3. Where does energy come from?

“The human body mainly draws its energy from ingested carbohydrates, protein and lipids. However, carbohydrates are not essential for providing fuel. Lipids can play this role in the human body, often more efficiently. There are essential fatty acids and essential amino acids. But there are no essential carbohydrates. According to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (U.S.), ‘The lower limit of carbohydrates compatible with life is apparently zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed.’ ”

“Many of us doctors, as well as our patients, are doing perfectly well with 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day, with a stable energy and mental clarity that we didn’t know existed. Many high-level athletes have now also adopted this way of eating for enhanced endurance and performance, after an adequate period of adaptation.”

4. Deficiencies? Yet another myth!

“Let us also mention that a well-designed, whole food low-carb diet does not create nutrient deficiencies. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The preferred foods contain large amounts of fibre, minerals and vitamins, including fat-soluble vitamins often missing in low-fat diets. There are no useful nutrients in enriched grain products that are not found naturally and in sufficient quantities in meat, eggs, green vegetables and nuts. Most grain products readily available today, such as bread and pasta, are processed and sometimes ultra-processed. We prefer unprocessed foods.”

5. Canada’s Food Guide: where is the evidence?

“We believe that chronic nutritional diseases are mostly caused by an excess of processed foods; when we suggest lowering carbohydrates to help reverse these chronic diseases, we are often told to stop looking for the guilty nutrient and rather aim for balance. This must mean that those critics think it is better to eat a “balanced diet,” as proposed by Canada’s Food Guide.

However, this guide, in its current state, is not at all balanced. It puts too much emphasis on relatively nutrient-poor carbohydrates, including processed and ultra-processed carbohydrates, and not enough on lipids. These dietary recommendations have actually never been tested in a population to see if they were indeed good for our health and are not supported by any scientific studies. Since issuing these guidelines in both the U.S. and Canada, and specifically since increasing the recommended servings of carbohydrates, it must be noted that the rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, to name only these three chronic diseases, have exploded. Could it be that our Guide’s recommendations are making us sick?”

6. Sugars and fatty liver

“Carbohydrates come in several forms. Grain products get broken down into glucose, whereas sugar (white sugar, corn syrup, honey) and fruits contain a mixture of glucose and fructose. Glucose and fructose do not have the same effect on the body. Even in small quantities, the liver tends to turn fructose into fat and store it in its cells. If sugar intake is high, fatty liver (hepatic steatosis) can develop. Eating less sugar but more fat is an effective way to reverse hepatic steatosis.”

“Despite whether sugar comes from a banana, a soft drink or a slice of bread, it will generally have the same effect on blood sugar, particularly in diabetics. The blood sugar level will rise. When sugar rises, the pancreas secretes insulin to decrease the amount of sugar in the blood. This insulin can also come from an injection prescribed by the doctor.”

7. Dying of a heart attack with a normal blood sugar level

“It is now thought that an excess of insulin in the body, due to an excess intake of sugar, causes insulin resistance in the long term: the cells respond less and less to the insulin signal. Having a fatty liver can also worsen insulin resistance and diabetes. That promotes weight gain, high blood pressure, and inflammation. In the long-term, the risk of cardiovascular disease, blindness, kidney failure, erectile dysfunction, etc., are increased. Most people do not know that even perfect control of blood glucose with intensive drug treatment might not necessarily prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular disease in diabetics (ACCORD and ADVANCE studies). Why? Because the problem has not been treated at the source; insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia have not been addressed. Dying of a heart attack with a normal blood sugar level is not the goal, is it?”