This week, we summarize the top five news articles and studies in the real food realm. Plus, a few diversions...

News and Emerging Science

  1. Does carefully following our Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) work to improve blood sugar control and blood lipids? This 8 week RCT, testing a near-ideal DGA diet versus a typical American diet, suggests the answer is "NO." "Fasting insulin, glucose, triglycerides, oral-glucose tolerance, and indexes of insulin resistance were not affected by either of the diets." The only improvement was a reduction in blood pressure. 
  2. Cutting back on salt? Why bother? MedPage reports that new PURE study results, published in this week's The Lancet, show, for those consuming less than 4g sodium/day, reducing salt is associated with MORE heart events. (Average US consumption is 3.4g/day.)
  3. NYT reporter, Anahad O'Connor, reports on another dietary advice switcharoo. The American Heart Association rolls back its longstanding advice to eat a variety of foods. Now, its researchers recommend a focus on quality and less worry about variety. Because sometimes, more variety means more bad choices.
  4. In this op-ed in The New York Times, Doctor Ludwig and economist Rogoff team up to outline the "massive economic cost" of obesity in America. "The total impact of obesity and its related complications on the United States’ economic output has been estimated at between 4 and 8 percent of gross domestic product. Even on the lower end, that’s comparable to the 2018 defense budget ($643 billion) and Medicare ($588 billion)." The solution? "...People can lose meaningful amounts of weight and lower their risk of heart disease by limiting sugar, refined grains and processed foods."
  5. How bad is the diabetes epidemic? The Davis Enterprise reports that In California alone, there are over 2.5 million patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes. "More than 12,000 Californians lost limbs or toes to diabetes in 2016, state data show." What to do? This new systematic review finds low-carb beats low-fat for HbA1c reduction in those with with type 2 diabetes. If you don't like reviews, check out this new RCT with the same result! 

Can a free online low-carb program bring diabetes reversal to patients with type 2 diabetes? Will Canada change its Food Guide to recommend real food over processed and stop emphasizing the reduction of saturated fat? Are vegan diets healthy? Might a meat-only diet improve mental health? Why are almost half of Thailand's Buddhist monks obese? What are the 10 defining characteristics of a keto diet, done right? Is the war on sugar working? (Global sugar prices are falling.)

Success!

  • Steelers veteran quarterback, "Big Ben" Roethlisberger, cuts sugar and carbs to drop excess weight and come to camp in the best shape he has been in years.
  • Allison tames her PCOS with a ketogenic diet and help from Virta Health. She has lost 40 pounds, and says, "I no longer experience mood swings, my hormone imbalances have normalized, and my 'female functions' are back on track."
  • Young man loses 90 pounds in 10 months by sticking with a ketogenic diet and exercising. "If you eat whatever you want and think, 'I'm just going to run 10 miles to work it off.' You're not gonna lose any weight... It's really about how you fuel your body."
  • Jennifer tweets that she is down "40 pounds eating steak and eggs, bacon and butter." She adds, "And did I mention my “normal” cholesterol, A1c, triglyceride and fatty liver numbers?!"
  • In just TWO months, Glenne is eating keto and has "gone from an average fasting glucose of 187 down to an average of 96 and [he's] lost 18 lbs... off all of [his] diabetic medication, and it feels great!" He is being treated by Virta Health.
  • In one year, Becky has dropped 35 pounds and reversed diabetes and dyslipidemia, all with a low-carb diet. She is trying to help others reverse diabetes with her website, diabetesand.me.
  • Annie, who is 45, tweets that she is down almost 90 pounds... plus, "cured of IBS, GORD, pre-diabetes, headaches, migraines, arthritis, inflammation, bleeding gums, hospital visits. No cold in almost 4yrs, great blood work."
  • Mom of two, Amber, loses 90 pounds with low-carb (Atkins) diet and walking.
  • Jaques switches from bread and pasta to low carb and gets, well, "ripped"... with LESS gym time!
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Plate of the Week

Click through for a basic recipe:

This easy plate is low-carb and takes about 15 minutes to prepare. Remove the fig for a keto-ish meal.

What's on your plate?
Try our meal-idea-generator—

Want More?

Tune in next week!

Until then,

The Moms @ Eat the Butter


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