The Low-Carb Diabetes Solution Cookbook

DANA CARPENDER

THE LOW-CARB

SOLUTION

COOKBOOK

Prevent and Heal Type 2 Diabetes
with
200 Ultra Low-Carb Recipes

I
t is my great pleasure to write this foreword for The Low-Carb Diabetes Solution Cookbook, by Dana Carpender. This book is a fundamental part of the HEAL Diabetes & Medical Weight Loss Clinics program, and will make the transition to an LCHF (low-carbohydrate, high-fat) lifestyle seem effortless! HEAL stands for “Healthier Eating and Living,” and the HEAL Protocol integrates medical, dietary, psychological, and fitness interventions delivered at HEAL clinics and remotely, 24/7, using digital health and tele- medicine tools.

As director of the Duke Lifestyle Medicine Clinic since 2007, I have used the dietary basis of the HEAL Protocol as a natural extension of the research that had been done at Duke University and other research centers around the world. My interest in LCHF began while I was an internal medicine specialist: Two of my patients used LCHF (Atkins Induction Diet) to lose weight in 1998. It clearly worked, but I was skeptical and concerned about the safety because of all the fat in the diet. But if it were safe, I knew that this could be an important lifestyle tool to treat obesity and diabetes. The research since that time has demonstrated the safety of this approach.

The past few years have shown a large shift in attitudes toward LCHF lifestyles. A 2014 Time magazine story, with the cover line “Eat Butter. Scientists labeled fat the enemy. Why they were wrong,” helped advance the popularization of LCHF into mainstream U.S. culture. Additional research studies have been published that confirm the positive effects of LCHF lifestyles on diabetes; LCHF continues to be popular in Sweden (
www.dietdoctor.com
); and the first Low Carb Health Summit was held in February 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Lectures are available for viewing at
www.lchfconvention.com
.) South Africa has become aware of LCHF through Professor Timothy Noakes, an exercise guru who changed his advice for athletes away from “carb loading” and toward carbohydrate restriction before athletic competition. More and more athletes are turning to LCHF for the benefits in their performance.

Despite the research, the most common concern that people have about the low-carbohydrate lifestyle is: “But what will happen to my blood cholesterol level by eating all that fat?” A whole generation of doctors, dietitians, and the general public was taught that eating fat and cholesterol would raise “bad” LDL blood cholesterol and cause heart disease. This “diet-heart hypothesis” was the theory that spawned the low-fat diet fad. I was privileged to be a part of the studies about the LCHF diet, and the predictions about how the LCHF diets would worsen the blood lipid profile didn't come true when they were actually studied. It turned out that the LCHF diet reduced health risks by lowering blood triglycerides and raising the “good” HDL cholesterol. At the time of publication, the revised 2015 USDA/NIH Dietary Guidelines for Americans are poised to take away the limitations on dietary fat and cholesterol.

At the HEAL clinics, the LCHF diet is used as a therapeutic tool to turn around and fix most of the chronic medical conditions that are seen today. But LCHF is also a healthy diet that prevents these same chronic medical conditions. LCHF is an excellent treatment for diabetes, high blood pressure, gastroesophageal reflux disorder, high blood triglycerides, low blood HDL cholesterol, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and irritable bowel disease. Often the improvement that we see is “unbelievable”—meaning that other doctors and experts don't believe it. Weight loss of 200 pounds (more than 90 kg), lowering of blood triglycerides by 900 mg/dL (10.2 mmol/L), increasing the “good” HDL cholesterol by 50 mg/dL (1.3 mmol/L)—doctors often are in disbelief, and because the studies haven't been published, the researchers say the evidence “doesn't exist.” However, these are the clinical outcomes that we observe.

I'm excited to be a part of the HEAL Diabetes & Medical Weight Loss Clinics for those who need medical supervision during the treatment of diabetes and obesity. I am confident that this cookbook will be a great resource for you as you follow the HEAL Protocol.

—Eric C. Westman, M.D., M.H.S.

HEAL Diabetes & Medical Weight Loss Clinics

Eric C. Westman is board certified in Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine, with a master's degree in Clinical Research from Duke University and over 90 peer-reviewed publications on his clinical research regarding treatments for obesity, diabetes, and tobacco dependence. He is a Co-Founder of HEAL Diabetes & Medical Weight Loss Clinics, Director of the Duke Lifestyle Medicine Clinic, Past President of the Obesity Medicine Association, and is a Fellow of both The Obesity Society and the Obesity Medicine Association.

I
f you have type 2 diabetes and are also overweight, you are faced with two chronic conditions. To be successful in managing your health, you need to make changes in the way you eat for a lifetime. If you don't stay in control with the proper lifestyle changes, both of these conditions will get worse over time. To help you succeed, you need knowledge and the proper tools.

The HEAL Protocol will give you the knowledge to help you understand how and why controlling both the quality and the quantity of carbohydrate foods can be so effective in putting diabetes into remission and losing those excess pounds. This cookbook is one of the tools that can keep you on track by providing easy-to-make, fun, nourishing, and tasty meals.

Even if you don't cook, Dana Carpender will help you make your way around the kitchen. Eating out regularly can sabotage your weight loss efforts. If you have diabetes, it isn't likely you will achieve the best level of success by always eating out. Cooking whole foods does not have to be difficult or overwhelming.

At first, changing your food choices may seem difficult. But in my view, not making those changes and suffering the consequences is more devastating. This cookbook is targeted especially to people with diabetes who are serious about controlling their weight and blood sugar levels without the use of potentially dangerous and expensive medications. It can be done. People do it all the time.

One surefire way to succeed is to ride the coattails of someone who has been successful. Do what they do. Dana has twenty years of personal experience living a low-carb lifestyle. I have been on low carb since 1974. I have a family history of type 2 diabetes on my father's side and morbid obesity on my mother's. As a nurse, I knew I had to be proactive if I was going to avoid these conditions. So far I have been very successful at avoiding diabetes and managing my weight comfortably without hunger.

Dana and I both know the pitfalls that can lead to failure in the long run. Major stumbling blocks include boredom with meals, facing hunger with no good food choices, or having to count calories. This book will offer you a wide range of ideas while keeping your carb intake at no more than 5 grams per meal.

I have enjoyed Dana's other cookbooks, which increased my menu choices, and look forward to more ideas in this one.

—Jacqueline A. Eberstein, R.N.

Jacqueline A. Eberstein is one of the foremost authorities on the Atkins Lifestyle. In 1974 she began working with Dr. Robert Atkins as the Head Nurse in his weight-loss clinic. She later became the Director of Medical Education at The Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine, in New York City. After The Atkins Center closed in 2003, she became the Director of Nutrition Information for Atkins Health and Medical Information Services. While there she co-authored Atkins Diabetes Revolution. She is currently the Director of Protocol for HEAL.