Vanessa McGuigan

Chronicle Staff

Big things are happening in Shepherdstown in the world of good health.

New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned diet and weight loss specialist, Dr. Eric Westman is coming to the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center on Saturday, May 21 at 2 p.m. to speak to crowd who is enthusiastic about taking changing their health for the better.

This event is part of an ongoing low carb group, dubbed “Low Carb Revolution” that began in the fall in Jefferson county, organized by Melanie Miller, Terry Casswell, and Dr. Mark Cucuzzella. The group has grown in numbers and popularity, with a usual attendance of over 150 at each meeting.

Westman, an associate professor of medicine at the Duke University Health System, and director of the Duke Lifestyle Medicine Clinic, co-authored the book, “The New Atkins for the New You” after spending time under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Atkins of the famed Atkins diet, and will be discussing how this study and book came to pass.

Typically, Westman travels around the world to speak with other doctors, and teaches patients at his clinics, but this will be the first public forum where he will share information and answer people’s questions.

“I’m enthusiastic about helping people and about helping Melanie (Miller) spread the word,” said Westman. “If you think about it, I’m one doctor, in one clinic. I can only see so many people in the course of a day. This is a big picture of a ‘lay’ leader like Melanie affecting change. The more leaders we have that can put on conferences like this and share their experience-it would be fantastic. I can’t wait to see everyone and answer questions and hear their success stories.”

The idea of a low carbohydrate, high fat diet to lose weight and help reverse diseases like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and others, is not new, but it is once again gathering steam as people all over the world are losing weight, feeling better, and reducing medications.

Westman has written numerous papers and publications with the information gleaned from his studies, and is an expert on metabolism.

“This event will change your life,” said organizer, Melanie Miller. “If you are the person who has tried everything to lose weight and it hasn’t worked, this event is for you because you need to know how your body and metabolism works.”

Miller continued, “Dr. Westman has people come to his clinic from all over the world. This is a rare opportunity to get to see the man who has changed thousands of lives just by changing the way people eat.”

Many doctors are still resistant to the idea of a low carbohydrate lifestyle, but Westman says, “It’s not risky to change to eating healthy foods. There’s no adverse reaction from that.”

Westman continued, “There are people who want to teach the perfect diet, but I try to meet people where they are and teach them how to go from imperfection to perfection over a gradual period of time. My approach with people has been thought of as a more practical and pragmatic approach. There’s a saying, ‘Don’t let the pursuit of perfection get in the way of progress’. That’s the approach I take with my patients.”

Tickets for the event are $25. There will be an all you can eat low-carb buffet after the event for an additional charge of $20. Tickets can be purchased online at melanieslowcarbjourney.com/calendar. For more information and links to Dr. Westman’s videos, visit Melanie’s Low Carb Journey on Facebook.