wadecherry.com
Saturday April 28th, 2007
Low Carb Diets
atkins.jpg
Just wanted to mention some neat links: SuperClaw allows you to play the popular toy crane machine online. It has the nice feature of multiple video cameras to give the user multiple viewing angles. Candee posted new pics and I love this one. Also, I really like this picture Byron posted from China. If you want a fun little game to play, check out Hand Drawn Games.

I read Dr Atkins' Diet Revolution book (first published in 1972), not to go on a diet, but for interest in health and nutrition. I keep hearing about low-carb diets (including the south beach diet), so I wanted to see what it was all about - from the book, not hearsay. Also, when I went for a physical, my doc recommended a low-carb diet, not specifically for me but just as a lifestyle he recommends to all his paitents. And my diet is filled with carbs! So, I read it on my trip to China. I really don't like the Induction Phase where you eat almost zero carbs, and a few other things. But, I did like Atkins' anti-sugar stance. He is also against processed foods, aspartame, caffeine, and trans fats. The book mandates three pillars of health: diet, exercise, and vitamins. Not so sure about the vitamins, as I've always thought you should be able to obtain all necessary vitams through diet (Atkins claims our depleted soils no longer provides all the nutrients fresh produce used to yield). I also liked his deduction that little nagging physical ills, such as headaches, disappear once you eat right and exercise. In addition, a renewed energy level will be found. Some of the foods he recommends: macadamia nuts, avocados, quiches, eggs, and of course all the high protein meats. He is also an advocate of heavy cream and butter, which seems not so good. One of the more interesting items was the effect of medication on the body and how it interferes with the body's balance of hormones, blood sugar level, and mineral and vitamin absorption. I was surprised to see this doctor advocate getting off prescribed medication and replace drugs with proper vitamin and nutritional supplements. So, what am I doing differently? I'm grudgingly :-] taking vitamins my Dad recommended. Eating less sugars (soda, juice, milk, condiments, e.g. ketchup and bbq sauce), a bit less carbs (rice, pasta), and more fish, meat, eggs, nuts, berries, and vegetables. Not that I ate poorly to begin with, but there's always room for improvement. It is interesting, as my wellness instructor said to eat upwards 60-70% of all calories from carbs, and cited several nutritionists and books advocating such a diet. I think this diet is more geared for the professional athelete, but it's interesting (albeit not surprising) to have nutritionists with such polar views. Nonetheless, it seems clear there is something vastly incorrect about today's diet (just look around) compared to 50 years ago.
Add a comment:
[HTML and Links are not allowed]