Dana Carpender

Dana Carpender, 46-year nutrition buff, 29-year low-carber, opinionated writer, congenital smarty pants, and low-carb recipe guru. Lives in Southern Indiana with Otis the Pug, Squeaky the Cat, and as always, That Nice Boy She Married.

Dana Learns An Important Lesson Again: Why Sodium Is Important On A Low Carb Diet

What About Salt?

Sodium is not the problem. High insulin levels are the problem, because they signal the kidneys to retain sodium. Stop eating carbs and drop your insulin levels, and all of a sudden your kidneys become very efficient at removing sodium from the bloodstream. Stop eating a bunch of processed food, and your salt intake drops just as your ability to cope with sodium improves.

Read More »

Make Your Own Low Carb Coconut Butter by Dana Carpender

Folks, I'm sorry I've been so spotty about posting to CarbSmart recently. I'm on deadline for this paleo cookbook (Pre-order at Amazon.com: 500 Paleo Recipes), and I'm cooking and writing like a maniac. Quite honestly, Its hard to think about anything else. However, in an attempt to make it up to you, I will now tell you how to save a pile of money.

Read More »

The Death of Davy Jones by Dana Carpender

The death of Monkee Davy Jones, a runner and a vegetarian, is a melancholy thing for this Baby Boomer. I've seen various explanations invoked: Notably absent from the discussions I've seen, however, is another, very simple possibility: Neither vegetarianism nor running is particularly healthful.

Read More »

Which American Foods Can You Tolerate on Your Low Carb Diet? by Dana Carpender

In honor of Independence Day, I thought I'd do a rundown of American foods. No, not fast food burgers and pizza, but rather those foods that are native to our nation, the foods the colonists might well have encountered for the very first time when they came to these shores. (Though some of them had already made it across the Atlantic, and started gaining popularity in Europe.) What foods are truly American?

Read More »

What is a Paleo Diet by Dana Carpender

What is the Paleo Diet / Primal Diet?

Paleo refers to the idea that we can take cues from the hunter-gatherer diets of our pre-agricultural ancestors to determine the best - dare I say the evolutionary - diet of human kind. It is nearly impossible to achieve a truly paleo diet; you'd have to eat only local wild foods in season; one piece of cultivated fruit or pinch of a spice from another part of the world and you're no longer truly authentic.

Read More »

Low Carb New Year’s Alcohol Guide

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol does not turn to sugar in your bloodstream. However, it it is carbohydrate-derived; alcohol is what yeasts pee out after eating sugars. Doesn't that sound yummy? Hey, it doesn't stop me. Alcohol does behave like a carb in one important way: your body burns it preferentially. Just as eating carbohydrate shuts down fat burning, so does drinking alcohol. Or as a medical journal article I read donkey's years ago phrased it, "Alcohol profoundly inhibits lipolysis." Furthermore, at 7 calories per gram, nearly twice the calorie count of carbs, it can take you longer to burn through the booze. This is why alcohol, despite some genuine benefits, is always an indulgence when you're trying to lose weight.

Read More »