A brief history of a serious detour
The erroneous connection between fat and heart disease originated from a poorly performed study published in 1970 known as the “Seven Countries Study.” The researcher, Ancel Keys, studied 23 countries looking for a connection between the amount of fat in the diet and the rate of heart disease. In seven countries he found a relationship. In the other 16 he did not. Despite this obvious contradiction, he concluded that fat consumption was related to heart disease. This conclusion launched the largest public health experiment in the history of mankind. The US Senate formed a committee on nutrition which declared war on fat in 1977. Over the next 30 years, Americans ate less and less fat, but consumed more and more grain based carbohydrates. Despite achieving the “low fat” goal of the 1977 dietary recommendations, Americans got heavier and heavier and developed more and more heart disease, diabetes, dementia, cancer, and liver disease. And agricultural conglomerates, soft drink and chip companies, and even the medical industrial complex have prospered as a result of misguided policies based on this poorly conducted study. The carbohydrates in Sugar and Grain are literally killing us. And our children. It does not have to be so
For purposes of this project, my goal is to help people recognize the truly problematic foods in our diet and understand the misguided science and economic forces which have propelled this generation into an unhealthy metabolic imbalance. Robert Lustig, MD in one of the preeminent researchers into the crisis we face. In Fat Chance, he does a marvelous job of summarizing the many causes of obesity in our society. His book is the most important read for anyone truly interested in both the scope of the causes of obesity and its consequences. You can view a video presentation by Dr. Lustig here.
The pendulum swings back and the push back begins
Despite being mostly correct in his Diet Revolution (1972), Dr. Robert Atkins was pilloried for his low carbohydrate program. Ironically, Atkins was only the latest in a long history of low carbohydrate diet plans which dated back to one Mr. William Banting in 1862. Banting, a very fit but very overweight undertaker, was told by his doctor (the famous William Harvey) that if he wanted to lose weight, he must cut out sugar and flour from his diet. He did so and lost 80 pounds in short order, living to a ripe old age of 81 (quite a good life in 1862). He wrote the first low carb diet book (22 pages) which was one of the most widely circulated publications in his day, selling over 120,000 copies. For the next hundred years, dieting in England was known as “banting.” It worked and was the most popular diet for the next 110 years in developed countries. Like Atkins, Banting was criticized roundly by the medical establishment of the day despite the success of the diet.
Fat in the coronary arteries. Does it come from fat in the diet?
In the 60s and 70s the question arose, what was causing the rising rate of death due to coronary heart disease. Two schools of thought arose. One implicated dietary fat as the primary cause. Another group of researchers believed it was due to other factors, including excess carbohydrates. The former group won the political battle. Gary Taubes’ book, Good Calorie, Bad Calorie, tells the story of how Banting’s low carbohydrate diet was discarded by the “scientists” who instead followed the lead of research scientist, Ancel Keys, down the path of misguided science. Researchers, corporations, and even politicians jumped on board the out of control bandwagon, demonizing dietary fat, especially saturated fat, for causing heart disease. In 1977 a Congressional report supported by these “health experts” started “the war on fat” recommending for everyone a “low fat” diet (which is by definition high in carbohydrates, later refined into an argument for “whole grains”). Since that time, rates of diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, and hypertension have exploded. Published in 2008, Taubes critique of the poor science and false conclusions generated from inadequate and biased research received little attention despite winning a number of accolades. It was so detailed, so well documented, so full of intrigue, and so long that few chose to read it. But if you want to know the whole sordid story, it’s a great compilation. For a much more manageable version, he wrote a paperback book, Why We Get Fat and What You Can Do About It. which is very readable and much shorter! ($7 on Amazon!) For more information about Gary click here.
The latest work to challenge the old dogma is a book called The Big Fat Surprise by journalist Nina Teicholz, interviewed above. You can hear her TED talk here
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Michael Achey, MD 