Low-carb cover-up

Dear Reader, I've been telling people for years how great low-carb diets are for your health. And I feel blessed to have worked with the pioneer in this field, Dr. Robert Atkins. My New Hamptons Health Miracle is a modified version of his dietary approach. And without him, my medical career wouldn't be what it is today. But as you may know, Dr. Atkins took a lot of slings and arrows for his opinions--even though many of them hold true to this day. That's one reason why I'm thrilled to see research continue to vindicate the low-carb lifestyle. And make no mistake--it definitely does. Just take the results of this new study, for example. Researchers recently found that a low-carbohydrate, protein-rich diet can cut insulin, blood sugar, and triglyceride levels in diabetic patients. (As part of a weight-loss program featuring regular exercise, of course.) But what's more, this type of diet also seemed to ward off left ventricular diastolic dysfunction--a condition associated with diabetes and high blood pressure that can contribute to eventual heart failure in severe cases. Now, we've always known that carb restriction can decrease insulin and help with the triglyceride and blood sugar levels. But this may be among the first studies of its kind to show that low-carb living can actually improve your heart's function. This is major! And yet, sadly, no news coverage. Again. But before I address that little problem, let me explain a few of this study's details. Once again, this research put the low-carb diet head to head with the traditional (and ridiculous) recommendation of a low-fat diet. And guess which eating plan came out on top? Within three weeks, subjects eating low-carb were able to cut their use of oral diabetes drugs by a whopping 86 percent. (That's compared to just 6 percent among the subjects eating low-fat.) But that's not all. The low-carb diet group also saw a nine-point drop in systolic blood pressure (that's the top number) in those three weeks. And by the end of the study, diastolic (the bottom number) pressure fell, as well. Neither measure changed among the subjects on a low-fat diet. Echocardiogram results also showed that more than half of the subjects started this study with abnormal diastolic function. But in almost all of these cases, this dysfunction normalized after following a low-carb diet. And once again, the same couldn't be said for a low-fat lifestyle. Keep reading... Researchers attributed these improvements to an increase in the heart muscle's ability to use energy on a low-cab diet. (A decline in available energy to your heart seems to be the main pathway by which insulin resistance and diabetes lead to diastolic dysfunction.) But whatever the mechanism at work was, the payoff was clear as day. Subjects eating a low-carb diet were able to take fewer oral diabetes medications while reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. And a low-fat-diet? Well, it had no obvious effects on diastolic function, blood pressure, or medication use. So, let's see here... simply by reducing the amount of carbohydrates you eat, you can improve your health while reducing your dependence on blood sugar and blood pressure medications. (Two of the most highly prescribed drugs in the country, I should add.) Is it any wonder this study got no attention??? Obviously Big Pharma wants to keep the lid on any solutions that might keep you off of their drugs. So of course this breakthrough study wasn't splashed on banners across the world--even though it should have been. It goes without saying that dietary changes are much safer than medications. Not to mention cheaper--a particularly important factor in the health of developing nations. The solution here isn't complicated. In fact, it really couldn't be simpler. My New Hamptons Health Miracle is the way to go if you want to prevent diabetes and improve your heart function. All I ask is that you think about that the next time you're tempted to reach for a cookie. Until next time, Dr. Fred