DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM DOCTORS
I’ve been saying it since I’ve been in practice — the average physician knows scary little about nutrition; a fact readily admitted by bigwigs in the profession (HERE and HERE). A couple of weeks ago, Joyce Frieden of MedPage Today gave us an article on the subject titled We Have Failed at Giving Diet Advice, Says Former FDA Chief: Better Answers to Basic Nutrition Questions Needed……
It seems that on the first day of summer, former FDA commissioner, Dr. David Kessler gave a speech talking about OBESITY as related to diet in which he admitted that the medical profession (he’s an MD) has failed in this arena. “Is a calorie a calorie? Can I eat unprocessed meat? What’s going on in my brain? I think we have failed the American public when it comes to giving them basic information. If diet and exercise were the answer, we’d all do it and there wouldn’t be a problem.“
One of the attendees, Dr. Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition and public health at New York University, said something about Kessler’s lecture that I told you was the case a couple of years ago — that as far as our national health is concerned, things really went south in the 1980’s (a great decade for music, but a terrible decade for nutrition — HERE). She and Kessler both mentioned specific things that occurred in the 80’s that they believe led to the quandary we’re in today.
- Over-production of food by farmers
- Wall Street profit mongers
- Deregulation of marketing
- Junk food became far more common
I’ll not get into the reason this meeting even occurred in the first place (two senators were present — a Republican and Democrat — to debate their idea of how to solve the healthcare crisis — something I declared to be a pipe dream a couple years ago thanks to our collective diets and addiction to junk foods of all sorts (HERE), but I feel that they really missed the boat on this one. Allow me to throw in my two cents.
First, the comments as is often the case, were not only better than the article itself, but showed just how much division there is within the profession on this subject (it appears that much — maybe most — of the medical profession is still stuck on the guidelines that were created in the 1980’s and based on the food pyramid). You know; lots of talk about not eating any SATURATED FAT, EGGS, BUTTER, RED MEAT, etc….
Unfortunately, even though it was brought up by a commentor, no one really addressed the elephant in the room — the fact that our government, via guidelines that were bought and paid for by industry research years ago (HERE, HERE and HERE are examples), is the party most responsible for a large part of the national health train wreck we see today (such as the fact that men are increasingly turning into women and women are increasingly turning into men — HERE).
Secondly, if we cannot yet answer the question of whether a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, it’s no wonder we have problems in this department. MICROBIOME aside, carbs and blood sugar are what most regulate our metabolism. It’s why CERTAIN HIGH FAT DIETS help sick people get their blood work in order while allowing them to lose weight — a fact that cardiologist, Robert Atkins, was talking about half a century ago. It’s also why THIS BREAKFAST, which as far as I can tell is still being suggested by our government under their still-recommended DASH program, is almost unbelievable. Almost.
One of the commenters suggested that we should do away with government guidelines / recommendations concerning diet. Honestly, this would not be going far enough. I am of the opinion that not only have government guidelines brought us the obesity epidemic with all it’s trappings (T2D and a myriad of others, including CANCER), they brought us the opioid epidemic as well (HERE). The unfortunate truth is that most GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES are bought and paid for by special interests and industry (see our posts on EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE if you feel I’m being too harsh in this assessment).
And lastly; to Kessler’s point that if diet and exercise were the solution, everyone would do it — I must disagree. Thanks to the fact that studies have shown that junk food, heavily processed food, and junk carbs / sugar are more addictive than hard drugs (HERE), our younger generations are becoming junkies, in many cases, before their first birthday. Couple this with a life lived electronically / sedentarily (HERE), and you have a recipe for disaster that is not going away anytime soon — especially not because the government may or may not decide to create still another guideline.
Lastly, one of the article’s commenters mentioned environment as a factor in the obesity epidemic. I can’t argue, particularly with him specifically mentioning GLYPHOSATE. But it certainly doesn’t stop there. The numbers of CHEMICALS and TOXIC METALS people (especially kids) are exposed to today is off the chart, with the absurd number of vaccines being promoted today being a significant contributing factor in this exposure (HERE).
In my clinic, I try and keep things simple. Although diet is not the chief thrust of WHAT I DO HERE, I can’t ignore it. If you are inflamed, you sabotage every aspect of your health. Diet is the lowest of the low-hanging fruit as far as controlling INFLAMMATION is concerned. And because inflammation always leads to fibrosis (HERE), you are going to cause yourself both pain and an early death if you fail to answer Kessler’s questions correctly (HERE).
The handout I give my patients points them in the right direction (HERE), with dietary information on the top row. It also contains THIS POST, which is full of ideas to help you start taking your life back. And if you appreciate our work, be sure to like, share, or follow on FACEBOOK as it’s a great way to reach those you love and care about most.
