Professor Tim Noakes
Prof Noakes studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT), obtaining a MBChB degree and an MD and DSc (Med) in Exercise Science. He is now an Adjunct Professor at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) , following his retirement from the Research Unit of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. In 1995 he was a co-founder of the now prestigious Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA). He has been rated an A1 scientist by the National Research Foundation of SA (NRF) for a third 5-year term. In 2008 he received the Order of Mapungubwe, Silver, from the President of South Africa for his “excellent contribution in the field of sports and the science of physical exercise”.
Prof Noakes has published more than 750 scientific books and articles. He has been cited more than 21 000 times in scientific literature and has an H-index of 77. He has won numerous awards over the years and made himself available on many editorial boards.
He has authored many books. In 2003 he received the UCT Book Award for Lore of Running (4th Edition), considered to be the “bible” for runners. Since 2011 he has written his autobiography, Challenging Beliefs: Memoirs of a Career, published Waterlogged: The serious problem of overhydration in endurance sports (in 2012), published The Real Meal Revolution (in 2013), co-authored with Jonno Proudfoot, David Grier and Sally-Ann Creed, and following that the child-focused version of this book, Raising Superheroes (in 2015). The latter two are now also published overseas. In 2014 he co-wrote Always Believe in Magic, with Kevin Musikanth and Jonathan Kaplan, which is the story of the UCT Ikey Tigers journey to winning the 2014 Varsity Cup. The Banting Pocket Guide was published in 2017, co-authored with Bernadine Douglas and Bridgette Allan and most recently he has co authored Lore of Nutrition with Marika Sboros. This details his journey from prosecution to innocence.
Following the publication of the best-selling book, The Real Meal Revolution, he founded The Noakes Foundation, the focus of which is to raise funding to support high quality research of the eating plan described in the book.
He is now the co-founder and Chief Medical Director of the Nutrition Network and devotes a majority of his time to promoting the low carbohydrate high fat diet, especially for those with insulin resistance, and on raising funds for Eat Better South Africa! and research through The Noakes Foundation.
He is highly acclaimed in his field and, at age 72, is still physically active, taking part in races up to 21kms.
To celebrate our first anniversary, we are very honoured to interview Prof Tim Noakes. For many of our guests, Prof Noakes has been their “One”, with his publication ‘Real Meal Revolution’ starting many on their journey of low carbohydrate way of eating. However, it hasn’t been without its challenges, and notably, he was charged by the Health Professions Council of South Africa for some advice on Twitter provided to a mother who was weaning her baby. Those charges have since been dismissed, so now through the Nutrition Network, The Noakes Foundation and Eat Better South Africa he is educating and advocating for change.
Professor Tim's Books
Real Meal Revolution - Prof Tim Noakes
Lore of Nutrition: Challenging conventional dietary beliefs - Prof Tim Noakes and Marika Sboros
Real Food On Trial - Prof Tim Noakes and Marika Sboros
Professor Tim's Top Tips
- Start low carb diet and address the insulin resistance
- Don’t overdo the fat
- Exercise is critical and includes explosive exercise
Resources Mentioned
2021 BMJ Open Heart paper
https://openheart.bmj.com/content/8/2/e001680.abstract
What the Fat?: Fat's In, Sugar's Out: How to Live the Ultimate Low Carb Healthy Fat Lifestyle - Grant Schofield
Quotes by Professor Tim Noakes
“I went to medical school and got clever”
“I ate this diet for 33 years and eventually one morning by chance, I arrived home having had the worst run of my life, I opened my email. And there is an advert saying ‘lose six pounds in six weeks without hunger’. And I read that this in the book, ‘The New Atkins for the new you’. So I said, ‘I am disgusted at these men’, Dr. Westman, how can you link yourself to Atkins?”
“I was so angry - I got it all wrong”
“The consequence of changing my diet is that I lost all my funding“
“The Metabolic Syndrome diet - It’s a high carbohydrate diet that is low in saturated fats and it’s a disaster.”
“Nutrition was always a branch of politics, it’s never been a branch of science”
“Eggs are the 2nd most nutritious food - there is no maximum”
"Planned attack with newspaper accused as quackery"
"We asked Fabulously Keto Facebook group members to ask Prof Noakes questions. Alison, Eranda, Nicola and Emma posted the following questions."
"Alison asked: Any tips for peri/menopausal ladies struggling to lose weight? Prof Noakes answered that by cutting the fat and increasing the protein-dense food.
Prof Noakes reply: it is recommended to cut the fat in the diet and increase the protein, following similar to that of PE Diet from Ted Naiman. This is because you want to have nutrient-dense foods and not a lot of energy in terms of carbohydrates and fats.
"Eranda asked: Does exercise work better as part of a healthy lifestyle AFTER recovery when energy levels, mood and general health are all improved, whereas early on in recovery it's better to focus on one’s diet? Is it better to focus on general movement and increasing activity levels like walking, and exercise well within comfort zone?
Prof Noakes reply: Absolutely correct! The benefit of LCHF is that you lose weight quickly which increases your motivation. You need to wait for that moment when your energy and motivation levels increase, starting with gentle movement which you can gradually increase in intensity.
"Nicola asked: What is his opinion on the LCHF diet being used in the treatment of Alzheimer's?
Prof Noakes reply: You probably would be better to have ketone supplementation, that being in the state of ketosis is particularly helpful for Alzheimer’s disease. There is evidence that insulin-resistant brains are a key driver for Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore the ketones provide a different fuel, not glucose is the difference. The more ketones in the bloodstream, the more ketones the brain will burn."
"Emma asked: why blood sugars would still be high 120- 170 four weeks into carnivore way of eating?. And when I may see a downward trend?
Prof Noakes reply: Not to worry about your blood glucose too much just keep doing a carnivore or very low carbohydrate diet. He said if you are very insulin resistant blood glucose may remain high. He said you could use medication as such Metformin or Berberine for lowering blood glucose."
Connect with Professor Tim Noakes on social media
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProfTimNoakes
Website Details:
Nutrition Network
https://nutrition-network.org/
Noakes Foundation
https://thenoakesfoundation.org/
Eat Better South Africa
https://thenoakesfoundation.org/eat-better-south-africa
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