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Digestion Of Simple Sugars & Supplemental Digestive Enzymes. Article 4 of the Science of Low-Carb & Keto Diets series. Those of us who are trying to lose weight, sometimes lose track of the fact that the body wants to take in food and use it to our best advantage. It does this by digesting the food, thereby making it ready for transfer into the body's tissue cells. The necessary factors are enzymes, which are produced in our bodies for this purpose. Only simple sugars can be absorbed into the cells of the body, and enzymes are necessary to break down the complex carbohydrates to the simple sugar stage.

Many of you have written me recently, asking all sorts of questions about a recent news item involving me and how my involvement in this bizarre episode has prevented me from writing more frequent articles for CarbSmart.

Carol from California is 42 years old, and has been on the Atkins program for 16 months. She has lost a total of 84 pounds, 51 inches, and has dropped from a size 26 pants to a size 16!

If you are like me, you have been overweight for longer than you can remember. Personally, I have never been anywhere near skinny. Rumor has it I was born weighing 47 pounds, and my mother washed down several bottles of painkillers with two bottles of tequila when she went into labor due to the intense pain.

What do you serve a low carber who doesn't really want to be one? Well, you start with his favorite foods – at least the favorites that are low carb. And that brings us to tonight's dinner, Pineapple Barbecued Salmon Fillets with an Asian Slaw. I tried this recipe on Rod the other night, and he loved it. He even asked me to make it again last night, which is the supreme compliment from a man who is driven by his stomach. You can serve Pineapple Barbecued Salmon Fillets to non-low carbers without fear.

What Are Enzymes? Article 3 of the Science of Low-Carb & Keto Diets series. Enzymes are protein substances that are normally produced by the body to cause or allow specific actions. Dr. Beth Gruber explains the function of enzymes.

I chose lamb for this week's entree because so many people are unfamiliar with it. I think lamb is wonderful and find it very satisfying. I prefer it prepared very simply, seasoned with very few ingredients. When I serve plain lamb, I like to add a little seasoning sparkle to the vegetables, so tonight's dinner will feature Italian Seasoned Green Beans and a Colorful Garden Salad.

What Is Dietary Fiber and The Glycemic Index? Article 2 of the Science of Low-Carb & Keto Diets series. Non-digestible carbohydrates are variously called dietary fiber, crude fiber, indigestible residue, gums, and roughage. Although the fiber doesn't contribute to our nutritional needs directly, it is essential to our bodies because it causes the action necessary to clear the intestinal tract.

In a cloud of utter boredom, I drag my feet to the school cafeteria. It's chaos, as usual. I blink in a slow, salamander-like motion and head toward my table, resigned. All around me are the wonderful smells of empty carbohydrates: soup, garlic bread, macaroni, French fries.... The list goes on, but it doesn't really matter, because I can't eat any of it. I'm a low carber.