THE FOSTER STUDY: “A LOW-CARB DIET IS ASSOCIATED WITH FAVORABLE CHANGES IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK FACTORS AT 2 YEARS.”

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You have probably read about the Foster study by now. It has gotten a lot of press coverage and most of the headlines mention that it shows that a low-carb diet is good for the heart. We should all rejoice that that message is (finally!) getting out. The improvements in blood lipid profiles were just too dramatic to be explained away (probably not for lack of trying). But when it comes to weight loss, we hear the same old refrain, “no difference in low fat…

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BERRY, BERRY GOOD

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In most fruits, the part that is good for you is the dark skin, not the pale, sweet pulp. Big, juicy, black grapes, purple plums, and deep red cherries, bursting with healthful nutrients are, unfortunately, also bursting with sugar, especially fructose. Most of us are well aware of the dangers of fructose as one study after another links it to fatty liver disease, gout, metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, infertility, and on and on. Yet most of us continue to think eating fruit…

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Carb Wars; Sugar is the New…SALT!

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For years, we’ve been told that too much salt causes high blood pressure, a condition affecting roughly one-third of Americans. The government is even talking about requiring food manufacturers and restaurants to cut down on salt in their products. Many companies are doing so voluntarily and will no doubt be trumpeting the low-sodium message to customers in their advertising campaigns. One of the benefits of a low-carb diet is that it effectively reduces blood pressure for most people, making salt reduction unnecessary. In fact, some…

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ICE CREAM, MILK FAT, AND HOGS

A fellow low-carber who is still mourning the loss of Watch’n Carbs, the low-carb ice cream recently discontinued by Lucerne, sent me a message about his latest discovery. He was excited that he had found a sucalose-sweetened ice cream at a Ben and Jerry’s stand at the airport. With guarded optimism, I checked their website: The first flavor listed on their nutrition info chart was Butter Pecan. It had 17 grams of carbohydrate and zero fiber, so a net of 17 grams. The very last…

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LAST DAY FOR COMMENTS ON USDA GUIDELINES

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July 15th is the last day to submit your comments to the USDA about their new food guidelines. I urge you to please speak out before this travesty is finalized. You are limited to 2,000 characters or less, and they seem to count spaces. If you want to send a longer message, you can send it as an attachment. I thought people would be more likely to read it if they didn’t have to open anything, so I worked really hard to get my comment…

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HOME AGAIN AND QUICK CHILI

I got in very late last night after a long vacation, which ended with a week in a rustic cabin in West Virginia. We were surrounded by wildlife: deer, bear, groundhogs, rabbits, hummingbirds, vultures, butterflies, etc. outside, and bugs and mice inside. We resorted to storing our food in the oven to keep it from being nibbled. One night we were awakened by a bat swooping over our bed catching insects. We shinned a flashlight on it to keep track of where it was until…

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