Improved health, aside from weight loss, is a big reason to low-carb. People who have acid reflux, GI problems, diabetes, heart problems, aches and pains, fatigue or low mood may find such a diet helpful. It helps so many problems because many of us aren't suited to a diet of sugar--and that's what those wonderful complex carbohydrates break into in your digestive tract.

Two questions you might ask:

- I did the high-protein, low-carb diet a few years ago (have since fallen off) and had great success once I got past the first week. But during that first week I felt like I had the flu - weak, dizzy, etc. How can I minimize this when I resume the eating plan?

- When you're in a profession where mealtimes are irregular and often catch-and-catch-can, what are some strategies for not grabbing a slice of pizza or whatever's at hand?

@Kevin, a low carb diet should have *adequate* protein and high fat. A diet too low in both carbs and fat makes you feel lousy--it's called "rabbit starvation." Here's a calculator to help you figure out macronutrient balances:

http://www.phlaunt.com/lowcarb/nutrientCalc.php

Pack a lunch or a snack. Grab a burger and throw away the bun. Google nearby restaurants with the word "grill." Order some unbreaded hot wings with the pizza, or just eat the top of the pizza. Once you get off the two-hour hunger cycle, you won't be as tempted to grab junk food anyway.

@Amy, all those good things happened to me, too. At age 42, I have more energy than I did in my 20s. I agree with you about the salt and Mg--your body doesn't hang onto those as much on a LC diet.

It should be noted that the reason that the chicken broth is recommended is due to possible sodium deficiency. If your salt intake is adequate, you should be fine without the chicken broth. You could get the same results by salting your food.

However, if low-carb is inducing a torpor, as it did with me, get thee to a salt shaker.

I just shared the chicken broth cure with a Facebook friend of mine who complained that her low-carbing is causing her blood sugar to bottom out. Assuming that this is a self-diagnosis, rather than an actual test with glucometer, I explained the Atkins flu to her.

What worked for me was eliminating carb-y foods gradually based on what I liked/ate the least. First pasta, rice, and potatoes, which I was never a fan of even as a kid. Then hamburger buns and rolls. Cereal. Sliced sandwich bread. Bagels. Oatmeal. Bananas. My latest thing is fruit--not that I won't eat it, I just know now that it's not healthy enough to eat carte blanche like I used to.

The process took me several years so it's not going to be as dramatic as eliminating everything at once, but the advantage is I'm never going to "fall off the wagon" and eat a bowl of cereal--I'd sooner eat wet sand. I think this is a good strategy for anyone who doesn't have the motivation/willpower to go cold turkey, or finds themselves repeating an all-or-nothing approach.

Some time ago, a Dr. Wallach had a radio show advertising the idea that we don't do for ourselves what the livestock people do for farm animals. Nowadays, he sells the equivalent stuff, for people, at this site. I have no idea how effective it is, but he made good points about some vitamins' access to the body.

The show was great as usual.

The amount of information was great. They tied up all your posts about their work very nicely.

A diet I was on recommended dill pickles for sodium. Cheers!

One of the things I have discovered as I get more and more strict about the paleo diet is that I have actual food intolerances, meaning various foods actually are causing my chronic maladies. As I got older I became less tolerant of my problem foods and as I eliminated them one by one, the other foods I have a problem with became more apparent.

I know it sounds crazy to those who have not tried it, but all my chronic conditions, which were written off as part of growing old, have disappeared. Cutting grain, dairy, and beans out of my diet has me feeling twenty years younger.

The reality is, we are hunting apes who are evolved to live on a combination of what Chimpanzees eat plus fresh meat. That is to say vegetables, fruit, and meat. And not too much fruit, which has been cultivated to contain much more sugar than the original natural versions of these fruits that existed 10,000 years ago. We are not evolved to thrive on grain, dairy, and beans, and they cause the chronic conditions that afflict so many people.

I have spent years searching the internet for help with my health problems and have found that all chronic conditions have more than one internet group advocating diet as the key to controlling or even ending the problem, and the foods they recommend you quit eating are all the foods the paleo diet says you should quit eating.

If you are having a hard time quitting all starchy foods, small amounts of white rice with your meal can make it easier. It is nowhere near as toxic as bread or pasta. You can cook a cup of dry rice and save it in a plastic tub so you can microwave small amounts. In the end you have to quit that too, but the rice can ease your transition and it is far less toxic than other starchy foods.

I have found that As I use less grain, the need for cooking oils and fats goes way down. I use only olive oil and lard. I use extra light olive oil for things I do not want to taste like olive oil and it works fine, and I use the dark green extra virgin when I want to have that flavor. I have two oil sprayers for the two types which are great for coating foods before roasting and coating baking dishes before use, which makes cleanup much easier.

Lard keeps a long time in your refrigerator. I use so little that I cut it into quarter pound pieces and freeze them in zip lock bags and keep one quarter in a plastic tub in the fridge ready to use. Freezing doesn't seem to hurt it and it keeps for years frozen. Lard just smells right when you fry with it. Lard is not Kosher. Tallow is, although it may be harder to find. I have not used tallow but as the podcast noted, McD's fries used to be cooked in it and they were divine.

Awesome show last night Amy!! You did a great job. The conversation flowed well and was rather enlightening. It seemed as though your guests could wax scientific on just about any topic. I absolutely vote in favor of any effort you might make to have the Drs. Eades back for another scintillating hour. :-)

The only problem with the sound was that your guests were like 15 DB lower in volume than you. You were hitting the limiter and sounded good. The volume difference was a problem.

It is possible that the person who said there was a problem with your sound had turned the volume up to hear the guests and was overloading some part of the reproduction chain causing your voice to distort.

I suggest that you find a way to put sound level meters on both yourself and your guest and adjust the levels of both so they both are reading about the same and not quite maxing out at the loudest parts.

I agree with Old Guy, you were a bit louder than the Eades', but neither of you sounded distorted in any way.
I enjoyed the show, but I had to listen this morning, I was out of town over the weekend, and didn't get a chance to post my question. If you know the answer, or know of a blog post that answers, that would be fantastic. Otherwise, I'll wait until the next time the Eades' are on your show. (There will be a next time, yes?)

I am just starting a low carb diet, and I have a six month old. I've been blending vegetables for him at home, rather than buying the pre-made jars, but I'm wondering when feeding him eggs or meat or even peanut butter should be allowed.
Also, what if any carb limits should there be in children's diets?
When I asked his doctor at his last appointment, she said to just feed him the jars, it would make life easier. My guess is she didn't know.

Once he's eating regular food, he'll eat what I eat, I don't believe in separate meals for parents and kids, but between then and now, when he's just starting out with food, I'm wondering what the best type of diet is for him.

I did a quick search on the Eades' blog and didn't find anything, but maybe I didn't use the right key-words. Any help would be very appreciated.
Thanks

@Jazzhands:
You wait until they're at least one for peanut butter and egg whites- that's because of allergies. Most babies can have yolks sooner than that. You can buy baby food meat in jars, usually for 6months or older, so I'd assume that plain pureed meats made at home would be fine, too. Look at the fancy baby food in the foil packets for ideas (Sprout and Ella's are good inspiration for stuff to make at home.) You can usually put herbs and mild spices in their food by 8-9 months. At that age, if we had something non-spicy for dinner, I'd throw some in the blender for our kid (chicken and vegetable soup, for example.) One of our friends makes and purees fish for her 8-month-old... I never did that, since pureed fish doesn't sound very appetizing, but I guess it's OK.

Agree? Disagree? Just his computer?

I don't agree. You sound OK on my PC. Yea, an expensive microphone would sound better, but the sound is not distorted or over-driven. I am betting he is over-driving some part of his reproduction chain. Easy to do with the typical crappy PC audio card. Especially if it is part of an all in one motherboard or laptop, as opposed to an expensive audio card.

If you can afford it, setting up a home radio studio would make for a better sound, but a lot of people do podcasts without that, and it seems to me that the success has more to do with content and the quality of the host and guests than purity.

Amy, while you're perfectionist proclivity is totally adorable don't worry too much about it. I'm guessing Old Guy is referring to old school radio jargon like "limiters" and "potentiometers".

I listened last night on the phone and you all sounded just fine. I use VOIP so it's going through the internet just like a web browser would. I'm also listening to the playback right now and you can hear with no real problems.

Yes, your volume is a little higher than the guests but so what. So, in the lingo, you could, "pot them up," or, "pot yourself down," to better equalize. If that remedy doesn't take too much effort, I'd say go for it.

Otherwise, I agree with the Old Guy. What really matters is the quality of the guests and the content. And I know those two things require much more diligence than how close your mouth is to the mic.

Keep up the good work!

A limiter is a device that prevents the sound level from going above a given point. If you don't have one, it is built into whatever you are using. I can tell because I listen on original skin Winamp, which includes a bar graph volume meter that shows frequency distribution and max levels. When you were talking, it was apparent you were being limited by looking at the display.

It is funny because I didn't figure you for a novice. You come across quite seasoned.

In college I used to jock for a little station here in southern California. I know who Marc is. Very cool of him to help you out.

As far as the D.I.Y. ethic goes I'm inclined to say, "If you want something done right, get an engineer to do it!" :-)