"Contented patients - patients whose symptoms abate and the many who go on to achieve lasting health - are reward enough for a physician," so said a remarkable yet modest Austrian doctor who courageously championed an unorthodox treatment over half a lifetime. Who was this doctor with such grit and determination? What inspired him to develop a successful healing program with little recourse to drugs or surgery? And what was this intriguing treatment, so simple and effective, so eminently suited to the workings of our body and that stood the test of time? From being a medical scientist and inventor, the late Dr Wolfgang Lutz became a consultant in internal medicine in Ried and then in Salzburg. Turning his inventive brain to everyday medicine and concerned about the mushrooming of modern diseases that he witnessed even by the middle of the 20th century, Wolfgang Lutz explored the idea of a 'carbohydrate effect', namely the detrimental effect of an overload of sugars and starches on our health. From the late 1950s, Dr Lutz pioneered the use of low carbohydrate nutrition in the treatment of a wide range of ailments - conditions such as Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, obesity, glandular disorders, gastrointestinal problems, osteoarthritis, cardiac insufficiency, high and low levels of iron and calcium in the blood, and more - with astonishing results. The diet adopted by Dr Lutz was not as drastic as some of the recent 'Paleo diets' either in the amount of carbohydrate allowed or as to the choice of food. It was simple, moderate and, except for carbohydrates, non-restrictive. Dr Lutz felt that there should be as few 'don'ts' as possible but was very strict about anything he knew would make a fundamental difference to a patient's condition. As sudden change could be stressful, he recommended that the diet was not to be rushed into but started slowly; once satisfactorily established, it was suitable for the long term.My Life without Bread offers a treasure trove of observation, information and advice borne of long clinical experience. At 90, Wolfgang Lutz looks back over his life as a clinical physician: we follow him step by step as he describes what inspired him in the first place and as he details the lessons he learned during his many years of restricting the sugar and starch intake of his patients. We learn of the benefits but also of the occasional drawbacks of this way of eating which he encountered during this time. There is a chapter on prudent implementation and in the final chapter we hear how he might answer questions often put to him by his many patients. A fascinating and important book, which challenges many current practices and debunks a few myths, My Life without Bread is an easy to read page-turner, written for the layman. An essential guide for those wishing to understand more about this controversial topic!
"Contented patients - patients whose symptoms abate and the many who go on to achieve lasting health - are reward enough for a physician," so said a remarkable yet modest Austrian doctor who courageously championed an unorthodox treatment over half a lifetime. Who was this doctor with such grit and determination? What inspired him to develop a successful healing program with little recourse to drugs or surgery? And what was this intriguing treatment, so simple and effective, so eminently suited to the workings of our body and that stood the test of time? From being a medical scientist and inventor, the late Dr Wolfgang Lutz became a consultant in internal medicine in Ried and then in Salzburg. Turning his inventive brain to everyday medicine and concerned about the mushrooming of modern diseases that he witnessed even by the middle of the 20th century, Wolfgang Lutz explored the idea of a 'carbohydrate effect', namely the detrimental effect of an overload of sugars and starches on our health. From the late 1950s, Dr Lutz pioneered the use of low carbohydrate nutrition in the treatment of a wide range of ailments - conditions such as Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, obesity, glandular disorders, gastrointestinal problems, osteoarthritis, cardiac insufficiency, high and low levels of iron and calcium in the blood, and more - with astonishing results. The diet adopted by Dr Lutz was not as drastic as some of the recent 'Paleo diets' either in the amount of carbohydrate allowed or as to the choice of food. It was simple, moderate and, except for carbohydrates, non-restrictive. Dr Lutz felt that there should be as few 'don'ts' as possible but was very strict about anything he knew would make a fundamental difference to a patient's condition. As sudden change could be stressful, he recommended that the diet was not to be rushed into but started slowly; once satisfactorily established, it was suitable for the long term.My Life without Bread offers a treasure trove of observation, information and advice borne of long clinical experience. At 90, Wolfgang Lutz looks back over his life as a clinical physician: we follow him step by step as he describes what inspired him in the first place and as he details the lessons he learned during his many years of restricting the sugar and starch intake of his patients. We learn of the benefits but also of the occasional drawbacks of this way of eating which he encountered during this time. There is a chapter on prudent implementation and in the final chapter we hear how he might answer questions often put to him by his many patients. A fascinating and important book, which challenges many current practices and debunks a few myths, My Life without Bread is an easy to read page-turner, written for the layman. An essential guide for those wishing to understand more about this controversial topic!
