STORIES FROM THE CRUISE

We had a very large group on the low-carb cruise this year; I’m not sure what the actual count was, I heard it was 275, but that may have included a few who never actually made it. We made national news when one of our speakers was removed from the ship before it left the dock. My daughter here in Washington knew more about it than I did until I got home.

Dr. Jack Kruse was taken away by the authorities after someone Tweeted a message using his name that said he was planning a bio-terrorist attack on the ship. It was just a mean prank, but Homeland Security has no sense of humor about such things. The captain sent our group an apology and they offered to fly Dr. Kruse to Jamaica to meet up with us for the remainder of the cruise, but he declined. You can read what he planned to say on his blog here: http://jackkruse.com/ct-12-getting-back-on-board-with-my-message/

I had my own bit of trouble when I broke out with shingles just before we sailed. I was reluctant to go to the ship’s doctor for fear that I’d be set adrift in a lifeboat or quaratined to my cabin eating room-service sandwiches for the duration of the trip, but after looking up some pretty scary info about the condition, especially if it involves your eyes, I decided I needed anti-viral medication sooner rather than later. A strong dose of Valtrex stopped the rash from spreading, but I was not a pretty sight and I needed to take a strong pain killer and use a smelly ointment. The doctor assured me that I was not contagious and that I could do whatever I felt like doing, so I didn’t miss any of the sessions. My eye still hurts and I have stabbing pains on the left side of my head if I don’t take pain pills. I made an appointment to go in to my doctor today to see if that is normal at this stage.

Meanwhile, I’m catching up with some recent happenings. (On our last day of sessions, we had the opportunity to ask questions to any of the speakers. Someone asked, how long will it take before low-carb is accepted as a healthful diet? The answer was “30 to 50 years.” Maybe not!!)

This study from Sweden make headlines on Monday:

High-fat diet lowered blood sugar and improved blood lipids in diabetics
May 11th, 2012 in Diabetes

People with Type 2 diabetes are usually advised to keep a low-fat diet. Now, a study at Linköping University shows that food with a lot of fat and few carbohydrates could have a better effect on blood sugar levels and blood lipids.

The results of a two-year dietary study led by Hans Guldbrand, general practitioner, and Fredrik Nyström, professor of Internal Medicine, are being published in the prestigious journal Diabetologia. 61 patients were included in the study of Type 2, or adult-onset diabetes. They were randomized into two groups, where they followed either a low-carbohydrate (high fat) diet or a low-fat diet.
Continue reading here: http://medicalxpress.com/print255950149.htm

Here’s a story from CBS, San Francisco about CJ Hunt’s new film:

HealthWatch: New Documentary Highlights Health Benefits Of ‘Paleo Diet’
May 14, 2012 4:31 PM

LOS ANGELES (CBS 5) – A new documentary film looks at how one man’s near-death experience caused him to reexamine his diet, and return to ancestral eating habits.

In 1978, at the age of 24, CJ Hunt suffered a cardiac arrest while running on Memorial Day at Beverly Hills High School in Los Angeles:

“I went a lap and a half and dropped dead,” said Hunt. He spent 10 days in the cardiac care unit at UCLA and learned he had a heart birth defect known as IHSS, idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. “I was given predictions of greater than a 50% chance of dying in the next 2 years.”
Continue reading here:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/05/14/healthwatch-new-documentary-highlights-health-benefits-of-paleo-diet/#.T7K-p6UurtE.mailto

Gary Taubes had this article in Newsweek Magazine on May 7th:

Why the Campaign to Stop America’s Obesity Crisis Keeps Failing www.thedailybeast.com

“The nation’s most powerful anti-obesity groups are teaming up for a new HBO documentary—but it pushes the same tired advice.”~~Gary Taubes on the research they’re ignoring. Continue reading here:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/06/why-the-campaign-to-stop-america-s-obesity-crisis-keeps-failing.html

(c) 2012, Judy Barnes Baker, www.carbwars.blogspot.com