On Monday, more than 60 people filed into the Opera House to watch a movie called, “Cereal Killers 2-Run on Fat,” and then went to Mellow Moods for a very special Q & A with two of the movie’s stars.

Dr. Stephen Phinney is a veteran of low-carb research, and a New York Times best-selling author of “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living,” “The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance” and “The New Atkins for the New You,” answered questions from audience members about the science behind going low-carb and why this can increase your performance and potentially reverse type 2 diabetes. Phinney became a believer in the low carbohydrate protocol after setting out to prove Atkins wrong.

Elite world-class athlete and entrepreneur, Sami Inkinen made headlines when he and his wife, Meredith Loring, made a historical 2,400 mile journey across the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii in a row boat. They broke the world record and completed the row in 45 days. Their mission was to raise awareness of the “silent killer,” sugar, and to prove that athletes can have high performance using their own body fat as fuel.

The row was unsupported, meaning Inkinen and Loring had to bring everything with them that they planned to eat. Inkinen consumed approximately 9,000 calories per day, while Loring had 5,000. They ate beef, lard, salmon, coconut butter, macadamia nuts, unsweetened dark chocolate, dehydrated vegetables, olives and nuts. Instead of a typical American diet which is around 50 percent carbohydrates per day, with 15 percent protein and 35 percent fat, the rowing couple consumed a mere 10 percent carbs per day, 20 percent protein and a whopping 70 percent fat.

Their rowing vessel was made of carbon fiber and specifically designed for ocean rowing. It was outfitted with solar panels to produce up to 200 watts, de-salinator to produce drinking water, VHF radio, satellite phone and signal mirror, music players for 1,000hrs of audio books, life rafts and other emergency items.

Inkinen used to follow the conventional wisdom and eat a high amount of carbs to fuel himself. He was later diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. When he switched to a low carb, high fat diet he was able to reverse his diabetes without suffering any drop off in his athletic performance. In fact, his performance ability increased.

Many of the attendees on Monday night are high performing athletes themselves; some even completing astonishing 100 mile marathons. They wanted to know Inkinen’s recommendations and protocol for preparing for his ultra-endurance events. Inkinen said that he typically has a diet of 70 percent fat and a limited training schedule of about 10-12 hours per week.

Phinney talked about studying a group of high performance ultra runners, where half of the group chose to eat a high carb diet and the other half a very low carb regimen for at least six months consistently.

“After doing muscle biopsies to look at glycogen content in people who were keto-adapted more than six weeks,” said Phinney, “to our surprise, we found the same glycogen levels in the low carb runners as in the high carb runners. Which implies that the process of adaptation allows the body to stop using carbs as an expendable fuel and use them as a recycling process. This has really changed our perspective scientifically.”

Dr. Jeff Stanley, and internal medicine and obesity doctor in Portland, Oregon was also a guest speaker at the event who talked about his own journey of being overweight in college, trying many diets, and failing until he found the work of Dr. Phinney. Stanley began implementing the low carb protocol with his patients and has been following the lifestyle for more than a decade.

All three doctors strongly urged attendees to eat “real” foods. Inkinen praised the menu at Mellow Moods.

“It’s a win when you step into this space (Mellow Moods),” said Inkinen. “You can recognize the foods when you read the menu. You don’t need a chemistry book to understand the ingredients. It’s a win for everyone.”

The doctors also insisted that each body is different, so a method of trial and error is key to the individual to see what works best.

“Before starting a low-carbohydrate diet,” said Stanley, “talk with your doctor. Bring them a copy of the book ‘The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living’, or find a doctor who is knowledgeable in this subject matter.”

For more information on Inkinen’s Pacific Ocean row, visit www.fatchancerow.org/ .

To view the movie, “Cereal Killers 2-Run on Fat”, visit www.runonfatmovie.com/ .