help or hurt those organs and systems?
    3) For people wanting to lose weight, what’s an appropriate exercise program?
    4) What about low-carb dieters who stall in their weight loss progress? Loss some weight, and then stall. Strategies for them?
    5) You opinion(s) on gluten and it’s effect on health. Why people seem to becoming so much for sensitive to it these days
    6) Sugar alcohols: We have so many more sweetener choices that companies claim don’t spike blood sugars, but there is a lot of conflicting data. Some information about if they are ok to use to stay in ketosis AND which sugar alcohols are ketosis friendly and which ones are not.
    6-a) Are there any other health benefits or health risks to using sugar alcohols in your diet
    7) Do calories matter? Even if you’re eating a ketogenic diet?
    8) Effects of ketogenic diets in relation to acid/alkaline balance in the body, acid reflux, heartburn, etc.
    9) Other health benefits of ketogenic diets other than weight loss
    10) Effect of Ketosis on brain function, clarity of thought, etc.
    11) Studies of ketogenic diets and cancer research
    12) Ketosis vs. Keto-Adaption
    13) I read somewhere that one of the advantages of keto-adaption is that if you do indulge once in a while on starches and/or sugars, you will obviously have to get into ketosis BUT because there’s already ketones in your blood it doesn’t take another 2-4 weeks to get back to ketoadaption. Thoughts?
    14) Does too much dairy spike bloom sugars?
    15) Super starch? (mentioned by Peter Attia)
    Thank you so much!

    1. Thanks for the list. The book contract isn’t a done deal yet. We are just in discussions. However, given the response to this post, if we don’t reach an agreement, we may simply publish it ourselves. Maybe do a Kickstarter campaign for financing. Who knows? There are a lot of options.

      1. “The book contract isn’t a done deal yet.”
        Interesting. As an established and popular author, you should be approaching your publisher from a position of strength. You could always write the book you *want* to write, hire your own editor(s) and reviewer(s), and publish it on Kindle and/or CreateSpace. And completely dis-intermediate the traditional publishing industry. And maybe even make more money.

        1. Publishing is a strange business. Doesn’t work like any other I’ve ever been involved in, so has to be dealt with differently.
          If it doesn’t work out, we’ll do exactly as you describe. It’s way too easy to self publish these days, with multiple options available that weren’t in existence when we first wrote Protein Power.
          I’ve been debating doing a Kickstarter campaign (which is basically pre selling the book), but don’t know if that would work or not. And it takes a huge amount of work to create the video and all the other material that is needed for such a campaign.

        2. I think a lot of people don’t understand what publishing involves. Yes, it’s easier these days to get a book into print via self-publishing. The problem is that too many authors who go that route omit hiring editors and proofreaders, and the result is sometimes difficult to understand. The job of an editor is to place her/himself in the place of the reader and make sure it’s all clear, that terms used in chapter 2 aren’t defined until chapter 5, for instance. I’ve read self-published books that were so terribly written that I had to read each sentence twice to figure out what they were trying to say.
          But once the book is in print, the job isn’t finished. Publishers also do a lot of work getting the book to wholesalers and in stores, getting reviews, etc. Selling is different from writing. I’ve seen some good self-published books end up with low sales because the authors didn’t know how to market them. Writers are often lousy marketers.
          When you self-publish, you get a much larger cut of the net income, but you’ll likely sell fewer (there are occasional exceptions), and 100% of $9000 is the same as 10% of $90,000.
          I personally don’t buy books on Kindle if I can help it, but of course I was born in the last century.
          If offered the choice, I’d still opt for working through a publisher. But I hate marketing. The Eades have had experience there with the Sous Vide.

  200. Does a low carb diet cause bingeing? Is it harder to lose weight with low carb dieting the second time around? Why? Does low carb dieting cause physiological insulin resistance? Does insulin production actually decrease in an IR person with low carb diet?

  201. Mike,
    Does the timing of when you eat make any difference on the metabolic effect e.g. does eating 10 grams of carbs right before a workout have the same effect as eating it right before bed? I’m curious how much influence the body’s daily rhythm has on metabolism. Thanks.
    Brian

    1. Thanks for the link. I particularly enjoyed the quote below, which came after a description of the 2013 meta-analysis showing low-carb diets outperforming low-fat diets over the long term:

      A plausible, though unproven, explanation for these finds comes from David Ludwig of Boston University and Mark Friedman of the Nutrition Science Initiative. In a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and an accompanying editorial in the New York Times, they suggest that excessive consumption of carbohydrates leads the body to overproduce insulin, a hormone that converts those carbs into fat and stores them in body tissues. When food is preferentially stored instead of made available as fuel in the bloodstream, we feel hungrier. In a nutshell, we don’t get fat because we eat too much, we eat too much because we get fat – and carbs catalyse that unfortunate sequence of physiological events.

      As if those guys invented the idea of insulin resistance. Typical journalist.

  202. Protein Power was the book that set me on my way to vastly improved health, mentally as well as physically.
    Way back in 1999 is when I devoured your book and it changed my life.
    Thanks for that.
    Ron

  203. I didn’t read this whole thread. So, I don’t know if this has been said already. But, my vote would be to learn more about parents and how they might keep their children LC in a country/world awash with carbs.
    By the way, Happy Birthday big guy!!

  204. The effect of zero carbs, and how/if “excess” protein affects blood glucose and insulin.
    I am so freaking stoked at the thought of you two doing this.

  205. Hi, Please include a blog reference section……Your’s and MD’s blogs listed first, of course. There are so many other wonderful blogs….. ‘Hyperlipid’, ‘Fathead’, ‘Malcolm Kendrick’. ….
    Synergy and emergent properties might get a mention.
    Cereal grains with non-fat soy milk, with a side of genetically altered (from the 50’s, Norman Borlaug) grain toast slathered with brain cementing invented margarine- Frankenstein fat- topped with high fructose corn syrup ‘fruit’ spread, all grown on depleted soils topped with glyphosate herbicide infused fields- and with the added bad luck of also being on statins (now approved for children as young as 8)— the sum may be far worse than the isolated parts.

  206. I’ve already commented on my loss of 145 pounds = thank you, Protein Power. I have 30 more to lose and I’m failing miserably so far. I’m maintaining but not losing. Here’s the daily food intake of a fitness star:
    The Rock’s Hercules Eating Plan – SEVEN Meals a Day!
    Meal One: 10 ounces (280 grams) of filet steak, four egg whites, five ounces (140 grams) of oatmeal
    Meal Two: Eight ounces (225 grams) of chicken, two cups of white rice, one cup of broccoli
    Meal Three: Eight ounces of halibut fish, two cups of white rice, one cup of asparagus
    Meal Four: Eight ounces of chicken, 12 ounces (340 grams) of baked potato, one cup of broccoli
    Meal Five: Eight ounces of halibut fish, one-and-a-half cups of white rice, one cup of asparagus
    Meal Six: Eight ounces of filet steak, nine ounces (255 grams) of baked potato with salad
    Meal Seven: 30 grams of casein protein, 10 egg whites with onions, capsicum and mushrooms
    I don’t eat that much in a year.

    1. 145 lbs is nothing to sneeze at. As you’ve discovered, it starts getting tougher to get those last pounds off.
      And you’re right. That is indeed a lot of food.

  207. Something that I would like to see in the new Protein Power is tables or bulletted lists entitled something like “On a Daily Basis We Recommend…” and it has, for instance, entries on which supplements to take on a daily or weekly basis. It would have bulleted statements like which oils to use/avoid on a daily basis, how many egg yolks to have on a daily basis, how much water to drink, how many servings of berries or other high-OREC foods to consume, blanks in which to fill in our total protein requirement for each day, I hope you get the drift. All this information is in the book, but I would like to see it gathered in one list, with page number references included at the bottom, so I could refresh my memory on the particulars of a concept. We are retired, but extremely busy. I would like a check list, that I am urged to copy and post on the kitchen cabinet door, listing what I need to do every day. I could go down the list and think, “Okay done, this, this and this, still need to do this today.”
    I have a comment to make on a post that closed June 11, the one where you used pedophilia by a beloved politician as an example. I don’t think that is a good example for the psychological principle you were writing about. I have a profound knowledge of the pedophilia topic and have analyzed it and thought about it for 25 years, as a necessary adjunct to mental healing. The more socially sophisticated, educated and intelligent a pedophile is, the more likely such a person is to be a well-thought of, beloved, opinion leader in the community. The warm, loving, open and communicative persona is carefully, patiently, and painstakingly crafted by the pedophile as a hiding place in plain sight. So what people are believing is a carefully crafted lie, the success of which depends on misdirection and the manipulation of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of a target audience. You’re not seeing a benevolent person with a tragic weakness, you are seeing a really first rate con-man in action. What you’re believing is not about your psychological responses, it’s about being led down the primrose path by a particularly adroit con man.
    You know, I don’t get into it with people on the internet anymore. My husband had over 42 years service in the US active and reserve military. We analyze all topics about the military from our own independent perspective, and we find we are usually at odds with the vast majority of other AD and vets. We believe we should pay more for healthcare. We believe the PX and Commissary are valuable parts of the military benefit scheme. We believe (with facts to back it up) that Barack Obama has done good for the military and the VA. We believe the VA is a good outfit that delivers good healthcare to vets, and we supported Shinseki completely. When I express our views in comments, all I get is vicious, vicious vituperation from vets and AD dependents who love being on the dole and think they should get everything free because they are a genuine American hero. I am willing to change my mind when presented with facts, but a person with a bloated sense of entitlement neither presents facts nor reasoned opposition. So that got rid of me as someone who posts comments on the internet. I block out one hour every so often to read things, but there are millions out there in Computer Land who have let the black box suck them in, and they have nothing but time to post. Push the box away and live.

  208. Will certainly buy the new PP when it comes out!
    I would like to see your views in reference to Functional Medicine and their claims (as per Susan Blum, M.D, M.P.H., in The Immune System Recovery Plan) about the five A’s that make us sick: antacids, antibiotics, Advil, alcohol, ANIMAL FOODS.
    I have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and a friend recommended this book. I just took it out of the library and found that claim in the first chapter.
    I would like to have you include detailed information on how hypothyroidism affects weight-loss; and the impact of age on weight-loss as well.

  209. In your new book perhaps you could address why it seems we hear about so many people who get cancer run to a vegan (sometimes raw vegan) diet, and have a miraculous recovery. There are so many testimonial-type books out there about this, and I can’t say I’ve seen one written about a Protein Power-type diet doing this. I’ve read more than one article on Mercola that some researchers are finding that low-carb (I think it may have even been ketogenic diets) are helping to treat cancer. Even after reading Big Fat Surprise (due to your review) I still get scared about eating meat & fat even though I don’t want to be.

  210. Just finished Jenny Ruhl’s book, Diet 101, Truth about Low Carbohydrate diets. Eye opening to say the least.
    Please address the issues and challenges posed by staying low carb on a long term basis in your next book. Things like, how low is reasonable and sustainable and where low carbers need to move carefully if they raise the carb bar. Thank you for you efforts. lyn

  211. I have an autoimmune condition – psoriatic arthritis – and of course I would be interested in the impact a low carb diet has on inflammation. Based on past experience, dairy seems to worsen my aches and pains which drove me to a no fat all veggies and grains diet. Now the pain has not only worsened, but I seem to be losing strength in my hands. I just am at a loss what to do! Can you address this? I am going to make a switch (again) to something low carb…maybe this time eliminating the dairy. I have been back and forth with my diet changes for over 50 years. Yep…I’m that old….and the older I get, the more confused I am. So much for wisdom having anything to do with aging. Help, please!

  212. grains and dairy along with processed foods and sugar cause inflammation in the body so keep the vegetables low glycemic ones along with a little low glycemic fruits and stop eating dairy and all grains. eat more healthy fats like coconut oil, nuts, and seeds too. it may take a couple of months for the inflammation to slowly be gone.

  213. I don’t know if this was touched on in the previous 300 plus comments, but I would like to see a discussion on cholesterol testing/interpretation. Several months ago, on my own, I had a VAP Lipid Panel done by Atherotech. They, of course, assign desirable levels and risk for all the measured values, but I have no idea if those levels are appropriate or not. I know that total cholesterol is not, and I’m labeled high risk because mine is 260. But almost all the other values are low risk – high HDL, very low triglycerides, type “A” LDL density pattern, etc. I don’t think this type of testing is mainstream yet, and I think it would be good to see something devoted to this.

    1. I too would like a discussion on this newer, more extensive cardiac blood testing. I just had one done that sounds similar to Dave M’s panel done through Boston Heart.

  214. What with the APOE materials out now, I’ve run into an author with another ‘eat right for your type’ idea based on the results of APOE.
    I’ll link to her article in a bit but here are some notes I took (rough)
    APOE 2-3-4
    ==========
    chart -graphic shows risk btwn APOE inheritance?
    http://www.nature.com/news/alzheimer-s-disease-the-forgetting-gene-1.15342
    Looking up literature on that, I found
    http://www.bottomlinepublications.com/content/article/health-a-healing/how-your-apoe-genes-lead-to-diabetes-or-heart-disease
    Suzanne Steinbaum suggests fat is not digested correctly with APOE 4. She seems to base that on the following (sample link below) and goes as far to blame it on traditional fats rather than the neo ones, add suggests the neo veg and vegan for that genotype. Sounds rather like adding injury to insult to me.
    http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/APOE
    (which rolls back into the sat fat paradigm)
    It says:
    –> People who carry at least one copy of the APOE e4 allele have an increased chance of developing atherosclerosis, which is an accumulation of fatty deposits and scar-like tissue in the lining of the arteries. This progressive narrowing of the arteries increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
    My reaction:
    The last link cannot blame it on sat fats. But Suzanne chooses to do so.
    The quality of fat is the problem, as I understand it.
    Better solution: Greatly reduce use of man-made inflammatory PUFAs (seed oils) which are the MODERN oils marked the timeline when this whole mess began with Mycardial Infarct. It did not boom until after 1930’s when seed oils began to be used. Crisco began in 1911.
    Anyway, I hope it’s not too late to post this.
    Your thoughts on this is appreciated. One other writer (at least, hand mentioned the apolipoprotein issue previously. The connection to metabolic syndrome cascade through alzheimer’s disease (all post Crisco!) has interested me.
    Thank you for all you do.

    1. Nope, not to late to post. Thanks for the thoughtful comment. The APOE4 is spawning a lot of controversy right now. Certainly worthy of exploration in the new version of the book.

  215. How about emphasizing that eating the fake breads, “nutrional bars” and “shakes” is not the goal of low carbing. The goal is not to “replace” the carbohydrates with food so full of chemicals trying to make them “taste” like carbs, but to replace the junk carbs with whole, natural protein and carbs from vegetables and low glycemic fruits.. Too many people fail at low carbing, myself included, when we just they try to replace the junk carbs with other manufactured ” low carb options”

  216. “Publishing is a strange business. Doesn’t work like any other I’ve ever been involved in. . . .” Yep.
    I’m too lazy to read all 380 comments, so perhaps this has been said. I think “Protein Power” continues to be an entirely appropriate title. While “it’s-not-a-high-protein-diet-it’s-a-high-fat-diet,” protein is still a central player in a low-carb diet. I think it would worthwhile to look at things like:
    what functions does protein have in the body?
    what IS an adequate amount of protein?
    what are the effects of too little protein?
    what are the effects of too much protein?
    how does animal protein compare to protein powders or soy “meat”?
    I have a six-ounce piece of meat, but it has some fat and bone, etc., how do I figure how much protein is in it?
    if protein doesn’t “croak your kidneys,” why do people say it will?
    if red meat won’t hurt me, why do people say it will?
    etc.
    I hope you will take a look at some of the stuff that people are seeing in the headlines day after day. In short, I hope a good chunk of this book can be an everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-protein section.

  217. Apology up front for any redundancy, but I’m too excited about 2.0 to read all of the comments before posting. Protein Power was the first book I ever read on nutrition and low carb dieting. As you know it changed my life and helped me greatly in writing both Heartburn Cured and the Fast Tract Digestion Series. Here are a few things I hope make it into 2.0:
    *The power of LC diet in digestive health – excessive carbs are at the front and center of the problem, proteins and fats are the solution.
    *”Safe starches”, or not
    *A calorie is a calorie, or not
    * Diet in aging (carbs seem to have a bigger impact after 40), hormonal changes and menapause.
    *Sweeteners
    *Innovative LC snacks
    Best of luck Mike and MD on this exciting project. I hope you do self publish it. Count me in on Crowd sourcing this thing.

    1. “”Safe starches”, or not” Wow. You really want me to twist in the wind. That one is more your bailiwick.
      Thanks for the offer to help crowd source. It may come to that.

  218. Yes, also 360 comments later I really don’t want to read through them all to ensure against a redundant question, BUT: The anti-low-carb folks all talk about the dangers of shredding the thyroid, that low-carb is a short-term solution with many long-term problems, that so many people seem to get “carb flu,” etc. etc. Although there are good answers out there for all of these concerns, not everyone would know where to go for them, so I think a “What If You Feel This Isn’t Working for You?” or a trouble-shooting, tweaking kind of section of the book that’s not overly medical or scientific but gives enough of that to be convincing would be quite helpful and useful to most readers, especially new readers.

  219. Also, if recipes included, please think about reducing the number that include chemical or artificial sweeteners. I can’t tolerate most of them nor do I like the idea of using them, and I know a lot of people in the same boat. (Stevia is about the only one that doesn’t make me gag of those that I don’t have a bad reaction to.)

  220. Topics I would like to see covered in a Protein Power 2.0 book:
    How to balance low enough Carb levels to lose weight with enough Carbs to maintain Serotonin to avoid depression.
    What are ways to maintain Serotonin levels & avoid depression other than 5HTP? I have the symptoms of low Serotonin, but when I have tried supplementing w/ 5HTP I get Serotonin storm
    I have successfully, in the past, lost weight with Atkins, then with Protein Power. Sadly for me, I did not maintain & my love for carbs – chips, chocolates, candy, regained the upper hand & I regained the weight Plus some (possible perimenopause – menopause connection)
    Help and suggestions for overcoming “carb addiction”
    My most recent low-carb diet attempt was derailed my Massive Carb Cravings, that after giving in to them I realized were probably an attempt to self-medicate to alleviate increasing lower-back pain (probably brought on by jumping in to new exercise class). So, help in this area would also be appreciated… some discussion of what might be behind carb cravings & ways to alleviate, checklist of things that might be exacerbating carb cravings & suggestions as to how to ameliorate.
    Support and help for those of us who lose weight VERY SLOWLY.
    If including recipes, please also include plenty that DO NOT rely on protein powders; they used to be a staple during my previous low-carb diets. I do not like the taste of soy protein powder & my gut no longer tolerates whey protein.
    Please also include discussion of healthy fats for eating and cooking. I’m looking for alternatives to coconut oil as my son is allergic to that. He can’t be in the room if someone is cooking w/ coconut oil – his throat starts to close up.
    Your current thinking on protein requirements to maintain lean body mass & carb levels for losing weight. I have both Protein Power & The Protein Power Life Plan. I prefer the measurements & calculations in Protein Power to the approach in The Protein Power Life Plan.
    The Effective Carbohydrate charts of Fruits & Vegetables in in 5-g, 10-g, 15-g, etc portions is VERY USEFUL – please keep that.
    Thank you

  221. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the “plasticity of the brain” – should you include something in Protein Power 2.0 about how we can “change” how we think about protein and carbs.
    Regards
    Bruce

  222. I would like to see more information on the role of gut micro biome and probiotics.
    It might also be helpful to have a chapter on low carbing for us more seasoned individuals. It was SO EASY when I first started in my 40’s. Now, at 51… YIKES!

  223. I bought Protein Power over ten years ago, and am still following it. If an all-new edition should appear, I hope it will still be known as Protein Power (rather than Protein Power 2.0, 3.0, X, whatever) so that new generations of readers will always have a copy of the real thing. After all, there’s no Coca Cola 2.0 !
    I am very eager to buy a new edition when it comes out !

  224. Thank you for updating your excellent book, which until now has become our bible for healthy eating! As we have all aged since you published your first book, I would like to see data on how the aging process is affected by aligning our eating into the low-carb process. We have found, basically, that we respond differently from the way we did back in our 50s (we’re now in our late 60s). Specifically, the results seem to take longer to realize, especially for women. As always, we will wait with great anticipation, for your “take” on the aging process and how to achieve our health goals at our later ages.

  225. The question which has always troubled me, even after reading all the literature – Atkins, Teicholtz, you, research – is the question of “regular”, feed-lot, mass-produced meat and chicken, as well as modern milk products and farmed fish. Accepting that low-carb is the way to go, what are the effects of long-term consumption of the above? I would love it if you could give your attention to this question.
    Thanks.
    Dolev Gilmore, Israel

  226. I’ve encountered a lot of people who have sleep problems on a low carbohydrate diet.
    I find it hard to stay asleep. I wake frequently throughout the night and wake early and feel unrefreshed.
    If I eat high glycemic carbs such as gluten free cookies (I’m a celiac), I sleep deeply and wake refreshed.
    I need a lot more magnesium while on a low carb diet – I get terrible cramps and restless legs without it. It doesn’t help my sleep problems though.

  227. THANK YOU,THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! For Protein Power, which changed my life when I read it in 2006 for the first time. Since this I have purchased several copies, worn one out, and given several to friends who had marveled at my loss 70 pounds and the fact that I have kept it off all these years since. At the time I read “Protein Power, I had been a Registered Dietitian for many years but by then, very clear that all the dietary rules I had preached to my poor, unsuspecting patients were simply not working for anyone. I gleaned from “Protein Power”, which you gave us years before the current wisdom, that fat isn’t all that big a deal and I stopped worrying about it so much while also placing my main focus on the low carb part of your message. A few weeks ago, I purchased the “Big Fat Surprise” but haven’t yet read it, because I couldn’t decide whether to just reread “Protein Power”, which has never failed me, or to Read the “Big Fat Surprise” (fear of not being sure how to combine the two, I suppose). I will now definitely read “The Big Fat Surprise” and I will also wait with joy and anticipation until you give us the next version of “Protein Power”.
    In your new book, I would like to have more clarity on how to weight my food intake with regard to calories (they still seem to matter for my success level), on carbs, and on fat.
    I have happily discontinued my career as a Registered Dietitian because I no longer have the stomach to preach the accepted “plan”. I’m guessing that the “powers”, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, would likely have pulled my license at some point anyway due to my unwillingness to follow their dogma any longer. I saw from repeated experience that it was a waste of my patients’ time and money as well as huge source of frustration for them due to poor or no results.
    I anxiously await your new book!!!
    Pam Mayblum

  228. Something on the industrialization of “gluten-free” foods. My patients think they are doing themselves a huge favor by going gluten free, and rather than change their diets to include more healthy fats/vegs, they simply remove gluten and buy the heavily processed gluten free items in the grocery store. Bad.

  229. I am happy to learn that you are considering a second book. I’ve been low carb for about 10 months now. In addition to losing all the weight I wanted to, other unexpected, even more important things happened. My dry eye resolved, no longer hypothyroid and I feel amazing!!!
    I think I’ve read and reread all low carb books written. What I think has been less well addressed is basic fat metabolism. For the most part all discussions seem to end at the chylomicron. If I understand correctly, MCT are handled differently ( no gallbladder contraction), intestines make LDL. I’d like to get a better understanding of that physiology. Thanks!

  230. I hope this time Dutch publishers will pick 2.0 up for translation. Good sources for information about health and food are often only available for those that have no difficulty reading English. Protein Power has been one of the best sources of reliable information since I bought it. Thank you!

  231. I am a psychologist. I have a professional athlete in my current patient mix who became irritable on a low carb diet he followed to increase lean muscle mass. We traced that to probable serotonin decrease when nutrition doesn’t include enough of certain foods providing tryptophan. There is literature on this on the net. It probably is applicable to a small subset of people but worth mentioning in Protein Power 2.0… by the way the appendix in 1.0 on Claire Cassidy’s work changed my life. Thanks for including it.

  232. I know this my seem like left field, but I think you should include a chapter on the health benefits of fermented foods. And most of them are naturally low carb.

  233. For book or blog, will you address high lipid numbers – not so much total cholesterol, but also LDL and HDL — after undertaking the ketogenic diet. Possible causes, reference ranges, what to be concerned about.
    Also, the approach in The Six Week Cure worked well for me, so I hope you incorporate it into PP2. Except trying to measure changes around our middles wasn’t very exacting and not as satisfying as watching the scale.

  234. A new book is great idea. But this discussion is even better. As I age I find reading these post from insightful ideas are important. We need to be open to good ideas and true nature observations. .. studies. .. etc. I would be interested in people’s comments and ideas. For example… info about low carb that seems to work best with a a very low metabolic rate. And a stress free positive mind has a huge affect on life .
    Why are so many people getting food sensitivity. Does more good carbs help people with a new disease like lyme disease …who are having a hell of a time with chronic fatigue. And new ideas about testosterone and aging. And ideas about estrogen control or reduction . Plastics in food and or clean basic ingredients. Seems to me where ever I go men are turning into women! Fermented foods like sourdough bread! Again keep a discussion going on many things that may work with low carb… It may go a little off topic… but along with low carb I believe related for all around ideas. I would like to see the puplic with more control of information about new ideas. For example proprietary blends in supplement. More and more I am seeing natural substances with a slight alteration and all of a student a patent is given. IE msg additive. Thanks.

  235. Those of us who are longtime readers and admirers desperately need science updates. In my case, age 68 & been low carbing for 17 years, I can’t loose weight. After I stopped smoking my weight went up. I have previously mentioned material on newer blood tests. Yes i am sedentary but i walk between 2 & 3 miles a day. Other readers might have the same problem. What we all need is solid info well sourced and recent. This is mandatory to fight the prejudices of the Drs. who call low carbing fairy tales!! Thanks for everything, Nissen

    1. Thanks for the comment. One of the main themes arising out of the ever-growing list of requests for subject matter for the PP redo, is the discovery on the part of many people that it is much more difficult to lose weight at, say, 65 than it was at 45. We will be certain to address that specific issue.

      1. An updated PP! This book will knock Bill O’Reilly off the best seller list for sure! Although a big fan of O’Reilly I’m a long time fan of Dr Eades and PP. Have been off and on low carb for many years. This time around my husband and I plan to stay low carb for life. Now in our 60’s things have changed from previous years of the LC way of eating. Started again in January, slowly lost weight until we lowered our protein intake and upped our fat, then the weight fell off faster. We are now in our 6th month in ketosis. We both hit our goal of a 30 lb. loss each about a month or so ago. No longer on Blood Pressure meds or Prilosec for severe GERD. Great benefits. Now just trying to maintain. There seems to be a few new negatives this time around though. We are taking 500 mg a day of slow release magnesium and plenty of sodium and salt substitute for potassium but still having leg cramps at night, restless sleep and irritable. Triglycerides dropped 20 points but HDL and LDL didn’t move much after 3 months on LC. Maybe too early to judge. I wrote that I read PP in Sept. 1998 on the cover so I probably need to read it again. Some of these issues may already be covered.
        Below are a few of the things that we would like to see in the book.
        1. Can people stay in ketosis forever? We love the way that ketosis makes us feel. (energy, no hunger, etc.) Information on staying in ketosis but not wanting to lose anymore weight.
        2. More information on long term maintenance.
        3. The effects of LC on Hypothyroidism and effects on the gallbladder and gallstones. Many people have asked me about this. Not sure how to answer.
        4. Potassium, sodium, mag and other vitamins and minerals. Which ones? How much is enough?
        5. Organic food, grass fed beef, ect. and the expense for folks on a limited income. Options
        6. Measuring ketone levels.
        7. Paleo vs LC
        I apologize that this is so long and for any duplicate requests but I didn’t have time to read the 100’s of comments. LOL!
        Asking for your readers/fans input is an excellent way to start. The new book can only be close to perfect and another New York Times Bestseller.

        1. Thanks for the long, thoughtful reply. I really appreciate it. And I’m delighted to learn of your recent success. As to your leg cramps at night… Try increasing your fluid intake a bit. I think people on LC and ketogenic diets tend to get a little dehydrated if they don’t make an effort to hydrate. Especially if they drink a lot of coffee (as I do) or tea or other dehydrating beverages. I drink 16 ounces of water when I first wake up in the morning, and just that change alone has pretty much gotten rid of my own cramping, which used to be pretty bad.

  236. Hello. I love your book and would definitely buy 2.0. I do have question though. I’m confused about wording on where a person needs start. 30 or 55g net carbs. I don’t have any of the issues mentioned and I have less than 20% weight to lose to reach goal weight, so does this mean I can start at around 50g net carbs a day?

    1. I’ve always found it better to go lower in carbs to get started irrespective of how much weight one needs to lose, then loosen up restrictions as goal wt is approached. Having said that, however, 50 gm per day is fairly low.

  237. im just starting Protein Power. Low carb- high protein has always seemed to work best for me. My problem is if I try to cut carbs out of my diet almost complete I end up giving up. I need some carbs. I also continue to court coconut milk & Truvia in my morning tea. Lastly…I’m all about the snacks!

  238. Hi Dr. Eades, I look forward to the updated publication of ” Protein Power”. It was the information that you shared on intermittent fasting that inspired me to include that in my LCHF regimen. I would like to see this information updated because it is becoming a very acceptable concept now. I mainly would like to see if there were any studies done on pregnancy, increase in human growth hormone and how that preserves muscle. Also the body’s ability to increase nutritional values such as B12 and folate. I strongly believe that although LCHF and intermittent fasting are both ketogenic, they are not the same. I use the ketogenic diet to support fasting and vice versa but do not look at them as imitating each other.
    I don’t know, that may need its own book.

  239. Hi Michael,
    Protein Power was pivotal for me in bringing into sharp focus what to do with CHO’s. Thank you for that.
    I wonder if you want to shift from calling it a diet to calling it a lifestyle choice? Primarily because most people think of a diet as a short term thing.
    One topic I’d be interested in is an exploration of what to do if you have familial hypercholesterolaemia/dyslipidaemia. Robert Lustig recommends more of a ‘standard’ HCLF diet. Steven Gundry recommends more of a plant protein with extra CoQ10 and Niacin. I’m curious to know your thoughts on it.
    Along with this, some clarity on what blood tests you would recommend. I’ve found Prof Ken Sikaris’ work really helpful on this and would appreciate any other input.
    Best
    Darag

  240. Hopefully you all are happily working on the new edition. I do have a suggestion. Perhaps you could include some mention about animals and low carb. My sister’s dog has developed diabetes and it sure seems to follow a course similar to humans. We have put the dog on a strict low carb (homemade) diet and he seems to be doing better. However, we are not sure about certain things such as his electrolyte levels. There sure seems to exist a dearth of information, out there, pertaining to pets and proper nutrition. From the Paleo perspective, I cannot imagine a feral dog eating corn, rice, wheat, or potatoes. At any rate, it is something we are dealing with and we could certainly use guidance. I just met a lady, at the dog park, who says she injects her dog with insulin. No bueno!

  241. Please put information on Hyperthyroid disease. If you think there has been little research being done on cancer then the amount of reliable research on hyperthyroid disease especially in people who do not display any symptoms what so ever (except for T 3, T 4 & TSH levels being “abnormal) is virtually non-existent. The endocrinologist says the only treatment for hyperthyroid is a complete thyroidectomy, a tonsillectomy and the remove of all the other glands in proximity to the thyroid. That way the person will “successfully become hypothyroid ” and can then be treated. There has to be a better way to help heal the thyroid while treating a leaky gut. Please help.

  242. I would like to know more on how I might expect my weight loss ,from 241 to 135 at age 63, woman, non smoking, can be carefully maintained and possible effects on physical and mental health. I would like to enjoy a few carbs in the future, safely. Can cardio health be better with years of maintaining weight loss ? Also, fat to protein ration ? Thank you, Pat Merrill

  243. Hello Dr. Eades I’d like to know about the difference in your research, between having more protein in the meals vs. higher fat low protein as in keto. Keto seems to be really catching on.

    1. Keto is catching on, because it has a ton of benefits. But, in my view, it’s a bit difficult to follow. I have a good friend who is extremely well known in the low-carb/Paleo world who told me he had gone strict ketogenic for a few months and felt phenomenal, but there was just too much in is life he was missing out on. So, he went back to he regular low-carb diet, but not kept to ketogenic strictness. That’s kind of how I feel about it, too.
      There is a huge debate on the protein in ketosis issue. I, for one, don’t think it’s that big a deal. If I were going to go hardcore ketogenic, I don’t think a steak would kick me out. I really need to write a post on this at some point.

  244. Hello, can switching to a Lc hf diet be problematic, if say you have chronic insulin resistance or a heart condition. Do you need to gradually ease into it. Ie: try to reduce the insulin resistance through low carb first with low to moderate fat. Before going high fat. Iam thinking if you have already damaged yourself atherosclerosisundefined insulin resistance on a statin etc, then suddenly going high fat could it be problematic? Before you become fat adapted!
    Also Cholesterol will go up due to using fat as a primary fuel source, can that be explained so it can be discussed with Doctor when they flag it in blood test.
    If you have narrowing of the arteries and cholesterol is forming plaques to try and deal with inflammation, Will the sudden increase in cholesterol be problematic or will the narrowing of the arteries subside?
    Also why do some people get itchy skin on keto?
    Also why do some people get bad Diarrhoea?

    1. This is something you need to discuss with your doctor. When I first started putting my own patients on low-carb diets, I tried all kinds of strategies from easing them in to going cold turkey all the way. I found, for my own patients at least, that making the switch cold turkey was the most effective way to go. In my experience most people see a decrease in LDL cholesterol after starting a low-carb diet. A small handful have their LDL levels go up, but when I’ve tested these patients, I found them to have switched from smaller, denser LDL to bigger, fluffier LDL, which is a change for the good. I haven’t had patients develop either itchy skin or bad diarrhea on low-carb diets. In most cases, it’s the opposite.

  245. Hi – hope that SO many helpful inclusionsundefinedcomments will make not make it such a herculean task that you are
    deterred from republishing!

    please include
    1undefined info from your talk at Low Carb 2018 – 'A New Hypothesis of Obesity' (brilliant thank you)
    2undefined I've had cancer so more about protein and cancer – connection or no connection?

    I will be lining up for the new PP version 2.0 ….
    cheers from Australia
    Sally

  246. I bought the protein power plan and several of your books on the subject back in the day and bought copies off of amazon a few years back to give to relatives because your diet to me is the only one that really worked. You are truly doctors that care and do your homework and research on the subject. My only suggestion is,I noticed in your Protein Power Plan kit and books from '95'-'96' that there was no mention of the importance of using organic forms of protein to avoid the toxic and harmful substances injected(BGH as well as other steroids and antibiotics etc.)into the commercial farming industry animals. Other than that issue,your information is spot on and your diet is the real deal and works perfectly and is not hard to follow like so many others. Keep up the good work,over 20 years of success is your proof of concept. Thank You

  247. In your next book(s) could you please clarify low carb life style for people who are over 60. There seems to be a misconception that this life style doesn't work for older people especially those 85+. Most "diet and exercise books are written for young healthy people to adopt healthy lifestyles while they are still young and there's hope for them. It would be refreshing to include information applicable this population, thus providing targeted guidance and offering them hope.

    1. Have you been looking over our shoulders while we’re working on the next book, Mary? Just teasing, but have no fear that topic is much in the mix for PP2.0.

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