I've written about the talk Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt gave on the 2011 Low-Carb Cruise (and the Ancestral Health Symposium), discussing the popularity of the LCHF (low-carb high-fat) diet in Sweden. A fun slide he showed superimposed butter sales over the last 25 years with obesity rates - as butter went down, obesity rose, and in the last few years, both trends started to reverse. On the cruise, I loved watching the Swedes enthusiastically consuming butter, putting it on almost everything on their plates. Now, Dr. Eenfeldt reports in his blog that there is getting to be an actual butter shortage in Sweden, and a few months ago linked to a news story about increased butter consumption Finland, with the popularity of low-carb and natural foods eating cited as a main cause. I poked around, and found a report from India that "Butter consumption exceeded domestic production in 2010 and is forecast to do so again in 2011". In the U.S. there has not been nearly so dramatic a change in butter consumption, however the USDA reports that margarine sales are down dramatically and salad and cooking oils are up a lot. At the same time, the consumption of fats and oils in baked and fried foods has fallen rather steeply in the last decade. Interesting trends to watch!
Photo: Stockbyte/Getty Images
Related Resources:
- What is Saturated Fat?
- Time to Stop Being Afraid of Saturated Fat
- 2012 Low-Carb Cruise is Going to ROCK!
I began eating low carb in July of this year. I have not lost any weight which makes me kinda sad
BUT! I LOVE this way of eating. It is much more satisfying than any other. I gladly give up brown rice, other grains, starches, even most summer fruit in trade for DAIRY FAT!! I always said it’s the best fat in the world (with pork a close second). I truly enjoy a nice piece of low carb bread toasted with slabs (1 T?) of salted butter! Maybe this, along with the heavy cream, half and half and cheeses, is why I’m not losing weight! I guess I just have to not “like” it so much… 
JJ, if you aren’t losing weight, may I suggest that you do stop eating the low-carb bread. Jimmy Moore just did a personal study on “low-carb bread” and found his blood sugar spiked just as high as if he had eaten regular bread. I honestly don’t think bread should ever be a part of a low-carb way of eating, but that’s just me. It might be worthwhile for you to try Induction (as suggested by Dr. Atkins) for two weeks to kick-start your weight loss. If you would like to chat with me off this site, please don’t hesitate to check out my Facebook page. Just type in my name Sharon Palmer-Brownstein and you can find me there. I have been leading the low-carb way of life for over three years now, and would be happy to help you in any way I can.
If I ate like that then I would have to make two choices.
Either, start exercising like power walking (running ruins your joints) in a real walking program (forget strolling, never worked for me for years!)
Or
cut back on the heavy cream for just treats like deserts, keep eating your butter , but the cheese can be an issue and a staller as can the cream and half and half !
maybe stick to hard aged cheeses , but cut back a tad.
get rid of the half and half and make your own with half Hcream and half water!
Up your good fats and protein.
this has worked for me in combination with exercise.
All the rest you mentioned is great!…good luck!
You might consider reading Wheat Belly.
It has put me off bread entirely.
I agree with Sharon and D.Lane, the low carb bread is not great especially wheat.
I do have Fermented (many hours) Sourdough, from 100% Spelt that I make myself for my family and have that as a treat, with no blood spikes….a huge undertaking to make.
But this bread cannot be purchased as it is too healthy and not a “money maker” for the companies!
I’m not ready to say that everyone ought to avoid grains, but the evidence is sure pointing that direction. Nora Gedgaudas’ presentation to the Ancestral Health Symposium is convincing. (See her video at http://vimeo.com/27961539 or just read her PPT slides at http://www.slideshare.net/ancestralhealth/ahs-slidesnora-gedgaudas.)
Eating very low carb with generous animal fat seems to be the only way I can lose weight, and I feel so much better and can even think more clearly.
I have been eating low carb (under 20 net carbs total) for about a month now and I feel SO much better. My health was so bad a month ago that I scheduled an appt. with my doctor to be tested for diabetes. That appt. is this morning and I feel like it’s going to be a waste of time now except that it will be nice to see if my bloodwork has improved.
About the foods I eat, I eat generous amounts of eggs, butter, cheeses, avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, fish, pork, beef, whole heavy cream and select vegetables. And I eat no wheat or other grains. And I feel wonderful! At first, I felt yucky giving up all of the carbs, but that was to be expected. I was a carb-addict! But now, my energy is improving and my appetite is decreasing. Last night, I didn’t even eat dinner…because I just wasn’t hungry at all.
There is a great website for low-carb recipes that I’ve found which has helped me tremendously. It’s http://www.genaw.com. The woman who designed it has done so much work to support this eating style and her recipes are very good. The taco bake and mock potato soup are my favorites.
My weight has dropped slowly, but it’s moving. At first I was mad, but it has forced me to focus on other areas to judge my progress.
To help strenghten your resolve regrding this eating style, I would recommend educating yourself as much as possible. There is so much false information out there that it can be easy to become confused about what is true and what isn’t. Especially when it’s coming from our doctors and our government! I have read Sugar Nation, all of the Atkins books, Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It, The Rosedale Diet (mostly for the well researched supplement advise), and Wheat Belly (just finished it last night). And another favorite book of mine which I continually refer back to is The Truth About Beauty by Kat James. She is truly passionate about helping people get healthy.
i would just like to share this: i am salicylate intolerant, i started the Atkins diet back in April this year to lose a few kilo’s (lost 7 so far and feeling great) other diets didn’t agree with my intolerance, i was on daily medication and had to carry a epipen always, since starting the Atkins way i have had only one minor intolerance effect,i don’t understand why i haven’t but i thought i should share this.
Hi, Chel -
I’m not familiar with salicylate intolerance, but that’s interesting – thanks for sharing. I’ll keep that on the back burner in case others report the same thing.