There is no subject where people are more easily misled or misinformed than nutrition. Almost everyone has a strong opinion and it is usually based on some type of lefty or sales propaganda.
The two diet fads that currently cause the most health problems are the anti-gluten movement, and the high protein low carb movement.
Anti-gluten adherents can stereotypically be identified as middle to late middle aged women who are pudgy and having hair loss problems. There is a very small percentage of the population that actually have celiac disease and have actual problems from gluten. The rest of the people eating “gluten-free” are just depriving themselves of foods that have important nutrients, not the least of which is gluten itself. Lack of these nutrients help prevent hair loss, poor skin integrity, easy bruising, and often moodiness and psychological problems.
The vast majority of those who have either self-diagnosed celiac disease, or had the help of a health food store employee, or even a self proclaimed “naturopath” do not actually have celiac disease. If you suspect you do... it would be much better to go to an actual doctor with an actual degree from a real medical school to have this properly diagnosed.
I don’t have the patience of the time this morning to get into a battle over the anti-carbohydrate high protein fad diets this morning. Suffice it to say that any diet that does not provide some sort of nutritional balance is just not a good plan for the long term. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are all mostly carbohydrate. If you cut them out of your diet you are going to have a difficult time replacing the nutrients that they provide with protein bars, mixes and frozen dinners.
I have been round and round with friends who literally have destroyed their health by going on fad diets for extended periods of time. You can usually get away with it when you are young, but going on a fad diet when you are middle aged or older can literally trigger health problems that will eventually do you in.
Good nutrition is not complicated... eat a balanced diet that contains fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products. Avoid excessive amounts of fat and refined sugar. If you are going to be eating deep fried foods then try to make sure they are fried in fats that help raise your HDL (good cholesterol) like olive oil. Use alcohol only in moderation. And exercise regularly. Am I forgetting anything?
Most of us know this almost instinctively and know that fad diets that promise amazing results are a lie. Isn’t that what everyone’s mother told them back in the day. My mom was a registered nurse so this is the type of advice she passed on. Why are people are easily misled on nutrition?
Sorry for the typos.
Yep — it’s not the carbs, it’s the STARCHY carbs. People who think eating the carbs in fruit is the same as eating carbs in bread or pasta, STAY FAT for a reason.
Fake sugar is bad stuff. Cane sugar is perfectly okay, IN MODERATION. Fake sugar is stupid eating.
Maybe there are some “fad” high-protein, low-carb diets out there, but if you’re talking about the Atkins diet, I think you’re a bit off-base.
First of all, it’s not “no carb”, it’s “low carb”. It (or more appropriately, the phase that most people think of when they hear “Atkins”) is not intended to be a long-term prospect either.
The Atkins plan has four phases - some people get confused by Phase 1, which is simply a 2-week “detox” period. Even then, if you’re following the plan, it REQUIRES you to eat 2-3 cups of vegetables per day, preferably of the green leafy variety (spinach, kale, most lettuces and cabbages).
Phase 2 is the weight-loss phase. here, you worry about “net carbs”, which are the carbohydrates in food that actually affect blood sugar levels. Fiber does not count, as well as some other categories (such as citric acid and alcohols). Here, you have more flexibility, but it’s expected (and most effective) if you get the majority of your net carbs from vegetables - I’m in this phase now, consuming about 15-20 net carbs per day with 10-12 of them from vegetables (green beans, asparagus, peepers, onions, tomatoes, carrots, etc.). You can add fruits at this point too, but we’re talking about low-sugar, high-fiber fruits - berries and certain melons; not high-sugar fruits like grapes, apples, oranges, bananas, and the like.
Once you start approaching your target weight, you enter Phase 3. At this point, you start adding additional foods back into your diet one by one, focusing on foods low on the glycemic index (such as whole grains) to ensure that by adding that food, you don’t start gaining weight again. This is a transitionary phase that essentially teaches you what foods your body reacts to well and poorly for your long-term health.
Phase 4 is ongoing monitoring. You take the Phase 3 lessons you learned and stop counting so closely, but you also keep an eye on your weight - if it starts creeping up, back to Phase 3 until you get back under control.
The paleo fad was more FAT, less carbs. And as paleo people have evolved according to the science of who runs our health, our buddies the gut bugs, now the newest thought is: HEALTHY fats, in normal amounts, enough protein for your life (most for young people still growing, a lot for athletes and physical laborers, and less for sedentary seniors), and plenty of vegetable carbs with fiber, root veggies and the rest, some fruits too.
Low carb is dead wrong. Low processed carbs, low grains, is fine. Gluten free is a good direction for everyone. Gluten is FANTASTIC for holding together and making food containers (pies, breads, tortillas, buns). It is useless for anything else. There is absolutely nothing health promoting in wheat, the current modern form of it.
If the food pyramid were built today, May 2016, by the top real food scientists, it would probably have as its base COOKED AND COOLED ROOT VEGETABLES. Good starches that feed the gut bugs. White rice, cooked and cooled, would be included.
Next up would be ANIMAL PROTEIN FROM HEALTHY ANIMALS, WITH ITS NORMAL FAT. Of course, fish, eggs, dairy included. You can add some butter, lard, or coconut oil to it as needed to cook. Next would be all the OTHER VEGETABLES AND FRUIT. Last would be HONEY and FERMENTED FOODS.
Maybe next year the most nutritious pyramid will look different but this is the top of the info we have today.
Both your anti-gluten and low-carb stereotypes are probably doing well for their health by cutting out the simple carbs of breadstuffs and other similar foods that wreak havoc on blood sugar.
Yes, non-starchy vegetables are very good for you—and few anti-gluten or low-carb types avoid them. Some fruits can deliver sugar shocks if eaten in quantity, and I’m not so sure that fried olive oil is even as good for you as butter, lard, or other animal fats.