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Kelly Herring realizes food can be a medicine or poison for your body

How many people are walking around and don’t have a clue about the impact of food on their body? Unfortunately, too many people believe that if a food tastes good, then it cannot be healthy. But in this day and age of advancements in cooking ingredients and techniques, that’s just not true anymore. Finding low-glycemic load foods and implementing these nutrient-dense foods into your diet is essential to producing weight and health control in anyone who is willing to try it. Today’s podcast guest specializes in delicious foods that are super-healthy that power-up your body and control blood sugar levels.

In Episode 289 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from Kelley Herring, founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet and the author of a seven-book health series called Your Plate Your Fate. Additionally, she runs a company called Wellness Bakeries that offers scrumptious healthy low-carb foods and recipes that fit your palate. Kelley understands the food/body connection quite well and encourages people to find better choices rather than continuing to shovel in the garbage day after day. Switch out the sugar for erythritol and stevia blends like Truvia and substitute almond or coconut flour for the white flour to significantly lower the glycemic load, calories, and of course the carbohydrates. Most people can’t tell the difference between these low-sugar treats and the full-sugar versions. What an enthusiastic advocate of healthy low-carb and low-sugar living and I hope you are encouraged by what you hear from Kelley today.

Click here to hear my one-on-one interview with The Healing Gourmet Founder and CEO Kelley Herring.

Is Dreamfields pasta really low-carb? Your questions answered today.

Have you tried the Dreamfields pasta promoted as a low-carb alternative yet? If so, then you have very likely been impressed by how delicious it is and might be wondering if it is truly low-carb or not. More than just about any other low-carb product out there except for maybe Atkins bars, doubts about the veracity of Dreamfields pasta’s claim of being low-carb have been floating around out there in the low-carb community. To that end, I have been working hard to get someone from the company to appear on my podcast show to share more about this pasta and today we have the head honcho himself to explain what sets Dreamfields apart.

In Episode 277 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from Dreamfields Pasta President Mike Crowley about the founding of his company, what is different about Dreamfields pasta compared with conventional pasta and even other low-carb pastas, the unique way Dreamfields products are created to make “protected carbohydrates,” the fiber/protein blend used to make Dreamfields, the noticeable complexity of the Dreamfields pasta matrix compared with typical pasta, why you don’t want to overcook the Dreamfields pasta, why Dreamfields doesn’t make a spaghetti sauce, some of the new rice and other products that are in the works with Dreamfields, why you need to be careful about eating too much Dreamfields, where you can find the Dreamfields products, and so much more! If you have ANY questions about the Dreamfields low-carb pasta products then don’t miss this interview with Dreamfields President Mike Crowley!

Click here to listen to my one-on-one interview with Mike Crowley about the Dreamfields pasta brand.

Dr. Brian Young’s “Carb Tracker” app from Healthy U Technologies

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a very nice gentleman named Dr. Brian Young, a periodontist who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, who wanted to tell me about a brand new iPhone/iPod Touch application he developed that he thought would be of great interest to my readers. At the time, he had submitted his software idea to Apple for inclusion in the Apple iTunes store for consumers to download what he had developed. The resulting product which is now available for purchase is called Carb Tracker.

Click here to learn more about this new Carb Tracker iPhone app software that tracks your carbs, water, and weight.

Atkins Nutritionals VP Nutrition Communication & Education Colette Heimowitz

A potentially ugly legal firestorm is currently brewing between two of the largest low-carb food manufacturers in the United States–Dixie Diner vs. Atkins Nutritionals.

As I shared earlier this week, Tomball, TX-based Dixie Diner has filed papers with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to secure use of the term “Eco-Atkins” that was first used by researchers in a published June 2009 study. Dixie contends that a low-fat, low-carb nutritional approach is what they have represented in three decades of being in business and that this new marketing term that they want to plaster on the front packaging of their hundreds of mostly soy-based food products helps to streamline that message.

I contacted Colette Heimowitz, Vice-President of Nutrition Communication & Education at Denver, CO-based Atkins Nutritionals (ANI), to request an official response to this possible trademark infringement by Dixie Diner on their name. They were unaware of the issue when I brought it to their attention, but Heimowitz quickly issued a response to this attempt to use the name “Eco-Atkins.”

Click here to read the reaction by Atkins Nutritionals to this attempt by Dixie Diner to use the Atkins name.

Dixie Diner’s low-fat, low-carb products fit the “Eco-Atkins” diet

Bob Beeley, chairman of Dixie USA Inc. which has manufactured and distributed the Dixie Diner product line for three decades, issued a statement last week to stores selling his products regarding his company’s decision to start using the “Eco-Atkins” term (using that logo you see at the top of this column) on the front packaging of their products to proudly promote their low-fat, low-carb products. He said this is a natural continuation of the work they have been doing since they first started providing a line of low-carb products to the Atkins Nutritionals company a few years back.

“From the beginning, Dixie was the leading supplier to Atkins Nutritionals of lower-fat low carb products. We were proud to have been their largest third-party vendor. Most of the original products were developed by Dixie for Atkins, and continue to be manufactured and sold by Dixie today. But it didn’t stop there. Dixie continues to develop better low carb products. Eco-friendly is a new word for Dixie’s original products. It still applies today,” Beeley stated.

He went on to say that this new research published last month confirms his long-held belief that a vegetarian version of the Atkins diet is much more preferred for people who are on a low-carb diet than the original high-fat version created by Dr. Atkins.

“Based upon the recent studies showing the substantial benefits of vegetarian-based low carb eating, Dixie has adopted (and registered) the moniker “ECO-ATKINS” and will begin using it on many of its low carb products,” Beeley added. “Dixie has been eco-friendly since its beginning more than thirty years ago. We will continue to do so and welcome you as partners in good health, good nutrition, and sustainable agriculture.”

But there’s only one problem for Beeley and Dixie Diner and it’s a pretty major one–the term “Atkins” they are so blatantly using is a registered trademark of Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. (ANI) and has been since 1999.

Click here to read more about this developing legal battle over a possible trademark violation by Dixie Diner.

Wanna work for a great low-carb company? Join Atkins Nutritionals!

Before I had the privilege of working full-time as a professional freelance writer and low-carb blogger as a career, I worked for nearly two decades in customer service. From sit down and fast food restaurants to Christian retail management and marketing to customer relations and risk management for a large national restaurant chain, I’ve seen it all when it comes to providing high-quality customer satisfaction. It was probably inevitable that all those years of training would positively mold the way I interact with the people who grace my web sites each day.

One thing I’ve tried to bring to my blog and corresponding sites is a genuine sense of care, commitment, and concern to my customers–MY READERS!–and making sure the experience you have here is the BEST it can possibly be. YOU DESERVE IT! Whether it is the simple gesture of responding to your e-mail when you have questions or even when I have the opportunity to call you up on the telephone and offer some timely advice to give you the confidence and direction about continuing on your low-carb path. That’s what I’m here for!

If you have this deep-down desire to give yourself fully to customers and want to work for a company that is completely sold-out to the concept of livin’ la vida low-carb, then I have quite an opportunity to share with you. Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. (ANI), makers of the bestselling low-carb Atkins bars and shakes, is looking to add some Atkins Information Agents (AIA) to their growing family of employees at their corporate offices in the downtown Denver, Colorado area. This is an important position that is responsible for providing customer care services via the telephone as well as e-mail inquiries through the Atkins web site.

Each AIA will utilize the Atkins Knowledge Base to handle in-bound telephone inquiries that require responses explaining the various elements of the Atkins Nutritional Approach and it is the responsibility of the AIA to handle all types of in-bound e-mail inquiries, including but not limited to order status questions, Atkins Nutritional Approach questions, and ANI product questions. In other words, you’ll be a part of educating the public about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. SWEET!

The DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES of this position include:
- Responding to customer inquiries
- Accepting calls and e-mails from customers
- Explaining the Atkins Nutritional Approach
- Answering order status and other questions
- Using product training to answer customer questions
- Providing pleasant, positive, and professional responses
- Using customized software to communicate via e-mail
- Operating computer system to document customer needs
- Responding to customers within 24-48 hours of contact
- Attending company training sessions
- Bringing ideas and suggestions to management at meetings
- Maintaining an open communication with supervisors

What QUALIFICATIONS is ANI looking for?
- Experience providing customer service
- An enthusiastic telephone voice and personality
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- A positive an enthusiastic demeanor
- Strong customer service skill set and focus
- Proficiency in communicating via e-mail and Internet
- A willingness to be trained on internal computer system
- Must be able to read, write and speak fluent English
- Speaking a second language is a plus
- An ability to accurately compose business communication

If this sounds like the dream job for you and you live in the greater Denver, Colorado area, then please forward your resume to Careers@atkins.com or mail it to Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., 1050 Seventeenth Street, Suite 1000, Denver, CO 80265.

NOTE: This job is located in Denver, Colorado and ANI will be unable to relocate any prospective employees who live outside of this area. Additionally, there are no “work at home” positions available with this job offer. They are looking for full-time or part-time people with good computer skills, excellent communication, and stellar customer service skills who are also well-versed in “livin’ la vida low-carb” to represent the company to the public. GOOD LUCK!

High-carb junk foods Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Twinkies a dying breed

The message is getting out there and more people now than ever before are starting to believe it. Consuming carbohydrates in the form of excessive sugar and flour is extremely unhealthy and should be avoided as much as possible. Regardless of your dietary philosophy, cutting out refined carbs is a nutritional must if you want to control your weight and improve your health. And the impact of such an epiphany happening in the minds of Americans is hitting some of the most famous American junk food brands hard.

Click here to read how the makers of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Hostess Twinkies, and Wonder Bread are suffering financially because of a consumer base wising up to the harmful effects of sugar and refined carbohydrates on their weight and health.

Did you know that sugar contains miraculous “healing powers”? YEP!

Of all the God-given natural creations that we have been bestowed with on this here planet Earth, there is one that stands out above all others as the greatest and most spectacular of them all. No, it’s not human beings, animals, or even TiVo! Believe it or not, I’m referring to SUGAR.

That’s right, folks, you heard it here first! Everybody’s favorite little white granular substance has been given such high prominence in the world of science and medicine now that it has been discovered to have great “healing powers” according to a press release I received from the Vice President of Public Relations for the Washington, DC-based Sugar Association Melanie Miller this week. She boasts of these amazing “healing” properties as a reason why people should not be shunning sugar so quickly.

At the same time, the Corn Refiner’s Association says in a new television ad campaign that you’re in for a “sweet surprise” about high fructose corn syrup and encourages you to visit their new web site to “get the facts.” Claiming that HFCS has “no artificial ingredients,” is “nutritionally…the same as table sugar,” and has “the same number of calories as table sugar,” they think they have hit a home run with their ads.

CLICK HERE to see these two desperate attempts to make sugar and HFCS look healthier than they really are and find out the truth about these two major contributors to obesity and disease in modern-day society.

Fresh Express giving you two more reasons to eat your greens

You can’t eat your vegetables on a low-carb diet, everyone knows that! It’s just meat, meat, and more meat followed with a few eggs and some cheese when you go on a low-carb diet, so you had better say goodbye to EVER eating another vegetable again if you choose to eat this way. No wonder that low-carb diet is so unhealthy. Who would eat this way?

Do you ever get the feeling the world has gone absolutely mad and we’re the only sane ones left in the world now? As someone who has been low-carbing and loving it coming up on five years now, it gets more than a little nauseating to see how the healthy low-carb nutritional approach is so unfairly maligned and described this way by the so-called health “experts” and the media which in turn is regurgitated by the average Joe and Jane around the water cooler at work. It’s frustrating trying to reeducate people who have been so grossly misinformed.

In Episode 50 of “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube,” Christine and I talk about some new low-carb vegetables (yes, there are indeed some great-tasting and healthy veggies that are PERFECT for your low-carb lifestyle as we talked about in Episode 3) that you may want to know about coming to store shelves in September 2008. It’s from our friends at Fresh Express and you’re gonna absolutely LOVE adding these greens to your low-carb menu.

Check out these delicious new Fresh Express flavors in today’s video:

You get to hear about the new Tender Ruby Reds and the Sweet Tender Greens–two GREAT new flavors from Fresh Express that are perfect for your healthy low-carb lifestyle. Look for them on your supermarket store shelves coming soon. You’re gonna love…just don’t choke on them like I did! Speaking of choking, at the end of the video, I tell you about the very special FitCamp experience I will be participating in beginning tonight through August 31st with former “Biggest Loser” contestant Isabeau Miller. Since her incredible final four appearance in Season 4 of the hit NBC-TV show last Fall losing well over 100 pounds, Isabeau has become a personal trainer and is dedicated to helping people lose weight and get healthy and fit like she did. That’s what this two-week experience will be about and I’ll be doing updates of this experience in a special FitCamp video series on YouTube. Wanna see Jimmy Moore get his hind quarters beaten to smithereens? Then you WON’T want to miss these next two weeks.

We love making videos for you and look forward to sharing them with you every time we do them. Watch our previous YouTube videos and you’ll make our day by subscribing to our YouTube videos. As always, you can leave us your feedback at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANK YOU for watching “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube” and don’t miss our special FitCamp videos these next two weeks.

Would Dr. Atkins approve of this “sweet sexy science” marketing campaign?

Have you seen some of the advertisements featuring the Atkins shakes and bars from Atkins Nutritionals lately? It’s RADICALLY different from what it has been in the past as you will quickly notice when you see it. I’m not saying it’s bad necessarily, but it’s certainly different. However, there have been some concerns that the company that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins founded is now bastardizing the high-fat, low-carb message he promoted for three decades. So I made contact with a friend within Atkins Nutritionals to ask her about these issues that so many of you have shared with me in recent months.

In Episode 167 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear directly from Atkins Nutritionals spokeswoman and nutritionist Colette Heimowitz who has a whole lot of explaining to do with this new move toward “lean protein” and “healthy whole grains” in the new advertising for the company. And she explains why they decided to promote this version of Atkins which she says “hasn’t changed”–it’s only being better communicated now to overcome the myths that STILL persist today. Check it out and see for yourself whether you agree if this is an effective marketing strategy.

Click on the “LISTEN NOW” link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 167:

“The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” Episode 167 [36:24m]: LISTEN NOW | Download

Colette Heimowitz has been at Atkins Nutritionals for a long time and even worked with Dr. Atkins at the Atkins Center for several years looking at the science behind the Atkins low-carb lifestyle. Through all the ups (like the tremendous sales success in 2003-04) and the downs (when the company filed for bankruptcy), Colette has always kept the focus on the science behind the Atkins Nutritional Approach even when the investors in the Atkins Nutritionals company were merely hanging on for dear life and feeling tempted to take the message off of low-carb and on to “healthy living” (check out my blog interview with Colette in October 2006). She discusses quite a bit of information about the changes that have been happening at the company over the past couple of years.

Much of the new marketing of the Atkins diet is communicated and promoted in the new book Colette co-wrote with Dr. Stuart Trager called The All-New Atkins Advantage: The 12-Week Low-Carb Program to Lose Weight, Achieve Peak Fitness and Health, and Maximize Your Willpower to Reach Life Goals. We hear from Colette in the interview explaining why there was a need for a new Atkins book after Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution has been out there for over a decade. There’s a lot of information shared in this interview with Colette Heimowitz that I’m sure will instigate quite a discussion. Don’t hold back!

Hear from company representatives like Colette Heimowitz anytime by:

1. Listening at the official web site
2. Calling 818-688-2763 to listen via Podlinez
3. Subscribing to the RSS feed
4. Going to iTunes–Click here to subscribe!

Check out this witty video tutorial from my podcast producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien about how you can sign up for the podcast RSS feed, listen on iTunes, and all the other ways to access the show.

So how about what you heard from Colette Heimowitz at Atkins Nutritionals? Did she make a convincing argument for the latest marketing that is happening with the company or do you feel they are moving away from the original intent of the company that Dr. Atkins founded? Tell us what YOU think in the show notes section of Episode 167. Visit Atkins.com to see the newly updated Atkins Nutritionals web site and you can order Atkins Advantage Bars or the Atkins Advantage Caramel Bars if you’d like to stock up on these for your healthy low-carb lifestyle. Special THANKS to Colette for sharing time with me for this interview to answer your questions.

Coming up next week, we’ll have Becky Gandy, cruise director for The 2nd Annual Low-Carb Cruise To Mexico, on Monday talking about the biggest low-carb event of 2009 featuring special guests Dr. Jonny Bowden, Dr. Eric Westman, Jackie Eberstein, Dana Carpender, Judy Barnes Baker, Dr. James Carlson…and Christine and I will be there too! Find out all the details in this podcast. Then on Thursday you will hear from famous diabetes blogger David Mendosa who is now a big-time believer in the healthy low-carb lifestyle for managing and controlling his blood sugar and insulin levels. This is one amazing interview you WON’T want to miss!