Chocolate as a Health Food
No, it’s not a joke. Newspapers (like Businessweek) have articles today where they refer to a review of existing research that suggests that chocolate may lower your risk of stroke.
Of the three studies reviewed, one found no significant association between chocolate consumption and risk of stroke. But another found that
the stroke rate was 22 percent lower in people who ate chocolate once a week
and a third reported that
death from stroke was 46 percent lower in those who ate 50 grams of chocolate once a week.
They speculate that the health benefits may come from antioxidants called flavonoids that are present in chocolate. Antioxidants are thought to prevent cell damage.
Of course, the article then goes on to give the standard warnings.
“Caution should be taken not to promote chocolate as a health food even though it is fine in moderation.”
“Chocolate is a major source of saturated fat, which raises bad cholesterol and boosts heart disease risk”
Oh well, what can you expect?
They also point out that only dark chocolate would be beneficial even though it’s not clear if this statement comes from the studies or not.
Unrelated to the reviewed studies, there are apparently other studies that indicate that
even a little chocolate can help reduce blood pressure and increase blood flow through the arteries
That sounds like good news to me. I hope we get to hear more from these “other” not referenced studies.
So, how to incorporate chocolate into a lowcarb diet? A couple of squares of dark chocolate like Lindt’s 70% bar that have 6 g carbs do not derail my diet despite containing a small amount of sugar.
An even better idea is to use cocoa nibs; crushed cacao beans. A friend of mine (2big4mysize – don’t let the name fool you; she has been at goal weight for many years now) gave me the tip to brew “tea” from them.
She puts them in cold water in a percolator. Runs it twice as the first time will just give a tea-colored liquid but the second time will result in a nice, chocolate colored drink. She can then keep on adding more water to the pot to stretch the nibs even further.
I don’t have a percolator but I intend to try this with just heating the water with the nibs; possibly more than once. I just need to buy the nibs first.
The nutrition facts for 1 ounce of cacao nibs are: 130 calories (110 from fat), 12 g fat, 10 g carbohydrate (9 fiber), 4 g protein.
This chocolate tea must be very similar to what the Aztecs drank. At least the descriptions I have read suggest that it would have been prepared in a similar way. I also don’t recall any mention of them sweetening the drink.
Pure Zero Carb Diet
The Leader at ZIOH calls his version of Zero Carb, a “Pure Zero Carb” diet. It’s not really clear what this is anymore as the diet advice on ZIOH is constantly changing. Previously, the recommendations followed what the Leader presently was eating but the last couple of days, mere members have gotten more of a voice.
This may be a result of the recent meet-up they had, or more likely, a result of the huge exodus of long time members from that forum. Perhaps The Leader decided that he didn’t want to be as strict and exclusive as earlier in order not to end up without any members at all.
The “ground beef only” diet being the key for “successful” zero carbers is no longer pushed. Neither is the “ideal food” pemmican. Other types of meat and even eggs are discussed. They don’t even openly frown on people taking supplements or exercising any more. Big changes, indeed!
But the core of “pure zero carb” is still there. The Leader has not changed his opinion that muscle meat from beef will provide all nutrition you need, indefinitely.
Here is a quote by The Leader:
Most people don’t know about pemmican and that’s primarily the reason why people don’t understand ZC. It is entirely based on pemmican and the way beef, fat and water sustained thousands of people for thousands of years without vegetable matter. To be ZC, one would be very wise to understand all aspects of pemmican. NBBA is a must-read to understand why we feel we get all the nutrients necessary for excellent health from muscle meat alone.
“NBBA” stands for Not By Bread Alone by The Leader’s idol Stefansson. How you can draw the conclusion that “muscle meat alone” is sufficient from that book is a mystery to me.
The Leader insists that there is one group of Inuits that eat nothing else than caribou; the Mackenzie Inuits. But that’s not what Stefansson says. From the book (page 22):
I might tell you, correctly, that the chief food of a certain group of Eskimos with whom I lived was caribou meat, with perhaps 30 per cent fish, 10 per cent seal meat, and 5 or 10 per cent made up of polar bear, rabbits, birds, and eggs.
It is true that, according to Stefansson, these Inuits ate exclusively caribou for months at a time. I think this was common for other peoples as well; the food source depending on season and supply with very little variety for long periods of time. Perhaps that is why the human body has the ability to store essential vitamins. However, the storage will not last indefinitely and would need to be replenished at some point in time.
But even during the period they ate only caribou, they didn’t limit themselves to “muscle” meat. The head was a favored part, especially the fat behind the eyes and the tongue. Kidneys were also eaten.
Further according to Stefansson, this particular group on Inuits even ate vegetable and berries. About berries, he said:
Some vegetable foods were eaten because the Mackenzie River people liked them. These were chiefly berries; and among berries chiefly the salmon berry or cloudberry
The other source The Leader uses for his argument is Stefansson’s Bellevue experiment where he claims that the two subjects ate “2 pounds sirloin per day.”
This is just plain false. They ate:
The experiment started smoothly with Andersen, who was permitted to eat in such quantity as he liked such things as he liked, provided only that they came under our definition of meat—steaks, chops, brains fried in bacon fat, boiled short-ribs, chicken, fish, liver and bacon.
Which is equivalent to 2 pounds of sirloin with regards to the proportion of fat versus lean.
We averaged about a pound and a third of lean per day and half a pound of fat (this is about like eating a two pound broiled sirloin with the fat such a steak usually has on it).
I fail to understand how this can be compared to eating “muscle meat” only. In addition, the experiment lasted for one year. Even though they were found to be in perfect health at the end on the one year, there is nothing to say that any deficiencies would not have showed up later if they had continued the same diet.
Finally, the Leader holds himself up as proof that “muscle meat only” is perfectly healthy as he has allegedly eaten muscle meat only for two years. If you want to base YOUR heath and YOUR life on this unverified “proof,” go ahead. Personally, I think some skepticism, questioning and looking at other opinions is a good thing.
A good resource is the website Satya put up: Dirty Carnivore. Satya is one of the many very knowledgeable former members of ZIOH that didn’t fully agree with the Leader. If you are considering a Zero Carb or Very Low Carb diet, check it out!
Is a Zero Carb Diet Sustainable?
I have made a few blog posts concerning the practices on a Zero Carb forum, but I have largely refrained from voicing my opinion about the diet as such. However, some recent posts in a thread on Active Lowcarber (ALC) make it obvious that ZC does not work for everyone, despite what the ZC guru claims.
There were people that reported that they gave ZC a fair try. One person for a full 9 months, far exceeding the 6 months suggested by Charles as a period where the body is still adjusting and that progress might not start to show up until after this time.
So what results did this person have? Weight gain and feeling sick all the time. She reportedly followed a pure ZC diet as prescribed by ZIOH. Meat and water. No supplements.
I give her credit for trying it for so long. But, it is easy to do if you get caught up in the dogma on ZIOH and become convinced that their pure version of ZC is the perfect way to eat. When forum leaders and other members tell you to just be patient. To just give it time.
This is where I think a cult-like forum like ZIOH becomes dangerous. When you ignore your body’s reaction and trust what a self-proclaimed internet guru tells you.
How do you know that ZC is a safe diet? Long term?
To me, uneducated as I am in nutrition, I just can not wrap my mind around that eating supermarket ground beef only would have any similarity to a traditional diet of Inuits or Masai. Inuits may have eaten largely meat but a caribou is not the same as a modern cow. Also, the Inuits did eat fish, organ meat and berries. Perhaps not all the time, but when available, they did include it into their diet.
If it wasn’t necessary, why would an Inuit go through the trouble of finding and collecting cranberries when it seems so much easier (and more filling) to just grab a slab of seal meat?
These types of arguments are always met with quotes from Stefansson. He points towards one group of Inuits that he claims ate only caribou for a long period of time. However, Stefansson was not a nutritionist. There was also nobody that could question his statements as nobody was with him at the time. Why would I trust my health and life to what this one person said? Which has not been verified and which is contradictory to other sources dealing with the Inuit diet at that time?
Then we have the Bellevue experiment. Two men eating “meat” for a full year. However, note that “meat” for Stefansson included fish. And organ meat. Eggs. Not the same as a diet of ground beef only.
Then of course, we have that ZIOH guru. Charles holds himself up as proof.
He claims that he lost all his weight following a ZC diet, and that after two years of ZC he is perfectly healthy. At least the first claim is incorrect. Charles lost the majority of his weight on Atkins. Only the last pounds were taken off by ZC.
The second claim is not verified. From what I have read, Charles has had no blood work done for years. At least, I haven’t seen him mentioning it.
I also have another problem with Charles offering himself up as proof. Yes, unlike Kimmer of Kimkins he shows himself in person and can correctly claim that he is slim. However, there is nobody that can know what he eats on a daily basis. Why would I believe him when he says he eats just meat and water? I only have his word for it and, to me, what you say on the internet doesn’t carry a lot of weight. He could be eating Twinkies on a daily basis. How would I know?
He has proved to be a liar about his weight loss, so what else is he lying about?
The other forum leader, Suzanne, now claims to have been ZC for 6-7 years. That contradicts her posts on LCF where she as late as June 2008 posted about eating vegetables every day plus nuts and berries several times per week. Both can not be true. She might have been very low carb but plant matter is not an accepted food on ZC.
She can also not claim to be perfectly healthy as she is going through a number of health problems recently. Hair loss being one of them.
For you that want to try a ZC diet without being drawn into a cult-like forum like ZIOH, there is a very active challenge on ALC. Many of the posters are former ZIOH members. Some of them are still members and post on both sites.
The ALC thread has, in my opinion, a much more healthful approach to ZC. While the majority of posters largely eat meat/fish, there is no requirement to never include any vegetable matter. Or eggs. Or cheese. Individual modifications are not only allowed but encouraged. As is exercise.
Not to mention that an open discussion and questioning is allowed on ALC.
I do hope that all the members at ZIOH find a better place to hang out. That place is not healthy, in my opinion, and that doesn’t only apply to the diet.
Zero Carb Attracts Anorexics
Already from the start of the Zero Carb forum, there was a large number of members that were trying to recover from Eating Disorders. The proportion of ED’ers as compared to other dieters seems to have kept on increasing so now the entire board gives the impression of an “ED recovery zone.”
I can understand why Zero Carb would be attractive to people with eating disorders. It has many traits that are similar; very limited food choices, very strict rules about what is allowed and what is not, recommendations such as “eat ground beef only” for 6 months, and members who report how they easily can go 24 or even 36 hours without eating and not feeling hunger. Not to mention the natural appetite suppression that comes from a protein-only diet.
This “ED recovery zone” is headed by a newly self-appointed ED specialist. A guy that never suffered from an ED, who never was very overweight in the first place, who used to work out a lot, and who lost the vast majority of his weight on lowcarb, not zero carb.
The “ED treatment” on the board took a bizarre twist the other day. A very new member who has suffered from anorexia for years and is working on her own recovery decided that is was time to intervene with another, long time, member. What compelled her to do this, I have no idea. I know that anorexia is not the same as alcoholism, but wouldn’t the same sponsor rules apply? In AA you are not allowed to give advice to anyone before you have a substantial time of your own recovery under your belt. Makes sense to me.
So, did the moderators intervene? No. On the contrary, they were applauding this new member and supporting her. Threatening to contact the long time member’s parents, the gym she goes to, and demanding daily posts with pictures of herself and the food she eats.
Medusa has all the details.
This Zero Carb forum has always frowned upon people that have not openly disclosed their real name. The admins apparently have no problem using this information, plus full name and address given when donating to the forum, to brow beat a member into doing what they want. Scary.
I do hope any new member take precautions to keep their identity private. Who knows when you would do something that displeases the admins and they decide to come after you?
Zero Carb Forum Bans Paying Members
The new confusing and not clearly stated “rules” on the Zero Carb forum require adherence to the ZC diet and participation on the forum in order to remain a member. Everybody else is relegated to guest status where you can read parts of the forum but not post.
There is a special category of members on the forum, support members. These are member that have also donated money to the Leader. As far as I understand, when the new “rules” came into effect, these members would be exempt from the journaling requirement. But apparently they are not exempt from banning. I received a comment from such a support member and she wants to warn others.
If the little narcissistic sanctimonious ‘leader’ took your money/site donation and banned you anyway (as he did me) please post that everywhere you possibly can in order to warn potential new members of his practices. Please people don’t give this person your money. Your donation means nothing to him unless you’re planning on drinking a quart of his blood on top of it.
I wonder how legal this is. To accept money for services (forum access) and then deny access without cause. There cannot be any “cause” as there are no Terms of Service to violate.
The post Kimorexia did last week, and my post chiming in have been discussed on the Zero Carb forum and Charles submitted some comments here on my blog as well.
Charles’ comments here reveal his personality, and not in a good way in my opinion.
Yes, a cult. And that’s why you all are fat and unhealthy. Just stay over here spewing your nonsense while failing at your diets. When you decide to get serious and lose those pounds and get healthy, come see us.
And you accept comments from Jimmy, who is currently eating peanut butter ice cream and full blown carbs? Get real folks.
Hey wait a minute….Aren’t these all the people we kicked out? Of course, they don’t like us….
You’re right, I apologize for insinuating your were fat. I was more thinking of your friend Jimmy there. He is definitely fat. I didn’t mean, all of you, I should have been more clear.
However, I do think you need lives. Why would you sit around here commenting on such a horrible forum? If ZIOH is so bad, then why monitor it and obsess as you are doing? You’re sitting here picking apart stuff as if you have no life. Isn’t that a little odd to you? I mean really. This obsession needs to stop.
All of the people on ZIOH are adults and they are there by choice. I deny membership to at least 5 or 6 every single day. We’re only interested in members who are ZC and who will journal their experiences for people like you who can’t do it yourselves.
I don’t see any criticism here. Our forum rules are not something I need to apologize for. You start your own forum and you can run it how you like. I don’t go to other forums criticizing the way they do things. I don’t see where you find the time.
By the number of advertisements you have here, it’s clear that I am helping you immensely. By criticizing me, you get to have more people come and possibly make more money. I get that.
Despite that, I don’t even have a criticism for this blog of yours. I only noticed this blog because you linked to my blog. I don’t care. The more you talk bad about me and ZIOH, the more members we get. Our before and after pictures speak for themselves. We are healthy and we sport great success stories by people who have tried all other plans, yet with ours, they have success.
I have no wish to argue with you or your members here nor do I care if you continue your obsession with criticizing all that I do. I am in superb health and all of my members who have met me can vouch for that. I have nothing to hide nor anything to explain.
I’m glad I provide entertainment for you and this crew of yours.
Have a nice day.
And by the way, I found the Kimorexia thing entertaining. It’s not very accurate, but it’s cute. Enjoy!
I find it interesting that Charles assume that I am fat. And that he is using this characteristic as a derogatory attribute. There was a comment on the forum along the same lines:
They are defensive. WHO are all these ZIOH refugees who are complaining? And are they complaining perhaps, b/c they binge, cannot keep weight off, and are still trapped in the carb cycle? Seems more likely to me.
What Charles and his disciples in the Zero Carb compund totally missed is that neither Kimorexia nor I even talk about the Zero Carb Diet. We talk about forum practices that we find dispicable and demeaning. Nothing else. Whether we are fat or not, wheather we ever did ZC or not, whether we were ZIOH members or not is totally irrelevant.
It is also interesting that Charles and this member resort to “fat bashing.” Charles runs a diet forum. Granted, there are many underweight people there with eating disorders but there is a fair share of people trying to lose weight as well. Just the other day, one members was strongly reprimanded for having expressed her opinion which could be read as if she considered fat people lazy. That was not acceptable. Of course, the same rules apparently do not apply to the leader himself.
How to turn dieting into a religion
At least he is trying. Check out Kimorexia’s post about a Zero Carb forum that has turned into something that very much resembles a cult. (I actually wrote a post about that a few weeks ago.)
This Zero Carb forum started about a year ago after the leader and his disciples had been thrown out of Jimmy Moore’s low carb forum. The new Zero Carb forum eventually grew to over 800 members.
Many of the members arrived from Lowcarbfriends where there were several ZC threads running. Many of these members also ended up being banned from LCF as they tried to spread the word of the ZC forum in ways that violated TOS.
While the Zero Carb forum initially had open registration (donations welcomed but not required) that policy recently changed. They pruned the membership list down to less than 300 members. The reasoning behind this is not clear to me as the posts about the change are very confusing and even more contradictory.
Kimorexia did a good job of listing what is expected of members of that forum. The list is already long, but I could add a couple of more things:
- Do not use excessive spaces in your posts in your journal. Don’t question this rule, just do as you are told.
- Do not try to joke about being reprimanded by the moderators. Forum administration is a serious business and should not be taken lightly. Just do as you are told. Do not question it.
- Do not think that you are an equal and will be treated as an equal. The moderator is moderator for a reason and you are just a member. Do what the moderator tells you. Do not question it.
I could go on, but I think enough has been said about that place. Like Kimorexia, I hope the members abandon ship and start their own forum where this type of behavior is not acceptable.
NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION
TO: EVERYONE WHO PURCHASED A MEMBERSHIP TO KIMKINS.COM THROUGH THE KIMKINS.COM WEB SITE (www.kimkins.com) FROM JANUARY 1, 2006 TO OCTOBER 15, 2007
PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT THAT IS CURRENTLY PENDING IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT, IN RIVERSIDE, CALILFORNIA.
INTRODUCTION
1. On May 20, 2009, the Riverside County Superior Court, located in Riverside, California, issued an order certifying this case to proceed as a class action.
2. The plaintiffs are six individuals who bought memberships to kimkins.com through the kimkins.com Website (www.kimkins.com) from January 1, 2006 to October 15, 2007. The defendants are Heidi Diaz, an individual, and Kimkins (also known as Kimkins.com), a business entity that conducts business in Corona, California.
3. The plaintiffs contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com induced them into buying memberships for kimkins.com through false and misleading information provided on the Kimkins.com Web site. The plaintiffs contend that the defendants violated California Business & Professions Code § 17200, et seq., which authorizes courts to provide relief from unfair, unlawful, and fraudulent business practices. The plaintiffs also contend that Diaz and Kimkins.com violated common law prohibitions against fraud and negligent misrepresentation.
4. This notice provides you with information regarding the litigation, including the plaintiffs’ claims against the defendants and the current status of the litigation. This notice also provides you with information regarding the court’s class-certification order.
THE LITIGATION
The Plaintiffs’ Claims
5. This lawsuit is based on the plaintiffs’ claims that Diaz and Kimkins used unfair, unlawful, or fraudulent business practices to induce them into buying memberships to Kimkins.com. This lawsuit is also based on the plaintiffs’ claims that the false and misleading information contained on the kimkins.com Web site constituted fraud or negligent misrepresentation by Diaz and Kimkins.
6. Here’s a list of the kinds of misconduct that the plaintiffs have alleged:
• that Diaz and Kimkins concocted a false persona, “Kim Drake” or “Kimmer” to sell memberships to Kimkins.com
• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that “Kim Drake” was real by using photos of real women and then falsely claiming that the photos depicted “Drake”
• that Diaz and Kimkins posted lied about “Drake’s” purported weight loss
• that Diaz and Kimkins provided false or misleading information to Women’s World magazine
• that Diaz and Kimkins fabricated 41 “success stories” and published on the Kimkins.com Web
• that Diaz and Kimkins made up celebrity endorsements
• that Diaz and Kimkins misused labels and metatags to steer Internet traffic to the Kimkins.com Website, in violation of the law
• that Diaz and Kimkins misled potential members into believing that they were buying lifetime memberships, when in fact Diaz and Kimkins.com terminated memberships at their whim
• that Diaz and Kimkins intended to mislead potential members and assumed that potential members would rely on her misrepresentations.
The Defendants’ Position
7. Diaz and Kimkins have denied all allegations of wrongdoing and liability, and they continue to deny that they have done anything wrong. Diaz and Kimkins also have asserted various affirmative defenses to the plaintiffs’ claims.
THE COURT’S CLASS-CERTIFICATION ORDER
8. In an order filed May 20, 2009, the Court granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. The Court certified for class treatment the plaintiffs’ claims for equitable relief, including disgorgement of the subscription fees paid to Diaz and Kimkins by the plaintiffs and the members of the class.
9. The certified class is defined as all individuals who purchased the Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007.
THE COURT HAS NOT EXPRESSED ANY OPINIONS
REGARDING THE MERITS OF THE PLAINTIFFS’ CLAIMS
10. The Court ordered that this notice be provided to advise class members that this case is pending and that the Court has certified the case to proceed as a class action. You should not consider this notice or its mailing to be a statement by the Court that the plaintiffs are right or that their claims will prevail.
INSTRUCTIONS TO CLASS MEMBERS
11. You do not need to do anything to remain a member of the class. If you bought a Kimkins.com diet membership on-line from the Kimkins.com Web site from January 1, 2006 through October 15, 2007—including either of those dates—you are automatically included in the class. Your rights will be represented by the plaintiffs and their attorneys. You will not be personally responsible for any attorney fees or for the any of the costs of this litigation.
OPT OUT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
12. You have the opportunity to opt out of the class action lawsuit as detailed herein. If you incurred a personal injury as a result of using the Kimkins.com aka Kimkins Diet, you have a right to opt out. Notices to opt must be sent to jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com or mailed to Tiedt & Hurd at 980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209, Corona, California 92879.
WHERE TO GO & WHOM TO CONTACT
SHOULD YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION
13. This notice provides only a brief summary of this litigation. For further details, you should take one or both of the following steps:
• Review the documents in the Court’s file for this lawsuit. Many of these documents may be viewed or obtained on-line at the following URL: http://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/OpenAccess/ . You also may review the Court’s file in person by going to the Office of the Clerk of the Court for the Riverside Superior Court, during regular business hours. The Clerk’s office is located at 4050 Main Street, Riverside, California 92501.
• Write a letter to the attorneys who are representing the plaintiffs and whom the Court has appointed to represent the class. Here are their names and their contact information:
John E. Tiedt & Marc S. Hurd
Tiedt & Hurd
980 Montecito Drive, Suite 209
Corona, California 92879
Michael L. Cohen
Michael L. Cohen, a PLC
707 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 4100
Los Angeles, California 90017
Ray Moore
Moore Winter McLennan LLP
701 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 200
Glendale, California 92103-4232
If you decide to contact one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, please do so in writing. To make it easier for them or one of their staff members to respond, however, your letter should include both your e-mail address and your telephone number.
There are estimated to be as many as 40,000 members in the class. So please, DO NOT CALL THE COURT OR ATTEMPT TO CONTACT THE COURT BY E-MAIL.
DATE: ___________________________, 2009
____________________________________
Hon. _________________________,
Presiding Judge
Diet Cults
How come specific diets often result in the forming of cult-like groups? The more extreme the diet, the more likely the followers exhibit cult-like behaviors, it seems.
Kimkins was a typical example. Very low carb, very low fat, very low calorie. You really needed to be brainwashed to manage to follow such a starvation diet for any amount of time. The “high” came from seeing the scale go down every day and being cheered on by other cult forum members. The “lows” when you were hungry and/or feeling sick were overcome by visiting the forum and reading encouragement and tips of how to ignore the starvation symptoms and persevere.
Any criticism was efficiently shut down by the cult leader herself, Heidi Diaz or Kimmer. Negativity was not conducive for weight loss, according to her. When the critisism was no longer contained to her own forum where she could control it, an “us versus them” mentality was soon developed. The cult-like nature of Kimkins was addressed in several blogs at the time. One of the best posts is on Back Across the Line, where these cult characteristics are listed:
Cult members are “focused on a living leader to whom members seem to display excessively zealous, unquestioning commitment.” The leader is a strong-willed, domineering character who rules the group with tight control. He lets it be known in subtle ways that he is “in charge” of the movement. He makes the plans, he orchestrates the movements of the group or groups (sometimes he exercises his sway over several groups). He dispatches the workers, assigns their chores, etc.
Frequently, they even begin to imitate his mannerisms in terms of voice inflection, language patterns, aggressive attitudes, etc. They become “clones” of their esteemed leader. It is not uncommon that the leader knows of weaknesses or past problems of people with his group. Thus, through subtle intimidation and fear he keeps them under his control.
“Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged,” and there can be pressure or social punishment when there is disagreement with the “boss.” Those who disagree are made to feel as though they are stupid or inept. They are brainwashed with the notion that they do not have the knowledge or experience to question the leader.
Younger people are particularly vulnerable to the leader’s “gift of gab,” and his feigned expertise. No matter how radical the leader becomes in his decisions or actions, the cult members will not criticize him. Even if there should be mild disagreement, no specific expressions are voiced. The members reason that though he may be mistaken in some of his judgments, yet the overall good he accomplishes outweighs any minor flaws.
Members are taught to “rationalize” the conduct of the leader in matters they have always “considered unethical before,” under the guise that the “end justifies the means.”
The cult leader always takes the major credit for the movement’s accomplishments. Members become psychologically dependent upon him. “What would we ever do without our leader?,” is the cult mentality.
The cult leader generates within his members “a polarized” mentality. His people evolve an “us-versus-them” mentality. Little-by-little he criticizes other groups with which his members might tend to associate, undermining confidence in them, attempting to discredit anyone who could have influence over his “flock.”
Cult members become suspicious; they imbibe the critical disposition. No one is really as “sound” as “we” are. We are an “elitist” group. And so, seeds of isolationism are sown. The movement leader discourages reading any material, examining any ideas that he does not generate. He seeks to control the inflow of knowledge relative to “his group.”
The cult leader has a clearly defined “anti-authoritarian” disposition. Within the context of the church, for instance, he would have an “anti-elder” attitude. Elders would be recipients of constant critical remarks. No cult leader would affiliate himself with a congregation having elders to whom he must be in submission. “Control” could not be maintained in such an environment.
Cult members are seen occasionally to take on a new personality. They begin to act differently. They become increasingly antagonistic to family members and long-time friends. They may even boast that, “I am not the old [name] that you used to know; I am a new person now.” And indeed they are. They have become strangers to those who knew them well. They have been transformed into the image of their leader.
Kimkins certainly operated as a cult at the time. Luckily, it didn’t last long. A diet too hard to follow, the discovery of the fraud by Heidi Diaz made the vast majority of members to abandon the forum, and the remaining group is not big enough to keep a cult atmosphere thriving.
Another diet cult, which on the surface doesn’t seem as dangerous as Kimkins, is Zero Carb.
The diet is simple. Eat meat (ground beef is the popular choice), drink water, don’t exercise and you will not only lose weight but improve your health in a multitude of different ways. No need for supplements. No need for organ meats or even a variety of meats. They ensure you that you get everything you need from supermarket ground beef.
As “proof” they show pictures of themselves. However, there is no way to verify their claims that they follow the ZC diet they prescribe. You just have to take their word for it.
The Zero Carb forum has all the characteristics of a cult. It is interesting that several ex-Kimkins dieters are members. From one cult to the next.
The ZC forum is led by a guru. He exhibits all characteristics of a narcissist, as given in this post I wrote a while back about Kimmer: The Cult of the Narcissist.
The guru sets up rules for forum participation as he sees fit, and they change over time. Initially anybody was allowed to join as a member, and were only thrown out (banned) for criticism. If you have not followed this regimen for 6 months, religiously, you can not question anything. The latest change on the forum include a registration screening process. Members just lurking, or members not posting under their (supposedly) real name are not welcome. This has pretty much become a forum “by invitation only.”
Even then, any criticism is shut down. If you are not following ZC you are not welcome on their forum. As the guru himself said it:
We’re changing the world one steak at a time. Get with us or get the hell out the way!
Whatever. It’s their forum. It’s just surprising that they choose to limit access to outside people as they all seem to want to bring their message to the masses. Of course, as a guest you can still read but it’s a tedious process as the search function is not available unless you are a member. You can just wade through so many posts before you give up to try to find out why Vit A, or C, or exercise, or .., is not required.
The 6 Week Cure
I pre-ordered the new Protein Power book, The 6 Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle. Now, I didn’t have much use for a 6 week cure myself as I have been successful in keeping my middle relatively slim. However, I was interested to see what they had to say about the cause of it.
I did get some new tidbits from the book. Like supplementing with leucine (an amino acid) and melatonin. I tried melatonin way back for sleep problems but as it didn’t help, I stopped. The Eades, however, is saying that lack of melatonin is not beneficial for fat loss, so I might start up again.
As with regards to the cause of the middle-age middle gain, there were no big surprises. Hormones. That is pretty obvious as the vast majority of people my age (50+) have problems with the middle expanding, despite eating sensibly and exercising. The 6-week cure supposedly helps to get a flat stomach back.
The cure consists of three 2-week steps.
The first step includes a liver detox phase where all substances causing the liver to work hard are to be avoided. This includes alcohol, caffeine and any unnecessary medications. The diet during these two weeks consist of 3 protein shakes per day and one LC meal with very limited vegetables.
Two things about this surprises me. First that Splenda is allowed. To me, Splenda is a chemical and while it hasn’t proved to be detrimental to the body, I don’t think it’s a good think to use when you are trying to do a detox. However, there are protein powders out there with Stevia, so perhaps that is a viable alternative.
There are also rumors in the Zero Carb community that this book promotes a “meat-only” diet. It doesn’t. There are vegetables and even berries with every meal, although in very limited quantities.
Week 3-4 are lowcarb meals, again with very limited quantities of non-starchy vegetables and berries. Alcohol and caffeine can be reintroduced.
Week 5-6 looks like a maintenance diet to me.
When it comes to exercise, they recommend only 30 minutes of weight training per week. Plus a simple ab exercise that can be done anywhere at any time.
The Eades are sharing their own experience with their middle-age middle gain and I can identify with Mary Eades. I also did not have any weight problem until I entered peri-menopause. What is disappointing though is that they say that Mary was not successful with the 6-week cure only until she got her hormones adjusted but they don’t go into detail about any of the hormone theraphy. Personally, I don’t know if it makes sense to feed your body hormones to stay at a perpetual 35 year old level for life. But then, I’m not a doctor and they are.
I have approached my middle gain differently. I maintain a relatively flat stomach by regular exercise, and it’s not enough with just 30 minutes per week. I need 30 minutes 4 or 5 times per week at the minimum. No cardio. Heavy weights. I have proven over and over again that, for me, this is the only thing that makes any difference to my “muffintop.” I don’t fully understand why. Hormones? I wish they had addressed this fact as I’m sure I am not unique.
While my review may not sound all that positive, I do recommend the book. It’s a good read and the recipes alone are worth the money. The cure is probably also a good plan for someone that quickly needs to shed some pounds and likes to follow a strict routine with given meal suggestions.
Finally, I wonder what the Eades’ target audience is. The book is not directed towards people that have a lot of weight to lose (even though it might work well as a starting point for transition into Protein Power). The book seems more directed towards people that have not been overly overweight and now find themselves with 20-30 stubborn pounds extra. If this means that lowcarb will be sold to a larger audience, I’m all for it. In my opinion, we can all benefit from lowcarb becoming more mainstream.
I wish the Eades the best of luck and great success with this book. They do a lot of free work on their blog for the lowcarb community.
Acai Scam Settlement
Attorney General Reaches National Settlement with Dietary Supplement Company
~ Companies marketed Acai berry supplements, among others ~
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has reached a national settlement with an internet-based company that markets non-prescription dietary and health supplements. The settlement resolves allegations that the company, Aton Solutions, and its subsidiaries were offering free trials of their products, including Acai berry supplements, but customers were unable to cancel their subscriptions before being billed. Since the Attorney General began investigating, Aton has made nearly $10 million in customer refunds nationwide.
Palm Beach County-based Aton Solutions and subsidiaries GIC LLC, SFL Nutrition LLC, Globalnet Pharmacies LLC and Glades Distribution Services LLC offer 15-day free trials of several products, but the trials triggered an automatic subscription and customers had to cancel the subscriptions before the end of the trial so they would not be billed for the products. The Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division received thousands of complaints from consumers and opened an investigation in December 2008.
According to the complaints filed with the Attorney General’s Office, customers claimed they were unable to contact the companies by telephone, e-mail or through the company’s websites to cancel future orders under the terms of the free trial offer. As a result, thousands of consumers were continuously billed a monthly fee of $80 or more for products that they neither ordered nor wanted.
Under the settlement, Aton Solutions and its subsidiaries will openly describe all terms and conditions of any trial offer located on the company’s website and will clearly disclose how and when products may be returned. Additionally, the company will maintain adequate customer service personnel to field cancellation requests in compliance with the terms and conditions of the free trial offer and will continue to examine, address and resolve all complaints related to the company’s business, products and trial offers.
In addition to the consumer refunds, Aton has agreed to pay $250,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs and will continue to issue refunds to any consumers who have complaints. The companies have fully cooperated with Attorney General’s investigation.
The company that agreed to the settlement sells Acai Berry Supreme and Extreme Acai Berry, among others. While I applaud the Attorney General for looking into this scam, I can not help wonder how much difference it will make. At least some people will get some of their money back, but how many just gave up when they couldn’t reach anybody to cancel the autoship? While they might have had their credit card company stop further payments, many of them are likely out of the money for the first couple of shipments. Clearly, this company has made a lot of money on this product as they agreed to a settlement of $10 million in refunds.
The company is also allowed to continue to sell these in my opinion useless products. The requirement to “clearly disclose how and when products may be returned” is technically fulfilled, but who checks the “Terms and Conditions” before placing a $3.95 order for a “Risk Free Trial?” Or, understands the statement about “a negative option” that has been added to the bottom of the page?
†I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CONSUMER TRANSACTION INVOLVES A NEGATIVE OPTION AND THAT I MAY BE LIABLE FOR PAYMENT OF FUTURE GOODS AND SERVICES, UNDER THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, IF I FAIL TO NOTIFY THE SUPPLIER NOT TO SUPPLY THE GOODS OR SERVICES DESCRIBED.
It is also annoying that the supposed benefits of this product were not questioned. Acai Berry continues to be sold as a detox and weight loss supplement despite there being no proof of these claims. None. The only studies that have been done have confirmed a relatively high amount of antioxidants but then there are no studies that show that antioxidants are beneficial to us in the first place.
