Low Carb and Zits Anonymous 6:14 PM

The Low Carb Conversations with Jimmy Moore and Friends that I participated in is up, and if you get the opportunity, please take a listen.

Since we only had a half an hour for the podcast I didn't have the opportunity to elaborate on the topic of acne as much as I would have liked, and I really didn't delve too much into my own "Low Carb Story", only enough to tell how I got started down this road to renewed health and vitality. It was probably a good thing Jimmy knows how to keep control of his topics, and rein in the guests should they start to go astray of the main conversation (not that that happened...I kept control of myself, ha ha!). Plus, it gives me material for a blog post. A win-win situation all around!

If you listen to the podcast you know that I stated I had never really had an issue with acne. It's true, I have been blessed with pretty much blemish-free skin, except for a few eruptions here and there since adolescence. Everything I have ever read from people who have had acne and gone on a low carb eating plan has indicated to me that it does indeed help with acne, and many other skin issues. But what happens if you are low carbing, or following a Paleo or Primal lifestyle and you get zits anyway? Could the diet be to blame?

A few months ago, a friend of mine, who had then recently started a Primal lifestyle, messaged me, telling me that she was experiencing acne outbreaks on her forehead, nose and chin, and asked if I thought she should cut back on the copious amounts of saturated fats she had been consuming. My gut instinct told me that it wasn't the fat, but I knew she was worried because one of the things conventional wisdom has beat into our heads over the years is that eating a fatty diet can cause acne.

I replied to her asking how much dairy she had been eating and if she had been eating any fruits that may have caused an allergic reaction. Sometimes allergies manifest themselves by way of skin outbreaks. She replied telling me she wasn't having a whole lot of dairy all the time, and that she hadn't eaten any unusual fruits that she hadn't been eating before her lifestyle change. But I had also remembered that she had mentioned in earlier conversations that she was supplementing with B vitamins, and that made me remember that sometimes when one over-supplements with B12 and/or B6 it can cause acne outbreaks of the tiny little whitehead looking bumps my friend experienced. I messaged her with the information and she also said that in addition to her B vitamin pills, she had been drinking a popular beverage that was also loaded with B vitamins. Like magic, after she stopped the supplementation, the acne disappeared.

As for the rest of my low carb story that I didn't talk about...I am thankful to have started my journey on Atkins. It lead me down the path to discover what was really good for my body, mind, and soul. I don't "do Atkins" anymore. I have discovered that a more Paleo template of eating works best for me, gravitating more toward Primal on most days. I keep experimenting all the time with what foods make me feel the best and how I react to them. Since we're all different self-experimentation is the only way to know for sure what you will thrive on. Perhaps in my next post I will explain why this lifestyle change is so important to me personally, and why I want to help spread the word that conventional wisdom about food and health needs a major overhaul.

Oh, Sugar Sugar... Anonymous 8:30 AM

Lately there seem to be several voices crying in the "healthy eating" wilderness that we need to turn our attention away from simply stating low carb eating is the panacea for all of our health and obesity woes. They are urging us to look beyond what many of us have come to take as gospel: carbohydrates make us fat and sick, and if you reduce your carb intake to a bare minimum you will lose weight and improve many of the diseases of modern civilization you may be afflicted with.

It has been hypothesized that it is simply a matter of too much sugar in our diets that is causing the increase in obesity and diseases of modern civilization, and perhaps the highly processed grains, and maybe the vegetable oils, too. But really, they question, is it the whole of the carbohydrate macronutrient group that we need to be wary of? After all, other groups of natives that have been virtually untouched by Westernized ways of eating do quite well with eating diets very high in carbohydrates, with no ill effects whatsoever (1, 2).

And is it anything to do with insulin resistance, or leptin resistance? Is the jury still out on the whole insulin resistance issue? Many in the upper stratosphere of the Paleo movement would like to argue (and do) that the Carbohydrate Hypothesis is erroneous, and lacking in scientific backing.

It is statements like these which make me scratch my head and say, "Oh really?!"

I absolutely agree that sugar is bad, especially in the abundant quantities in the American diet. I don't eat grains, and I try to avoid vegetable oils at all costs, but are these people serious when they say they think we obese Americans can lose weight just by avoiding sugar alone?

Obviously, any change toward cutting sugar is going to reflect a positive change on the scale and in the tape measure. I have had friends in the past who swore off their favorite sugar laden food and lost weight. But what about those of us who for many years, even decades, bought into the notion that we were supposed to eat low fat, with lots and lots of "healthy" grains and carbohydrates, became obese, then cut our calories and portions, thus starving ourselves to lose pounds, damaging our metabolisms and probably frying our adrenal glands and thyroids in the process? Yeah, and many of us are women. Has it not always been obvious, and a scientific fact, that men typically lose weight faster than women? And, honestly, with the exception of less than a handful of these Paleo scientific experts in the blogosphere, not many of these gentlemen have ever been obese, or even a little overweight.

I have been on so many different weight loss diets in my lifetime. I have lost a significant amount of weight on low calorie, low fat diets, only to gain all the weight back and more because I was starving. The only eating plan that allowed me to lose weight, improve my health, and never feel hungry has been a low carbohydrate eating plan. I lost 60 pounds from my 5' 2" frame, and maintained that for quite some time. It wasn't until I decided to do my own N=1 experiment after reading many Paleo bloggers who believed that we humans were designed to be able to handle carbohydrates like potatoes and rice, that I gained some of that weight back. I am now eating "clean" again, avoiding those Paleo-approved starches, and losing weight.

My take on this is obviously based on my own personal, anecdotal experiences, but my experiences and applications of low carb eating have been backed up by science, so I am counting them as valid. While I believe that people who have never damaged their metabolisms may indeed be able to eat these starchy vegetables and ancient grains without any detrimental effects, I, and so many others in my same boat, may never be able to incorporate these foods into our daily eating plans.

Do I think low carb is a panacea for all the maladies that present themselves in modern civilization? Pretty much, but my definition of low carb may not be everyone's ideal definition, either. We all need to find out for ourselves what our bodies are capable of handling with regard to the damage we've already done.

Can You Hear Me From Way Up There? Anonymous 7:24 PM

The chasm between the Paleo community and the low carb community seems to be growing wider by the day. There has been a lot of flap about Gary Taubes giving a curt smackdown to Stephen Guyenet during the Q&A after Stephan's presentation on "Food Reward." I just watched the video of the incident, and I must say, up till the very end when Taubes made his flippant remark, it sounded like a good debate.

In the comments section of Dr. Guyenet's post about the "drama," many seem to want to equate Taubes' zeal and opinion about low carb with Ancel Keys disastrous advice that low fat diets prevented heart disease.

I think this is a big mistake, and while I don't think Gary Taubes' final statement in his response was necessary, or kind, I can see the point he was trying to make. Should Taubes take a dose of his own medicine? Perhaps, but I can't agree with everything the "big shots" in the Paleo community have come up with, either.

I've said before and I'll say again, I do not follow any particular "group." I am not Paleo, or Primal; I am not a follower of Atkins, and I had hoped that "Ancestral" might have been a good way to describe my way of eating. However...it seems that "Ancestral" is just another term for Paleo in the mind of the Paleoites. And even though, compared to the SAD, Paleo can be considered low carb by default, they rail against "low carbers" as if they were from another planet entirely, and just utterly stupid.

I have gained a lot of knowledge and wisdom from the Paleo movement, just as I have from Primal enthusiasts AND low carbers, but I don't think any of these groups will ever agree on an optimal diet between them. And that's okay. You all keep debating, and railing against one another. I will sit back, observe, and pick the good parts out of the slop you're making by bashing one another over every little detail.

Isn't the vision to be a unified front against the decades of insane advice from the powers that be? Can't we leave the sensitivity at the door and keep the real discussion going? Admit that there is right and wrong on both sides, and move on? Or is this going to be a huge pissing match - - a challenge between Alpha Males?

Some of the Paleoites need to get over themselves and realize that just because someone considers themselves low carb doesn't mean that they are retarded, and just because we consider one of the macronutrient groups to be pretty much verboten, doesn't mean we don't see value in your criticism about certain aspects of our way of life.

And about the Paleo/Primal people being in better shape than general low carbers? Well, I will bet you a dollar to a coconut flour donut that many of those beautiful, well-built people never had a weight problem in their lives. (Jump back, I didn't say ALL!) There are people in every lifestyle who are at different stages of their journey. To judge someones eating choices by ones appearance from seeing them one time does not a valid observation make.

In addition to that, if someone who has wrecked their metabolism for the majority of their life (not someone who is still in their youth - you know, 20s and 30s) discovers a low carb/Paleo/Primal way of living helps them maintain their health and accomplish weight loss, there is nothing saying that they will ever be able to eat the occasional potato or piece of fruit without it being detrimental to their weight or well being. Gary Taubes is right about many things, and so is the low carb movement. By the same token, there is a lot of good science abounding on all sides. I just hope this dies down and the bickering and caterwauling is kept to a minimum.

I realize my thoughts are sort of disjointed and all over the place in this post, but many of these points are in response to the particular blog post I linked above. I prefer to not involve myself in the discussion on Stephen's post directly. I feel more comfortable addressing them on my homefront. So, pardon my scatteredness, please!

Guinea Pigs, Unite! (Or Not) Anonymous 9:45 AM

Obviously, doing a low carb way of eating has done a lot of good for me. I have struggled for a while to find an appropriate "label" to describe my way of living/eating, and have come to the conclusion that I am just not going to find one; at least not one that already exists. Perhaps that is not a bad thing. I have never really liked being labeled anyway, why do it now?

Recently a high profile Paleo blogger has abandoned ship, renouncing what he has touted as an optimal way of eating in favor of a more pesce-vegetarian, low fat diet with underpinnings of Chinese medical and religious philosophies (or, that's what I can gather out of it, at least). I find this all rather peculiar, since he has only fairly recently mentioned any issues he has had with the Paleo diet he has followed for 14 years, but he is obviously having some health issues (whether those issues are primarily related to what he believes they are related to is an entirely different story).

Paleo, Primal, Low Carb, Archevore, Atkins, Weston Price, Whole Food...what have I left out? All of these philosophies have contributed to the way I eat today. For the most part I shun grass grains and sugar, and most starches, though occasionally I will have some potatoes fried in lard or tallow, or some white rice. My way of eating is actually changing all the time. Changing, but not really diverting from a high fat, moderate protein, low carb model of eating. Some things I eat may or may not work for someone else. Why is that? Simply, we've all walked different roads, and the damage I have done to my body over the years with whatever toxins or "mal-nutrients" I have ingested has effected my particular genetic makeup in its own individual way. I have done a lot of damage, I am sure. I did eat low fat/low calorie for extended periods of time, and was anorexic during certain points in my life. I also ingested a bunch of processed foods and vegetable oils. Who knows what lasting effects that will have on my mortal body in the long run? Only time will tell, but right now, as I live in the present, I know that I feel better and perform better with very few carbohydrates and little processed foods.

I do believe everyone has to find their own best diet. I will not, however, ever believe that there is any good in Veg*ism, Low Fat or Low Calorie eating.

I will continue to read, research, and glean information about what could be beneficial to add and/or delete from my way of eating. I am a self-made guinea pig for my own well-being.

A Delicate Balance...and Boobs Anonymous 6:36 PM

There has been a lot of discussion in the Paleo/LowCarb/Primal community about the wisdom or insanity of including potatoes in ones diet. Richard Nickoley committed obvious heresy according some of his Paleo community followers by suggesting that there was nothing wrong with eating some taters with his grass fed meats. Tom Naughton did his own little self experiment with the dreaded white potato and sweet potatoes, posting about his blood glucose reactions to the two different kinds of spuds.

I have done my own little experiments regarding potatoes, both white and sweet, though not quite as scientific as Tom, and thankfully under less scrutiny of my peers than Richard. I'm not Paleo - - don't claim to be, am not a reenactor, don't really care whether potatoes were eaten by theoretical cavemen or not, so my experiment is merely about how my body reacts to them, basically as Tom was trying to discover about his own reaction. Except mine was done without the BG readings on a glucometer. I am pretty much in tune with what is going on with my body these days, and I know from the way my heart races when I eat something that makes my BG levels go crazy high that I should avoid whatever made it happen.

The verdict? I will probably never be able to eat white potatoes ever again. Well, I won't say never, because there may be those occasions when I just want a BG rush and then to fall into a deep coma-like sleep, but we'll see. Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, seem to have very little effect on my BG, much like Tom discovered.

I don't really miss potatoes anyway. I have too many other wonderful, satisfying things I include in my lifestyle of eating that worrying about whether or not I can eat a potato is of no concern. I just know it's not good for me. It may be fine for someone else, like Richard. More power to him for discovering what is good and right for him.

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Mark Sisson posted an interesting link to Paleo Princess' post on the Paleo Alphabet. All of her alphabet points rang true for me, though I don't follow exactly the same lifestyle as she...but I found her "B" point to be most interesting, and true for myself, as well:

"B is for Boobs! Big boobs! I was never a small chested woman, but I went from a 34-C to a 34-D on a paleo diet, even though I lost twenty-eight pounds. I’m not complaining!"

 I went from a C to D cup while eating low carb/Primal. It was noticeable...so noticeable that my ex-husband asked me if I had had breast augmentation surgery. I thought, up until her post, that I was the only one who that happened to, but now I know I am not! Anyone else had the same thing happen? I wonder why it happens? Anyone have a clue? Not that I am complaining, either!