I attended my first ever Keto event in August.
One thing that I discovered by attending my first ever Keto Conference was that keto baking is a big thing, and big business. Over half of the booths on the trade show floor were full of keto baking. Almond flour, erythritol and eggs in every possible sweet combination known to man. Cookies, squares, cakes, even “sugar” coated cinnamon donuts! Holy crap, Batman!!
To me, that’s not real keto. Not real food. Not a healthy approach to what should be a health-promoting way of eating. I realize that whole foods such as vegetables and non-processed meats do not make flashy content for trade show booths, but this really seemed to give a wrong impression to the public. However, there were also pre-made main course meals which would be great for the single professional who feels that they have no time to cook, and basics such as pizza crusts and wraps. And several options for bread, which I can support since it is not feeding the sweet tooth and is a more difficult cooking option than basic meats or main course casseroles.
I was there to help out with a display for the Canadian Clinicians for Therapeutic Nutrition. This is a group of over 1800 Canadian doctors, pharmacists, dietitians, and other health professions that advocate for a place for nutritional interventions in health care. The underlying goals are to encourage and support clinicians to use a food-first approach to health and disease management, to facilitate health professional education and to advocate for evidence-based dietary guidelines. I spent the day with one of the founders, Carol Loffelmann and Eliana Witchell, a private practice RD from Toronto who uses low carb and keto in her practice. In the course of the day, I met Megan Ramos from Intensive Dietary Management and a variety of other low carb influencers and researchers whose lectures and presentations I have watched on YouTube over the past few years. And hundreds of interested attendees who were exploring the low carb lifestyle or were already successful in using low carb interventions to change their health.
I’m looking forward to my next low carb conference, this time as an attendee, so that I can listen to the presentations and browse the show at my own pace. It is the Low Carb Real Food Show, Sunday Nov 3 in Vaughn, ON. This show is being organized to have an increased focus on quality real food ingredients and only a small, more curated “sweet treat” group of presenters. Here’s the link to the show information:
Both of the ladies that I worked with at the CCTN booth are presenters and I can’t wait to hear them speak. If you are able to attend on Nov 3, you will not be disappointed. It’s empowering to get into a room with so much energy and support for this way of life. Although I don’t support everything that was presented at the August event (keto supplements, way too much baking and “keto-sweetened” candy type stuff), I was thrilled to see so many kindred souls. And I was able to talk to many of them about my cancer journey and the nutritional interventions that helped me so much along my way.
Maybe see you there?
