He’s baaaaaaaack! Dr. Michael Miller gets his fat-hating study published

Another day, another so-called published “study” slamming the Atkins diet. Some things just never change. And yet some things seem to stay the same, too.

Details about the latest anti-low-carb research to come down the pipeline are documented in this new study published this week and my fellow low-carb blogging friend Laura Dolson from About.com’s Low-Carb Diets site writes an excellent recap of the study details. I even blogged about it when the study was first presented publicly in 2007.

Here are the basic details of the study:

Lead researcher Dr. Michael Miller from the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the Baltimore-based University of Maryland Medical Center received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to observe cholesterol and heart health risk factors when dieters reached their weight loss goals and decide to stay on their same diet. One would think this kind of an in-depth study would involve at least several hundred overweight participants on a variety of dietary plans to shed the pounds over at least a one-year period of time, right? Nope.

The study included 18 HEALTHY and NORMAL WEIGHT people who each went on one of three diet plans for four weeks at a time:

ATKINS–50% fat
SOUTH BEACH–30% fat
ORNISH–10% fat

The study participants engaged in all three diets with a four-week period between the diets from January to December 2006. Cholesterol levels were checked at the beginning of each new four-week period prior to starting on a new diet and the researcher evaluated other heart health risk factors as well. Additionally, since the study participants were on their own with the foods they ate, a 3-day food record journal was also looked at at the end of each four-week period. Blood vessel function was also checked by measuring the blood vessel dilation in the arm.

Dr. Miller stated that the higher the saturated fat is in the diet, the lower the blood vessel dilation is, which regulates the flow of blood in the body. Wagging his finger of blame at the worst culprit in his opinion, he scorned the diet that contained the most saturated fat.

“The diet that performed the worst was the Atkins diet,” Miller said.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Miller’s “study” and why his bias against the Atkins low-carb diet shines through loud and clear.

Our cherished and healthy low-carb red meat is under assault again

I’m sure by now you’ve heard about that study that came out this week on how consuming red meat is killing you, right? Here are just a few of the thousands of health headline stories that are blaring from coast to coast right now about this:

Study: Too much red meat shortens life
Live longer by reducing red meat intake
Are You Eating Too Much Meat?
The Growing Case Against Red Meat
Red meat increases risk of death from cancer
Too much red meat will kill you – study
Eating Red Meat May Boost Death Risk

And my favorite one of all…
Death link to too much red meat (won’t we ALL die of something someday?)

As with most studies about health that come out, the average Joe or Jane on the street will simply look at these headlines, hear it talked about on Good Morning America, The View, Oprah, and their local news, rationalize in their minds that it makes sense, and decide to cut down on their red meat consumption–even if it is only temporary. Our pop culture society doesn’t demand much more investigation into supposedly scientific claims that are made like this and a lot of people are gullible enough to believe the reporting of these studies without doing their due diligence in checking them out for themselves. And that’s precisely what the anti-meat zealots are betting on!

This purposeful veganization (that’s my new term for the radical vegetarians and vegans who would like nothing more than to have everyone in the entire world eat the way they do) that has been going on for the past few decades is so easy to see through that you’d have to have your mind shut down to miss it. And yet how many of us low-carbers will see friends and family and hear them talk about this so-called “study” that warns about eating red meat and share their concern for our health? You know it’s gonna happen if it hasn’t already. While they’ll be well-meaning in their comments, these people are utterly clueless about what a “healthy” meat-based low-carb diet like Atkins is really all about because of the anti-meat tenor of most health news coverage. However, this could be an excellent opportunity to educate them about the truth of livin’ la vida low-carb, too.

Click here to learn more about this prospective study from researchers at the National Cancer Institute and why it is virtually useless for identifying causality between red meat eating and death as all those headlines claim.

Dr. Richard Feinman exposes absurdity of the recent Sacks study

What is there not to love about Dr. Richard Feinman? This low-carb diets researcher and professor of biochemistry at the Brooklyn, NY-based SUNY Downstate Medical Center follows the evidence trail and draws his own conclusions based on what the data tells him without allowing any personal bias to get in the way. Unfortunately, not everyone in the research community holds such lofty standards for themselves.

Remember the recent Harvard study from Dr. Frank Sacks that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February 2009 supposedly declaring that low-fat and low-carb diets are identical and that the focus should be on calories alone? You’ll recall the media was gushing with headlines proclaiming the end to the diet debate because it’s all about the calories. Self-proclaimed health “experts” like Dr. David Katz were quoted in newspapers and on television smugly telling everyone “I told you so” that they’ve been preaching this common sense message for years and now they’ve been proven right.

Dr. Feinman says there’s only one problem with this–the study was DEAD WRONG! Find out why by clicking here to see a brilliant graph Dr. Feinman drew exposing the hypocrisy of the so-called Sacks study.

Self-proclaimed health “expert” David Katz gets it wrong again on low-carb diets

Whenever a new study or health research is released to the public, we always get greeted by many of the same people over and over again to interpret the findings and tell us what the take-home message is. And these people are usually deeply rooted in conventional wisdom regarding a “healthy” diet–namely, strong advocates of a low-fat, high-carb, vegetarian-styled diet. While Dr. Dean Ornish certainly receives his fair share of ink blurbing his thoughts about diet studies, another name has become almost as popular–Dr. David Katz.

After Dr. Katz was quoted in an AP news story last week responding to that Harvard study that said weight loss is all about the calories by Dr. Frank Sacks, one of my readers who specializes in analyzing nutrition research took it upon himself to e-mail Dr. Katz directly about where he was wrong. You can read what this reader had to say by clicking here.

Dr. Frank Sacks thinks his study is a slam dunk on the calorie hypothesis

It’s all about the calories you put in your mouth. Whether it’s low-fat, low-carb, high-protein or whatever, in the end the only thing that makes a difference when it comes to losing weight is calories. That’s the conclusion of this study published in the February 26, 2009 issue of New England Journal of Medicine paid for by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health that you’ve undoubtedly seen plastered all across the news in the past couple of days. And they’re so proud of themselves for confirming in their minds that weight loss is simply about calories in, calories out and not about any particular diet plan in particular. But there’s only one problem with this: they didn’t include a genuine Atkins-styled low-carb diet in the comparison!

CLICK HERE to find out why this famous study by Dr. Frank Sacks from Harvard is about as useless for explaining how to solve the obesity epidemic as all those low-fat diets have been for the past three decades!

Dr. William Klein is so inclined to give Alzheimer’s patients insulin injections

After several years of studying and observing people involved in the world of diet, nutrition, and health, I’ve come to one grim conclusion–the more we learn about what truly makes us sick and unhealthy, the less willing we are to apply those lessons to the very people who would stand to benefit from them the most.

The latest example of this all-too-common occurrence comes to us today courtesy of a new study that identifies a relatively new form of diabetes of the brain known as “Type 3 diabetes.” I first blogged about this term in September 2007 when I interviewed low-carb neurosurgeon Dr. Larry McCleary about his book called The Brain Trust Program. But as you will quickly see, the conclusion of the researchers in this study is FAR different from what Dr. McCleary would ever advocate (I’ll be featuring an engaging interview with him on February 19, 2009 at my podcast show).

According to the study published in the February 2009 of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, lead researcher Dr. William L. Klein, Professor of Neurobiology & Physiology and of Neurology at the Evanston, IL-based Northwestern University, and his team concluded that insulin protects the brain from toxic proteins that lead to Alzheimer’s disease which they acknowledge is indeed this “Type 3 diabetes” of the brain. They added that treating the neurologically-diseased and Alzheimer’s patients with insulin and a diabetic prescription medication called Avandia can improve brain function and should be used as a routine treatment option for people suffering from these conditions.

Click here to see previous research that shows how a high-fat, low-carb nutritional approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease is a much more effective way to control neurological conditions like this than insulin and diabetes drugs.

I’ve been a busy little bee the past few months recording a ton of brand new interviews for my top 20 iTunes Health & Fitness podcast, “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” Many of my listeners have been requesting an upcoming schedule and I’m happy to share that with you today.

Here’s a listing of our new interviews coming to my podcast:

Episode 224–February 2, 2009–MACKAY RIPPEY
Episode 225–February 5, 2009–PATRICK LECKY
Episode 226–February 9, 2009–TOM NAUGHTON
Episode 227–February 12, 2009–KARLY PITMAN
Episode 228–February 16, 2009–BRUCE FRASSINELLI
Episode 229–February 19, 2009–DR. LARRY MCCLEARY
Episode 230–February 23, 2009–T.S. WILEY
Episode 231–February 26, 2009–TANYA ATTEBERY
Episode 232–March 2, 2009–DR. JUDITH BECK
Episode 233–March 5, 2009–LAURA DOLSON
Episode 234–March 9, 2009–DR. SANFORD SIEGAL
Episode 235–March 12, 2009–SHAUNA REID
Episode 236–March 16, 2009–DR. JEFF VOLEK
Episode 237–March 19, 2009–DR. MICHAEL OZNER
Episode 238–March 23, 2009–LYLE MCDONALD
Episode 239–March 26, 2009–DR. DOUG MCGUFF
Episode 240–March 30, 2009–DR. MARY NEWPORT
Episode 241–April 2, 2009–KATIE JAY
Episode 242–April 6, 2009–J.P. FANTON
Episode 243–April 9, 2009–ESTHER BLUM
Episode 244–April 13, 2009–MARIO MARIANI
Episode 245–April 16, 2009–ANNE LOUISE GITTLEMAN
Episode 246–April 20, 2009–DR. HEIDI
Episode 247–April 23, 2009–LOREN CORDAIN
Episode 248–April 27, 2009–MEG MANGIN
Episode 249–April 30, 2009–DR. ROBERT SU

Got somebody you think I should interview for my podcast show? E-mail me your suggestions anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

Dr. Eric Westman and Jimmy Moore singing low-carb karaoke

When you think of going on a cruise, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? A literal smorgasbord of carbohydrate-laden foods at your disposal, maybe taking in a few alcoholic beverages along the way, while relaxing in the sun and fun that you get to enjoy while on a luxurious vacation. Doesn’t sound very livin’ la vida low-carb friendly, eh? Well, if you make the right choices it can be.

And that’s exactly what Christine and I along with 40 of our fellow low-carbers from my blog and forum did all last week on the Carnival Ecstasy during The 2nd Annual Low-Carb Cruise to Cozumel and Progreso, Mexico. What a week it was and I’ll be sharing more of the details about what happened along with LOTS of great pictures from our activities during the week. FUN FUN FUN!

For the benefit of those who went on the cruise as well as others who are curious, one of our guest speakers Dr. Eric Westman and his assistant Adele Hite have agreed to share the rewritten lyrics to the classic Beach Boys song “California Girls” for you. Feel free to sing along if you’d like and imagine you were on the cruise with us (oh, and, by the way, I didn’t bust my head open after singing karaoke this year THANK YOU VERY MUCH!). Maybe we can get a big group of us low-carbers to sing “I Wish They All Could Be Carbohydrate-Free” on the next low-carb cruise in 2010! ENJOY!

Click here to see a video and me and Dr. Westman singing “Carbohydrate-Free” as well as the exclusive premier of the spoof lyrics!

An update on my December 2008 “Sweet”-Free Challenge

At the beginning of the month I decided to start what I’m describing as a “Sweet”-Free Challenge for the entire month of December where I committed to giving up ANYTHING with a “sweet” taste on my tongue to see what impact it would have on me. As you know, I’ve been dealing with a pesky 30-pound or so weight gain for most of 2008 that has refused to budge despite most of my best efforts. But I’ve never been discouraged from continuing to try, try again until something worked.

Well, in November when I did my original “sweet”-free challenge that lasted for 18 days, I think I found my answer at last. Although I didn’t make it an entire month that last attempt, the weight loss was still significant–10 pounds in 18 days! So when I began again with another stab at this “sweet”-free thing, I knew it would work. And work it has!

In Episode 57 of “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube,” the “Sweet”-Free Challenge is in full force and I offer up my 10-day update with how it is going. You can follow my daily menus and see how my weight is progressing at my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Menus” blog. Other than a bout with some food poisoning on Monday that threw me off my eating plan a bit along with a slight weight gain after eating out at Ruby Tuesday yesterday, everything has been going GREAT! My cravings for “sweet” have all but subsided, I’m NEVER hungry, and I feel I can eat this way for much longer than the month-long duration of the challenge. This has been a VERY good experience for me.

If you are following the “Sweet”-Free Challenge and need support from people who understand what you are going through, then be sure to visit this thread at my forum where others like you are going through this in December with me. They are an amazing group of individuals who are doing this willingly and reaping the incredible benefits.

You can watch any of our previous YouTube videos anytime to see the past episodes that you may have missed. My wife Christine and I have covered a lot of subjects, so go back and watch the past shows. Then, be sure to visit our YouTube channel and subscribe so you’ll receive all the new “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube” episodes within moments of being uploaded. Christine and I LOVE your feedback, so please e-mail us at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

You never know what you’re gonna get from the health research world when a new study is presented at a medical or scientific conference or published in a prestigious journal. But one thing is for certain–the debate over the validity of these studies never dies down since we all have our predispositions about what is right in regards to diet, nutrition, and healthy living. That aside, it is always beneficial to see what the research is showing us and learn from it. And I have four new studies to share with you today.

Click here for compelling new research on how addictive sugar really is, why low-carb diets are supposedly bad for your memory (they’re not, but find out why), how protein could be the missing link in burning stored body fat, and why the allure of cash prizes works better than the prospects of improved health and weight loss to make it happen. CHECK IT OUT!