Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Low-carb diet: Arthur De Vany

We're usually up for any new diet fad, so when we read Bryan Appleyard's article in the Sunday Times ("The lose a stone age diet - here), we thought we'd give it a trial.

Arthur De Vany is Professor of Economics at the University of California Irvine and recommends the diet of our environment of evolutionary adaptation, specifically pre-agricultural. What this amounts to is cutting right back on the carbohydrates: bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, and eating instead meat, vegetables and fruit. And also exercise, but neither regular nor fanatical.

The main effect of this is to dramatically lower ambient blood sugar levels.

We were already converts to the idea that the modern MacDiet saturates us in sugar and that this is really harmful, so we were pretty aligned with De Vany already. Cutting out cereals in the morning in favour of a continental breakfast (ham, cheese, eggs, fruit) and making some of the other changes certainly feels different. And De Vany also gives us permission to skip meals and feel a little hungry from time to time -so we'll see if we lose any weight. Brian Appleyard reckoned he lost a stone in three weeks.