Carbohydrate Restriction

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General Information

 Carbohydrate 
Restricted Diets

Carb Restriction & Diabetes

Carb/Fat Counting  

Fiber

Grain Restriction

Insulin

Low carb foods

Obesity/Weight Control  

HCG Protocol 

Sugars  

Supplements

Other Factors  

Know Your Fats  

General Information

* Overcoming Fat Phobia -
Some Basic Facts about Fat, Cholesterol and Carbohydrates

* Big Fat Lies with Gary Taubes - Lecture at Steven's Institute of Technology - very valuable info on why carb restriction is important for dealing with obesity and Syndrome X
 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4362041487661765149 
His book, Good Calories, Bad Calories - Challenging the conventional wisdom on diet, weight control, and disease, details his findings about the research covering this important yet controversial topic.  A review   A discussion group. His newer book, Why we get fat, and what to do about it, is less technical, but still aimed at convincing the skeptics that a low carb high fat diet is a healthful option.

* Why Skim Milk Will Make You Fat and Give You Heart Disease

     See also Whole milk helps you lose weight

* The Success of Low Carb Diets - Mercola.com

* What's behind the carb problem?
Insulin and Its Metabolic Effects, by Ron Rosedale, MD 

* Doctors Cause Diabetics to D.I.E. by Ron Rosedale, MD 

* The Diabetes Conundrum: What Physicians are Teaching You may be Killing You    Dr. Mercola

The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living, by Jeff Volek, PhD, RD, and Stephen Phinney, MD, PhD - An expert guide to making the life-saving benefits of carbohydrate restriction sustainable and enjoyable.
This book provides good info on the science behind the low carb diet, and emphasizes the importance of adequate fat for the long term.  I wish they hadn't suggested artificial sweeteners that we don't recommend (Splenda and xylitol), and peanut oil should be limited because of the high omega-6 PUFA content. Also we don't recommend whey protein powder - better to use eggs from a trusted source in smoothies.

* Low Carbohydrate Diets  by Joseph Brascoe, M.D.

Low Grain and Carbohydrate Diets Treat Hypoglycemia, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer and Nearly ALL Chronic Illness

* CHEWING THE FAT: THE LOW-CARB DIET PHENOMENON  by Stephen Byrnes, PhD, RNCP

A Summary of much of this info on low carb diets

* The World's Biggest Fad Diet (and why you should probably avoid it), 1997 By Dean Esmay, a journalist type

* Common Myths About Low Carbohydrate Diets
by Anthony Colpo 

* See also The Modern Nutritional Diseases 
   A very good explanation of how excess carbohydrate, poor fats, and disease are linked.

* To get low-carb right, you need to check blood sugars

Books & Web sites dealing 
with carbohydrate restriction

* Life without Bread - How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life, 2000, by Christian B. Allan, Ph.D. and Wolfgang Lutz, M.D.  

* The Schwartzbein Principle, The Truth about Weight Loss, Health and Aging By Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., Nancy Deville

http://www.schwarzbeinprinciple.com/pgs/program/program1.html

This is an overview of her program and provides good basic info.

Be aware that her first book endorsed the use of soy foods and canola oil, both of which you are better off avoiding, while panning beneficial coconut oil - examples of the pervasive influence of the commercial food industry. Her newer book may have corrected these problems. Check the links for further information.

* Protein Power - The High-Protein/Low Carbohydrate Way to Lose Weight, Feel Fit, and Boost Your Health-in Just Weeks!  by Michael Eades  

* Neanderthin - Eat Like a Caveman to Achieve a Lean, Strong, Healthy Body by Ray Audette  

* The Saccharine Disease - Conditions Caused by the Taking of Refined Carbohydrates such as Sugar and White Flour by T. L. Cleave

http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/Cleave/cleave_toc.html

(Online copy)

* Paleo Diet http://www.paleodiet.com/ - lots of links - but ignore the advice to use canola oil and avoid butter. He doesn't understand the value of natural grass-fed sources of fat in providing and protecting delicate omega-3 fats.  A 'Thumbs down' review at WAPF

* Modern Paleo Principles http://www.modernpaleo.com/principles.html 

* The Warrior Diet http://www.warriordiet.com/ (click on 'Warrior Diet' at top for more info) - a review at WAPF - 'Thumbs down' but much more WAPF friendly. Based more on intermittent fasting and whole foods rather than carb restriction.

http://www.mercola.com/article/Diet/index.htm

* Dr. Mercola on Nutritional Typing (you do have to register and sign in) http://products.mercola.com/nutritional-typing/?source=nl

by Dr. Joseph Mercola & Alison Rose Levy

  http://www.mercola.com/2003/apr/30/nograindiet.htm

And my comments on this book.

* Dr. Mercola's Total Health & Cookbook Program 150 Delicious Grain-Free Recipes & Proven Metabolic Type Plan to Prevent Disease, Optimize Weight and Live Longer”

* Breaking the Vicious Cycle - Intestinal Health Through Diet  by Elaine Gottschall, a practical book that addresses the problems of intestinal conditions, including indigestion, a "nervous stomach", chronic diarrhea or spastic colon, to the more serious and debilitating problems such as Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's disease, Diverticulitis, Celiac and Cystic Fibrosis. The book provides an alternative way to help combat digestive disorders using dietary changes - with a diet called the "Specific Carbohydrate Diet." See also www.breakingtheviciouscycle.com , www.pecanbread.com , http://uclbs.org/ 

* DANGEROUS GRAINS - Why Gluten Cereal Grains May Be Hazardous to Your Health, 2002, by James Braly, M.D. and Ron Hoggan, M.A.

Dangerous Grains turns the U.S. Food Guide Pyramid upside down by exposing the myriad health risks posed by  gluten grains (wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, and triticale). The authors, leading experts in the field of food allergies and celiac disease, present compelling evidence that our grain-centered diet is to blame for a host of chronic illnesses. Largely misunderstood and frequently misdiagnosed, these disorders can be prevented and reversed by the useful program outlined in this important new book.

http://www.calgaryceliac.com/ronhoggan.html  or 

http://www.mercola.com/2002/oct/5/dangerous_grains.htm

* More on digestive disorders 

Carb Restriction and Diabetes

* Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution 
by Richard K. Bernstein. M.D.
Dr. Bernstein has Type 1 Diabetes, who finally controlled his diabetes well with a careful balancing of insulin and carb intake, and in the process corrected most of the complications that had begun to plague him. When the medical profession wouldn't listen to what he had learned he became an M.D.  The book was a revelation to me, a retired dietitian, who had given the wrong advice for years, until I retired and started reading alternate sources. I had worked as a diabetes educator and with a diabetes specialist, but we didn't have a clue! The book makes sense of the many things we struggled with in dealing with diabetes. A shortcoming of the book is the use of soy flour in recipes and a lack of emphasis on getting adequate healthy fats, so be sure you understand high quality fats when you read the book. The Web site has articles by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, so his understanding of the importance of fat quality may have increased since the book came out.
Dr. Bernstein's forum www.diabetes-book.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl 
Here's something about Bernstein's new book - and more: www.mendosa.com/blog/?p=1125 

Interestingly, you can read excerpts of the book on-line at www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/readit.shtml so he really is trying to educate, and not just make money off his book. At almost 500 pages, I'd much rather study the hard copy which includes recipes, and which I bought after I read the library copy. 

See also this article on Insulin and books on Carb Restriction

* Second Opinions, by Barry Groves, PhD
www.second-opinions.co.uk/diabetes_index.html 

* Treating Diabetes: Practical Advice for Combating a Modern Epidemic, by Tom Cowen, M.D.

Dr. Mercola on Diabetes  

Dietary Carbohydrate Restriction in the Management of Diabetes: The 15 Theses.  

A fascinating website documenting the battle between conventional RD's and someone who overcame his diabetes on a low carb high fat diet, such as that recommended by the above health professionals.

Weight Reduction/Control

Some good weight control books that explain the value of good fats in controlling weight:

*Eat Fat, Lose Fat, by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig 

*The Liberation Diet by Kevin Brown &  Annette Presley, RD http://www.liberationdiet.com/  Click on "About the authors" for links to their individual websites. See also http://www.liberationwellness.com/ 

Healing by Bee - low carb helps on the Web 

Broth and weight control 

* Arguments In Favor Of Ketogenic Diets - please ignore the all too conventional misinformation about saturated fat and cholesterol in this otherwise insightful analysis.

* The HCG Protocol  - In an age when some people are so desperate to lose weight, they resort to gastric bypass and related surgeries, which have become a profitable business with less than satisfying results, I need to mention a possible, far healthier alternative - the HCG Protocol, based on Pounds and Inches, a New Approach to Obesity, by A.T.W. Simeons, MD. (Another copy of the book) This lecture by our local cardiologist, Dr. James Roberts, explains the Protocol in detail, and why he came to embrace this technique. The HCG Protocol mimics pregnancy, when the body burns fats to provide energy to the fetus even if the woman doesn't eat, overcoming the typical starvation response to the calorie restriction recommended for weight loss. Here's Dr. Mayer Eisenstein's enthusiastic video on the HCG Protocol - his website

*Public Policy and Obesity

*Food Fight, The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It

*Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes, has very helpful info on successful weight loss, and why the typical recommendation to eat less and exercise more doesn't work very well.

*A Yahoo discussion group discussing Good  Calories, Bad Calories

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/TaubesTalk/ 

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/lowcarbwap/

http://forum.lowcarber.org/ 

Also Weight Loss on a Traditional Diet: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/NTWL/

*The Biggest Gainer - interesting story from Kat James of gaining health while losing weight.
http://www.betternutrition.com/columns/askthenaturopath/767

*What to do When the Atkins Diet Fails You ... and Why it Usually Does
http://www.mercola.com/2004/jul/3/atkins_diet.htm
(It's worth it to register with the site to see this.)

*Perfect Health Institute  "The mission of Perfect Health Institute is to assist you in developing a balanced lifestyle based on scientific and natural principals so you can avoid the epidemic of obesity and sickness caused by successful marketing of profitable addictive foods with little nutritional value."

* WholeFoodNation.com - This is a commercial program, but could be very useful if you need help with weight control. It does emphasize real food and good quality fats.

*See General Info above on carb restriction

Other Factors in Weight Control

*Exercise is a consideration in weight control. Too much can be a problem. See Dr. Al Sear's PACE program, for a better approach:

 http://www.alsearsmd.com/pace/
See also http://www.alsearsmd.com/pace-exercise-program.html   X

* Fat Quality - Essential fatty acids are important for weight control, but they must be in proper balance. The typical American diet is too high in omega-6 essential fats, so this merits attention in choosing you food. More on essential fats

*Supplements that could be helpful for weight control, when combined with a healthy diet:

*Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with obesity - see The Miracle of Vitamin D - find "The Battle of the Bulge" about a quarter of the way down the page. More on Vitamin D

*Magnesium deficiency is common - if you increase your vitamin D levels your body needs more magnesium!  More on Magnesium

* TonaLean http://tinyurl.com/tonaleannn - incorporating conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), green tea extract, and chromium to boost fat burning.

*FucoThin http://www.fucothin.com/ - with fucoxanthin, a unique seaweed product that boosts fat burning.

*Primal Lean  http://alsearsmd.com/wp/primal-lean-irvingia/ with fucoxanthin and an West African herb, called irvingia gabonensis, that restores your body's appetite signal network

* Some doctors are beginning to use HCG hormone combined with a very low calorie diet to treat stubborn obesity.  See Dr. James Robert's position on this. Leptin resistance can explain why drastic measures may be needed.  And here is the book that started it all Pounds and Inches by A.T.W. Simeons, M.D. - interesting reading!

Carb Counting

Keeping track of your carb/fat intake, if you'd like to

www.fatsecret.com

www.fitday.com

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