Americans have been bamboozled. Yep – ever since the government got in the business of telling us what to eat a lie has been perpetuated on the American public. The American Heart Association jumped on that bandwagon along with corporate America and Big Pharma. Everyone got rich and we got fat, sick, and disillusioned.
When I was an attorney, the best way to unravel a case was to follow the money. This is true in the case of the Low-Fat Lie. Much has been written about the convoluted medical history, the lack of proper scientific research, the greased pockets, and the fraud perpetuated on the general public. See the Resources page of this website to do your own research – I listed a few good resources to get you started.
Because there is a lot of information available, and also, because most of us just want the gist of the info, I will give you a brief whirl through the years, hopefully opening your eyes and minds to question the Low-Fat Lie. It was sure an eye-opener to me, and yet, once I put the puzzle pieces together, I was angry….but glad I could see the light.
Some start the history of the Low-Fat Lie around 1955 with Ancel Keys’ flawed study on lipids and their effect on diet and disease. This study should and could never pass medical research muster, yet it was rammed down the scientific, governmental and corporate throats – so to speak, and became the seed that spawned the lie, but also the plant that fed the greed and profits for corporations, politicians, and Big Pharma.
In 1980, the U.S. government published Dietary Guidelines promoting low fat diets and increasing carbohydrate consumption.
In 1992 the USDA came out with its infamous Food Pyramid telling Americans to consume 6 to 11 servings of fruits and carbs a day – refined sugars since our bodies break these servings into sugar.
You can see why corporations jumped on this idea. Take the fat out of foods and add sugar and chemicals. Processed foods are cheaper to make. Too bad about our health. Advertisers got in the act to tell us that it was good for us.
Since these changes, we have seen more obesity, heart disease and diabetes. There has also been an increase in brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. These refined carbs also contribute to inflammatory diseases.
Corporations were making money by producing cheaper food, albeit, unhealthy, filled with chemicals, sugars, and things most of can’t pronounce.
Big Pharma was making money because we all know their goal isn’t to make us well, but to sell medications for all of our illnesses.
Advertisers were making money telling us about the benefits of all of these processed foods as well as all of the medications we can take to “cure” our ills caused by them.
Do you remember the American Heart Associations Healthy Heart seal of approval on foods? Did you know that companies had to pay the AHA to get that seal? Here are a few of the foods that carried the seal, just to give you an idea of the scam: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Fruity Marshmallow Krispies, and Low Fat Pop Tarts. Are you getting the picture yet?
Lobbyists and politicians were making money from corporations and Big Pharma paying to keep the status quo. Big Pharma also seduces the medical profession by contributing to schools, and funding doctors to recommend their meds. Many doctors have been spoon fed the low fat lies and don’t have time in their busy practices to research nutritional truths.
In 2003, a long term study reported on the effects of a low carb, high protein diet finding that cholesterol levels did not rise, triglycerides levels fell and HDL’s improved. (see the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Science in the Resource section.)
In February of 2006, the New York Times headline read: “Low Fat Diet Does Not Cut Health Risks, Study Finds.” The article reported that “the largest study ever to ask whether a low fat diet reduces the risk of getting cancer or heart disease has found that the diet has no effect.”
There is more, lots more, but I hope this little trip through the maze of business, government, scientific research and medicine will lead you to question what you know, where you learned it, and whether it is true or propaganda.
I don’t know about you, but the more I studied, the angrier I got.
With the rise of the Keto Diet – skeptics are calling it a fad, a challenge to our health, dangerous. But to my thinking, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, inflammatory illnesses and dementia are pretty challenging to our health and pretty darn dangerous.
I know I promised the how’s and why’s of the Keto Diet this week, but I felt we had to clear the air about the Low-Fat Lies before we could set out a new paradigm.
Stay tuned.
Please forward this to anyone you know who is interested, or should be, in the Keto lifestyle.
Small Print: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on the internet. My opinions are just that. I frequent Google and read lots of articles on health and wellness. We all need to be proactive when it comes to our health. Check things out for your self and/or find a doctor who is savvy on non-Big Pharma nutrition.
When I was an attorney, the best way to unravel a case was to follow the money. This is true in the case of the Low-Fat Lie. Much has been written about the convoluted medical history, the lack of proper scientific research, the greased pockets, and the fraud perpetuated on the general public. See the Resources page of this website to do your own research – I listed a few good resources to get you started.
Because there is a lot of information available, and also, because most of us just want the gist of the info, I will give you a brief whirl through the years, hopefully opening your eyes and minds to question the Low-Fat Lie. It was sure an eye-opener to me, and yet, once I put the puzzle pieces together, I was angry….but glad I could see the light.
Some start the history of the Low-Fat Lie around 1955 with Ancel Keys’ flawed study on lipids and their effect on diet and disease. This study should and could never pass medical research muster, yet it was rammed down the scientific, governmental and corporate throats – so to speak, and became the seed that spawned the lie, but also the plant that fed the greed and profits for corporations, politicians, and Big Pharma.
In 1980, the U.S. government published Dietary Guidelines promoting low fat diets and increasing carbohydrate consumption.
In 1992 the USDA came out with its infamous Food Pyramid telling Americans to consume 6 to 11 servings of fruits and carbs a day – refined sugars since our bodies break these servings into sugar.
You can see why corporations jumped on this idea. Take the fat out of foods and add sugar and chemicals. Processed foods are cheaper to make. Too bad about our health. Advertisers got in the act to tell us that it was good for us.
Since these changes, we have seen more obesity, heart disease and diabetes. There has also been an increase in brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. These refined carbs also contribute to inflammatory diseases.
Corporations were making money by producing cheaper food, albeit, unhealthy, filled with chemicals, sugars, and things most of can’t pronounce.
Big Pharma was making money because we all know their goal isn’t to make us well, but to sell medications for all of our illnesses.
Advertisers were making money telling us about the benefits of all of these processed foods as well as all of the medications we can take to “cure” our ills caused by them.
Do you remember the American Heart Associations Healthy Heart seal of approval on foods? Did you know that companies had to pay the AHA to get that seal? Here are a few of the foods that carried the seal, just to give you an idea of the scam: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Fruity Marshmallow Krispies, and Low Fat Pop Tarts. Are you getting the picture yet?
Lobbyists and politicians were making money from corporations and Big Pharma paying to keep the status quo. Big Pharma also seduces the medical profession by contributing to schools, and funding doctors to recommend their meds. Many doctors have been spoon fed the low fat lies and don’t have time in their busy practices to research nutritional truths.
In 2003, a long term study reported on the effects of a low carb, high protein diet finding that cholesterol levels did not rise, triglycerides levels fell and HDL’s improved. (see the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Science in the Resource section.)
In February of 2006, the New York Times headline read: “Low Fat Diet Does Not Cut Health Risks, Study Finds.” The article reported that “the largest study ever to ask whether a low fat diet reduces the risk of getting cancer or heart disease has found that the diet has no effect.”
There is more, lots more, but I hope this little trip through the maze of business, government, scientific research and medicine will lead you to question what you know, where you learned it, and whether it is true or propaganda.
I don’t know about you, but the more I studied, the angrier I got.
With the rise of the Keto Diet – skeptics are calling it a fad, a challenge to our health, dangerous. But to my thinking, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, inflammatory illnesses and dementia are pretty challenging to our health and pretty darn dangerous.
I know I promised the how’s and why’s of the Keto Diet this week, but I felt we had to clear the air about the Low-Fat Lies before we could set out a new paradigm.
Stay tuned.
Please forward this to anyone you know who is interested, or should be, in the Keto lifestyle.
Small Print: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on the internet. My opinions are just that. I frequent Google and read lots of articles on health and wellness. We all need to be proactive when it comes to our health. Check things out for your self and/or find a doctor who is savvy on non-Big Pharma nutrition.
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