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I have, over the past many years in general, taken some heat for not being a low-carb purist. Not pure enough, or restrictive enough, or something enough about the diet I eat and the ingredients I use in my recipes.

Salt is an essential nutrient - our body needs sodium. The take-home message here is that despite the demonizing of sodium, it is an essential nutrient; without it we die. Low carbohydrate diets both normalize the body's ability to excrete excess sodium and dramatically reduce our intake of processed foods, baked goods, chips, and other "snack foods," the biggest sources of sodium in the modern American diet. So pay attention. Be aware, too, that having elevated blood pressure does not necessarily mean you need a low sodium diet.

CarbSmart Podcast Episode 17. I told you eating low carb was slowing my aging process. Now we have University of California gerontologist Cynthia Kenyon, with an animal study showing exactly that. She's actually discovered what she calls the Grim Reaper gene, and another she calls the Sweet Sixteen gene. The switch that turns on the former and turns off the latter? Insulin. Which means that by cutting carbs and lowering insulin, you can reverse the process, switching off the Grim Reaper and turning on your Sweet Sixteen. Or at least she can in roundworms.

Years ago, a reader told me that they admired me because I had stuck with my low-carb diet even though it had not given me the body of my dreams. Surely you’re familiar with the Alcoholics Anonymous Serenity Prayer – “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” I don’t care if you’re a praying person or not, nor to whom you pray if you are. But there is something important here. Eating right, which for so many of us means avoiding excess carbohydrates, can make you slimmer, healthier, happier, more energetic, and more confident. That has been enough for me. I urge you to let it be enough for you.

There is a long-established truism that weight loss is all about “calories in, calories out,” and along with it the apparently unshakeable assumption that all calories are created equal. It’s all bunk. Sheer bunk. But it’s bunk with so much weight of belief behind it that it’s very hard to shake people’s faith in it, even people who should know better.

I frequently see questions about cheat days – most commonly, “How often should I have a cheat day?” There seems to be an assumption that cheat days are a good idea, something that should be built into a low-carb diet to keep people from feeling deprived.

Summer is here! And for many of us, especially those of us who live in rural-ish areas, that means a trip to the county fair. Too many folks simply assume that “It wouldn’t be the fair without” and give themselves permission to gobble every carb in sight, many of them deep-fried in questionable oils, for the duration.

In Episode 12 of the CarbSmart Podcast, I am interviewing Christine Moore, a functional nutritional therapy practitioner. Having talked to registered dietitians who embrace carbohydrate restriction about the fact that food corporations are a major source of funding, or college dietetics programs and the effect that has on what they are taught and what they are permitted to say to their clients.

CarbSmart Podcast Episode 11: I found myself thinking about how we came to equate junk food with “fun,” to the point where many people cannot imagine, say, enjoying an awesome movie unless they also have a big bucket of popcorn or bag of chips. How did this happen? Hosted by Dana Carpender.

CarbSmart Podcast Episode 10 - CarbSmart’s Dana Carpender interviewed William Davis, MD for her “3 Questions with” series. Dr. Davis spent an informative hour talking with CarbSmart’s managing editor. Read Dana’s review of Wheat Belly and Super Gut. Includes link to video on YouTube.