Hi all. As some of you know, I am in Dental Hygiene school. Right now, I am taking nutrition. Today was the first day this class met. The teacher was telling us how she wrote her thesis on how bad hi protein diets were, yadda yadda yadda. And of course other students chimed in. Even a student (whom I love dearly) but exercises like a fiend, and "eats right" but still has a tummy. No one at school knows that I am low carbing. I have found that it is easy to make it look like you are main stream lowfat dieting. Just make a lunch salad, and fill it up with meats and cheeses (with less salad - just try to get at least a small bit of green on your fork so people see salad). I don't have many full days at school, so it is easy to avoid the topic. When offered sweets, I just decline, that looks like normal dieting too. I am not ashamed, but school takes enough energy without having to deal with the onslaught of 30 something people telling you why the things you are doing are wrong. Plus, I am a firm believer in that different people need different methods.

You could ask if you could read the thesis. I'm curious what research went into that. How can you write one (not that I have) with no research to back it up? Maybe you could get permission to post it here. The research is much more compelling in favor of low carb than anything else I've seen. People seem to base their "facts" on hearsay.

If you are required to write a paper on nutrition, maybe you could show her how it's done...with proper research. There are plenty of articles here.

I had a small confrontation today with someone about fat. She apparently has high blood cholesterol levels. She was complaining about not being able to eat something because it was high in fat (lamb chops). I told her the healthy benefits of fat such as soft skin, glossy hair etc. (she has dry pasty skin and short brittle hair--but that could be because of hair coloring). I told her that sugar and white flour were culprits in higher cholesterol. She just walks away. I had just earlier that morning seen her and two others dig into a chocolate cake with chocolate pudding and cool whip dessert with candy strewn through it and on top of it (sorry if it sets you off). They were eating this at 8 a.m. They offered some to me. I said, "maybe after lunch" to be polite. They said it probabaly would be gone by lunch so they were eating theirs now. She didn't seem too concerned about possible fat in that concoction, I suppose it must have had some, but lamb chops were bad??? Too good so that she had to put them in the freezer so she wouldn't eat them all tonight??? Her body is probably craving protein and healthy fat and she's denying it what it needs, for the sake of cholesterol????

Sorry, I'm on a rant...just ignore me if you don't want to hear it.
But I know where you're coming from.

Beth

Well that must've be a FUN class to sit through. I like to hear what they have to say. Even if it totally goes against what I've learned and read. But the vehemence with which "they" explain their position is frightening tho. I keep researching and learning, so it bolsters what I am doing.

I got a book from the library called "Low-Fat Lies High-Fat Frauds" and I read the one chapter he gives about low carbing. He spent a whole 2 weeks on low carb and decided it was a crock! Two whole weeks! I want to read the rest of the book, just to see what he thinks one should do. I think the book recommends a "Mediteranian" style of eating. Anyway...I think it would be interesting to hear how your teacher researched her thesis.

I think how much you let people know is your personal preference. I tend to avoid total confrontation, so I think you are wise in not being obvious about it. But as you lose weight, I think you will be more willing to share with those who may need it. Thanks for sharing how you are handling the situation. It always helps to know how others deal with situations. Victoria

Lizzie,

You must have tremendous self-control to sit through that and not say anything.

Dental hygiene school? The last time I had my teeth cleaned, the hygienist kept hunting and hunting for plaque to scrape and couldn't find any! It had been more than a year and she was astounded at the fact that I have no plaque.

If you have to write a term paper for this class, my I suggest a topic: the effect of a high-carbohydrate diet on the teeth?

Allison

quote:
If you have to write a term paper for this class, my I suggest a topic: the effect of a high-carbohydrate diet on the teeth?


Good one, Allison! I bet her professor will get a kick out of that one!

I second the recommendation to look at her thesis. Odds are that the data comes from high fat and high protein intake in the presence of normal or near normal carb intake.

If you REALLY want to get on her good side (NOT) then you could right a paper on the fallacies of extrapolating the consequences of high protein and high fat intake in high carbohydrate diets to diets that are severly carb restricted - and use HER paper as one of the examples.

Actually, the bacteria in your mouth need carbohydrate substances in order to produce the acid that causes decay. I would guess that a low-carb diet would reduce plaque and risk factors for decay. If you don't feed the bacteria, they can't produce the acid necessary to destroy teeth.

a paper on Weston Price's (DDS) researches into dental health and hunter-gatherer eating habits would be an interesting one to present!