LCHF 101

Without further ado - mind the gap

2011-05-25T04:32:00.000-07:00

So, my previous post pointed out that as far as LCHF is concerned, my life appears to have changed very little. But, there have in fact been a couple of quite major changes which directly and indirectly influence my take on the fat debate compared to back in 2009.

1. I've moved back to Sweden, which means I now get a better feel for how widespread the LCHF thinking has become, "on the ground", and not just through blogs and news articles.

2. I've gone back to uni to train for a medical profession, and am just about to conclude my first year (hint: in another 4 years' time I'll be coming at you with a drill if you've not flossed like a good girl/boy).

The first point, seeing how widespread LCHF has become, is very interesting. From my classmates, to the Crossfit guys at the gym, to random Swedish celebs on Twitter, to the lady who works at the local supermarket; discussing lowcarb, or overhearing other people discussing it, is a weekly, if not daily matter. Many seem tentative, some are strict and a bit preachy (I may have belonged to the latter category when starting out, ahem), and others dismiss it outright. I no longer bring it up as I (now) realise preaching is the most efficient way of putting people off an idea, but if it comes up in conversation or if anybody has questions about it I happily discuss it. Sometimes this can be difficult and frustrating, especially when meeting people who could potentially really benefit from giving it a go. I couldn't resist recommending "Fat Head" to a diabetic, and he watched it but wasn't convinced. On the other hand, a friend with IBS told me last week how much her condition has improved since cutting down the carbs (after we had discussed it a few times). Win some, lose some. And I only talk about it in terms of feeling better and improving general health, as clearly the weight loss thing hasn't happened for me. On the other hand I've not been properly ill since April 2009 when I had a proper bout of flu. Again, win some lose some ;) (There has been a number of other health benefits for me, but that's for another post, another time.)

The second point might not seem relevant, but it is. The first year of training has been about creating a medical and scientific foundation, and to this end we've done biochemistry, some cellular biology, and a whole lot of physiology. This means I've learned a lot more about what the body does with the stuff we feed it. We've merely scratched the surface in the past year, as it's such an incredibly complex system, but I can at least say that as far as I can tell, the main claim of the LCHF movement, that carbs and not fat trigger the body to store fat, makes chemical and physiological sense. I know this is not exactly rocket science, but it's been satisfying to see it for myself and to get closer to the underlying mechanisms.

My favourite moment was when the biochemistry professor held a lecture about fats, and came on to the subject of "good" and "bad" fats. "On one hand," he said, "we know that the saturated fats are the ones that cause heart disease. We know that heart disease is probably due to plaques forming in the blood vessels. We also know that fats need to oxidise for this plaque to form. On the other hand, the chemical truth is that the fats which are more likely to oxidise are the unsaturated ones. So there we are. " He sort of shrugged his shoulders and left it at that, which I actually thought was ok. The literature we used for the course championed the cholesterol hypothesis and the traditional view on good and bad fats, so for him to not even attempt to defend or explain that, was kind of cool. He clearly saw that something didn't add up, and was open about it to the students.

The thing that seems to annoy the LCHF skeptics the most seems to be the slightly religious/sect like overtones of the whole debate. And rightly so. LCHF is often hailed as the magic bullet to cure everything. I'm guessing this will calm down as it becomes more mainstream and is no longer such a hot potato (or cauliflower). One thing that LCHF can't seem to fix, is shin splints. As I'm gearing up to start my half marathon training program in a few weeks' time, this is starting to worry me....any ideas out there?!

Well, this is awkward

2011-05-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

Found out from a friend that this zombie blog has been put on the blogroll for Jimmy Moore's Eat Like A Swede. Does this mean I should start blogging again? Let's see - I am still eating low carb most of the time, altho seemingly slipping often enough for me to not be able to shed the weight that I would like, I'm still following the LCHF debate in Sweden, and I am training for my next half marathon which I would like to do without carbs. Wow, it seems nothing has changed since I last posted in 2009. Wonder if anybody would notice the 2 year gap?

Fat Head

2009-10-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

If you've not seen it already, check out Fat Head for a funny and informative breakdown of why fat doesn't make you fat and why Ancel Keys is the Voldemort of diet and health science.

Training on LCHF

2009-09-29T00:41:00.000-07:00

Now this is an area which I'm still learning about, and experiencing for myself. I'm a runner, and in 3 weeks I'm doing a half marathon. Conventional nutrition advises me to load up on carbs before the run. But so far all the training I've done for this run has been without carbs. Two days ago I ran an hour and 15 minutes at a steady 6 mins/km pace. I was tired after the run, but I certainly don't think I was anywhere near hitting "the wall" (which is when the body runs out of fuel). Now, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit apprehensive about doing my half marathon sans carbs. I've run that distance twice before and I found it very hard work, it's definitely stretching the limits of my ability. In my training up to race day I won't run the full distance, my longest run will be on Saturday, 1,5h. The half marathon should take me between 2-2h10min. So even if I manage the 1.5h training run fine, will my body be able to keep the energy levels up for the full 2 hours?

There seems to be a few different schools of thinking around the low-carb training. Some say, "train low, race high", which essentially seems to mean train on low carb but fuel up on plenty of low GI carbs before race day, and bring energy gels/sports drink/raisins for the run for quick topups. Now, I would have a problem with the pre-race carb loading bit, simply because my stomach isn't very good at handling the starchy stuff anymore, and the last thing you want before a long run is a dodgy tummy! I am however considering bringing some raisins and almonds, or some gel containing carbs and caffeine (the caffeine has helped me in the past when my brain has become foggy with exhaustion), just as a safety measure, in case I would find myself running out of energy completely. I would hope not to have to use them, but if needed I would have some spare fuel to pull me through.

Others claim that long distance running is perfect for low carb, as it's a low intensity, persistent type of exercise and doesn't have the need for quick explosive energy. To me it sounds a bit like LCHF is like running on diesel and high carb is like petrol...bad analogy? Perhaps.

Yet others dismiss the low-carb diet's suitability for fuelling efficient training completely - perhaps I would have still believed them if I hadn't just run 12.26K on an LCHF diet with no problem...

It would be interesting to know if anyone reading this blog has had experience with long distance running on LCHF, and if you have any advise for me for the 18th of October...

Weightloss and LCHF

2009-09-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

For many people, their first contact with LCHF is as a weightloss diet. But it seems that the reason people stick to it has more to do with other health benefits, and less to do with losing weight. Different people also report very different weight loss results. For many, who may be starting out with quite a lot of excess weight, the effects can be dramatic. For others, there's not much action on the scales, but still the clothes start feeling more roomy. Some people even gain a bit of weight at first altho this doesn't seem to be very common.

If you're feeling frustrated because you're not seeing any difference on the scales, there are a few things to consider:

1. First, do you really need to lose weight? Eating according to LCHF means you're giving your body the fuel it was built for, and allowing your body to restore itself to your "natural" shape and size. If you've only got a few kilos that you want to get rid of, perhaps you should measure yourself with a tape measure instead of stepping on the scales, as your body could be shaping itself up without necessarily losing total weight. If you're a 20-something female (like myself), it might also be worth performing a small reality check on what ideal you're trying to attain. Chances are your ideal body image is unrealistic and unhealthy. The good news is, after a short while on LCHF you will probably feel much more at peace with your body, as you will feel so damned good! In my experience, the weight loss stress will melt away. Come for the weight loss, stay for the feel-good factor.

2. The sensitivity to carbs seems to vary between individuals. For some people, eating lots of dairy products such as cream, milk and yoghurt can hinder weightloss. Try replacing the cream/milk in your coffee with egg-milk which has virtually no carbs but lots of good fat (much tastier than it sounds). Here's a recipe: put 50g of butter and 2 eggs in a bowl. Add 300 ml boiling water, mix together in a blender. You can add flavours such as a teaspoon of cocoa powder, some coffee powder or perhaps some vanilla or cinnamon. Keeps for a couple of days in the fridge, shake before using.

3. If you've already cut down the carbs to a minimum, and still don't lose the weight you wish, you can start cutting down the portion sizes a bit and see if that makes a difference. Eat slowly so you have time to notice when you're full.

I think the most important advice I've ready on the topic of weightloss-problems with LCHF, relates to people who have done many years of dieting yoyo-style. Your body has probably had to put up with quite a lot throughout the years, being starved or given the completely wrong type of fuel, for a long time. It's probably going to need some time to heal and restore its balance before it's ready to let go of the fat stores (which are there to look after you in case of hard times!). When I read that I got a different perspective on things, and felt quite grateful to my poor body! All it's doing is trying preserve my well-being and health, often in quite adverse conditions throughout the years...

Why saturated fats are good for you

2009-09-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

Via Doktor Dahlqvist's blog, I found this article which lists 7 reasons why saturated fats are good for you. Recommended reading! (Unless you feel like you could do without improved heart, lungs, liver, brain, nervous and immune system)

LCHF - what, why?

2009-09-22T00:20:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine has written this excellent summary on LCHF (a well written elaboration of my own summary), well worth a read if you're interested. I've also linked to this description in the navigation to the right if you want to come back to it later. Read the full story by clicking through to the original post.

From Tummyrumble:

Look at your plate of food. Typically you will have a small piece of meat, a number of greens and half the plate full of pasta or potato. Now take away the pasta/potato and replace it with something fatty, like spiced butter on the meat, a nice creamy sauce made from double fat cream and creme fraiche or a piece of brie cheese. Fat has twice the calorie content of carb, so if you worry about calories (you shouldn't, but realizing that took me some time...) you should replace the carb content with about half the fat.

Carb slip effects

2009-09-21T02:40:00.000-07:00

After my slippage yesterday during which I devoured a big chunk of milk chocolate and 3 slices of bread, washed down with some Diet Coke, the effects weren't as dramatic as I had feared.

- hint of stomach pain after about an hour, that quickly passed

- sleepy and lethargic after about 2 hours

- slept like dead all night (could also be down to a hectic weekend!)

- very tired this morning, and in a pretty bad mood - although who's to say that's not just the usual Monday morning blues?!

The meal last night and my breakfast this morning were back on LCHF again. I hope I haven't woken any dormant sugar cravings!

Carb effects - live!

2009-09-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

OK so about an hour and a half after my carb binge - the stomach pain is setting in. Ouch!! Also feeling very sleepy.

Carbs away!

2009-09-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

4 weeks ago I started "strict" LCHF again, after dabbling with it on and off through the summer. It's been going really well and I've felt great. I've also managed to stick to it even through visits from friends who may not have understood or agreed with my choice of food. So what happened today? Milk chocolate, diet coke, and 3 slices of bread. All of this consumed within the last hour. Foods that I have barely missed at all during the last 4 weeks.

I think a heavy weekend could be to blame...had a few glasses of very sweet tasting bubbly yesterday, and combined with other small indulgences yesterday this must have triggered the cravings today. Interesting!

I will try and pay attention to how this makes me feel for the rest of the day and tomorrow. Already feel like I'm ready for a nap, and it's just before 6pm...hmmm. Oh well - one slip in 4 weeks is not so bad - especially since I've not even been seriously tempted a single time before today. That's got to be some kind of record.

LCHF in 1 minute

2009-09-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

What does LCHF mean?

-Low Carb High Fat

Why would someone choose to eat like this?

Numerous health benefits including:

- stable blood sugar (important for diabetics - reduces need for insulin - very important to check blood sugar often when switching to LCHF)

- stable blood sugar (also important for non-diabetics - reduces need for snacks and improves mood!)

- normalises weight (if you're overweight you are likely to lose weight, if you are underweight you are likely to gain weight)

- weightloss without hunger (fat gives more satisfaction than carbs - eating fat does not make you fat)

- often improves stomach complaints such as IBS

- often improves joint complaints such as athrosis

What's ok to eat with LCHF?

- beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs

- cheese (whole fat)

- whole fat cream and milk products (not sweetened)

- vegetables that grow above ground

- olive oil, butter

- mayo (full fat)

- wine

Can be eaten sometimes

- dark chocolate 70%

- beans, lentils

- berries

A good rule of thumb is to look for foods that contain less than 5% carbohydrates.

What should be avoided on LCHF?

- any sweets, cakes, icecream, buns, anything sweetened

- beer

- low fat or sweetened dairy products

- polyunsaturated oils

- margarine

- fruit

- white flour

- pasta

- rice

- potatoes

- bread

What can be expected when starting LCHF?

The first few days or week you could feel dizzy, tired, unfocused - for most people these problems go away after a short while and you emerge on the other side feeling fantastic. Think of it as a detox from carbs. For some it takes longer - the body can in theory take months to switch to fat-burning.

If you have more than 1 minute, please check out the links to the right (under LCHF in English) for more in-depth information on studies involving low carb food and diabetes. Also please check Dr Dahlqvist's Program for a good introduction to LCHF eating.

Quick Friday Recipe

2009-09-11T05:05:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favourite dishes right now - quick, simple and perfect whether you're cooking for yourself on a normal Tuesday or if you're having guests on the weekend. It's got a bit of a kick because of the sambal, but it's up to you how much you add. Together with the cream and the curry it makes a very warming and comforting dish which tastes delicious.

Chicken with a bite

(4 servings)

6 chicken fillets cut in smaller bits

200 ml creme fraiche

100 ml cream

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 chicken stock cube

3 teaspoons sambal oelek

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

lots of curry powder

pepper

butter

Fry the chicken in butter and add plenty of curry powder. I prefer a slightly hotter version of curry but that's up to you. When the chicken is nearly done all the way through, add crushed garlic, soy sauce, sambal oelek and stir. Then add the cream and the stock cube. Let simmer for a few minutes until the chicken is done, season to taste with pepper (salt is usually not needed since there's both soy and stock cube already)

Serve with steamed veg, or just a nice big cool salad to balance the bite of the spices.

Official Swedish dietary advice "has no scientific basis"

2009-09-09T03:40:00.000-07:00

Today, a number of doctors and professors in Sweden have had a letter published in Dagens Medicin, a large medical journal in Sweden. I have copied a translation of the article below (it's Google translated with a few corrections from me).

You can see the original article here.

"We conclude that dietary advice has no scientific basis
2009-09-09
REPLY NFA response to our criticism is awkward and bizarre, writes Tore Scherstén and others.

Last spring, took place in the Dagens Medicin a strange debate, where the National Food Administration defended its position that natural saturated fat - which all mammals, including human cells is largely built up of - would be harmful. NFA presented a list of 72 articles that allegedly support the Council to avoid saturated fat in the diet. Following an examination of these, which a lot were not original studies but review articles, were we surprised. Not even all the review articles about the alleged substance, and only two of the original trials could even conceivably be viewed as support. All the rest was about other things or unsurprisingly indeed supported the use of saturated fat.

NFA's two separate responses (here and here) to our criticism is just as awkward as bizarre. They discussed not at all the scientific evidence base but spread a verbal smokescreen over the issue with terms such as "we are working from a foundation of existing science" (without showing how). Certainly promised further "clarifications" later, but so far nothing has been presented.

NFA refers in its response to the expert groups within WHO and NNR, Nordic nutrition recommendations, and believes that there has been consistent dietary advice from a "sound scientific basis". But if these groups of experts would really have a reason to claim saturated fat is harmful, the NFA would not have had to use an impromptu list of missing references, but would have been able to put forward the international basis in front of the Swedish debate. The only possible conclusion, which thus remains is that such a scientific basis in fact missing.

NFA last remaining argument is then that other countries still have similar dietary advice. Since their introduction in the 1980s, however, the entire Western world experienced an epidemic, with roughly a doubling of the proportion of obese and diabetic, while forecasters believe that these figures further to double over the next few decades. United States, which was first out with low-fat dietary advice is now the world's fattest country. Why hang on when the NFA is fast to dietary advice that is not only contrary to modern obesity and diabetes research, but also has a clear temporal association with the first known epidemic of these diseases in world history? The question deserves to be taken very seriously in view of the runaway cost of treating these conditions.

When we reflect on the knowledge base for Swedish public authority, it is necessary to discuss how this will get better quality and more efficient, and how responsibilities and bias can be made clearer for doctors, dieticians and other professions participating in expert groups within government agencies.

We should give priority to a society where the state and its authorities' activities are independent of commercial interests.

Knowledge should be governing - not profiteering, and tenets. With this latest scientific grounding of the NFA in mind, we would love to hear how and on what grounds the authorities concerned in the future intends to uphold and strengthen the Swedish public health.

Tore Scherstén
is a professor and former secretary of the Medical Research Council.

Charles E Årfors
is a professor and former exploratory research manager at Pharmacia.

Andreas Eenfeldt
is MD, Karlstad.

Christer Enkvist
is senior, Trollhättan.

Björn Hammarskjöld
is senior and Lic in biochemistry, Mora.

Johan Hedbrant
is a research engineer, Linköping.

Tore Persson
are doctors, Karolinska University Hospital.

Goran Petersson
Professor, Chalmers.

Uffe Ravnskov
is Associate Professor, Lund.

Ralf Sundberg
is Associate Professor, Malmö.

Lars Werkö
is a professor and former chairman of the National Council on Technology Assessment."

LCHF blogs in English

2009-09-08T02:14:00.001-07:00

So if you've googled around for the keywords low-carb, atkins, protein power or why not livin-la-vida-low-carb *cringe* you may have noticed that many of the blogs that come up are American, tell tales of incredible weightloss, but seem to BE PERMANENTLY STUCK ON CAPS AND SHOUTING AT YOU!

Some of them are brimming with useful information and recipies, but two things have made me decide not to link to them from this blog.

1. They don't seem to emphasise the importance of high intake of natural, saturated fats enough (most of them seem to lean more towards the Atkins/high protein direction)

2. I get a rather extreme impression from many of them - it's about losing 100s of pounds, eating all the dietary supplements you can get your hands on and making amusing slogans (I mean "living la vida low-carb*" - come on ;)

So I will refrain from linking to these blogs from my site, but if you are curious, of course you can just type the aforementioned keywords in to Google and judge for yourself :)

I will continue my search for sensible, balanced LCHF blogs with well written info in English and hopefully build up a good blogroll to share with you!

*conveniently forgetting the "no-carbonara" from my previous post

Cabbonara and chocolate mousse

2009-09-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

(I know that's not how you spell carbonara)

Tonight I made a delicious version of spaghetti carbonara - the carbonara sauce itself was made from a fairly standard recipe, but of course the spaghetti had to go. I replaced it with normal cabbage, fried in plenty of butter. The way the salty bacon and parmesan cheese go together with the slightly sweet cabbage is just divine. There's lots left over so I can't wait for tomorrow lunch time!

Here's how - super easy

LCHF Cabbonara (or No-Carbonara)

(4 portions)

1 small head of white cabbage

200 ml cream

300 g bacon (chopped in small bits)

3 eggs (+ 2 egg yolks)

5 tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese + extra for serving

butter to fry in

freshly milled black pepper

Chop the cabbage in long, skinny "spaghetti-like" pieces. Fry in butter (a wok is easiest) until al dente.

In a separate frying pan, fry the bacon until crispy.

While the cabbage is frying, lightly whisk together cream, eggs+yolks, parmesan and black pepper.

When the cabbage is done, swiftly add the bacon + fat from the pan. Then pour over the sauce - when the eggs in the sauce come in to contact with the hot cabbage it cooks.

Serve with extra parmesan cheese.

Done!

For dessert I whisked together some cream and poured in some melted 70% chocolate mixed with 2 egg yolks. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour - ready. I thought it was delicious and tasted quite sweet - interestingly my better half (who still eats sugar) thought it wasn't sweet enough...perhaps I'll add some vanilla next time. Some fresh berries would have gone nicely with it too.

Next time I will take some photos of the food - it just got eaten too quickly this time!

Hello world!

2009-09-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

This blog is about LCHF, as a diet, a life style and as a topic of debate.

LCHF means Low Carb High Fat. It is currently at the center of a very vocal and passionate debate taking place in Sweden, where things seem to be at a tipping point for getting this way of eating accepted (once again - as really this is more about going back to the old ways of eating than a newfangled fad diet) by the wider public and perhaps also by "the establishment".

Although I can't claim to have performed exhaustive searches in all the far-reaching corners of the net, a quick Google shows that there seems to be a lack of blogs and sites describing and discussing this toping in English. I realise part of this is due to different naming conventions - as this diet is not new. It also resembles the GI and Atkins diets, but is of course different in the way it prescribes high intake of saturated fats and all but eliminating carbohydrates of any kind.

The purpose of this blog is

- to be a source of information about LCHF

- to describe what is currently happening in Sweden in the "fat-debate" (trust me - there is a lot of action!)

- to write about my own experiences with LCHF - and to hopefully hear about yours

Just a quick note on my personal reason for starting this blog.

After a few short months of studying and living LCHF (includes spending hours on blogs, medical journals and forums, ploughing through thick books on nutrition and scientific history, considering abandoning my career to become an LCHF-trained nutrionist and singelhandedly upping my local supermarket's egg sales) my main emotion is disbelief. I really can't believe that the whole of the western world has been duped in this way, in to disregarding our own biology and experience, and made us replace the most natural foods in human history with chemically processed, artificially sweetened junk.

I hope you will enjoy reading this blog, and that you will feel free to comment and discuss the contents with me.