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!

Dr. Jeffery Browning studied glucose distribution on low-carb

Whenever an honest discussion of low-carbohydrate diets comes up within the realm of science and medicine, invariably two common points of disagreement with them arise: 1) your body can’t get enough energy to sustain itself in the absence of carbs from your diet and 2) you are causing damage to your liver. Both of these are simply red herrings in the greater debate about what constitutes a truly healthy diet. While much of the focus on livin’ la vida low-carb has been on weight loss over the years (which it works VERY well in producing), the real benefit that this way of eating affords people is how well it works with the natural functions of the body to produce tremendous health results.

For more than three decades, we’ve been told by the media and those so-called health “experts” in America to simply cut our fat and all of the weight and health problems we have will just disappear. Unfortunately, what has happened is all that fat has been replaced with something even more despicable–CARBOHYDRATES! Not surprisingly, obesity rates are up astronomically and metabolic diseases that once seemed unheard of have become the norm. Things like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which can lead to inflammation, fibrosis and cirrhosis have all been brought on by this increase in carb intake, but it’s been difficult to confirm this association to this point. But now we have a new study that provides even further evidence of this undeniable fact about what carbs are doing to our bodies.

Click here to see this fascinating new research from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center that reveals glucose production on a low-carb diet is equal to the glucose produced by a low-calorie diet.

The brand new hub for the very latest in low-carb research is not in the United States, Canada, Australia, or even the UK. It’s the country of Israel where some rather powerful new studies supporting the low-carbohydrate nutritional approach for health have come out this year. You’ll recall this The New England Journal Of Medicine from July where Israeli researchers found their low-carb study participants experienced a significant increase in their HDL “good” cholesterol, a noticeable decrease in their triglycerides, amazing improvements in the A1C and C-reactive protein levels, and more weight loss than the beloved low-fat diet.

Now we have yet another incredible low-carb study from Israel published in the September 29, 2008 issue of the scientific journal Acta P