Hopefully this will be the first of many discussions in the UK on low carbing:

BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour programme today featured a discussion between Jenni Murray (the presenter), Leslie Kenton (author of the X FActor) and nutrionist Professor Tom Sanders.

"Low carbohydrate diets seem to be all the rage at the moment. The reason seems to be that they question the traditional emphasis on lowering your fat intake. These diets claim the key is not to worry so much about fat but to cut out bread, pasta, potatoes and rice. The theory behind this is that body fat is produced by insulin which is produced by carbohydrates. Is this junk science or, at long last, the diet which works? Even if you do lose weight on it, are you putting your health at risk? Jenni talks to health guru Leslie Kenton and to nutritionist Professor Tom Sanders."

There is a "listen again" section on the web site www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour

(if you should have trouble with this link, then go to www.bbc.co.uk, click radio, then radio 4, then Woman's Hour. It should still be listed at the top of today's programme schedule - if it isn't, then look under the listen again topics.

An interesting, if short discussion, but it will hopefully lead to many more such discussions in the UK media.

Demi

Interesting how nutritionist feel entitled to talk like gods!

"High-fat, high-protein diets.." he doesn't want to admit it's just low-carb, and normal protein, normal fat, " are not thought to be desirable."

Hey, if a nutritionist thinks that it's not thought to be desirable, then who needs research?

Still listening, and thanks for the link Demi !

Wa'il

Hi Demi,

I did listen to the original interview when it went out live. I have now just listened to it again, thanks to your link, and although I was listening intently the first time, there were things I missed, which I caught on the second hearing.

My second impression is better than the first, and I will have to get a copy of this book to study myself. On the first occasion, I was annoyed that Leslie Kenton allowed herself to be pushed around so much by this Professor Tom Sanders, and did not robustly enough (for my liking) defend a number of points, among them ketosis. On second listening, I found she had been much more subtle, and given that she was broadcasting to a female audience, was probably more effective overall, than the confrontational approach which would have resulted if, say, I had been there and not her.

There is a sub-text to this. I tried several times last year to get "Woman's Hour" to broadcast a piece about low-carb diets, and had some written correspondence and telephone conversations with Jenni Murray's Producer. I even sent her a copy of all my notes, evidence and papers from my Shed-That-Weight venture, at her request. There is no way of knowing whether this helped pave the way for Leslie Kenton, but I did notice that it was Jenni Murray who jumped in and said "Well that's the whole point isn't it?" when the learned professor was warning about getting into ketosis.

Thanks for doing all this work Demi. It looks like the subject may at last take off again in this country (at long last), and that Leslie will have a major bestseller on her hands.

Andy

Hi Andy,

A number of people, including myself, have been posting on the Woman's Hour message board since the programme. Will be interesting to see if Jenni and co take it any further.

Demi

Hi Demi,

I agree. If you hear something before I do, please let me know.

Andy