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July 07 2024

Spread the Word

Last week I had the pleasure of giving a talk at the annual meeting for the Association on Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. They were having their annual health care conference and invited me to come speak about eating a low carb, high fat diet and whether it is healthy and sustainable. I prepared over several months, and gave my talk to a full room. It was not just the AND crowd, but many of the other conference attendees as well. In fact, my talk drew the biggest crowd all day. The benefits of eating low carb, high fat are becoming better understood, and interest is blooming because it works.

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I began my talk with my own story, my own struggles with dieting and food, struggles that have plagued me for the majority of my life. I went on to discuss a generation of people now in their 60s and 70s who are arguably the most unhealthy 65+ population in history… a generation who had their babies at the time of the government rollout of the food pyramid thus spending the majority of their adult lives eating low fat.

I highlighted the changes made to food that coincide with the rapid increase in obesity and diabetes since the USDA guidelines were established and I argued that the food-like-substances we consume on a daily basis are a big cause of not only obesity, but most of the chronic diseases from which we now suffer. I presented research showing improvement in not only weight, but other diseases that are caused and affected by highly processed high sugar foods. In addition I refuted the common controversies surrounding a ketogenic or low carbohydrate diet, and then explained how to get started.

I was impressed by the quality of questions at the end of my session – how to implement, what do I eat in a day, how to help people who have food insecurity or who cannot afford quality foods. Unsurprisingly though, one long practicing dietitian commented that “although this might be a good diet to treat afflictions like seizures, that it was not for most people. The USDA guidelines are backed on good science and should be followed.” She then stated almost verbatim from my talk the reason “experts” give for increased obesity, that people are obese because they “are not following the guidelines”.

Study after study show that people have followed the “guidelines” – they have reduced red meat, reduced saturated fat, increased vegetable oils, drank skim milk, eaten low fat dairy, increased fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and have increased exercise. And slowly as a nation we have continued to gain weight. This theory of “not following guideline” would be funny if it did not have such drastic consequences especially because the problem was virtually nonexistent before we had them.

So why do people fight the idea of eating a low carb high fat or well formulated ketogenic diet? Why does eating whole real food, excluding grain create such a threat?

Part of the reason is dogma. We have been given guidelines for 30-40 years and they are stuck in our brains. It is hard for people to believe that we could be doing it wrong, or that conflicting research has been completely ignored. Another reason, is that our world is run by those with money. How many of you believe in climate change? Ever wonder why our policy makers turn a blind eye to it? Could it be that our “guidelines” are lobbied by food manufacturers and big pharma? We have shown time and time again that eating saturated fat does not cause heart disease, that there are no essential nutrients in grains, that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, and that you can actually reverse diabetes. Yet the guidelines change only minimally each time they are written.

Eating real food that is naturally low in carbohydrates can do amazing things for you. It can affect your body shape, your hormones, your sleep. It can reverse your metabolic issues while giving you increased energy as well as decreased inflammation. There are studies that show that eating low carb high fat can positively affect many chronic diseases such as obesity, cancer, polycystic ovarian syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

This is my passion, if I have stoked your interest, let me share it with you.

July 07 2024

Be Empowered!

Empower: to equip or supply with an ability; enable.

Such a strong word. It makes me think of strength, power, success, bravery… Do you feel it? Too often we are not empowered – we don’t have the tools (or confidence) to do what we want to succeed; sometimes it is with career or finances, education, or even with nutrition.

Why is that? Why does food have such control over us? Why is it that we feel very able and positive, and then the plate of nachos is passed in front of us, maybe the candy bowl on our coworker’s desk calls our names, or our daily soda habit takes control of us? “I was doing so well, then made some brownies for work and ate the whole pan,” “I couldn’t possibly give up bread.” or “I did great for 3 weeks then fell off the wagon, and have not gotten back on.” I hear this all the time.

FOOD is powerful. Most of our social experiences revolve around FOOD. We go on dates, and have FOOD. We have parties, with FOOD. Sunday dinner, birthday parties, work and church pot-lucks…FOOD, FOOD, FOOD – all events that make it very difficult to eat the way we want or need.

Part of the reason is tradition. It is difficult to be invited almost anywhere and not have food or drink involved. Another reason is conditioning – eat ice cream when sad, drink alcohol when stressed: self medication with food and drink. One more reason is entitlement. In our country we get almost anything we want, anytime we want it. To say no makes us feel “deprived.” I hear it all the time: “I will not deprive myself, everything in moderation”. However new research has shown that currently “moderation” means that 40% of women and 38% of men are obese! (Summary of studies).

How can we change this? What do we need to do?

First, we need to change how we see food. When we do our best to stay away from certain foods and they show up in our day, we have to consciously make the decision whether or not to eat them. Instead of feeling deprived we need to look at the foods as toxic, and then decide that we don’t WANT them. If you were walking down the street with your friend and she got punched in the face, would you feel deprived if you missed getting punched in the face as well? Of course not! But to some of us, eating that brownie is much worse in the long term than a punch in the face, yet we do it anyway.

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Second, we need to see insulin resistance and diabetes (and obesity) as what they are: carbohydrate intolerance and carbohydrate toxicity. If you were gluten intolerant, you would certainly do everything in your power to avoid gluten in foods because of the resulting gut symptoms and sickness you would feel. A big difference really is that carbohydrate intolerance doesn’t give as many fast/short term symptoms, although in the long term sugar and carbs are very toxic to someone who is carbohydrate intolerant (Is Sugar Toxic?). The same can be said for something like a peanut allergy (toxicity) – if you had one, you wouldn’t give yourself a shot of epinephrine and then eat peanuts. Insulin dependent diabetics do it all the time – shoot the insulin to account for the sugar and carbs they are going to eat.

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Sugar is a drug, and most highly processed foods are either loaded in sugar or in substances that turn into sugar. Our minds respond to sugar like they do other drugs – we crave it, we eat it, and then it makes us feel good. The problem is we feel good for only a few minutes as it hits that pleasure center in the brain. After that we usually feel bad – more tired and sluggish, full and bloated, and guilty for not being able to stop ourselves from eating.

How do we stop this cycle? One good way is to take ourselves away from the situations that make it difficult for us to refuse. Stop buying the foods that cause you to eat uncontrollably. Give yourself a day per week, and if you want something wait until that free day – if you still want it then go buy it. If it is a family member who buys it, ask them to stop. Let them know that when they buy those foods or eat them in front of you, it is like bringing alcohol into the house of an alcoholic and expecting him not to drink. I have had people go as far as locking the tempting food in a cooler in the garage or in a safe place so they will not have to make the attempt to stay away.

Avoid the break room at work if it commonly has those food-like substances and high sugar treats. Pack a lunch and make a menu and plan for meals and snacks so you are never left hungry when there are no good options. Ask your coworker to put the candy IN their desks. Go on a hiking date. Celebrate with a new shirt or game, or treat sadness with a walk or a good tear jerker. Find friends who eat the same way you do or get your friends to understand it – then plan meals or parties together. There are many ways to change your outlook or to say no. And then when you do, you will feel stronger, braver, and be EMPOWERED! And every time you do it, you will feel it more and more, and feel so much better about yourself!

July 07 2024

“I Couldn’t Possibly Give Up Bread…”

In my family medicine practice, I hear this more than, “My throat hurts.”

Bread has become an every day staple in American homes, but it really isn’t what it used to be. It used to be made by hand. It was locally grown, whole grains that people milled into flour. It may have had a very small amount of sugar or honey to help with leavening, but was usually flour, yeast if available, and water.

It was then eaten with a meal, used to sop up gravy. It was also commonly used as a filler – protein is more expensive so starches such as bread and potatoes (and historically in other countries rice and pasta) were used to fill more people for longer periods of time.

Now, bread is usually purchased at the grocery store, and is generally over-processed grains (with the good stuff taken out and then vitamins added in to “enrich” the flour, labeled “healthy” “whole” grains), with high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, as well as the unpronounceables:

Take a peak in the bread aisle, I did. I looked at every single hot dog bun in the grocery store, and I couldn’t find one without high fructose corn syrup in it.

It is a wonder that people feel like they cannot give up bread. Studies have shown that eating one, single, piece of white bread, can light up a brain scan the same way as heroin.

If you are one of those people, here are a few recipes that can help you with those cravings.

Nothing like the present, start today!

How about an English Muffin alternative?

Or an easy blender sandwich bread?

Multiple different types of bread:

Diet Doctor dinner rolls

Pumpkin bread

Best Breads on the Internet via

Ditch the Carbs

Keep this in mind: Deprivation is a mindset, and the less you eat something the less you will crave it.

July 07 2024

Birthday Cake Culture

I was looking through my Facebook page this morning and saw a great editorial about our Birthday cake culture and how it is one of the most dangerous things for our health. I have similar discussions every single day and I completely agree!

How many of you try so hard to stick to an eating plan and goal, only to have a celebration at work or home derail you? Someone’s birthday deserves cake. Celebrate end of summer – root beer float day. Great job this week – cookie day. Just for the heck of it – ice cream sandwich day. There is always an excuse to eat – how can anyone survive without gaining weight? In the holiday season it is even worse, especially when people start bringing tins of cookies or candies to work. SML

It is difficult because we celebrate so many things with food! It is the easiest, cheapest way to reward a group of people. Most people don’t care for a plate of cheese or olives, or a veggie platter as a way to say congratulations. Nuts for reward? Salami sticks? Sound really great, don’t they? Probably not to most people.

We need a change in culture! But until that happens some strategies for this are: 1. change the way you think about foods – think of the cake or cookies as things that are not healthy but instead as toxic substances; 2. buy coffee or tea as a treat instead of sugary drinks or foods – add some cream with or without sugar free syrup to make it very satisfying; 3. avoid the room at work that the party is going on or where the food is sitting so you aren’t tempted to eat the addictive foods; 4. go into the party with the attitude that you will say no and just enjoy the company and find the table with cheese, meats, veggies and nuts; 5. don’t eat it just because the others want you to – you can either ignore the peer pressure or tell them that you are sugar/carb intolerant – all of us are; 6. teach your friends or coworkers how to eat more healthily – this takes time but is worth it when everyone starts making better choices.

I know it is very difficult to say no and to avoid these foods, but try to remember that these foods taste good and make you feel good for just a few minutes, and then make you feel bad for a whole lot longer. Work on remembering this when you are tempted at a work party or at a dinner party because there is always an excuse to eat… we need more excuses not to eat!

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July 07 2024

The Most Magical Place On Earth – Not an Easy Place to Be LCHF

Changing the way that you eat can be difficult; this is even more difficult when on vacation or away from home.

For spring break I spent the last week at the high carb/high sugar capital of the world:

There was sugar everywhere, as well as many prepared fast food-like meals and snacks. All were fairly high in speed, cost and convenience, but not necessarily the best choices for someone who is trying to eat low carb. Challenge accepted!

At the Airport: Airport travel itself can be difficult. We planned ahead for early morning travel by packing egg muffins made with eggs, bacon, swiss cheese and heavy cream as well as nuts, and cheese wrapped with meat.

For drinks, at the airport we did get milk for the kids, but we also had reusable bottles with water that we used the whole trip, and I stuck with my favorite drink: Americano with 1 inch of heavy cream. Sparkling water on the airplane was also very refreshing.

At the Hotel: As luck would have it, our hotel room was equipped with a refrigerator and stove, so we could buy groceries and prepare our meals.

Every morning we had a pot of terrible coffee with heavy cream (followed by an Americano with 1 inch of cream at a shop) and we would cook bacon in the microwave, scramble eggs (in bacon grease!), and shared some fresh Florida oranges. We also had some full fat plain yogurt that we mixed thawed frozen berries into. This was a delicious and great way to start the day.

Pack it in: We had some great lunches! We bought low carb tortillas and had roast beef, cheese and spinach wrapped in the tortillas with sides of nuts, cheese and pepperoni. The days we bought lunch I had chicken fajitas with no tortillas, covered with cheese, sour cream and guacamole and didn’t eat the black beans you see. I also found place that I could get a chicken salad and put guacamole on it. I drank iced tea the days we bought lunch, and water we carried in the days we packed lunch.

Dinners were always fairly easy and good as well.

The night we cooked in we put some sausages in a pan, they were served with mustard and sauerkraut, a bag of chopped kale salad and berries. This was delicious and easy. The other picture is the meal I had on the way home from the airport which was a burger with mushrooms, swiss cheese, carmelized onions and bacon.

I did celebrate my birthday while there with a bloody mary, spinach sauteed with bacon and onions, and then grouper stuffed with shrimp and covered with gouda served with two vegetables and no potato. I did splurge and share a dessert sampler with my hubby (key lime pie, mocha chocolate flourless cake with salted caramel ice cream, and cream brulee) – all were delicious and worth the splurge!

The last night there we did go out for pizza (the first time I’ve gone out for pizza in 2 years!). As you can see, we got the extra thin crust, so the pizza was 4 meats and mostly cheese with a thin wafer of crust. It was delicious, and I didn’t ever feel like I didn’t get exactly what I wanted!

We made sure we always had snacks around. We would wrap pepperoni around cheese, or just have nuts. It is “the Most Magical Place on Earth,” and the kids did have ice cream shaped like Mickey Mouse, but we as low-carb eating adults planned ahead with our snacks and meals.

Whether you attribute it to Benjamin Franklin, Winston Churchill or some other great thinker, with this as with everything: if you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail.

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