I cannot believe I’m about to link to the Huffington Post, but this article really gets to the meat of the so-called obesity epidemic.
In 1977 America changed its health advice. In a nutshell (or, more likely, an ADA approved Mars bar): Eat more starchy foods, eat more carbohydrates, saturated fats are bad. If that sounds like pretty good advice to you, then you don’t know enough about what you are putting into your mouth.
Your grandparents were raised in a generation aware that God’s supermarket was better than man’s. Saturated fat was a vital part of their diet. For them, obesity was not a common health problem. They were not suffering malnutrition in the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). Remarkably, you, dear Western reader, probably are.
The 2010 Dietary recommendations are very much simply “meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” It is total insanity.
I think the biggest danger out there is the foods with a health halo – too many people, even supposedly smart Whole Foods shoppers – fall for the idea that processed foods, if it fits their particular orthorexia, are healthy. Evaporated cane juice and agave nectar are *still* sugar. You might as well feed your kids HFCS for all the difference it makes. Most fat-reduced dairy products are full of additives that, let’s face it, you don’t even KNOW WHAT THEY ARE! But if Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods is selling it, you trust them that is must be OK.
Don’t even get me started on the gluten-free junk food revolution. It’s going to be the next giant money maker for the processed food industry.
I think I need one of those “bang head here” signs on the wall today.
I read that article yesterday and did a little happy dance before posting it on my Facebook page. I’ve been saying over and over for the last few months – “Why are we letting big business decide what we eat? They don’t care about our health! They only care about their bottom line….They only care about PROFITS.”
As he says in that article:
This issue is about money. This issue is about race. Obesity in black Americans is 50% higher than that of white Americans. Obesity in Hispanics is 25% higher than that of white Americans.
Obesity rates are highest in the poor – they are the ones who rely on cheap processed foods to feed their families.
The poor, carb-addicted fatties make the thin, rich shareholders very happy.
It’s good to see these ideas circulating outside of the Paleo/Primal circles. Woot!