OF MICE AND MEN AND THE USDA

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Yesterday was a bad news day. It came from multiple sources, including this from AOL News: “USDA guidelines target ‘unhealthy lifestyle’… ‘the new guidelines call for a shift to a more plant-based diet…’ Good Morning America went into more detail as to what we can expect from the next food pyramid due out later this year. In order to combat obesity, which the show’s host called “the single greatest threat to health in this century,” (at least she got that right) they are recommending that…

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WHAT’S LEFT TO EAT?

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There was a story all over the news recently about a study reported in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association linking sugar to heart disease. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63J66220100421 As usual, the wording messed up the message when lead researcher, Dr. Miriam Vos, said, “Just like eating a high-fat diet can increase your levels of triglycerides and high cholesterol, eating sugar can also affect those same lipids.” The study had nothing to do with fat or cholesterol, but they just can’t seem to…

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HARVARD STUDY IMPLICATES SALT AND NITRITES, EXONERATES RED MEAT

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A new study published in the journal Circulation says that red meat is not the cause of heart disease and diabetes. Lead author of the study, Renata Micha, of the Harvard School of Public Health, said, “Although most dietary guidelines recommend reducing meat consumption, prior individual studies have shown mixed results for relationships between meat consumption and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.…Most prior studies also did not separately consider the health effects of eating unprocessed red versus processed meats.…Processed meats such as bacon, salami, sausages, hot…

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SO CLOSE

As you may know, I have now finished my second book, but I have not yet explained the circumstances that lead up to it. Here’s how it happened. When I decided to publish Carb Wars, I joined the International Association of Culinary Professionals. I decided to go to their 2007 convention in Chicago since any members with new books were eligible to participate in their annual book expo. It was there that a chance encounter on an elevator led to a book contract with a…

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THINGS ARE HAPPENING FAST

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A spate of articles have come out about changes in the attitude toward low-fat verses low-carb diets and their impact on health. This one http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/02/AR2010030202091.html from the Washington Post, titled, Atkins diet’s return reflects idea that saturated fat shouldn’t be demonized by Jennifer LaRue Huget, cites two recent studies reported in the March issue of The Journal of Clinical Nutrition, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. The first found no evidence that saturated fat intake was associated with a greater risk for…

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Two articles

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Check this out: http://www.free-press-release.com/news-merger-of-metabolism-society-and-american-diabetes-association-surprise-union-to-promote-low-carb-diets-1270129599.html (The author is given as O Wells but I’m thinking Tom Naughton.) Seriously, there is a great article on Slate by Melinda Wenner Moyer titled End the War on Fat here: www.slate,com/toolbar.aspx?action=print&id=2248754. (C) 2010, Judy Barnes Baker

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IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT HUMAN DIET

I recently had the opportunity to see a confidential, 22-minute completion fundraising preview of C. J. Hunt’s documentary, In Search of the Perfect Human Diet, and I can tell you that this is going to make waves. He’s done a fantastic piece of investigative journalism that leaves no doubt about which diet is the best match for the human genome. This is the scientific evidence that the world, especially the media, needs to see in order to find solutions for the epidemic of obesity and…

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WHEN DOES 16 X 0.49 = ZERO?

  In the past I put my trust in food labels to figure the nutrition counts for my recipes. Apparently, it was misplaced. I know that sometimes they are just wrong. For example, I have 2 different brands of powdered erythritol that list the weight as being the same as that for granular erythritol. However, when I weigh it, it weighs twice as much. I assume that the manufacturer, who is required to provide the information, took the numbers from some approved chart that only…

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THE MOUSE VERSES THE GAUCHO

Cows in Pasture in Brazil, Freepic If I hadn’t been so busy, I would have written a review of Disney World in Florida similar to what Dr. Eades wrote about Disney Land in California: http://proteinpower.com/drmike/weight-loss/disney-small-world-ride-a-casualty-of-the-obesity-epidemic/. I went there in July with the rest of the family in an effort to be a good sport. (I had been there in the summer once before and sworn I’d never do that again.) I found it to be just as he described but with 95-degree weather and 95…

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CARB WARS FEATURED ON LIFESCRIPT

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A huge thank you to Life Script, the premier website for women’s health, for the feature article on Carb Wars, which included 7 recipes with pictures and a story written by Nicole McEwen. Life Script is the 4th largest independent health site and the 10th largest women’s online community. . Judging by the comments, the article evoked the usual controversy among the pro- and anti-low carb factions, even though the writer softened my message somewhat by suggesting that lack of exercise might be responsible for…

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“FAT” IS A WINNER!

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Well, knock me over with a lamb chop, if Jennifer McLagan hasn’t won the prestigious International Association of Culinary Professionals’ Single Subject Award for her book celebrating–fat! And she beat out two really big names in food circles to do it: the other nominees were Under Pressure, by Thomas Keller, famed chef and owner of The French Laundry restaurant, and A Year in Chocolate by Jacques Torres (a famous name and the word chocolate in the title usually insures a win!). OK, so she didn’t…

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