Thursday, March 18, 2010

Common Atkins Errors

Dr. Davis has a nice post (link here) about common errors Atkins dieters make. I'm not an Atkins follower, despite being categorized that way by people who are afraid of fat and nutritionally brainwashed by the misinformed. Dr. Davis makes some excellent points. I too need to eat less bacon - it's become like a food group to me, and I don't want gastrointestinal cancer, so I'll cut down on it. He's said, as I have said many times (and Michael Pollan has too) "We should consume less meat, more vegetables and other plant-sourced foods." I concur completely.

On the over-consumption of dairy, I've virtually eliminated dairy from my diet except for aged cheeses and butter. I think I'm moderating these intakes very well, and my Hemoglobin A1c testifies to that. I do miss the yogurt though...

Excessive caloric intake and weight gain is not an issue for me personally. 204 before vacation. 213 after vacation. 207 last night after dinner. 206 at 11am today after bacon & eggs... darn... there's that bacon again!

OK... less bacon going forward. =)

12 comments:

  1. Every try some of the faux bacon products? They've gronw on me, especially as part of a larger dish.

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  2. I have had some turkey bacon... it was not so good. Once, a year or so ago, Trac got some soy bacon and we tried it - reminiscent of thin cardboard.

    Is there a type / brand you can recommend? And what's the nitrate content in the faux bacon?

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  3. I thought that post of his was weak. He's referring to some weak observational bullshit for his "meat is bad" stance. Although I don't actually eat a lot of bacon, and what bacon I do is simple salt-cured by the butcher. No added nitrites (nor nitrates, for that matter, and it bugs me that people treat those as interchangeable).

    A partial counterpoint, of sorts, is here.

    I'd like to see some citations for all Davis' assertions. Especially the dairy ones. I'm surprised, for example to learn from Dr. Davis that butter consumption causes insulin spikes. Hm.

    The one point I agree with is the over-eating. I generally eat twice a day now, but I've run into people doing "atkins" who are constantly eating. Always a bag of nuts within reach, for example. Weird. It's like they've tried starvation diets before and are so afraid of the constant hunger than they take the "eat all you want" a little too religiously and go into full grazing mode. Which is really unhealthy.

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  4. yeah, i thought he was being a little alarmist. i do think i need to up my veggie intake and decrease my meat, but i'm not panicked or stressing over it.

    i do love some bacon; what we get most often is also a simple salt-cure, iirc. and we definitely recycle the rendered fat.

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  5. I agree with Pyker. I do know I eat too much industrial meat, but I need more convincing that good-quality bacon, butter, etc. is a problem.

    Industrial Meat would be a good name for a band too.

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  6. Before you panic at the site of bacon, I very strongly recommend you read the witness for the defense.

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  7. heh heh, sight, not site, but actually I like "site of bacon" much better

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  8. Ron, I agree that NO3 = NO3 ... but I also subscribe to the "it's what it's wrapped in / packaged within, as a whole." The micro-nutrients in that celery or arugula, the cellulose fiber, the Combination of ingredients, are what helps you. The SMOKE and other "flavorings" in the bacon... I can't see how that adds Any health benefit - remember, I don't have a close personal relationship with my butcher. I wish I did... but it's not practical in West Phoenix.

    I am not saying I will abstain from bacon or other processed meats, and my lock-N-lock container of fridge hardened bacon renderings serves well for cooking when butter is not called for... but I agree we should all eat alot of veggies, organic and local whenever possible. They help to scrub out the intestines in a manner similar to how HDL cholesterol helps to scrub out the arteries.

    I've had friends and relatives (some my own age!) put in the hospital for colitis, diverticulitis, and colon cancer.. and I don't want those. Eating veggies and fiber is not going to add to my risk factor significantly. Dr Desert Flower stated emphatically to me last night at dinner "veggies are anti cancer" - as a cancer researcher, I'll tend to believe her.

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  9. Defense of vegetables seems like a non sequitur. When I defend bacon, I'm not saying "don't eat veggies." That's massive excluding-the-middle fallacy there. Although I haven't seen much evidence to convince me that plants have magical protective properties, I like vegetables, I eat them, and I'm delighted if you do, too. Since the veggies I normally eat -- favorites include spinach, rocket/arugula, other greens, broc, green beans, cabbage, garlic, onions, peppers -- tend to have very few calories, I can eat heaps WITH bacon or eggs or meat or whatever. Eat BOTH! Knock yourself out.

    I'm not saying go out and eat generic bologna and slim jims. I'm as skeptical as you are about industrially extruded animal products. So please note that if I say I'm skeptical of sodium nitrite/nitrate scare-mongering claims, that's NOT the same as saying that slim jims or carl buddig sliced, smoked, chopped, pressed, liquified, slurried, extruded, molded, shaped "meats" are good for you.

    In short:
    * don't eat that factory shit
    * but do eat quality bacon, salami, ham, sausages without panic
    * knock yourself out with the veggies

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  10. Now what am I gonna do with that pallet of Links jerky I got from COSTCO? =P

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  11. The pallet of jerky goes great with the Ranch Dressing Hose.

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  12. "What salad dressing would you like?"
    "Do you have RANCH???"
    LOL!

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