By the way, as an aside (but a really interesting one), I received an e-mail invitation a couple of weeks ago from a producer at The Dr. Oz Show who wanted me to appear as a guest talking about food addiction. Awesome, they want somebody to articulate what it is like to have an addiction to food as I once did and then overcame it. NOPE! Unfortunately, what they wanted me to talk about was how it DOESN’T exist! Say what? Apparently they’re not reading my blog that closely because I wholeheartedly believe in the concept of food addiction, especially to carbohydrates which I had just blogged about regarding Jessica Biel that same week they contacted me. Needless to say, I turned them down because I’m not sacrificing what I truly believe in just to be on a popular national health television show watched by millions of television viewers. I do have a sense of integrity and ethics that would never allow me to make such a boneheaded decision no matter how alluring the offer. Plus, can you imagine how it would have been edited to make me look incredibly stupid? No thanks!

Anyway, back to 2011 and all of the support we saw in the mainstream press for low-carb living. WOW! When I wrote the “Top 10 Low-Carb Headlines Of 2010″ one year ago, I was thrilled by the increased positive attention being paid to this way of eating that so many of us love and adore for the incredible weight and health changes for the better it has made in us. But there were so many this year that I had to double that number to the Top 20 Low-Carb Headlines Of 2011! Incrementally, we are making a difference and I fully anticipate this kind of excellent coverage of support for saturated fat, promotion of real foods, the meteoric rise of the Paleo diet, the lack of scientific evidence for the low-fat diet, famous people turning to low-carb living, low-carb, high-fat food shortages because of increased demand, the effects of formerly incurable diseases being improved and reversed because of ketogenic diets, and so much more! It’s gonna be loads of fun to watch all of this unfold before our eyes in 2012, but let’s take a quick look back on the other 19 low-carb headlines of 2011:

2. Saturated fat: Not as bad as you think

While it’s not a perfect article by any means, it does articulate that you should be eating at least some saturated fat. This is a far cry from the don’t-you-dare-eat-saturated-fat-or-you’ll-die message we’ve been hearing from so-called health “experts” for decades. When an RD starts talking about keeping saturated fat in your diet, then you know a radical shift is beginning to take place in nutritional education (which makes sense now that this January 2010 study from Dr. Ronald Krauss has virtually vindicated saturated fat). Again, the column has it’s flaws telling people to limit their consumption of saturated fat, but now it’s not an all or nothing proposition anymore. And that’s a good healthy start.

3. USDA finds in favor of grass-fed cows

Because of overzealous vegan activists, red meat tends to be labeled as the bad guy in health for allegedly being a culprit in heart disease, obesity and cancer. And yet all of these studies examining “red meat” tend to focus on grain-fed cows and processed meats. But what about grass-fed cows? Do these same health issues that are oft-repeated in the media exist from meat that comes from humanely-treated, grass-eating cows provided by your local farmer? Well this story show we’ve got an unlikely ally in the real food debate–the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As much as we rail against them for their asinine Dietary Guidelines, the fact is they’ve got it right on this one. The environmental impact of grass-fed cows raised outdoors in a pasture field is minimal compared with factory farm-raised cattle. The sustainability factor of creating grass-fed meats and this newfound support from the USDA might make it become more mainstream in the years to come. Now if we could just get them to promote this real, whole food in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines in a few years.

4. Fad diet is thousands of years old

Paleo diets continued to make a strong showing in mainstream media coverage in 2011, including this one featuring a fellow diet and health blogger named Melissa Joulwan from “The Clothes Make The Girl” blog (you might recall I recently reviewed her new book called Well Fed). The column did a fabulous job of promoting what Paleo eating is–no grain, dairy, processed foods, sugar or legumes–and to eat like our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Melissa articulated some excellent points, including how she was scared to eat fat at first which is a very real fear of people beginning a high-fat, low-carb type of diet for the first time. Additionally, she explained how it’s not just sugar but foods that turn to sugar in the body that people need to be concerned about and that’s a solid message for people to be exposed to. This column was definitely one of the bright spots of 2011 for Paleo low-carb living!

5. Deadly cost of low-fat dieting

After years of getting a free pass as the holy grail of all nutritional plans despite the lack of evidence to support it as a sustainable way to manage weight and health, it seems the low-fat diet fad is finally nearing its end. You gotta love it when you hear British doctors stating that a low-fat diet “lacks vital vitamins and minerals” that lead to “long-term problems” with health. They add that they are concerned about the “dangerous” trend to eat low-fat and low-calorie rather than focusing on foods that will nourish their bodies. This message has been sorely needed for the past thirty years and suppose it is better late than never. I’d LOVE to see these same kind of warning bells being sound by American physicians and dietitians who are sick and tired of seeing the same old failed results of their low-fat diet advice! That day of reckoning will be here sooner rather than later as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other chronic health issues persist.

6. The low-fat food myth and other fictions

It wasn’t a good year for conventional wisdom. This Australian newspaper takes a look at a lot of the bad dietary advice we’ve been given over the years and shares why it is dead wrong. Things like “eat low-fat foods,” “coconut oil is bad for you,” “eggs will increase your cholesterol,” and “red meat is bad for you.” Sure, there are some strange statements in the column (i.e. “We still need to eat carbohydrates”), but they push people towards the foods that are less bad for them. Again, it’s an excellent move in the direction of healthy high-fat, low-carb living.

7. Bikini Model Christine Teigen’s Top 5 Low-Carb Meals

I couldn’t have been happier to see this column featuring the favorite low-carb recipes of a swimsuit model named Chrissy Tiegen (who was named “Rookie of the Year” in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue). She’s a big-time fan of eating low-carb and not the low-fat version of it like so many in the entertainment/Hollywood arena tend to do. If you follow her Twitter feed, then you’ll see she’s a lover of meat and doesn’t take too kindly to vegans telling her what she can and can’t eat. LOVE THIS! My favorite low-carb recipe from her is the “Stuffed Red Bell Peppers”…but they all look incredible! See more of Chrissy’s recipes at her “So Delushious!” blog (I love the tag line of her blog: “Personal random ramblings from a girl who loves bacon and can’t be fat”). I’m working on getting her on my podcast for an interview in 2012.

8. Low-carb diet may help overweight girls beat obesity risk

As much as we hear about childhood obesity and trying to find a cure for it, low-carb diets have up until this point been all but rejected as too “extreme” to use in overweight kids. But this research found a reduced-carbohydrate diet produced great weight loss even when carb counts were as high as 43 percent of calories. Can you imagine how much better they’d do if carbohydrates were reduced even more? Getting adolescents off of the sugary, carbohydrate-rich junk and fast foods would make a huge difference in reducing obesity rates. Unfortunately, the simplistic message of “Let’s Move” promoted by well-meaning people like First Lady Michelle Obama just isn’t the answer.

9. Exceptional rise in butter consumption

After four decades of decline in butter sales in the Scandinavian country of Finland, butter sales actually INCREASED in 2011 thanks to the increased popularity of low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diets taking place in that region of the world. People have stopped consuming margarine and going back to what their grandparents ate–real butter! Can you imagine how the American media would respond if butter consumption rose to an average of 7 pounds a year? I know I personally eat a lot more than that and wouldn’t touch margarine with a ten-foot pole. Could this trend come to the United States? I sure hope so!

10. Butter shortage in Norway as low-carb-crazed dieters devour country’s stockpile

Meanwhile, in neighboring Norway butter has become such a hot commodity that they’ve now run out of butter! Holy cow! Sales soared in October and November along with a reduction in production due to a wet summer and now their enthusiasm for LCHF has led to this rather precarious predicament. Enterprising marketers are attempting to sell butter there on the black market for around $13 which seems absurd to Americans where butter is plentiful. Again, could you imagine having a butter SHORTAGE in the United States? How wonderful would that be if it was because more people are eating low-carb, high-fat? Of course, there’s always coconut oil. If you missed comedian Stephen Colbert’s classic take on the Norway butter shortage, then click here and be prepared to laugh your head off! This is super exposure for our message.

11. Facebook top 2011 search for Google Sweden

After those last two stories, this one should come as no surprise. In Sweden where LCHF has become a household name thanks to the great work of pioneers there like Dr. Annika Dahlqvist and Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt (who will be a part of my special “Encore Week” best of 2011 podcasts next week on “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show”), one of the top Google searches there in 2011 was for low-carb, high-fat diets. WOO HOO! Congratulations to the enthusiastic LCHF bloggers and promoters of this way of eating there for making such a strong statement in the nutritional culture there. My dream is to see that happen in the United States taking the lead of our Swedish friends which is why I started my “Eat Like A Swede” blog this year. The closest thing we’re seeing is the exponential rise in Google searches for “Paleo Diet.” And that’s not such a bad thing either.

12. Are Low Carb Diets Bad for the Brain?

If you only read the headline, then you would think this column is anti-low-carb. But read closer…the conclusion is that eating low-carb ketogenic diets does NOT harm brain health. Of course, we knew that already since low-carb neurosurgeon Dr. Larry McCleary has said on my podcast that ketones are the preferred fuel for the brain. So why wouldn’t you eat low-carb, high-fat? DUH!

13. Low-carbohydrate diets look good for the prevention and treatment of cancer

One of the great people we have working on our side in the mainstream media is Dr. John Briffa in the UK (who will be joining us as a guest speaker on The Low-Carb Cruise in May 2012). Dr. Briffa is a physician who understands the purpose of carbohydrate-restriction and communicates key research that backs up this stance. This article is a fine example of such reporting as it relates to the relationship between low-carb diets and cancer.

14. Low-Carb, High-Protein Diet Slows Cancer Growth In Mice, Study Finds

Here’s yet another story on a study of low-carb diets and cancer looking at mice that was published in the June 14, 2011 issue of Cancer Research that confirms what Dr. Eugene Fine is showing in his RECHARGE trial at the Einstein College of Medicine. Reducing carbohydrates starves cancer cells and slows the growth of malignant tumors. I wrote about much of this research on cancer in my second book 21 Life Lessons From Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb.

15. Low-carb, high-fat diets add no arterial health risks to obese

That low-carb, high-fat Atkins diet is gonna clog your arteries! If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard this one uttered over the years, then I’d be a bazillionaire by now. But this useless bit of information couldn’t be more wrong according to two studies that came out of Johns Hopkins in 2011. They found no harmful vascular changes from eating this way and weight loss was more efficient than those who consumed the low-fat diet. The researcher Kerry Stewart noted that the “overemphasis on low-fat diets has likely contributed to the obesity epidemic in the United States by encouraging an overconsumption of foods high in carbohydrates.” Ya think?

16. Intermittent, Low-Carbohydrate Diets More Successful Than Standard Dieting, Study Finds

Although I’m not so sure about the intermittent aspect of eating a low-carb diet, it’s good to see that this on again, off again low-carb diet outperformed the low-calorie diets for weight loss and insulin control. They claim that eating low-carb twice weekly will give you these benefits, but what if people did it 6-7 days weekly? But in the spirit of incrementalism, I’d love it if people ate low-carb at least two times a week…it’s a start.

17. Modified Atkins Diet Shows Promise as Treatment for Epileptic Children in Indian Clinical Trial

I first shared about the work Dr. Eric Kossoff is doing with using a modified Atkins approach for treating epilepsy in Episode 367 of my podcast. The effectiveness of the ketogenic diet for children having seizures continues to manifest itself in studies like this one out of India. When we move the focus away from weight loss (which is a nice side effect of healthy high-fat, low-carb diets like Atkins) and on to the health improvements that happen from eating this way like on diseases like epilepsy, I think it becomes quite obvious that this isn’t some passing fad that’s harming our health as it is often mischaracterized by those who oppose it. These kind of stories have to make people second guess whether to believe all of the hyperbole they’ve been hearing about low-carb diets. It’s nothing but great exposure for the low-carb lifestyle in my eyes.

18. Low Carb Diets Are Okay

Well, gee, thanks for your permission for us to eat this way, American Diabetes Association (ADA)! Four years after making the proclamation that diabetics can consume a low-carb diet for weight loss for up to one year, they’re still harping on that message and bragging about how they’re the ONLY major health organization to show support for low-carb diets. And yet, they still only see low-carb as a weight loss tool and not as an actual therapy for treating diabetes. The great low-carb diabetes physician Dr. Mary Vernon is quoted in the column stating this position by the ADA is “not enough and it isn’t respectful enough of how effective this is as a change in patients”–especially those with Type 2 diabetes. While I’m glad the ADA promotes low-carb diets at all even if it is for weight loss, can you imagine how much more of an impact they would have on the actual blood sugar control of diabetics if they promoted this way of eating for treating their diabetes? But as we saw with the ADA’s refusal to publish Judy Barnes Baker’s low-carb cookbook, we’ve still got a long way to go.

19. Food Trends and Eating Habits in 2011

Can you believe what landed at #3? They proclaim that “low-carb diets rule” citing the top four “fasting rising” diets on Google are all low-carb ones. Granted, not all of them are high-fat, low-carb diets, but it’s good exposure for the message of carbohydrate restriction. If we can get people to eat low-carb first, then maybe they’ll end up on blogs like mine, listen to podcasts, participate in forums, etc. to learn why adding in dietary fat is a crucial part of their health equation. Incidentally, “gluten-free” was also a hot trend in food in 2011 and “backyard farming.” Real food, wheat-free, low-carb living is making waves!

20. Top 10 Weight-Loss Trends of 2011

And finally, look what hit the top of the top trends at Shape magazine in 2011–The Paleo Diet! Thanks to the tireless efforts of people like Robb Wolf, Dr. Loren Cordain, Nora Gedgaudas, and a whole bunch of new Paleo bloggers and cookbook authors, this new old trend is probably here to stay for many more years to come! And it coincides quite nicely with those of us who choose to eat high-fat, low-carb, too! Incidentally, CrossFit was also on this list which embraces the Paleo Diet as the nutritional plan of choice for those who engage in this intense exercise routine. Vitamin D also made the list which is a hot topic in the low-carb community with supplementation promoted by the likes of people like Dr. William Davis. Intermittent fasting landed on this weight loss trends of 2011 list too…yet another subset of the Paleo/low-carb blogosphere. The takeaway from all of this–yes, we’re helping get the message out to the people who need to hear it the most!

Did you think 2011 was a great year for low-carb? Tell me your thoughts and any significant headlines that you think I might have missed. Here’s hoping for lots more awesome press for livin’ la vida low-carb in 2012. Bring it!

I’m always amazed to take a look at the affiliate reports at the end of the year to see what people actually bought and I’ve been doing this for several years now. It’s sometimes eye-opening to see a book that you think was purchased by a lot of people actually didn’t…and some unknown book come out of nowhere and sell a bunch. Since all of these sales come from readers of the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog, I thought it would be fun to share some of these results with you so you can see what books are most interesting to your fellow readers. I’ve got the Top 25 Amazon affiliate sales through my web site in 2011 to share with you today and there are a lot of familiar and maybe not-so-familiar titles for you to check out. The list includes seven cookbooks, seven Paleo/primal books, eight medical doctors, and even one VEGAN book? HA! How’d that get in there. ENJOY!

Here are the Top 25 “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” Amazon bestsellers in 2011:

1. The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living: An Expert Guide to Making the Life-Saving Benefits of Carbohydrate Restriction Sustainable and Enjoyable by Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek

After the overwhelming commercial success of their 2010 New York Times bestselling book aimed at consumers called The New Atkins For A New You (see #2 on this list), low-carb researchers Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek wanted to develop a book that would educate physicians and other medical professionals as well as knowledgeable patients on not just the science behind carbohydrate-restriction, but also the practicality in implementing it as a therapeutic measure for improving health. That’s why they decided to release this self-published book in May 2011 and it’s already become an invaluable addition to the personal library of anyone who is livin’ la vida low-carb or even remotely interested in why it works so phenomenally well in treating obesity and chronic disease. There were contributions made to the book by Dr. Eric Kossoff on epilepsy, registered nurse Jackie Eberstein about the legacy of the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins, and even a chapter written as a letter of a patient to a doctor from me. Read my review of the book and listen to my exclusive podcast interview with Dr. Phinney that delves deeper into why they created this book that ended up being the biggest seller through my blog in 2011–by a mile!

2. The New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great by Dr. Stephen Phinney, Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Eric Westman

Speaking of the new Atkins diet book that came out in March 2010, it continued selling quite well in 2011, too! This New York Times bestselling book was several years in the making after Dr. Atkins tragically died following a slip and fall accident on an icy sidewalk in New York City in April 2003. The silence in the years that followed was deafening and it was time to let the science that has been coming out at breakneck speed over the past five years or so speak for itself. Here you have three of the best and brightest minds examining the evidence supporting a healthy high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb nutritional approach–Dr. Stephen Phinney, Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Eric Westman–sharing from their wealth of knowledge and experience about what the Atkins diet looks like in the post-Dr. Atkins era. This book truly is an incredible resource that I cite often to people who are wanting to start on the Atkins diet as their plan to lose weight and get healthy. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the information Dr. Atkins provided in Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, but this new book is more up-to-date with all that has happened in the science since the legendary low-carb pioneer passed away. Listen to my March 2010 podcast interview with Dr. Westman and read my review of this vitally important book for low-carbers around the world. There’s even a companion cookbook for this book releasing later this month. The Atkins diet is alive and well in the 21st Century and shows no signs of going away anytime soon!

3. Why We Get Fat And What to Do About It by Gary Taubes

Who can deny the tremendous impact that Gary Taubes has played in educating the mainstream public about low-carb, high-fat diets? From his July 7, 2002 New York Times magazine bombshell column “What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?” to the September 2007 release of his magnum opus challenging the conventional dietary wisdom called Good Calories, Bad Calories (see #17), he has almost singlehandedly been responsible for keeping the low-carb message going for the better part of a decade and shows no signs of ending his personal crusade to educate the masses. While the 600-page omnibus GCBC was aimed directly at doctors, researchers and other key health influencers, a groundswell of laypeople who support the science supporting low-carb diets begged Taubes to release a follow-up book that would take the message of his first book and make it more palatable to an everyday audience. That’s why this book was created and released in December 2010 and it garnered Taubes some huge television opportunities, including his March 7, 2011 appearance on The Dr. Oz Show that is STILL being talked about for how he was treated. Even still, he continues to be invited to be a guest lecturer on college campuses and at medical institutions because the message he is promoting is too compelling not to share it. I’m happy he will be one of the featured speakers on the upcoming May 2012 Low-Carb Cruise because he doesn’t typically do these kind of events with laypeople. Read my review of this book and listen to my podcast interview with Gary about his book. And the message of this book will be reaching a much wider audience in the years to come when it releases as a mass market paperback in a few weeks.

4. Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health by Dr. William Davis

If I had to choose one book that has directly impacted the diet of most low-carbers in 2011, it wouldn’t be Taubes’ Why We Get Fat since most seasoned veterans of high-fat, low-carb living already understand the foundational concepts he shared about in that book. That distinction actually belongs to Wisconsin cardiologist Dr. William Davis who wrote a compelling case exposing the dangers to your health that come from consuming modern-day wheat. And he received a ton of exposure for his book while being vilified by the grain industry–which makes him grin from ear to ear! Thanks to the promotion of a grain-free, gluten-free diet in the Paleo community, that message has been spilling over into the low-carb community as well where whole grains have long been an optional part of the low-carb lifestyle. Not anymore! Many of us have come to realize we don’t need nonsensical wheat products like this low-carb bread in our diet anymore because of the damaging effects it is having on our health. And we have Dr. Davis to thank for helping us take our low-carb lifestyle to the next level by eliminating the wheat that is doing more harm to our bodies than even sugar! It’s an eye-opening discovery that I’m happy to see happening as people battle the bulge and chronic disease. Don’t miss my engaging conversation with Dr. Davis on my podcast in September 2011 where he shares more about how to avoid getting a “wheat belly.” And I’m pleased to have Dr. Davis joining us as a special guest speaker on the May 2012 Low-Carb Cruise as well.

5. 21 Life Lessons From Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb: How The Healthy Low-Carb Lifestyle Changed Everything I Thought I Knew by Jimmy Moore

When I wrote this nearly 500-page book in 2009, it had been a few years since my debut release Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb (see #15) had come out detailing my 180-pound low-carb weight loss success story that took place in 2004. While weight loss was certainly the primary focus of the first book I wrote (and rightfully so since that’s the biggest thing that happened for me at the time), in the years that followed I learned about and personally experienced so many amazing health benefits from livin’ la vida low-carb that went well beyond simple weight loss that I knew I had to share about them in my follow-up book. From cholesterol (which I’m currently working on my third book about) to fad diets, cancer to veganism, blogging to being in a movie with George Clooney, childhood obesity to the untimely death of my brother Kevin, I poured my heart out in this book to help others learn that this way of eating goes much deeper than shedding a few pounds. It’s a lifestyle change that will turn your life upside down like it did mine. Interestingly, while the traditionally-bound book had sold very well as a self-published title, I’ve been surprised by how well the e-book version has done, especially over the past few months where a strong resurgence of sales have taken place. Maybe it’s all those people who have gotten a Kindle, iPad, or other smart reading device that enables them to read it that way. I’m just grateful for the opportunity to spread the low-carb knowledge to anyone and everyone who wants and needs to hear it!

6. Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen by Charles and Julie Mayfield

Paleo diets came on strong in 2011 and this book was one of the breakthrough titles of the year. Thanks to the education about evolutionary/Paleo diets that has taken place over the past few years by people like Dr. Loren Cordain, Mark Sisson, Art De Vany and Robb Wolf, the market for quality cookbooks showing how to make Paleo work in the real world was sorely needed. Enter Charles and Julie Mayfield. Their take on Paleo with a “comfort foods” bent obviously resonated with an eager audience of newfound and long-time Paleo fans who have been literally hungry for making grain-free and low-carb recipes a regular part of their menu planning in the kitchen. I personally LOVE this book and even made my own low-carb twist on their “Luscious Lemon Squares” recipe. And if you missed my November 2011 podcast with this Paleo power couple, then go back and listen to it now. They are a sweetheart dynamic duo who have done us all a great service by writing this book that I’m sure will be a perennial seller for many years to come as people find and discover the benefits of the Paleo/low-carb lifestyle for themselves. While there were other outstanding Paleo cookbooks released in 2011 (see #12), this one seemed to rise to the top because it focused on good food prepared in a way to make it taste delicious and be nutritious for your body. What more could you ask for?

7. Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food by Dr. Cate Shanahan

Before this year, I’d honestly never even heard of Dr. Cate Shanahan and the great work she has been doing promoting the idea of eating the low-carb diet of our ancestors to get as healthy as humanly possible. But when she appeared on my podcast for an in-depth interview in March 2011, a whole lotta people suddenly discovered this diamond-in-the-rough who is doing some truly extraordinary work educating people about what eating healthy actually looks like. Her companion book to this one entitled Food Rules: A Doctor’s Guide to Healthy Eating is helping educate physicians on what a solid nutritional plan should look like (hint: it ain’t high-carb, low-fat!). As a board certified Family Physician herself, she understands the enormous challenges that face her conventionally-trained medical colleagues who have unfortunately been taught more about how to write prescriptions for risky pharmaceutical medications that far too often mask the symptoms rather than getting to the root cause of health concerns. Dr. Shanahan is doing her best to share the traditional principles she’s learned of how what we eat impacts our health with those in the medical profession as well as laypeople like you and me. Something tells me we’ll be hearing a lot more from this low-carb champion in the years to come–and I for one am glad to have her on our side!

8. The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet by Robb Wolf

Whenever anyone asks me the question “what’s the best book for learning about Paleo?” I don’t even hesitate in recommending this one by Robb Wolf as the first option. If I could only identify one name who has made the biggest impact for Paleo in recent years, it would have to be Robb Wolf. His name is as synonymous with Paleo as mine is with low-carb. And I don’t think he minds the association since his life has been as radically changed by Paleolithic living as mine has with the healthy low-carb lifestyle. It certainly helps that Robb has a knack for explaining things in language (both written and spoken) that is entertaining, humorous, but most importantly educational in terms that are understandable by virtually everyone. I have a lot of respect for the work he has done in promoting Paleo these past few years through his wildly-popular blog and podcast and in this September 2010 book release that hit the New York Times bestsellers list. Robb (aka “baby Jesus”) is a rock star in the Paleo community and rightfully so. You’ll see his name associated with several of the titles in this list writing the foreword to #6 and #18. And this young guy ain’t going anywhere anytime soon taking his passion for Paleo in directions that will penetrate our culture even further in the years to come. Read my review of Robb’s book and listen to my “Encore Week” interview with him in January 2011. I look forward to having Robb join us on the 6th Annual Low-Carb Cruise as a guest speaker in 2013!

9. Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life by Nora Gedgaudas

Nora Gedgaudas is one of the coolest people you’ll ever meet in your life. I met her in person at a bariatric physicians conference in 2010 and then again this year at the Ancestral Health Symposium in Los Angeles, CA where she was a special guest speaker. Nora is just so authentic, super-smart, and knows what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to nutrition and lifestyle issues. She just returned from what she describes as a “whirlwind” trip to Australia where she shared about the concepts she wrote about in this book that was re-released by a major publisher this year who noticed she had a message they could market with the rise in Paleo that has taken place as of late. The information contained in the book was updated with brand new findings Nora has come across since her self-published book came out so that it can help people living in modern society fit the principles of our ancestors into their day-to-day life. I spoke with her about this book in July 2011 and was pleased to hear about all the incredible things she is doing to keep the message going that goes well beyond the Paleo diet. It’s an honor to know Nora and to call her a friend. I’m happy to see her book resonated so well with my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” readers in 2011.

10. Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal: A Revolutionary Breakthrough In Understanding Hashimoto’s Disease and Hypothyroidism by Dr. Datis Kharrazian

In light of my recent thyroid test results after 8 years of low-carbing that doesn’t show anything is obviously wrong with my thyroid, this book by Dr. Datis Kharrazian rounding out the top 10 was quite appropriate. Although I interviewed Dr. Kharrazian in July 2010, his message has obviously continued to strike a chord with many people of my readers who have been left frustrated by “normal” thyroid test results while still experiencing the problems associated with some sort of thyroid disfunction. As I shared in my review of this book, it is a virtual Bible on all things related to thyroid health and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about improving thyroid function for weight and health management. A protégé of Dr. Kharrazian named Dr. Joni Labbe appeared on my podcast in March 2011 to explain how this book changed her life personally as well as for the patients she is now helping using the protocols outlined in this book. If you or someone you know are dealing with Hashimoto’s or other thyroid conditions, then you owe it to yourself to get this book!

Here’s the rest of the Top 25 Amazon bestsellers in 2011:

11. Living Low Carb: Controlled-Carbohydrate Eating for Long-Term Weight Loss by Dr. Jonny Bowden

12. Make it Paleo: Over 200 Grain Free Recipes For Any Occasion by Bill Staley and Hayley Mason

13. Perfect Health Diet: Four Steps to Renewed Health, Youthful Vitality, and Long Life by Paul and Shou-Ching Jaminet

14. Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Dr. Joel Fuhrman (WHAT?! LOL!)

15. Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat to Sensationally Skinny in One Year by Jimmy Moore

16. Feed Your Brain, Lose Your Belly by Dr. Larry McCleary

17. Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health by Gary Taubes

18. Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso

19. Blood Sugar 101: What They Don’t Tell You About Diabetes by Jenny Ruhl

20. Carb Wars: Sugar is the New Fat by Judy Barnes Baker

21. 1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes from Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back by Dana Carpender

22. Good Meat: The Complete Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Meat by Deborah Krasner

23. Odd Bits: How to Cook the Rest of the Animal by Jennifer McLagan

24. Primal Blueprint Quick and Easy Meals: Delicious, Primal-approved meals you can make in under 30 minutes by Mark Sisson and Jennifer Meier

25. Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars by Dr. Richard Bernstein

What were YOUR favorite low-carb/Paleo/health books of 2011? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/3

There are certainly enough negative forces out there who are questioning the veracity and even the necessity of a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach as a means for achieving optimal health. From radical vegan activists to even some in the pro-carb wing of the Paleo community, it seems that low-carb, high-fat diets have become the preferred punching bag for all those who support the archaic and mistaken notion of an “essential” carbohydrate. There is no such thing. In fact, I believe the whole “body needs carbs” concept is designed as a means for excusing the inclusion of more carbohydrates in the diet for whatever reason and perpetuating the “calories in, calories out” mantra that has dominated nutritional dogma for as long as I’ve been alive. If your body can get away with you consuming more carbohydrates, then more power to ya.

But for so many of us (yes, myself included) dealing with the ramifications of a lifetime of poor nutritional choices which has caused us to become metabolically damaged as a result in some form or fashion, then the reality of the situation is that we MUST keep our carbohydrate intake in check lest we suffer the consequences to our health. It’s difficult for some people to wrap their heads around this idea that not everyone does well eating carbs because of the years of self-abuse from consuming gobs of sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, white flour, fast food, and other junk food “carbage.” As an old Baptist preacher once said in a sermon, “Payday someday.” And that day is now. The chickens have come home to roost and now we require an effective game plan for reversing the ill effects that have happened hormonally as a result of this virtual carb-fest. That’s where livin’ la vida low-carb comes into the picture and it has quite literally been a lifesaver for so many of us who were mired in the high-carb, low-fat dogma that dominates cultural views on nutrition even to this day.

That’s what makes those who are forwarding the low-carb message into the public conversation about diet and health so special to me and why I’m incredibly privileged to highlight those individuals who are having the greatest impact on behalf of healthy low-carb living on our culture. I’ve been doing this annually at the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog since I started writing posts here beginning in 2005 through what I call my Top 10 Low-Carb Movers & Shakers of the year. It’s good to step back and give recognition to the people who I feel are helping to advance the overall message of the low-carb lifestyle the most. This is certainly not a definitive list by any means, but I think I’ve hit on most of the ones who did an outstanding job in 2011 of presenting low-carb to the masses in their own unique way. These people were able to cross over into the mainstream discussion of thoughts and ideas regarding diet and health to proudly put low-carb living on full display to everyone who will listen.

I realize that not everyone will agree with these ten choices I am sharing today but that’s the fun of making a list like this. There will be debate about who was included and who was left off, but one thing is for certain: the low-carb lifestyle is making waves, people are learning how it can positively impact their lives in so many ways, and it’s all because of the hard work and dedication over the past year of the people I am about to share with you. You should recognize most of these names. Then again, maybe you’ll learn about people you didn’t know about before. So now without further adieu, here are my Top 10 Low-Carb Movers & Shakers of 2011 (in case you missed my lists from previous years, see who made it in 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005):

1. GARY TAUBES
Gary Taubes is perennially named to this list each year and for good reason. He’s been THE face of low-carb by making bigger waves into mainstream culture than just about anyone else out there right now. With two bestselling books–Good Calories, Bad Calories and his latest Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It–and an accompanying blog (which he doesn’t update nearly enough), Gary is staying a busy man. But in 2011 he made a breakthrough when he was invited to be a guest on the #1 daytime television program in America, The Dr. Oz Show. Despite a friendly conversation on “The Dr. Oz Radio Show” just one month prior, it was his March 7, 2011 appearance on national television that prompted a firestorm because of the way Dr. Oz and his producers painted healthy low-carb living in a negative light. I interviewed Gary about this afterwards (listen to that interview here) and while he was disappointed in the way he was portrayed, the fact is the low-carb message got out there. It stoked the curiosity of those interested in what low-carb living is all about. Mission accomplished! Then in April, Gary published a column in New York Times Magazine entitled “Is Sugar Toxic?” that opened the door for even more conversation about the need for people to cut back on sugar as a means for improving health. And despite the dust-up between him and Stephan Guyenet at the Ancestral Health Symposium in August, I still believe Gary Taubes is doing incredible work on behalf of the low-carb lifestyle. It will be a real privilege to have him join us as one of the featured guest speakers on The 2012 Low-Carb Cruise.

2. DR. WILLIAM DAVIS
Another guest speaker on the upcoming May 6-13, 2012 Low-Carb Cruise will be the amazing Dr. William Davis from “The Heart Scan Blog.” In 2011, he released his long-awaited book on the health dangers of grain consumption entitled Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health. I spoke with him in an interview on my podcast where he shared why people should not just be concerned with cutting sugar as Gary Taubes has suggested but to take it one step further in reducing wheat consumption as well because of the ill effects it is having on health. This book has married one of the key concepts of the Paleo community (ditching grains) with the low-carb message to make a more convincing argument for becoming more low-carb with our diets. That’s the primary reason he made this years Low-Carb Movers & Shakers list.

3. TIM FERRISS
You might be wondering why in the world I am including Tim Ferriss on this year’s list of Low-Carb Movers & Shakers. After all, he’s the famous Four-Hour Workweek author and blogger who doesn’t really talk about nutrition and health that much except for the many self-experimentations he does on himself. But in 2011, Tim released an incredible book about how to improve your body called The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman which catapulted to the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. I got the chance to talk with him about his advocacy for the “slow carb” approach on my podcast and millions of people have been exposed to the concept of reducing their carbohydrate intake as a result of Tim Ferriss this year. How could I NOT list him?

4. DR. STEPHEN PHINNEY & DR. JEFF VOLEK
Two of the most widely-recognized names from the research side of the low-carb community are Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek. These two men teamed up with Dr. Eric Westman in 2010 to write an updated version of the Atkins diet for consumers that landed on The New York Times bestsellers list called The New Atkins For A New You…but in 2011, they decided to take the message of low-carb directly to the educated consumer and medical professional with an outstanding new book called The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living: An Expert Guide to Making the Life-Saving Benefits of Carbohydrate Restriction Sustainable and Enjoyable (visit the official web site and read my review of this book). While there are some who make the argument that low-carb diets are merely based on belief in a nutritional approach stemming from their own personal experience, Dr. Phinney and Dr. Volek would beg to differ. They cite plenty of studies that they themselves have conducted over the years along with many of their fellow low-carb diet research colleagues to support their arguments in favor of a carbohydrate-restricted lifestyle. These contributions cannot be denied and we’ve been paying attention to them closely for many years. It’s time to give credit where credit is due.

5. DR. RON ROSEDALE
We’ve got a lot of medical doctors who have been out there for many years promoting the benefits of healthy low-carb living and one such physician is Dr. Ron Rosedale. While Dr. Rosedale has been off the grid for a little while with his work in India the past few years, he has come back on the low-carb scene again with a vengeance over the past year. His 100-minute interview on my podcast in 2010 where he detailed much of the work he has been doing on behalf of low-carb living for nearly two decades has been a virtual reintroduction of sorts for this incredibly thoughtful and knowledgable man. His recent epic response in the “safe starches” debate is proof positive that he lives and breathes what he shares with his patients and is seeking to further the message of low-carb living to as many people as possible. It’s good to have a voice like his on our side.

6. ZOE HARCOMBE
One of the most delightful discoveries over the past year is finding the great work of a low-carb champion in the UK named Zoë Harcombe. This British obesity expert has firmly established herself as a force to be reckoned with in shifting the cultural tide towards nutrition in favor of healthy low-carb living through columns she has written for the UK Daily Mail like “Everything you thought you knew about food is WRONG.” Additionally, she’s authored several books about diet and health, namely The Obesity Epidemic: What Caused It? How Can We Stop It? and Stop Counting Calories & Start Losing Weight: The Harcombe Diet in recent years. You can’t help but love Zoë and her infectious enthusiasm for low-carb living that was on full display in my podcast interview with her. If you’re not already a fan of Zoë Harmcombe, then I highly encourage you to learn more about The Harcombe Diet.

7. STEPHANIE SENEFF
Another name you may not be completely familiar with is Stephanie Seneff. She’s a Senior Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a specific interest in recent years on the subject of the relationship between nutrition and health. In 2011, she authored two papers that were published in medical journals outlining the relationship between carbohydrate consumption and the negative impact that plays on health outcomes: “Nutrition and Alzheimer’s disease: The detrimental role of a high carbohydrate diet” published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine and “Is the metabolic syndrome caused by a high fructose, and relatively low fat, low cholesterol diet?” published in the Archives of Medical Science. She also written quite extensively on the ineffectiveness of statin drugs, low-fat diets leading to Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic syndrome being a nutritional deficiency disease, ADHD brought on by a lack of dietary fat, and the implications of sulfur deficiency. I was pleased to speak with her in an interview recently about the work she is doing and you’ll be hearing a lot more from Stephanie Seneff in the years to come!

8. NORA GEDGAUDAS
If you’ve been actively engaged in the low-carb, Paleo, primal and ancestral nutritional movement in recent years, then no doubt you are already abundantly aware of the great work that Nora Gedgaudas is doing. After being contacted by a publisher who wanted to pick up her book for wider distribution in 2011, she re-released and updated version of Primal Body, Primal Mind: Beyond the Paleo Diet for Total Health and a Longer Life to help further the message of high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb living! I spoke with her about it and she was so excited to have the opportunity for a larger audience for promoting the principles that are helping so many people overcome their obesity and chronic diseases. If you’re not already a huge fan of Nora Gedgaudas, then it’s high time you give her a serious second look. And Nora is truly one of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life. How can you not love somebody like that?

9. DR. JACK KRUSE
Bursting on the scene in 2011 seemingly out of nowhere in 2011 was an eager and enthusiastic neurosurgeon from Nashville, Tennessee named Dr. Jack Kruse. After experiencing his own low-carb renaissance and renewal by shedding a whole lotta weight implementing a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach, he’s been on a one-man mission to sharing some of the most thought-provoking and compelling information about health and longevity online through his “Quilt” concept. And if you’re not already reading Dr. Kruse’s blog, then you’re missing out on some of the most controversial columns in the health blogosphere. Some don’t know what to make of him, but I’m sure that’s okay with Dr. Jack Kruse. His Leptin Prescription is helping people implement an effective low-carb Paleo nutritional plan for dealing with leptin resistance–an under-appreciated and under-served subject of discussion in the low-carb community. And the man speaks with the same passion and enthusiasm that he writes.

10. DR. FRED PESCATORE
And last but most certainly not least, we’re seeing a huge resurgence of interest in the amazing work of Dr. Fred Pescatore in 2011. After working with the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins in his complementary medicine practice in New York City for several years and then penning the New York Times bestselling Hampton’s Diet book several years back, Dr. Pescatore seemed to fall off the radar screen for a few years. But now he’s back and has a golden opportunity to be working with Rachael Ray on her popular daytime television talk show to discuss the dangers of consuming sugar helping viewers beat their sugar addiction. AWESOME message! When you listen to Dr. Pescatore, you quickly realize why he made it on this year’s list of Low-Carb Movers & Shakers. Follow his tweets to keep up with this low-carb superstar!

Honorable mentions: TOM NAUGHTON, DIANE SANFILIPPO, BRENT POTTENGER/AARON BLAISDELL, RON KANE, DANA CARPENDER, LAURA DOLSON, MARK SISSON, DR. ERIC WESTMAN, DR. MARY VERNON, JACKIE EBERSTEIN, DR. RICHARD FEINMAN, DR. ANDREAS EENFELDT, DR. MIKE EADES, ANGELO COPPOLA, MARLA “FLY LADY” CILLEY, HANK GARNER, DR. ROBERT SU, FRED HAHN, DR. SOFIE HEXEBERG, DR. STEVE PARKER, DR. TRACEY GREEN, DR. UFFE RAVNSKOV, DR. LARRY MCCLEARY, DR. MICHAEL FOX, PAUL JAMINET, DR. ANN CHILDERS, DR. ROBERT LUSTIG, ROBB WOLF, DR. RICHARD BERNSTEIN, DR. JOHN BRIFFA, DR. JONNY BOWDEN, JUDY BARNES BAKER, KENT ALTENA

Now that you know who I think are the most influential low-carb “movers and shakers” of 2011, let’s hear what YOU think. Who is deserving to be on this list that I left off? Do you agree with any of the people I’ve chosen this year? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

With 2011 upon us, I’ve already got a full slate of outstanding shows lined up for you to keep the momentum going. From brand new interviews featuring your favorite guests of 2010 during “Encore Week” to compelling conversations with some of the top names in nutrition and health over the next few months including Gary Taubes, Dr. Michael Holick, David Gumpert, Dr. Loren Cordain, Art De Vany, Dr. Larry McCleary, Dr. Uffe Ravnskov and more, we’ll be off to a rip-roaring start to the new year! I’m already pursuing lots more guests for the rest of 2011, but I always welcome your suggestions about who you would like to hear. E-mail me the name of the guest, a URL and/or book title for them, and why you would like for them to be featured on my show. I’ll do my best to get them on the podcast for you.

If you can’t wait to feast your ears on these interviews, then you might want to consider joining our all-new “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show Fan Club” where you get exclusive access to audio segments from not-yet-released podcasts. As you know, many of my interviews are recorded months in advance because of the popularity of the podcast. It’s a nice “problem” to have being so backed up with new shows to air, but I understand people would love to get just a taste of what the interviews are like. That’s why we developed this “Fan Club” to fill the need to get a little more behind-the-scenes access to the show. We also have posted a whole bunch of transcripts of popular past episodes and a calendar schedule of the upcoming interview guests so you can ask YOUR questions before I interview them. Pretty neat huh? And so many of you have joined the “Fan Club” for just $39.95 for a one-year subscription because you just wanted to show your support for the work we are doing bringing you twice-weekly podcasts to help educate, encourage and inspire you in your pursuit of health. I’m so very grateful to all of you for your faithfulness to this podcast which is set to pass a huge milestone later this year when we hit 500 episodes! We’ll have a VERY special episode for that one you WON’T want to miss–more on that in mid-2011!

There’s a special place on iTunes where you can leave a rating and review for the podcast (scroll down to “Customer Reviews” and click on the “Write A Review” link) and share what the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” has meant to you. Feel free to talk about any specific guests who changed your thinking on a subject, what you like best about the podcast, specific changes in your health that were spurred on by something you heard–whatever is on your mind. People who are curious about healthy low-carb living will be reading your review to help them decide if my show is something they want to take a listen to. THANK YOU in advance for helping spread the word about this podcast because it is changing lives for the better on a daily basis. My listeners are the best in the whole world!

Alright, I know you’re anxious to see who’s coming up in January through April 2011 on “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show,” so check ‘em out for yourself:

EPISODE 429–January 3, 2011–ENCORE WEEK INTERVIEW #1–Dr. Robert Lustig
EPISODE 430–January 4, 2011–ENCORE WEEK INTERVIEW #2–Denise Minger
EPISODE 431–January 5, 2011–ENCORE WEEK INTERVIEW #3–Chris Masterjohn
EPISODE 432–January 6, 2011–ENCORE WEEK INTERVIEW #4–Dr. Kurt Harris
EPISODE 433–January 7, 2011–ENCORE WEEK INTERVIEW #5–Robb Wolf
EPISODE 434–January 10, 2011–Angelo Coppola–This Week In Paleo
EPISODE 435–January 13, 2011–Pam Killeen–Addiction: The Hidden Epidemic
EPISODE 436–January 17, 2011–CarbSane–“My Carb Sane-Asylum” blog
EPISODE 437–January 20, 2011–Dr. Ann Childers–Low-carb psychiatrist
EPISODE 438–January 24, 2011–Justin Smith–$29 Billion Reasons To Lie About Cholesterol
EPISODE 439–January 27, 2011–Gary Taubes–Why We Get Fat And What To Do About It
EPISODE 440–January 31, 2011–Dr. Harriette R. Mogul–Syndrome W
EPISODE 441–February 3, 2011–Todd Becker–“Getting Stronger” blog
EPISODE 442–February 7, 2011–Deborah Krasner–Good Meat
EPISODE 443–February 10, 2011–Dr. Michael Holick–The Vitamin D Solution
EPISODE 444–February 14, 2011–Daniel Howell–The Barefoot Professor
EPISODE 445–February 17, 2011–Danny Roddy–The Healthy Hair Diet
EPISODE 446–February 21, 2011–David Gumpert–The Raw Milk Revolution
EPISODE 447–February 24, 2011–Birke Baehr/Sarah Czipowski–Real food activist kids
EPISODE 448–February 28, 2011–Mary Pomery–Paleo triathlete
EPISODE 449–March 1, 2011–Dr. Loren Cordain–Paleo Diet Cookbook
EPISODE 450–March 2, 2011–Diane Sanfilippo–Paleo nutrition expert at “Balanced Bites”
EPISODE 451–March 3, 2011–Art De Vany–New Evolution Diet
EPISODE 452–March 4, 2011–Monica Hughes–Paleo/fungus expert
EPISODE 453–March 7, 2011–Paul Jaminet–Perfect Health Diet
EPISODE 454–March 10, 2011–Dr. Michael Fox–Low-carb reproductive endocrinologist
EPISODE 455–March 14, 2011–Lew Bender–Diet genetics testing
EPISODE 456–March 17, 2011–Ben Hewitt–The Town That Food Saved
EPISODE 457–March 21, 2011–Ben Greenfield–Triathlete/fitness and nutrition podcaster
EPISODE 458–March 24, 2011–Dr. Richard Wood–Exercise science professor/low-carb researcher
EPISODE 459–March 28, 2011–Dr. Catey Shanahan–Nutrition-minded physician
EPISODE 460–March 31, 2011–Dr. Joni Labbe–Nutrition-minded chiropractor
EPISODE 461–April 4, 2011–Dr. Greg Ellis–Low-carb nutrition/anti-aging specialist
EPISODE 462–April 7, 2011–Ron Raab–Insulin For Life Australia
EPISODE 463–April 11, 2011–Dr. Larry McCleary–Feed Your Brain, Lose Your Belly Revised Edition
EPISODE 464–April 14, 2011–Chris Kresser–The Healthy Skeptic
EPISODE 465–April 18, 2011–Dr. Uffe Ravnskov–Ignore The Awkward
EPISODE 466–April 21, 2011–Hal Herzog–Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat
EPISODE 467–April 25, 2011–Erin Fray–The Swedish Diet
EPISODE 468–April 28, 2011–SURPRISE INTERVIEW GUEST!
NO PODCAST–May 2, 2011
NO PODCAST–May 5, 2011