Dr. Robert Atkins, a cardiologist, is the Grandfather of all the recent restricted carbohydrate books. In his most recent Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, he re-asserts that the best way to lose weight is to adopt a very restrictive carbohydrate diet, one that forces the body to burn its own fat stores for fuel. He claims that such a diet is not only more successful that a low-fat approach, but that it offers a 'metabolic' advantage that increases fat burning while protecting prescious muscle. Not only does he give evidence from his long practice treating overweight people, but also provides plenty of references from peer reviewed journal that back up his ideas. NeanderThin: Eat Like a Caveman to Achieve a Lean, Strong, Healthy Body by Ray Audette is based on the ideas of paleolithic nutrition. Using peer reviewed research Audette presents the argument that we evolved eating a mostly meat and fat diet and that a diet based on 'stone age' principles is the best for man. The diet does contain natural, unprocessed carbohydrates and can be followed as a low-carb, or moderate diet, depending upon whether and how much fruit is used.
Michael and Mary Eades, two bariatric (weight loss) doctors, wrote the best selling Protein Power. That book sparked provocative debate with its assertion that our mainly carbohydrate-based diet - and not one rich in protein - is responsible for rampant obesity and heart disease among Americans. Their lastest book, The Protein Power Lifeplan offers a guide that expands both their theory and their nutritional program, and shows how an adequate protein, moderate fat and restricted carbohydrate diet can can combat diabetes, high blood pressure, auto-immune disorders, and more. Their writing is well researched and refers often to peer-reviewed research articles. Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Falon and Mary Enig is one of my favorite books. Although billed as a cookbook, it's much, much more. It is packed with food and health information. As they say in their introduction: "The premise of this book is that modern food choices and preparation techniques constitute a radical change from the way man has nourished himself for thousands of years and, from the perspective of history, represent a fad that not only has severely compromised his health and vitality, but may well destroy him; and that the culinary traditions of our ancestors, and the food choices and preparation techniques of healthy nonindustrialized peoples, should serve as the model for contemporary eating habits, even and especially during this modern technological age.
Lights Out Sleep, Sugar and Survival by T.S. Wiley and Bent Formby is a book that examines some of the most cutting-edge research coming out of the NIH that suggests that artificial light and not sleeping in sync with seasonal light exposure alters the delicate balance of our hormones and neurotransmitters. These hormones govern our appetite, fertility and mental and physical health. The use of artificial lights has prolonged our day so much that our ancient feedback systems think it's summer all the time, throwing switches that make us crave carbohydrates and slow down our metabolism in order to lay down a fat base to see us through the coming winter. But winter never comes -- and the perennial preparation for 'hibernation' leads to chronic illness including heart disease, diabetes, obesity mental illness and depression. They too recommend that we eat in sync with the seasons, eating very few carbohydrate foods in the winter. The list of references for this book runs over 100 pages - worth the price of the book alone. Diana Schwarzbein is an endocrinologist who has come to realize that low carb is what works. The book is based on her work with obese, insulin-resistant patients, and those with Type II diabetes. She concludes that low-fat diets are dangerous and that they cause hormonal havoc in the body. (I can testify to that!) She believes that eating fat makes you lose body fat and that high cholesterol foods are beneficial. She insists that her patients give up all stimulants as well as foods with artificial ingredients.