[podcast flashvars=”titles: ‘konstantin monastyrsky'”]http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/wp-content/uploads/llvlc199-konstantin-monastyrsky.mp3[/podcast]
Hello and welcome back to another installment of “Wacky Week” here at The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore!
In Episode 199, Jimmy shares his conversation with Konstantin Monastyrsky, a trained pharmacist, burglar alarm installer, computer programmer and the self-proclaimed “Russian Atkins.” Ostensibly, Mr. Monastyrsky was asked on the show to discuss his fabulously researched book Fiber Menace. But as you’ll see, that didn’t really happen at all.
Monastyrsky instead chose to spend half the interview giving a tireless account of his personal life and curriculum vitae since the 1970’s. When Jimmy was able to steer the conversation to Fiber Menace, rather than answer the simple questions Jimmy asked about the book, this guy launched into yet another breathless tirade in which he managed to imply that Veronica Atkins is a liar, and part of a conspiracy to cover-up the REAL reason how Dr. Atkins died. Furthermore, he goes after Dr. Mike Eades and other authors as well for failing to live up to his lofty expectations.
The essential gist seems to be that while Konstantin Monastyrsky does endorse a low (actually a zero) carbohydrate diet, he feels that every major book written on the subject by actual doctors has very basic errors that only HE has been able to discern. The source of this wisdom seems to be the 30+ year old Soviet anatomy textbooks which he held onto since studying pharmacology in the 1970’s.
Add to that the notion that he apparently doesn’t think dietary fiber is very good for you either. He felt strongly enough to write an entire book about it but didn’t offer much in the way of support for his theory beyond saying “… I realized…” We are actually inclined to agree that fiber is not a “cure-all” for weight and health and may even be harmful in certain circumstances. But it seems odd to assert that one Indian dinner has enough fiber to cause a man to be hospitalized for bowel obstruction or to take the bombastic attitude to assert, “Give me the name of a disease and I say, well, carbs are somehow implicated.”
Of course you are invited to draw your own conclusions, but this is certainly, undeniably, a memorable (dare we say Wacky) interview we’ll not soon forget!
LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 199
Biography of Konstantin Monastyrsky
Fiber Menace: The Truth About the Leading Role of Fiber in Diet Failure, Constipation, Hemorrhoids, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, and Colon Cancer
FiberMenace.com
Monastyrsky instead chose to spend half the interview giving a tireless account of his personal life and curriculum vitae since the 1970’s.
Jimmy, I don’t support Monastyrsky or his book “Fiber Menace,” but I believe you are being very misleading about the author’s intent with this interview. I didn’t hear a man “choosing” to ignore the topic; I heard a man rambling and a host/interviewer without the good sense to gently interrupt with pertinent questions.
Jimmy, you asked him to explain his background and he launched into his story as if talking to a trusted friend. This went on for a long time with you occasionally saying “yeah” without any interest. Finally, you ask him to tell how Fiber Menace came about and he has another long story about his health, which you don’t even try to guide with relevant questions for a long time! Finally, you ask how much fiber he was eating, and then … more story. You didn’t ask pertinent questions directly about the book (had you even read the book by this point? I know you read it at some point and reviewed it on Amazon). Finally–you bring up the real topic–is Fiber Menace true?–and the author rambles on again. Then you get really defensive when he states that Dr. Atkins died at an obese weight, yet manage to steer the topic back to Fiber Menace. But it seems very clear you had not yet read the book. You ask about the cover–why he chose that image? What about asking about a specific claim within the book? Didn’t read it yet? Or just uninterested in your guest’s thoughts? I found both you as the host and the guest a bit numbing, and learned absolutely nothing of use. You as the host are supposed to guide the Q&A with pertinent and well-timed questions, yet you failed to do so. So to indicate that Monastyrsky had his own agenda is completely and intentionally misleading. You both come off as zealots of your particular health crusade: you for the low carb lifestyle; Monastyrsky for the fiber-free lifestyle.
Hi Jimmy,
I don’t have this book, but read as much as I could of it on the Amazon site. I am curious about Monastyrski’s diet recommendations- he recommends very low carb or actually NO carb? Is that correct? That would mean he eats ONLY meats and fats, no fruits or vegetables whatsoever?
Also, I would like to mention that I was a patient of the late Dr. Atkins myself, not long before he died, and I will attest that while he was a “substantially built” man, there is NO WAY he was morbidly obese! I have read that he weighed about 200 pounds before being bloated with fluids, and I would say that sounds about right. Regardless of how much good Monastyrski has to say, he destroys his own credibility with slanderous lies about facts that have been verified by hospital records.
I am also curious about what he had to say in his book, “Fixing the Atkins Diet” which, as I understand it, never did get published. Do you know?
Thank you for your wonderful interviews!
Best,
Maddy Mason