This is getting humorous. For awhile there my posts on the Diabetes.co.uk forum had been moved to a new thread. I had a look earlier today and discovered they have now been deleted entirely. I have to assume that would be because anyone who read them would understand that the moderator with whom I was debating was completely in the wrong. I had a look at some other threads and found he was attacking my advice on things like the need to replace the salt your kidneys will excrete when you significantly reduce carbs. His position is that you should restrict salt and drink lots of water. As anyone who is remotely familiar with hyponatremia would know, this is exactly the wrong thing to do.
Now, I find that my IP address has been banned which means I can no longer even look at the forums on that website. Wow, that’s pretty extreme. I can only conclude that I represented a huge threat to the moderator and his mission there which appears to be to sabotage people who are trying to benefit from a truly low-carb diet. He urges them to restrict fat and salt, both of which would make it very hard and probably impossible to maintain a long-term sustainable low-carb diet.
Why would he do that? Maybe he is clever and is consciously doing this so that people stay on meds and continue to require the supplies and equipment advertised there. Or maybe he is a complete idiot. I don’t know which it is but the net effect is that lots of people are being given bad advice which will impede their ability to improve their health through low-carb dieting.
I let my good friend Jimmy Moore know about this and I expect he will do a piece on his blog, hopefully a full exposé.
Keep an eye out for that at: www.livinlavidalowcarb.com.
Hi Jay
You have joined the ever growing list of members banned from Kens Kingdom for having an alternative point of view. I thought the IP address block was particularly needless and spiteful. Their loss is our gain. Thank you for placing our blog on your site, we will place your blog on our website, and I am sure we can work together in our promotion of the lowcarb cause. As an aside, we have all the deleted posts and will publish them in due course. As you can see your comments on salt got us thinking and we have placed a very interesting post on our blog.
Keep up the great work, Eddie
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Thanks for the link. I looked at the study referenced on your site. It is important in terms of its paradigm-busting findings on salt and diabetes. I will put the link here, as well:
http://
Hey Dr Jay,
What happened the posting “Your Story”?. It seems to have vanished.
Cassie
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Are you referring to “The story so far …” which is on a tab at the top of this page? I checked and it is still there.
Welcome to the club. — I get kicked off all the time for talking about “hybrid carbohydrates” — of all things!
Most all of these forums have a “profit motive” and the forum owners make their money catering to a mentality of people that are wrestling with carb addiction and buy or click on all of their paid clicks and advertisements.
As long as everybody is in that wrestling match and trying all of their “huckster” stuff they are happy and get payed well. — Jimmy Moore very much included.
Give it to them straight which won’t include any of that junk they are selling and you become the “enemy” and to be gotten rid of.
“Protecting their gold mine”! — But never acknowledging it.
Hi Dr. Jay,
I stumbled across the CBC film My Big Fat Diet today on tv…and then found myself at your forum tonight. I felt compelled to write you the following:
I was born in Peace River AB (had to mention that after reading your story) and miss my beautiful Alberta homeland!!!
Ok, now here is the medical stuff that I hope and pray you can answer for me. My story like so many others here is long…and I wish not to bore you with all the details but I was wondering if you had any connection between chronic pain and low carb eating.
I followed Atkins 8 yrs ago for 18 months after having my son (felt better than I had my whole life – my father is a type 2 – I think – diabetic – no needles just drugs) I lost 67 pds and kept it off with an abundance of energy. I then got pregnant and was told by my doctor to cease doing any low carb eating as it was unhealthy for our unborn child (I seriously doubt that now). Anyways, lost the pregnancy, and several more, never was able to get beyond 8 – 12 wks. Oh but how I am getting off track. Resumed eating carbs….gained all the weight back and then some.
I had an accident at work 2 yrs ago (fell down a flight of stairs) left with residual chronic pain due to soft tissue injury to my upper back. After nearly 20 months of numerous treatments and being told if I just lost weight it would make the pain stop – I decided to get back on the low carb eating wagon as it was the only eating plan I ever had done before where I was successful and maintained for longer than a month…within 4 days I knew I would never go back to eating the way I use to! NEVER, EVER AGAIN!
The swelling in my overall body has gone down significantly. My massage therapist noticed the difference immediately and asked me what I was doing. I have lost 32 pds since Feb 5th but I probably have a good 55 more to go…not worried. I know I am in this for the long haul and I have no worries about reaching that summit.
I want to know if you have any research on low carb eating and chronic pain. I can say with definite certainty that my pain levels have dropped but I still have significant pain. I wonder if there is a direct link to the amount of swelling in the tissues – I feel my pain in a much more “clear” manner – if that makes sense?! And one last thing, since losing the 32 pds I have been stalled for almost 5 wks…just wondering if I should wait it out, or if I should be looking closer at my diet to see if I am allowing some carb creep in there somewhere??
Ok, one more last thing….I am grateful that we have brave spirits like you who have challenged the main stream….thank you!
Dr Jay’s Reply:
I am not aware of research looking specifically at low-carb and chronic pain. Having said that, however, I would not be surprised if there is an effect there. We know from Jeff Volek’s research that a low-carb diet significantly lowers a range of inflammatory markers. It also appears to significantly reduce oxidative stress (aka free radicals). I have heard anecdotal stories of near miraculous improvements in other conditions like arthritis and asthma. All that to say that a beneficial effect on chronic pain would not be out of character for this diet since it seems to offer good outcomes for a broad range of inflammatory conditions. Weight loss and the diuretic effect of the diet would also be beneficial for someone with your condition, I would think.
Good luck with it and I hope you can hang in there for the long haul.
Hi Dr Jay,
I meant the spot you put in for our low carb stories in which I wrote my story on being on low carb diet. I don’t know where it is now…. maybe I am losing it 🙂
Cassie
Dr Jay’s Reply:
I think you will find it near the end of the comments under “Your Stories”. I just checked and it was there.
I’m glad I found your website, Jay – a little lateral thinking, plus ‘New Atkins, New You’, got me here.
Just to clarify things – I’m not a long-term member of diabetes.co.uk, I only joined in January 2011. The site certainly does not make a profit directly from its members, as there is no charge.
I have never had anyone trying to ban me for being a low-carb supporter, nor for promoting ‘my’ version of Atkins induction. (It is his diet, just simplified for clarity, by the way – I say so at the beginning of the post, and make no profit from it!) They just do not want anyone to promote any approach (including low-carb) as being the ‘only’ solution, whatever we think privately. A lot of the members work according to their HCP’s advice and NHS guidelines, and I certainly am not qualified to argue. As long as I put – ‘in my opinion’ I can say what I like.
Apparently before my time there were some vicious and personal attacks (and death threats) on the moderators and some other Forum members – including one member who is a professional with the NHS, who is being stalked, and who seems to have had attacks on his professional standing and career – which is taking things to extreme.
This explains why the monitors are touchy and over-reacted, although it does NOT excuse the reaction you received. As a forum member, I can only apologise. However, I have received a great deal of information and support from that forum, and have made good friends among the members, so I cannot condemn it totally.
I am a peace-maker by nature, can’t stand rows, and work to the principle that we can hold and discuss different opinions provided that it’s done in a courteous and civilised manner. Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination!
I really wanted the opportunity to learn more from you, Jay, and I will certainly explore your blog in the anticipation of finding some good, up-to-date information.
Viviennem
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Welcome to my humble little blog! As you will find out, I am not all that attentive to my blogging responsibilities. There are periods where I neglect it entirely which are occasionally interrupted by bursts of activity. Nevertheless, I am glad you found your way here and would encourage you to have a look around.
With respect to our friend Kenny, the moderator at Diabetes.co.uk, I do still take issue with his demeanour. As you point out, one can state opinions as long as they are not portrayed as the only solution to which everyone else must adhere. And, in the grand scheme of things, I think there is a lot of variability as to what diet will work best for any given person. What got me going at that blog was that Kenny was actually telling everyone that “low-carb, low-fat” was the only way to go. Yes, he actually says that. Not only does that violate the rules of his own forum, as I understand them, but is is also dishonest. It is not possible to do both low-carb and low-fat together while you are weight stable.
I took the time to explain that, politely enough in the beginning, because I think he is misleading people with this preposterous nonsense. The bottom line is that if you do a very low-carb diet, you must get comfortable with eating more fat. There is good evidence that this is not a problem and will most likely deliver much better results than the currently recommended low-fat approach. But – you can’t have it both ways. To say so, and for him to insist that he does that himself, is blatantly false. As you know, I didn’t make statements quite that strongly in my posts over there but got banned and had my IP address blocked. Why? I think he knows in his heart of hearts that he is wrong and felt very threatened by my detailed explanations as to why. In the end, I feel sorry for others on that forum who regard him as an authority and who will therefore be denied the full benefits of a low-carb diet properly done.
Please don’t feel you have to defend the other blog. I know you are not the source of the problems over there and you certainly shouldn’t feel your opinions are being challenged here. They are not. I do think, from what I have read of your diet, that you are on the right track.
I thought just the US was engaged in a war on nutrients. After all, the humans can’t live without fat and salt and those are two things they tell you not to eat….
Dr Jay’s Reply:
It is odd when you look at it that way. The idea that dietary fat is the cause of obesity and chronic disease hasn’t withstood recent scrutiny. At the same time, carbohydrates and especially fructose, have been implicated, yet there is no apparent official movement to restrict these. As far as salt goes, there are studies that show salt-restriction works for people with hypertension but that there is little, if any, benefit for normotensive people. Yet, there is a big push for population-wide salt reduction. There is actually some evidence that salt restriction for people with insulin resistance may actually be harmful. In either case, the best way to get your kidneys to stop retaining salt is to restrict carbs. And, again, no official recognition of this or any movement to include this in the management of hypertension. Curious!!!
Hi Dr Jay, greetings from another of the banned from diabetes.co.uk, I thought you might like this gem of a quote from Kenny.
by cugila » January 12th, 2010, 1:25 pm
“Further to that previous post for anybody to tell a T1 that the lower the number the better is living in ‘cloud cuckoo land’. That is dangerous information. Misleading. False. Any description you like !
Let’s be clear about something here. If somebody tells a T1 that it is better to run the numbers lower, lower the better just because some amateur called Bernstein says so, I am told that this man is totally hypo unaware…..has been for years…..enough said ! I’m sorry, I will never heed that advice. What has been said fly’s in the face of ALL informed medical opinion.”
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=12477&p=115081&hilit=amateur#p115081
Regards
Graham
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Thanks for keeping me abreast of the ongoing nonsense on that blog. As you know, I am not even allowed to read the ravings over there since my IP address was banned. It is outrageous and something should be done about it as the trappings of authority are being used to mislead people who could otherwise benefit from a low-carb diet. To suggest that Dr Bernstein, the highly regarded endocrinologist who is himself a type 1 diabetic and whose work has improved the lives of many, is an amateur – what unbelievably unbridled arrogance!
Good luck with your efforts to correct that travesty.
Hope you read my bio in the sign up area. Reading some of the sucess stories is encouraging. I am going to start the low carb life in hopes of staying alive and healthy. The one thing about the Dr. Atkins program; they use artifical sweetners and I am just not sure about using chemicals. Comments? Thank you
Dr Jay’s Reply:
I don’t fear the artificial sweeteners. Some, like the sugar alcohols, are naturally occurring but can cause stomach upset, gas and diarrhea if you eat too much. Others, like aspartame and saccharin, are not found in nature. In either case, I don’t find anything alarming in the scientific literature about health consequences associated with artificial sweeteners. I certainly think they are preferable to eating sugary foods or drinks. If you have a sugar habit that is hard to kick, I think artificial sweeteners can be used to wean yourself off the sugar, after which you can start reducing your intake of the artificial sweeteners. I allow myself a diet pop occasionally and will eat, in small quantities, some products sweetened with sugar alcohols. I also allow my kids to have an occasional artificially sweetened treat, again in small quantities. My son still has some sweet cravings because he was allowed to eat them early in life before we changed out diet. My daughter, on the other hand, seems quite indifferent to sweets. She will occasionally insist on having a diet freezie (they are very small) but that is about it. Oh yes, she also likes to taste sugar-free gum from which she takes tiny bites and then spits it out.
Hi Dr. Wortman:
I have been looking for information about the research you did for “My Big Fat Diet” and was wondering if the results were in or a paper written or have they also been “banned” and “expunged” by some overzealous folks out there. It would be so good to have those stats when chatting with folks about the diet and what it can do for them. There is so little out there of official research and people are always crying “proof?”
I so appreciate what you have done my family and loved ones benefited tremendously from the diet.
Thank you, Jane
Dr Jay’s Reply:
We haven’t published a paper on the Alert Bay diet study although we have presented some of the results at conferences. I expect a paper will eventually be published and I have been getting some pressure recently to complete that task. In terms of proof, I do think there are better examples out there already. The papers by Jeff Volek are good, most of which are published in Lipids journal. Also, the new book by Volek and Phinney, “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living” (can be found on Amazon.com), provides the rationale and the references to support this type of diet. I am currently working on a couple of other dietary trials that will add to the literature when their results are in, as well. I also recommend, of course, the books by Gary Taubes. His most recent, “Why We Get Fat”, is very readable and provides lots of ammunition for anyone who wants to argue for low-carb diets.