Low carb diets gain respect

[rgarling]

Andreas Einfeldt interviews Eric Westman
http://www.dietdoctor.com/the-science-of-low-carb#comments

some interesting points:

• the science that low carb diets are healthy is "pretty solid"
• at the moment there is a "knowledge transfer deficit" (to practicing physicians, nutritionists, government organizations and the media.)
• don't try to do low carb, low fat (do low carb, high fat)
• the fear of dietary fat is the root cause that people are being told the diet is bad
• "we were taught the wrong things" (doctors, nurses, dieticians)
• 90% of bariatric physicians use low carb diets to treat patients

 

[Leonidas]

For me it's compelling that Westman, who has been promoting LCHF for years, is the president-elect of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians.

 

[jclarksnakes]

Excellent! Just the bit of encouragement I needed. Having recently switched to LCHF diet I am having some trouble unlearning all the wrong information I learned about fat.

 

[haha]

THANKS, rgarling. A very nice interview. Dr Westman seems to be a modest guy.

Here is another interesting report- this time of a peer reviewed published study via UK physician/blogger Dr. Briffa. An interesting no- chemical assay of post diet vascular health is tried.

Yet another study shows the superiority of lower-carb eating over low-fat | Dr Briffa's Blog - A Good Look at Good Health

Ha

 

[braumeister]

This interview with Dr. Westman was one of the things that contributed to my conversion to a LCHF diet:

Eric Westman, Duke MD, on Low Carb, High Fat, New Atkins Diet | Me and My Diabetes

 

[DangerMouse]

WE started low carbing at the beginning of 2012 and have had excellent results. I'm a firm believer in the low carb way of life.

 

[Koogie]

WE started low carbing at the beginning of 2012 and have had excellent results. I'm a firm believer in the low carb way of life.

We second that. This is our first try at the "new" Atkins and are finding both that it provides excellent results and is much improved over the "old" Atkins. The improved emphasis on leafy greens is very welcome as is the ability to add more seafood in place of red meat and cheese only.
Mind you, as an avid but amateurish runner and biker, it still kills your energy at the beginning. I've had to modify the half marathon training program I'm currently on because I just can't handle the workload for the pace I selected. The weightloss is worth it though. 10 lbs in the first three weeks.

 

[Chuckanut]

This thread come at very interesting time for me. A little over a week ago, I was with a friend near dinner time. Normally, my dinner is lots of veggies cooked with little or no fat and a piece of white chicken meat or fish. Then, about an hour later, I am hungry and I grab dessert - something surgary, often very sugary. So, we stopped for dinner and I have an 'old-fashioned' burger - 1/4 pound meat patty, tomato, lettuce, onions on a white bread bun. Also, some olives and veggies. I noticed upon returning home that I did not crave sweets!! This past weekend, I tried it again myself. For lunch, a 1/4 pound hamburger patty with some veggies and olives. I was pretty much satiated until dinner, where I had two meat sausages, veggies and wine. I did eat a dessert, but only about 1/2 the usual amount, and only because they were homemade goodies!!.

This has got me thinking that I need to rethink my diet.

 

[jclarksnakes]

This thread come at very interesting time for me. A little over a week ago, I was with a friend near dinner time. Normally, my dinner is lots of veggies cooked with little or no fat and a piece of white chicken meat or fish. Then, about an hour later, I am hungry and I grab dessert - something surgary, often very sugary. So, we stopped for dinner and I have an 'old-fashioned' burger - 1/4 pound meat patty, tomato, lettuce, onions on a white bread bun. Also, some olives and veggies. I noticed upon returning home that I did not crave sweets!! This past weekend, I tried it again myself. For lunch, a 1/4 pound hamburger patty with some veggies and olives. I was pretty much satiated until dinner, where I had two meat sausages, veggies and wine. I did eat a dessert, but only about 1/2 the usual amount, and only because they were homemade goodies!!.

This has got me thinking that I need to rethink my diet.

For all the years I was living the low fat mantra I was able to keep my weight at an acceptable level counting fat grams and calories and walking a bunch but I was always hungry after meals. Since my change to LCHF a few weeks ago I am noticeably less hungry nearly all the time. Big side bonus is that the real food meals generally taste better. Where I am having a problem is with my love of rice. I spent three years of my life in Korea and got used to eating lots of rice. Cutting way back on all the other high carb items (bread, desserts, potatoes and pasta) has been relatively easy. I am going to cheat a couple times a week and have rice.

 

[donheff]

Where I am having a problem is with my love of rice. I spent three years of my life in Korea and got used to eating lots of rice. Cutting way back on all the other high carb items (bread, desserts, potatoes and pasta) has been relatively easy. I am going to cheat a couple times a week and have rice.

That is my downfall too. DW has cut out rice so I just make a little for myself which keeps the amounts down, still... I also eat chocolate chip cookies with coffee in the morning. I guess I may be a little bit over to the HCHF end.

I'm thinking I will cook up some bacon and eggs this morning.

 

[eytonxav]

I guess I may be a little bit over to the HCHF end.

I'm thinking I will cook up some bacon and eggs this morning.

I do buy into the LCHF approach, but I've been a life long carb junky and find it difficult to make the switch from HC and to stay disciplined over time. I really need to make this change permanent being a T2.

 

[Chuckanut]

My issue with LCHF is sugar. I wonder if the benefits of this diet are due mostly to the elimination of added sugars. I wonder if any studies have looked at diets that eliminate or limit added sugars and highly processed carbs like white flour, but allow whole grains, etc?

 

[rgarling]

My issue with LCHF is sugar. I wonder if the benefits of this diet are due mostly to the elimination of added sugars. I wonder if any studies have looked at diets that eliminate or limit added sugars and highly processed carbs like white flour, but allow whole grains, etc?

It has been shown that people on ad-lib high fat (low carb) diets eat fewer calories than people on a calorie-restricted low fat (high carb) diet. In other words, people on the high fat diet can eat the amount they want whereas people on the high carb diet have to consciously restrict the amount they eat. I think this means that fat is the active ingredient as opposed to the lack of simple carbs. Dr. Davis (Wheat Belly) believes that wheat products stimulate appetite.

On the other hand, eliminating sugar and white flour would be a great start. You should replace those calories with fat (and possibly protein if you aren't getting enough) rather than whole grain products. Whole grains are nearly as bad as white flour with regard to affecting blood sugar.

 

[Koogie]

A benefit I've also noticed is that the LCHF diet seems to also naturally lend itself to reducing your portion size. That was always my problem. We eat quite healthy and generally have for about 8 years but my portions were always really big and usually seconds. I blame the wife for being an awesome cook.. lol

 

[Buckeye]

My experience (continuing) with the Dukan Diet tells me my future is low carb and no wheat.

 

[LRDave]

I am not trying to be a smart*ss or provocative - I am truly curious.....

Would a diet avoiding process foods, primarily flour-, corn- and sugar-based foods, match a LCHF diet in many ways?

How does the LCHF diet idea fit in with the perception that southern Europeans are generally healthier and are at much less risk of heart and vascular disease?

 

[ShortInSeattle]

My issue with LCHF is sugar. I wonder if the benefits of this diet are due mostly to the elimination of added sugars. I wonder if any studies have looked at diets that eliminate or limit added sugars and highly processed carbs like white flour, but allow whole grains, etc?

This is the approach I've been taking. I'm slowly dropping pounds and my blood sugar is much improved. I'm a vegetarian and thus can't do full on low carb, but cutting out simple/processed carbs has been powerful.

 

[braumeister]

I am not trying to be a smart*ss or provocative - I am truly curious.....

Would a diet avoiding process foods, primarily flour-, corn- and sugar-based foods, match a LCHF diet in many ways?

I really don't think so, although you're heading in the right direction. Your curiosity has so far only taken you the first step to understanding. If you read some of the authors mentioned here, particularly Gary Taubes, along with the referenced Westman bits, you'll quickly come to understand the whole LCHF paradigm. It's worth a bit of study IMHO.

How does the LCHF diet idea fit in with the perception that southern Europeans are generally healthier and are at much less risk of heart and vascular disease?

This whole business of the various "paradoxes" derived from a cursory look at what different nations supposedly base their diets on is a many-headed hydra. Each can be explained quite handily, but once again you have to spend some time looking into the details.

 

[haha]

How does the LCHF diet idea fit in with the perception that southern Europeans are generally healthier and are at much less risk of heart and vascular disease?

Like many perceptions, this has little to do with reality.

Life Expectancy Of 14 Nations In Europe

Thsi article from Medial World News Today gives life expectancy for 14 European countries.

Ha

 

[TromboneAl]

That is my downfall too. DW has cut out rice so I just make a little for myself which keeps the amounts down, still... I also eat chocolate chip cookies with coffee in the morning. I guess I may be a little bit over to the HCHF end.

I'm thinking I will cook up some bacon and eggs this morning.

For those of you missing carbs, or avoiding LCHF because there are things you don't want to give up, know that there are low-carb alternatives for many high-carb foods.

This morning I had a slice of toasted nut bread made with flax seed meal and carbquik, with three pats of butter, Nature's Hollow low-carb strawberry jelly, lots of homemade sugar-free maple syrup, and a huge mound of sugar-free whipped cream.

I guarantee this tasted as good or better than any pancakes or waffles you'd get at a restaurant.

But you do need to make this stuff yourself, you generally can't buy good sugar-free products. For example, sugar-free chocolates are usually sweetened with maltitol, which is just about as bad as sugar. The good polyols are too expensive.

Instead of rice, we make mashed cauliflower that tastes great. It may sound bad, but it's loaded with butter and heavy whipping cream. Instead of chocolate chipped cookies we might have carbquik brownies, chocolate fudge, or cheesecake.

 

[donheff]

This morning I had a slice of toasted nut bread made with flax seed meal and carbquik, with three pats of butter, Nature's Hollow low-carb strawberry jelly, lots of homemade sugar-free maple syrup, and a huge mound of sugar-free whipped cream.

recipe?

 

[TromboneAl]

recipe?

I should probably just share the link to the 90 recipes on my googledocs, but let me think about the implications of that, and in the meantime:

-----------------

Flax Seed Meal Nut Bread

Ingredients:
1.5 cups flax seed meal
.5 cup Carbquik (can substitute more Flax seed meal instead)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
.5 cup chopped roasted pecans (optional)
1 Tablespoons erythritol
5 beaten eggs
3 drops splenda
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup oil
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare pan (a 10X15 pan with sides works best) with oiled parchment paper or a silicone mat.

1) Mix dry ingredients well -- a whisk works well.

2) Add wet to dry, and combine well. Make sure there aren't obvious strings of egg white hanging out in the batter.

3) Let batter set for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken up some (leave it too long and it gets past the point where it's easy to spread.)

4) Pour batter onto pan. Because it's going to tend to mound in the middle, you'll get a more even thickness if you spread it away from the center somewhat, in roughly a rectangle an inch or two from the sides of the pan (you can go all the way to the edge, but it will be thinner).

5) Bake for about 20 minutes, until it springs back when you touch the top and/or is visibly browning even more than flax already is.

6) Cool and cut into whatever size slices you want. You don't need a sharp knife; I usually just cut it with a spatula.
Nutritional Information: Each of 12 servings has less than a gram of effective carbohydrate (.7 grams to be exact) plus 5 grams fiber, 6 grams protein, and 185 calories.

--------------

Jelly: Nature's Hollow | Sugar free - Preserves, Syrup, Honey, BBQ Sauce and Ketchup

Sugar free jelly ratings:

10=a good real jelly

Polaner
Orange marmalade 7
Strawberry 2
Grape

Walden Farms
Strawberry
Orange Marmalade 3

Nature's Hollow
Strawberry 9
Blueberry 10 (but 5 g net carbs)

​

-------------

Sugar-Free Maple Syrup Triple Batch

3 cups water
1 1/8 tsp Xantham Gum
30 drops sucralose
20 drops stevita
3 tsp maple extract
3 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 cup erythritol (was ¾ originally)

Add xantham gum to water, blend with stick mixer
Add sucralose and extracts
Heat, and add erythritol

Be sure to add the erythritol last, otherwise it may recrystallize.

-----------------


Whipped Cream

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Drops Liquid Splenda
2 Drops Stevita
1 tsp Vanilla

------------------------------


Carbquik Recipe: Brownie

Servings: 16
Net Carbs Per Serving: 2g
Total Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Brownie:

3/4 stick butter (3 oz)
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
1.5 cups Erythritol (powdered or ground in food processor)
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup Carbquik
3/4 cup pecan, chopped

Brownie: -Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and sides of square pan, 9x9x2 inches.
-Melt butter and chocolate in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. You can do it in the microwave, but saucepan might be better.

-Cool slightly and add Sweetener to chocolate and blend well till smooth.
-Beat vanilla and eggs in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed 5 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed.
-Beat in carbquik just until blended. Stir in walnuts. Spread in pan.
-Bake 20-30 minutes or just until brownies spring back in the middle and begin to pull away from sides of pan.
-Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Spread with Chocolate Frosting. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows



Chocolate Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter
2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, cut into pieces
1.5 cups erythritol
2 to 3 tablespoons hot water


[I haven't tried the frosting]

-----------------------

Fudge

Anna Chocolates

.5 cup Cream
2 ounces (4 tbs) Butter
300 g (10 oz) Baker's unsweetened chocolate
1 cup almond butter (with no sugar!)
1/4 cup Nuts
1/8 tsp KCl

15 drops Splenda
.5 cup powdered erythritol


Melt it all together (except sweetener) in the microwave, 1 minute at a time. Add Splenda and nuts, pour it into an 8x8 glass, and put it in the fridge.



---------------


Chocolates

8 Squares unsweetened Baker’s Chocolate (chopping helps but is optional)
1 Tbs coconut oil
12 drops liquid splenda
8 drops Stevita
.5 tsp Peppermint Extract (optional)
1/8 tsp KCl salt or regular salt
.5 cup Erythritol (granulated)
1 cup Well-roasted pecans, chopped

Do all heating slowly, and don’t let the chocolate get too hot.

Melt the chocolate on low, sliding them around and stirring frequently.
Combine all other ingredients and nuke for 1 minute or more

Once the chocolate is melted add other ingredients and stir
Then pour onto waxed paper on a cookie sheet
Place in freezer until hardened

-------------------

1-Minute Muffin
1/4 cup Flax Seed Meal
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Egg
1 Tbs Melted butter
1/16 tsp salt

1.5 Carbs

Mix the dry ingredients in a large coffe cup. Add egg and butter; mix well. Microwave for 50-seconds to 1-minute. Muffin pops right out


-----------------

For cheesecake I make these "clouds" and put it in a pie crust (see below);

Cream Cheese Clouds

CREAM CHEESE CLOUDS
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 drops splenda,
.25 cup powdered eryth
1/2 teaspoon vanilla or other flavoring

Beat everything with an electric mixer until fluffy. Drop by bite-size spoonfuls onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour. Store in the freezer and eat frozen.
Makes 24 clouds

NOTE: You can store these in the refrigerator and they will hold their shape quite well as long as they are good and cold.

With granular Splenda:
Per Cloud: 70 Calories; 7g Fat; 1g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb
Per 2 Clouds: 140 Calories; 14g Fat; 2g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs
With liquid Splenda:
Per 2 Clouds: 134 Calories; 14g Fat; 2g Protein; .5g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; .5g Net Carbs
Per 4 Clouds: 268 Calories; 29g Fat; 3g Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 1g Net Carb

---------------

Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups almond meal or almond flour
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• Artificial sweetener equal to 3 tablespoons sugar

Preparation:
Heat oven to 350 F. Melt the butter (if the pie pan is microwave safe, melt the butter in it) and mix the ingredients up in the pan and pat into place with your fingertips.

Bake for about 10 minutes until the crust is beginning to brown. After 8 minutes, check every minute or so, because once it starts to brown it goes quickly.
Nutritional Information: The whole pie shell has 11 gramseffective carbohydrate plus 17 grams fiber and 30 grams protein.

 

[TromboneAl]

Cauliflower Mash

Mashed Cauliflower

Steam .25 head of cauliflower in the microwave until soft
Mash with 2 TBS butter 2 TBS heavy whipping cream. Adjust cream to get desired softness.

 

[bld999]

"sweetened with maltitol, which is just about as bad as sugar."


Not to mention the usual side effects, which can make you very unpopular at the table or the ride home...

 

[TromboneAl]

Here's my chart on sugar alcohols (more correctly: polyols):