Hi KazzUK, yes, and up to a point this does have to be a personal decision – I come from a family of carb addicts and my mum lives almost exclusively on carbs (she’s 87 however and not overweight so she is probably ok!) there is no way in the world that she would give up carbs, and like you I have had conversations with colleagues who say the same. Sadly, when research like this is deliberately misreported, some people who might have given it a go will be put off.
You would be very welcome to come and have leek and salmon bake with me here in southern Spain 😊
SSB

SSB I so wish I was there to parttake of such a feast 🙂 Bet it looks AMAZING .. . and to my mind now 6 months down the no carb track . . .way more attractive than a pasta dish or a cake!!! I so dont get how so many can ask how and when told . . . choose to ignore the opportunity/dismiss evidence which is right in front of them. Continued success and enjoyment of life to you through 2019. Love reading your posts 🙂
PS: I just hope no-one decides to roast duck or I might be a gonner!!!

Hi Kazz! Two people in my life who I KNOW would benefit have both “assured me” they have tried but nothing happened for them. When staying with one . . . just opening the fridge told me there was little or no effort put in! The other . . .? aches and pains everywhere, swollen legs, weigh-gain every month . . . says she cut out potatoes . . . (which she LOVES!!!) – and then tells of fast food she consumes when out with her disabled grandson – (whom she cares for daily) – and “rubbish” dinners because she is too tired to cook. Ive done my best to give suggestions like the salmon portion in a pouch takes 2 minutes in microwave with a portion of the bagged kale salad already prepared . . . just add some leek, feta and oil dressing . . . and there is dinner! ready in the time it takes to boil a kettle . . . I no longer talk of (or if asked) give updates of my progress. All the best on your Easter Road Trip . . . Im currently in one of those little pullalong carts on the back of someone’s bicycle to keep up but Im on the road!!!! xxx Duckie xxx

Thank you WoodDuckie, yes, it’s strange isn’t it – my sister made a pasta dish when I was staying with her a couple of weeks ago and I just found the pasta stodgy and tasteless – I so prefer cauliflower cut into ‘pasta-sized’ pieces – even better than courgetti (imho). It is exasperating when people comment on your progress and ask what you’re doing then completely ignore what you say but continue to moan about how they don’t lose weight. Unfortunately, I think many people (including us in early days) underestimate just how many carbs there are in foods – ‘it’s only a piece of toast’ or ‘just a few chips’. Mark Sisson reckons you can do moderately low carb and moderately high fat but the you’ll only have moderately good health! Says it all.
Have a very happy, successful and peaceful year and let’s keep spreading the word!
SSB

Hi, I read the fibre articles based on the WHO research and did realise that I was slightly under the recommendation over the last few days, so I baked some crackers with psyllium husk, chia seed, flax, sunflower and pumpkin seeds to have with my lunch! That solves the problem and they are tasty.

Excellent VictoriaM, it’s so easily done isn’t it – but the press (including the BBC) seem to have an aversion to low-carb and want to discredit it as much as possible. A forum like this is so helpful because the info is accurate and there are lots of people sharing their success with low-carb so we KNOW it works 😊
SSB

Exactly SSB! We KNOW it works because so many are telling of such similar results it cant be wrong 🙂 Thank goodness for this forum to debunk so many incorrect leads and advice. Roll on BSD’ers!

👍😊💕🍓🥑🥑🥑🥒🥬🥦🥥🍓

…and another one – apparently nearly 300g of starchy carbs a day is ‘ideal’
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-46865204
I despair
SSB

Yes, it absolutely does make one despair doesn’t it?! One has to wonder how much longer the ‘authorities’ can hold out against the solid science we know is out there supporting low carb.

Yes SunnyB, their intransigence is going to cost a lot of people years of good health and health authorities huge amounts of money 😞
SSB

Hi SSB, that is what my nutritionist advised me – I was having low blood sugar, especially after exercise. She said if I ate the 300g through the day I would stabilise. I agreed to stick with it for 3 months – I gained 5kg weight and my bg went from a normal 120 to 190. When I showed my doctor the diet sheet he said he couldn’t eat that much in one day. Happily I then found this diet and that stupid advice is history.

Well done you, SunshineGirl – you’re an inspiration to others on here.
I so wish Public Health England et al would wake up to the new, very clear science – it would save heartache and money.
SSB

In response to this article, it’s about to be discussed on the Jeremy Vine show, radio 2 shortly. I’ll be listening with interest. JV is advertising this slot as eating a vegan diet to save the planet. I’ll be interested to hear what the ‘experts’ have to say.

Mmmmm KazzUK, I’m getting very suspicious of this constant pushing of vegan diets – in Death by Food Pyramid by Denise Minger (an excellent and completely unbiased book examining the history of food ‘advice’) , Denise points out that there is no evidence in all of history of a community surviving on a vegan diet – many have little or no meat,but they still eat fish, eggs, some dairy etc. And my thought is that if you’re vegan you need supplements – to me, that can’t be a ‘whole’ diet.
SSB

Hi everyone and I hope 2019 is going well, especially on the BSD front.
I am just putting my three pen’orth in on Dr MM’s new book Fast 800 : I wasn’t going to get it having bought all his others – Eat, Fast, Live Longer; Fast Exercise, The Blood Sugar Diet and Clever Guts, but I was interested in some of the positive comments about it so I got it yesterday- and read it yesterday! It is soooo good. What I am really impressed with is the new science and results from long-term studies which show that this woe works – really works! I am also pleased to see that the 5:2 diet has moved from being ‘just another fad diet’ to being recommended by the NHS. We have to keep hoping that this woe will also become standard advice for people with T2, needing to lose weight, or just wanting to be healthier.
So, yes, some of the information is already in the previous books but it’s good to have it all in one place and to see what a difference these approaches are having on people in the real world. One thing I am definitely returning to is the 5:2, mainly because on top of all the benefits that the BSD gives, fasting appears to be the key to long-term health, physically and mentally.
Keep smiling
SSB

Thank you SSB. I was waiting for somebody to post about the latest book because I have wondered about buying it. I read all the articles in the Daily Mail but there didn’t seem to be too much new in it. Interesting that you are going back to 5:2. One of his ideas that I do like was doing 5:2, 4:3 or even 1:6/6:1. Seems much more flexible.

Thankyou SSB – that’s interesting. It’s really helpful to hear your thoughts. I also debated whether to buy it. I do like the way he writes and it would be the new science I’d also be interested in. But, then I decided to see him live – a different experience for me.

So, the book does sound like its worth buying – but I’ll now wait until its heavily discounted I think!

I think I really pulled a Fast one (excuse the pun) on this. My daughter is always trying to lose weight (about 2.5 stone overweight) and I see her making some changes ie we often have celeriac mash. But she never quite commits. I asked her to get me the daily supplement from the newspaper on the new Fast 800. She has been reading it and how bought the book for herself. So maybe she will also take up this woe and maybe I will get some decent food when I next visit.

Sneeky SG, very sneeky! Both our daughters are over weight and it makes me quite despondent. One of them claims to eat low carb, but I know from time spent with her, that she is deluding herself – there are just too many ‘justs’ like, ‘I just have a couple of biscuits’ or ‘I just have one slice of bread’. The other ones policy is ‘life is too short to worry about dieting’. Do hope you daughter climbs aboard with the BSD way of life and you can share ideas and eat well together.

Hi SunnyB and SunshineGirl,
It’s interesting the different excuses people make isn’t it? I met someone recently who said she was following the BSD because she’s T2 but very quickly she began saying the ‘just’ sentences – ‘oh I just have some cereal for breakfast and I just have some bread at dinner’ etc. So I suspect she will at some point say that the BSD ‘doesn’t work’.
The ‘life’s too short’ one is interesting and I confess I have used that one myself from time to time, but I guess the answer really is, yes, but life is too short to live it with chronic ill-health. I don’t necessarily want to live to 100 (although I don’t see why not) but I do want my life to be healthy – I want to be able to carry on doing all the things I like doing, and possibly more importantly, I want to retain all my faculties and diets high in sugar, white carbs and ‘bad’ fats are closely linked to dementia.
In the end, however, it has to be a personal choice, however frustrating it can be to see people we love heading down the road to long-term illness.
I hope you both achieve your cunning plans!
Keep smiling
SSB

We humans have a limitless capacity for denial, don’t we? We use the same excuses that all addicts use 🙂 Sunny, I
hope you break through to your daughters soon. It must be painful for you to not have gotten through to them, but
never give up. The essential truth is that we can’t “want it” more for our loved ones than they do for themselves…
I will ALWAYS regret that my Mother didn’t live long enough to see me turn my life around. I have to hope that on
some level, she knows it!

Interesting! You know the old saying …. you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. My mother died from lung cancer and I was a smoker at that time. Surely you would think that that would be motivation enough for me to stop smoking but no, it took me a further 5 years before I decided for myself that I wanted to stop. At the end of the day you have to make changes for yourself because you want to, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying to make our loved ones see sense.
I love the notion of ‘just’. I think I have been very guilty of the ‘just’ one biscuit, a few crisps, one glass of wine etc. etc.for a long time but at the moment my ‘just’ tends to be a small satsuma! I am finding a real need for the addition of the odd piece of fruit to my diet …. guess it could be worse!

Haha – wicked Verano! I wish I could say that my vice is a satsuma!
SSB

Thanks for your comments on this sticky issue everyone. Guess a lot of us have been guilty of similar attitudes in the past. You’re right about the denial, Allie, we have all deluded ourselves at sometime, we wouldn’t have ended up here if we hadn’t.

Think it’s easy to fall into the ‘just’ trap, V and you are right, people have to do these things for themselves, when it is right for them. I’ll keep underhandedly trying to influence, but it will only seed if they are receptive. A daily satsuma is way preferable to the really junky carbs, so don’t stress about it.

Shame about the T2 person you mention SSB. As you say, they will probably declare the BSD useless at some point and that’s a huge shame, as all of us here understand that if you are honest and follow the BSD properly, it can do wonderful things.

Guess we just have to keep lording the benefits of this way of eating at every opportunity and hoping that more and more people will pick up the baton and run with us.

Definitely SunnyB – just keep quietly and persistently going on and spreading the word – I’m always happy to share with people but don’t want to become too ‘evangelical ‘ about it because that just annoys everyone. I am passionate about health and I could cry sometimes when I see the ‘advice’ still being offered by some health professionals but everyone is in a different place and maybe some just aren’t ready to change their way of eating. My daughter is T1 but, I suspect, probably also T2 and struggles with her weight; she knows about low-carb, she’s an extremely intelligent woman but I know mentally and emotionally she’s just not able to commit to this. It does take a big personal commitment and not everyone is ready. We just keep on keeping on.
SSB

I just came across another podcast that I found interesting. – Do we need fiber, and IBS on a low carb diet, and gut bacteria.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=xqUO4P9ADI0&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0b8qhGkXlSmhw2NSmbs0vgo9UuzJB4lgyKQ_CMuYmguVLAJQeY7OX6ckg

I came across this podcast and found the section on varying different protocols quite thought provoking.
https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/podcast/diet-variation-and-feast-famine-cycles/

Ok that is fascinating. We might not need fiber as much as we have been led to believe. But, as low carb’ers, we are primed to understand that the “medical community” really knows nothing about eating and health.
The world of healthy eating is going to look very different in fifty years!

So I’ve just been looking online trying to find the old NHS targets for cholesterol. All my results have improved over time on the BSD, so my HDL, non-HDL, triglycerides etc are better than they were.
My cholesterol on Type II diagnosis was 6.1 or 6.2 (can’t remember without checking), earlier on doing BSD they went up to 7, but then this December were 5.6 (posted 5.9 the other day, but just checked – they’re 5.6). Practice nurse still wants me to go on statins as the general population target is < 5 and as a diabetic I’m told my ideal cholesterol target is <4.

Anyway, still haven’t found the old NHS cholesterol targets – was it <6? – but I did come across this article by Zoe Harcombe. http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2014/06/diabetes-cholesterol-bp-normal-is-no-longer-normal/ .

It’s a few years old but it talks about when normal is no longer normal (mentions BP and diabetes as well as cholesterol).
Jennie
For info, my cholesterol ratios are ‘ideal’ according to my research so will keep saying no to the statins for now.

Yep the NHS is obsessed with cholesterol and salt .. whereas it should be obsessed with insulin levels and insulin resistance but if we must talk cholesterol the ones to watch are Total/HDL and HDL/Trigs if both of these are fine then forget cholesterol entirely!

Hi Graham
Yes, that’s what my research suggests. Recalculated both of these this morning with my last (Dec) numbers and both are good. Interestingly, I’ve just been looking at how to get a fasting insulin test this morning.
Jennie

Hi Everyone
I’m currently conducting a study on how 5:2 diets and Very low calorie diets (less than 800kcals a day) make people feel about their lives as part of my University dissertation. If you are on one of these diets I would be extremely grateful if you could fill in the below survey – it’s really quick! Thank you
https://loughboroughssehs.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0JNDYtn1q0Zi2Pz

Keeping to 50g carbs I stay between 0.28 and 0.49 which is keto, as far as I understand.
My fasting blood sugar levels are 4.7 mmol/L steady.
Dropping to 20g seems specific to weight reduction if in a lull, if it isn’t necessary for keeping my insulin low.
How does that work?

Interesting podcast about how sugar damages fats in the blood stream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=160s&v=DXKJaQeteE0&fbclid=IwAR3SS_7cQMs-ZmvuijSC3tREukLy4BwKXQ-6cUM0mx0ce_clkLayCrNdqc4&app=desktop

Just been posting about LCHF and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and thought this might be of interest generally. It’s a presentation by Dr David Unwin, a UK GP who treats patients with Type II diabetes, but here he also talks about the positive effects on fatty liver disease (he starts this bit around 23 – 25 mins in) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEYtRiPKBVA

Just read this https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/mar/18/can-you-eat-yourself-happier-nutritional-psychiatry-mental-health
And went on to watch the video, very worthwhile but quite long https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsyq_j0b1dk

Covers a lot of interesting points regarding blood sugar and it’s affects on a variety of mental and physical health issue. some comforting research showing some of these can be reversed in a couple of weeks.

Thanks @jenny10 I enjoyed that

AnnieW – Glad you enjoyed it – it’s long but the way he presented it made me smile.

Yes, his presenting style – and his take on bananas 😂

I saw an explanation of fat-fasting here that I can understand. It’s quite different from the balanced diet, meant for long-term use. I think it could help if you want to kick the carb habit, but hunger kicks back.

https://idmprogram.com/what-is-fat-fasting-and-when-should-you-do-it/

Thanks Patricia – I agree, it’s a really clear explanation and something to have in your back pocket if needed. I like Megan Ramos.

Thanks Patricia, very interesting. I had never heard of this. Need to give it a try. Nothing to lose! Except weight of course lol

👍

There is a review of the impact of low carbohydrate diet on longevity in the Lancet.

“Low carbohydrate dietary patterns favouring animal-derived protein and fat sources, from sources such as lamb, beef, pork, and chicken, were associated with higher mortality, whereas those that favoured plant-derived protein and fat intake, from sources such as vegetables, nuts, peanut butter, and whole-grain breads, were associated with lower mortality, suggesting that the source of food notably modifies the association between carbohydrate intake and mortality.”

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(18)30135-X/fulltext

See table 3
In the ARIC cohort and in meta-analysis, increased consumption of animal-based protein and fat instead of carbohydrate was associated with a significant increase in all-cause mortality.

The outcome:
“However, in our analysis, when carbohydrate is substituted for higher animal fat or protein intake it is associated with both higher cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular death, whereas plant-based substitutions are associated with both lower cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular death, indicating that food source could be an important consideration for both causes of mortality.”

They mentioned that they adjusted for diabetes and cardiovascular risk, without seeing any difference.

JGwen, what is your view on the research?

This research paper defined a high carb diet as being carbs >70% of energy intake, and a low carb diet as being where carbs < 40% of energy intake. – So their definition of low carb is considerably different to a keto diet.

I am reluctant to agree with the review conclusion, when so many variables could explain the worse outcome for people on animal based protein version of low carb.

But as 40% Carb isn’t keto, it isn’t our WOE.

If long-term health outcomes of keto hasn’t yet been addressed, and so much confusion added by a review like the one I put up, it’s hard to see how this will become mainstream.

I’m so sorry to confuse you, Patricia, but the BSD WOE isn’t equivalent to keto. MMosley is very vague in his books
about a recommended amt of carbs per day, so the general assumption is that it’s <50g. Some of us have studied
keto diets as well, and they are compatible with the principles of the BSD, only we take the carbs down to <20g. It’s
not a question of either/or, but how we choose to incorporate the 2. Some people are very successful at becoming
“fat adapted” at <50g of carbs per day, but others of us only enter a state of ketosis when we go as low as <20g.
It varies from individual to individual, and you arrive at the level that works for you by process of trial and error, and
whether you are happy with your rate of loss, as well as whether or not you experience plateaus, i.e., no wt. loss
for more than 2 weeks at a time. Insulin resistance seems to be the determining factor. It’s safe to conclude that
you may be insulin resistant if your waist measurement exceeds more than half your height. By weighing and
measuring portions and carbs each day, we have a record of where we started, and what tweaks need to be made
to push us into fat burning mode. Good luck!

Allie

Hi Allie,
Sorry for any confusion caused, it may be my fault, the link to a paper published in the lancet which is a medical journal which we were discussing claims that there is an increase in mortality if following a low carb diet and Patricia asked my opinion on the paper. – I pointed out that as the definition in this study of low carb diets as less than 40% of calories coming from carbs they were not really talking about this WoE.
Most of the eating plans in the low carb “category” were greater than 30% of calories from carbs and none were lower than 20% of calories from carbs.
They did not include any study following the long term health of any group eating Keto.
——————-
I am afraid I was being lazy, today was not a day where I had time to think through how to convert from TDEE following the BSD principles into percentage of calories from carbs, so I just mentioned the lack of a group eating Keto.

I apologise if I caused any confusion.

———————

Patricia, I think there are two ways that the style of healthy eating by monitoring macros rather than calories is going to go mainstream.
It is only fairly recently that the existence of the process of autophagy and its benefits for longevity and fighting cancer has been discovered. I think as more research into this field occurs and is published in journals like the lancet then officialdom will have to start integrating this knowledge into advice.
However, I think the biggest change is coming via social media. The easiest way to see this is by looking at the numbers on Facebook. Over 81,000 members in Dr Fungs official group. Nearly 40,000 in Ketogenic Athlete group.

No problem AT ALL, JGwen! I didn’t scroll back far enough 🙂

Very interesting observations about social media…. I hope that you are right! I’m going to try to remember the
name of the Keto Athlete group, so I can refer those newbie posters who are serious runners, and stubbornly
hold onto the notion that bananas or bread are necessary (carb loading) to complete a run!