Cut the carbs! (At least the bad ones.)

So, I apologize in advance to the loyal Dr. Lisa followers out there. This is Dr. David, and I wanted to write a short blog entry in the same vein as Dr. Lisa's journaling of her experience as she changes her eating style in accordance with Keri Glassman's The O2 Diet.

There are a few reasons I'm not following The O2 Diet. I don't want to say that I'm lazy, per se ... just that I'm 27. I'm a boy. At 6 feet in height, I weigh 165 lbs. I'm not looking to lose weight, and I haven't quite lost that immortality complex from my youth. Also, after coming in from San Francisco for a weekend of partying with my friends, the last thing I want to do is pre-plan my meals. Call that lazy if you want, but I'm being realistic. (Although, having said all that, I'm SUPREMELY grateful to have access to Dr. Lisa's knowledge of the O2 Diet and nutrition in general to help guide me as I start my new healthy eating plan.)

My plan came from a couple years ago, while in chiropractic school. I'm a biochemist by training (worked in a research lab for 3 years before moving here), so I had a decent handle on the effects of different foods on the body. What I didn't realize until my nutrition class was the effects of sugar and starchy foods on the body's hormones and immune system. I figured eating refined foods in moderation was ok, right? WRONG. Our bodies, quite simply, were never designed to eat such highly processed foods with such regularity. Table sugar and flour don't exist in nature. When you eat them, your blood sugar spikes, followed by your insulin levels. Insulin works to clear sugar from your blood. This causes 3 major problems: drastic drop in blood sugar levels (causing the afternoon crash), increase in whole-body inflammation levels (which increases your risk for heart disease and cancer), and when done consistently, desensitizes your body to the insulin hormone (e.g. type II diabetes). I don't want to sound melodramatic, and yes ... it is possible to eat a processed-food diet and not develop any of those conditions, but it's also possible to smoke every day of your life and not get lung cancer. Doesn't mean you're not increasing your risk.

Thoroughly scared? I know I was. So I endeavored to eliminate starch and sugar, and I can tell you first hand: it sucks. No pasta, no bread, no potatoes, no ketchup, etc. What the hell is a midwest boy supposed to eat?!? And FORGET about going out. Have you ever had 4 workers at Panera look at you like a total alien? If you haven't, just ask them which of their salad dressings don't have any sugar. (I'll make it easy for you and spare you the 5 minute searching with the manager through their binder of nutritional information: The Greek and the Cobb salad.)

The cravings are a nightmare ... for the first week. But after that, you don't really feel like eating those things anymore. And after a month, anything sugary like ice cream, brownies, or cheesecake sound entirely revolting. I'm going to pop in and share my 2 cents from time to time. I've been off the white stuff (my label for sugar, refined grains, white potatoes, and white rice) for a week and a half now, and I have to say, I feel SPECTACULAR. Wake up earlier with more energy that I have consistently throughout the day. My overall sensation of hunger has decreased. (No more waking up starving.)

Keep in mind, I am NOT on a low-carb diet. Or anything as prescriptive/restricted as the South Beach Diet. I'm just trying to eat very healthy most of the time while incorporating reasonable levels of exercise. And if a 27-year-old without a care in the world can do it, so can you.

~Dr. David