Behind the Low- Carb Headlines

1. Behind the Low-Carb Headlines Dana Carpender View the complete video at http://holdthetoast.com/behind-the-lowcarb-headlines-1 http://holdthetoast.com/behind-the-lowcarb-headlines-2

2. Low Carb Diet Hurts Memory! Big, Carb-Heavy Breakfast Aids Weight Loss! Atkins Diet IncreasesAll-Causes Mortality!

3. Deep Breath!

4. Headlines: Designed to sell newspapers and magazines Never subtle Subtlety is where the truth lies!

5. The ________ Media! Supported by advertising • Food processors • Drug industry What happened to the Incredible Edible Egg??? Is Beef still What’s for Dinner???

6. Consider the Source What is the publication? Who is the author? • Credibility? • Obvious bias? Read the article • Any new information, or just the same old canards?

7. Studies Observational (most are this type) • Correlation is NOT causation! • Maybe suggestive, never conclusive. Clinical • How many subjects? • Over what period? • Closely monitored? • What was the actual diet? • Multiple variables?

8. Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates “No difference in diets for weight loss” Clinical study, 811 (645) participants The diets: • 20% fat, 15% protein, 65% carb • 20% fat, 25% protein, 55% carb • 40% fat, 15% protein, 45% carb • 40% fat, 15% protein, 35% carb

9. Reading more closely… “Low-Carb” = 35% calories from carbohydrates, or 137 grams??? Only 40% from fat??? (I shoot for more like 70-75%.) Reported intakes did not reach target levels of macronutrients! They never actually tested a low-carbohydrate diet! 10% of participants kept off 10% of their body weight. Success?

10. Atkins Diet Increases All-Cause Mortality! by Dr. Dean Ornish Annals of Internal Medicine “Meat Intake and Mortality: A Prospective Study of Over Half a Million People” (Gosh, we’re awfully impressed, I can tell you!)

11. Reading more closely… “Prospective” = “Observational” “Meat intake was estimated from a food frequency questionnaire…” Big assumptions: • Accurate memory of what you ate • Food intake remains the same for a decade

12. So, how did this one work? • “High animal protein” and “high vegetable protein” groups • Broke into deciles by carb intake • Men vs Women • “Lowest carb” group still 37%, or 168 grams carb • “Low-carb”/high-veg group was even higher over all • Men ate more carbs than women. NO GROUP was close to “low-carb”

13. Furthermore….. • “High-veg” group actually ate more animal protein than vegetable! • Lowest 2/3 of “low-animal” group ate more animal protein than “high-animal” group! • Lowest 2/3 of women’s “low-animal” group ate more red/processed meat than “high-animal” groups! • Differences persisted with the men. • Where did the animal group’s carbs come from? Had to be sugar.

14. What did this demonstrate? NOTHING! Except an overwhelming desire of some people (ahem-Ornish-ahem!) to “prove” that animal foods are bad and plant foods are good.

15. Next: Multiple Variables The “Big Breakfast” Study • 94 obese women with metabolic syndrome • Put on either a “low-carb” or a “big breakfast” diet • “Low-carbers” did a little better in first four months, then regained • “Big-breakfasters” continued to lose

16. Reading more closely… • Calories: Low-carbers ,1085; big-breakfasters, 1240. Huh? • Carbs: LC, 17 g; BB, 97 g. • Fat: LC, 78 g; BB, 22 g. • Protein: LC, 51 g; BB, 93 g. Huh? • Breakfast size: LC, 290 calories, 25% of daily calories; BB, 610 calories, nearly half daily calories.

17. SIX (count ‘em SIX) Variables! • Caloric intake • Fat intake • Carbohydrate intake • Protein intake • Breakfast size • Weighting of caloric intake toward beginning/end of day So, who did what to whom?

18. And what’s with this? • Bad math! • What low-carb diet restricts you to 1000 calories a day? • What low-carb diet restricts breakfast size? • Only 51 grams or protein a day? Straw Man Argument!

19. Low-Carb Diet & Memory Loss • 19 women, aged 22 to 55 • 9 low-carb, 10 low-calorie • Week 1: low-carbers showed decreasing memory and slowed reaction time • Week 2: carbs added back, cognition skills “returned to normal”

20. Wait a minute now… • First week was essentially zero-carb. (Do you remember your first week?) • Just getting to Induction by the end of the study – and their cognitive problems vanished! • Even in Week 1, low-carbers still out-performed on “attention vigilance task” Once again, someone is “creating a reality” they only wish were true.

21. Low Carb Diet Best for Lowering Blood Pressure (Now we’re talking!) • 146 obese subjects with comorbidities (diabetes, elevated cholesterol & triglycerides, hypertension) • Half put on low-carb, half on low-fat with orlistat (aka xenical or “Alli”) • Low-carbers were on Atkins induction – an actual low-carb diet!

22. So, how did they do? • Low-carb group lost 9.5% of their body fat; low-fat group lost 8.5% (even while taking the orlistat) • Both improved cholesterol and trigs • Insulin & glucose markers improved only in low-carb group • BP improved far more dramatically in low-carb group • 47% of low-carbers discontinued BP meds vs 21% of low-fat group

23. In summary, ask yourself… • Do I trust the source? • Is there actual science involved? • Observational or clinical study? • How big? How long? How was it constructed? • Was it really low-carbohydrate? • Do the headlines match the actual conclusions?

24. Tune in: • Jimmy Moorelivinlavidalowcarb.com • Tom Naughtonfathead-movie.com • Dr. Mike Eadesproteinpower.com/drmike • Denise Mingerrawfoodsos.com

25. Obligatory Self-Promotion • Hold The Toast! (blog)www.holdthetoast.com • Dana’s Low-Carb for Life (podcast)www.danaslowcarbforlife.com • My TotalGym Transformationwww.mytotalgymtransformation.com