Misinterpreting 30 Years Of Misguided Dietary Advice :shock:

[tex]

Hi All,

The Advisory Committee of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association has been publishing dietary guidelines for 30 years now, and all that time, they have advocated reducing fat in the diet. Americans have apparently trusted their advice, and during those 30 years, the average American intake of total fat and saturated fat have decreased from 42 percent and 14 percent, to 33.6 percent and 11.4 percent of energy, respectively, (according to the latest National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data). So how much has this trend benefited the health of the average American? Well, during those 30 years, obesity rates among adults have doubled, while obesity rates among children have tripled.

Hmmmmmmm. Their advice hasn't provided much benefit, has it.

So how has the Advisory Committee of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association adjusted their recommendations, in view of the disturbing trend that their advice appears to have caused? Well, according to the spokeswoman, who is Chair of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and editor of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association – “there are indeed distinct and defining differences” in the 2010 report. Yep, now they're recommending reducing saturated fatty acid intake to less than 10 percent of total energy, with an ultimate goal of reducing it to 7 percent of total energy

They're still preaching cutting fat out of the diet, (which means that more calories will have to come from carbohydrates), when carbs are the obvious cause of the alarming obesity epidemic in this country. The most recent research shows that replacing fat calories by carb calories clearly results in weight gain, (in the form of fat), but obviously such research must be worthless, since it contradicts their esteemed position on this issue for so many years.

Is it any wonder that the health of the average American is going to hell in a handbasket, when the very people whom we rely on for basic dietary advice, are either too ignorant, or too hard-headed, to change their advice, when it is obviously bass-ackwards, in the face of reality?

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Scienc ... ttee-chair

The health of the citizens of this country is toast, if we continue to follow such misguided advice, by "experts" who seem to have their own agenda, which is totally disconnected from reality.

George Orwell was obviously a true visionary.

Tex

[Martha]

I worked at keeping fat intake down for a long time. Then I read a book by Dr. Diana Schwarzbein which explained the chemistry of how food works in the body, and how you need a certain amount of 'good' fats. I didn't follow her diet plan completely (I just couldn't give up my rice!), but the explanation made sense to me, and now I'm not scared of incorporating fat into my diet.

It was an interesting book, telling how she told her patients to follow the accepted guidelines for diet, and watched their health decline. The ones who cheated on their diets were the ones who got better. That made her stop and think about whether the accepted medical advice was working--it wasn't-- so she went in a different direction. I loaned my book to my daughter-in-law, so I don't have it to refer to, but the things she made make a lot of sense.

[tex]

The ones who cheated on their diets were the ones who got better.

You can't get much better proof than that.

That sounds like a good book, by a doctor who isn't afraid to think out of the box, when the information in the box is obviously incorrect.

Thanks for the information.

Tex

[mbeezie]

Tex,

The Dietary Guidelines are the brainchild of the USDA and HHS, not JADA, although JADA includes updates in their journal to keep dietitians informed of the changes. Not defending The American Dietetic Association in any way though . . . they do promote alot of things I (and many other dietitians) don't agree with. For example, their recent alliance with Hersheys for the free dietitian sessions will surely result in ADA promoting chocolate candy as part of a healthy diet. I have nothing against a little chocolate but I don't like the affiliation with a major candy producer - it feels a bit smarmy.

The Dietary Guidelines are a result of many brainiac academics reviewing the most recent studies and providing recommendations. It's a very long tedious process and IMHO by the time the recommendations come out they are already outdated.

Mary Beth

[grannyh]

Nothing beats common sense when it comes to diet. And one always has to do it on an individual basis. When any group decides what is best for everyone and then legislates it.. a lot of people will have all kinds of health problems! The diet advice coming out of the White House now would do me in!
grannyh

[tex]

Mary Beth,

I kind of suspected that they probably felt obligated to promote "official" government guidelines. They might even have to rely on government funding for part of their operating budget.

I hear you on the "committee mentality" problem. If enough people have to agree on a set of guidelines, the results are often outside the bounds of good common sense, unfortunately.

Tex

[Zizzle]

Tex,
I couldn't agree with you more. The American public is truly doomed if they continue eating sweeteners and carbs at the current levels (which are certainly more than the levels recommended by the government). I work closely with the office that develops the dietary guidelines, and I often wish I could tell them how wrong they are. Instead I tell my colleagues about my journey with MC and gluten intolerance, and how much healthier I am on a GF, higher-fat, more-meat diet.

by the time the recommendations come out they are already outdated.

Mary Beth

Mary Beth is right. I believe the current low-fat guidelines are a direct result of the damage caused by trans fats over the past 4 decades. My parents and grandparents were of the Crisco, margarine, vegetable oil generation. I believe their cholesterol levels and other ailments were a direct result of the pro-inflammatory processed fats they were convinced to eat for such a long time. Had they eaten butter and fats from unprocessed meat, and had more Omegs-3s to balance their Omega-6s, they would have fared far better.

Unfotunately, government guidelines also have to conform to the types of foods available and affordable to the average American. They can't tell everyone to eat organic meats, fish, and vegetables at every meal. They need to promote "healthful" ways to consume the crops grown in mass quantities by our farmers (wheat, soy, corn, etc). Until fresh fruits, vegetables and good quality meats are produced in high-enough quantities and can be bought at an affordable price in inner cities, the guidelines will stay "unenlightened" and outdated.

Of course, I haven't gone into the food industry lobbying efforts, but that's another story... yes, we're doomed.

[tex]

Unfotunately, government guidelines also have to conform to the types of foods available and affordable to the average American. They can't tell everyone to eat organic meats, fish, and vegetables at every meal. They need to promote "healthful" ways to consume the crops grown in mass quantities by our farmers (wheat, soy, corn, etc).

I hear you - I'm a farmer. For most of the last half century, USDA pretty much dictated what farmers could plant, through the "Farm Program". Oh sure, you had a choice - you didn't have to join the program, if you didn't mind going broke, but most small to medium sized farm operations were pretty much forced to comply with the program, in order to stay afloat, especially during the really tough years, (and there were a lot of them, once the boost to the economy provided by WWII faded away, quickly followed by big production surpluses, due to technological advances in seed genetics, fertilizer, and chemical pesticides).

Now, though, farmers are free to plant whatever they want, (and have been in this position for over 10 years, now). I can assure you that most farmers will plant whatever the market demands. Just like any other industry, they will produce products that are the most likely to reliably produce a profit. They are well aware that this is a global market, and if they misread the signals, and produce the wrong products, or products that do not have the features that consumers demand, they will not be able to compete. The big operations, (which produce most of the volume), cannot afford to produce organic products, because most organic crops are labor-intensive, and an adequate labor pool is either not available, or the market is not willing to pay the premium required to pay for all the extra labor. (There are a lot of unemployed people around, but most are not willing to work all day in the blazing sun, pulling weeds by hand, for minimum wage). They are happy to pay for gym privileges, so that they can sweat away their energy by wasting it on machines, but it's beneath their dignity to do physical labor in the fields, (which would get them in shape in a fraction of the time that they waste in the gym.)

So, farmers produce what the processors want, and the processors produce what the consumers want, (consumers vote with their dollars). If consumers are willing, (and able), to pay for "premium" quality foods, (such as organic), the amount of premium they are willing to pay, determines whether or not additional farmers will be able to "pencil out a profit", and thereby decide to add their efforts to the volume of production in that particular market niche.

The biggest problem, of course is crop yield. Organic crop yields are always only a fraction of conventionally-produced yields, (but this varies with the crop, of course), so with the world population continuing to grow, if very much infrastructure is devoted to organic production, many more people in the world are going to go hungry. It's always a trade-off.

Tex

[grannyh]

What bothers me about "organic" stuff...is there really no way to tell if the stuff really is organically grown.. and what is actually meant by the definition of organic.

Heck we grew tomatoes in the back yard when the kids were little and fertilized them with the innards of pampers..just threw away the plastic part. They were organic but sure wouldn't have been safe to sell. Family doc said as long as we were only using our own kids diapers we were ok...just don't take in diapers from the neighborhood...LOL
grannyh

[tex]

It really is kind of interesting how our own germs won't hurt us, but germs from someone else can do us in. I sometimes wonder if this might be a risk with some imported vegetables. It has apparently been the problem behind some of the E. coli outbreaks traced to certain vegetables grown in this country, during the past few years.

Tex

[grannyh]

Somewhere I have pictures of hubby composting diapers...LOL Everything we grew there grew great!
grannyh

[Martha]

When we lived in rural Asia, my husband planted an avocado tree by the outhouse. The tree grew huge, and produced fabulous avocados.

Tex, how great would it be if we could all go pull weeds for two hours after work, and get paid for it, instead of paying for a gym!

[tex]

Tex, how great would it be if we could all go pull weeds for two hours after work, and get paid for it, instead of paying for a gym!

I'm surprised that no one has tried to organize a project of that type. It would seem to be a win-win situation.

Tex

[Linda in BC]

Tex, I had to laugh when I read:

(There are a lot of unemployed people around, but most are not willing to work all day in the blazing sun, pulling weeds by hand, for minimum wage). They are happy to pay for gym privileges, so that they can sweat away their energy by wasting it on machines, but it's beneath their dignity to do physical labor in the fields, (which would get them in shape in a fraction of the time that they waste in the gym.)

You are the first other person I have ever heard comment on this but I have always been adamant that one should keep in shape by hard work, not "exercising". I have always thought, "There are people starving in the world, who don't have the energy to do the work to feed themselves, and yet we in North America just eat and eat, and get fatter and fatter , and then waste all that energy and food by burning it off in the gym. It seems such a sinful waste to me! A long time ago I said they should hook all those treadmills up to the grid and produce electricity or something with it!

Linda

[starfire]

I loved the last two posts!!!

Love, Shirley