Aluminum Standard

This recently-released paper has been "chewed on" at a number of places this week.  Here's the funniest report I have seen so far:
http://ramblingsofacarnivore.blogspot.com/2011/06/unnecessary-starvation-cures-diabetes.html
So glad I had that lecture last week about how science works.  Reminded me that I needed to do a post like this.  People have been crying out for gold-standard randomized placebo-controlled double-blind clinical studies.  This study is the aluminum standard, I guess..  It's not a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study, and the sample size is too small for it to ever be included in one of those fancy evidence-based libraries that I don't have a card to.
I don't know how IT got through.  The control group isn't really a control, even though that is what they called it.  They are using it as more of a baseline standard.  That double-blind thing is mainly nonsense.  People usually know what they are eating.  I think these folks figured out they were hungry.
Just sayin' this study isn't randomized.  Can you point out the Where's Waldo?
Time's up:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randomized_controlled_trial

Doing Experiments on Myself

This is a lesson on how to screw up an n=1 experiment.  Oh, the perils!  How can I get anywhere without a double-blind placebo-controlled study??  Some days, I think I've got the blind part down......
Dr. Eades' latest post on restarting a low-carb diet reminded me of what happened this week.  You can see it here:  http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/saturated-fat/tips-tricks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-ii/
Early this week, I gave blood.  I always take a day off from any kind of dieting on the days I give blood.  I tend to get out of whack.  Not sure why-could it be from downing the two packages of oatmeal raisin cookies, a bag of Cheetos, and a container of metallic orange juice while waiting it out at the canteen????
This canteen feast means that I always re-start my low carb diet the day after giving blood.  This time I drank more than the normal amount of water, I thought.
By Thursday, I thought I had fully recovered from both giving blood and the carb-fest.  I went out to the garden early in the day because it has been getting so hot.  The plan was to not tax myself too much or stay out too long.  As I was finishing up the the final harvesting, a friend stopped by.  So I decided to stay, and we weeded the entire herb garden, took out a couple plants, gabbed excessively and then went for turning the compost.  I think I was out there for another hour and a half or so.  Since it was to be just a short jaunt, I didn't bring any water, or stop for a hose break.
By the time we finished, I had a headache.  Then I remembered that I had gotten up too early in the morning for the real coffee, so I had fixed myself a quick cup of decaf before heading out the door.  Surely the headache was from the lack of caffeine.  As soon as I got inside, I had a cup, fixed myself a large salad for lunch, and then made a huge jar of punch.  It's just a large olive jar filled to the top with water, a plug of frozen lemon juice and pulp, and a half teaspoon of plum puree to make it pink.  I chugged the punch, yea that was good!
So I thought I had enough water with all the salad and the punch.  I didn't feel thirsty.  By the afternoon, the headache was back and I was feeling a bit weak.  I then discovered that in my rush out the door so early, I had forgotten to take my magnesium.  I took my pill with some water.  It didn't help.
Next thing, I had a snack.  Cheese.  Gotta do low carb.  That didn't help.
Next thing, I had a plum, and a glass of water.  The plums are small and I had the carbs, so why not.  That didn't help much.
Then, I kept thinking, glad this isn't happening within earshot of "coach" [redacted], for she would surely blame it all on my dangerous and disastrous low-carb diet.
Next, I downed a glass of water with some fake salt mixed in, for potassium.  I started to feel a little bit better.
I waited for a bit, and next, I downed an entire serving of full-fructose Emergen-C, with extra water, even though I knew I would pay later in extra cravings.  That didn't help much either.  Another half hour went by and I still didn't feel well.  I still had a headache and cramps in my feet.
Next, I took another magnesium pill with a cal-mag, and an extra glass of water.  Finally, that did the trick!  It was the cal-mag all along!  (Oh, and about 5 more glasses of water??)  Confounded again!  I guess we'll never know.

Don't these people have anything better to do?

I got another letter from a coach on a weight-loss website today.  Seems it was too scary to have my e-mail address posted on my page.  You can read about it here:
" Hello

Telling people how to contact you to get access to your outside blog is like someone who is told they can't advertise on our site and that's there way around it. I can't allow you to do that, so I removed that info from your [redacted]Page.

Thanks,

Jen"

Update

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile, but by the time you finish reading this, you'll know why.
Racket Guy and I are now following the same eating plan together, and I just have to say, I'm speechless.
He lost 4 pounds in 10 days, and it was really a hassle because his pants wouldn't stay up.  It took us a long time to find the belt that he had worn 10 years ago, since it was buried in the pile of stuff that we just threw into the closet right before the holiday guests arrived last winter.
After a few days on my plan, he thought he was going to die. He almost did, from the immediate kidney failure.  I called the ambulance and they rushed him to the hospital.  This was really a hassle because I had to find someone to take care of the cats and to feed the snails.
While we were at the medical center starting dialysis we found out he had contracted osteoporosis during his short stint on the diet.
While they did additional testing, they found that he had a high level of 3-hydroxybutyric acid, so they decided to admit him to the hospital.  (So that's why we missed the latest episode of Glee, sorry folks!  They didn't have a working television in the waiting room by ICU.)
In the morning, his doctor visited, and told him that he had incurred a fair amount of bone loss during the 10 days on the diet. We looked at some of the x-rays and I was shocked to discover that his right femur was completely missing.  Now all this time, I had thought that the reason that he collapsed was from dehydration.  Since I heard that the weight people lose on such a diet is just from water, I just made that connection.  It never occurred to me that the dramatic weight loss was NOT due to water alone.  The doctor did explain that while he was not dehydrated, he would regain the 4 pounds of water weight he lost and then some if he just went off that disastrous diet.
He felt a bit better after eating a bit of the hospital food.  They brought a bowl of maple oatmeal with skim milk, a container of Jello, a cup of juice and some apple slices.
I guess that is what I should be feeding him now, until he regains enough strength to feed himself.  I need to go to the grocery store to pick up a few items on his food list:  quinoa, oatmeal, skim milk, applesauce, fat-free soy margarine and a bunch of containers of Ms. Anorexic Bovine ice cream. 
He was feeling a bit weak this afternoon, and I wanted to give him a shake of potassium in his seitan salad, but when I called the cardiologist for permission, they said she had already left for the day.  Probably out golfing, gee, just when we need her.
Thank you all for your support and prayers during these trying times.  It is about time for us to get honest with ourselves, to listen to our bodies, and to pay attention to the experts.  If we had just taken the advice of the experts, none of these disasters would have happened.

Scientific Method 101

Science.  It's like making sausage, really.  Maybe with some floor scrapings and a dash of meat glue.
I remember one of my first gigs as a professional.  I worked with a huge group of in-house consultants, a real "navy seal" team.  We had all the tools and the training and were ready for anything.
Due to the success of the division I was assisting, I was selected to help write a white paper about a popular statistical technique.  Our team met for months, thrashing out the outline and general flow of the paper.  Each participant was asked to write a case study, so that the final report would contain a nice selection of examples that readers could draw upon depending on their situation.
Like the other statisticians, I wrote my portion of the paper.  Then the papers were sent out for review by the other team members.  Several months later, the team leader decided that we all needed to revise our papers.  It seems like most of the team members were required to re-write their papers more in line with the scientific method.  We were supposed to have a hypothesis, and H0's, H1's, that sort of thing. 
I resisted rewriting my paper because that is not how it happened.  Basically, I was low on the totem pole, and so was assigned to sort of the Tora Bora of the company.  We didn't use lots of the fancy statistical techniques, but my clients were very happy with me, and quite pleased with the results. 
I was told by the team leader that there was no way that we could have made real improvement by just "random messing around".  He insisted it was impossible.
"So, if it is impossible, do you want to take away all the improvement they have seen?" I countered.
The leader insisted that the improvement could not take place without an H0 or H1 beforehand, and told me my example would not be included in the report.
Amazing!  That was a great learning experience for me.  It was then that I became fascinated with truth, and who gets to decide it.  I started reading about the scientific method, the philosophy of science, and realized that it really is just a philosophy, and for people who insist that it is the real truth, well, that's just their religion.
This story does have an interesting ending.  Despite not having my example published, the paper was widely lauded by the authorities.  My client went on towards continuing success.  The very simple technique was used by another sister division, and that division eventually applied for and won the Malcolm Baldridge Quality Award.  A version of the technique used was also used in a study that was eventually published in a "peer-reviewed" journal.  So, yes, I am a peer.
Lately, it does seem like there is much push-back from the authorities on the Paleo/Low-carb scene.  Plenty of experts are getting into the act, instructing all the lost low-carb souls on the ways of science.  But I think lots of this push-back is what my Missouri uncle used to call bovine effluvium.  It's just lots of talk designed to establish their authority, and it certainly takes nothing away from the actual improvements some of these poor souls on such a faddish and untested diet have actually experienced.

My Latest Letter from a Weight Loss Coach

So, it looks like I am being held to a different set of rules than the other posters who include links on their blogs, or promote their viewpoints.  I am not really clear on this warning.  It sounds like I am also not allowed to promote any of these dangerous viewpoints in addition to posting a link.  What do you think?

This letter, although firm, seems a bit nicer than the others.  They have probably figured out that I'll just post it anyway.  Is it me, or is this starting to sound a bit more cultish?

"Hi [redacted]

I saw your blog for today. We can't allow you to post a link to an outside blog that discusses our experts in such a negative way. Of course you're entitled to your opinions, but you can't use your SP blog to promote those viewpoints.

I know that we're conservative when it comes to what we recommend to our members. But because we're such a mainstream site we need to be very careful about what we recommend and discuss. At some point, we could even bring on more integrative experts to give differing points of view on these topics. But that's not where we are for now.

Please do not link your SP blog to your outside blog any more.

Thank you,

Jen"

More Oily Humor - Quack diets

Since I am not allowed to post controversial topics on that other site anymore, and since I am no longer allowed to include links to outside sites on my [redacted] blog anymore, I thought I would try it the other way around for awhile.
Here's a funny and revealing post about Quack diets:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/messageboard.asp?imboard=7&imparent=24498598
Since controversial posts tend to be removed quickly, I thought I would add some quotes here too.  You can post your controversial remarks here.  But, keep it clean people!  (No used motor oil allowed.)

"One universal truth about "quack" diets, supplements, etc. is that they have no valid scientific results with which their claims can be supported. Now, by valid, I mean a placebo-controlled, double-blind study. That means that the effects of the therapy in question are compared directly to patients receiving a placebo and that neither the patients themselves nor (and this is important) the researchers know whether the patient is getting the real thing or a placebo during the study.

Frequently, quack medical sites or ads will include a line like this: "Mainstream medical professionals have expressed skepticism over the effectiveness of the Kumquat and Motor Oil diet, but hundreds of individuals have reported dramatic results." This usually segues into some kind of testimonial from those same "individuals" about how the Kumquat and Motor Oil diet has changed their life, reduced their cholesterol, restored their hair, etc. etc.
If you see something like that, run away. Far away. Here's why: the reason for placebo-controlled, double-blind studies is that studies of therapies which aren't placebo-controlled and double-blind don't work. THe need for a placebo is obvious. The double-blind is needed because if the researchers or the subjects know they're getting the therapy they _will_ report improvement. The researchers have expectations and it's impossible to keep those expectations out of the patient interviews. The patients have hopes and expectations which are similarly impossible to quash. Quack diets and quack supplements rely on this. You can't trust anecdotal evidence. You can trust statistics."

 "Where can I find info on the motor oil diet? sounds like the right diet plan for me."

"They've actually replaced it with the new Quince and DOT 20 Brake Fluid Diet. :)"


 "Sounds delicious, too expensive for me though."

" :)
Good info....applies to diets, supplements and other food items...such as health claims made about acai berry, coconut oil, protein powders, etc.
dietitian Becky"