right you are, it's not all about calories unfortunately. If sugars are consumed at an accelerated rate, then a proverbial run after a bus can induce hypoglycemia, which is neither safe nor pleasant. Constant blood monitoring is basically the key to arrive at the individual glucose requirement, coupled with a proper fallbacks, i.e. a few sugar candies, and a monitor in a pocket whereever you go. A sugar lowing pill just because it is smaller than an insulin kit, helps, too.

So how does all this explain why Mauritius is the world capital for diabetes deaths?

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/w...ealth-rankings

This discussion is non-scientific. How can anyone be sure the HG diet was so good? The Neanderthals ate such a diet and look what happened to them. It's ridiculous to choose a single element of lifestyle and attribute so much to it. Maybe the absence of any refined metal was a critical feature. Do you advocate cooking all this paleo food by boiling and roasting and using only stone implements? Instead of arguing about daily intake how about missing eating for a few days then bingeing when the hunt paid off?

OK carry on now.

PS I know about diabetes, so I'm not suggesting you should change your strict diets.

Okay, I'll bite/ How does it explain it? What's the health care like? Diabetes programs? Community support? Awareness? Can people afford to make the changes their new lifestyle requires?

Our discussion is based on the available science, where appropriate. DV listed most of his sources. I'm going by what studies and published works I've seen. This way of eating is supported by the science. Pick up Taubes. Pick up Volek. Is 50 years of clinical experience with this diet enough?

How can anyone be sure the H&G diet was so good? Well, many of the anthropologists and archaeologists contend as much (see previous posts). Whether you want to believe them or not is up to you.

To me, the recommendation of the ubiquitous food pyramid (complete with influence by food manufacturers' lobbying) is just as unscientific--to date I haven't read any good, decent science that says that the status quo is the ideal diet and what we should be aiming for.

No metal. Roasting. Stone implements. That's funny. I think I'll go skin that mammoth now.

I really don't care what other people think. Today I had enough energy for the first time in oh, ages, not only to walk the 3km round trip to my kids' school (which has two hills), but I also ran around playing with them for 20 minutes in the park. Without a caffeine hit beforehand. Without a sugar rush either. Then I went out to do errands and shopping and then looked at the clock and realized it was almost 6pm and I wasn't even hungry, even though my last meal (small amount of fish and veg, berries and cream) was six hours and 3km+ ago. To me, having the extra energy is all worth it. If it stays this way, I'm sold. Being 1kg lighter since Sunday is just a bonus really.

You can reverse the severity of diabetes by losing weight, managing your carbs and exercising. You'd still be diabetic though. I know what to eat to get my blood glucose level to normal rates, two hours after eating, so that's what I eat. Despite my well managed blood glucose levels, if I went mad and stuffed my face with carbs, two hours after eating my blood glucose level would not be normal. Because I'm diabetic.

I disagree that doctors only know what they've been taught, doctors who are interested in a particular field will continue to study the ongoing research into that area. You are starting to sound a little evangelical though

That's the crux of the matter for any diabetic, no matter what stage of the disease they're at. Unfortunately, it's also an ongoing thing as many factors (general health and well being) can affect how glucose is metabolised.

I do worry about my MIL, her doctor seems to be one of the 'get 'em to chuck pills down their throat and get 'em out the surgery' type that gives them all a bad name. She hasn't even been referred to a dietician/nutritionist, she was just given a fact sheet and told to lose weight.

Unfortunately, she thinks that I talk with the devil's tongue so takes no notice of me

This discussion is very scientific, if you read the studies and recent advances in knowledge of how our metabolism works. Of which there are many.

The whole point is that the sacred food pyramid and all the recommendations that flow down from it has been based on Bad Science. This isn't in doubt, if you read the studies.

Start with Ancel Keys and his selective 'science' (i.e. just discard the results that don't fit the hypothesis) and work from there. It's pretty blatant.

Hey, look, I'm not saying anyone should change their diet ... You believe what you want BUT I am saying that there are the studies and science out there.

Should you not wish to pursue them then that is your decision.

If one person reading this does and makes progress then that's great.

If one person watches the video I linked to and concludes, nah, that's some quackery and obviously you can't get people off medication, there must be some bad side effects then so be it.

Hey, so be that too, I couldn't give a toss.

That is a cracking read, I am a quarter of the way into it and it's a thumbs up from me.

Just been through the bit where all the arguments against are dealt with from both a scientific and cultural angle.

"It's not a balanced diet!", "The brain needs carbohydrates!", etc, etc.

Sincerely,
Eating Right Reverend DeadVim

I have just started reading Primal Blueprint having read a couple of the Gary Taubes books. Interesting reading and I can definitely see that eating in this way will benefit me. I have tried low carb in the past, but I always combined this with low fat (because I mistakenly thought that fat was bad - that is what the doctor told me) and counting calories, and it made me thoroughly miserable. It made me tired, cold, and actually a bit depressed. I have already stopped using things like margarine and vegetable oils (eg canola) and have replaced those things with butter, avocado oil, coconut oil and have been making homemade mayo and tomato sauce, and I think that the time is right to go the whole way and try a primal-type diet.

I have been subscribed to the Diet Doctor blog for a while, and over the past couple of weeks a new series of YouTube videos about obesity have been posted. This is the latest, I think that Robert Lustig does a great job of explaining the effects of insulin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Yo3TRbkIrow

Sounds like we are on the same path

It does take a while to shake off the 'consuming fat bad' argument but once you do (and realise the science really isn't there to back it up) it's very liberating.

A few decent books for anyone interested:
- Protein Power
- The Paleo Solution
- The Paleo Diet (although I don't recommend cutting dairy, that is too far)
- Real Food - What To Eat
- Eat Fat, Lose Fat
- Wheat Belly (awesome, got me off grains overnight)

And, of course, Why We Get Fat and it's bigger brother Good Calories, Bad Calories.

To anyone wondering why I haven't been posting on BE recently, there is your answer

Thanks for the vid link, I'll take a look later.

An interesting account of how someone blogging about going low-carb to help his diabetes is accused of providing nutritional advice without a license:

http://www.fathead-movie.com/index.p...ter-a-blogger/

Seems like an interesting little series ... well made and current: