Originally published 2/7/2011, Updated 9/19/2024

Watch the CarbSmart Podcast Episode 19 on YouTube

Listen to the CarbSmart Podcast Episode 19 Here

Show Notes for the Podcast

Why I’m Not a Low-Carb Purist

Are you a food purist? Do you insist that everything be natural and organic? I’m not, and I don’t.
So let me explain why. I have been accused of not being a low-carb purist.

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.

Years ago, I was accused of something very close to a major character flaw in a discussion about Sucralose by a woman who was infuriated that I would use such an evil, evil ingredient, and that I dared to suggest that perhaps Stevia was not in it.

Utterly safe beyond all question. I’ve been taken to task for using and eating polyols I’ve been told that I should only use and only recommend Organic grass-fed meat and that suggesting it’s okay to eat battery eggs That is factory farmed eggs is just not safe. Sorry to disappoint, folks, but I’m not a purist.

I will readily admit that grass-fed meat is better both for one’s health and for the environment than meat from confined animal feedlot operations. For years, we kept chickens in our backyard and therefore regularly ate eggs that were superior to grocery store eggs, especially in the summer when the chickens would free range and eat lots of bugs and clover.

I have no problem with people using stevia if they prefer it to sucralose. That’s fine. I use stevia more than sucralose myself. That said, I have grocery store meat in my freezer and thawing in my kitchen. Before we had chickens, and since the last got eaten by a predator, I mostly bought and buy pastured eggs, but I’m not above buying grocery store eggs when they’re super cheap.

I buy pasteurized, non-organic, half and half and cream, and blocks of standard cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Swiss, and even, gasp, grated Parmesan in the green shaker. Generally, the house brand. Why? The same reason many people are buying stuff they consider somewhat south of optimal these days. Money.

You Don’t Have to be a Low-Carb Purist at the Grocery Store

I quite frankly can’t afford to buy all $10 a pound and up meat. I can’t afford $15 a quart for raw cream. Happily, raw milk, grass-fed cheese has come down in price. But I still buy a lot of grocery store block and shredded cheese instead of paying $8 a pound and up all the time. I’d lose weight all right eating that stuff because I’d have to eat less than half of what I usually do now to be able to call myself a low-carb purist.

Similarly, I think well of erythritol and stevia, or erythritol and monk fruit blends, and happily, they are coming down. But I’ll understand if you can’t afford sweeteners that currently start at $13 a pound. If you can afford this stuff, and you want to buy it, go for it.

I think it’s great. But my main concern has been and remains macronutrient balance, fat, protein, carbs. Altering this has been far and away my most powerful tool to lose weight and improve my health and energy. I started by swapping out brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole grain cereal, and potatoes for, yes, grocery store meat and vegetables.

Eggs and cheese and non-starchy vegetables and that right there was the most important change. Everything else I have done falls into the category of minor tweaks in comparison. 80% or more of the improvement to my health came from whacking the carbs out of my diet.

Are You a Low-Carb Purist if You Use Splenda?

I have seen no credible evidence that it is a neurotoxin. Though people often claim it is, apparently thinking it is chemically similar to aspartame, it is not. I have seen evidence that sucralose can cause thymus shrinkage and kidney swelling in rats in enormous doses. Far, far beyond anything I consume or you consume, really, than anyone consumes.
I have also seen studies indicating that in similar ridiculous doses, stevia may interfere with fertility in rats, and studies indicating that it causes abdominal fat deposition in chickens. This latter may be because of the well accepted fact that stevia increases insulin levels. Yes, I eat some non-organic vegetables and fruits, even frozen vegetables.

Organic pesticides are still pesticides, people. And I am willing to use Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and other condiments that may contain some sugar or even high fructose corn syrup because the total quantity is too tiny to screw up my blood sugar. I do make my own ketchup. So, shouldn’t you only eat organic or natural ingredients?

Shouldn’t You Only Eat Organic or Natural Ingredients?

I do not call for all organic or natural products in my recipes. You are, of course, more than welcome to use them. But there’s an old saying that the good is the enemy of the perfect. The reverse is also true. The perfect is the enemy of the good. My main message is cut out the damn carbs! That’s pretty much it.

If I confound that with, Oh, and you have to buy all organically raised small farm food, I’m going to scare away more people than I help. Telling a family of five with an obese mother and father and three kids who are growing overweight already, but who are living on $60,000 a year or less, that if they don’t buy all boutique food, their diet isn’t good enough, is worse than unhelpful, it is downright discouraging.

Far from it. Far better to tell them that those battery eggs are cheaper than cold cereal, vastly more nutritious, and more versatile to boot. Far better to give them a dozen things to do with $1.25 a pound chicken legs and thighs, and I’ve seen them cheaper around here, $3.99 a pound ground chuck, and $1.79 a pound pork shoulder, that will feed their family without requiring that they sell the house.

Two, many people don’t have access to these things, even if they have the money. I live in a lefty, trendy university town in the Midwest. I can get pastured eggs, organic vegetables, local grass-fed meat. For a while, we even had a cow share to get local milk and cream, all without leaving town. But for many people, obtaining this stuff would mean driving a long way.

It’s frankly impractical. Should I tell them, I’m sorry, too bad, guess you’ll just have to lose your kidneys and toes and eyesight to diabetes. Or should I tell them how to get 80% or more of the improvement possible with food from their very own local grocery store. I have hopes that as the popularity of grass-fed and pastured meat and eggs grows, as the public demand for raw milk, grass-fed cheese increases, these foods will become more widely available and will come down in price.

That would be wonderful for everyone. But that day is not today. In short, I have quite enough to do trying to convince people to quit scarfing Lucky Charms and swilling Coca Cola, trying to explain to the already health oriented that they’ve been sold a bill of goods about whole grains being healthier than meat and eggs, and help families make the low carb transition without too much beef.

Dislocation of their lives and their budgets. If you are a purist and can afford to be a purist, I laud you. But I leave the details up to you. So where do you stand on this issue?

All organic? Some organic stuff? Or just what you can afford at the grocery store?

If you are in between, how do you decide which standard stuff to buy versus when to pop for the organic stuff?
Does it vary some? How are you making these decisions?

Let us know in the comments below and be sure to share this with everyone who might be interested. Until next time, stay low-carb, happy and healthy.

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