A few months ago I wrote about the new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans which will be released soon (here, here, and here.) The preliminary draft looked very much like the original guidelines from the 1970's, upon which the current USDA Food Pyramid is based. Chief among the recommendations at that time was that Americans should increase the amount of carbohydrate in their diet, and decrease the amount of fat. Americans dutifully complied with this advice. 30+ years later we have much more obesity and diabetes than ever before, and yet the guidelines remain substantially the same Today, I am very pleased (OK, thrilled) to say that a rebuttal to the committee's recommendations has been published in the journal Nutrition. The paper is called "In the face of contradictory evidence: Report of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee". Some of the highlights of the paper:
- There were concerns raised in the original guidelines over 30 years ago which still have not been addressed. Issues which should have become clearer with more research have not, and recommendations which were thought to address certain problems (e.g. lowering the fat content of the diet to prevent obesity) have not been borne out.
- The statement in the current proposed guidelines, "Healthy diets are high in carbohydrates" has not been explained. Why should this be? We are not told.
- In summarizing the science on specific issues such as that "when calorie intake is controlled, macronutrient proportion of the diet is not related to losing weight". There is no reference to the many studies which show that when carbohydrates in the diet is sufficiently reduced, no instruction to limit calories is needed for weight loss to occur.
Many other issues are covered in this article, and I highly recommend taking a look at it.
What You Can Do
So, what can we do to help challenge the upcoming Guidelines? Here are some ideas:1) Write to (or even better) arrange to see in person, your congress person and make the case for:
- stopping the current process which provides nutritional guidelines which have failed in the past and are set up to fail again
- instituting a congressional hearing -- a congressional hearing where all valid science is evaluated, and with fair representation for all opinions (not only the pro low fat "experts").
Press Release
Photo © Olga Lyubkina
This no time to be polite, it’s time to demand better from our politicians, health system and the media.
We don’t need to bite our tongues when they do things that harm us, make us sick or when they flat out lie to us and deny us truthful information.
But then the truth is there is no profit in our being well fed, healthy or happy.
The vultures that run our medical and food systems want to keep us in need of more drugs, more diet related products and constantly sick, it’s how they make fortunes off of us. We are being held captive as they systematically remove everything we need to stay truly healthy and fit.
Enough is enough, it’s time to stand up and speak out, fight back and refuse to be bullied by people in lab coats and big titles.
I don’t want the government anywhere NEAR my dietary guidelines and they have no business writing such reports or even getting involved with suggesting diets. Why? Because the could be (HAVE BEEN) WRONG!
Leave us alone! We aren’t idiots. As Marie Antoinette would say, “Let them eat the Guidelines” – it would be healthier than it’s suggestions!
I think that’s good idea.
thanks for share this.
i try them.
I think you all make some valid points,BUT any good dietician can tell us how to count carbs,fat,protein,cholesterol,etc. in order to eat healthier. Twent years ago when I was diagnosed diabetic,my dt. sent me to a diabetes nurse,who showed me how many carbs I should be eating/meal,and how many for 2-3 sancks/day.Had I ONLY counted them when I was shown,instead of waiting until I got sick–I would be healthier today,my glucose levels would have been under control all along, and I would have LOST the 63+ pounds that I FINALLY lost last year,when I got sick and SCARED!
I don’t think we need the ‘intelligent knowledge’ of the government,scientists and pharmaceutical companies to tell us ‘how to eat’! We only need to use common sense and a LOT of will power;exercise/walk/work out 5 days or more/week–and most importantly BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
Thank you! This is refreshing information. I will spread the word.
When we protested the upcoming guidelines at the USDA meeting last summer, we didn’t know the firestorm that was beginning to blaze. Yahoo. Read our testimony here. http://www.thesilverclouddiet.com.
and god bless you, Laura for your suggestions. We all need to scream to every person we know in Congress. every single one.
Who ARE these people that decide for the rest of us? These guidelines are what got me in trouble in the first place. Are any of them diabetics? Do they follow these guidelines? The guidelines are not good for folks WITHOUT diabetes let alone those of us who are! I didn’t go back to my dietition after the first visit because she was trying to tell me to eat all of these carbs – at least 45 per meal with snacks that equal 15 carbs. I think we need to give the medical teachers and the powers-that-be in the government a better education. Their guidelines are making us sick.