Okay, thanks for answering.

Based on what I've read so far, the research doesn't support the stance of the AHA or the AMA - I know that this sounds rather outrageous, but this guy devotes the first third of a 600 page book detailing the research upon which the AHA and AMA base their contention and pointing out the rather startling flaws, contradictory data and subjectivity in their reasoning. It's rather shocking reading, and I'd definitely recommend it. Before reading this I wouldn't have considered the Atkins approach seriously - cutting back on my carbs, yes, because I'd realised that there was something fucked up about my relationship with carbs - but I wouldn't have taken this high protein/fat thing seriously.

I'd definitely recommend this book, erin, if you're at all interested (even if only to read and disagree with). Good Calories, Bad Calories it's called.

I hope that this doesn't come across as insensitive or arrogant - I understand that with your father's health involved you will probably feel strongly about this, and I sincerely don't mean to make light of that. (fwiw, my own father came within a hair's breadth of dying from a massive coronary arrest when I was sixteen, and his health remains a worry - this actually makes me all the more interested in reading both sides of the argument.) Before reading this, I was under the impression that Atkins was an unhealthy gimmick diet, and that if it worked, it did as much damage as it did good. But there is a hell of a lot of compelling and substantiated argument in this book which is persuading me that this isn't the case.

Again, I hope I haven't given offense.

The healthiest approach to long term weight loss is to cut out processed and refined foods. That takes out sugar and most "white" foods with negligable nutritional value and high caloric content.

On this, at any rate, we agree!

OK, what is "white" food?

Food that is white. Literally. It's mostly highly refined and bleached grains - white rice, white flour, white sugar....and yummy yummy potatoes. There are, of course, excepts (jicama comes to mind as something that is white and not entirely devoid of nutritional content) but as a general rule of thumb anything "white" is gonna spike your blood sugar and cause a crash later, and you're better off going for the non-white alternative. Brown rice, whole grain flours, honey.

Generally, i trust doctors and nutritionists over anyone writing a diet book. Everyone has an agenda, and someone whose agenda is to sell their book...well, i don't really trust nutritional information from that source. But more power to you for doing research!

Generally, i trust doctors and nutritionists over anyone writing a diet book.

Good Calories, Bad Calories isn't a "diet book". If anything, it's practically a textbook, given how research-heavy it is. That gives it a hell of a lot more credence in my mind.

I can see "limit it seriously" or "eliminate if you have cardiac problems" but "no red meat ever for anyone regardless"?

Sure! Why do you need red meat? Unless you live in an extremely cold climate without access to fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains. What nutritional needs does it meet that i can't find in the produce or nuts & seeds aisles? I don't live in a situation where i *need* to eat red meat, nor do many people in developed countries. Heck, i don't *need* to eat any meat, as evidenced by my allergies and unpleasant digestive reactions to most animal products.

Sorry, vegetarian here ;P I'll get off the soap box now.

Oh, hey, Fay! I heard your voice today and it was even lovelier than I had imagined it would be. Alas, I didn't get a chance to finish the story, as I was listening on the bus, and the bus was too loud to really follow the story, so I switched to music. But I'm looking forward with great anticipation to hearing the whole story.

well, i've been doing my best to cut out the processed sugar snacks, and HFCS. Generally speaking, I avoid the bleach flour, and go for whole grain when I can. tho I do eat flour tortillas, that I am sure are from bleached flour. But potatoes? Really? Even fresh out of the wild? Cauliflower too? Of course, pasta is something I gotta work on. Ya, I'm sure that's all bleached flour.

I don't *need* the vast majority of things that I eat. I suspect few people in affluent countries do. Most of us could live healthily on eight or nine different items.

I *like* them -- that's why I eat them.

But potatoes? Really? Even fresh out of the wild? Cauliflower too? Of course, pasta is something I gotta work on. Ya, I'm sure that's all bleached flour.

Yah, potatoes have an extremely high gycemic index and are very caloricaly dense. Cauliflower, OTOH, one of the "white foods" exceptions. You can get pasta made with whole grain flour, but it's still a little on the junky (but yummy) side.

I read once that french fries were the worst food that Americans eat. I don't know, but yeah, potatoes are not great. A lot of white fruits and veggies are quite beneficial, though. Cauliflower, wax beans, bananas and more, are great for most.