Kris: And we are talking with KC Craichy, author of The Super Health Diet: The Last Diet You Will Ever Need. KC, thank you so much for joining us today.

KC: It is my pleasure!

Kris: So I am glad to hear this is the last diet, because it sounds like, according to your book, there’s 50 million people out there going on diets in the U.S.

KC: Isn’t that amazing? You know the same people are recycling through the various diets, it’s not like 50 million different folks.

Kris: It is amazing. And the obesity rates are just skyrocketing. There’s a lot of concern about our kids and how overweight they’re getting. So I really am excited about sharing this information in your book. It’s a really well- rounded, comprehensive book on weight loss. And if you would, what are some of the key things that people have to look for in weight loss programs?

KC: Well, you know, it’s a very complex subject, because the human body is so fantastically made. What happened is, a hundred years ago the average sugar intake was five pounds per year. Mom would make an apple pie, or they would get a treat at the candy store from time to time. But now sugar has become a staple. Do you have any idea what the annual average intake of sugar per person is in the U.S. today?

Kris: I just heard this the other day … the same as their weight.

KC: Yes, their weight in sugar. So if the average is 150 to 170 pounds, then somebody is eating yours and my sugar. So we have a huge issue here. This is just one of the pieces. The body does not know how to deal with that extra sugar, because it isn’t designed to have it. The body says, I only have 500 grams of glycogen stored in the muscles, 100 grams in the liver, and then there is just a teaspoon in the blood. So when somebody sits down and drinks a soft drink with 9 grams of sugar in it, it’s basically like driving up to gas station: you fill your car until it clicks a few times, and then it runs down the side of the car, and you roll the back window down and you fill the back seat. So the body has about as much capacity to deal with the extra sugar and extra fuel that people put in their body as a car does the gas in the back seat.

Kris: Right! And KC, if you think about it, too: never before in human history have human beings had such access to the sugar and fat-laden and processed type foods. And this is new, really.

KC: Yes it’s new. And there’s hundreds and hundreds of different chemicals that the body has never even seen before. So you ask, what is the secret? Well, we come home from the doctor. The doctor said, “Your blood pressure is too high, you blood sugar is too high, and you’re overweight, so you’re going to have to start eating right and exercising.” So the guy goes home and tells his wife, “The doctor says I need to eat right and exercise,” and then they both look at each other … Well, what does that mean? Neither one of them really knows what eat right is, or what kind of exercise really is going to get it done. How much, when, and so on? So they look at the last commercial they saw for the biggest weight loss system out there. And say, that’s where I’m going to go, to this system, and I’m going to lose the weight. And then they go to the weight loss system. They haven’t done any research to know if that’s low- glycemic, or if that’s low-carbohydrate, or whether that’s high protein or what kind of diet are they getting into? And how might that be good for them, or not good for them? They just go for the marketing. As you see in the book, I have covered a myriad of diet systems, diet books, pills, procedures, clinics, spas and so one, and what their approaches are to weight loss. But it would seem to me very clear – there has to be an agreement somewhere about what is the most effective way to weight loss. So the real first thing anybody should look at is, it is not really about WEIGHT LOSS, because if it’s about weight loss, then you’re going to be one of those people who keep rotating through the various diet systems and diet books and diet foods and so on, who never end up getting to the weight they want to get, because they lose the weight, and then they go back to doing what they’ve been doing. The definition of insanity is clearly, doing the same thing and expecting a different result. So they go back to what they were doing before, and get worse than what they were to start with, because oftentimes these diets will promote muscle loss, and not fat loss. So then when they get to the end of the goal, they start back slowly to their old system. Only now they don’t have the muscle, the metabolic engine that they once had, and so now they’re putting on extra fat, and that extra fat becomes an endocrine organ that essentially makes you not want to work out, and makes more muscle loss, and makes more fat gain, so it’s a spiral that people are on.

Kris: … and many people for their whole lives. And so, KC, what are some of the things that you’ve found that just were really critical keys elements of any kind of weight loss program with any sanity in it?

KC: Well, the truth is that people are drinking hidden calories, up to 15% of their total calories. So the first thing … everybody listen to me right now, and you should do this: evaluate what you’re drinking instead of water. My first book outlined seven keys … If you follow those seven keys, you’ll have an abundant life, and you’ll live longer, and you’ll add years to your life and life to your years … and that sort of thing. But hydration was of them and I was able to demonstrate that people are literally choosing other fluids or liquids instead of water, and those things oftentimes carry calories or chemicals that your body doesn’t need or want. It actually contributes to weight gain that people don’t even realize. So that’s the number one thing to have a look at. But then I looked at nutrition. I said, you know, I was a fat kid, I went through these diet plateaus, and ups and downs through my adult life. And I tried so many of these diets back in the ‘80s … the Atkins, Eat to Win and Eat to Succeed, and all these other things, the Fit for Life, and so on. And all of them have some amount of truth in them, but the truth is, there are things missing in all of them. So I wanted to know what does the literature say, and the nutrition that actually works and nobody argues against it. So the first thing that actually works that nobody argues against, is if you will just cut the calories by 40% you’ll extend life, delay disease, enhance performance, optimize weight, increase mental clarity and so increase performance. The virtual fountain of youth comes from just cutting the calories of the garbage food that people are already eating. Now, obviously that’s not a long-term prescription, but that is a highly- effective one. But guess what? Nobody really wants to be hungry enough to cut their calories by 40%. In fact, people are going the other way, increasing their calories by 20% over the last ten years alone. So that piece is cutting your calories. And then there’s a piece called Calorie Restriction with optimal nutrition, so that you cut the calories, and you match up the nutrients. Now everybody knows in about 2000 research studies from a single cell organism all the way up to primates and now even in humans, we’ve seen dramatic life extension, disease delay, and fat optimization that’s just fantastic to the point now where no credible scientist will really argue, “DOES that work?” They argue, “WHY does it work?” So you’ve got one group on the one side, saying well, the reason it works, is if you cut the calories, you actually reduce the oxygenated stress on the body, so lower oxygenated stress or higher oxidants in the diet should give you same results as cutting the calories. And they have done studies that that actually is the case. So then when you go to the other group of scientists, they say, “Well, wait a minute. The reason low-calories works is if you cut the sugar and the glycemic response, it gives you a similar response as lowering the overall calories, because fewer calories equals less response in the body.” And they’ve done studies now to show that that ALSO works. Then you’ve got the fourth group who says, “Just give the right healthy fats, for instance, fish oil – the right fish oil can extend life and do all these things we’re talking about, without changing a thing about your diet.” So now that sounds confusing also, because now you’ve got four seeming diametrically-opposed systems. Years ago I figured out that you could actually integrate those four things together, into a system which I call “The Four Corners of Super-Food Nutrition.” Add these corners together, and you’ve got more clinical research pointing in the direction that people really want to go, than any other dietary system in the history of man. it’s even in the mixed vegetables, but it really shouldn’t be, because it is a grain, and it is causing people to gain weight and body fat like they don’t want. So there are so many examples of super-foods, like blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, spurlina, broccoli, all of these super-foods with known disease-fighting roles in the body. And when we don’t get those kinds of food, and we’re replacing them with foods like grains and fast foods and things that are in the middle aisle of the grocery store … the packaged stuff – then you’re really causing destruction in the body and it really is a spiral that is hard to break.

Kris: You focus on exercise AND meditation and prayer as being really important parts of weight loss and I’d love to hear you talk about that a little bit.

KC: We see people all day long on the treadmill, and they just don’t seem to lose any weight. And exercise on a treadmill -- cardiovascular exercise -- is very good for you, but it really is not a weight-loss activity. Because what we’ve found is that the actual calories burned during a slow-term cardio exercise like a treadmill, or longer running for instance, it actually increases the appetite enough to offset all calories burned during the exercise. So people feel really good about themselves, and they drink this blast of sports drink after their exercise, and then they go have a larger meal than they otherwise would, and they’re actually upside-down in the activity. So the thing that actually shows to burn fat is what’s called high-intensity interval training. So that would be like, instead of 20, 50 laps in the pool slow, if you would swim 50 meters as fast as you can, and then when you’re done, and you get your breath back, swim it again, and you do it six to ten times … It’s actually better for you than a long run or a long slow cardio activity, and it’s really fantastic in the way it really expands your endurance and so on. So there are things in exercise. Also we talk about a system where you don’t need a gym … a system of doing flexing and bending in certain ways to exercise every muscle of the body in a way that you could be an athlete and do it, or just be a housewife and do it, and it’s really a powerful, powerful system. So we lay all that out for you on how to do it, and the research studies behind it, and so on. And then you talk about meditation and prayer, that is two of the seven keys, there’s: hydration, nutrition, exercise, stress, sleep, environmental hazards, and meditation and prayer. The first position I’d want to show people was, that the scientific literature does back up the validity of meditation and prayer, in fact we know that people who meditate, the people who go to church, actually live longer. They have lower respiration rates, lower heart rates, better health in general, and generally live longer and have lower stress in their life. So we know medically that it’s a powerful process. We also know that there’s also something called the placebo effect, and this is something I want to leave everybody with. Think about this. The placebo effect is a valid, clinical effect that’s in every medical study out there, because they have them compare a nutrient or a drug with a nothing, to see the difference. So giving a fake pill actually creates a response in the body. And we now know that you can give a fake pill and tell them it’s a fake pill, and you still can get a positive response. So we’re talking about in the dietary world, how that works, is you can go on any diet system out there, and get a positive response for a time. You can lose weight on just about any system or any book that you pick up, because you’ve applied some level of faith to that system. But real power comes when you add the faith to something that’s actually true. Like we talk about the four corners of super-food nutrition. When you can apply that effect to something that is true, now you have a long-term effect that can really have a profound influence on your life on a long-term basis. So that is a really powerful tool that people can use in their life. Discover the truth, and the truth will set them free, so to speak. So there have been studies also, Georgetown University, Duke University. Duke did a study on prayer, that showed that the patients who were put on a cardiac surgery list, half of them were quietly, secretly put on a prayer list that was worldwide. And the other half were not. And none of them were told. And the ones that were on the prayer list, had 50% less side effects clinically. And that’s statistically significant by any measure. So these are all parts -- your body, soul and spirit, all comes together and is all-important as it pertains to weight optimization and as it pertains to your health, and anti-aging and so on.

Kris: Powerful stuff, KC. And if people want to get ahold of you and find out more about the super-health diet, how do they do that?

KC: They can go to livingfuel.com that’s www.livingfuel.com or you can pick up The Super-Health Diet: The Last Diet You’ll Ever Need, wherever books are sold.

Kris: Wonderful! Thank you so much!

KC: It was a pleasure. God bless you! Have a great day!

Kris: That’s the end of our interview and I hope you’ve enjoyed it.