Many people spend a good part of their days counting calories, limiting fat intake and exercising until they collapse from exhaustion. The reason for all this torture is to prevent heart disease and live a long, happy, healthy life. For most though, just putting yourself through all that nonsense is enough to make you wish yourself into an early grave. The saddest part is that studies are consistently showing that it’s not only unnecessary, but probably counterproductive. The standard American diet (SAD) is high-carb and low-fat in nature and has yet to be proven the most effective or the healthiest option.

A study conducted by Dr. Michael Shechter and colleagues, of the Leviev Heart Center in Israel, set out to learn the effects of a glycemic- index dietary carbohydrates on the arteries. To accomplish this they assessed 56 men on four separate mornings, one to two weeks apart. After an overnight fast, each subject was examined and then fed one four meals to gauge the effect of said meals to the arteries.

The meals consisted of cornflakes, glucose, high-fiber cereal and a placebo (water) and were served in a rotating randomized fashion so that the subjects received all four meal types. They found that fasting blood glucose levels were the same in all patients, but rose significantly after the glucose and cornflake meals compared to the high-fiber and placebo meal. The result shows that high-gylcemic carbohydrate consumption (AKA sugar, starches and other junk low-carbers avoid) may enhance the risk for cardiovascular disease.

(My notes: I would have loved to see this compared to say, bacon and eggs. I would have also loved to see this study continue for a while, with repeated meals to be sure results were accurate and not circumstantial. As you know, I like longer studies and more through research, but at least this is being looked into.)

According to an article found on Modern Medicine, Gregory L. Austin, M.D., of the University of Colorado in Aurora, conducted a study involving 17 patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. After following a two-week standard diet, the participants were then put on a four week very low carbohydrate diet, consisting of only 20 grams of carbohydrates a day.

The abstract shows that of the patients who completed the diet, which totaled 13, all responded with their results. 77% of the participants (10 of the 13) reported adequate relief of symptoms during the low-carb phase of their diet plans. (As someone who suffers from this malady, I can vouch that these results are accurate.) “Pain scores and quality-of-life measures significantly improved. Outcomes were independent of weight loss.” states the author. Their conclusion: “A VLCD provides adequate relief, and improves abdominal pain, stool habits, and quality of life in IBS-D.”

Visit the Mayo Clinic Website to learn more about Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Hey everyone! I hope you had a fantastic Valentine’s Weekend!

Today I thought I’d share some bits and pieces that caught my attention in the news. And then I have a story to tell you about that four letter word so many people use… like.

Let’s look at the headlines first:

Britney’s cousin Alli Sims assaulted with alcohol by film producer – So what does this have to do with low-carb? I asked myself that too when I saw the headline in my inbox. Turns out the drink he threw on her was a new Australian low-carb beer! Wow… I know you are all in awe of such news. Obviously many media outlets felt this was newsworthy though. I’ve seen this headline in several places. *SIGH* So glad the important stuff is getting covered.

Low-carb diet burns more excess liver fat than low-cal diet – Does this surprise anyone? Didn’t think so. They keep posting these headlines like it’s some miraculous new discovery. Low-carbers have known these things for years… but nobody has bothered to listen to us.

Controlling Type 2 Diabetes With Low-Carb Diets – Again, nothing new. But I’m glad to see that the media is finally starting to print the truth, instead of sensationalizing the myths.

After 24 weeks, their glycemic control was determined by a blood test that measured hemoglobin A1C, a standard test used to determine blood sugar control in patients with diabetes. Of those who completed the study, the volunteers in the low-carbohydrate diet group had greater improvements in hemoglobin A1C. Diabetes medications were reduced or eliminated in 95 percent of the low-carbohydrate volunteers, compared to 62 percent in the low-glycemic group. The low-carbohydrate diet also resulted in a greater reduction in weight.

This is just awesome and I hope more doctors open their eyes and see the facts that continue to stare them in the face. Which would you rather have – medication or a diet change. I’d vote for a diet change any day. And patients should have that choice.

Low-carb battles in your brain – More fantastic illumination from our beloved Dr. Mike. He helps explain why we sometimes struggle with sticking to our diets. It’s a fascinating read that you don’t want to miss!

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…

The word like. It’s not a big word. It’s not a fancy word. It is a four letter word, but then there are many of those, and this one isn’t censorable. So why is this word so prevalent in some people’s vocabulary? I’m going to tell you a story about something my hubby and I witnessed Saturday night. But instead of telling you this story the way I would normally tell it, I’ll do it as if the subject of my story was telling it.

So, like, we went to our favorite, like, restaurant for Valentine’s Day. Cause like, ya know, we like, wanted to celebrate. The place was like, packed and we like, had to wait for over, like, an hour or more to be, like, seated. We were tired of, like, being crammed in like sardines, so we like, headed to the bar to get something to like, drink. While standing at the bar, there was like, these two collage girls sharing a drink and like, talking about stuff. As some young people do, they like, were talking really, like, loud. So like, everyone in the bar area could like, hear their every word. And when you add, like, alcohol to like, a loud collage student, it like, really gets loud. And like, kind of like, obnoxious.

So she like, talks about all kinds of things, and, like, uses the word like so often that I start counting because ya know, it’s like, funny! We stood there for probably like, 30 minutes or so and I like, counted part of that time, and like, I swear I heard the word like probably at least like, 100 times. It got so annoying that we like, left the bar and stood outside near, like, the tables. And like, about 15 minutes later, she like, left the bar area and went, like, outside. Then she like, came back in and like, ran right into me, cause she was ya know, like, drunk. Then she like, kept going without even saying, like, excuse me or even like, I’m sorry.
If I were like, a betting person, I’d like, lay money that she went to her dorm room and puked, if she like, made it there at all.

So like, hubby and I are talking about it later, and I, like, say Hey.. wouldn’t it be, like, cra-hazy if some people, like, wrote like they, like, talked.

So now you like, know where I got the like, inspiration for this part of the like, post. Cause some like, drunk college student, like, has no idea how to properly like, use the English language.

If you made it through that entire story without wanting to hang yourself, I congratulate you on your strong constitution. Honestly, I fear most of you were like the people on the movie Airplane, who would rather die than listen to the entire stories. I know I couldn’t get out of the bar fast enough. It went from amusing to nauseating after a matter of minutes.

Next time you are talking with a younger person, see if they use the word like too much. And if you are a younger person, forgive us old fogies who are driven crazy by this kind of thing.