This week, we summarize the top five news articles and studies in the low-carb realm, plus some success stories.
- The Milken Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank, released a report on the real economic costs of obesity and overweight in the United States. The estimates in the report include both direct health care costs that are caused by obesity and overweight, and indirect costs associated with lost productivity borne by patients and their employers. The total number is staggering: $1.72 trillion each year. Separately, an Atkins-funded policy paper suggests that if just 20% of patients with type-2 diabetes improved their condition with low-carb nutrition, the annual savings would approximate $10 billion.
- In a show of knee-jerk support for all things mainstream, Sarah Bosely, the health editor of The Guardian, pens an opinion piece, "Butter nonsense: the rise of the cholesterol deniers." Cardiologist Bret Scher unpacks Bosely's article, pointing out that silencing healthy debate and ignoring the nuance and complexity revealed by the entirety of the scientific record isn't the way to go, either.
- Dr. George Lundberg, a self-described "ultimate [medical establishment] insider" and former (longtime) Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), recently issued a Medscape opinion piece entitled, "Could it be the sugar?" In it, Lundberg explains: "The next and current big battle is over diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, and obesity. How are they related? What can be done to stem the worldwide epidemic and prevent it from worsening? The stakes are very high, including the lives of millions of human beings and hundreds of billions of dollars." You can watch the 7-minute video or save a little time and read the transcript provided.
- Marion Nestle, professor at New York University and prominent food pundit, has a new book out, aptly named Unsavory Truth: How food companies skew the science of what we eat. In it, she covers the story of a nutrition research community's deep reliance on industry funding. Nestle points out that industry-funded studies almost always show favorable, food-marketing-friendly results. Why? She contends it is not because of shady scientists, but rather, because corporate funders control the design and interpretation of the research.
- A new study out of the University of Ottawa suggests that children are exposed to numerous ads for processed food on a daily basis. The study found that Canadian children perceive an average of 111 ads each week, but not on TV - on social media apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube. These ads, targeted at kids on their smart phones, are almost exclusively for highly-processed junk food.
Want more?
What are six things you can do to make keto as environmentally friendly as possible? Why is full-fat yogurt the only yogurt worth buying (according to always-gourmet Bon Appetit)? Do weed-fed pigs (yes, this is a thing... in Colorado 😏) produce better tasting pork? What's the difference between avoiding temptation and removing temptation? Should we treat slight elevation in blood pressure with meds? Why are sales of breakfast cereal so soggy? Is this a dumb question: Is ghee actually vegan?
- NASCAR driver Michael McDowell tries keto for more energy. He is down 40 pounds, his energy is up, he enjoys better post-race recovery, plus no post-race headaches.
- Yet ANOTHER keto couple... Chris and April lose 230 pounds, supporting one another every step of the way. "Don't wait," April added succinctly. "Just do it."
- Scott Morrison, Australia's new Prime Minister, is rumored to be losing weight on a low-carb diet... but it is too early to be certain, so stay tuned! 🙃
Tune in next week!
About
This news gathering is from our collaborator Jennifer Calihan, who also blogs at Eat the Butter. Feel free to check out the keto meal-idea-generator on her site.
