We are born with miraculously integrated bodies and minds. Our lungs draw in vital oxygen, essential for producing energy. Our hearts ceaselessly pump blood through vast networks of vessels to all of our tissues and organs. Raw materials are transformed into fuel by our digestive systems. Our muscles and bones propel us through the world, allowing us first to stand, then walk, then play and work.

Each day our brains take in a barrage of new information, filtering it, selectively storing it, and adapting their way of working accordingly. At the end of each day, we recharge and reset our systems by sleeping. All of us come equipped with a self-contained set of tools that, properly used, may allow us to live 100 years, or maybe even longer.

Beginning early in our lives, though, our genes, our environment, our culture, and our own free will conspire to test this marvelous organism—sometimes to the breaking point. There are people who maintain their health and live long, fruitful lives, sustaining minimal wear and tear. But others—perhaps most of us—push our bodies to the limit. Instead of eating the way our bodies were designed to eat, we indulge in foods filled with sugars and other refined carbohydrates, trans fats, and unhealthy food additives. Instead of walking to nearby destinations, we drive our cars. We sit most of the day. Some of us smoke. Some of us drink too much. Many of us allow negative feelings and stress to rule our thoughts. Not many of us get adequate sleep. The wrong choices trap us in a lifestyle that actually endangers our lives.

The effects of these poor choices compromise every system that keeps us well, and the damage is not pretty. After years of a diet high in refined carbohydrates, arteries become narrow and clogged with plaque, raising the risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attack. We find ourselves on the unhealthy path to metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and cancer. Eating too much of the wrong foods and getting too little exercise allows fat to build up around our organs and beneath our skin. Smoking fills our lungs with toxins, damaging our health in myriad ways. Not getting enough sleep worsens our memories and disrupts an important hormone cycle that prevents us from overeating. And too much stress compromises our body's natural immune system, the very tool that would help us combat much of the other damage.

Return to the Path of Good Health

Fortunately, we have the ability to choose.

That’s where our series of HealthJournals on Wellness come in. Our Wellness series will show you how to completely change your lifestyle to a healthy and sustainable one that will restore your vitality and reverse chronic medical conditions. It will provide you with innumerable health benefits. It will lessen dangerous abdominal fat, lower chronic inflammation, and reduce the threat of other chronic diseases. Your risk of getting heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases will be greatly reduced. You will be likely to live longer, too. What’s more, your systems and organs will be provided with all the nutrients they require, so that your hunger will be satisfied, and your body brought into homeostatic balance.

This wellness information is based on real science that refutes current mainstream medical notions of what we should be eating. In this series, we explain the most natural way to eat—so that fat melts away and the body’s hormonal systems rebalance themselves. In doing so, we turn popular notions of a “healthy diet” on their head. Moreover, we give you all the leading science on other aspects of wellness in your life—including how to break your bad habits, the benefits of sleep, how to de-stress, and the real benefits of exercising.

It’s rarely too late to make changes that can reverse damage to your abused organs and tissues. Even people who are sensitive to carbohydrates, and therefore genetically predisposed to putting on weight, can get back on the path to good health. By eating the right foods, exercising, modifying your negative habits, quitting smoking, sleeping well, and celebrating life, you can reverse many chronic conditions—and increase your enjoyment of life immeasurably.

We hope that you will continue to explore the miracle that is your body, knowing that the good choices you are making will enable you to enjoy a life full of activity and fulfillment. You have the power to keep your body and mind healthy, strong, and alive. You can live longer and live better.

To life!

Wellness and Nutrition – Prevent and Reverse Chronic Diseases with the Right Diet

In the series of HealthJournals on Wellness and Nutrition, learn which foods work to burn fat, which work to keep fat on you—and why. Learn about nutrition, including the macronutrients and micronutrients that your body does and doesn’t need. Learn to make the necessary changes to your diet while we provide you with the necessary tools to be successful with your new way of eating. Finally, learn about intermittent fasting and how it can help with weight loss and the reversal of chronic diseases.

The most crucial part on your wellness journey is nutrition, and successfully changing your eating habits. But before we get to exactly what you should eat, we need to return to the subject of carbs again—just briefly!

As you’ll see, your blood sugar and insulin levels (and therefore the amount and quality of carbs that you eat) are key to both weight gain and weight loss. A brief explanation of how insulin works to put, and keep, fat on your body will allow you to better understand why certain foods are recommended over others.

In a nutshell, chronically high levels of insulin in your body make you fat and keep you fat. When you eat carbohydrates (any carbohydrates…even the good ones), they are broken down in your digestive system into their component parts, including glucose. The glucose is absorbed into your bloodstream. This increase of glucose in the bloodstream signals your pancreas, an organ located near your stomach, to release the hormone insulin. Insulin’s main job is to get your blood sugar back to normal levels by telling the cells in your body to absorb the glucose from your blood. Once enough glucose has been absorbed and blood glucose levels have returned to normal, insulin is no longer released by the pancreas.

The interaction between glucose and insulin is a normal and very important process in your body. It happens every time you eat any carbohydrate-containing food. If this process is not working properly and glucose levels in the blood remain elevated over long periods of time, it can lead to weight gain and to serious health problems.

You might be wondering how such a normal and necessary process can lead to weight gain.

The amount of glucose in your blood dictates how much insulin is released from your pancreas. When blood glucose levels rise, so do levels of insulin. As the glucose is shuttled into your cells, your blood sugar levels go down and so do your insulin levels. However, if you constantly consume refined carbohydrates, your blood sugar levels will be continually elevated. That means your insulin levels will remain high, too.

Here’s the missing piece of the puzzle. Insulin also has another job: It directs fat to be stored inside of your fat cells and prevents fat that has already been stored from being burned for energy. Normally, when insulin is not circulating in your bloodstream, your body can break down stored fat and use it for energy. But if you have constantly high levels of insulin due to eating refined carbs throughout the day, your body will store fat instead of burning it.

It’s a complicated process, but the main thing to take away right now is that you cannot burn fat when insulin is being released. When insulin is being released your body goes into storage mode, and the foods you eat get stored as fat. Some foods—particularly refined carbs and sugars—trigger more, and faster, insulin release than others. Consistently eating these foods as part of your daily diet will cause you to have chronically elevated blood sugar and insulin levels. As a result, your body will store and retain fat.

The good news is that insulin can be kept under control by eating foods that don’t raise your blood sugar too quickly. Nutritious, whole foods that keep your blood glucose levels at a healthy, stable level, thereby preventing a rapid release of insulin. This will help you control insulin, minimize fat storage, and promote fat burning.

For omnivores and vegetarians, our optimal eating guide is divided into three different stages. The first two stages are temporary and are meant to kick-start your body into fat burning mode. They prepare you for the third stage, a maintenance diet that will sustain your new, trimmed-down weight and help to keep you fit and healthy. Vegans, due to certain dietary needs, will only partake in the final two stages. Whether you are an omnivore, a vegetarian, or a vegan, you‘ll eat satisfying low-carb, low-GL, whole foods that don’t spike your insulin. Unlike most other diets, you won’t have to count calories. Instead, you will track the number of carbs you consume.

Here is a brief summary of each stage of the diet:

Induction Stage - Ketogenic Diet

The Induction Stage jump-starts your weight-loss diet. Eating no more than 20 g of carbohydrates per day from the list of permitted foods quickly launches your body into fat-burning mode. You’ll soon—probably after the first week—see results that will encourage you to stay the course as your body makes the transition to burning fat, resulting in weight loss and lower triglyceride levels. Your energy level will go up and stay up, without the ups and downs of a carb-heavy diet. What’s more, you can eat rich, satisfying foods, and you’ll never have to go hungry.

It’s important that you stay in the Induction Stage for a minimum of 2 weeks. Doing so allows your body and brain to adapt to your new lifestyle. If you have many pounds to lose, you may choose to stay in the Induction Stage for more than 2 weeks. That’s fine—you can stay in this stage for as long as you want. You will in no way endanger your health by doing so and will likely see the best results.

Intermediate Stage - Low-Carb Diet

In the Intermediate Stage, you’re permitted an additional 30 g of carbohydrates, for a total of 50 g per day. Adding on these carbs will slow down your weight loss, but it will also allow you more latitude and variety in your daily menus. Think of this stage as gradual preparation for embarking on Stage 3, the Lifetime Stage—a lifelong diet for vitality and health.

In this stage you can experiment and discover the healthy foods and seasonings you really enjoy. You’ll find cuisine that satisfies both your hunger and your senses. This will become easier as your appetite-regulating hormones regain their natural balance and your taste buds wake up to the flavor of whole, fresh foods. You’ll have bountiful energy, with no more midafternoon slump.

The Intermediate Stage can vary in length. Ideally, you will stay in the Intermediate Stage until you’re within 5-10 pounds of your goal weight, because weight loss is faster in the second stage than in the third.

Lifetime Stage - Moderate Low-Carb Diet

The Lifetime Stage is all about maintenance. At this stage, you've already done the hard part. You’ve lost the extra weight and regained your health and vitality, and now you want to keep it that way. You have a deeper understanding of nutrition and how your own body responds to different foods, too.

In the Lifetime Stage, you can eat up to 100 g of carbohydrates per day and choose from a greater variety of foods. Some sugar-sensitive people, however, may find that 100 g of carbs a day is too much. Part of the Lifetime Stage is figuring out what level of carb consumption is right for your body. If your weight-loss results begin to diminish or reverse with the increased carb count, it will be necessary to adjust your carb level. With time, you'll discover how many carbs you can eat per day and still maintain a healthy weight.

Not everyone needs to start at the same stage. While it's recommended that everyone do the Induction Stage for 2 weeks to efficiently reduce carbohydrate cravings and kick-start the body into fat-burning mode, it's by no means required. To determine which stage you should start in, you must first figure out where you currently stand and what your ultimate goals are.

No weight to lose:You don’t need to lose weight. Instead, you want to enhance your health and take it to the next level. If this is the case, you can start in the Lifetime Stage. You may have to play with the carb levels a bit to determine how many grams you can eat per day to maintain your weight and cash in on all the health benefits.

Small amount of weight to lose (less than 20 pounds): Starting in the Induction Stage will allow you to lose your excess weight quickly. You may want to start in the Intermediate Stage, though, to take advantage of the increased carb allowance. This will allow you more flexibility when designing your meals.

Large amount of weight to lose (greater than 20 pounds) or health issues already present: If you have a large amount of weight to lose or are already suffering from metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, or hypertension (high blood pressure), then it's best that you start off in the Induction Stage of the diet. In fact, you may want to stay in the Induction Stage for considerably longer than 2 weeks if you have a significant amount of weight to lose. If you have insulin resistance, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes, it's recommended that you stay in the Induction Stage until your blood sugar and insulin levels are under control and you’ve significantly reduced your weight.

Which is the healthiest diet—omnivore, vegetarian, or vegan? Passions run high on this subject, but the truth is that you can be healthy whether or not you eat meat. The key is to eat whole foods and to limit or eliminate your consumption of refined carbohydrates while consuming lots of healthy fat, protein, and nutrients.

The omnivore and vegetarian diets have the same daily carb allowance. See below for a summary of the number of carbs you’ll be eating if you choose an omnivore or vegetarian diet.

Induction Stage—Ketogenic Diet

Up to 20 g of carbs per day

Intermediate Stage—Low-Carb Diet

Up to 50 g of carbs per day

Lifetime Stage—Moderate Low-Carb Diet

Up to 100 g of carbs per day

It’s more challenging to eat a low-carb diet as a vegan than as an omnivore or vegetarian because vegan proteins contain more carbohydrates than animal-derived protein sources—but it is possible. High-protein vegetable sources include nuts, seeds, soy products (edamame, tofu, and tempeh), wheat gluten (seitan), and legumes (beans and lentils).

To ensure they get enough protein, vegans will have to consume more of these high-protein vegetable sources, which means they will also be consuming more carbohydrates. For this reason, vegans should skip over the Induction stage and start in the Intermediate stage, eating 60 g of net carbs per day. In the Lifetime Stage, vegans may eat up to 120 g of carbohydrates per day. As always, refined carbs should be avoided because they spike insulin and cause weight gain.

Because plant proteins are low in fat, it’s important to include extra oils (coconut, olive, avocado, and macadamia) in salads and vegetable dishes. Doing so will ensure that your body metabolizes fat properly.

The results from one study of a low-carb vegan diet were encouraging. Not only did participants lose weight, they also lowered their blood pressure. See below for a summary of the number of carbs you’ll be eating if you choose a vegan diet.

Intermediate Stage, Vegan—Low-Carb Diet

Up to 60 g of carbs per day

Lifetime Stage, Vegan—Moderate Low-Carb Diet

Up to 120 g of carbs per day

Now that you know how many carbs you'll be eating, you'll need to know how to count them. Keep reading to learn how.

Experts agree on one thing: Short-term, quick-fix diets aren’t the solution. For a diet to really work for you, it needs to be one you can stick with—for life. Limiting calories in order to lose weight may work in the short term, but you’re left feeling hungry and deprived. What’s more, your body will seek to regain the weight it’s lost once you stop counting calories.

A ketogenic or low-carb diet doesn’t limit calories. Because you are eating foods high in fat and protein, you will naturally feel fuller and more satiated, and as a result eat less. If you find you still have a large appetite and you’re not losing weight, it might be necessary to monitor your calorie intake for a couple of days to determine if you are in fact eating too much. Generally, this will not be the case, and you’ll need only to keep track of the net number of grams of carbohydrates you consume, also known as net carb count.

Net carb count is calculated by subtracting the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrates in a food. It’s that easy!

Total carbohydrate and fiber information can be found on a food’s nutrition label, along with a lot of other information about the particular food you’re eating. Take a look at the following example of a nutrition label.

It’s recommended that you eat mainly whole foods, like fresh or frozen vegetables and fresh meat. These items often don't have nutrition labels. Not to worry! Later on in this HealthJournal, you'll see the lists of foods that we've compiled for you, including their net carb count and GL value.

The Induction Stage is the best place to begin your new diet if you need to jump-start your weight loss. If you have more than 20 lbs to lose or have already been diagnosed with weight-related health issues, it's in your best interest to start here. Remember to consult your doctor before beginning any new diet, especially if health issues are a concern.

During the Induction Stage, you'll be eating a ketogenic diet with no more than 20 g of carbohydrates per day (on the omnivore and vegetarian plans), which will quickly launch your body into fat-burning mode. You'll be able to enjoy a variety of vegetables, meats or meat substitutes, dairy products, delicious fats and oils, drinks, condiments, herbs, spices, and snacks!

It’s important that you stay in the Induction Stage for a minimum of 2 weeks, but feel free to stay in this stage longer if you have quite a few pounds to lose.

There’s a more complete list of foods that are great to eat in the Induction Stage later in this HealthJournal, but here’s a quick summary of what you can expect:

Vegetables (Fresh or Frozen)

Eat a selection from the list of permitted vegetables every day. In the Induction Stage, the majority of your carbs should be coming from these veggies. The included vegetables are rich in both nutrition and fiber, and they’re also low in starch. Eat only until you feel full, and pay attention to carb count, as some vegetables are higher in carbs than others.

Canned vegetables are not recommended. For one thing, the inside lining of most food cans contains bisphenol A (BPA), which prevents the metal from corroding. This even includes organic canned vegetables. BPA is linked to hormone disorders, heart disease, and cancer. What’s more, canned vegetables are less nutritious than their fresh or frozen counterparts. While they are not completely devoid of nutrition, some of the nutrients have disappeared during the heating and canning process.

Examples of vegetables allowed in the induction stage include spinach, broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, mushrooms, asparagus, avocado, tomato, and many, many more.

Meat, Meat Substitutes, and Fish

Most fish and meat contain few, if any, carbs, and there aren't many restrictions on their consumption in the Induction Stage. For omnivores, getting enough protein is not likely to be an issue. Permitted protein-rich foods for omnivores in the Induction Stage include beef, poultry, fish, lamb, eggs, shrimp, pork, and many more.

Vegetarians and vegans will need to select alternate sources of protein. Fortunately, there are many protein-rich foods to choose from, such as tofu, tempeh, and seitan. When eating tofu, choose firm tofu over soft tofu, as it has about half the carbs and is easier to cook with. Tempeh is a soy food produced through natural culturing and controlled fermentation. Seitan is derived from wheat, but most of the carbs have been removed and it’s quite high in protein. A word of warning: When buying soy-based veggie burgers, be sure to buy burgers labeled “organic.” In burgers that aren’t labeled organic, solvents are often used to separate out the protein. Be sure to check the ingredients list of all veggie burgers to see if there are any hidden sugars.

Mussels and oysters are not permitted in the Induction Stage, as they are higher in carbs than other shellfish. Once you move on to the Intermediate Stage, you can reintroduce them into your diet, in moderation.

Finally, be aware of processed meats. Many contain nitrates and other preservatives, while others are cured with sugar. Processed meats include bacon, ham, salami, and hot dogs. It is possible to find processed meats that are uncured and don’t have preservatives—just be sure to check their labels.

Dairy

In the Induction Stage, up to 4 ounces per day of natural cheese is allowed. Permitted cheeses include Swiss, cheddar, Brie, Camembert, blue, mozzarella, Gruyère, cream cheese, and goat cheese. Many other delicious cheeses are fine for the Induction Stage as well. Just check their carb content and try to stick with cheese that has from 0 to 1 grams of carbs per ounce, especially during the Induction Stage. Cheeses to avoid in the Induction Stage include ricotta and cottage cheese, as they are higher in carbs. Processed cheeses are also to be avoided. Not only are they often higher in carbs, they also contain added preservatives and chemicals!

Milk is also quite high in carbs. In the Induction Stage, substitute heavy cream or whipping cream for milk. Other dairy products that are permitted in the Induction Stage include butter, mascarpone, and sour cream.

Fats and Oils

Fats and oils are allowed in the Induction Stage—in fact, they should make up a large portion of your diet. Fats and oils contain 0 carbs, so feel free to indulge! If you’re an omnivore, it’s fine to eat the fat and skin that comes with the meat. It will taste better and, contrary to what you’ve heard, it’s not unhealthy to do so. Don't be afraid to eat saturated fats!

Avoid margarine and other hydrogenated oils that contain trans fats (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils). Trans fats are highly inflammatory and very unhealthy.

Canola oil has been touted as “healthy” in the media lately, but most canola oil you'll find really isn’t. It’s derived from rapeseed, a seed rich in erucic acid, which is bitter and considered toxic. Rapeseed oil is stripped of erucic acid to make it palatable and rechristened as canola oil.

While extra virgin cold pressed canola oil is fine, it is extremely expensive and very hard to find. For most canola oil, high heat (above 500 degrees) and chemicals are used in the extraction process and in its processing. Polyunsaturated fats, like those found in canola oil, are unstable and quickly turn rancid when heated. After heating, the rancid oil must be deodorized to rid it of its odor. Although canola oil starts out high in omega-3 fatty acids, they are destroyed by the harsh extraction, heating, and deodorizing processes. Canola oil processed in this way is not a healthy fat. Listed below are other, better options for fats and oils, especially if you can't find extra virgin cold pressed canola oil.

As we discussed in an earlier section of the book, for optimum health it’s important to decrease your intake of omega-6 fatty acids and increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. The goal is to consume omega-6 and omega-3 in a ratio of 4:1. A helpful way to achieve this goal is to use saturated and monounsaturated fats (see the list below) for cooking as well as in salads. Polyunsaturated fats such as soybean oil, corn oil, and sunflower oil are extremely high in omega-6 and should be avoided. These polyunsaturated fats, along with canola oil, are hidden everywhere, including salad dressings and mayonnaise, so be sure to check the labels!

Recommended fats for cooking:

• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) (low-to-medium heat only)
• Butter
• Tallow and suet from beef and lamb
• Lard from pigs
• Chicken, goose, and duck fat
• Coconut oil
• Palm kernel oil

Oils for salads (unheated):

• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• Extra virgin cold pressed canola oil
• Macadamia nut oil
• Coconut oil
• Sesame oil
• Avocado oil
• Flaxseed oil

Condiments, Spices, and Herbs

Condiments can add another dimension to your meal. Since there are so many types, it’s important to always check the nutrition label for hidden sugars and to calculate the amount of carbs. Condiments tend to have many servings per bottle, so make sure you’re calculating the amount you’re eating correctly!

A host of low-carb condiments is available for your eating pleasure: mustard, horseradish, pesto, hot sauce, vinegar, and many more. Have fun exploring the world of condiments!

Adding herbs and spices to your food is a great idea as they are carb-free and add incredible flavor and freshness to your food. Just make sure there is no added sugar in the spices you use. Some of the delicious herbs you can use include basil, dill, mint, oregano, cilantro, and rosemary. Spice things up with cinnamon, cloves, spices mixtures (like Chinese five-spice powder), and many others.

Beverages

Drink as much as you would like of the permitted beverages, but don’t force fluids beyond your capacity. Your best beverage choice is water. Essence-flavored seltzers (with 0 carbs) and bottled spring and mineral waters are also good choices. Some people find that drinking caffeinated beverages interferes with weight loss, and some researchers think caffeine raises blood sugar levels in people who have type 2 diabetes.

A ketogenic diet is definitely not a high sodium diet. However, it’s important to consume enough salt during the Induction Stage to replenish the salt that’s initially lost from your body. (If you were eating a typical American diet before, most of the salt you were ingesting was coming from processed foods and breads.) If you don’t make a point of getting enough salt, you may experience side effects such as headaches, muscle cramps, nausea, light-headedness, and fatigue. To avoid this, drink 2 cups of clear bouillon broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable) per day. Bouillon may not be something you’re used to drinking, but it will aid your system in adjusting to your new diet!

Snacks

If you’re used to snacking on foods high in refined carbs like crackers and chips, you may think that snacking is out on a carb-sensitive diet. No worries—you can enjoy a rich variety of snacks while staying on your diet! See the food list later in this HealthJournal.

Desserts

So what about desserts? Unfortunately, desserts generally go hand-in-hand with sugar. While it’s true that there are many low-carb, artificially sweetened desserts out there, there has been a great deal of debate about whether calorie-free artificial sweeteners have negative effects on your health. Now it appears that they can interfere with your body’s normal metabolism.

Initially, during Induction, you may have cravings for something sweet. Our advice is to use artificial sweeteners in moderation with the aim of eventually cutting them out completely.

If you must have something sweet, foods sweetened with sugar alcohols are a better choice. Be sure to check the nutrition labels carefully on these products, as they may contain other carbs. For your net carb count, sugar alcohols and fiber can both be subtracted from the total carbohydrate count.

Some people find that consuming sugar alcohols stalls their weight loss. If you find this is the case, try cutting sugar alcohols out of your diet. They may be spiking your blood sugar more than you think.

Eating Out

When you’re out and about on a hectic day and you have precisely 30 minutes to scavenge and wolf down lunch before your next appointment, squeezing in a meal of any sort becomes a challenge—a challenge to which fast-food restaurants have risen. Tasty, convenient, and cheap, there are plenty of reasons they’re popular.

But a fast-food menu is a like a minefield, filled with items that are high in refined carbs, calories, and processing—and low in nutrition. Some of those selections are better for your new diet than others, however. If you have to eat fast food, it’s good to know what your best bets are

A sit-down meal in a restaurant can be filled with pitfalls, too. Always be on guard for hidden carbs. Gravy and sauces usually harbor hidden starches, like flour and cornstarch, while salad dressings frequently contain sugar. When ordering salad, ask to have the dressing on the side or request an olive oil and vinegar dressing. Avoid deep-fried and breaded dishes, and skip over the pizza and pasta sections on the menu. Don’t be afraid to ask how foods are prepared, especially sauces, as you might find that they have hidden sugars. Still eyeing those tempting pasta dishes? Ask to have the pasta toppings over vegetables or salad instead of pasta.

What Can't I Have?

During the Induction Stage, fruits, nuts and seeds, starchier vegetables, legumes, grains, and alcohol are not recommended. Just follow the lists provided!

Induction Stage Expectations and Rewards

The first week of your new diet will probably be the hardest, especially if you're used to a diet high in refined carbohydrates. Your body is making a radical adjustment. It’s switching over to burning a different fuel: your own body fat. Though the first week may be challenging, you’ll begin to notice many positive changes as well.

Weight Loss

Even in this earliest stage, you’ll start to reap the rewards of a healthy diet. It’s likely you’ll lose a considerable amount of weight in the first week of Induction. Some people may lose 5-10 pounds! Much of that loss, however, is water weight. When carbohydrate intake is reduced, the body burns glycogen it would otherwise store, and water is released in the process. This initial weight loss is still an important first step, and very motivating!

In the second week of the Induction Stage, you may again experience significant weight loss—as much as 5 pounds. If you stay in Induction past the first 2 weeks, your weight loss will slow slightly, but rest assured that you will still be losing fat.

In this initial stage of weight loss, it’s great to know that your body first burns off the most metabolically active and dangerous fat in your body: visceral fat, the kind that’s wrapped around your internal organs. You may even notice that your clothes are fitting a little more loosely.

Symptoms

Some people, when significantly reducing their carb intake, experience a group of symptoms known collectively as the “carb flu.”

The carb flu is very individual. It may last a couple of days or a couple of weeks—and some people don't experience it at all. Symptoms of carb flu can include mental fog, carb cravings and hunger, headaches, moodiness, weakness, and fatigue.

If you experience these symptoms in the early stages of your new diet, know that it’s very common to do so and that the benefits of sticking with the diet will be well worth any discomfort you may be feeling.

One reason for experiencing carb flu is not eating enough food. If you’re used to counting calories when you’re on a diet and depriving yourself of nourishment in the name of losing weight, it’s time to change that way of thinking. Satisfy your hunger by eating plenty of protein and fat along with lots of fiber-rich veggies. Don’t skimp, and don’t count calories!

If you experience other symptoms, such as leg cramps, constipation, or light-headedness, you may not be getting enough sodium. Drink 2 cups of bouillon (not the low-sodium kind) per day while you’re in the Induction Stage if you are experience any symptoms. It’s best to drink one cup in the morning and another in the afternoon. This should help you to feel better as your body moves into fat-burning mode.

The carb flu will pass, and when it does, you'll feel better than you have in a long time. As quickly as it began, the mental fog will lift. You’ll begin to notice positive changes in the way you feel and how you experience food. As your body makes the switch to burning excess fat for fuel, your energy level and moods will start to stabilize. That’s because all of the carbohydrates you used to eat put your body and mind on a rollercoaster ride, with your glucose levels shooting up and then dropping a short time later. You’ll be less hungry and stay full longer, too, on your healthy new diet.

Making the transition from the Induction Stage to the Intermediate Stage is an individual decision. If you like your rate of weight loss and still have a fair amount of weight to lose, then by all means stay in Induction. Once you’re ready to make the next step, continue on to the intermediate stage.

Following is the list of foods for the Induction Stage. As you'll see, each food entry has a net carb count and GL value to make it easier for you to determine which foods you want to eat and to monitor your carb intake.

In the Intermediate Stage, you’re permitted a total of 50 g of carbs per day (for omnivores and vegetarians). Vegans are permitted up to 60 g of carbs per day. You're likely to see your weight loss slow down in this stage, but you will also have a greater variety of foods to choose from. Think of the Intermediate Stage as gradual preparation for embarking on the Lifetime Stage—the way you’ll eat for a lifetime to stay trim, fit, and energized.

The Intermediate Stage can vary in length, but it’s ideal to stay in the Intermediate Stage until you’re within 5-10 pounds of your goal weight. Since the Lifetime Stage is for the most part about maintenance, it's best to stay in the Intermediate Stage until you've nearly reached your goal.

Food for the Intermediate Stage

The Intermediate Stage builds on the Induction Stage. You can eat everything you ate during the Induction Stage, and all of the tips included in that section are still valid. If you're starting your new way of eating in the Intermediate Stage, please go back and read about the Induction Stage so that you have all the information necessary to be successful.

The main difference between the first two stages is that the Intermediate Stage offers you a much broader array of foods!

You can view the list of additional foods for the Intermediate Stage later in this HealthJournal, but for now continue reading to learn more about the types of foods you will be eating.

Vegetables (Fresh or Frozen)

In the Intermediate Stage, vegetables with slightly higher carb counts have been added to the list of permitted foods. Now you can enjoy carrots, bell peppers, onions, eggplant, and more!

Fruits

Fruits are rich in nutrients and fiber, but they’re also high in fructose and glucose. They can raise your blood sugar quickly, especially if you’re hypersensitive to sugar. That means fruit, fresh or frozen, was definitely out in the Induction Stage. But now, in the Intermediate Stage, you can indulge in a variety of fruits—in moderation.

Berries are an excellent choice because they’re relatively low in carbs and are packed with fiber. This is true of most berries: raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and cranberries. Unfortunately, blueberries are quite high in sugar and are out until the Lifetime Stage. Try to eat berries with other foods so that the sugar is absorbed more slowly into your bloodstream. Be sure to avoid sweetened and dried berries, which are heavy on the carbs.

Meat, Meat Substitutes, and Fish

Good news for shellfish lovers: Mussels and oysters are now permitted. These seafood delicacies are low carb, but they aren’t no carb, so be sure to keep track of your carbs if you eat them. The rest of the list remains the same.

Dairy

You can now add milk, full-fat unsweetened yogurt, ricotta cheese, and cottage cheese to your diet menu! And you can forget about the tasteless low-fat and fat-free versions of these dairy delights that are so often promoted as “healthy.” Whole milk and whole-milk yogurt and cheeses taste better, satisfy your hunger, and are better for you, too.

Nuts and Seeds

You'll probably be pleased to know that you can now incorporate nuts, seeds, and nut butters back into your diet! Nuts do contain carbs, though, and it can be hard to eat just a few. If you're not careful, the carbs can really add up! It's also important to realize that the carb count varies a lot between different types of nuts. While almonds have a relatively low amount of carbs, cashews have quite a lot. When you buy nuts, we recommend that you divide them up into individual servings. This will keep your net carbs on track and save you time later on.

Permitted nuts and seeds (along with their butters) include almonds, peanuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and more.

Intermediate Stage Expectations and Rewards

As you progress through the first weeks and months of your new lifestyle, you’ll notice that you have more energy, sleep better, and feel lighter as your body responds to its natural, high-nutrition diet. That’s positive feedback. As your brain makes the association between your new diet and your increased feelings of well-being, you’ll begin to crave good food instead of junk. You’ll have formed new eating habits—healthy ones!

Weight Loss

Weight loss during the Intermediate Stage is different for everyone, but do be aware that the accelerated rate of weight loss you experienced during Induction can't continue forever. For some people, weight loss during the Intermediate Stage is slow and steady. They may find they’re losing 1-2 pounds per week, every week. For others, weight loss is inconsistent. It may stall for a period of time, then suddenly accelerate. If you find you’re not losing weight for 1 or 2 weeks, don't despair. Plateaus during weight loss are normal. Stick with your new diet and the weight will soon start coming off again.

If you’re losing weight at a slower pace than you’d like or have stalled for a significant amount of time, you may need to take a closer look at what you're eating. Once you fall into a routine and get to know your foods, it’s tempting to stop recording your carb intake. That’s fine if you have a pretty good idea of how many carbs you’re consuming but be sure you're not misjudging the amount you're actually eating! Also, make sure that you aren't consuming too much protein. If you're eating more protein than your body needs, it can be converted into glucose, causing the same rise in blood sugar and insulin as eating a piece of toast. Try reducing your protein consumption for a week (watch the amount of nuts and cheese you're eating in particular). Up your fat intake at the same time you’re reducing your protein intake and see if weight loss resumes.

Symptoms

At this point, your body has become accustomed to burning fat as its primary fuel source and the “carb flu” symptoms you experienced initially have disappeared.

Your appetite-regulating hormones are regaining their natural balance and your taste buds are waking up to the flavor of whole, fresh foods. It only gets better!

You have bountiful energy, with no more midafternoon slump.

Moving to the Lifetime Stage

If you've seen significant changes in your overall health and in your energy level and are within 5-10 pounds of your goal weight, it’s time to move on to the Lifetime Stage. Congratulations on sticking with it and making it this far!

Following is the list of foods for the Intermediate Stage. As you'll see, each food entry has a net carb count and GL value to make it easier for you to determine which foods you want to eat and to monitor your carb intake.

You’ve persevered and reached the last stage of your new diet! In the process, you’ve learned a great deal about your body and how it functions. You understand the difference between empty calories and nutrition-dense food. You know the foods you need to eat for optimal health. You’ve learned what triggers your cravings and how fats satisfy your hunger. You’ve changed your eating habits and improved your health—and that’s major!

As any diet expert will tell you—and as any dieter knows all too well—most diets fail. Why? Because when you go off a diet, you gain back all the weight you lost (and add on a few more for good measure). That’s why this is in many ways the most important. This is the diet you’ll follow for life.

If that sounds daunting, consider the alternative. Yo-yo’ing weight gain and weight loss is just the beginning. Over time, chronically high blood sugar and insulin levels, along with excess weight, usher in a cascade of increasingly serious illnesses, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease (disease of the heart and blood vessels). Studies are now linking Alzheimer’s disease to obesity and to high glucose levels.

Fortunately, you have learned the key to enduring health and vitality. In the Lifetime Stage, omnivores and vegetarians will eat up to 100 grams of carbohydrates per day, and vegans will eat up to 120 grams of carbohydrates per day. You’ll choose from a plethora of different foods. You’ll be surprised at just how much choice and variety that gives you.

Some sugar-sensitive people may find that 100 or 120 grams a day may be too much. When you decide to enter the Lifetime Stage, it’s advisable that you add 5-10 grams of carbs per week to your Intermediate Stage total of 50 or 60 grams, slowly building your way up to 100 or 120 grams. If your results begin to diminish or reverse with the increased carb count, go back down 5-10 grams to find the level at which your weight doesn’t change.

Food for the Lifetime Stage

Because the Lifetime Stage builds upon the two previous stages, all of the foods permitted in the Induction Stage and the Intermediate Stage are still allowed. In addition, many foods that were not permitted in the Induction and Intermediate Stages are introduced in the Lifetime Stage. This includes alcohol, whole grains, legumes, and fruit.

There’s a lot of important information you need to know in the sections about the first two stages. If you haven’t already read them, please read them before continuing with the Lifetime Stage.

To view the list of additional foods for the Lifetime Stage of the diet, visit the section on food later on in this HealthJournal.

Fruits

Only a few types of fruit were introduced in the Intermediate Stage. When you reach the Lifetime Stage, you can gradually integrate all other fruits into your diet—in moderation. Fruits are packed with fiber, many health-boosting phytonutrients (nutrients from plants), and antioxidants. They can be an important part of a long-term healthy diet as they may help prevent disease and keep your body functioning properly. But they are nevertheless high in fructose and glucose, so it’s wise to eat them in limited amounts.

If you find you’re gaining weight, you may need to cut back on your fruit consumption. Everyone differs in their ability to tolerate carbohydrates. By slowly reintroducing carbs, you’ll discover your own level of tolerance.

Legumes and Grains

Legumes (beans and peas) and grains contain carbohydrates. The sugars and starches in legumes and grains raise your blood sugar level quickly. Because of this, they are not suggested in the initial stages of your diet, but you can gradually introduce them in the Lifetime Stage.

Legumes and grains can be an important part of a long-term healthy diet. If you find you are gaining weight, however, you will need to cut back. Highly processed grain-based products, such as granola bars, white bread, packaged oatmeal, and white flour, are not ever recommended.

Alcohol

We recommend that you don’t drink any alcohol during the Induction and Intermediate Stages, but you may have a glass of red wine occasionally if it fits into your daily allotment of carbs. (There are about 3 grams of carbs in a glass of red wine.) In the Lifetime Stage, hard liquor and wine are allowed in moderation (assuming your liver is healthy and you have your doctor’s approval). Red wine is recommended because it has a much lower alcohol content than hard liquor and is much better for your liver. We also recommend that you drink wine with a meal and not by itself, as it will be absorbed more slowly. Sorry, beer lovers: Beer is a no-go because it’s high in carbs. Many types of beer are also highly processed.

Lifetime Stage Expectations and Rewards

Now that you've reached the Lifetime Stage, you have acquired the good eating habit. You‘ve reached your weight loss goal or are within 5-10 pounds of it. As you continue your high-nutrition, healthy way of life, your body will function—and you will feel—better and better. You’re well on your way to a healthy and vibrant new you!

It’s not always easy to live a healthy life in an environment that practically pushes low-nutrition, high-carb foods at you and encourages a sedentary way of life. Even when you’ve seen enormous positive changes in your weight, health, and vitality, it can still be all too easy to fall back into old, bad habits.

Keep a photo of the “old” you posted as a reminder of how much you’ve changed. Form ties with people who are on the same healthy track as you. And if you do backslide (and just about everybody does), don’t let it discourage you. Just get back on track again.

Following is the list of foods for the Lifetime Stage. As you'll see, each food entry has a net carb count and GL value to make it easier for you to determine which foods you want to eat and to monitor your carb intake.

Snacks

Desserts

Alcohol

Eating Out

We’ve covered a lot of ground! You’ve learned which foods you should be eating for optimal health, and in what proportions. You’ve also learned about the different macro- and micronutrients that make up your food, including carbohydrates, fats and protein along with vitamins and minerals. You’ve discovered how all these nutrients work in your body.

All this knowledge is crucial for making well-informed decisions about what you put in your mouth, but how does it actually translate into what you buy in the grocery store?

You’ll be eating primarily whole foods in the form of fresh produce, meats, fish, or other types of high-protein foods, dairy products, and fats and oils. This will actually make your grocery shopping slightly easier! You won’t have to deal with the uncertainty that comes with decoding the language of ingredients and health claims on processed food packages. Product claims generally aim to highlight one healthy aspect of the food. They do this in the hopes of distracting the consumer from noticing the multitude of unhealthy ingredients they would see if they read the ingredients list or examined the nutrition label.

But it’s impossible to avoid this type of labeling completely. Even many simple, one-ingredient foods (for example, vegetables and meats), may bear labels such as “organic,” “free-range,” and “omega-3 added.” The reality is there are different choices available for every type of food. Knowing your options will make it easier for you to decide what works best for you and your lifestyle.

In this section, we’ll attempt to answer any remaining questions you might have about choosing the best possible foods for your new way of eating. For example, what should you look for on a nutrition label? Should you buy organic foods or nonorganic foods? Is it really necessary to buy grass-fed beef, or is regular beef fine?

Before you can make smarter, healthier choices as a consumer, you’ll need to know how to size up an ingredient list, how to read a Nutrition Facts label, how to see past marketing claims and hype, and how to evaluate and compare choices within any food category. Keep reading to learn how.

Ingredient List

The first thing you should look at when buying a food item is the ingredients list. It’s best to stay away from foods with long ingredient lists, especially if those ingredients are ones you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce. Long ingredient lists generally mean that the food is highly processed.

Ingredients are always listed in the order of their amount in a food. This means that the food is mostly made up of the ingredients that come first in the list. While all the ingredients matter, those first few are critical. If they aren’t good for you, try to find another product that has healthier ingredients listed first.

According to the FDA, more than 3,000 substances are used as food additives. They are introduced to enhance flavor, color, consistency, and also to increase the product’s stability and shelf life. The top three additives are salt, sugar, and corn syrup.

Whole foods are always the best choice. These foods often don’t even need an ingredients list, as they’re sold just as they’re found in nature.

Nutrition Facts Label

The Nutrition Facts label, usually found on the back of a product, is required on most packaged foods and contains a summary of the nutrient profile of the product. You probably already use the Nutrition Facts label in some way—maybe to check calories, fat, or sodium content. Understanding how to read this panel and put this information into context can be a gateway to healthier eating. Take a look at the image of a Nutrition Facts label below, and then continue reading to learn more about each section.

Serving Size

The first places to look on the Nutrition Facts label are the serving size and the number of servings in the package. All of the nutrition information listed for that product is based on one serving, but many packages contain more than a single serving. Bear in mind, too, that the serving sizes shown are often unrealistically small. Check the serving size and decide how many servings you would actually consume. For example, if the total number of carbohydrates is given as 4 grams, and there are three servings in the package, then the total amount of carbs for the entire item is 12 grams.

Calories and Calories from Fat

In this part of the label you’ll find the number of calories per serving as well as the calories from fat in each serving. The number of calories per serving provides a measure of how much energy you get from one serving of a food. Remember, the number of servings you consume determines the number of calories you actually eat.

% Daily Value

The “% Daily Value” (%DV) numbers are based on the Daily Value recommendations for key nutrients, based on a 2,000-calorie daily diet. It is a general guide to help you link nutrients in a serving of food to their contribution to your total daily diet. It can help you determine if a food is high or low in a specific nutrient—for example, 5% or less of a nutrient is low, 20% or more is high.

If you’re eating a healthy diet that’s rich in whole foods, you’ll find that the %DVs are not very helpful because they’re based on a high-carb, low-fat diet (as recommended by the USDA). Just stick with counting the net grams of carbs and keeping your intake of fats high and protein moderate. Note that trans fats, sugars, and protein do not have a %DV listed on the Nutrition Facts label. Trans fats and sugar don’t have a %DV because you should consume as little of them as possible! Protein has no %DV listed because the need for protein varies, depending on a number of factors (such as age, sex, and height). For this reason, no %DV has been established for protein.

Fat and Cholesterol

The “Total Fat” entry on the Nutrition Facts label includes all of the different kinds of fat in the product, including saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fats. Underneath the total fat number are the numbers for each individual fat. Buy products with a trans fat number as close to 0 grams as possible, and choose products with mainly monounsaturated and saturated fats.

Trans fats content has been required on Nutrition Facts labels since 2006. Please note that companies can claim that something contains 0 grams of trans fats if the amount of trans fats is less than 0.5 grams per serving. A half a gram may not seem like a lot, but remember that if you are eating many servings, you may be consuming several grams of trans fats. The current recommendation is that you consume no more than 2 grams of trans fats per day.

The only way to know if a product truly contains trans fats is to look at the ingredient list. If you see the words “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” in the list, the product contains trans fats. Many oils, like corn, soybean, and cottonseed oil, are often hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated to make the products more shelf-stable.

This section of the Nutrition Facts Label also lists the amount of cholesterol found in the product.

Sodium

High levels of sodium may be hidden in packaged foods, especially when a food doesn’t taste salty—but sodium is not hidden on the Nutrition Facts label! Over 75% of dietary sodium in a typical American diet comes from eating packaged and restaurant foods, not from your salt shaker at home. Most Americans eat too much sodium. However, during the Induction Stage of the diet, because most of these processed sources of sodium are eliminated you may have to supplement your salt intake by adding more to your food or drinking 1-2 cups of bouillon a day.

Carbohydrates

The “Total Carbohydrate” entry on the Nutrition Facts label includes the amount of starch, fiber, and sugar in a food product. Individual values are shown for both dietary fiber and sugars. Remember, to calculate the net carb content of a product, you must subtract the grams of fiber from the grams listed for total carbohydrate. Keep in mind that the sugars listed on the Nutrition Facts label include naturally occurring sugars (like those in fruit and milk) as well as those added to the food or beverage. Remember to look at the ingredients list to find the sources of sugar in the product. Sugar can take many disguises, including HFCS, corn syrup, brown sugar, dextrose, fructose, glucose, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, malt syrup, raw sugar, sucrose, and syrup.

Protein

This section lists the total amount of protein found in one serving of the product.

Vitamins and Minerals

Included on the Nutrition Facts label are %DVs for some essential vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron are always shown. Others may be listed if the product is a good source of that micronutrient.

The Nutrition Facts label is an accurate and regulated source of information. This information can be trusted, and, if interpreted correctly, should provide you with all the information you need to know about a product’s nutritional content.

There are, however, less regulated claims that you might find in other locations on the product. These are known as “nutritional claims.” There are more nutritional claims being made for foods than ever before, and unlike the Nutrition Facts label, they are generally a source of confusion, not useful information.

When you stroll down a grocery store aisle, it seems that just about every product bears some sort of health claim, like “Rich in Omega-3s,” “Helps Support a Healthy Immune System,” or “All-Natural.” Just what exactly does it all mean?

When you’re evaluating the nutritional claims on a product, remember that the front of the package is an advertisement. Don’t be distracted by these health claims or any other advertising on the package. Nutritional claims, while they may technically be true, don’t necessarily give you the whole picture. Something may be rich in omega-3s but also contain a huge amount of sugar or have a giant list of artificial ingredients. Go straight to the Nutrition Facts label and read the ingredients to see for yourself what’s in the product.

Here are a few of the more common nutritional claims you may find in the supermarket, and how they may be misleading:

All Natural

As of this date, the FDA still hasn’t defined what the term “natural” means when referring to ingredients in a food. They allow this label to be used if the food product does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances. While the exclusion of these synthetic ingredients is certainly a good idea, it definitely does not mean that the item is therefore healthy. Cookies baked with sugar and white flour, juices with high-fructose corn syrup, and meat from animals dosed with hormones and antibiotics can all be labeled “natural.” Your best bet is to check the ingredients to find out what the product really offers in terms of nutrition.

Added Omega-3s

When you see a food’s omega-3 content being touted on its label (and the product isn’t fish), check to see what kind of omega-3 it is. Unless you see the words EPA or DHA, or you spot fish oil in the ingredient list, it’s safe to assume that you’re only getting ALA, especially when the product contains flax, soybean oil, or canola oil. There is nothing technically wrong with ALA, but your body needs to convert ALA to the more potent DHA or EPA to get all of the benefits from these fatty acids. Only about 10% of ALA is typically converted, so you may be getting much less of these essential fatty acids than you think!

Added Probiotics

Probiotics, which are often added to yogurt, are controversial. There are no requirements or standards as to which type, or how much, must be added to a food for it to be labeled “probiotic.” An additional problem arises when probiotics are added to a pasteurized product. Probiotic cultures must be alive to be beneficial, but the heat used in pasteurization kills most or all probiotic microorganisms.

Low-Fat or Fat-Free

Three recent studies found that labeling snack foods as “low-fat” caused study subjects to eat up to 50% more than subjects who saw labels without the low-fat claim. When they saw the low-fat label, the subjects automatically assumed the product had fewer calories and felt less guilty about eating it. This assumption ultimately lead to overconsumption of the snack products.

The reality is that because fat has been removed, low-fat and no-fat foods are less satiating. These types of food products usually have sugar added to them to compensate for the lack of fat, which provides most of the appealing texture and flavor.

No Sugar Added

This claim means that no sugar, or sugar-like ingredients, are added during processing—but it doesn’t mean the product is sugar-free. If you desire a product that contains no sugar, look for a “sugar-free” claim on the label or check the nutrition facts panel. Some products with yogurt or milk contain lactose, a sugar naturally found in milk products, so check the ingredients.

There are many other examples of these misleading claims. The best way to avoid them, is to ignore them. There is nothing that a nutritional claim can disclose that won’t be evident by looking at the ingredients and nutrition facts panel.

You’ve eliminated processed foods and sugars from your diet and are eating healthy, whole foods. This is the biggest and very likely the most important step you’ll take on your health and wellness journey! Even if you leave it at that and take no further steps, as long as you continue to eat this way you will reap a multitude of health benefits.

You can, however, go one step further and optimize your diet by considering where your food comes from and how it’s grown or raised. In many cases, opting for the best possible food will require more effort and money on your part—but if you are able to do so, you’ll find it’s worth it.

Organic vs Nonorganic

If you’re interested in buying organic foods, then you need to know what labels you can trust. The USDA Organic seal found on organic products guarantees the quality of the food and assures organic standards are being met. You'll find three tiers of organic labeling: "100% organic" (only organic ingredients), "organic" (at least 95% of ingredients are organic), or "made with organic ingredients" (at least 70% of the contents are organic).

IMAGE: When you’re shopping for organic foods in the U.S., look for the “USDA Organic” seal. Only foods that are 95% to 100% organic can use the USDA Organic label.

But what exactly does organic mean? For vegetables and fruits, the organic label means that they are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is also produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.

People buy organic for different reasons. Some don’t want pesticides on their produce, some disagree with eating genetically modified organisms (GMOs), some believe in the environmental practices used by organic farmers, and others think that organic food is healthier and tastes better than their nonorganic equivalents.

At this time, there isn’t an overwhelming amount of research proving that organic food is actually healthier. It is extremely difficult to conduct studies that would control the many variables that might affect nutrients, such as seeds, soil type, and climate. However, some recently published studies in peer-reviewed journals have shown that organic foods do have a higher nutritional value, likely due to the quality of soil in which they’re grown. As for the taste, that’s up to you to decide!

This doesn’t mean that there are always benefits to buying organic or that you must buy organic all the time. If cost is an issue, there are certain veggies or fruits that don’t necessarily need to be bought as organic (especially if pesticides are your biggest concern). For instance, if they have thick coverings that can be removed (think avocados, bananas, and citrus fruits) most of the pesticides will be gone with the peel. Every year, the Environmental Working Group publishes a list titled the “Dirty Dozen”—the 12 fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residue. Although the list changes from year to year, these foods usually end up on the list: apples, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, hot peppers, nectarines/peaches, potatoes, strawberries/other berries, leafy greens, bell peppers, and zucchini. You should definitely consider buying organic when you purchase these foods. On the other hand, some types of produce are typically low in pesticides: onions, sweet corn, pineapple, avocado, asparagus, sweet peas, mango, and papaya.

Not everyone feels the need to buy organic foods. The reality is that replacing processed foods with whole foods is more important than whether or not the whole foods are organic. Having said that, if you have access to organic foods and can afford to buy them, do consider buying organic. In doing so, you’ll be supporting organic farmers who protect the land, preserving it for generations to come. Consider, too, that by joining the ranks of those who buy organic, you’ll be helping to lower the price of organic goods, making them available for everyone to enjoy.

Animal Welfare

Considering the quality of life that cattle, chickens, pigs, and other animals had before they landed on your plate can have implications for your health! Labels that describe how an animal was caught or raised and what it was fed include “wild-caught,” “free-range,” “cage-free,” “grass-fed,” “pasture-raised,” and “pasture-finished.” Remember, what the animal ate will be going into your body as well!

Most meat in America today is mass produced from animals kept in feedlots. The majority of beef cattle are raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Sheep, turkeys, chickens, and ducks are also raised in CAFOs. These animals, often numbering in the thousands, live in very tightly confined spaces. They are often surrounded by their own waste, while being fed excessive amounts of unnatural feed and receiving large quantities of drugs to keep them alive and uncontaminated.

Cattle and sheep begin their lives grazing on fields of immature grains. When they reach a certain size, they are transferred to feedlots. There they are fed a specialized diet consisting mainly of corn byproducts and other grains. In a typical feedlot, a cow’s diet is roughly 95% grain. They’re fed this diet because it’s very energy-dense (it’s all refined carbs!) and produces excess fat, or marbling, in the animals’ muscle tissue. Marbling is popular with consumers as it enhances flavor and the tenderness of the meat.

However, cattle have evolved to be grass eaters, not grain eaters. High-grain diets lower the pH (make it more acidic) in the animals' stomach. The cattle become more susceptible to infection and disease, making it necessary to dose them with large quantities of antibiotics every day to prevent them from becoming ill.

Antibiotics are also used because they increase the size of livestock animals. Administering daily doses of antibiotics has been a common practice since the 1940s, when it was observed that doing so made livestock animals grow larger. It’s not clear why exactly this works. One theory suggests the antibiotics kill off gut bacteria that would otherwise compete for nutrients.

The livestock industry now consumes nearly four fifths of the antibiotics used in the US. There is increasing evidence that the overuse of antibiotics in livestock can pose a health risk to humans. If animals are treated with a certain antibiotic over a long period of time, the bacteria living in those animals can become resistant to that antibiotic. If humans then ingest the resistant bacteria (often from improperly cooked meat), they, too, may fall ill. Because the bacteria are resistant, it may be difficult or even impossible to successfully treat the illness with antibiotics.

Generally speaking, the conditions under which most chickens and other poultry are raised are both unsanitary and inhumane. Hens that are being raised for egg production are confined to small cages, which are stacked one on top of another. Chickens that are being raised for meat are confined to large warehouse-like coops. These coops are jammed so full that there is barely an inch for the chickens to move. None of the animals have access to the outdoors or the opportunity to stretch their legs or wings. Like cattle, they are fed diets high in corn and other processed grains.

How This Affects You

These are indeed deplorable conditions for the animals, but you might wonder how this affects your health. As you know, refined grains are very high in omega-6 fatty acids. Most of the meat and dairy products on the American market today come from animals that are fed diets consisting primarily of refined grains. And in this case, you are what they eat. Eating meat produced from animals fed a diet high in omega-6s means that you, too, are eating omega-6 fatty acids. You’re not only getting omega-6 fatty acids in the foods you eat that contain vegetable oils (including many processed foods), you’re also getting them in eggs, meats, and even dairy products!

Animals like cattle and chicken are not meant to eat diets high in refined grains. The natural diet of cattle is grass-based. No fewer than 60% of the fatty acids in grass are omega-3s. When cattle eat omega-3-rich grass, their meat and milk retains these beneficial fatty acids. However, when cattle are shipped to a feedlot to be fattened on refined grains high in omega-6s, they cannot build up stores of the health-promoting omega-3s.

When chickens are housed indoors and deprived of greens, their meat and eggs are robbed of omega-3s and can be very high in omega-6s. Eggs from pastured hens can contain up to 10 times more omega-3s than eggs from factory hens. The ideal egg is one that comes from a hen raised outdoors, where she can eat a variety of green plants and insects. Hens raised this way may still eat grain-based feed, but the wild food that they forage boosts the omega-3 content of their eggs.

What about fish? Many people eat fish specifically to consume more omega-3 fatty acids. However, farm-raised fish have lower levels of omega-3s than their wild counterparts. Often, farm-raised fish can have more omega-6s than bacon, doughnuts, and 80%-lean hamburger! Farm-raised fish are usually fed corn or soy, just as feedlot animals are. Wild fish eat greens, and some eat other fish that eat greens. This is how they become rich in omega-3s. If you want to eat fish to decrease inflammatory diseases, choose wild-caught fish over farm-raised fish.

This is where those labels you see in the grocery store come into play. Knowing what they mean can help you determine where your meat and eggs come from, how the animals were treated and fed, and ultimately, how good the food is for you.

Certified Organic

For egg-laying hens, “certified organic” means that the birds are uncaged indoors but have access to the outdoors. The amount, duration, and quality of outdoor access is undefined. They must be fed an organic, all-vegetarian diet free of antibiotics and pesticides; however, beak cutting (to prevent injuries from pecking) is permitted. For livestock to be certified as organic, they must be given access to the outdoors, fed a 100% organic vegetarian diet, and not given antibiotics or growth hormones. Compliance with these standards is enforced through third-party auditing.

Certified Humane or Animal Welfare Approved

The “certified humane” program was developed to certify that animals are raised according to stringent animal care standards. Upon satisfactory application and inspection, farmers and ranchers who meet the standards of the Humane Farm Animal Care program may label their products as being “certified humanely raised and handled.” Program standards specify that animals be fed a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones; be provided with shelter, resting areas, and sufficient space; and have the ability to engage in natural behaviors. There is no guaranteed access to the outdoors, however, and beak cutting in chickens is allowed.

The “animal welfare approved” label takes it one step further. In addition to the requirements of the “certified humane” program, it also ensures that that the animals have continuous outdoor access. Beak cutting is prohibited.

Cage-Free

This term is most often applied to egg-laying hens, not to poultry raised for meat. The hens are able to freely roam a building, room, or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water. However, the “cage-free” designation does not guarantee the birds had access to the outdoors. The reality is that most cage-free hens live inside large barns or warehouses in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. Practices such as beak cutting are also permitted. There is no independent third-party verification.

Free-Range or Free-Roaming

USDA free-range regulations currently apply only to poultry. Other meat products labeled as “free-range” are therefore unregulated by the USDA. In order to use the terms “free-range” or “free-roaming” on a poultry meat label, the producer must demonstrate to the USDA that the poultry have access to the outdoors. There are no requirements for the amount, duration, or quality of outdoor access (such as pasture or dirt lot). Because they aren't caged, though, the chickens can engage in many natural behaviors, such as nesting and foraging. There are no restrictions regarding what the birds can be fed, and beak cutting is permitted. There is no independent third-party verification for the free-range or free-roaming labels.

Pasture-Raised

The USDA has not developed a definition for pasture-raised products, such as beef. The term suggests that animals were raised outdoors on pasture. However, since the term is not regulated or certified, there is no way to ensure if the claim is accurate.

Grass-Fed or Grass-Finished

Grass-fed animals receive a majority of their nutrients from grass throughout their lives. The “grass-fed” label does not limit the use of antibiotics, hormones, or pesticides, so finding a meat product that is labeled both "grass-fed" and "organic" is ideal. Do be aware that all cattle eat grass for their first 6-12 months, but then most are shipped to feedlots and fattened on grain for the rest of their lives. Some of this meat is marketed as grass-fed even though the animals were actually finished in a feedlot. Cows with the USDA grass-fed label have had a grass diet and access to pasture year-round. Labels that read "100% grass-fed" or "grass-finished" and which are verified by a third party, such as the American Grassfed Association, guarantee the cattle were fed only grass and hay. Compared with feedlot meat, grass-fed beef is higher in omega-3 fatty acids, much lower in omega-6 fatty acids, and higher in vitamins and antioxidants. Raising cattle on pasture benefits the farmers, the environment, and the animals themselves.

Buying Local

In the US, to get from the farm to your fork produce travels (on average) 1,400 miles. This means that it can spend as many as 7-14 days in transit before it even makes it to the supermarket. On the other hand, locally grown produce is picked and eaten at the height of ripeness, has exceptional flavor, and is packed with nutrients. Buying your food locally is good for your local economy, supports family farmers, benefits your health, and helps to protect the environment. Why would you want your food shipped long distances from other states or distant countries?

Buying local is a lifestyle—a mindful way to approach how you fuel yourself without requiring too much fuel from the planet. Also, there is the added benefit of talking to local farmers and knowing exactly where your food comes from. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are usually sold within 24 hours of being harvested. Although this isn’t always the case, food from local farms is more likely to be organic and the animals are more likely to have been raised humanely.

Below are some suggestions to help you eat more locally:

Shop Weekly at Your Local Farmers’ Market or Farm Stand

Don’t know where to find your local farmers’ market? The USDA and the Local Harvest organization both have online interactive maps that can help pinpoint farmers’ markets in your area. Just plug in your location and how far you want to travel, and see the results pop up.

Build a Relationship with a Farmer

Join a community supported agriculture (CSA) and get weekly deliveries of the season's harvest. This is an increasingly popular way of getting locally grown produce directly from a farmer.

By supporting your farmer at the beginning of a season, you’ll help with the farm’s cash flow. CSAs give farmers an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow. You can visit the farm at least once a season and learn more about how produce is grown. Take a look online to find out more about how both farmers and consumers benefit from CSAs.

Maybe you want to buy local and visit a farm, but you can’t commit to a seasonal delivery. In that case, pick your own” farms are a great way of harvesting your own produce without a long-term commitment. There are many pick-it-yourself (also called “u-pick”) farms and organizations. Just do a quick search for them online to find farms near you.

Support Local Businesses That Support Local Farmers

Buy from local grocers and co-ops committed to selling local food. Support restaurants and food vendors that have positive business relationships with local farmers. If you’re unsure how to go about this, just ask your grocer or favorite restaurant what local foods they carry.

To sum it all up, if you want to go that extra mile for your diet, spending a little more on local, organic vegetables will definitely be of benefit. Organic produce is free of pesticides, and the farming practices associated with organic produce are better for the environment. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t hold off on eating vegetables if you can't find or can't afford organic varieties. It’s more important that you eat vegetables because of their massive health benefits—be they fresh, frozen, organic, or nonorganic.

For meats and eggs, look for the 100% grass-fed, organic, animal welfare-approved, and wild-caught labels. Not only are these animals healthier and happier, they're better for you, too! According to a report in the Nutrition Journal, beef from grass-fed animals has higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, more vitamins, and increased antioxidants.

We hope this section on food optimization has served as a useful introduction to the multitude of choices available to you when you purchase produce, eggs, dairy products, and meat. Ultimately, it's good to be aware of your options so that you can choose what's right for you and your lifestyle.

What's most important right now, though, is getting started! Begin now to stabilize your blood sugar and insulin levels, lose weight, and gain control of your health.

You should enjoy the food you eat! And that’s particularly true when you’re on a new diet that is soon to become a lifestyle. That’s why you can feel free to customize the diet to your individual palate by choosing foods that aren’t included in the lists of foods for the three stages of the diet. It would be impossible for us to list every diet-friendly food! You should make sure, though, that the foods you choose have similar nutritional contents and glycemic loads to the foods on the lists.

For example, the list of meats includes commonly found meats such as beef and pork. This doesn't mean that other types of meat (for example, bison or venison) aren't fine as well. Feel free to eat different kinds, as long as they are minimally processed and contain no sugar.

You can undoubtedly find and add to your personal list many low-carb, low-GL vegetables as well. Just be sure to check the food’s net carb content and GL to make certain you stay within your permitted daily net carb count. If a food you like is missing from our lists, there are many online food databases that can help you out.

Always remember to eat whole foods and avoid processed or refined foods with added fructose and sugars. It’s good to keep the following guidelines in mind as well:

Do Eat Protein at Every Meal

Protein keeps you feeling full longer, gives you long-lasting energy, speeds up your metabolism, and helps you build muscle and other vital tissues. Examples of protein sources include wild-caught fish, soy protein, and nuts and seeds.

Do Eat Fiber at Every Meal

Just about everyone knows that fiber “keeps you regular,” but it does much more than that. Fiber requires more chewing, which slows down eating. It delays stomach emptying to keep you feeling full longer and encourages growth of good bacteria in your intestines. You can get your fill of fiber from low-carb leafy greens.

DoEat Whole Foods

Your body thrives when it gets a broad variety of nutrients. Whole foods like vegetables and meat give you far more antioxidants, phytonutrients, and other nutrients than supplements can provide. Whole foods may also lower your risk of developing cardiovascular disease (disease of the heart and blood vessels), many types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

DoLearn to Love Fats

Fats have gotten a bad rap. Dietary fats are absolutely essential—in fact, life would be impossible without them. Most fats are very good for you. They add flavor and texture to the food you eat. What’s more, they burn more slowly than carbs, giving you long-lasting energy and keeping you feeling full for longer periods of time.

Fats confer many benefits, ranging from improving heart disease risk to aiding weight loss. Other benefits include lowering the risk of stroke and breast cancer, helping bones to absorb calcium, and aiding the immune system. They play a crucial role in brain function and facilitate normal growth and development.

Don’tEat Highly Processed Food

Studies have shown that eating highly processed foods increases your risk of many disorders and diseases. Some of the chemicals used in highly processed foods are known to cause cancer. Highly processed foods are often low in nutrition and high in sugar, fat, and salt—a recipe for obesity. Trans fats, found in many highly processed foods, can lead to atherosclerosis (hardened arteries) and cardiovascular disease.

Don’t Eat Trans Fats

Fats are good for you—with one notable exception. Trans fats are “Frankenstein fats” that have been altered to give them a longer shelf life. Trans fats are listed on nutrition labels as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Stay away from them—they pose a real threat to your health.

Eating foods that contain trans fats increases your risk of blood vessel disease. That’s because trans fats cause inflammation inside your arteries, leading to plaque buildup and vessel hardening. Plaque buildup slows blood flow through your blood vessels, leading to poor circulation and angina. Plaques may also rupture and cause a heart attack or stroke.

Moving into a New Lifestyle

Hopefully, at this point embracing a new, lifelong diet doesn’t seem as daunting as it may have before. Now that you have a solid grounding in the science of nutrition, you can feel more at ease about integrating your new diet into your everyday life. As you get used to your new way of eating, you will have to devote more time to planning your meals. But rest assured that soon choosing and combining the right foods will become second nature to you. Remember, you’ve made a great choice by embracing a dietary lifestyle that will improve your body, your energy level, your health, and your life expectancy.

Here's a quick recap to get you started:

1. Choose the stage of the diet in which you would like to begin—Induction (for omnivores and vegetarians only), Intermediate, or Lifetime.
2. Determine the number of grams of carbs you'll be eating per day, based on the stage you've chosen and whether you're an omnivore, vegetarian, or vegan.
3. Check out your permitted foods from the lists provided
4. Plan what you'll eat every day. Keep track of the net carbs you consume by recording the amount in a journal. Eventually, planning your meals and estimating carbs will become second nature.
5. Watch your health improve and your weight decrease!

What can I eat?

Optimal eating is about eating low-carb, low-GL, nutritious whole foods that won’t spike blood glucose or insulin levels. Since you’ll be eating a ketogenic or low-carb diet you’ll eat plenty of healthy fats, proteins, and vegetables (especially leafy greens!).

How much can I eat?

There isn’t a limit to the amount of food you can eat—within reason. You do have to monitor the number of carbs you consume. If you get hungry between meals, you can snack on foods that contain few or no carbs, for instance a piece of cheese or a boiled egg. Most people will find that their appetite decreases on a ketogenic or low-carb diet, so they tend to eat less than they were previously eating.

Will I be hungry?

No, you shouldn’t experience hunger eating ketogenic or low-carb diet. Because you’ll be eating more hunger-satisfying fats and protein, as well as foods with lots of fiber, your appetite will probably decrease. You’re likely to find that you no longer crave food the way you did before.

Are snacks allowed?

Absolutely! You just need to eat the right ones.

Does it require a lot of planning?

At first, you may find that the diet requires some planning. To be successful with any new way of eating, you must plan ahead and be prepared! To get you started, we’ve provided a list of appropriate foods with detailed nutritional information. After a week or so, you’ll be able to start tailoring your meals to your own individual tastes. You’ll notice, too, which foods you tend to eat most often, and before long you’ll easily be able to calculate the amount of carbs in a meal without referring to a chart!

Will I have to do any calculations?

It will be necessary for you to do some basic calculations, including calculating the net carb count (total grams of carbohydrate minus total grams of fiber) and adding up your total carbs for the day. While we have provided an extensive list of foods with the net carb count already calculated, you’ll still have to pay attention to the serving size and make sure you adjust the net carb count to match the amount that you are eating.

Are tools available to help with meal planning, carb counting, and other tasks?

There are many online tools that can help you with meal planning. If you don’t find a certain food on our list, you can find food databases online that provide nutritional information for almost any food you can name. This is especially important for vegetables and fruits, as they don’t generally come with nutrition labels. You can also find Web sites online and apps on your tablets or phones that will keep track of your carbs. Finally, there are also many apps and online resources for tracking your fitness level, from heart rate monitors to pedometers.

Why is there no calorie counting? Aren't calories important?

First, a word about calories. Scientifically speaking, a calorie is a unit of heat measurement. Caloric values for foods are approximations of the amount of energy the foods contain, and caloric values for physical activities are approximations of the amount of energy you expend when performing those activities.

Conventional wisdom holds that you gain weight when you eat more energy (calories) than you expend. This is the well-known "calories in, calories out" theory. According to this school of thought, obesity is simply the result of eating too many calories and not exercising enough to work them off. The only way to lose weight, in this way of thinking, is to eat less and move more. Proponents of the calories in, calories out theory also insist that the types of foods you eat aren’t important. Only the amount of calories in the food matters: A calorie is a calorie. By this logic, it makes no difference to your weight whether you eat a quarter pound of sugar or a quarter pound of fish.

But, as you can intuitively guess, this is not true. As a unit of energy, a calorie is always a calorie. However, the real issue is the way your body puts the calories from dissimilar nutrients to use.

Not all nutrients are created equal. Eating protein has a very different effect on your body than eating carbohydrates, even if you eat calorically identical servings, and even though both contain about 4 calories per gram. Your body will do different things with the two nutrients, and that, in turn, will determine the net energy extracted from them.

What’s more, different nutrients go through metabolic pathways that are not the same. These pathways directly affect appetite-regulating hormones in your body as well as the way in which the incoming energy is used in your body—whether it is stored as fat or burned for energy.

Obesity is a disease characterized by excess fat accumulation. Fat accumulation is not determined simply by the quantity of calories ingested. Instead, it’s largely governed by the effect of carbohydrates on the regulation of fat metabolism by the hormone insulin. If you eat large amounts of carbohydrates, a substantial proportion of the calories you ingest will be stored as fat.

Genetics do come into play. Some people are more genetically predisposed to gain weight because they are sensitive to the effects of insulin in the body. The types of nutrients they consume are even more important for insulin-sensitive people.

The problem with the calories in, calories out theory, then, is that it doesn’t take into account the varying metabolic effects that different nutrients have in your body. In the end, the quality of calories is more important than the number of calories you consume. When you follow this diet, you don’t have to count calories because the emphasis is on eating quality calories. You get your calories from nutrients that don't interfere with the hormonal regulation of fat metabolism. For this reason, they are less likely to lead to fat storage and weight gain.

What is ketosis? Is it safe?

Ketosis, simply put, is your body’s way of gaining energy when you’re not eating carbs by switching the fuel your body uses. Ketosis involves the burning of fats for energy—instead of glucose—which produces ketone bodies.

Some people mistakenly think that ketone bodies are dangerous, but they’re not. During periods of very low carbohydrate intake—for instance, when you sleep at night—the regulated and controlled production of ketone bodies by the liver causes a natural, harmless physiological state known as dietary ketosis. The presence of ketone bodies simply indicates that your body is burning fat for fuel, a normal and necessary function. Ketone bodies can be used as fuel by major organs such as the brain and heart.

Ketosis is often wrongly identified with ketoacidosis, a serious condition that can develop in people with diabetes when their bodies don’t produce enough insulin. Ketoacidosis is a pathological metabolic state marked by extreme and uncontrolled ketosis.

Are ketogenic and low-carb diets damaging?

There’s a lot of misinformation out there about ketogenic and low-carbohydrate diets. Many people know that these diets are very effective when it comes to losing weight—but they’re under the mistaken impression that low-carb diets are bad for your overall health. And that is simply untrue.

The science backs this up. Numerous studies have compared low-carb diets with other types of diets, and the low-carb diets have come out on top in terms of both weight loss and health benefits.

A Stanford University study from 2007 published in the Journal of the American Medical Association compared four popular and substantially different diets, each with a different carb/fat mix: very low carb and high fat; low carb; low fat and high carb; and very high carb. Women assigned to the very–low-carb, high-fat diet experienced greater weight loss and more favorable changes in related metabolic risk factors (HDL-cholesterol level, triglyceride level, and blood pressure). The finding of greater weight loss for the very–low-carb diet continued through 12 months.

Why do so many people—even doctors—think low-carb diets are unhealthy?

In part, it’s probably because of the “fat is bad, carbs are good” propaganda that’s proliferated in the past few decades. It's based on the misunderstanding that eating saturated fats and cholesterol cause atherosclerosis and heart disease. As you read earlier, there is currently no scientific proof that dietary cholesterol and saturated fats cause heart disease. On the other hand, there are many studies that show a high-carb diet and elevated levels of blood sugar and insulin are associated with heart disease.

Another factor is the mistaken notion that ketosis—your body’s way of gaining energy when you’re not eating carbs—is bad for you. Ketosis is often wrongly identified with ketoacidosis, a serious condition that can develop in people with diabetes.

I've heard that high-protein diets can lead to kidney damage. Is this true?

Let's start off by saying that this diet is NOT a high-protein diet. Protein should be eaten in moderation. The carbs eliminated on a low-carb diet should instead be replaced with healthy fats.

To address the question, in the past it was thought that high-protein, low-carb diets are damaging to the kidneys. Numerous studies, including a large-scale study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, have shown that this is not the case. In healthy adults, high protein intake does not put additional strain on the kidneys. In people with kidney disease, however, a high-protein diet may indeed cause damage. It’s best to have a thorough check-up with your doctor before you begin this or any diet to eliminate the possibility of kidney damage.