[Paulus Invictus]

Stop already! I gained 10 pounds reading these long conjectures! I have a good friend that swore by the Adkins diet and his bad cholesterol went through the roof and now he's got heart problems. He now swears at the Adkins diet. Eat right, exercise and then die!

[redhead]

Ka-PING! Check THIS one out! Same title, different article...

[strela]

Bumped for later reading.

I do find it curious how my father managed to eat stuff fried in lard, real butter and eggs, fatty meats, and every sweet under the sun all of his life, but was always rail-thin. I ate watered-down margarine instead of butter, corn oil instead of lard, and baked (fill in the blank) instead of fried (fill in the blank), but was still the tubbo in the family.

I hate my genes.

[fnord]

bump and bookmark ... could be some interesting info when I have time to, ahem, digest it all

[seeker41]

Hmm..I eat whatever my taste buds desire at the time. I also enjoy my after dinner cig and my morning coffee. Life is too short and when your number is up, it's up.

[jennyp]

I haven't had time to read the whole article yet, let alone the thread, but skimming over all the responses I see the usual claims popping up yet again that a low-carb diet is unhealthy. Now, I understand that people's bodies are different, and there may well be different types of people (different ethnic groups, maybe even blood types like that one author claims) who require different kinds of diets.

But let me inject a few hard numbers into the discussion. I hereby ask everyone who has an opinion or personal experience with low-carb to post their blood numbers too, if you have them handy. Also please mention your ethnic mix and blood type.

My ancestry is English, Irish, Polish, & Lithuanian. Blood type O+ (IIRC).

JennyP's blood cholesterol since going on a low-carb diet

Date	Mos. into diet	Weight	BMI	Total	HDL	LDL	Total/HDL	Triglycerides
10/20/99	0	163	24.8	unknown - wish I had tested beforehand
4/21/00	6	147	22.3	244	76	158	3.2	48
3/20/01	17	156	23.7	241	74	149	3.3	90
5/15/02	31	154	23.4	219	78	128	2.8	66

After losing 1 lb per week, I plateaued at 16 lbs below starting weight. Then I drifted upwards over the next year to around 8 lbs below starting weight. In the last couple months I cut out ice cream for dessert (we couldn't resist giving ourselves bigger & bigger portions over the months!) & my weight is starting to creep downward again. I also switched to a canola-based margarine, and I suspect that's why my total cholesterol number is coming down.

[WaterDragon]

It is long, but this article is very much worth a read. The same kind of 'scientific' thinking has taken root about healthy diets as has preached global warming!

Refined flours and sugars, and overloads on carbohydrates are the cause of the explosion in obesity. I'm convinced that is true.

[raygun]

I'm not so sure about the Atkins Diet. Studies show that sooner or later, high-protein diets result in renal (kidney) failure.

The most healthy diet to follow bar none, is the diabetic diet. That is true whether or not one is diabetic, obese or not.

[JediGirl]

bump for later reading

[FormerLurker]

I eat everything that's SUPPOSE to be "unhealthy", from cheeseburgers swimming in fat, fatty ribs, fatty steak, REAL butter, REAL eggs, REAL milk (not the low-fat junk, which taste like chaulk to me). The more fat, the better. Oh yeah, I smoke like a chimney as well.<

I'm reasonably muscular, trim, and am in pretty good health.

I've climbed mountains with a heavy pack without working out for years, leaving those who are on the low-fat/no-fat diets in the dust (and they were much younger than me..). Also, I was smoking cigarettes on the way up...

I agree, almost ALL of the "healthy" suggestions coming from do-gooders are pure bunk.

[TN Republican]

This is what my mother taught me 40 years ago, backed up by the vague observation that Italians tended toward corpulence because they ate so much pasta.
Living Proof

[SamBees]

I believe him. I gave up drinking Coke for a couple of years. And I rejected sweets during that same time period. I did, however, compensate by eating much more protein and veggies. I lost weight without even thinking about it.

Keep in mind that Coke and other non-diet soft drinks are filled with corn sweetners, or sometimes sugar. AND, one factor he did not discuss in this article is the effect of commonly available caffiene. I have found that in friends and my own life, caffiene is a huge dietary stimulent. What this means is that with caffiene in your diet, you'll desire food much more, or at least we have.

I think that in the end, a modified Atkins will surface as the best eating plan for most people. Heres why...Atkins diet is very high in fat, and as the author stated, some people end up with higher LDL cholesterol levels, however, eating lean meats, foul, fish, and lots of low carb veggies most likely will be shown to lower all cholesterols, and tryglycerides.

With this diet, you have it all: Lots of protien, a fair amount of fat, and vitally important green and colored veggies that offer many unknown, but very beneficial chemicals to your diet. BUT, you do not have the sugars which cause insulin to be elevated.

One quick note...Some eskimos eat nothing but pure fat and yet they do not have heart disease issues. Why? Because the ir insulin levels are very low. Conversely, diabetics have high levels of heart disease. Why? Well, in most cases, they are unable to handle the sugars in their blood as well, and rather than burn off those starches as energy calories, they are converted to fat, thus rasing the level of fat in their blood which then damages the heart and vascular system.

[Dr.Deth]

I also want to say this.

If this article seems long to you, and you complain about it taking an hour of your life, know that it took some of us years to figure this stuff out. An article like this 10 years would have been a like a thunderbolt from God, and saved me years of reading, sifting, researching, trial, error, pain, anguish and buying clothes (the last 3 are closely related)

[Redcloak]

I like the sound of the "Nugent Diet": Don't eat it unless you killed it.

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from the early Renaissance.

...they find that their very own dietary recommendations -- eat less fat and more carbohydrates -- are the cause of the rampaging epidemic of obesity in America. Or, just possibly this: they find out both of the above are true.