Big Updates -- TWO NEW BOOKS!

Hey Everyone!

Lots of good news to share these days.

First: Big news – my book, The Stall Slayer, is now available on Amazon!!

YES! If you prefer reading hard copies of books rather than electronic versions, you can now order a paperback copy of The Stall Slayer from Amazon. And not just in the US – it’s available in many other nations. Check your local Amazon site to see if it’s available where you live. I’ve already had some fans buy it in Japan, Brazil, the UK, Canada, and the Netherlands. (If you happen to be reading this in the Netherlands, I think you have to order from the German site…amazon.de.) I’m even working with someone who’s translating the book into Thai – cool!

If you prefer electronic copies, you can buy The Stall Slayer for Kindle from Amazon, or as a pdf. (Click here to buy the pdf.) Unfortunately, we’ve hit a little snag with Kindle: the book doesn’t appear to be available for Kindle Paperwhite devices, but it works fine on older Kindles and on the Kindle app for PC, Mac, phones, and tablets.

Second: I have another book coming out this year!

This one isn’t just me, though. It’s co-written with the one and only Eric Westman, MD. YES! Can you believe it? I kind of have to pinch myself to make sure I’m actually alive and awake and this isn’t a dream. (I’ve been reading Dr. Westman’s published research for about 15 years, and now I’m writing a book with him. Whaaaat?! The world is a strange, beautiful place, my friends.)

The book is tentatively titled End Your Carb Confusion, but that is subject to change. We have an estimated release date of early December 2020, which is right around the corner. (Insert head exploding emoji.) We’re in the editing stage right now. Thank goodness, our publisher seems pretty happy with it and their suggestions are mostly related to grammar and structure rather than the content. 

What is End Your Carb Confusion about? It’s a guide to finding your own carb tolerance and building your diet from there. *Gasp!* What?! Not everyone needs extra-strict keto for their entire lifetime? Nope! This book will help people figure out where they fall on the carb tolerance spectrum, and how to move from one level to another -- i.e., how to INCREASE your carb intake safely and logically, if you want to. (Everyone can do keto for life; not everyone needs to. There IS room in life for more fruit, beans, starches, and other higher carb foods if they’re appropriate for you. Our book will teach you how to navigate it all.)

Don’t let all that fool you, though. It’s also a SIMPLE, down-to-earth “get started” guide that’s perfect for the person in your life who’s living with all kinds of health issues that would respond well to keto but who feels totally overwhelmed (or turned off) by the nuttiness and zealotry they see about this way of eating on the interwebs. It’s written in very layperson-friendly plain English -- no intense scientific gobbledygook that you need a PhD to understand -- and I know, because I wrote it!

Does keto work if you eat conventional (non-grass-finished) beef? YES! Does keto work if your food isn’t organic? YES! Are you the worst person in the history of the universe if you drink diet sodas or use artificial sweeteners in coffee or keto baking? NO! Isn’t keto only for people who are trying to lose weight? NO! If your blood sugar is normal, why would you bother trying keto? READ THE BOOK AND FIND OUT!

Stay tuned to the blog and my social media accounts for updates as the book release gets closer. Obviously I’ll have lots more to say about it.

Third: Sign up for my newsletter!

I’ve been threatening promising for a while now to resurrect the blog and start writing more regularly. Considering the two previous posts were from November 2019 and this past April, obviously that has not happened yet. I’ve just made a relatively big change in my professional life, though, and I might have some more time to devote to more frequent blogging. (If this actually comes to pass and I do manage to get myself to follow through with this, the posts will likely be shorter than my past fare, but more frequent. This is probably best for all of us – for me and for you, my readers. More succinct posts, but ones that show up more often.)

In the meantime, you can keep up with current goings-on in my corner of the keto universe by subscribing to my newsletter. The newsletter includes updates about my work, links to featured videos from my YouTube channel, plus book or product reviews & recommendations, supplements I trust, and whatever else I think is worth sharing at any given time. And I promise—no spam! (If you‘ve been around the blog a while, then you’ve come to know that I’m a total dinosaur with regard to technology and I wouldn’t know how to spam you even if I wanted to—which I do not.) The next newsletter will be coming out Monday July 13 – sign up now so you don’t miss it! (And it’s definitely coming, because I’ve already written and saved it, and it’s pre-set to go out that day.)

Fourth: I’m on Patreon!

Do you like my message of Keto Without the Crazy™? Want to support my writing books and blog posts, making videos, and being able to devote time to reading scientific papers and keeping up with the latest research about ketogenic and low-carb diets, plus nutrition, health, and physiology more broadly? Consider joining me on Patreon.

You can subscribe for as little as $2/month, although for $5/month and above you get special patron-only content. For $5/month, you get exclusive videos that are for patrons only and not for my public YouTube channel. (They’re shorter and a bit more ranty and free-form than my public videos. These videos are a place for me to vent about the craziness I see going on the keto world these days, but even more, they’re a place for me to think out loud and share with you various issues I’m tossing around in my head and trying to get a good perspective on.)

For $10/month and up, you get a monthly research review, in which I discuss in detail 2-4 scientific papers I’ve read that month. They’re always health- and nutrition-focused, but not always specifically about ketogenic diets. If you want to get your science on, that level is for you! A bit geekier than my public videos, but I try to keep things layperson-friendly to accommodate all who might be watching.

For a very generous $30/month, you get a weekly group Zoom call with me – ask me anything! (Well not anything. Do try to keep it related to keto/low-carb, health and nutrition, food, physiology, biochemistry, etc.) Keto Q&A, tips for eating this way long-term, and whatever else comes up in the conversation. My audience is very savvy, so you get to benefit from listening to everyone on these calls, not just from me. Ask questions or just listen quietly while the rest of us “think out loud.” Participate as much or as little as you like. At this level of support, you’ll get an hour with me each week – much cheaper than a single one-hour consultation!

Check out all the details and the different support levels here: Tuit Nutrition on Patreon

Thanks for sticking with me, everyone. I know that my actions don’t reflect what I’ve been saying for a while: that writing is my first love and always will be. (Then again, I did just finish writing two books…) Anyway, it was never my intent to abandon the blog. I guess I just started to get a little intimidated by my own blog style – sharing every detail about a topic and exploring every possible nuance to the point that blog posts could take several days to write (in addition to the time spent researching). I’ll have to go a little easier if I’m going to write more often. Making videos is so much quicker – I can get information out a lot faster when I talk than when I type. (It also seems that many more people prefer to watch videos these days rather than reading blog posts, so I can reach a larger audience with videos.) When it’s been a while since there’s been a new blog post, I welcome you to check out my videos, but I also vow to not let it be quite so long between blog posts going forward. Yes, I realize I have made this commitment several times in the past and not followed through. Thank goodness for second … and third … and fourth chances, eh?

See you again soon.

P.S. Do you live near the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area of North Carolina? Greensboro or Burlington? Guess what? I work at a farm in Efland! If you’re near the Triangle area of NC, check us out: Fickle Creek Farm. We do beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs, and produce. We’re normally at several area farmers’ markets, but with the virus situation right now, you can pre-order for on-farm pickup, and there are some drop-off/delivery points, too. You might get a dozen eggs that I gathered or washed, or some lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, peppers, or squash that I planted, weeded, tended, and harvested! The work is absolutely backbreaking and exhausting (especially in the heat of a southern summer), but it’s also satisfying and fulfilling in a way that sedentary work in front of a computer isn’t. (They both have their place in my life, though.) Here’s a video I did a while back talking about working on the farm: Dispatch from the Farm. (That was way back from last October. I had only been working there for a few weeks at that time. I’ve learned so much more since then…and lost a couple thousand buckets’ worth of sweat, if you must know. Also: a few educational and painful encounters with fire ants! Fun, fun, fun.) If you’re in the area, definitely check out our animal and plant foods, all raised and grown with love, care, and integrity. 

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Get Early Access to Blog Posts

Hi all!

Just a quick note to let you know there’s a way to get early access to blog posts from now on. I’m on Patreon, and I’ve added a benefit to patrons who support me at the $5/month level. For the price of two or so cups of coffee, you can read new blog posts a few days before the rest of the world. If you have the means and want to check this out, see here for details.

In case you’re wondering what topics I'll be writing about next, right now I’m working on a post about the effects of chronically high insulin on the skin, and one on why people need to stop freaking out about slightly high blood sugar at random points in time. (See here for a preview of the one on insulin & skin. It’s a post I wrote on this topic for Designs for Health, but they don’t give me a byline. Trust me, it was me.)

The $10/month level gets you access to my monthly research review, wherein I discuss scientific papers I’ve read over the preceding few weeks. The papers cover a range of topics – whatever strikes my fancy that particular month, or whatever things I happen to be reading and learning more about. Sometimes it’s low carb and ketogenic diets, sometimes it’s diabetes, sometimes Alzheimer’s, sometimes cholesterol and statins…whatever papers catch my eye and that I think I’ll learn something valuable from.

You can also support me for as little as $2 or $3/month, but there are no special perks for that…unless you count my deep gratitude and appreciation for your generosity!  

As always, however, my blog itself is free and always will be. So if funds are tight and $5/month is beyond reach, no worries whatsoever. All posts will still be right here too. Patrons simply get to read them a few days in advance of the general public. And if you want to experience more of my approach to “Keto Without the Crazy,”™ remember my videos are all free as well, as is my Twitter account.

Here’s the link again to my Patreon page.

Thanks, everyone. I’m glad you’re here. In this age of quick sound bites and instant gratification, I’m thankful anyone out there still likes (prefers, even!) reading long, in-depth blog posts. I do love writing them, even if I don’t do it as often as I’d like to.

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Tuit Nutrition Newsletter!

Hey Everyone,

I am close to helpless when it comes to technology, but after procrastinating out of fear and confusion for over a year, I finally mustered the patience and courage to figure out how to create a mailing list. If you’d like to keep up to date on my upcoming speaking engagements and public appearances (come meet me in person!), and catch up on recent blog posts or videos you might have missed, please sign up here for my newsletter or look at the right sidebar on the homepage of tuitnutrition.com and you’ll see a place to join the list. (What? Videos?! You didn't know I started a YouTube channel? Yep, check it out here.)

What else can you expect in the newsletter? I plan to give thumbs up or thumbs down on nutrition & health books I’m reading, and share about scientific papers I’m delving into. (Let me know if you’d like me to keep posting detailed book reviews on the blog, in addition to the quick yays or nays that’ll be in the newsletter.) Maybe I’ll include links to blog posts or other articles I think would be worth your time to read, or recommend someone to follow on Twitter. I might also do product reviews here and there if I’ve come across products or food items I think my audience might like. I don’t have many affiliate links, but if any of these are affiliates—meaning that I would receive a commission from the sale—I will be upfront about that and make that disclosure. If you’ve read my blog or watched my videos, you know I’m a straight-shooter and you can expect honesty from me. What you see is what you get.

The good thing is, I’m not tech-savvy enough to spam you. Wouldn’t know how if I wanted to, and I most definitely don’t want to. It took me forever to figure out how to even set up this mailing list! And I have no idea when the first newsletter will go out, or how frequently after that. Right now, the priority is getting back to writing meaty, educational blog posts. But I plan to keep the newsletters relatively short & simple, so I should be able to put something out every few weeks. (“Should” being the key word there, hehheh. I should be able to publish good blog posts more often than I have been the past few months, but alas…)

Thanks for being part of my little corner of the low-carb/keto world, where we aim to keep things simple and sane, and help others learn how to navigate this way of eating without losing their minds or their life savings. Cheers!

Sign up for the newsletter here!

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Update: Podcasts, Videos, Alzheimer's, and More

Hey Everyone!

  

Just wanted to let you know I’ve updated two tabs on the site:

Info on Alzheimer’s, and my podcast and video interviews.

Alzheimer’s

In case anyone’s new here, I am the author of the book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote: Using a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet to Fight Alzheimer's Disease, Memory Loss, and Cognitive Decline.

I’ve done a bunch of interviews about the book and the concept in general – that Alzheimer’s disease is a metabolic problem – one the scientific literature regularly refers to as “type 3 diabetes,” or “brain insulin resistance.”

On the Alzheimer’s tab, you can find links to all my published articles and blog posts, as well as links to some of my favorite scientific papers on Alzheimer’s.

Podcasts & Videos

If you’ve been reading the blog for a while but have never heard my voice or seen what I look like (other than the photo on the blog), you can check me out in these videos and podcasts.  You’ll notice differences in my face and general appearance, depending when the various videos were recorded.  That’s what trying to figure out your thyroid will do to you!  Swollen looking in one video, down 15 pounds in another only a few months later.  The info in this one is great, but my thyroid-related weight gain had reared its head again.  In my opinion, I look best in this one and this one.) 

For those of you who are familiar with prominent low carb physician and researcher Eric Westman, MD, I’ve recorded two videos for his Adapt Your Life Program, one on Alzheimer’s, and one called “Keto Sense and Nonsense.”  The latter one goes hand-in-hand with this blog post I wrote about keeping low carb and keto simple, and how UNcomplicated they really are.  (If you’re interested in the blog series on insulin I mention during the Alzheimer’s video, you can check it out here.)

Another video I’d like to share with you is a webinar I did for the Irish Institute of Nutrition & Health.  It’s a bit long – about 2 hours – but it’s the most detailed and informative presentation I’ve ever given.  (I’ve given this talk, called “Nourish Your Neurons,” at professional conferences.)  There’s a Q&A for the last approximately 40 minutes. I recommend watching through to the end, because there’s some good extra information during that time.  You can download and save the file here (it’s a very large file), or simply watch it here. 

Posts for KetoDiet

I’m happy to announce I’ve joined the writing team at Martina Slajerova’s KetoDiet/KetoDiet App.  I am humbled to be part of this team, as I am in the company of people I deeply respect, including Franziska Spritzler, Bill Lagakos, Emily Maguire, and other nutrition professionals.

If you’re not familiar with Martina, she’s an AMAZING and prolific recipe developer and all-around good person.  She has several great keto cookbooks out, not to mention all the fabulous recipes available for free on her website.  (I reviewed The KetoDiet Cookbook here, and the Sweet & Savory Fat Bombs cookbook here.)

Three of my articles have been published so far: 

• Can a Ketogenic Diet Help People with Acid Reflux?
• Is Alzheimer’s a Metabolic Disease?  (part 1)
• The Ketogenic Diet for Alzheimer’s Disease (part 2)

There will be several more articles in the coming months, including basic ones on things like meal prep and dining out on low carb/keto, and some that are a bit more in-depth on insulin resistance and associated metabolic dysfunction.

The best way to stay up to date on my latest publications, podcasts, other interviews, and public appearances (yes, I do occasionally leave the house and interact with other humans!) is to follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TuitNutrition.  

P.S.  I’m working on three new posts that I’m very excited about.  Lots of fascinating stuff to talk about.  I think they’ll blow your mind, just like they did mine.  They’re a bit in-depth, though, so they’re going to take a while to write.  I’ll be posting some less heavy-hitting stuff in the meantime, but just know that some really good and educational stuff is on the horizon.  Y’all know that what I love about the blog is that when I learn new things that change the way I see insulin, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer, and more, I get to share those insights with you!   

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Questions for You

Hey Everyone,

With a new year just having begun, I’ve been giving some thought to how I’d like to proceed in participating in the low carb nutrition and health community.

This might surprise you, but I consider myself a writer first and a nutritionist second. When people ask me what I do, I tend to say I’m a writer who mostly writes about nutrition and health, rather than a nutritionist who also happens to dabble in writing. I love writing. I’ve always loved it. (Even majored it in in college.) I am fortunate that I get to do it for a living: fortunate that someone out there thinks I’m good enough at it that they actually pay me to do it.

However, even though I do enjoy it, for me, writing is an arduous process. It’s not easy, and it never has been. However long you think it takes me to write a post, triple it, and that might come close to the ballpark amount of time it typically takes me to write. (Not including the time it takes to read relevant papers, if it’s one of my more science-heavy posts.) I can’t claim credit for this phrase, but it is absolutely 100% true for me: “I don’t like writing; I like having written.” Meaning, the process of writing—staring at a blank page, filling that page with incomplete, out-of-order, fragmented notes and thoughts, and slowly, painstakingly, turning it all into something coherent and readable—is a struggle and not fun. The fun part comes after that’s all done, and I get to hit “Publish” on my blog. (BTW: the two links in this paragraph are to a blog I had in a former lifetime, long before this nutrition gig.) 

What's in Store: Changes are a-Comin'!

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in new blog posts. (But hopefully the cute picture of the eggs on the previous post makes you smile when you see it.)

There’s a reason I haven’t posted anything new in the last couple of weeks. I’m redoing the site and it’s best if I don’t add anything new until the transition is complete. Sometime in the next week or two, the site will look completely different. Don’t be confused! You’ll be in the right place, even if everything is unfamiliar. It’ll take me a while to settle on colors and fonts that I like, so you might continue to see some changes there until I’m happy with the appearance, but since I don’t want to keep you (or me!) waiting on new posts, I’m going to go for it and sort out the details later. As much as I’d like everything to be pretty and shiny and well-organized right away, if the rest of my life is any indication, making things pretty, shiny, and well-organized is not my forte, so if I’m going to wait for that to happen, you all are going to be waiting a looong time for new posts. And since writing is my forte (or so I’m told)—not to mention I like doing it and sharing with you all the cool things I learn—I might as well just jump into the new setup and take you all with me without waiting for things to look perfect.

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s in store on the site in general, and the blog, specifically. Some of the blog posts will happen sooner rather than later, but they all will happen eventually. (Sadly, it’s looking like another entire year will pass before I crank out another post in the series on the metabolic theory of cancer.)

Coming up:

BIG NEWS: MY BOOK!

Hey Everyone!

You may recall that a while back I released an e-book about Alzheimer’s disease and the potential therapeutic role of a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet and other lifestyle interventions. Well, I’m happy to announce that the book has been completely rewritten and expanded for release this month as a print book from Chelsea Green Publishing, with a foreword by none other than David Perlmutter, MD, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Grain Brain!! 

Chelsea Green is a big deal, folks. They publish the fermentation bible, a.k.a. Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Katz. They are also the U.S. distributor for Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride’s books—Put Your Heart in Your Mouth and Gut and Psychology Syndrome (the original GAPS™ diet book), which are both outstanding. They’re also the U.S. publishers for The Ketogenic Kitchen, by Domini Kemp and Patricia Daly. (Patricia is Ireland and the U.K.’s go-to gal for all things related to keto for cancer.) CG is also publishing the new release of Travis Christofferson’s Tripping Over the Truth (which I reviewed here) – the book that inspired my blog series on the metabolic theory of cancer. So you can see I am in very, very good company among these folks.

My book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote: Using a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease, Memory Loss, and Cognitive Decline, has been rewritten and expanded with new and even more powerful information, all of which only strengthens my basic premise: Alzheimer’s disease is, at least in part, a systemic metabolic condition, and as such, there are dietary and lifestyle interventions that could potentially stop or slow the progression of this condition, and possibly even reverse some of the damage that has already occurred.

One of the fundamental aspects of Alzheimer’s disease is that neurons in regions of the brain involved in memory processing lose the ability to metabolize glucose efficiently. In fact, in noting that Alzheimer’s patients show as much as a 45% reduction in cerebral glucose utilization, one study’s authors said that this is “the predominant abnormality in incipient late onset Alzheimer’s disease...” This is not a matter of debate. There are many things we don’t know and don’t understand about Alzheimer’s disease. This isn’t one of them.  That metabolic issues involving perturbed glucose and insulin processing in the brain are major factors either directly causing or at least exacerbating Alzheimer’s pathology and progression are so undeniable that the phrases “type 3 diabetes,” “brain insulin resistance,” and “metabolic-cognitive syndrome” are now regularly used in the scientific literature. (Yep, you already knew about plain ol’ metabolic syndrome, but when you throw dementia and cognitive impairment into the mix, you have metabolic-cognitive syndrome.)  The reduction in cerebral glucose metabolism is not controversial. The controversy lies in what causes this and what to do about it.

Book Review: Growing Tomorrow

Tl; dr – read, read, read, love, love, love.

Growing Tomorrow is the second book by author and farmer Forrest Pritchard.  As I said in my gushing praise for his first book, the NYT bestseller Gaining Ground, the dude knows how to write. (He also knows a little something about farming. If you live in the DC area, check out Smith Meadows farm in person if you are so inclined, or if Berryville, Virginia is a little far for you to wander out to, you can find them at many markets all over greater DC.)

Growing Tomorrow is part travelogue, part cookbook, and above all, an homage to small, family farms, sustainable and humane production of plant and animal foods, and the people who dedicate their lives to making sure those of us who can’t or won’t farm for ourselves have access to food we trust, raised in ways we value. The book is an account of the author’s visits to eighteen farms across the U.S., to share the stories of how they are growing and raising plants and animals sustainably, humanely, and, believe it or not, profitably. It’s proof that one can make ends meet without cutting corners, exploiting workers, poisoning the land, abusing livestock, or cheating consumers. Working in tandem with mother nature and reliable, regular customers, small farms can do things “the right way” and stay in the black. (Granted, it often takes several years to get there after pants-wetting years spent in the red, but farming is generally not a quarter-by-quarter profit seeking enterprise. If you are unable to take a long—very long—view of things, farming is probably not for you.)       

As the author discussed in an interview he did on the Real World Paleo podcast, one of his goals was to highlight the diversity of today’s American farms and farmers. Forrest visited farms on the west coast, east coast, north, south, and everywhere in between. In 2016, we’re about as far as it gets from the dour couple in the famous painting, American Gothic. From fruit orchards in southern California to an organic grain farm in Iowa, to a sustainable fishery in Massachusetts, there’s no region ignored, and certainly no lack of ethnic diversity, either. The farms featured in Growing Tomorrow show that farming has nothing to do with the color of your skin or the language you grew up speaking, and everything to do with courage, grit, determination, and most importantly, a sense of humor and a pathological love of hard work in difficult conditions.     

From what I know of Forrest, he pours himself into everything he does. Nothing is done halfway and nothing is done without an unwavering dedication to quality and authenticity. Not on his farm, and not in his writing. This was evident to me before I even got to page one of the book. From the dedication alone, I knew this book would deliver:

“To my fellow farmers—people of faith, creativity, and deep good humor. It’s long overdue, but on behalf of our country, thanks for lunch.”

Are you kidding me? I told you he could write!

Thank You.

So the blog’s been quieter than usual, eh?

Sorry about that.

I have many posts in various stages of completion, but I haven’t been able to get myself to finish any of them. It may or may not have been reflected in the blog, but for the last six to eight months or so, I have been experiencing the worst depression of my life. The long-time readers among you may have gathered by now that I am not, and never have been, a happy-go-lucky type. I’ve always been pessimistic and gloomy. Definitely an Eeyore, as opposed to a Tigger or Piglet. (At least, when it comes to myself, and my life. For other people, I could see roses and rainbows and magical unicorn happiness, no problem.) Anyway, so yeah, I’ve always been this way to some extent, but the past few months have really been awful. To the point that, for the first time in my life, I was actually worried about myself.

Alzheimer's Book Now on AMAZON for KINDLE!

BIG NEWS, EVERYONE!

 

My e-book, The Alzheimer’s Antidote, is now available for sale on Amazon, for Kindle readers. =D  In celebration of this semi-momentous event for me, I am running a pre-sale discount of “30% by the 30th.” If you order the kindle format book before March 30, the sale price is $6.99. Beginning April 1, the book will be available for the full price of $9.99. (Note: you can order the Kindle version any time before 3/30, but it will not be delivered to your device until that date.)

I would like to once again thank Ellen Davis, the brilliant mind behind Ketogenic Diet Resource, which is the single best one-stop-shop I know of for anything and everything you could possibly want to know about ketogenic diets for everything from weight loss to diabetes management and adjunct cancer therapy. (In fact, she has three excellent e-books on implementing ketogenic diets, one for cancer, one for type 2 diabetes, and one for type 1 diabetes.)

This time around, I would also like to thank Mike Sheridan, who is basically the only reason my book is now available for Kindle at all. I may have written this thing, but he’s the one who formatted it for kindle and took care of all the technical logistics. (Not my strong suit!) Mike has an adorable Canadian accent, but even better than that, he’s got a few books of his own that you might be interested in. (Tell me, dear readers, has there ever been a book title in the centuries-old history of publishing better than Eat Meat and Stop Jogging?) He’s also got a blog where he writes aboot nutrition, food, and stuff I don’t really cover at all, like exercise and athletic performance. Go check it out, eh?

I am so grateful to both Ellen and Mike for helping me to make this potentially lifesaving information available to a much wider audience.

Also: If you’ve already purchased the e-book, or plan to purchase it for Kindle, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. (Especially if you liked it and found it educational & helpful!) If you do write a review, please specify somewhere in it that you purchased the book through the author’s website before it was available on Amazon, and that’s why it is not an official “verified purchase.” (Because the Kindle version will not be delivered until 3/30, Amazon might not give you the option to leave a review until after then, but keep it on your radar to do so when you have a chance!) 

And one more thing before I get out of your hair for the day:

The convenience of e-books is tempered by the risk that some of the links included will change and no longer direct you to the correct pages. I recently went through the e-book to update broken links and add some brief thoughts on the use of exogenous ketones for Alzheimer’s. If you purchased the book, you should have received an email notification about the update, including a link for a free download of the updated version. If you have not received this email, but purchased the original e-book and would like a free copy of the update, please contact me.

P.S. I have had a couple of requests for a print version of the book. At the moment, that is not available, but I might be doing a print-on-demand option in the near future. For now, it's just the e-book as a pdf, or the Kindle version.

Disclaimer: Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.

Attention Fiction Lovers!

Hi Everyone,

If you’re reading my blog, I’ll go ahead and assume you have at least a smidgen of appreciation for my writing style. (And I thank you for that!) If you also happen to enjoy reading fiction, I’d like to present you with an opportunity to combine the two.

I’ve mentioned here and there in past posts that I’ve been working on a novel. (My undergraduate degree is in creative writing, in fact. While I do love talking about how the human body works, and introducing you to interesting and underutilized cuts of meat, writing fiction is my first love.) Well, I’m pleased to report that the very rough draft of this novel is complete. There are some weak spots, and the draft definitely needs work and revising, but there are also some lines that literally make me cry, and some sections that, upon re-reading, make me say to myself, “I wrote that? Damn, I’m good!”

So where do you come in? Well, what I need at this point is honest, unvarnished, unbiased feedback. I need a few people to give this thing a read and tell me what works and what doesn’t, preferably while providing suggestions on how to make the not-so-good parts better. Ultimately, a good professional editor will help me with this, but first, the draft needs to be good enough to catch the interest of a literary agent, who can then connect me with editors and publishers. I know I can self-publish if I want to, but I’d prefer to go the traditional route first and see if I can get this published through mainstream channels. (Including, one would hope, all the marketing bells & whistles and distribution channels that are not as easily accessible to me if I were to do it myself and sell it solely through, say, Amazon.)

Coming Down the Pike

Hey Everyone,

In looking at the last several blog posts, it’s hit me that I’ve been talking about myself an awful lot. And while there’s nothing wrong with that (after all, it’s my blog, so I can write about whatever I want), based on page views, this is not the most interesting stuff for you to read. (People don’t find it fascinating when someone else goes on and on [and on!] about themselves? Go figure!) So I wanted to send out a quick look at what’s coming down the pike after I write about the changes to my diet and exercise that go along with the supplement post and how I’ve been feeling much better lately.

I will still cover my diet and exercise—first, because I said I would, and second, because maybe, just maybe, someone out there will learn something and/or be encouraged or inspired to try something new with their own diet and lifestyle and get moving in a positive direction. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that!

After that, it’s back to our regularly scheduled nutrition and physiology programming, which seems to be more popular, and likely also more educational. I love writing about it, and based on page hits, you seem to like reading & learning about it. (Some of it is old news to some of you, but I know I’ve got a few readers out there who don’t eat, sleep, and breathe this ancestral health stuff, and covering the basics really helps them “get it.” And maybe you learn a little something new along the way, too.)

I have a lot of cool stuff planned for future blog posts, and rest assured, I also plan to make my posts shorter than they have been. (Don’t count on it though…the best laid plans, and all that. I never intend for my posts to be as long as they are; it just sort of happens. Maybe I’ll just find better ways of breaking them up into shorter segments and have 2 or 3-parters that are easier to digest than the encyclopedic-length ones I've been posting. I dunno. Brevity is not my strong suit. I am 5’2”. Perhaps I’m making up in words for what I lack in physical height? Hehheh.)

Okay, so here’s what’s coming up after I cover what I eat and how I move:

Reading, Writing, and Ruhlman

I like learning and teaching about nutrition.

I love learning and teaching about cooking and good food.

And I really love writing. (Doing it as well as reading other people’s good writing.)

So when I find good writing about cooking and good food, it’s kind of a trifecta of awesomeness. A hat trick of enjoyment and enrichment, if you’ll indulge me in the hockey reference. (Let’s go Pens!)

Confession:  I’m 35 years old and am still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. This nutrition gig is pretty neat, and I think it’s important work. That being said, in an alternate universe, I am a prolific and successful novelist. It’s a goal I’m still working toward, although nowhere near as diligently as I should be. Anyway, my point is, if that upper-5-figure advance from Random House or Penguin Books ever comes my way, you’re on your own with this nutrition stuff, kids.

In the meantime, I’m a sucker for good food writing. And since my more science-oriented blog posts are a little limited until I finish the project I’m working on, I thought I’d point you toward one of my favorites, in case you need to kill time at work are interested in the same.

Guest Posts Around the Web

No label post this week. Sorry about that, everyone. Once in a while time gets away from me and I don’t have a chance to pick out a product at which to launch my razor-sharp wit righteous anger and semi-hysterical ranting.

Instead, in case you’re bored at work  interested in reading some of my work that has appeared in other places besides my blog, here’s a list of guest posts and other work I have hanging out around the web.

  

Guest posts on Robb Wolf’s site: 

• Carbohydrates: Let’s All Take a Breath
• N=1=YOU
• Fear & Loathing at the Dinner Table

  

A series on carbohydrates, insulin, and sugar on the End Sugar Addiction Website.

It was a 4-post series. Here they are, in order. (Please note that these were written two years ago. While most of the information is accurate and I stand by it, my stance has changed slightly on some of the nuances. If you have any questions or would like clarification, feel free to contact me.) 

• Introduction
• Insulin & Weight Issues
• Stress & Sugar: the Mind-Body Connection
• Exercise & Carbohydrates: the Road to Nowhere

And lastly, I’ve produced transcripts of the following episodes of the Ask the RD podcast, by Laura Schoenfeld and Kelsey Marksteiner, the staff nutritionists at Chris Kresser’s site.

• All About Food Combining
• Nutrition for Better Sleep & Gaining Weight on Paleo
• Leg Cramps on Paleo & Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR)
• Making “SMART” Resolutions

Remember: Amy Berger, M.S., NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition.

Just Testing You!

Wasn't it hilarious in my last post when I went out of my way to mention my writing aspirations and then proceeded to publish a post with so many typos? I guess that was the inevitable result of waiting until late at night to jot off a post, and being so happy at doing some impromptu writing that I may have jumped the gun a little. In my defense, I’d already put in a full day with the Twilight Zone my day job at the cube farm, and instead of crashing on the couch when I got home, there was all the kombucha wizardry, plus the homemade pesto experiment (result: disappointment) and the homemade turkey meatballs (result: success!). 

In answer to the question you might rightfully be asking, yes, I did proofread it before hitting “publish.” Apparently my pesto making skills aren’t the only things that need a little honing. (I have attempted homemade pesto three times now, and while they’ve all been edible, they weren’t what I’d call “company worthy.” And certainly not better than what I can buy in a jar. I’m not giving up, though. There’s far too much insanely beautiful and fresh basil at the farmers’ markets this time of year. Maybe it’s the lack of pine nuts? I can justify buying expensive olive oil, but pine nuts are…well, those little morsels are pricey! [Also, weigh in: is it farmer’s markets, or farmers’ markets? I lean toward the latter, since there are usually multiple farmers present.])

Anyway, the errors have been corrected. At least, the glaring ones. There are probably a couple I’ve missed even now, but I went back and fixed the ugliest ones. So for the three of you who subscribe by email (since the emails seem to go out immediately, without any time for me to snatch them back from the interwebs), you can rest assured that my counting skills are up to par, and my yield was, in fact, seven bottles of kombucha, rather than six.

And as long as I’m here, I might as well put a little more goodness out into the universe and share some incredible links with you.

"Please blog if you aren't already."

Does anyone think it’s funny (or maybe pathetic, or simply false advertising?) that when I announce I’m going to blog more often, I actually blog less? Well, that’s what happened over the last several weeks. For shame.

Well, no more—that is, if I can remember who I am and what I love.

I recently reached out to Liz Wolfe, of CaveGirlEats and the other half of the dynamic duo behind the Balanced Bites podcast. She’s embarking on the adventure of a lifetime: homesteading! I wrote her a heartfelt email wishing her luck and telling her that she is officially living my dream, and that I would be living vicariously through her and rooting for her from afar. She wrote me the most beautiful reply, the takeaway point of which was: I need to be writing. (In fact, the title of this post is a direct quote from her reply.) She could tell from one little email (okay, it was a long email) that I might have some sort of knack for this writing thing. (Or maybe it was a combination of the personal email and some of the comments I’ve left on her blog.) In any event, it was a much-needed reminder of what I love, what I’m good at, and what I want to accomplish. I think it says a lot that a total stranger could recognize good writing when it comes from the heart, and that she recognized said writing with no knowledge that I actually have a formal education in creative writing. (Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and yes, they teach creative writing at my alma mater, even though it’s much more famous for engineering, architecture, and the performing arts than it is for novels and poetry.)

So here goes:  MORE WRITING.