Dear readers,
I didn’t provided a direct e-mail address here because I was worried that I would be inundated with e-mail questions rather than posts that could be viewed by others for educational purposes.
For those who want to contact me directly for other purposes such as invitations to speak, research collaborations, etc., all you have to do is post a comment and indicate in it why you are seeking my e-mail address and I will reply directly to you. If you don’t want your comment posted here, please state that clearly in your note, otherwise I will post it with my reply.
I also want to extend an apology to the other Jay Wortman, the Oracle consultant in Belgium, who has been kind enough to forward me the inquiries that found their way into his inbox.
Dr. Jay
Hi my wife and I would like to try your diet could you please send us information to get started?
Dr Jay’s Reply:
For people interested in trying a low-carb diet, I generally suggest they read the contents of this blog as there is a lot of information in the comments sections. There is basically enough there to guide anyone wanting to try low-carb. For people who need a more structured approach, I recommend the recent Atkins books. The diet we used looked a lot like the ‘induction’ phase of the Atkins diet. The other advantage of the Atkins books is that they usually have meal plans, recipes and other information that is useful for those who need structure.
I also recommend other websites like http://www.proteinpower.com and http://www.livinlavidalowcarb.com where you can extract a lot of good information and participate in discussion fora.
Good luck!
I posted in Oct about my son. I contacted BCCH endochrine unit as you suggested but they didn’t know anything about a study. Either the person I talked to was not informed or it has been cancelled? I took my son to the doctor and asked him to run some tests to see if we can figure out why he is overweight. He said all the tests came back ‘fine’ so I asked for a copy. HIs LDL cholesterol is 2.8 and that seems high to me. He has all kinds of other scores that are meaningless to me: Thyroid function, adrenal function, glucose fasting etc. I am going to take this to another doctor to see if I can get it explained to me.
In the mean time is there something that I should be looking for that would tell me if he has metabolic syndrome? And if he does what specifically do you do about that? Cutting sugar would be a start but that cant be all. Are there other foods to cut (starches I’m guessing) and are there suppliments or something he should be taking?
Thanks so much. You see to be the only one who thinks it might be a problem for a 14 year old to be 290 pounds. His doctor still says he will slim down through puberty.
this is a new topic comment
I wrote about 7 months ago. my Husband had lost 45 lbs and achieved BP reduction from 210/100 to 130/80 and his LDL and chol was better again.
now
he is still following the diet very well
LDL increased slightly after the doctor tried a run of metformin for a 6 wk
initally b4 diet his FBS was 5.4 on diet it is around 6.4 and on the metformin it was 6.4 But the LDL crept slightly up andhe couldnt sleep at night with a foul digestive system stomach aches.
He also in last 8 wk has gained 10 lbs and is keeping it. So/// What is the reason the FBS is up and the metformin is not in use cause it made him sicker and his BS was up.
getting frusterated
For myself the diet has fixed my problems with recurrent respiratory infections and I am so much better had a huge gulten sugar / intolerance. I am also hypothyroid on synthyroid.
But my remaining distress is constipation. it take Metamucil sometimes BID and2 colace sometimes 3 and flax/egg wafers(HElped a bit) also greens +daily detox. Ive used the metamucil for decades.
the constipation causes cramping and is frankly annoying. but the diet is here to stay
We are so thankful to you and cant tell yu enough.
please continue on your journey . Whole grains are antequated
Ive been checking the blog/ hope you may respond
All I got to do is look at cheese and I get plugged up. Never otherwise! My bowels work perfectly on this diet.
Long stalls and even some weight gain are common for long and even extended periods of time. If you just keep eating the right foods and not eating the wrong foods, everything gets there in time. This is perfect dieting.
-Tom
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Dr. Jay
I’m sorry that that very rude person made all those postings.
I have here what I see as a very important article in The New York Times today. — In the world of perspective
.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html
Below are the comments I made regarding this article to other persons, trying to get them to read and grasp the significance in this.
“READ THIS — IT’S TRUE!” — It’s just now being acknowledged. It started with reading books and papers and magazines and then radio and the telephones and cars and then TV and Movies. Computers and Texting and all these games and communications takes what was no good in the first place and multiplies it by a 100. It’s a “modern” phenomena this last 100 years or so. — Before this we walked and talked and did things like all the rest of the species! Perfection! — It’s a mental existence and it’s wrong! — Now add all these stimulants and drugs that we ingest and all the things we see and hear and do and you got what we have today! Locally we do pretty good, all things considered. Globally we are in a world of shit! Economy, wars and ecology are making unimaginable consequences with our worlds populations. — We need our brains and our spirits intact and unaltered in order to survive all this shit and take appropriate care of our young and enjoy life as “The Fortunate Ones” that we are, and try to make things better for the rest of the earth.
Dr. Jay, I titled this “Europe 1492 — “Stimulants!”
This is very close to what Italy looked like when Columbus made his famous voyage and discovery in 1492!
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/07/19/travel/20100725FLORENCE.html
“Hybrid Carbohydrates and Sugar and Alcohol and Caffeine!”
I have some recipes for different meat and fish and seafood rubs. This would make the diet less boring. I also have a recipe for sugar free ketchup. If you would like I could give you an attachment that I put these recipes on notebook.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Great! Send them along and I’ll post them. Perhaps we can have a section on recipes.
This is Anital again. Was wondering if you could put a menu together so that we have a guideline as to what to eat when. Something like breakfast lunch and dinner and maybe snacks too lol. I sure would like that cauliflour stir fry recipe too. wonder if the town’s folk would like to put their recipes together and post them here?? Thanks!!
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Those are good ideas. In the meantime, I generally recommend the Atkins books because they have menus and meal plans for people who like more structure. The new Atkins book is the best. I’ll try to chase down the Alert Bay recipes. You might just look up a recipe for fried rice and add some cauliflower instead of the rice. I believe they used to steam it first and then crumble it up before adding to the stir-fry.
I think there should be a “forum” about the big fat diet so that we may learn more from the experiences of others and th
at we may get answers as well instead of bothering Dr. Jay. I am sure he would look in every now and then to make sure we are on the right track. We could also get recipes from the users of this diet. Any interest anyone??????
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Yes. If people want to have a discussion here I will be happy to moderate.
I have always been thin even after 4 kids. Menopause hit and I gained 50 lbs.
I went to herbal magic and lost 35lbs bu gained it back.
My doctor told be to get used to being heavy iys my genetic makeup.
However all
my brothers and father remain lean and thin. I went on the cabbage soup diet for a week and lost 9 lbs but it stated to make me gag i couldn’t continue even after a two week break.
Please i need to lose another 25-3o ils can you help? will this diet work for me.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Low-carbohydrate diets work for the vast majority of people. They also generally deliver better metabolic benefits than other types of diets. The new Atkins diet book by Westman, Phinney and Volek is something you might consider. It gives a good explanation of how to do this diet properly and is an improvement over earlier books as it incorporates things we have learned from recent research.
Good luck!
We are recent converts to the LC way of eating and to cut a long story short, things are going very well.
I have some health concerns that I have to dig into and I would very much like to work with someone who is willing to work outside of the “clinical guidelines only approach”. I live in Edmonton and hope you are able to recommend a colleague that is of the LC mindset. Anywhere in Alberta would be fine.
Thank you for your courage to be creative and innovative. We are in your debt.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
I am glad to hear things are going well. I recommend you get the latest Atkins book to use as a guide. As to a physician recommendation, I am afraid I don’t know of anyone in your area, or in the province for that matter. If I do learn of physicians who are supportive and knowledgeable, I will open up a section here to list them and their contact info. Any readers who have recommendations of physicians, please send in a note and I will collect and share that information.
Sorry I can’t be of more assistance with your request.
We have the new Atkins and it is a perfect guide to getting off on the right foot with LC. Also, enjoyed ProteinPower and Dr. Mary Vernon. Gary Taubes’ GCBC, was an epiphany, particularly since my training is in cardiovascular medicine, both in the clinical and research sides.
A list would a great help. I will keep checking back.
Thanks again.
Dr Wortman,
I live in Finland and I was wondering if there is any way I could see ‘My Big Fat Diet’? I e-mailed Mystique Films weeks ago and asked if the DVD is available in region 2, but got no answer. Is it only available in region 1?
Dr Jay’s Reply:
I am sorry you are having problems accessing the DVD. I will check with the producer to see what is the availability in your region.
Any idea if this type of diet would work with South American aboriginals? My grandmother is half aboriginal from Chile (equivalent to Métis here) and she and her sister have diabetes. My father, her son, is pre-diabetic. I’m overweight and gain weight very easily so I’m worried about becoming diabetic.
Is there any possiblity that what works for the aboriginals here could work for the aboriginals from South America?? I REALLY hope so because there is very little information on aboriginals from South America compared to what there is on aboriginals from North America.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Although aboriginal people around the world seem to be more predisposed to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes than others, in my observation, anyone who has developed insulin resistance (IR) should be on a carbohydrate restricted diet regardless of racial or ethnic background. There may be variations among groups in terms of their susceptibility to developing IR but once that has happened, the choices are: 1) take multiple drugs including insulin or, 2) restrict carbs. I would encourage you to pass that advice along to your relatives and to heed it yourself. Get a copy of the new Atkins book to guide you and make sure anyone taking medication for blood pressure or blood sugar gets off those meds quickly once they start the diet. Anyone on multiple medications should seek the support of their doctor if they try this diet. For type 2 diabetics, my advice is to stick to the “induction” part of the Aktins diet and not to ramp up the carbs as the book recommends. Good luck!
Dr. Wortman,
Thought you might be interested in this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/magazine/21Epilepsy-t.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
All the best…
Dr Jay’s Reply:
Thanks for the heads-up. It is an interesting article. I have met Dr Eric Kossoff who runs a similar program for epileptic kids at Johns Hopkins. This is where they observed that kids waiting to be hospitalized to be put on the “ketogenic diet” were getting similar results on Atkins. Dr Kossoff developed what he called “modified Atkins” (essentially induction) and has used it quite successfully on an out-patient basis.
I am interested to know:
1) if you have been able to publish the final results from the Big Fat Diet work.
2) Has this spawned any further work/research to widen this effort within the aboriginal community ?
3) This article mentions a national initiative that i hope you’re aware of ” “there is a two-year, $110-million program underway that specifically targets aboriginal communities with prevention efforts, health-awareness campaigns and other diabetes-related services” http://tinyurl.com/25gwq6o
Dr Jay’s Reply:
1) we haven’t published, yet.
2) the dissemination has been slow, mostly because local providers do not get any training in the use of ketogenic diets.
3) the program you refer to is the large Health Canada effort to address diabetes in the Aboriginal population. The funding for the Alert Bay study came from an earlier iteration of this program.
Have you heard about this
http://www.cbc.ca/liverightnow/village/index.html
CBC has a series that looks a *lot* like your initiative. It’ll be interesting to see if they spell out low-carb, just do that but not spell it out, or take the low-fat route.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
When My Big Fat Diet was first broadcast it generated a lot of positive feedback. The producers approached CBC with the idea of doing it again but in a serialized way and with two communities competing with each other. A lot of work went into the proposal and there was some back and forth between the CBC and the producers. Ultimately, the CBC decided to do “Village on a Diet” instead which was based on a similar television program that had been done in Switzerland. Ironically, I think they learned about it from the producers of MBFD who researched the world of diet shows in developing their proposal. As far as I know, the “Village on a Diet” approach is the standard low-cal, low-fat, boot-camp type of regimen that has been used in other television programs like “Biggest Loser”. I am, of course, a little disappointed that we didn’t get a chance to do a series using a low-carb diet. I suspect that the CBC shied away from doing something that might be considered non-mainstream or controversial. If they were getting guidance from the usual “authoritative sources” I could understand why they would tend to stick to a status quo approach to diet and exercise.
Hi Dr. Jay,
I think your recipe page needs fixing – some of the recipes have weird symbols that make me unsure of the amounts.
I haven’t read all your postings – is there a post where you mention the suggested ratio for fat, protein and carbs?
I also think a forum would be a good idea.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
I see what you mean. I don’t know what happened there. Perhaps some incompatibilities within WordPress. I shall endeavour to fix that and perhaps add some new recipes.
I think the ideal ratio would be something in the order of 10% carbs or less, 20% protein and the remainder, fat. This will vary depending on one’s tolerance of carbs. I think I am usually less than 10% in my own diet.
A forum would be good but may involve more work than I can manage. You will note that I tend to neglect this blog in its present very modest format. I will think about it, though.
Me again – and again about the recipes 😉
I live in Denmark so some of your recipes require some figuring as you use brand names not available here and cans and packages come in different sizes. Like – how many grams is 2 packages frozen spinach?
And when you list cans, it would be helpful for foreign readers if you also listed grams and ounces, sans liquid.
We don’t have packets of Twin or Equal – but we have sukrin(erythritol).
Can I use that instead? Or perhaps some form of Stevia?
And btw – why is it 5 packets of Twin and 5 packets of Equal – and not 10 packets of Twin – OR 10 packets of Equal?
We don’t have Monterey Jack cheese either.
You might want to add: can use Red Cheddar Cheese instead. Or note the fat percentage so people can try other substitutes
T is the same as tbsp?
It might be easier if you stuck with one type of measures – some recipes use cups and others use liters.
Of course using both would be even better.
Google can help a lot – but why not make it easy on your readers 😉
I googled short ribs and found some pictures to show to my butcher who said “Oh – that’s okse tvaerreb” and after a bit of sawing I got my beef short ribs – and they tasted wonderful.
I was diagnosed with diabetes 2 in 2006 and I believe it’s due to working shifts as nobody in my family has diabetes – except my brother who has also worked shifts for more than 25 years. His job was definitely not sedentary and he biked to work, so the only common thing is shifts and bad quality of sleep.
I have just started on a low carb high fat diet, inspired by the Swedish LCHF people.
Keep up the good work, and thanks for the inspiration … and recipes.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
All good suggestions. When I find some spare time, I will update the recipes section. I am glad to hear you are trying some of them and finding them worthy. I do love the short-ribs, myself. I make large batches and then freeze dinner-sized portions. We take it with us to the mountains in the winter when we go skiing. It makes for a quick and hearty dinner, apres ski.
The reason for using two artificial sweeteners is that they potentiate each other (I am told) so that you can use less overall. Yes, you can use other types of zero calorie sweetener. I suggest you experiment to find what works best for you. One caution, unless you are using Splenda, always put the sweetener in after the cooking is done. Most sweeteners do not do well at high temperatures.
My wife looks at a recipe as something that must be closely followed while I use them more as a guideline. The recipes I have developed can be altered to suit your circumstances and the types of foods you have available. I would certainly encourage experimentation. It is part of the fun of doing low-carb!
When you mention the Swedish LCHF people, I think you may be referring to my friend and colleague, Dr Andreas Eenfeldt, and his excellent blog: http://www.dietdoctor.com. I gather there is a groundswell of interest in low-carb in Sweden these days. I can only hope that it spreads to North America. Many people here could benefit.
Hello Dr. Jay,
I am a future MD (fingers crossed for september 2012 entrance). I am a very sting supporter of low-carb science and the carbohydrate hypothesis of diabetes and other associated human health issues. Even in my personal life I receive extreme skepticism for my approach to him health. How would you as a doctor recommend approaching the potential hostile topic of low carb eating?
How do you work with fellow health professionals who believe that low carb is not only wrong, but harmful?
What physician specialty do you feel could have the greatest impact in helping patients with low carb diets? I am very interested in cardiology, but by the time a cardiologist has seen a patient the damage is largely done.
Your thoughts and guidance are greatly appreciated.
Dr Jay’s Reply:
I am glad to hear you are already onto LCHF before you start your medical training. The problem you will run into, of course, is that everything that you are taught will be from the conventional paradigm. I do a lot of teaching to med students and to docs, as well. The best way to deal with their skepticism is to be equipped with good evidence. Fortunately there are lots of studies piling up now. On the other hand, there are poor quality studies that get published in high-impact journals that denigrate LCHF. You will need to learn how to interpret the studies correctly and to be able to spot the flaws in the ones that are done poorly. What you will generally find in the poor studies, however, is that even when they botch the low-carb arm, LCHF will still outperform conventional diets.
As to specialty, I expect you will figure that out as you progress through your training. It’s hard to know until you have had some exposure. Family medicine, internal medicine and endocrinology are probably the most suitable. I would think that family medicine offers the most flexibility if you wanted to do dietary interventions primarily.
Good luck with the admissions process.