...and no-one on a low-carb diet will eat those.  There are much better alternatives.  No story here.

May as well have put pasta on the list.

Yes looking at it like that you realise how a diet based on starchy veg, grains and fruits (not to mention all the processed cereals and refined sugars) can add up to one hell of a lot of carbs! No wonder we're such a sickly species.

Dr. Davis: Where to you get adequate carbs when you are running long distances, including the marathon distance?

Would like to see what Dr. Davis' opinion is about coconuts and their products.

It the picture in the head of the blog and there no single post about it!

There are those who seek to achieve a no carb diet - see this forum for details: http://forum.zeroinginonhealth.com/

Here is a forum that talks about achieving zero carb - http://forum.zeroinginonhealth.com/

...and those 30 grams of carbs would mean you were on a very low carb diet indeed.  As a percentage of 2,000 calories, it would be 6%.  The other 94% would have to come from protein and fat.  Since too much protein taxes the kidneys and will turn to glucose if needed, your only choice in this very low carb scenario would be to go ~ 80% fat.

Just clarifying that this is the intent of the 30g example.

Are these total carbs or net carbs? My understanding is that carbs that are fiber aren't digested.

This is quite a bit of food, too.

To answer bobby's question, you don't!  I routinely run 50K events and just ran the San Francisco Marathon on very-low carb, pre-race, during the race, and post-race.  If you're adapted to a low-carb diet and fat-burning, you don't need carbs at all for fueling muscle activity.  In fact running fat-fueled gives you more stable long-lasting energy, no highs and lows, no bonking, and you can go much longer on no added fuel at all.

David

I would think the opened coconut is not dissimilar in representing plaque build up in our vessels.

Funny though, because I believe coconut is beneficial in many ways. I started cooking with it recently due to its high tolerance to heat, my perspective change in saturated fats and exploration of Indian foods.

BTW, I have cut out wheat, rarely eat corn starches and keep sugar usually in the single digits g/day while eating 70% of the items posted in Dr. Davis' on my low carb regimen. Some of the benefits so far are 40+ pounds lost and a decrease in BP. Systolic is now normal (reducing the resting pressure is a bit more challenging). Looking forward to what the next two months bring . . . .

Bobby and Drs. Cynthia and David-

I have seen the gamut of carbohydrate needs with elite levels of endurance exercise, from those who need to use a glucose source, such as bananas or Goo with exercise, to those who need nothing but water.

There seems to be individual variation in glucose needs during extreme endurance exercise, though needs clearly diminish the longer you follow a low-carbohydrate restriction.

Think of how hunter gatherers of eons ago ran tens of miles on empty stomachs.

Well, when you eat a no-carb diet you avoid those low-carb foods. Instead, you only eat food containg no (or very close to zero) carbs: meat, fish, egg, clarified butter (ghee), and coconut oil.

If you are liberal, you may add ordinary butter and some cheese. Giving you no more than 1-2 grams of carbs per day.

Here you can find Swedish guy, Michel Blomgren, that eats almost no carbs, and train hard: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://michelblomgren.blogspot.com/p/vad-jag-ater.html&sl=sv&tl=en

There's a body builder at my gym who's in his 60s, and he's been eating a very low carb diet for 15+ years. While his musculature is great, his skin looks saggy and old. It makes me wonder if his skin might look better if he'd had greater intake of Vit C (for collagen) and other phytonutrients (antioxidants).

I have a friend who is a recognized authority on sports medicine.  He's generally opposed to all processed foods, especially high fructose drinks but endorses the consumption of such drinks during extreme aerobic competitive exercise saying they give a huge quick boost in energy.

"Think of how hunter gatherers of eons ago ran tens of miles on empty stomachs."

I find it difficult to use such examples as good/valid reference points. In my opinion there is s big difference between running by choice and running because you have to for survival.

Belfast Biker is way off the mark - those all legit foods to eat - veggies some fermented diary (cheese), small amounts of seeds and nuts- Pasta is not even close to being sensible for that list.

Dublin pjnoir.

My understanding is there's an obligate requirement for sugar in the Krebs cycle.  If the body runs low on stored carbs it makes its own through gluconeogenesis. But that means catabolising muscle tissue.  In 50 and 100 mile races I eat all the potatoes and sugary sweets available at the aid stations but for daily diet I stick with low carb.  For my Sunday long runs I often run out of glycogen.  At that point my pace falls from 9 to 12mph.

kevin

HOW HEALTHY IS IT TO BE IN CONSTANT KETOSIs though?? There are no long term studies, no hunter gatherer was ever in constant ketosis. he/she was in and out. i understand low carb for glucose problems but it seems to be managing te problem not fixing it. eventually a low carb diet leads to a VLC diet leads to a ZC diet like the crazy people at zeroing in on health. the more you drop your carbs the more insulin resistance you force upon yourself.

Just eat real food, and real fat

about coconut stuff...IMO unless your a kitavan person you dont really need it. does anyone know ANY existing data not supported or sponsored by the coconut industry? i dont think it is all it is cracked up to be. no one has been consuming it long enough, unless again you are a kitavan and also eating like 70% sweet potatos.

there arent coconuts over in africa where we originated

Carbohydrates are not an essential macronutrient. Fat and protein are. There was a study done on two men who ate nothing but meat for a year. The results may suprise some. See Nothing but meat for a year

Dr Davis

After starting fish oil and vitamin D3 and eliminating sugar/wheat/pasteurised milk my hunger seems to have ratcheted up! i wonder whats going on here? Is this normal?
There is no dearth of calories in the diet!

After starting fish oil and vitamin D3 and eliminating sugar/wheat/pasteurised milk my hunger seems to have ratcheted up! i wonder whats going on here? Is this normal?
There is no dearth of calories in the diet!

My weight has always been good and I work out (hard) regularly and have so for the last 30 years (I'm 53). My cholesterol is also good. I  didn't eat much processed food before but in the last 9 months have cut it out completely. No sugar, no white flour, no bread, less of all other grains and now I can't stop weight loss. I am below my desired weight and it keeps coming off. If I even walk too fast I lose weigh!! I tried adding more tubers with no luck. I added larger portions of quinoa...no help. I have now resorted to eating soaked brown rice which hasn't helped yet. I get roughly my bodyweight in protein per day. I am always hungry and I'm eating about every hour. I consume around 3000 calories per day. I'm 5'10 and went from my fighting weight of 183 to 168 as of this morning.  I need to get back to at least 173-175 but it won't happen unless I add back some more grains. I will now start increasing the portion sizes of the grains I'm eating but I am already up to close to 2 cups per serving!!! I have now added rice/quinoa to lunch meals also.

you can train athletically on a low carb diet.  our bodies are highly efficient.  if you don't give it sugar, it will make energy from stored fat.  (and we all have fat, even thin people.)  the best training i ever did and strongest i ever was involved a low carb (vegetable) and hi protein diet.  After a few weeks, your body produces fuel differently.  if you're used to gooing or sports liquid, your body will have to acclimate to training without it.  But one you do, you'll notice your lactic threshold will be higher and you'll bonk much less.  Cashews are great instead of the goo...

The USDA National Nutrient Database for Windows is a great little tool is you're very serious about restricting the total number of carbs eaten in a day.  Combine that with weighing your food, and you can get a very good idea of all the nutrients going into your body.

The aren't many studies showing the benefits of coconut oil.  However, in my case, adding coconut oil to me diet sent my HDL from 32 to 52.

good luck to those who try this no-carb diet.

Dr. Davis,
would you please explain, in layman's terms, why chiceking blood glucose can be so important for not only keeping track of blood sugar but for weight loss? I think I get it, but my mother, who was recently diagnosed as "pre-diabetic", says she is going to return the glucosometer she based bought upon my suggestion, as she is going to eat low-carb and track calories, etc.  Help me help my mom out!  Thanks so much,
emily

Dr Davis, thanks for the site.

There's a history of Diabetes in my family.
My dad and his father were both Diabetics and they both died of Pancreatic Cancer in later years.
They never watched any of their habits though.
My dad's doctor used to call him a "food and lifestyle" liar. Dad shrugged it off.. and kept on lying.

Yes, I know about the genetic odds here.
I do watch what I eat, Vit D3, no cigarettes and I exercise and live life.

I've never seen a conclusive study relating Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer.
Any thoughts on that ?
I'm not Diabetic. FBG today of 89.
But I still watch myself and I have started to use a BG monitor to watch post-prandial numbers.
It's interesting how different foods affect everyones's BG differently.
I'm continually learning.
Thanks again for the site.

I'm new to all this but have a question if anyone is willing to indulge me an answer...

I frequently fall to sleep after lunch and/or after dinner, just "nod off" type of thing.  Is this a result of high BG and then the insulin response driving sugar low?

I am not diabetic and try to eat reasonable healthy meals, moderates amount of lean meat, vegetable and starch like rice or potato.  I wonder if I have insulin insensitivity...guess I need a meter. Thanks

Thanks for explaining why.

Could you maybe elaborate a little?

Carbs cause blood sugar to rise. Indulge in excess carbs, and you can walk, run and bike till you drop and not lose an ounce.

Awesome post Dr. Davis. I check my post-prandial BG constantly and have eliminated many so called low glycemic foods. ALso, nice simple explanation Lori.

@ Larry said...
I've never seen a conclusive study relating Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer.
Any thoughts on that ?
It's not a straightforward connection, they are still arguing about it.
This abstract suggests  
the development of diabetes in subjects prone to pancreatic cancer could be a red flag for malignancy.

And this full text article
Is Type 2 Diabetes a Risk Factor for Pancreatic Cancer? explains why it's difficult to definitively identify type 2 diabetes mellitus as a risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

Worth pointing out for those with Diabetes who are concerned about the threat of Pancreatic cancer that Metformin monotherapy carried the lowest risk of cancer. However that was comparing medical diabetes treatments, so didn't include people using Dr Bernstein's or similar approaches to controlling diabetes through diet, exercise.

I found this paper Cancer as a metabolic disease worth studying. It's not specifically about pancreatic cancer. It makes the point that Reduced glucose availability will target aerobic glycolysis and the pentose phosphate shunt; pathways  required  for  the  survival  and  proliferation  of many  types  of  tumor  cells.
Maybe it isn't just the risk of heart disease that is reduced by lowering circulating  glucose levels.

@  Emily
Please try to persuade your mum the glucose meter is an essential tool to understand which foods really raise BG levels.
I thought, a bit like your mum, that because I followed a Low carb eating plan I wouldn't have a problem with high glucose.
Only after readingTo get low-carb right, you need to check blood sugars did I get a meter and start checking.
Despite eating almost exclusively low carb I was regularly spiking up to 199.8 ~ 11.1.
Adding into my diet a variety of things to slow gastric emptying has reduced the height of 1hr after meal spikes and I've now gone a week under 133.2 ~ 7.4 and the trend is towards lower numbers mostly under 108 ~ 6

I've not restricted my calorie intake nor am I able to exercise much but I have, unintentionally, lost weight. A month ago I was 168lbs and am now 163 lbs.

I went out and bought a glucose meter yesterday.  I bought the one Dr. Davis recommended, the OneTouch mini purchased at Walgreens.

In hindsight though, it turned out to be an expensive choice.  I had to buy the OneTouch test strips as well, and they are fairly pricey.

For anyone considering buying a glucometer, buy the Walgreen's version.  I think it had a mail-in rebate, cost a bit less than the one touch, and also, the generic Walgreen's test strips are half as much as the One Touch.

And thank you Dr. Davis for this great blog.

Consumer Reports magazine recommended the ReliOn Ultima and their strips. The meter is, like, $9 and the strips are very inexpensive (compared to "branded" ones). (I'm pre-diabetic.) I don't have any hesitation checking my b.g. anytime, because the strips are cheap.  (No insurance, I have to pay for all my supplies.)  If you have insurance but they limit your strips (as with my nephew, a Type 1), you can use the  cheap one to fill-in your testing.

From my research and experimentation, the Accuchek Aviva shown in picture is the most accurate and precise meter currently available.  Over the long run, an accurate and precise meter will save you money and a lot of trouble, versus one whose results are not as reliable, and which forces you to test more.

btw, most precision issues are due to the strips, and cheap strips will simply result in lots of unnecessary holes in your fingers if you're serious about knowing what's going on with BGs.

thanks

if you are looking for a guide to help you lose weight

i really lost weight and got fit by using this guide..

I was skeptical but i was surprised as i never expect these things to work!!

<a href="http://0e8008qijy8s5zbfv8fiwl4vbl.hop.clickbank.net/> Click here for the link!</a>

I wish that I can have all those weight loss tool. I am sure if I have all those my weight loss program is going to be more effective.