Only one week after travelling to Washington DC to yell at....er...make a comment to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee, I travelled north to New London, Connecticut, the home of the annual Ketofest. 

Ketofest is a two and a half day party/barbeque/science conference occurring every July for the last 3 years. It's hosted by Carl Franklin, host of the 2 Keto Dudes Podcast. I attended the first Ketofest in 2017 and returned this year although only for Science Sunday. Ketofest is great for people at all levels of keto from those who are contemplating jumping to low carb to people who have been doing it for years.  They turn tho whole town of New London, ketogenic. Several of the restaurants were prepared for the ketonians with special menus catering to the diet needs who follow this form of diet diet biohacking. As with all low-carb luminaries are available to talk with. I found luminaries in the audience who did not even have a speaking role. 

That's me standing up and speaking in public which is, frankly, my least favorite thing to do in the whole world. Yet I defied my stubborn phobia because I had some thoughts I wanted to get off my chest, live and in person,  to the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee (DGAC). The USDA Dietery Guidelines (DGA) are a big, HUGE deal. It's the mother of all food guidelines. It was formerly known as the food pyramid then they changed its name to My Plate.

Unfortunately the DGA has not really worked out well in prevention. OK that is a major understatement. It has been a been a calamity for human human health. DGA and the obesity epidemic both came into being in 1980. Let me reiterate  that point.  The food rulebook that was supposed to prevent heart disease, diabetes and obesity has completely and utterly failed. 
Imagine that the DGAC was an engineering company and the buildings made from its blueprints kept collapsing, that company would be sued into bankruptcy and the owners of the company would be thrown in jail for criminal incompetence. 
Everyday, over and over, I see people struggling with their health problems such as weight, diabetes, hypertension and digestion who are try to "eat healthy" like the guidelines say: Low fat/ lean meat/ high fiber/ whole grain/ low calorie....and fail miserably.  Good intention are sabotaged by bad rules. I went to Washington to tell the people who have been been appointed to the 2020 guidelines committee that I am not impressed. MAny people are not impressed. Many people are laughing at them. This epidemic of chronic disease should not be a joke. Watch my friend Priyanka Wali MD tell some uncomfortable truths to the committee.
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The dietary guidelines now recommend 3 style of eating it calls dietary patterns:

1. American style (DASH)
2. Mediterranean
   
3. vegetarian
   

On the surface they look a little different but in actuality they all advise 50-50 of calories from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates which are not actually required by our bodies which do actually require proteins and fats.  We'd be better off if they completely turned the food pyramid upside down. That's what I'm hoping for. Cross your fingers but don't hold your breath.

I travelled to Denver Colorado last week for the Low Carb Denver Conference. Three days of talks given by the big names in the Low Carb field. I had met many of them already but there were many I had yet to meet. Dr David Unwin, a GP (General Practitioner) with the Uk's National Health Service is one person I was most excited to meet. He is leading the charge in using diet as a way to reverse the big chronic diseases and obesity with less spending of drugs. His practice has the highest scores in treating diabetes while simultaneously spending the least amount on drugs! Of course you've probably guessed his secret. It's by getting his patients to eat less carbs. He created the little card I'm holding. I use it in my practice. It shows how many sugar teaspoon equivalents are in common foods. It is quite shokcki to many as a lot of foods they think are good for diabetes are really loaded with glucose. I also patterned my diet handout after his. He is also kind and soft spoken. In short he's a real role model.

Dr. Unwin's practice gets top diabetes results and spends the least amount of drugs!

Check out my discussion with hosts, Brian Lenzkes and Tro Kalayjian on there podcast. Join us as we talk about the realities and frustrations of practicing medicine today.  We review our personal journeys and discuss recent literature regarding the Low Carb lifestyle. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot from each other. Please join us for this great discussion. ​

​Once upon a time eggs were considered unhealthy. Can you believe it? Then, in 2016 the OFFICIAL government food guidelines (The Dietary Guidelines for Americans) DGA for short, changed its tune:
Specifically they said this. "Cholesterol is no longer considered a nutrient of concern." 
What new science did they consider when making this change in recommendation? Well, the science wasn't new at all.There was evidence that dietary cholesterol was harmless as far back as 1937. It took 80 years for the USDA to acknowledge it. This gave rise to the practice of eating egg white omelettes and other travesties against good nutrition.True, cholesterol can be found in the walls of diseased coronary arteries but the reason is there has nothing to do with how much cholesterol we eat.
The dietary guidelines still contain recommendations that had not been backed by science. Saturated fat is still demonized by most guidelines including the DGA in spite of evidence to the contrary. Recommendations to eat more whole grains is also extremely dubious. People serve whole grains to farm animals to fatten them for market.
Welcome back eggs! Eggs are a complete source of nutrition! An entire baby chick develops from embryo to hatch-ling within that shell. Eggs are a nutrient powerhouse. They also are a rich source choline which is tough to come by in other foods except for maybe liver. Liver is not everyone's favorite, I know.

Once upon a time eggs were considered unhealthy. Can you believe it? Then, in 2016 the OFFICIAL government food guidelines (The Dietary Guidelines for Americans) DGA for short, changed its tune:
Specifically they said this. "Cholesterol is no longer considered a nutrient of concern." 
What new science did they consider when making this change in recommendation? Well, the science wasn't new at all.There was evidence that dietary cholesterol was harmless as far back as 1937. It took 80 years for the USDA to acknowledge it. This gave rise to the practice of eating egg white omelettes and other travesties against good nutrition.True, cholesterol can be found in the walls of diseased coronary arteries but the reason is there has nothing to do with how much cholesterol we eat.
The dietary guidelines still contain recommendations that had not been backed by science. Saturated fat is still demonized by most guidelines including the DGA in spite of evidence to the contrary. Recommendations to eat more whole grains is also extremely dubious. People serve whole grains to farm animals to fatten them for market.
Welcome back eggs! Eggs are a complete source of nutrition! An entire baby chick develops from embryo to hatch-ling within that shell. Eggs are a nutrient powerhouse. They also are a rich source choline which is tough to come by in other foods except for maybe liver. Liver is not everyone's favorite, I know.

Washington Post: Why Americans are on track to eat the most eggs in nearly a half-century

Think eating low carb/keto has to cost a bundle? I doesn't have to be. Bacon, eggs, ground beef, and eggs can be had for cheap especially at Walmart.  True it's not the highest quality, grassfed, yada yada yada but cheap keto is still better than anything high carb. Matt spent $3.80 for an entire day's worth of food. Megha spent $2.50 for her day's food. Crazy cheap right? Check it out below.

Observations of diverse populations all over the world has found startling evidence. The groups with the lowest risk of death and heart disease are consuming twice of what the American Heart association considers optimal. They recommend consuming 1500 mg of sodium/day or lower. They believe americans are eating too much salt (3400 mg) now. This study, however, finds that populations with the most robust health are consuming about 5000 mg per day. This is consistent what we know of physiology. Humans evolved from ancient sea creatures. Our blood is about as salty as the ocean itself. If our diet is low in sodium our kidney actually have to expend energy to prevent it from being lost into the urine. When salt is consumed in excess of that the body needs the kidneys simply release what it doesn't require into the urine in a process places no stress on the kidneys. 
A recent review of the literature of the effect of salt restriction in heart failure found little evidence of benefit. This is kind of amazing given that every heart failure patient is strongly advised to cut salt. There science and the official recommendations are far apart.