A low-carb tortilla has as few as 3 grams of net carbohydrates per tortilla (about 1/5 the amount found in a regular flour tortilla) and is high in dietary fiber.[1][2] This compares to approximately 13 grams of net carbohydrates in one slice of bread.[3] The tortillas are available in whole wheat or white flour, and in taco, fajita, and burrito sizes. Some popular brands are Mission Carb Balance tortillas, La Tortila Factory low carb tortillas, and Mama Lupe’s.
Taubes gained prominence in the low-carb diet debate following the publication of his 2002 New York Times Magazine piece, What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?. The article questioned the efficacy and health benefits of low-fat diets, was seen as defending the Atkins diet against the medical establishment and became extremely controversial (Taubes himself has stated Even though I knew the article would be the most controversial article the Times Magazine ran all year, [the reaction] still shocked me).[2] The Center for Science in the Public Interest published a rebuttal to the Times article in their November, 2002, newsletter [4]. According to Taubes, “[T]he CSPI is an advocacy group that has been pushing low-fat diets since the 1970s.”[5].
In 2007, Taubes published his book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease, ISBN 978-1400040780 (published asThe Diet Delusion in the UK, ISBN 978-0091891411). This aims to examine how a hypothesis became dogma and claims to show how the scientific method was circumvented so a contestable hypothesis could remain unchallenged. The book uses data and studies compiled from dietary research from as early as the 1800s.
Taubes’ hypothesis is that the medical community and the federal government have relied upon misinterpreted scientific data on nutrition to build the prevailing paradigm about what constitutes healthful eating. Taubes makes the case that — contrary to the conventional wisdom — it is refined carbohydrates that are responsible for heart disease, diabetes, cancer and many other maladies of civilization.
Taubes includes information and studies which indicate that physical exercise increases appetite to a degree that makes it an inefficient tool in weight loss. He tracks the origins of commonly accepted dietary advice and aims to show that information that is filtered to the public often contradicts scientific evidence. On October 19, 2007, Taubes appeared on Larry King Live to discuss his book. Although Taubes has no formal training in nutrition or medicine, his book was praised as “raising interesting and valuable points” by Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Mehmet Oz who both appeared on the same program.
Gary Taubes (born April 30, 1956) is an American science writer. He is the author of Nobel Dreams (1987), Bad Science: The Short Life and Weird Times of Cold Fusion (1993), and Good Calories, Bad Calories (2007), which is titled The Diet Delusion in the UK [1]. He has won the Science In Society Award of the National Association of Science Writers three times and was awarded an MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship for 1996-97. [2]
Born in Rochester, New York, Taubes studied applied physics at Harvard and aerospace engineering at Stanford (MS, 1978). After receiving a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University in 1981, Taubes joined Discover magazine as a staff reporter in 1982.[3] Since then he has written numerous articles for Discover, Science and other magazines. Originally focusing on physics issues, his interests have more recently turned to medicine and nutrition.
Taubes’ books have all dealt with scientific controversies. Nobel Dreams takes a critical look at the politics and experimental techniques behind the Nobel Prize-winning work of physicist Carlo Rubbia. Bad Science is a chronicle of the short-lived media frenzy surrounding the Pons-Fleischmann cold fusion experiments of 1989.
The Sugar Busters diet is a low-carbohydrate diet focused on eliminating foods containing refined carbohydrates such as refined sugar, white flour, and white rice, as well as naturally-occurring carbohydrates rating high on the glycemic index such as potatoes and carrots.[1][2]
Sugar Busters was created by H. Leighton Steward, Sam S. Andrews, Morrison C. Bethea, and Luis A. Balart.
The original Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat was self-published by the authors in 1995 and became a local hit in their hometown of New Orleans, after which Ballantine Books republished the book nationally. The Ballantine edition hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in June 2001[3]. An updated The New Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat was published in 2003.
There used to be a difference in manufacturing methods: ito konnyaku was prepared by cutting konnyaku jelly into threads in Kansai region, Japan, while shirataki was prepared by pouring konnyaku sol through small holes into hot water containing lime in high concentration in Kant? region.[3] Nowadays, both are prepared using the latter method. Ito konnyaku is generally thicker than shirataki, with a square cross section and a darker color. It is preferred in the Kansai region.
Shirataki (?? ? often written with the hiragana ????) are very low carbohydrate, low calorie, thin, translucent, gelatinous traditional Japanese noodles made from the konjac plant. The word “shirataki” means “white waterfall”, describing the appearance of these noodles. Largely composed of water and glucomannan, a water-soluble dietary fiber, they have little flavor of their own.
Shirataki noodles can be found both in dry and soft “wet” forms in Asian markets and some supermarkets. When wet, they are purchased pre-packaged in liquid. They normally have a shelf life of up to one year. Some brands may require rinsing or par-boiling as the water they are packaged in has an odor that may be unpleasant to those not accustomed to it.
There are two types of shirataki noodles sold in the United States. Traditional shirataki noodles have zero net carbohydrates, zero calories, no gluten, and are useful for those on low-carbohydrate diets.[1] Tofu-based shirataki-style noodles are becoming increasingly popular in U.S. supermarkets and health food stores. They have a much shorter shelf life and require refrigeration even before opening. Tofu-based noodles contain a minimal amount of carbohydrates.[2]
Dr Bernstein’s program for treating diabetes is highly regarded amongst his patients and achieves great blood sugar control, which reduces some or all of the complications associated with diabetes. The tradeoff is compliance with a very restricted diet and in many cases, frequent testing and insulin shots. Dr Berstein strongly opposes the dietary guidelines from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for both type I and type II diabetics.
Some of the highlights of his treatment program include:[1]
A very low carb diet to allow much tighter blood sugar control
Diet allows 6 grams of carbohydrates for breakfast, and 12 grams each for lunch and dinner
Avoiding all foods with added sugar, all foods with starches, all fruits
Blood glucose testing up to 8 times per day
Target blood glucose levels that are nearly constant for the entire day
Weight loss for obese type 2s
Exercise for all type 2s
Basal/Bolus dosing (Basal (medicine) / Bolus (medicine)) for insulin users, a technique that he invented in 1972.
Patient taking responsibility for blood sugar control
Dr. Bernstein conducts a monthly teleconference wherein he answers questions from listeners. This is accessible at askdrbernstein.com[1]. He is director Emeritus of the Peripheral Vascular Disease Clinic of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center.
Bernstein believed that the same technique could be used to assist diabetics whose quality of life could vastly improve if they followed a similar lifestyle. Despite his effectiveness in treating his own condition, as a layperson he had difficulty gaining the necessary attention of the medical field to change the standard treatment of diabetics. Bernstein wrote a paper describing his technique and attempted to get it published in many major medical journals, but none would accept it, in part because he was not an MD[1] In 1977, he decided to give up his job and become a physician—”I couldn’t beat ‘em, so I had to join ‘em.”
At 45 years old, Richard Bernstein entered the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 1983 he opened his own medical practice near his home in Mamaroneck, New York.
In 2008, at 74 years of age, Bernstein has surpassed the life expectancy of type 1 diabetics. He attributes his longevity to the low-carbohydrate dietary approach and lifestyle changes he developed for diabetics. As of 2006, Bernstein had an HDL cholesterol of 118, LDL of 53, Triglycerides of 45, and average blood sugar of 83mg/dl. [2]
In October 1969, Bernstein came across an advertisement in the trade journal Lab World. It was for the first blood glucose meter that would give a reading in 1 minute, using a single drop of blood. The device was intended for emergency staff at hospitals to distinguish unconscious diabetics from unconscious drunks. The instrument weighed three pounds, cost $650, and was only available to certified physicians and hospitals. Determined to take control of his situation, Bernstein asked his wife, a doctor, to order the instrument for him.
Bernstein began to measure his blood sugar about 5 times each day, and soon realized that the levels fluctuated wildly throughout the day. To even out his blood sugars, he adjusted his insulin regimen from one injection per day to two, and experimented with his diet, notably by reducing his consumption of carbohydrates. Three years after Bernstein began monitoring his own blood sugar levels, his complications were still progressing and he began researching scientific articles about the disease. He discovered several studies on animals suggesting that complications from diabetes could be prevented, and even reversed, by normalizing blood sugars. This is in contrast to the then extant treatment of diabetes which focused on low-fat, high carbohydrate diets and on preventing hypoglycemia, and ketoacidosis.
Bernstein set out to achieve normal blood sugars, and within a year had refined his insulin and diet to the point that they were normal throughout the day. After years of chronic fatigue and complications, Bernstein felt healthy and energized. His serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels were now in the normal ranges, and friends commented that his complexion was no longer gray. He is believed to be the first individual to self-monitor his blood sugar and was an early advocate for such monitoring by diabetics.[1]
In 1946, at the age of twelve, Richard Bernstein developed type 1 diabetes, and for more than two decades, Bernstein was what he calls, “an ordinary diabetic”—one who dutifully followed doctor’s orders. Despite his diligence coping with the disease, the complications from his diabetes worsened over the years, and like many diabetics in similar circumstances, he faced death at a very early age as well as poor quality of life. By the time Bernstein reached his thirties, many of his body’s systems began to deteriorate.[1]