7.02.2010

Dr. Andrew Weil Says What I Have Been Saying for Years

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Dr. Andrew Weil just posted an editorial on the Huffington Post entitled "Fat or Carbs: Which Is Worse?"

READ IT HERE

It is good to see that at least one health expert in the mainstream media is willing to discuss the confusion about carbs and health/weight.

Fats do not make you fat/unhealthy. Refined carbs (fries, white bread, sugary soda), and even overly processed whole grain carbs (flour), do. Why? Because carbs stimulate insulin production by the pancreas, the body's signal to "store" calories as fat. Ironically, fat does not stimulate insulin production, so there is no signal to "store." This is the basis of the Atkins Diet.

Further, if you eat lots of carbs, eventually your insulin producing machinery "burns out" and you develop sugar handling issues, metabolic syndrome, and eventually type II diabetes.

If you read Marion Nestle's "Food Politics" then you know that the fear fat, embrace carbs mythos is a fabrication of the cereal grain lobby, which put great pressure on the USDA during the 80s to downplay the health risks of carbs while the Food Pyramid was being developed.

But all you have to do is look at the obesity (and type II diabetes in kids) epidemic that has exploded since the 80s to see that the pro-carbs paradigm is dead wrong.

During my eight years in R&D at a vitamin company, I discovered this fact for myself while examining hundreds or research studies, and I have been trying to communicate it to people for years. Alas, I am not a mainstream, pop science medical doc privy to the ears and minds of millions.

Thanks, Dr. Weil!

REFERENCES

1. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease.

2. Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid.

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7.01.2010

Diet for a Small Planet Recipes: Types of Vegetarians

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I won't lie to you. The title of this post is entirely intended to get some random web traffic.

However, the content of this post is related to the title.

On Wisconsin Public Radio this morning, Joy Cardin interviewed Anna Lappe about her (and Bill McKibben's) new book "Diet for a Hot Planet." This is a follow-up to "Diet for a Small Planet," written by Anna Lappe's mother, one Frances Moore Lappe.

LISTEN

The new book focuses on how diet directly impacts your ecological footprint, and recommends going organic, buying local, avoid packaging, not eating out, and minimizing food waste.

I can't wait to read it. As soon as I finish Marion Nestle's "Food Politics" and Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma."

So much good reading...