Yesterday we attended a conference run by LowCarbDownUnder.com.au on “LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) Nutrition“.

Big thanks to the organisers and presenters for such a fascinating day.

LCHF is where you eat a diet of minimal carbohydrates but high fats with a balance of protein. So you can eat meat, veg grown above the ground, fish, eggs, full fat yoghurt, butter etc with your carbs coming mainly from fruit, veg and nuts.

There’s no weighing or measuring of allowable foods, you eat until you are full as fat is a great trigger for your satiety hormones

This is a big leap for many people who follow the traditional food pyramid, where carbohydrates form the largest part of the diet and fats the smallest part. But many health professionals are starting to question the food pyramid because we are getting fatter and metabolic diseases are on a significant rise.

Now, we eat carbs and have recipes that contain them but we are also open and supportive of different ways to eat and think about food. Here’s some of what we learnt (warning: we’re not doctors like a lot of yesterday’s presenters so will just share our basic understanding without getting too medical).

Dr Zeeshan Arain discussed whether we should all be on a Ketogenic Diet, explaining how beta-Hydroxybutyrate can be used as an alternate fuel source for the brain. He offered some guidelines on achieving nutritional ketosis and benefits of ketogenic living including – keeping blood sugars level for diabetics, weight reduction and improvements for skin acne, PCOS, epilepsy and neurological diseases. He also shared “selfies” of before he moved to a ketogenic diet and after. Looking great Dr Arain!

Can “Elite Athletes” Eat LCHF and win? The short answer is – yes!

With many athletes (particularly those in endurance events) adopting LCHF eating. Dr Peter Brukner, doctor for the Australian Cricket Team, shared his own personal experience of a LCHF diet and that of some Australian cricketers who had adopted it in the last 12 months (congrats on winning the 1st Ashes Test in Brisbane!)

Here’s one of the key messages we heard yesterday – saturated fat is good for you!

With Christine Cronau nutritionalist and author, explaining why fat is vital for our cells, organs, lungs, hormones, energy and emotional health. Christine says, “The vilification of fat has been the biggest health mistake in our history”.

When we saw the weight and health changes that happened for Christine and her family she is certainly an example of healthy living.

It was great to hear David Gillespie speak about “Toxic Oil”, explaining the differences between saturated, mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fats.

We are designed to eat fats, but not large quantities of polyunsaturated fats we get from seed oils. Try and buy any processed or fast foods without them! He gave particular focus on the dangers of seed oils and their possible influence on cancer. David recommends getting rid of margarine and all seed oils from the pantry.

One of us is an adult onset type 1 diabetic, so we were very keen to hear Dr Troy Stapleton share his personal story on being diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a year ago. It was fascinating comparing the results managing his blood sugars with a LCHF eating vs the classic food pyramid eating taught to almost all diabetics. Troy warned that a keto adaptation takes 4-6 weeks and there are some side affects along the way as the body changes its fuel supply from carbs to fat. Dr Stapleton’s ketogenic diet was of much interest.

Professor Grant Schofield works in public health in New Zealand. He discussed the damage that our current diets are causing us individually and as a society. Grant highlighted how metabolic diseases are increasing at alarming rates and affect our quality of life. Grant also discussed a real concern of how health systems are going to cope in the future if we don’t find solutions.

Dr Gary Fettke is an orthopaedic surgeon in Tasmania and is a “no fructose” advocate. Gary talked about the flawed science on nutrition, convenience, politics and dollars. Plus death by the food pyramid. Gary is asking the hard questions of his profession and is not happy with their answers. He is a man on a mission.

Having followed his blog we were looking forward to hearing Damon Gameau talk about “That Sugar Film” a documentary he has been developing.

For 60 days Damon ate 40 teaspoons of sugar (average for a teenager) in everyday food such as juice, stir fry sauces and “health” bars. Damon surprised us because his film is a lot more than his sugar journey. The film also explores sugar in society and what detrimental effects it has. Hearing the extent of what could be called an epidemic makes us very keen to see the movie and learn much more.

Is a LCHF diet right for everyone? We can’t give you that answer but it is certainly something worth reading about.

Want to learn more? Here’s some great references mentioned (or written) by the presenters:

• “The Fat Revolution” – Christine Cronau
• “Toxic Oil” – David Gillespie
• “Good Calories / Bad Calories” – Gary Taubes
• “Challenging Beliefs” – Prof Tim Noakes
• “Grain Brain” – David Perlmutter, MD
• “Diabetes Solution” – Dr Richard K. Bernstein
• “Diabetes Epidemic” – Dr Joseph Kraft

We’ve got some reading to do!

Have you adopted a LCHF eating plan? Do you have any thoughts on LCHF? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.