"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!
Valerie Bracken is a writer and translator, who has a background in languages and social science, and who later trained as a remedial masseuse, movement and yoga teacher. Valerie has had a life-long interest in nutrition and its connection to health and healing. Coming across Dr Wolfgang Lutz, she found his ideas difficult to stomach: they were so contrary to all she had learned so far. Yet she was unable to lay aside their undeniable logic and ring of truth. Between Ms Bracken and Dr Lutz, there followed a long acquaintance which grew into friendship; Valerie was to be in contact with Wolfgang Lutz for 15 years until his death in 2010. During this time, there was a long exchange of letters, books, articles and phone calls, personal visits from Dr Lutz and much background research on the part of Valerie and her husband. Two books resulted. The first, Uncle Wolfi's Secret was published in 2013 and was borne of Valerie's wish to present to the ordinary reader the ideas of Dr Lutz in a straightforward, not-too-medical way. This meant including basic descriptions of the everyday functioning of the body in order that the propositions of Wolfgang Lutz could be better understood, especially since his advice seemed at such odds with much of the nutritional advice of today. A storyline is added to Uncle Wolfi's Secret to give the author a free hand to explore - and to question - the rationale behind this way of eating and also to fill in some of the probable gaps in necessary background knowledge. Despite being classified as fiction, the penetrating questions asked by his niece and the subsequent discussions with her 'Uncle Wolfi' are as real as can be. There is much here to provoke thought! The second, My Life without Bread: Dr Lutz at 90 is strictly biographical and was published in 2014. It tells of the life of Wolfgang Lutz and details his long-term experience using a low carbohydrate diet on himself and with his patients. It is practical and easy-to-read and was checked and approved by Dr Lutz himself. An index and a full series of notes have since been added. Both Valerie and her husband have long followed the diet recommended by Dr Lutz. By now, they are both firmly convinced of its merits. Valerie lives in Scotland and has grown-up daughters. Her hobbies are herbalism and music. She is currently engaged in bringing out a translation of a work by another outstanding pioneer: doctor and body work specialist, Dr Bess Mensendieck.
