As we say goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013 (HAPPY NEW YEAR!), I wanted to take a quick look back on many of the health headlines that made it into the mainstream in the calendar year that just passed. We saw quite a few positive stories in a variety of places around the world trumpeting the value of carbohydrate-restriction, ketogenic diets, exposing the perils of consuming sugar, new research on the heath benefits of eating low-carb, examinations into the true causes of obesity, the healthfulness of consuming dietary fat, the performance advantage of using fat for fuel, the real deal on calories, the dangers of eating wheat and grains, cancer research progress with ketogenic diets, the continued explosion of Paleo, global changes in governmental nutrition guidelines, the damning role of insulin in most chronic health and obesity-related issues, dietary reversal in Alzheimer’s disease, overcoming infertility with low-carb nutrition and a whole lot more. It was a fantastic year for livin’ la vida low-carb and I’m thrilled to see what is going to happen over the next 12 months to keep this incredible momentum going!
The great thing to me is the fact that low-carb is actually on the radar screen in the minds of most people as an important health concept (although many still unfortunately believe in low-fat as a healthy nutrition goal, the Gallup Poll results shared in #12 show a clear increase in low-carb awareness). And the addition of the concept of Paleo with its intense focus on food quality and removing all of the modern-day “food-like substances” from our diet will help people refine their diet even more to focus on real foods that nourish their bodies with the appropriate amount of fat, protein and carbohydrate that’s right for them. This is that critical next step that so many people need to experience the health and weight changes they so desperately desire. If you’re making a New Year’s resolution to improve your diet, then going low-carb Paleo is an excellent way to do that. While you may not necessarily need to cut carbohydrates as low as the next person (or maybe you will), the point is to start with a template and make appropriate tweaks from there to suit you. As I’ve said since the beginning of this blog, find what works for you, follow it exactly and then keep doing it forever. There’s no downside to eating real, whole foods that properly manage your blood sugar and insulin levels in such a way as to stave off hunger, fatigue and irritability so you can ward off the many chronic, modern-day diseases that plague us.
The sooner we can get people to start individualizing their own nutrition and lifestyle plan to their specific metabolic and physical needs, the better off we will be to produce some pretty remarkable changes in the collective weight and health of people all around the world. I know that it’s happening slowly but surely and we’ll be here to tell you all about it as it unfolds in the coming years! What a year it was in 2012, so let’s take a look back over all the amazing headlines that captured our attention (many of which were shared and discussed on my Friday podcast, “Low-Carb Conversations With Jimmy Moore & Friends”).
Here are the Top 50 Low-Carb & Paleo Headlines Of 2012:
1. Evil is among us. And it’s called sugar by Barbara Kay
National Post – February 2, 2012
2. Call for kids to curb carbs with their school lunches by Evelyn Yamine
The Daily Telegraph – January 24, 2012
3. Atkins-Type Diets Look Kidney-Friendly: Study by Kathleen Doheny
US News & World Report – May 31, 2012
4. Carbs + Fats = Obesity by Dr. Robert Lustig
Daily News & Analysis – June 3, 2012
5. Why our food is making us fat by Jacques Peretti
The Guardian – June 11, 2012
6. Low-carb diet burns the most calories in small study by Nanci Hellmich
USA Today – June 26, 2012
7. Robert Lustig Interview: Transcript
Here’s The Thing with Alec Baldwin – July 2, 2012
8. Junk food inflames fatty tissue more than lard
Futurity – July 3, 2012
9. High-fat diet lowered blood sugar and improved blood lipids in diabetics
Linköping University press release – May 11, 2012
10. What Really Makes Us Fat by Lisa Collier Cool
YAHOO! Health – July 26, 2012
11. Running a Marathon? Load Up on Fat by Melissa Romero
The Washingtonian – August 13, 2012
12. Americans Still Say Low-Fat Diet Better Than Low-Carb
Gallup Poll – August 17, 2012
13. The Hidden Truths about Calories by Rob Dunn
Scientific American – August 27, 2012
14. Even high normal blood sugar levels may induce brain shrinkage by Michelle Castillo
CBS News – September 4, 2012
15. Could the ‘truth’ about fat be rendered obsolete? by Natalie Craig
The Age – September 2, 2012
16. Low-carb diet gets more support from new analysis by Nanci Hellmich
USA Today – August 30, 2012
17. Modern wheat a “perfect, chronic poison,” doctor says
CBS This Morning – September 3, 2012
18. Study that sought to disparage health of eggs was authored by scientists with financial ties to Big Pharma by J.D. Heyes
NaturalNews – September 4, 2012
19. 5 Fatty Foods that Make You Skinny by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding
YAHOO! Health – July 16, 2012
20. Western States 100 – Low Carber Wins Ultramarathon – Steve Phinney and Jeff Volek Study
Me And My Diabetes – August 11, 2012
21. Weight Gain, Metabolic Syndrome, and Breast Cancer Recurrence: Are Dietary Recommendations Supported by the Data?
International Journal Of Breast Cancer – August 27, 2012
22. Diabetic transforms his health with a low-carb diet, and his doctor urges him to eat more carbs by Dr. John Briffa
DrBriffa.com – October 2, 2012
23. Should You Go Paleo? by Lou Schuler
Men’s Health – September 12, 2012
24. Why Americans Are So Fat by Justin Cascio
The Good Men Project – August 21, 2012
25. New Health Canada Guidelines Advise Meat as Baby First Food
The Healthy Home Economist – October 4, 2012
26. How carbs from food end up as fat by Sarah Yang
Futurity – December 7, 2012
27. High Insulin Levels Could Result in Obesity
Diabetes In Control – December 6, 2012
28. Syrup found in biscuits, ice cream and energy drinks fueling diabetes on a ‘global scale’ by Jenny Hope
Daily Mail – November 27, 2012
29. The fat and the fiction by Melissa Davey
The Sydney Morning Herald – December 6, 2012
30. US army drink could hold the key to weight loss, treat epilepsy and diabetes
Nine MSN – November 28, 2012
31. Big Sugar’s Sweet Little Lies by Gary Taubes and Cristin Kearns Couzens
Mother Jones – November/December 2012
32. Put your fat cat on ‘Catkins’ diet by Ken Hanson
The Post Bulletin – November 7, 2012
33. Starchy, High Carbohydrate Diet Associated With Recurrence of Colon Cancer
Science Daily – November 7, 2012
34. U.S. Med Students May Be Undereducated on Obesity by Robert Priedt
HealthDay News – November 9, 2012
35. In Antarctic Trek, Temecula Man Aims to Make American History by Khari Johnson
Temecula Patch – October 31, 2012
36. The Paleo Diet: Eating like a caveman for optimum health by Debra Lipson
NWI Times – October 23, 2012
37. Low-carbohydrate diet better than low-fat for cholesterol and triglycerides by Anne Secomb
Examiner – October 21, 2012
38. Primal urges by Stephanie Wood
Brisbane Times – October 20, 2012
39. Man says gluten-free lifestyle helps him defy age
The Rock Center on NBC – October 2, 2012
40. Alzheimer’s could be the most catastrophic impact of junk food by George Monbiot
The Guardian – September 10, 2012
41. Sweet nothings by Rachael Oakes-Ash
The Sydney Morning Herald – September 16, 2012
42. Success Story: Bet with a friend jump-starts councilman’s weight loss by Lesley Young
The Commercial Appeal – September 3, 2012
43. Ketogenic diet does not affect strength performance in elite artistic gymnasts
International Society Of Sports Nutrition – July 26, 2012
44. How Calorie Restriction Influences Longevity: Protecting Cells from Damage Caused by Chronic Disease
Science Daily – December 6, 2012
45. Diet gave me miracle baby by Caroline Marcus
The Sunday Telegraph – December 16, 2012
46. How Hostess’s Project to Twinkieize Bread Crippled the Company
Chicago Magazine – November 16, 2012
47. The Top 10 Searched Diets for New Year’s 2012 by Alanna Nuñez
Shape Magazine – January 2012
48. Ketogenic diet: low-carb, low-calorie diet may delay signs of aging
Voxxi – December 10, 2012
49. Less carbs may ease infertility problems
Sky News – December 29, 2012
50. The caveman diet — back to basics
The Express Tribune – December 30, 2012
What did you think about the year 2012 as it relates to low-carb and Paleo? Do you think we’re any closer to mainstream acceptance of these powerful diet and lifestyle alternatives to the high-carb, low-fat craze that has so dominated our health culture for over three decades and counting? Share your thoughts on this in the comments section below. And if I missed any of the BIG low-carb and Paleo health headlines from 2012, please feel free to share the link. It’s time to embrace 2013 with a hopeful expectation of many more great things yet to come! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
