Last month during my 5-Year Blogiversary Contest Giveaway I conducted a reader survey that yielded some outstanding demographics of the people who read my blog and of low-carbers in general. When I did this in 2009, it really opened my eyes to exactly who is coming to the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog and why. Thanks to the record-breaking number of entries I received, I was able to do it all over again in 2010 to see what if any new trends have emerged. I sincerely appreciate everyone who submitted your responses because it shows the world that the low-carb community is indeed alive and well impacting the world of nutrition in a positive way!

These survey results are by no means scientific, but it does give you a snapshot of the current state of low-carb. Anyone who thinks low-carb diets are some fringe fad diet that just faded away when Dr. Atkins died in 2003 is sorely mistaken. Low-carb isn’t a phrase to run away from in 2010, but rather one to be embraced, shaped, and molded into the healthy high-fat, moderate protein, low-carbohydrate nutritional approach that is helping so many people not only shed the pounds but radically improve health markers like blood sugar, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL particle size, blood pressure, and so much more. This is a subject that is not to be taken lightly by the media and the so-called health “experts” any longer because the lives of real people are at stake in this discussion. Whether they like it or not, low-carb living is the catalyst for good changes that are happening to people and will continue to come about thanks to the efforts of those seeking to educate, encourage, and inspire others to become more pro-active in their own personal health.

This survey was so spectacularly received last year that I wanted to ask many of the same questions to see how the answers would change if at all as well as throw in a few others that I was curious about. I’m pleased to share the results of that survey with you in this column today because I think you’ll enjoy getting to know your fellow readers who frequent here as you do. I’ll include the data gathered from the survey as well as my personal analysis of what it all means.

Click here to see the demographics of the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog readers, what low-carb plan they follow, why they started, and for how long, how they found the blog, whether they or a family member has diabetes, if they have read Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, and so much more!

Obesity, heart disease, and diabetes have been on the rise for the past few decades with seemingly no end in sight. It should be obvious to anyone with a brain that whatever we are doing differently now than we did before this astronomical rise began in the 1970s should be corrected immediately. And maybe, just maybe the answer to this issue that baffles the so-called health “experts” and government health agencies could be what we have added into our diet when we pushed for the removal of fat from our diet. Today’s podcast interview guest knows abundantly well why these diseases of modern man exist and has come up with a simple, yet effective solution to correct them.

In Episode 357 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from cardiologist Dr. Rob Thompson, bestselling author of the books The Glycemic Load Diet and the accompanying The Glycemic Load Diet Cookbook with Dana Carpender. His latest release is The Low-Starch Diabetes Solution: Six Steps to Optimal Control of Your Adult-Onset (Type 2) Diabetes that was inspired by Dr. Thompson’s sudden personal diabetes diagnosis.

Listen to him share why dietary fat and cholesterol being a culprit in heart disease has become a joke among his cardiologist colleagues, why high cholesterol is entirely genetic and has nothing to do with your diet, why he supports the use of statin drugs, the difference between glycemic index and glycemic load, how the addition of grains to our food supply introduced more starch to our diets, how grains have added 100 times more glucose from starch than prehistoric man, why glycemic load is all but ignored, why carbohydrates are so heavily promoted (HINT: cha-ching!), why he believes most Americans can easily afford fresh, non-starchy foods, how the glycemic load works in practical application, why the glycemic load of beer is so difficult to measure, why red meat is not the problem with heart disease, obesity and diabetes, the statistics of how cholesterol and fat consumption have dropped while starch has dramatically increased, why dietary fat doesn’t go up when you begin eating low-carb, why portion control is unnecessary on low-carb, his concerns over the sustainability of the Atkins diet, how a lack of activity has contributed to obesity and diabetes, why he wrote a book on the subject of diabetes, his support for the use of Metformin for preventing and treating diabetes, the importance of LDL particle size as the preferred method for measuring cholesterol, how vinegar and walnuts can inhibit starch absorption, why not drinking any liquid with meals can slow the amount of starch your body absorbs, why walking two miles is just as effective as running two miles, how diabetes damages your body through the blood vessels, why blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes all act together to destroy your health, and his highly controversial position on the role of sugar in the diet.

Click here to listen to this fascinating and thought-provoking interview with one of the top health voices of our day!

When science journalist Gary Taubes released his magnum opus Good Calories Bad Calories in September 2007, it was designed to reach the sophisticated medical professionals who wanted the scientific history of nutritional therapies with voluminous references (comprising 150 pages of this 600-page book!). But the average consumer took one look at Taubes’ book and it made their head spin. Sadly, the information contained in this fantastic book was overlooked by the patients who could stand to benefit from the information as a result and it begged the question–when will someone come up with a simplified version that the average Joe and Jane can understand (actually, there is a new book coming from Gary Taubes in early 2011 that will be aimed at the consumer–we’ll be interviewing him about that when it releases)? Today’s podcast interview guest read Gary’s book and turned much of what he read about into a neatly-packaged web site.

In Episode 355 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from Yale-educated web writer Adam Kosloff who created his Taubes-inspired web site at Why-Low-Carb-Diets-Work.com that is a great destination point for anyone who would never read Good Calories Bad Calories but desperately needs to be exposed to the low-carb message. Hear Adam talk about the influence of Taubes’ book on his thinking about nutrition, how Taubes reacted to his web site, the ease of use of the web site, his experience writing 20,000+ columns online, why the thesis that obesity is a disease of fat accumulation is the most important issue in the low-carb community, how “eat less, exercise more” had made us worse, what the “good carbs” are, why the one-size-fits-all diet is a weird concept, speculation regarding the diet connection to autism and food allergies, the funding for low-carb studies, why nobody is talking about the diet/health connection to the healthcare and economy issues, why the Food Pyramid needs to be changed before healthcare can truly be reformed, the Kosloff Conjecture about why we continue to do the same failed approach, why it’s important to acknowledge the line of thinking and engage in conversation of those whose thinking runs counter to yours, why it’s next to impossible for people like Dr. Dean Ornish to change their mind about diet and health, the constructive energy needed to move the message forward, his dream of a low-carb “The Biggest Loser” show without exercise and lots of saturated fat-laden meats, the influence of using YouTube to educate people about the low-carb ideas, and what his ideal nutritional world would look like.

Click here to listen to Adam who is obviously a deep thinker and a dreamer which you’ll sense the entire time he shares his answers during this interview.

This week there is an outstanding obesity/nutrition conference taking place in Seattle, Washington for the annual meeting of The American Society of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP) and The Nutrition & Metabolism (N&M) Symposium featuring some of the top researchers and speakers on the subject of weight loss, nutrition, diet, and health. Some of the featured names that you would recognize include Gary Taubes, Dr. Mary Vernon, Jackie Eberstein, Dr. Jeff Volek, Dr. Jay Wortman, Dr. Stephen Phinney, Dr. Donald Layman, and many others. Christine and I have been privileged to be a part of these events for the past four years, including Brooklyn in 2006, Nashville in 2007, Phoenix in 2008, and Charleston in 2009. As has been my tradition, I will report on the event at my blog so you can see what is happening. I don’t know how much time I’ll actually have to blog about it in real time (a full report will happen at my blog when I return), but you can keep up with it on my Twitter and Facebook page, especially on Saturday and Sunday when the Nutrition & Metabolism portion of the conference takes place. I’ll take lots of pictures and video of people I look forward to seeing in person, including Nora Gedgaudas, Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt from Sweden, and Laura Dolson just to name a few. It’s gonna be an incredible extended weekend!

So, to keep you occupied since I’ll be hit or miss with blogging (probably mostly miss because I’ll be so engrossed in the conference), I will do what I typically do when I go away and invite you to take a gaze at some of the newer low-carb-based blogs that I’ve seen out there in recent months doing a great job. I’ve personally visited all of these sites and am proud to say they are a part of the growing low-carb community online that warrants our support. If you like something you see on these blogs, then by all means please leave them a comment and let them know you found them through “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb.” In case you missed any of my previous low-carb blog listings, you can access those as well by clicking here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Click here to check out all 38 of these low-carb blogs that are worth a closer look in April 2010 and beyond.

There are some sizzling hot new healthy low-carb living books in 2010

It seems like every time you sneeze, there’s a brand new diet and health book being released. From weight loss to nutritional education on just about every metabolic possibility you could imagine, the publishing world has a book coming out about it. One of the things I try to do is sift through all of those books to find the real treasures you will want to add to your low-carb library and there are some truly incredible ones here early on in 2010 that you will DEFINITELY want to consider.

In Episode 86 of “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube”, Christine and I go through the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the pick of the litter, the crème de la crème, the…well, you get the picture! These books really stood out amongst a plethora of ones that I’ve gazed through in recent months as ones worthy of a closer look. Some may be familiar to you while others you may be finding out about for the first time. Regardless, I know you will see something that will pique your interest enough to grab a copy for yourself. As I like to write when I autograph copies of my new book, “Never stop learning the lessons.”

Click here to watch our latest video about the top 10 hottest new low-carb books to start off your 2010 on the right foot.

Dr. Eric Westman gives the full scoop on why a new Atkins is needed

What’s the first thing people think of when you say the “Atkins diet?” Things like all-you-can-eat high-protein meat, eggs, cheese, very little veggies or fruit, no bread or sweets and stuff like that probably immediately come to mind. Others think it was just some dangerously unhealthy passing fad that faded out in 2004 and is only still followed by people who are putting their long-term health at risk. But today’s podcast interview guest is one of the leading low-carb researchers who has teamed up with two other low-carb research colleagues to co-author a brand new version of the Atkins diet for 2010 to put the focus back on the science supporting the low-carb way of eating!

In Episode 338 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we welcome back to the podcast Duke University low-carb researcher and practitioner Dr. Eric Westman who is here to share all about the March 2, 2010 release of New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight Fast and Feeling Great Forever. You might be wondering “here we go again” with yet another attempt at revamping the Atkins diet like the December 2008 release of 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 by Colette Heimowitz (who I previously interviewed here) and Dr. Stuart Trager which disappointed many within in the low-carb community with their focus on “lean protein” and a very heavy emphasis on lots of fruits and vegetables getting away from the basic principles that the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins based his original diet on. But as you’ll hear from Dr. Westman, they wanted to bring back the high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb nutritional approach that Dr. Atkins promoted as his life’s work. The new book brings living the Atkins lifestyle into modern society with a few important strategies that have been missing in previous versions of the Atkins diet.

Listen to Dr. Westman share about who is behind this new Atkins diet book, what’s different about this book from the previous Atkins diet books, why some people need to keep carbs very low forever, how much pressure there was to water down the message to make it more marketable, why Dr. Atkins was never interested in doing studies on his low-carb diet, why we need a brand new version of Atkins in 2010, ways to minimize the negative effects of the “Induction flu,” some of the changes in terminology in this new book including “foundation vegetables,” “Atkins Edge,” and “metabolic bully,” what the healthy role of saturated fat is in Atkins low-carb, his thoughts on the so-called “Eco-Atkins” and how to properly make a vegetarian-styled Atkins diet, whether Atkins Nutritionals is returning to the original principles that Dr. Atkins built the company on, how often the Atkins bars and products are pushed in the sample menus, why the main focus of the diet is on real foods, who the target audience of the book is, the role of calories and portion sizes on this new Atkins, a practical list of ways to break stalls, why consuming dietary fat is so important to fat-burning, the definition of “net carbs” and the role of sugar alcohols, why consuming vegetables are so important on the Atkins diet, the purpose of eating often especially for people who are just beginning a weight loss regimen, why this book should not be read literally but rather as a generalized guide, the impact that both prescription and over-the-counter drugs can have on weight loss, the purpose of the success stories listed in the book, and why he is not accepting royalties from the sale of this book and where the money will actually be going.

Click here if you have any questions about New Atkins For A New You because I’m sure this interview will put to rest a lot of what you may be concerned about. ENJOY!

A newly-updated low-carb plan with scientific studies to boot

In an exclusive first-look at the brand new book from Atkins Nutritionals obtained by Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb, advocates of a high-fat, moderate-protein, and low-carb nutritional approach will have a lot to cheer about. Three of the most well-known and highly-respected researchers of carbohydrate restriction were charged with penning an updated Atkins diet book that would be simpler to follow and completely backed by the latest science. The result of those efforts are culminated in the March 2, 2010 paperback book release New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight Fast and Feeling Great Forever.

Click here for an exclusive sneak peek at what will be one of the most talked about diet and health books of 2010!

Be one of the first to get your hands on this hot new low-carb e-book

IT’S HERE! After spending the good part of 2009 writing my brand new book 21 Life Lessons From Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb: How The Healthy Low-Carb Lifestyle Changed Everything I Thought I Knew, I can hardly believe it is actually finished now and ready to be unleashed on a world that could stand to hear the truth about low-carb living for a change. There is great potential for lives to be changed for the better as a result of the education that will take place once people read all the research and information jam-packed into this book.

The trade paperback version of 21 Life Lessons From Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb is set to be released Thanksgiving weekend on Amazon and elsewhere just in time for the Christmas holiday shopping season. But you can get your own copy of my brand new book in e-book form RIGHT NOW simply by clicking here.

The e-book is available in the convenient PDF format and includes everything that is in the paperback book. While the retail price for the nearly 500-page paperback book will be $27.99, I’ve priced the e-book at a reasonable rate of just $15. As soon as I receive your order, you will receive a copy of the e-book ASAP (within 24 hours). THANK YOU so much for your support of the work I am doing and let’s get ready to shake up the nutrition and health establishment with what is sure to ruffle the feathers of those so-called “experts.” I CAN’T WAIT!

There is a lot of low-carb “stuff” out there for you to get your hands on and I’m always fascinated to see which ones rise to the top of the heap. Especially with such a wide selection of products available from online retail sites like Amazon.com, wouldn’t it be interesting to see what the bestsellers are among your fellow readers? Well, now you can because today I’m going to share the Top 25 Amazon affiliate sales through my web site in 2009. Not surprisingly, most of them are books by authors I have interviewed on my podcast show, but there were a few surprises here and there. Interestingly, Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution did NOT make the list, but I suppose that book has been floating around out there long enough by now.

Click here to see the Top 25 “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” Amazon bestsellers in 2009.

Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades have armed frustrated low-carbers with a plan!

For those of us who have been livin’ la vida low-carb for years, the temptation is always there to allow a few more carbs and/or calories slip into our diet than we did when we originally followed our chosen controlled-carbohydrate plan. It’s perfectly within human nature for this to happen for those who desire variety in their menu choices while still attempting to eating in a healthy high-fat, adequate protein, and low-carb way. Low-carb diet experts and bestselling authors Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades know about this all too well.

After shooting a pilot episode of their hit low-carb television cooking program called “Low-Carb Cookworx,” the producer of the show told the honest truth to Dr. Mike and Dr. Mary Dan about their major problem — you’re “too fat” for a health-related television show! Shocked by this revelation from an outsider of their condition at the time, this caused the well-known low-carb authors of the bestselling Protein Power books to reevaluate their own personal dietary habits, devise a plan for ridding their bodies of a little excess weight that had come on them, and make it happen as quickly as possible. Thus was born the concepts for what would become The 6-Week Cure For The Middle-Aged Middle: The Simple Plan to Flatten Your Belly Fast!.

While the Eades are abundantly aware of the long-term, lifestyle change approach to losing weight the low-carb way, they admit that sometimes there are compelling reasons to take the weight off a little faster as in the case of their TV show, an upcoming wedding, or some other significant life event that is coming. That’s exactly what this book offers in just a 6-week period. And the plan is PERFECT for both the people who have been low-carbing for years or for the newbie low-carber alike. This is a great way to kickstart your low-carb lifestyle into high gear.

So what do you have to do for 6 weeks, starve to death? Not hardly!

The first two weeks is a period where you release the toxins in your liver — the organ most responsible for helping you get rid of the visceral fat stores in your body. This is the fat that accumulates around your organs that can be dangerous if left unchecked. Using a proven 3 and 1 plan drinking a trio of specially-formulated protein shakes along with one meal (the delicious recipes are included in this book) along with certain restrictions on alcohol, caffeine, medications, and other interesting requirements (like donating blood?), you only have to stay in this phase for two weeks. Anybody can do this for a measly fourteen days!

The second two weeks when your liver is cleaned up and ready to help you burn off a ton of stored body fat, you get to enjoy what the Eades affectionately call the “Meat Weeks.” Your meals will consist primarily of meat, fish, poultry, game, and eggs consumed throughout the day in quantities enough to keep your hunger at bay. What most people will find is the fat and protein content of these foods will keep them PLENTY satisfied.

Lest you think you’ll need to opt for the “lean” cuts of meat like chicken or turkey — NOPE! In fact, fat is ENCOURAGED, including liberal amounts of butter, olive oil, avocado oil, and macadamia nut oil, just to name a few. This will allow your body to rev up your metabolism by switching from being a carb-burning machine to a high-octane fat-burning one instead by reducing the typical insulin rush seen by most carb-focused dieters. Vroom vroom!

Finally, the last two-week period of The 6-Week Cure For The Middle-Aged Middle should look very familiar to people who have read the Protein Power books or followed any number of low-carb plans like Atkins. After getting your body going with a month-long restoration and revitalization, the Eades turn your attention to establishing good long-term healthy eating patterns into your lifestyle so you can prevent the dreaded weight gain from happening to you again. That includes keeping total carbohydrates in check, limiting your consumption of starchy carbs as much as possible, and transitioning to a low-carb maintenance phase.

If trouble ever arises again, you just get right back on the plan again getting back to the basics of what it takes to lose the weight again. Don’t be discouraged because we’ve all been there before. NEVER GIVE UP!

We owe Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades a huge THANK YOU for the tireless efforts they invest in helping people who are livin’ la vida low-carb day in and day out with the work they are doing. I consider it an honor and a privilege to know them as friends, be continually educated by their nutritional wisdom, and to follow their example of humility and selflessness towards others in this journey to better health. You owe it to yourself to pick up several copies of The 6-Week Cure For The Middle-Aged Middle and give it to as many friends and family members that you can think of who feel frustrated by the failure of the low-fat dogma that has dominated American culture for decades.

The tide is turning because the truth about low-carb living is finally penetrating the minds of health-conscious people. Will you become the next to join the low-carb revolution that is taking America by storm?

LISTEN TO MY PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH THE EADES ABOUT THIS BOOK!