Natural and Healthy Low Carb

Posted by Rachel

March 12, 2009

The more I learn about nutrition and the ways that foods have an effect on our bodies, the more absolutely amazed I am that most of us still manage to function on a daily basis. I’ve recently delved into some new information that allows me understand the health conditions of this country like I never have before.

The fact that, according to the CDC, over TWO-THIRDS of our country is overweight or obese is appalling. The American Cancer Society now estimates that 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will have some form of invasive cancer in their lives. In 2007, it was estimated that 23.6 MILLION (!) people in this country have diabetes, 90-95% of those being type 2 diabetics. These statistics are staggering! And, yet, to some degree they are of little surprise when one considers what children are being served in school lunches and the fact that healthy fruits and vegetables make up only 10% of our daily caloric intake as a nation.

We are a country that is increasingly fueled by white flour, white sugar, white potatoes, and white rice with a boatload of preservatives and chemicals thrown in. Combine this with a basically sedentary lifestyle and is it really any wonder that we are so ill?

In my never ending quest to keep up with the latest science involving food, I ran across a book that had me immediately intrigued. The book is called “Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease” by Gary Taubes. Mr. Taubes has spent the better part of the last 15 years as an investigative journalist covering public health issues and spent over five years researching the information that went into this book. The information is pretty incredible. Among other things, he discovered that:

To read a great synopsis about the book, check out this article written by Taubes himself.

There was so much great information backed by science, that Luke and I decided to give a Low Carbohydrate Diet a try. For the last 6 weeks, we have cut out all grains, high sugar fruits, and starchy vegetables, including potatoes, most winter squash, and sweet potatoes. We’ve been eating about a pound of greens a day, lots of nuts, seeds, and coconut, and small portions of animal protein at most meals.

I’ve got to say, I’ve never felt better. I’ve struggled with mild acne since the age of 12, and it is gone. Our energy levels are up, excess weight is coming off and we are building lots of new muscle with just two simple weight workouts a week. It really is incredible. What is different about the diet we have chosen versus other Low Carb diets is that we are emphasizing healthy, natural foods and sweeteners and using vegetables as our main source of calories. Most Low Carb diets emphasize loads of meat and cheese and eggs, but that’s just not an adequate diet no matter how much weight you lose.

I’ve been experimenting with Stevia and Erythritol as sweeteners, and have had several successes that I hope to share with you all soon. In the meantime, please check out this book and these great Low Carb and Grain Free Blogs:

Elana’s Pantry
Cindalou’s Healthy GF/DF Kitchen
Healthy Indulgences
Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried

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