My talk and more at Low Carb Downunder Melbourne

I’m just back from presenting at the low carb downunder in Melbourne. What a great opportunity to see what the Aussies are up to and connect up with the movers and shakers on that side of the Tasman.

The whole gig was organised and lead by Dr Rod Tayler, a Melbourne anaesthetist with an interest in LCHF. Rod had many of the presenters around to his place for a pre-conference dinner where we chewed the fat (literally of course). Its an interesting lot in Australian LCHF and related paleo type people. There are few, if any, dieticians or anyone from a medical or health field directly related to chronic disease prevention or treatment. That part of the system seems to have it’s head completely in the sand.

That said, these guys are highly credible and experienced medical guys, who are standing up to their own. An extra interesting spin is the involvement of the Aussie sporting elite. This, especially cricket and AFL, is a big deal in a country like Australia. I’ll write more below about this, especially Dr Peter Bruckner and the Aussie cricket team.

The youtube of my talk is now up for viewing. I was pretty happy with e delivery. See what you think.

Here’s a quick summary and a few comments on the presentations.

“Should We All Be on a Ketogenic Diet?” – Dr Zeeshan (Zee) Arain. Zee is in General Practice in Melbourne. He is the club doctor for the Melbourne Demons AFL team. He talked about the process of keto-adaption with the ins and outs of the physiology, biochemistry and practice. Should we all be on a ketogenic diet? Well we mostly could if we wanted to be and would not be harmed, and mostly would get some benefit. It’s a no brainer for the metabolically dysregulated.

“Can Elite Athletes Eat LCHF and Win?”. Dr Peter Brukner. Peter is a widely published Sports Medicine Physician. He is the doctor for the Australian Cricket Team. He has also been head of sports medicine at Liverpool Football Club, and across several elite Aussie sports teams. Look, this was fascinating to learn that half the Aussie cricket team is on LCHF. They (the fatter guys) have all lost significant amounts of weight. One guy who was on serious anti-athritis medication ($15k worth of drugs per year) and really couldn’t train or play properly has had a complete remission and takes no medication and is training and playing freely. He is 24 years old. So that’s a big deal and if we can see results like that across other sports then this will raise the importance of the LCHF whole food approach.

Take home message – elite sport and LCHF whole food can mix very well. More research needs to be done though as we are just geting started here.

“I Manage my Type 1 Diabetes Eating LCHF” – Dr Troy Stapleton. Troy is a Sunshine Coast radiologist who was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes 13 months ago. The guy is a guru and really used his very sharp mind to articulate the obvious problems for Type 1 diabetes and higher carb diets. This guy will make a massive difference in the long run. He’s a radiologist but already knows more than virtually every endocrinologist in Australia. Listen to his recent ABC radio piece here.

“The Fat Revolution—Saturated Fat is Good for You!” – Christine Cronau. Christine is a Nutritionist, Bestselling Author and Speaker. Here’s her latest book: The Fat Revolution. This was talk which tells a great story about the conspiracy and problems with the lipid hypotheses, as well as Christine’s emergence from being overweight and sick on a low fat vegetarian diet. Take home message after talking with and listening to Christine and watching her at the dinner table – eat more fat!

“Low Carb and Public Health” Professor Grant Schofield. Me – video here.

The Flawed Science of Nutrition—Convenience, Politics and Dollars” – Dr Gary Fettke. Gary is a Launceston Orthopaedic Surgeon (nofructose.com). He is the medical expert for Sarah Wilson’s ‘I Quit Sugar’ program. This guy is really cool and a very articulate presenter. He just spun a nice story about his life and times, and the life and times of the refined dietary carbohydrate. Take home message – if you eat crappy carbs then all bets are off for good health outcomes. Get rid of them!

“That Sugar Film” Damon Gameau. Damon is an actor and film-maker (gameauland.com) and is finishing up his sugar film. A really cool story and presentation, this film will be a must see for us in this community when it comes out mid 2014. Go Damon.

“Toxic oil” – David Gillespie. David is a Brisbane lawyer, Bestselling Author of Sweet Poison, and an anti-sugar activist. Another good talk by David, this time on the polyunsaturated fatty acids and how they have crept in and overwhelmed us and our health. Good to keep up with this. Take home messsage – chuckout everything except coconut oil, olive oil, and butter. Maybe keep your avocado and macadamia oils.

Overall it was it really a great day out in St Kilda town hall with 400 there to share the fun. A take home message – don’t wait for the government or the NGOs to come to their senses with nutrition advice. Act yourself and get those around you into the science and reality of whole food LCHF. Encourage others to do the same when they get some benefit as well. Ground up, we will sort this!