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People Who Post On Low-Carb Blog Not Necessarily Spouting Atkins Ideals

I enjoy writing posts at my blog that garner lots of feedback from my readers. It’s one of the goals I set out to accomplish when I begin typing at this keyboard each and every day. An honest, open debate of ideas that is inclusive of a variety of voices and opinions from one end of the spectrum to the other is what helps us expand our cranium and discover fresh, new perspectives about what we believe.

But anything you read from people who post at my blog should never be misconstrued by anyone that I necessarily agree with it or that it jives with what most low-carbers support. In other words, what you read in the comments section of my blog may not necessarily be the ideals and concepts of the Atkins diet. I’ve never required it to be and never will.

Unfortunately, our vegetarian friends over at the “Disease Proof” blog (led by Dr. Joel Fuhrman–remember my review of his “Eat To Live” book?) posted a column today entitled “Will America Ever Eat Better?” where a regular poster at the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog is quoted.

In a discussion of eating a healthy diet, Gerald Pugliese from “Disease Proof” lamented that not everyone will follow Dr. Fuhrman’s vegetarian diet because they don’t see any value in eating vegetables.

Here’s what Pugliese wrote:

“Get a load of this commenter on the low-carb blog LivinLaVidaLowCarb:

Who the hell cares about the veggies anyway? You don’t need them and there is absolutely nothing essential about them. Don’t let the acculturated veggie sympathizers tell you otherwise.

Pretty crazy right? Especially since even the Atkins Diet calls for the daily consumption of vegetables.

That quote from my recent blog post showing one of my weekly low-carb menus is from none other than Rob from the “Zero Carb Daily” blog. Most of my readers already know that he is on a zero-carb, carniverous diet as his way to lose weight and get healthy.

However, people who follow the Atkins diet DO eat daily amounts of vegetables, Mr. Pugliese! If you go back to that same post where Rob made his comments that you quoted and actually LOOKED at the low-carb menu I posted, then you will see something very peculiar: VEGGIES, VEGGIES, VEGGIES! Duh!

To extrapolate one blog reader’s comments and interpret them as what everyone who visits and reads that blog believes about livin’ la vida low-carb is irresponsible. Just as everything I write in this forum is not necessarily what some low-carbers believe, the same is so for the people who post comments.

This probably has more to do with Furhman and his team’s utter disdain for the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins than it does about getting the facts right about what the Atkins diet and its followers actually follow. If you are interested, Mr. Pugliese, a survey last year found that low-carbers eat DOUBLE the amount of vegetables than before their low-carb lifestyle. Sorry to rain on your parade, but that’s the cold hard truth.

As for Rob, well, he’s slamming my “Omega Diet” that I am following right now claiming that he’s “roughly keeping pace” with my weight loss. But what Rob conveniently forgets is that I don’t have near as much weight to lose as he does right now.

When I was losing my weight back in 2004, it was coming off at about a 5-7 pound weekly average. Now that I’m much lower in weight, I SHOULDN’T be losing more than a pound or two every week. That’s why I started my “30-In-30″ Low-Carb Weight Loss Challenge. Even still, to date I have lost 21 pounds in two months and will continue to strive for losing another 20 pounds by the end of February.

Rob, when you lose 180 pounds, keep it off for two years, and then seek to lose another 30-40 pounds, then you can come back and talk all you want about how zero carb is helping you. Until then, your analogy of my weight loss with your weight loss efforts is simply apples and oranges, my friend. Nice try, though.

Whether I make it to my goal of 199 or not is not as important as the changes I have made in my life since I started livin’ la vida low-carb almost three years ago. I gladly eat healthy carbohydrates as most low-carb followers do which includes nuts, berries and non-starchy veggies, along with meats, cheeses, and eggs. Rob has his strong opinions about these foods and that’s fine with me. But the fact is you CAN lose weight and get healthy eating carbohydrates (even if they are greatly reduced from what I used to eat!). I’m living proof!

So, Mr. Pugliese, you might want to go back to your boss Dr. Fuhrman and remind him that Rob doesn’t speak for all practicing low-carbers and neither do I. We are simply presenting opinions to help others make their own decisions about what to do about their weight and health.

To quote Dr. Furhman from his “Eat To Live” book:

“I do not expect the majority of individuals to live this healthfully. However, they should at least make that decision being aware of the facts rather than having their food choices shaped by inaccurate information.”

That’s all I want for people as well. Let THEM make the decision based on everything they learn about the healthy low-carb lifestyle whether it is for them or not. When we stop hyperbolizing what low-carb living is, then people can make wise choices for themselves. That’s all I ask.

9-27-06 UPDATE: I attempted to respond to comments made by someone named Helena who posted remarks about me and my blog at the “Disease Proof” blog today and the adminstrators there have refused to post it. Are they afraid of dissenting opinions? Go ahead and try to send your own comment to see if they will post yours. That’s such a shame from a web site purporting to spread information about health. That’s the difference between what I do at my blog and these radical web sites like “Disease Proof.”

9-28-06 UPDATE: Gerry Pugliese sent me an e-mail about my concerns today:

Hi Jimmy-

I noticed your post. There must be some kind of misunderstanding–we want your comments! As far as I have seen you have never even posted one on DiseaseProof. There are dissenting comments all the time. We have been pretty clear about our commenting policy. Every legit comment gets approved. Please try commenting and you’ll see.

-Gerry Pugliese

My response to Gerry was the following:

THANKS for your note, Gerry. However, I have tried MANY times over the past year to post my comments to the “Disease Proof” web site in response to columns there and they have NEVER been published. Why? Are they ALL being blocked by a “spam filter?” That’s just too convenient an answer and seems rather suspicious in my book. But, I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and try to post something again in the future. THANKS again for e-mailing.

Anyone else having trouble posting comments at the “Disease Proof” blog? How about taking Gerry up on his offer to make dissenting comments. Try it NOW by clicking here.

September 26th, 2006 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Uncategorized
  • Wanda

    I really think it’s sad that people have to post an opinion while slamming another…there is a polite way and a wrong way and the biggest thing that bugs me is that dieters all alike should be sticking together to achieve what they are setting out to do.
    We can agree to disagree in a better way then that…..even if it is the internet,,,,,,,,,sigh,,,,

  • fritz

    those disease proof people really rub me the wrong way… if you want to get really annoyed, do a search on their site for “Atkins” and read all the crazy, inflammatory, and wildly inaccurate stuff they say… all in a sort of smug, self rightous tone, I might add…

  • Newbirth

    I got slammed over there for saying that pork rinds are the perfect snack. They just like to bash anyone who’s not a vegetarian.

  • Viking Dan

    I love the taste of vegetarians. ;)

    I think if you avoid the omaega 6 heavy vegetable oils and processed foods, your omega 3:6 ratio will probably improve greatly anyway.

    You’d have to take a whopping amount of fish oil capsules to offset the amount of omega 6 most people eat in a day.

  • Jimmy Moore

    That’s why I’m avoiding the vegetable oils on the Omega Diet I am doing right now. Getting the ratio down is the key. THANKS for commenting, Dan!

  • LindaLCforLife

    Mr. Pugliese:

    The conservative medical profession does not consider the vegan diet a “healthy diet.” I have seen “The patient is a vegetarian” listed under the medical history with the rest of the patient’s diseases in medical reports, because it is considered a cause of disease. As much as Atkins is criticized by the medical profession, his diet is more accepted than the vegan diet is.

    I am almost positive that Dr. Atkins made the statement in more than one of his books that human beings don’t need any carbs at all to be healthy (I will have to confirm that though, if I ever get the time). The Eskimos are an example, considered to be the most carnivorous people on the planet and the healthiest. Eating low glycemic vegetables are one good way to get the micronutrients that can enhance health, besides taking supplements, if desired, and Dr. Atkins encouraged it.

    I think the vegetable thing is really blown out of proportion. I’m sick of hearing it.

  • Rob

    As The Bear once told me, “There is only one true, inevitable, and defining characteristic which is connected with vegetarians, and that is: They ALL are compulsive liars.”

  • Disease

    Jimmy-

    Sorry about the comments. You’re being caught in the spam filter. For some it’s reason taking offense to your IP–we’re certainly not filtering you out. Can’t even see your comments at all. Get in touch (diseaseproof@gmail.com) and we’ll get it straightened out and get your comments up.

    A couple of quick points. I think you misunderstood Gerald’s post. I’ll quote "jager" from the Active No-Carber message board: “I don’t understand Jimmy’s comments considering the fact that Gerald Pugliese said ‘since even the Atkins Diet calls for the daily consumption of vegetables.’ Why does Jimmy try to ‘educate’ Gerald Pugliese about that fact when he already said he knows that Atkin’s allowed vegetables? It’s obvious that Pugliese realizes Rob is not on the Atkin’s diet, since he compares and contrasts Rob’s comments to the Atkin’s Diet directives.”

    And while Dr. Fuhrman is fine with a vegetarian style of eating, it’s not true that DiseaseProof is a vegetarian site. It’s about preventing and reversing disease through nutrition, using the most respected science available. There are posts about making meat part your Fuhrman-recommended diet.

    Dr. Furhman’s recommendations are based on literally thousands of studies, which are discussed all the time on DiseaseProof. Check the research category, and get comfortable–you could be reading all day. Here are some of the more important studies all collected in one place. And don’t forget that he’s putting these recommendations to the test every day in private practice and getting extraordinary results–thorough reversals of chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and even cancer. As far as he’s aware, no one following his guidelines has ever had a heart attack. He has been practicing medicine for 15 years. Of course, no one can force you to take his word for it–I know, everyone has their opinions and their studies, and most “experts” out there are pretty nutty–but with the kind of results he’s getting, why wouldn’t you at least be a little curious? Why assume he couldn’t possibly be right? Doesn’t seem very smart or very scientific.

    Henry Abbott

  • LindaLCforLife

    These vegan groups pretend to be medical people, and some of them are, but they are really animal rights activists groups.

    It’s ironic that I recently saw them attack an online cat forum where the person in charge suggested a raw meat diet for cats as they have been carnivores for centuries and several scientific studies show that is the best diet for a cat’s health and well-being. The vegan groups claim to care for the well-being of animals yet they advocate a vegan diet for an animal that would cause disease and suffering and that is no less than torture in my eyes. They are worse than liars.

  • Jimmy Moore

    Henry,

    THANK YOU for your response, but this isn’t about who is right or wrong (or at least it shouldn’t be). What it is about is giving people ALL the information they need to make the best choices about their health and weight issues.

    While Disease Proof may not necessarily be a “vegetarian” web site explicitly, it certainly promotes that way of eating as the way to optimum health apart from the consumption of fat or meat. That, by association, makes it a very pro-vegan site indeed.

    There’s nothing wrong with that, but don’t cloak who you are to make yourself less vulnerable to criticism. Besides, I have asked MANY times over the past six months to do an interview with Dr. Fuhrman with ZERO response from anyone. I’d love to have him clarify his positions if he is still interested in the interview.

    Again, I can’t help but come back to this idea that we are all in this world together to help each other find the best information possible about our lives. Low-carb living worked and worked VERY well for me. Why do vegetarians have such vitriol hatred and scorn for people like me? Hmmm?

  • Invisible Blogger

    I remember Dr. Eades making similar comments – after treating thousands of patients with a low carb approach, over 15 or so years, not one that he knows of has had a heart attack. Mr. Pugilese, how can you justify the vitriol your site uses regularly to attack the low carb approach? Aren’t you curious about the thousands of people who have improved their health via low carb? the dozens of studies showing dramatic improvements in health markers on low carb? I could go on and on, but you get the drift. these guys are the worst kind of propagandists, they pretend to be interested in your health, but they really just want to promote another agenda…

  • Invisible Blogger

    check out this quote from Dr. Steven Acocella, of the disease proof site, regarding low carb diets:

    It is unethical and morally reprehensible and likely malpractice to promote these diets. In the 1950’s some physicians were paid a lot of money to recommend and prescribe cigarette smoking to their patients and the public, even doing television commercials. The nicotine-addicted latched onto these guys like crazy glue on a toilet seat (and yes, this is totally true). Do you know any physicians recommending people start smoking now? So why do these nuts continue to ignore that their diets are no less harmful than recommending cigarette smoking was? Smoking gives a feel good buzz too, by the way so it’s an appropriate parallel and several levels.

    and jimmy, you are right about their comment posting policy. I used to try to post contrary opinions there – some actually got thru, but after they got wind of me, not a word. I did a little test, I tried posting suck up comments, under a different name – of course that one made it. Rob is right, these guys are LIARS. Plain and simple.

  • LindaLCforLife

    Mr. Abbott -

    15 years of practice does not interest me. It takes 20 years or more for heart disease to develop.

    Dr. Atkins was a practicing cardiologist for over 40 years and treated thousands of patients successfully for heart disease, diabetes and obesity; that’s over 40 years of clinical research. He helped millions more all over the world through his books. Dr. Atkins cited science for everything he said and wrote. That impresses me.

    What the Atkins diet does for me and others impresses me.

  • Disease

    Quick note about comments on DiseaseProof–in response the accusation that we’re “liars.” Simply not true. Like most blogs, we have automatic spam blocking programs in place—if not DiseaseProof would be a haven for erectile enhancement and poker ads. (Jimmy knows all about; recently he had the same problem.) Sometimes our spam guard will block a genuine commenter, as Henry said, it has something to do with IP addresses. Heck, even I get blocked sometimes when I try to make a comment from a different computer. Getting out of spam-limbo is pretty is easy, just send us an email (diseaseproof@gmail.com) and we’ll help you out.

    In DiseaseProof’s history, we’ve had about a thousand comments, and they’re from all over the spectrum. We welcome all opinions. We have had, however, a couple of what they call “trolls.” They have made largely unsupported and frankly mean comments. That’s fine. When it first started happening, we took a lot of time and energy to respond, with actual science, to those points. And then the same commenters made essentially the same comments, with slight variations, again and again and again, on a whole mess of different posts. If some anti-Atkins person started doing that day after day on Jimmy’s blog, I would expect him to butt them off at some point too. It’s mind-numbingly boring, needlessly mean-spirited, and essentially (owing to the “broken record” repetition) meaningless spam at that point. Ideally, we’d handle it by e-mailing the commenter to explain why their comment was not approved, so they’d have a chance to get their viewpoint on the blog. But these comments come with bogus e-mail addresses. So, after weeks of approving them, we did stop approving troll comments from a couple of people. But that’s hardly typical, and meaningful health debate from any viewpoint is always welcome at DiseaseProof.

    -Gerry Pugliese

  • Invisible Blogger

    you know, jimmy, it’s interesting, I never see any spam in your comments pages. And I never hear of anyone not being able to post. I also see loads of opposing viewpoints in your comments pages. (I should know, I supply a lot of them!)

    really dont understand why Gerry and Co. have such a hard time getting a handle on spam…

    interesting…