Hi all! I've been restricting my carbohydrates for about two years now to control functional hypoglycemia. However, as I am not losing weight, I have grown concerned with the quantity of saturated fat I consume, as well as the way major meat suppliers treat their animals.

I am trying to eliminate beef, pork, and most poultry products out of my diet. However, the hypoglycemia complicates things as I must accompany my carbs with protein and/or fat. Additionally, my fiancee (live-in) is unable to eat legumes due to gout and is mildly lactose-intolerant, and I seem to have some sort of wheat sensitivity, even in a low-carb context. Also, I do not like tofu (the texture is very unappealing for me).

Help? I've made some headway toward reducing my meat consumption--filling out soups and pilafs with beans, nuts, and mushrooms. Does anyone know of any vegetarian low carb cookbooks? I'm ok with eating fish, seafood, eggs, and some dairy.

Is anyone in a similar situation? Any suggestions? Thank you in advance to anyone who can offer ideas!

Why? If you were on a CKD, for example, you'd be in ketosis most of the week, and blood sugar would be very stable. And if you're not concerned with preservation of LBM, you could do an SKD (no carb loads) for an extended period. You would not have to eat any meat or fish whatsoever, if you chose not to.

Thanks for the reply, but I don't really understand what you wrote...what do 'CKD' and 'LBM' mean?

I am extremely sensitive to carbohydrates....my diagnosis came after a cup of strawberries for breakfast sent me to the ER! I *never* consume carbohydrates without accompanying protein and/or fat....

CKD is Cylical Ketogenic Diet. It's a low carb diet designed to put you in ketosis - you lose primarily BF (bodyfat) while preserving lean body mass (LBM). For someone as sensitive to carbs as you are, a Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD) would be more appropriate. Get a copy of the book The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald and find out about it. I've been on a vegetarian CKD for 16 weeks (with a one week break a month ago).

OK. Yes, I'm familiar with ketosis from doing Atkins. Hmm...I think I worded my initial message badly. "As I am not losing weight...." meant that, because I am no longer in a phase where I am losing weight (or feel that I need to), I do not feel comfortable eating as much saturated fat as I did when I was on Atkins (or lately for that matter). Not because I feel it is causing me to not lose weight, but because recent research is indicating that in a non-losing state, excess saturated fats (not overall fats, just saturated and trans) can be detrimental to long-term health, even with appropriate carb control (though not as severe, obviously).

I'm really just trying to strike a sustainable balance between my blood sugar, other health issues (mine and my fiancee's), and my own sentiments about the meat industry. I also need to stop eating so much low-carb meal replacements and junk food--I think the novelty of have all these choices again is wearing off, though.

My blood sugar and weight seem to remain stable at up to 150 gm carb per day, as long as they are the right carbs and I balance them properly (I can practically recite the low end of the glycemic index....). If I eat the wrong foods though, I tend to slip into carb-creep and start getting symptoms again.

I bought a bunch of veggie "meats" and some other new foods today (tempeh?). Time to start experimenting....they seem to mostly be pretty low in carbs, or at least moderate carb with plenty of protein, so this may work out afterall. Fiancee's not too happy about not having meat anymore (once the freezer's emptied, anyway), but he'll live! His cholesterol is borderline high, so this will do him good, too!

Do you happen to have a link to that research? I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I'm curious because it doesn't sound familiar. What do they define as "excess?"

I'd encourage you to not abandon those saturates. They don't have to be from animal sources: coconut oil, which is over 90% saturated, has many health benefits courtesy of its high lauric acid content. Saturated fat is important for proper EFA utilization (your omega-3s), proper calcium utilization in the bones, and a significant percentage of your cell membranes consists of saturated fat.

My primary source of nutritional research (in one spot) is the research conducted by Dr. Walter Willett at Harvard Public Health. Their book 'Eat, Drink, and be Healthy' summarizes the findings of two very large studies--The Nurses' Health Study, and The Physicians' Health Study (also incorporates the Framingham Heart Study). I rely heavily on this research as it is the only body of information I've been able to find that includes enough subjects over a significant period of time to have meaningful findings--100,000+ subjects over 20+ years. (Results obtained from 50 subjects over 6 weeks don't mean much).

I'm afraid I can't give you the link. The book is the source. I try not to put too much stock in internet-based medical information unless I can track it to a reliable source.

The research analysis examines different aspects of diet and other habits and through elimination and cross-referencing (way over my head). Anyway, their trends showed a couple things relevant to this discussion:

1. Overall fat content in the diet is not a predictor of mortality.

2. Overall *saturated* fat content in the diet shows a direct relationship with incidence of heart disease, syndrome X, and certain cancers.

Other key findings of interest are that excess body weight is second only to cigarette smoking as a predictor of mortality, and overall glycemic load does, in fact, affect one's likelihood of developing diabetes. (Findings are reported in the context of extensive controls to limit the effects of other factors.)

My statement was derived from combining this body of research with the smaller studies of the past couple of years indicating that blood lipids improve when low-carb/high fat diets are used for weight loss. Pairing the overall effects reported by Willett's group with the findings of the other smaller studies, the result was my statement--that excess saturated fats in non-losing state can be detrimental. I very deliberately used 'can'. Until someone specifically researches the topic of high saturated fat consumption in a low-carb context when not losing weight, a definitive statement is impossible.

Now, I'm certainly not trying to get rid of all saturated fats. A little context--I work full-time, go to college part time, and freelance part-time. A large proportion of my diet lately has consisted of cheeseburgers, cheese, and restaurant dinners--often steak. An inordinately high level of saturated fats (not to mention the other gunk you get from such foods). I'm just trying to pull back a bit. Also, I am the cook in the house, and my non-low-carb fiancee has high cholesterol. Finally, due to my blood sugar instabilities, even a low-to-moderate carb meal can have a temporary effect similar to that of a high-carb meal in a 'normal' person (glucose elevated too high), which leads me to believe that the effects on my triglycerides are similar too.

Did I cover everything?

Yep, thanks. I think a lot of people fall into the cheeseburger trap, myself included. It's not so much that they need to "avoid" those saturated fat choices, it's just that they tend to be the default when you're busy and active. It takes more forethought and planning to make sure you're getting the other fats. It's hard to get a balance of fats when some are much easier to get than others.

I'd love for there to be more research into what exactly constitutes "excess", especially in low carbers and not the general population.

Do you happen to know about the correlation between these factors? How closely linked? Is it linear? What is the size of the standard deviation? Finally, what are the other cofactors implicit in the link?

Innermusic- ay, you would ask me the hard questions....



Unfortunately, both my copies of the book are out on loan. However, if you want to read it, it is very easy to find, and is in paperback. It's not a 'doctor' book, it's written in plain english for the general public.

Another idea is to do a search on nejm.com. That will get you abstracts of related articles. They are free, and they summarize the hypothesis, findings, and statistical info you asked about as well as controlled and/or influencing factors.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/search?...t+saturated+fat

OK, there's a link to the results of my first search attempt. Variations may turn up other related articles. My suggestion is to look at that for your statistical questions, but read the book for a comprehensive view, as the articles are rather fragmented and focus on very specific aspects.

Title and author: "Eat, Drink, and be Healthy" by Dr. Walter Willett.

Kristine-

yes..it is sooooo frustrating how little solid research has been done on nutrition. Even with what's been done over the last several years, the same nonsense about low-fat and 'calorie is a calorie' keeps getting repeated over and over. The 'supporting evidence' for most of this is truly pathetic. When I was researching Atkins initially, I found the AHA whitepaper arguing against it. One of their points was supported by a single study consisting of 24 obese subjects over the course of 6 weeks. WHAT is the point of THAT?!?

I can't wait still more real research comes out. Any idea what's in the works?

Innermusic-

Here's a link to a full-text: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/337/21/1491

You have to register to view it, but registration is free. A good chart from this article is here:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/337/21/1491/F2

Kristine- Your question on "excess" saturated fats...the analysis uses the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fats. The higher the ratio, the higher the risk. The article I posted the link to talks about it.