I thought the list be interested to see the letter I eMailed to Robert
Eckel, the physician quoted in the CNN.com article which Dori informed
us of.  If anyone else is interested in "enlightening" him, he can be
reached at:

[log in to unmask]

Cheers, Chuck

**************************************************************************************************

Dear Dr. Eckel,

I am writing to you regarding the March 20th CNN.com article entitled
"Heart Association to Warn Against Low-Carb Diets."  I must respectfully

ask you:  When is the mainstream medical and nutritional establishment
going to stop skewing the data and get it right?  I am continually
amazed and outraged when I consider how many lives could be improved
and/or saved if the AHA and it's professional constituents would finally

see the light.

Briefly, I am a 39 y.o. man who has lost 80 pounds following a food plan

largely similar to Atkins or Protein Power, although my on-going focus
and direction is more that of "Paleolithic Nutrition."  At 5'8", I began

at the top weight of my life of 440 pounds 15 months ago and now weigh
360 and continue to lose.  I am very pleased with this weight loss, but
I am most inspired by and proud of the changes I have facilitated in my
blood lipid profile.  My total cholesterol has gone from 215 to 175, HDL

from 36 to 50, LDL from 140 to 122, triglycerides from 203 to 61(!), and

my cardiac risk factor (total chol/HDL) has decreased from 6.0 to 3.7.
All this as a result of doing precisely the opposite of what the
government and the vast majority of medical and nutritional
professionals would have me do!  I know that as I continue to lose
weight and restore the metabolic balance of my system, these numbers
will also continue to improve further.

I must point out, Dr. Eckel, that you are absolutely incorrect when you
state that people's cholesterol drops only temporarily on a low-carb
regimen. And on the flip side of that coin, Colette Heimowitz is
absolutely correct when she states that people's LDL only re-elevates
when they don't follow their low-carbo food plan correctly. I have been
doing this for well over a year now, and my lipid profile has only
continued to improve.  I also personally or anecdotally know many, many
other people who have accomplished and continue to accomplish the same
thing I have.  The truth of this issue is that the low-fat, high-carbo
recommendations which the AHA and ADA have been promoting for decades
now have led to an unprecedented degree of obesity and poor health in
our nation.

The scientific and medical literature literally abounds over the last
50-75 years with evidence that restricting carbohydrates not only
promotes fat loss in overweight individuals, but also improves one's
overall state of health, preventing many debilitating diseases.
Unfortunately, very few professionals today seem to be aware of this or
simply choose to ignore it.  In addition to Atkins and Protein Power, I
would respectfully recommend that you investigate at least two
additional sources which will provide you with a multitude of
bibliographical references.  They are:

1) Neanderthin, by Ray Audette (currently available in hardcover and
paperback; St. Martin's Press), and
2) The Stone Age Diet, by Walter L. Voegtlin, M.D., F.A.C.P.

The Stone Age Diet is a relatively unknown work published in 1975 by Dr.

Voegtlin through Vantage Press.  The book is extremely difficult to
find, and is only available from a small handful of libraries, via
inter-library loan.  In case you're not familiar with him, Dr. Voegtlin
was a practicing gastroenterologist in Seattle.  His book is a
spectacular discussion of the how's and why's of human nutrition as
indicated by the make-up of our gastro-intestinal system as well as the
history of our species.  It is, in my opinion, as well as others steeped

in this field of study, one of the best and most compelling books ever
written about human nutrition. I feel certain that this work would have
enjoyed much notoriety among both dieters and professionals had Dr.
Voegtlin lived to continue his work.  Unfortunately, in the same year
the book was published, he died of a recurrence of prostate cancer at 72

years of age.

Please receive my comments in the spirit they are intended and use your
position and professional resources to further investigate
low-carbohydrate eating (i.e. conduct appropriate and well-controlled
clinical studies).  I know you will be amazed, as I have been, at what
you will find.  If this is done, and if professionals begin to supply
the public with the correct information, many maladies will be overcome,

and thus, lives saved, through increased awareness of the importance of
eating the way nature intended our species to eat.  Anything less than a

conscientious, comprehensive and open-minded investigation by
professionals like you, as well as your colleagues and professional
organizations, indicates a clear desire to continue blindly promoting a
societal dogma which has served to make our population overweight and
ill.

Sincerely,
Charles Spindler, Skokie, IL