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The American people have been given a lot of bad information about the link between saturated fat, cholesterol, and heart disease. This misinformation is slowly being corrected, and more research is being done in the area, but most medical organizations still recommend low-fat diets as “heart healthy.” We consume a lot less fats, and as a result, a lot more carbohydrates. (An unintended side effect: This diet has been blamed for the large increase in type 2 diabetes in our society over the last few decades.) I predict that in 10 years the medical profession will make yet another dietary...

Isn’t it pretty, the cover of the latest issue of TIME? TIME: The truth about fatTIME: Ending the war on fat The paradigm shift continues and the outdated fear of fat is on its way out faster and faster.You’d wish that some old-school fat phobics subscribed to the magazine. Unfortunately, I think this is hoping for too much, so I just emailed the cover to some of them.Some people will still spread low-fat margarine on their bread as long as they live, as an old habit. But most people will soon realize that not only does it taste bad, but...

A KITTEN has almost died after its owners fed it a strict vegan diet. The horrific case at a North Melbourne animal hospital has prompted a warning about the dangers of people "forcing ideologies" on their pets. Lort Smith Animal Hospital veterinarian Leanne Pinfold said the kitten was brought in this month by its owners, who were believed to be vegan. She said the kitten's diet of potatoes, rice milk and pasta had caused it to become critically ill. "It was extremely weak and collapsed when it came in. It was almost non-responsive," Dr Pinfold said. The kitten was given...

WHEN we began our Let’s Move! initiative four years ago, we set one simple but ambitious goal: to end the epidemic of childhood obesity in a generation so that kids born today will grow up healthy. To achieve this goal, we have adhered to one clear standard: what works. The initiatives we undertake are evidence-based, and we rely on the most current science. Research indicated that kids needed less sugar, salt and fat in their diets, so we revamped school lunch menus accordingly. When data showed that the lack of nearby grocery stores negatively affected people’s eating habits, we worked...

Be honest: That bacon, egg and cheese breakfast you scarfed down the other day was so delicious you’d love to have it for breakfast every morning. But like so many other health-conscious, weight-watching Americans, you just won’t allow yourself that indulgence. Instead, you opt for the usual low-fat, low-calorie and (oh-so-bland) oatmeal.

Debate between plant based diet and Paleo diet.

The Starch diet

Researchers at the Medical College of Qingdao University in Qingdao, China, saw a 32% decrease of stroke risk with every 200 grams of fruit consumed each day, and an 11% decrease for every 200 g of vegetables eaten daily. High fruit and vegetable intake can lower blood pressure and improve microvascular function, the researchers said in the study, which was published in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke.

The scientific community is not immune to politics, bias, and self-interest.The headline looks like a hoax — saturated fat does not cause heart disease — but it’s real. This news is more than just another example of changing health guidelines. It’s a cautionary tale about trusting the scientific consensus. For more than 50 years, the best scientific minds in America assured us that saturated fat was the enemy. Animal fat, we were instructed, was the chief culprit in causing obesity, Type II diabetes, and heart disease. Throughout my adult life, I have conscientiously followed the guidelines dispensed by the health...

Those who love rib-eye steaks and double-cream Brie will feel better about their guilty pleasures after reading Nina Teicholz’s article in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, “The Questionable Link Between Saturated Fat and Heart Disease.” She writes, for example: Too much whole-grain oatmeal for breakfast and whole-grain pasta for dinner, with fruit snacks in between, add up to a less healthy diet than one of eggs and bacon, followed by fish. Gary Taubes covered some of the same ground in his excellent 2008 book, Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health. Taubes argued...

"Saturated fat does not cause heart disease"—or so concluded a big study published in March in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. How could this be? The very cornerstone of dietary advice for generations has been that the saturated fats in butter, cheese and red meat should be avoided because they clog our arteries. The new study's conclusion shouldn't surprise anyone familiar with modern nutritional science, however. The fact is, there has never been solid evidence for the idea that these fats cause disease. We only believe this to be the case because nutrition policy has been derailed over the...

A suspected witch from Pelandaba caused a stir in Mpopoma suburb, Bulawayo, after she ran out of her “witchcraft powers” and found herself at a stranger’s house. Ellen Khayiya Mpofu, 52, was picked up by police after she invaded Patricia Tshabalala’s house just before 2AM yesterday and claimed that her friends “dumped her”. Dressed in a wrapping scarf with no shoes and holding a plastic bag with pieces of cloth, mysterious objects and some concoctions, Khayiya shocked Mpopoma residents who learnt she found her way into the house through a locked door. Stunned residents thronged the house to catch a...

New federal dietary guidelines are due to come out next year, and critics say early drafts suggest they may represent a new nanny-state intrusion – calling for Internet-based "weigh-ins" and government text messages to overweight people meant to help them shed the pounds. Critics also fear the guidelines, which are subject to revision every five years, may go well beyond nutrition to address the planet’s health, too. At a March 14 meeting of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, committee member Miriam Nelson of Tufts University said: "The question that we're spending the most time on right now is really, what...

People should eat fewer baked beans to reduce flatulence which can contribute to global warming, a minister suggested today. Fears were raised about the impact of ‘smelly emissions’ caused by Brits eating more beans than any other country in the world. Climate change minister Lady Verma said it was an ‘important’ issue and urged the public to ‘moderate our behaviour’. Concerns have previously been raised about the effect of methane emissions from cows on global warming. But in the House of Lords today a Labour peer raised questions about the impact of human diet on emmisions. Viscount Simon, 73, a...

There has been a growing awareness of the evolving obesity epidemic. It appears that more people than ever are overweight or obese. This problem seems to be primarily associated with poor diets and sedentary lifestyles. It has been known for awhile that being overweight or obese is associated with increased mortality. A new study shows that the mortality risks from such weight problems are worse than previously thought. It has been observed that the high prevalence of disease and associated weight loss which occurs at older ages decreases the validity of prospective cohort studies aimed at examining the association which...

Coconut cream for breakfast, orange creamsicle for lunch, dark chocolate sea salt for dinner and bee pollen-cinnamon honey for dessert? While the creators tout the benefits from raw honey and raw saturated fat from coconuts -- everything from detoxifying your organs to absorbing nutrients more efficiently -- nutritionists have pointed out that the Kippy’s ice cream cleanse works out to 820 percent of your recommended daily allowance for saturated fat. “There’s inconclusive evidence about the health benefits of the fat from coconut,” nutritionist Keri Gans told Time. “However, it is rich in saturated fat, and saturated fat is linked to...

Women who drink the most diet sodas may also be more likely to develop heart disease and even to die, according to a new study published Saturday. Researchers found women who drank two or more diet drinks a day were 30 percent more likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular "event," and 50 percent more likely to die, than women who rarely touch such drinks. The findings, being presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology, don't suggest that the drinks themselves are killers. But women who toss back too many diet sodas may be trying...

<p>Many of us have long been told that saturated fat, the type found in meat, butter and cheese, causes heart disease. But a large and exhaustive new analysis by a team of international scientists found no evidence that eating saturated fat increased heart attacks and other cardiac events.</p>

CHICAGO (AP) - Best-selling author Kevin Trudeau, whose name became synonymous with late-night TV pitches, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for bilking consumers through ubiquitous infomercials for his book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About." As he imposed the sentence prosecutors had requested, U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman portrayed the 50-year-old Trudeau as a habitual fraudster going back to his early adulthood. So brazen was Trudeau, the judge said, he once even used his own mother's Social Security number in a scheme. ... defense attorney Tom Kirsch said the harm Trudeau caused...

Many Americans consider obesity one of the nation’s most important health issues. Many also battle themselves with the problem every day. According to a recent report, 27.1% of all Americans were obese last year, up from 26.2% the year before. While many in the United States continue to struggle with their weight, the problem is more pronounced in the southeastern part of the country. Six of the 10 states with the highest obesity rates last year were located in that part of the country. Mississippi was the fattest state in America, with 35.4% of its residents considered obese. Based on...