Diet 101: The Truth About Low Carb Diets

by Jenny Ruhl

Bloodsugar101.com's Jenny Ruhl explains what peer reviewed research and the experience of Successful Low Carb Dieters can tell us  

* How Low Carb Diets Repair Unhealthy High Normal Blood Sugars
* How Low Carb Diets Achieve Weight Loss
* The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Diet as Revealed by Research
* The Facts that Debunk Exaggerated Claims Pro and Anti Low Carb Diets
* How the Low Carb Diet Affects Hunger and Hunger Hormones
* Low Carb Diet Side Effects and How to Deal with Them
* How to Customize Your Low Carb Diet
* The Secrets of Successful Low Carb Dieters
* The Real Effects of Supplements and Functional Foods
* How to Break Through Weight Loss Stalls
* How to Maintain a Low Carb Weight Loss for Life

Everything you need to know to achieve healthy weight loss on the one diet that really controls blood sugar.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Diets, Medical, Food

230 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2012

About the author

Jenny Ruhl, a well-known author of business books, was diagnosed with diabetes in 1998. Nothing doctors told her about how to control her blood sugar corresponded to her own experiences and observations. To answer the questions "What causes diabetes" and "What blood sugars prevent complications" she dug into the medical journals newly available online and spent a year tracking down the facts. The result was the bloodsugar101.com web site which now gets well over a million visitors a year.

Reviews

[Dave Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very useful handbook for those who have spent some time on low carb diet and want to both understand the physiology in play and seek to tweak their own regime. A lot of the discussion is dense academic stuff that explores the logic of low carb eating albeit very pragmatically.

There is both good and bad with low carb diets and it pays to get a handle on the processes you unleash inside you when you cut them carbs. Other 'diet books' make it simple and all very partisan. Some promote Paleo lifestylism and hot bods. Jenny Ruhl , on the other hands, brings a sharp clinical eye to the diet and meshes that with her long term personal experience of eating low carb as well as her ongoing relationship with so many low carb (and often diabetic) dieters.

Where the research papers run out or fail to deliver there is a reasonable smattering of anecdotal evidence to draw upon. Handy advice.

So when you stop losing weight on a low carb diet -- or seem to have stopped -- this is a book to run to for assurances and possible tweaks.

Ruhl also tackles the question of the fat:carbohydrate ratio which is a seldom attended to conundrum embedded in the habits fostered by these diets. The LCHF -- Low Carb High Fat -- diet embaces the pairing but , as Ruhl points out, it ain't that simple, especially if you increase your carbohydrate intake while still eating high fat.

Prepare to balloon.

So all in all, this is the handbook low carb dieters need to reference as required when some issue upsets their menu planning. For diabetics eating low carb -- I'd think this would be an essential resource as it is very empowering to put the means to control so many effects of your condition on the end of your fork.

Diet 101: The Truth About Low Carb Diets takes up where the work of Dr Richard Bernstein
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_...
leaves off ...and carefully humanises his rather strict eating regime by bringing it up to date in line with more recent research.

For people who aren't familair with all of Jenny's good deeds she lives here: Diabetes 101
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/
and has blogged about low carb eating and diabetes for years. It is also the best resource on the web for the recently diagnosed.

It's where I started....and I still come back for more good oil from Jenny Ruhl.

[Morven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though some people diet to lose weight, others diet to address health conditions like high cholesterol or diabetes. The low carb diet, which made its way into the public eye with Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution in 1972, had been criticized as being unhealthy because of its high fat content.

But is it unhealthy? Or unhealthy for some people, but not others? Could cutting carbs be actually a healthy choice for those who are having trouble controlling their blood sugar?

Ruhl is not a doctor -- which she clearly states -- but an intelligent person with a deep curiosity that lead her to read the research to understand her own diabetes. She skillfully translates all this information into a highly readable, digestible book.

Highly recommended.

[Boriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not trying to lose weight but I do have IR so I wasn't sure if this would be appropriate for me.

I couldn't put it down. Love that it's technical but also has take away points at the end if each chapter. Very thoroughly researched.

so far there are a few nitpicky things i take issue with,
she says that people are low on magnesium from eating too many processed foods and that they should try to change their diet and include minimal supplementation. does not mention the RBC magnesium test which is the best test and serum labs are a joke. i had hypomagnesemia and low magnesium levels and i eat a very healthy diet!! if it weren't for taking double the DV of mg, i'd be in very bad shape! many supplementation i disagree with mg is not one of them. Cocoa has phytates in it which block the absorption of nutrients, from what I have read.

also i have heard that low ft3 is directly associated with low carbing from various sources, chris kresser maybe? i'll have to read more about that. but it contradicts what she stated as fact in her book.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intelligent, fair-minded, thoughtful exploration of the research on low-carb diets. Jenny isn't trying to promulgate a point of view or take sides, but she is willing to get down into the weeds of the research to understand the real implications of studies that are poorly reported and often widely misunderstood. That she does this all using a friendly, conversational writing style is altogether remarkable. The book is full of common sense and good practical advice for anyone considering a low carbohydrate diet.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for anyone trying or contemplating a low carb diet. Ruhl isn't pushing a diet plan, a nutrition theory, or a product line. As far as I can tell she has no agenda. She's just collecting practical information from doctors and dieters, verifying it, and sharing it. She's brutally honest about the good and bad of low carb diets, and even more brutal about the methods and data used in industry-funded scientific studies.

[Markhiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on the role of carbs, protein, and fat in ones diet. Makes points with links to supporting studies. Much more of a fact based overview of diet and nutrition than other books on nutrition I have read.

[William Nist · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 'truth' about Low Carb diets (and their connection to blood glucose). The good, and bad, and the ugly are all presented.I think this is the best summary overview that I have read; and I have been a low carber for two years.

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reference. Realistic message about the good and not so great about all diets and especially low carb ones.

[Marion Husband · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting, especially if you are diabetic

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an essential read for anyone planning to eat low carb as a lifestyle. The author sifts through the multitude of research both for and against the low carb diet and explains the results in an easy to understand way. She goes through reasons why the low carb diet might not be a good fit for everyone and how to modify what you may already be doing. I found that two of the best chapters were on Stalls and Maintaining Your Weight Loss. I really liked the succinct summary at the end of each chapter. Since eating low carb is part of our household this will be a book I plan to buy and refer to in the future. I am sure her book, Blood Sugar 101, is an excellent read as well for anyone attempting to manage diabetes.

[Daniel R Huntting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah Ha!

I've been dieting for most of my life. I went from a chubby child to nearly normal in my teen years thanks to the Adkins diet. While Keto has helped me as an adult recently I've started to gain again. This book is helping me adjust my thinking, tracking and goals. I feel hope again and am eager to share this info with my family & friends.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased this book thinking it would be a keeper but I could only give it 3 stars. It is probably me and my expectations. It had too much medical detail which is good for some but it made it too tedious for me. I skimmed to the last page of each chapter to reach the important points.

As I said it was more me than what the book had to offer.

[lawrence apodaca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am diabeti. P have lost

60 lbs. i found her statments consistent with my experience. So rather than being the bad I found I am dealing with the issues of my ollness. She is refreshingly honest. I really like when she says we don't know. Thanks

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Life changing.