Ramit - Getting off the sugar roller coaster

[Guest guest]

Hi, Ramit,

Avocados contain a substance that regulates sugar metabolism. I find that

starting my day with a

half or more of avocado will pretty much level off the day.

If you need stimulance, black tea does not exacerbate insulin resistance as

does coffee. I'm not

sure how green tea fits in to this.

By eating at least some protein or fat with each meal, you can help keep your

cravings low. Eating

a meal or snack every two to three hours is part of healing sugar cravings for

people with reactive

hypoglycemia, and it may help you avoid cravings.

Cinnamon (at least, Indian cinnamon and I believe all cinnamons) was recently

shown to

dramatically improve insulin sensitivity, so that less insulin must be produced.

1/4 teaspoon per

day is the recommended dosage.

You probably know about supplements that are supposed to aide in regulating

sugar metabolism.....

and since this is a forum for food, let's not mention them here <G>.

Finally, if you suspect you are really a sugar-addict, with extreme mood

changes and cravings,

with alcoholism in the family, ie, a person with true hypersensitivity to sugar,

the book " Potatoes

not Prozac " by K. DesMaisons may help you understand your cycles and how to free

yourself of the

addiction.

hope this helps,

son

[Guest guest]

Another book on this subject (that I've read twice) is " Life Without Bread " .

I'm including a book report by Dr. Byrnes. I learned a lot and am now

trying to put the principles into practice.

" The Scientific Validation for Low-Carbohydrate Nutrition

Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life by Christian

B. Allan, PhD & Wolfgang Lutz, MD. Keats Publishing;CA., ISBN: 0-658-00170-1;

240 pp.; $16.95.

In recent years, a slew of books on low-carbohydrate diets by medical doctors

and nutritionists have appeared on the market. Some, like those by Dr.

Atkins, MD, have focused on using low-carb diets for weight loss. Others, like

the Protein Power series by the Eades, have focused on the lifestyle of low-carb

eating. None of the titles, however, have applied low-carb eating to a variety

of diseases, showing how such a diet directly ameliorates and heals conditions

like Crohn's disease, heart disease, and diabetes. With Life Without Bread,

however, that pattern has ended. Dr.'s Allan and Lutz have done an excellent job

of lucidly presenting a systematic approach to low-carb eating, its beneficial

effects on a number of disease conditions, and, most importantly, the scientific

and clinical data to back up the claims.

Life Without Bread is mostly based on the clinical experience of Dr. Lutz, an

Austrian medical doctor who has successfully used low-carb diets for decades on

thousands of patients. The results of Lutz' clinical successes have been

published in several European medical journals (mostly in German) and he even

authored a German version of LWB as far back as 1967 to good response. His work,

however, was ignored in the United States. While the USDA was hawking the Food

Pyramid with its 6-12 servings of grain products a day on the American public

(and most of the Western world following this lead), Dr. Lutz and a handful of

brave iconoclasts were preaching the virtues of high protein and fat/low-carb

diets for healthy living. After many years, Lutz succeeded in securing an

American publisher and the results of his experience and research are now

available to all English-speaking people.

The book begins with a definition of just what low-carb nutrition really is,

followed by a historical survey of the approach by various doctors and

nutritionists including such luminaries as Banting, Weston Price,

Vilhjamur Stefansson, Yudkin, and Carlton Fredericks. In Lutz and Allan's

definition, the low-carb diet should include no more than 72 grams of

carbohydrates a day. The rest of the diet should be made up of protein and fat

from a range of plant and animal sources.

Chapter three focuses on the effect carbohydrates have on hormonal function.

Despite the complexity of the subject matter, Lutz and Allan do a fine job of

explaining the endocrinological details with a variety of graphs, illustrations,

and references.

Most of the following chapters focus on the benefits of low-carb nutrition for

such diseases as diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, obesity,

even cancer. The chapter on heart disease deserves special notice for it

effectively debunks the phony, but widely held, notion that saturated fats and

cholesterol from animal foods cause this condition. The authors explain in

detail the physiological benefits of saturates and simultaneously point out the

flawed reasoning behind the Lipid Hypothesis. This chapter is really what sets

the book apart from other low-carb titles currently available and is worth the

price of the book.

Chapter 11 is also a distinguishing chapter in that it explains the evolutionary

basis for low-carb eating. Lutz and Allan clearly show that the low-carb/high

fat and protein diet was the diet that humans evolved on and is what we are best

suited for today. It is the high-carb/low-fat diet that is alien to our species.

The final chapter is also unique to the low-carb nutrition books available. It

shows how to implement the low-carb eating plan in various people. Lutz and

Allan wisely point out that older patients need to be eased into the program

over a period of time, as opposed to jumping into it cold-turkey. They point out

the possible health hazards of such an approach. This chapter should prove

invaluable for clinicians.

Lucidly written, heavily referenced, and well-illustrated, Life Without Bread is

a must-have book for physicians, nutritionists, and the public.

Copyright 2002 by Byrnes.

Best wishes,

Meighen

>>> hjacobson@... 02/28/02 12:01PM >>>

Hi, Ramit,

Avocados contain a substance that regulates sugar metabolism. I find that

starting my day with a

half or more of avocado will pretty much level off the day.

If you need stimulance, black tea does not exacerbate insulin resistance as

does coffee. I'm not

sure how green tea fits in to this.

By eating at least some protein or fat with each meal, you can help keep your

cravings low. Eating

a meal or snack every two to three hours is part of healing sugar cravings for

people with reactive

hypoglycemia, and it may help you avoid cravings.

Cinnamon (at least, Indian cinnamon and I believe all cinnamons) was recently

shown to

dramatically improve insulin sensitivity, so that less insulin must be produced.

1/4 teaspoon per

day is the recommended dosage.

You probably know about supplements that are supposed to aide in regulating

sugar metabolism.....

and since this is a forum for food, let's not mention them here <G>.

Finally, if you suspect you are really a sugar-addict, with extreme mood

changes and cravings,

with alcoholism in the family, ie, a person with true hypersensitivity to sugar,

the book " Potatoes

not Prozac " by K. DesMaisons may help you understand your cycles and how to free

yourself of the

addiction.

hope this helps,

son

[Guest guest]

Ramit,

Two more cents from a fellow sufferer: I know you don't want to exercise,

but any at all would make a difference, and surprisingly, light - not macho

- weightlifting made an immediate improvement in my blood sugar levels.

> Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 21:01:05 +0100

> From: son <hjacobson@...>

> Subject: Re:Ramit - Getting off the sugar roller coaster

>

> Hi, Ramit,

>

> Avocados contain a substance that regulates sugar metabolism. I find that

> starting my day with a

> half or more of avocado will pretty much level off the day.

>

> If you need stimulance, black tea does not exacerbate insulin resistance

> as does coffee. I'm not

> sure how green tea fits in to this.

>

> By eating at least some protein or fat with each meal, you can help keep

> your cravings low. Eating

> a meal or snack every two to three hours is part of healing sugar cravings

> for people with reactive

> hypoglycemia, and it may help you avoid cravings.

>

> Cinnamon (at least, Indian cinnamon and I believe all cinnamons) was

> recently shown to

> dramatically improve insulin sensitivity, so that less insulin must be

> produced. 1/4 teaspoon per

> day is the recommended dosage.

>

> You probably know about supplements that are supposed to aide in

> regulating sugar metabolism.....

> and since this is a forum for food, let's not mention them here <G>.

>

> Finally, if you suspect you are really a sugar-addict, with extreme mood

> changes and cravings,

> with alcoholism in the family, ie, a person with true hypersensitivity to

> sugar, the book " Potatoes

> not Prozac " by K. DesMaisons may help you understand your cycles and how to

> free yourself of the

> addiction.

>

> hope this helps,

>

> son