Morgan says:

One of the best books I’ve ever read on these issues is “Life Without Bread” by Christian B. Allan and Wolfgang Lutz. Doctor Atkins first published in diet book in 1972. Dr. Wolfgang Lutz is an Austrian physician who first published “Life Without Bread,” in Austria, in 1967. I understand that it has been in continuous print in German since 1967.

Life Without Bread is not strictly a “weight loss” book. Lutz does recommend a low carb diet and he offers a simple approach for managing a low-card diet through the limitation of “bread units.” The book has a chapter on weight management but the book’s emphasis is on the treatment of other disease by means of low-carbohydrate diet.

The current edition, with co-author Christian B. Allen, is the first English Language edition and appears to have considerable new information provided by Allen, who is not only the translator but a researcher in his own right. Among the many diseases which the author’s deal with is cancer. They believe that high carbohydrate diet may induce or at least contribute to cancer and they present an interesting hypothesis for why they think it does.

Lutz was born in 1913, which makes him, as of this writing, around 95 years old–living proof that, at least, a low carbohydrate diet won’t kill you.

I’ll check out “Life Without Bread.” Considering that cancer rates are very low in societies that eat a hunter-gatherer diet, I’d say Lutz and Allen have a point.

My great-grandfather was a farmer who loved his bacon and eggs, ham, steaks, etc. He lived to be 101 and was completely lucid until age 98. Guess all that animal fat didn’t hurt him any.

Dana says:

It’s now thought that high-carb contributes to cancer in two ways. One, insulin being elevated so much encourages growth in cells that ought not to be growing. Two, most types of cancer use straight glucose for energy by fermenting it instead of turning it into ATP, and they are glucose hogs. A while back I ran across a university website where they discussed doing research about this–the hypothesis is that cancer cells are more susceptible to free radical damage than healthy cells are, so they suck up all that glucose to protect themselves from free radical damage. Weird. I don’t know where they are in that study, I should go try to dig it up again. It was the University of Iowa or Idaho, I don’t remember which.

(And this may be an explanation for why smokers taking beta carotene supplements get more lung cancer, if the hypothesis holds. Beta carotene’s an antioxidant.)

A doctor on a Jimmy Moore podcast explained that insulin is a growth hormone. If you’re an adult, it won’t make you any taller, so you’ll grow something else: love handles, a tumor, thicker arteries, skin flaps, etc.

Nigel says:

At last! - a real film about the real politics of our food supply - very nicely done - I really liked the animations about how we get fat (and the guy from CSPI). Another book you should add to your reading list is one by an Australian - Sweet Poison. It has a good look at many of the issues you raise but pins the blame squarely on fructose. Jimmy Moore did an interview with him recently - see http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/david-gillespie-talks-sweet-poison-sugar-episode-219/

I remember Jimmy’s interview. I’ll put the book on my list.

Cathy Payne says:

All great books! (Looks like my bookshelf) Some other good reads are Lierre Keith’s “The Vegetarian Myth.” She sites Eades, Fallon, Taubes, and Enig. Also “Nourishing Traditions” by Fallon and Enig. Like a textbook/cookbook combo. Thanks for spreading the Truth about fat and cholesterol! We’ll be contacting your media person about having you interview on our Podcast show, Our Natural Life. Our audience will love you! Just ordered a copy of your film.

I’ll send you an email so you don’t have to track me down through the contacts page. Looking forward to speaking with you.

Erik "kettlebell" Petersen says:

Slow Burn may be appropriate for certain segments of the population some of the time, but it is certainly not the greatest thing since sliced bread. HIT is not this author’s puppy (credit Arthur Jones with that one) and to apply it correctly to make any gains (outside of perpetual newbies who are far from their genetic potential), you have to endure some PAIN! Beginner’s (those with low fitness levels) will make gains in just about any program. Hell, test a couch potato for a max squat and maybe he can do their body wt, plus 20 pounds. Have them simply walk/run 5 days a week and presto, he can now squat 50 extra pounds. The point is, there are way too many books out there and most are simply seeking to be different for the sake of it, not because it’s a better way. Life doesn’t move at a snails pace and most would be better off training for optimal movement patterns (Which get messed up on dysfunctional machines) with some speed. After all, we are still functioning best when we move as hunter/gatherer’s , not carb eating, slow movin’ grain growers! Train like an athlete and always keep a few reps in the tank.

Karl says:

I highly recommend “The Primal Blueprint” by Mark Sisson. Love the film, Tom. Great work!

I appreciate the compliment. Mark’s stuff is definitely top-notch.

Mike says:

Hi mate,

Thank you for making such a Doco. I’ve been trying to explain some of what you had discussed in the movie to others but without any qualification or real reference I found it difficult to A: explain properly and B: be taken seriously.

So now I’m just going to show them your film. Here’s the water horsey …

Very happy to have the “cal in, cal out” myth turned over. For me, the most informative part was the explanation of how fat cells and insulin work with sugar and carbs … brilliant!

Can I ask please, is there or will there be available a full transcript of the movie? That would be invaluable. Perhaps then a subtitled version can be added for the deaf? Not to mention all that information being readily available to use.

From yet another Kiwi (New Zealander)
Mike

I don’t believe the distributors plan to add subtitles, except for foreign (non-English-speaking) markets. Would’ve been a good idea, though.

gallier2 says:

You’re right when you say that their silliest argument is that Atkins doesn’t work. Anthony Colpo said it best at the time when he was worth listening to. Atkins doesn’t work because Atkins works.

Julia says:

Atkins didn’t work for me, and I stayed on induction for 6-8 weeks. I wasn’t exercising, though, maybe that’s why. I am type O blood and I feel better with meat and fats. But I didn’t lose much. I lost maybe 5 pounds and stayed sick after a while, despite eating LOTS of spinach salads, meat and cheese.

I think it was the lack of fruit that made me sick, and maybe the lack of exercise that kept me from losing. Perhaps Atkins + exercise is what I need. I may try that and see if it works.

I did a low carb, low fat, high protein diet and I lost 30 lbs (Metabolic Research Center) and spent more than $3000 in fees and supplements. It worked and worked fast. But it was miserable to live on. You had to have protein powder with artificial sweetners in it 3 times a day. Regular protein powder has too many carbs and fats for it to work. I don’t want to live on artificial food.

Even if you keep the carbs at almost zero, you will need to create a caloric deficit to lose weight. The advantage is that keeping the carbs down tends to keep the appetite under control naturally.

Jen says:

Can you tell if your beta cells are burned out? If so, how? Also, say your beta cells are functionally dead, how do you lose weight or maintain?

Type I diabetics have functionally dead beta cells. Best solution for is carbohydrate restriction, which reduces the need for insulin. As far as how to tell if they’re burnt out … Not sure; I suppose that would require a lab test.