No Wonder Everyone Is So Confused!

Yesterday I watched a documentary called "Fathead" that followed Tom Naughton, a comedian turned producer/actor, who ate a primarily meat-based, fast-food diet for 30 days and lost 12 pounds and lowered his cholesterol on it.  He avoided the fries, often removed the bun, and ordered diet cokes.  No, he was not advocating such a diet, but argued that fast food is not responsible for the increase in heart disease and obesity in this country. Not if you know what to order (which to him is meat, and more meat).  The villains who have messed up the way Americans eat, he claims, are those who are pushing for vegetarianism, specifically the Center for Science in Public Interest (CSPI).  Repeatedly using the phrase "Follow the money", he claims that food standards in this country have been influenced by this consumer advocacy group that has come up with such phrases as "heart attack on a bun" to describe fast-food  hamburgers, and "heart attack on a plate" to describe dairy-rich foods like fettucine Alfredo.  People, he says, were naturally hunters, and were never meant to eat a plant-based diet.  He points to the Food Pyramid in frustration with what he says is its "9 to 11" recommended servings of carbohydrates (or grain-based foods) per day.  And he blames this sugar-based diet (carbohydrates convert to sugar in the body) on the rise of heart disease in this country. 

On the other end of the spectrum, I am reading a book called "The Rave Diet", by Mike Anderson, which includes a video that makes the point that humans have been largely plant-eating vegetarians for hundreds of years and that, not until the last hundred years have they even been able to afford to eat meat at the level that people eat it here.  The author of The Rave Diet, which is entirely plant-based, also blames the government for accepting money from food lobbies - but rather than the CSPI, he points his finger at the meat industry.  And he maintains that animal-based, high fat diets are responsible for the high level of heart disease in this country. 

Three points that both of these men agree on are:  1.)  that there has been an increase in heart disease in this country over the past 100 years,  2.)  that mankind was not meant to eat the way we do here and now,  and 3.)  that our nutritional needs are set by food lobbies.  On most other points, these two would have to go to the mat to settle their differences - so diverse are their "facts" and "assertions".  

I watched these two videos, recalled the many articles issued by the Associated Press these past few years on "the latest" in dietary recommendations, and completely understand why so many of you are confused about what you are "supposed" to be eating.   Over the next few days, I would like to help unravel some of the myths and facts set forth by the 2 (above) schools of thought.  I shouldn't be surprised that both Anderson and Naughton sometimes use the exact same arguments and the exact same examples to make their extremely diverse points.  I have had so much fun preparing for these posts.  I hope I do the subject justice and that you find the posts both entertaining and informative. 

Until next time, happy and healthy eating!