What an amazing experience! Thank you to Hanna and Bitte, organisers of the Low Carb Universe 2018 in Mallorca, Spain. The setting was incredible and the attendees of the event were engaged. Gary and I enjoyed meeting and chatting to such a diverse group of people, and the food - wow! A perfect way to immerse people in the health benefits of a Low Carb lifestyle.
I will be sharing my talk as a blog post shortly after it created a lot of interest and discussion during the week. I had 2 hours to present and answer questions which gave me ample time to share my research on the Evolution of our Plant-based Dietary Guidelines which I believe has become the Legacy of the Temperance Movement. I also discussed where Lifestyle Medicine - the 'move more, eat less meat' message is coming from AND what is transpiring from that message that will impact our future health choices!
Gary summarised all the previous talks he had given into an entertaining and thought provoking presentation which also generated many questions. Everyone congratulated him on the recent exoneration by the AHPRA Medical Board. It was nice to think he can speak out about the health benefits of Low Carb Healthy Fat principles without the fear of deregistration anymore.
I was especially excited to meet Dr Ann Childers and hear her presentation as Gary had told me wonderful things about her work, having met her at Tim Noakes’ event in Cape Town, South Africa, 2015.
Ann is a trained psychiatric physician with a special interest in regaining the physical and mental health of children, adolescents and adults through standard psychiatric care integrated with principles of nutrition and sleep.
It was great to catch up with Andreas Eenfeldt, the Diet Doctor from Sweden again, too!
Ivor Cummins, as usual, was engaging and managed to speak on Cholesterol/LDL/HDL making the research simple to understand. Ivor is currently questioning the whole 'LDL particle issue' and like Gary, is looking at the role of the blood vessel wall. Ivor demonstrated the damaging effect of Carbohydrates on the glycocalyx - the inner lining of the blood vessel wall and how that can impact our health. #watchthisspace
The caliber of all the speakers was outstanding, but I must admit there were 2 young standout presenters whom I had not heard speak before...
One was Vanessa Spina, @ketogenicgirl who engaged my attention from the get-go with her observation that the Food Pyramid is the biggest Pyramid Scheme Scam ever! Her story - "My life completely changed the day that I discovered the Ketogenic Diet. After years of searching and failing, I finally found not only what worked best for my body but for my mind and soul as well! Keto has become a very successful way of life for me – I went from living most of my teenage and adult years at over 165 pounds down to my dream weight all while enjoying delicious high fat foods and healthy proteins with very limited carbs and next to no exercise!" I predict this young woman will become a much sort after A List speaker in the not too-distant future.
The other standout for me was a young doctor from Oman, Dr Ali Irshad Al Lawati. Diagnosed as a child with Type 1 diabetes he followed the ‘guidelines’ for a decade before describing himself as becoming ‘Shrek-like’ by the age of 15. Around the same time his father had a friend with Type 2 Diabetes who improved his health dramatically going Low Carb. Ali began researching this foreign concept and came across Dr Richard Bernstein’s Type 1 diabetes work including Low Carb and his Rule of Small Numbers. Ali has since worked with Dr Bernstein as well as with Dr Eric Westman. These two men not only helped save his life, but have mentored him to become an exceptional doctor in the field of Type 1 diabetes, himself. The interesting thing is that in Oman where Ali is based, there are no dietary guidelines, so he is able to prescribe Low Carb, Higher Protein, Healthy Fats to his patients without fear of regulation! His results … as you can imagine, are amazing.
Other great speakers/presenters included; Arjun Singh Panesar and Charlotte Summers, co-founders of www.diabetes.co.uk, Ann Fernholm, Megan Ramos (IDM Program with Jason Fung) and Julia Tulipan.
Some of the guests are also people I admire who have created their own online support platforms; including Lisa La Nasa founder of Diaverge Diabetes Management, and Charlotte Potts from Diabetes Lifestyle Coaching.
My head is still spinning ...
After our presentations Gary and I were interviewed by the team at Diet Doctor. A special thank you to Emőke Csoma and Jill Wallentin for their patience with a few technical difficulties, including a persistent Mallorcan cat who was interested in our conversation and created a very funny diversion at times!
If you have an opportunity to attend next year's Low Carb Universe Event please consider it seriously. Here are a few photos to inspire you to visit Barcelona and #LCU19 on the Island of Mallorca!
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