Huh? A healthy diet will, inevitably, result in all of the maladies you've listed? I don't know where you read that, but it's bizarro.
The food pyramids used to define what IS moderation were created by politics and not by nutrition science.
Whether the pyramid is based on sound science or not, does anyone really pay any attention to it?
...flooding bodies with sugary carbohydrates and lowering healthy saturated fats essential for neurological health.
The Japanese have consumed a high carbohydrate/ low fat diet for hundreds (thousands) of years and they, until recently, have enjoyed the longest life expectancy and lowest rates of obesity of any people on earth. Go figure.
Look at the Japanese who come here and eat our carbs....there are studies
“Huh? A healthy diet will, inevitably, result in all of the maladies you’ve listed?”
What you describe as a healthy diet, if you mean a standard USDA Guidelines diet or an ADA (American Diabetes Association) diet, is an actuality not a healthy diet at all. It is a diet that will make most people metabolically ill over time.
“I don’t know where you read that, but it’s bizarro.
Tell that to the physicians and surgeons whose patients brought the problems to their attention, who researched the root causes, and who treated their patients and themselves successfully to reverse diabetes and metabolic syndrome the rest of the medical community is still reluctant to even acknowledge exists. Yet, one physician at a time is becoming aware of the problem is adopting what is an ancient and well proven nutrition.
“Whether the pyramid is based on sound science or not, does anyone really pay any attention to it?”
Whether or not a person pays attention to the food pyramid they are surrounded by supermarkets, food services, and food products which implement the food pyramid in the foods the person consumes. It takes a special effort to avoid the consumption of a diet which is not strongly affected by the food pyramid.
“The Japanese have consumed a high carbohydrate/ low fat diet for hundreds (thousands) of years and they, until recently, have enjoyed the longest life expectancy and lowest rates of obesity of any people on earth. Go figure.”
Your assumption of a universal high carbohydrate diet for all Japanese is grossly in error and is responsible for you reaching a false conclusion. The Okinawans who are renowned for their longevity actually enjoy a low carbohydrate diet for the most part concentrating on cruciferous vegetables that are ideal for maintain a form of nutritional ketosis. See for example one of the scientific studies which noted the exception to the low incidence of diabetes is among Japanese men who consume substantial amounts of the white rice which provided and substantial source of high carbohydrate nutrition and a corresponding increase in the incidence of diabetes among the Japanese population. It is the par tof the Japanese population which does not rely upon rice as a substantial portion of their nutrition whose low incidence of diabetes brings the Japanese average to relatively low levels of the disease.
Low-Carbohydrate Diet and Type 2 Diabetes Risk in Japanese Men and Women: The Japan Public Health Center-Based Prospective Study
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118377
The Japanese Diet Has Been Shown to Prevent Disease
http://www.naturalnews.com/024715_Japan_Japanese_diet_disease.html