Total Health Breakthroughs: Free Natural Health Newsletter and Alternative Health Articles

The cheese and spices in this burger liven up an otherwise plain turkey burger. These are delicious served on a bed of lettuce for a low-carb version or on a whole-grain roll. I sometimes serve turkey burgers open-faced on a piece of thinly sliced 100% rye flour bread.

Serves: 4
Time to Table: 20 minutes

One of the challenges of adhering to a low-carb diet is finding lots of different ways to season and spice the same vegetables and proteins that you use over and over again. This spicy, flavorful Cajun dish helps fill that bill, and while it may traditionally be served over brown rice, for a low-carb version, serve over steamed vegetables such as zucchini, spaghetti squash or cauliflower.

Serves: 12
Time to Table: 4 to 8 hours

We have only six short weeks left until Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer — and bathing suit season for most people. If your New Year’s resolution to lose weight hasn’t worked as well as you had hoped, don’t despair. There’s still time to look better at the beach. And I can tell you how to do it.

Several studies comparing different methods of weight loss give the scientific evidence that supports what I’ve been telling you all along: low-carb eating plans are the best way to lose weight.

The first study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association,¹compared the weight-loss results for 311 overweight and obese women who were assigned to follow either the Atkins (very low-carb), Ornish (very low-fat vegetarian), Zone (40% carbs) or LEARN (calorie-controlled, low-fat) diets. Those on the Atkins diet lost 10.3 lb compared to an average of 4.6 lbs in the other groups, and interestingly, far fewer people dropped out on the low-carb diet compared to the other diets.

Study two, from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association² looked at how a low-carbohydrate/high-protein diet compared with a high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet on ratings of hunger and eating restraint. Both groups ate less, but the low-carb group was significantly less hungry. Not surprisingly, they also lost more weight.

Study three is from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.³ This study of 53 obese women compared a very low-carbohydrate diet to a calorie-restricted diet with 30% of the calories as fat. The very low carbohydrate diet group lost almost 16 lb in 3 months, and more of the weight lost was actual body fat compared to a 9-lb weight loss in the calorie- and fat-restricted diet.

There you have it. In all three studies, low-carb diets led to the greatest weight loss. End of story, right?

This slow-roasted dish is packed with anti-aging nutrients including 100% of the daily value for zinc, 67% of the daily value for vitamin B12 and 50% of the daily value for vitamin B6. But that’s not all. It’s also packed with selenium which helps your body manufacture its “master antioxidant and detoxifier” — glutathione.1 Each succulent serving provides a hefty 103% of the daily value for selenium.

Time To Table: Overnight marinating, 4 hours cooking

Serves: 10

As promised, here is a great sauce recipe.

One of the hardest foods to replace on a low carb diet is pasta. We all know the spaghetti squash trick, but when you just can’t get past the “I want real pasta” craving, this soy pasta does the trick. One ounce contains 15 grams of carbs, but the net carbs are very low because the fiber is so high at 12 grams per serving. I usually use the pasta as a side dish with a chicken or fish entree, and add salad and vegetable.

While pesto is traditionally served with pasta, it is delicious served as a topping on chicken or fish. I sometimes even spread it on a slice of nitrate-free deli turkey for a tasty low carb rollup.

Time to table: 20 minutes

Serves: 4

While I don’t recommend the cabbage soup diet plan, the soup itself is very nutritious and tasty — and is great to eat any time on a low carb diet. You can tailor the recipe to your likes and dislikes; for instance if you don’t care that much for green peppers, use green beans instead. If you want to make it even heartier, you could add a protein source such as ground or cubed beef or chicken. I’ve modified the recipe to include only organic ingredients.

Serves: 4

If you have high blood pressure, you more than likely have been told to try to lose weight and to reduce your sodium intake. But have you ever been told to reduce your sugar and starch intake? More than likely you haven’t. In fact, some people in the medical community believe that it’s a myth that high carb intake can contribute to insulin resistance and high blood pressure. What a disappointment.

Breakfast casseroles are handy for a make ahead low carb breakfast. Just cook at the beginning of the week and eat a slice or two each morning until it’s gone. Many casserole recipes call for wheat and cow’s milk dairy. Here’s a wheat and dairy free version for those who need to avoid either of those two allergens.

Serves: 8

Time to Table: 30 minutes

You certainly would have had to look far and wide to find a “no-spin” reporting zone a couple of weeks ago when the New England Journal of Medicine¹ published a headline-grabbing study comparing weight loss on one of three diets: (1) Mediterranean, (2) Low-Carb, or (3) Low-Fat.

I doubt if many headline writers or reporters bothered to read the entire 13-page study — they were too busy writing dramatic headlines. But God is in the details, and in this case, the details were pretty important. So let’s take a look at this fairly important study and talk about what it actually showed (and, also important, what it didn’t show).

Huevos Rancheros (ranch-style eggs) is a Mexican breakfast classic that is both versatile and hearty. While it is often served on tostadas, tortillas, or English muffins, you can leave those behind by serving the eggs on top of the beans for a delicious lower carb version!

Serves: 4

Healing Nutrient Spotlight

Excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, selenium
Good source of riboflavin, vitamin B-6, folate, calcium, iodine, manganese, molybdenum