A Crunchy Low-Carb Snack

One of the things that are hard to get in low carbs is crunch.

FritoLay Baken-Ets are tasty, crunchy, pure meat--no additives, and only 5 grams of carbs in a big bag.

Scientific American on Side

It looks like our work may be close to done. A front-page article in today's online edition supports the low-carb message and blames high carb diets for 'obesity, heart disease, and other health problems faced by many Americans.'

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=mummy-says-john-horgan-is-wrong-abo-2011-05-19

This is a remarkable turn of events. Let's hope SciAm's imprimatur is the beginning of the end for the high-fat myth.

Tubers rescued after falling in B.C. river

I was disappointed to read that this headline wasn't about a wayward truckload of potatoes.

Put whipped cream on top of pinapple cream cheese and freeze. Eat right out of the freezer. Amazing treat. No carbs.

Scrambled Eggs a la Carnivore for Two

Take no prisoners.

Start by putting half a stick (60g) of butter in a frying pan at low/medium low--just enough to bubble but not brown.

Warm a quarter cup of small chunks of cooked meat and a couple tablespoons of spicy salsa in the microwave.

Put six eggs and a quarter cup of cream in a mixing bowl and whisk to a froth. Put it in the pan and scramble slowly. When the eggs start to cook, add the meat. 

If the eggs brown, the pan was too hot; start again. You want to poach the eggs, not fry them.

Serves two and costs less than one Starbucks coffee.

Stop Selling Low Carb

Has it really been more than a month? I've been busier than it feels.

In any case, I've come to the conclusion that we should stop doing missionary work pushing a low carb diet. I know, it's hard not to try to save the world, but in this case it's counter-productive.

First, you're pushing a rock uphill against a trillion-dollar carb industry and government "health" organizations that can't admit that, since 1970, their advice has been killing people.

More important is a simple market fact: The more demand there is for high-carb, low-fat foods, the less demand there is for our kind of food.

Low demand means low prices--an equation I see every week in my grocery bill. It was really evident when we started this carnivorous experiment--it cut more than 50% from our grocery bill, which was already low-carb. And the downward curve continues, not because our diet is changing, but because prices are. The prices of eggs, common cheeses, butter, frozen or smoked fish, and not-lean meat are all creeping downward.

So Give It Up. When the conversation turns to diet, smile knowingly and be a good listener. When pressed about your carnivorous choices, say it's a choice you've made, just as others choose to be vegetarians (or vegans--is there a difference?).  Let your good health and high IQ speak for themselves.

Three Whole-Grain Portions Daily May Lower Cardiovascular Risk

Yeah--Right!
    This one's a beaut.

" Daily consumption of 3 portions of whole-grain foods (WGF) is linked to lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in healthy, middle-aged people mainly by lowering blood pressure (BP), according to the results of a randomized controlled dietary trial reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;92:733-740)


Given the role that fiber plays in slowing down the digestion of carbohydrates, everything these folk found can be explained by lowered blood glucose levels. Here's where it gets really entertaining:


"Although the mechanisms by which WGFs decrease BP remain unclear, our findings have important public health implications and provide a sound scientific basis for advising the daily consumption of 3 servings of WGF to combat CVD."


In fact, what they found was a statistical clue to do some science. They admit that the science eludes them and they can't figure out why WGF loading would lower BP.  Nor do they seem disposed to look for the science or consider the possibility that their assumptions are flawed.
    Another indicator of the shortage of three-digit IQs in the nutritional sciences.

Now They're Going After Eggs

At a loss for something to do, JD Spence, DJ Jenkins, and J Davignon, have published a study in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology whose attention-getter is that there's more cholesterol in an egg than in the KFC Double-Down. Of course, they didn't need a study for that; all they had to do was read the label but, what the hey, you have to justify your existence one way or another.
    Also featured is their not-surprising discovery that, of the victims who became diabetic during the study, eating eggs doubled their cardiovascular risk. In other words, if you're eating a carb-soaked, diabetigenic diet mixed with enough fat to get you up in the morning, you're going to die.

See the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, November 2010, Volume26,Issue 9,e336-e339.

Double Down Comes to Canada

KFC has decided to try the DD in Canada. First chance to try it is Oct 18.
    In case you haven't seen the data, this puppy is Ultra Low Carb. The grilled version has only 3 grams of proto-glucose. On a percentage basis, that's a bit over 1% carb.
    Bring along a fellow carnivore and a knife; weighing in at 240 grams of meat and cheese, it's two good and greasy meals.

Eating Animals is Cheap

For the last two years I've been slowly cutting out everything but animal products. I'd been on a 25 gm or less track for ten years; then one thing at a time, the rest came off. Now it's meat, fish, eggs, cheese, period. Cream in my coffee, the odd garnish, but that's it.

    I'm in better shape than I've been since I was a lot younger. I'm wearing clothes I haven't been able to get into for over twenty years. 

    But the real bonus: a radically shrunken grocery bill. Part of it is reduced volume and no packaged goods. The rest is the "lean" craze that results in "not lean" being really cheap. A well-marbled steak that makes a big meal is only about $6 at the local grocer. I get lots of real butter (a third of a stick is fundamental to a lot of recipes), eggs to gently cook in it, cheeses of all kinds (the only expensive part of the diet),  a variety of fish fillets, and meat of every description. I eat chewy, greasy, buttery, delicious, for about $10 a day.

    And my blood glucose is so low that my doctor can't figure out why I'm not dead. Icing on the cake!

Dogs are Carnivores Too

An update on dog dinner. President's Choice Extra Meaty Dinner (not chunks) is now available by the case at three-quarters the price of single cans.
    As I've noted before, EMD has the most animal protein and fat and the least rabbit food in a can I've been able to find. 10% protein, 6% fat. That means I can feed an active 120 lb. bowser for $2 a day.
    And no "diseases of civilization" for her either.

The Health Canada HiCarb Guide to Correct Living

I thought I'd see if Health Canada had learned anything over the years so I engaged archive.org's WayBack Machine to look at the Canada Food Guide.
    It turns out that since 1998 they've had only two versions of the Guide. Somewhere around 2002, they started an intensive study into the latest medical knowledge and by 2007 they made an evidence-based decision that they had been right all along except for total quantity and grains. They changed the Guide to what it still is today, leaving three of the food groups unchanged but reducing total intake by reducing grain servings per adult from 12 down to 8.
    This is not a trivial change. The Guide still recommends a hyperglycemic, pancreas-destroying, diabetigenic carb load, but it takes about 60 grams of carbs out of what was a 350 gram diet before dessert and drinks. Grains are where most of the starches and sugars come from, so any cut is significant. On the other hand, they count beans and peas as vegetables, so no cheering yet.
    It's interesting that their reduction is twice the total in a low-carb diet.

Hot Bried Prosciutto

Food for the Gods:

Fold a couple of slices of Prosciutto, maybe 100 grams, to hamburger size. Put a few tablespoons of Brie on top. Microwave for about two minutes so the Brie melts over the meat.
    Add cayenne. Enjoy.

Swedish Meat Balls

There's a scene in Babylon 5 where G'Kar is entertaining a guest for dinner. His guest is curious as to how G'Kar was able to get "breen", a particular delicacy from the Narn home world, since it's occupied by the Centari. G'Kar explains that it's actually an Earth dish called Swedish Meatballs.
    He goes on to say he's discovered that every sentient race in the galaxy has a dish just like it. He suspects that it's one of those great universal mysteries that will either never be explained or that will drive you mad if you ever learn the truth.

Recommended: President's Choice Swedish Meatballs.

Easy to prepare, tastes great (though it needs salt) and 6 carb grams per serving.