"Hi Fred,
Can you please kindly post your article here if you can."
Hi Balto,
Yes, I can. It's rather long but here you go:
Disease-Preventing Diet
When missionary and colonial doctors worked with the native populations of Africa, Australia, the North Pole, the Americas, and the Pacific Islands, they discovered that cancer, dental cavities, asthma, appendicitis, hypertension, diabetes, ulcers, and heart disease were rare or nonexistent in these populations. These doctors also noticed that those among the natives who followed their Western diet developed these diseases.
Of course, this does not mean that the natives of these lands were free of disease. They experienced malaria, cholera, yellow fever, smallpox, and so on.
According to award-winning science journalist Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories, which is endorsed by Andrew Weil, MD, the search began by these doctors and others to determine what in the Western diet causes these diseases. Researchers came up with a number of hypotheses.
Hypothesis #1: Saturated fat in the Western diet must be the cause. The solution: a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. This ignored the fact that the Masai tribe in Kenya, the Inuit, Pacific Islanders, and other indigenous peoples lived on a diet very high in saturated fat and low in carbohydrates.
Despite a lack of clear evidence, the US Senate published “Dietary Goals for the United States,” making the low-fat diet the official recommendation for preventing hypertension, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and so on. One experttestifying in front of the Senate committee said that there was no scientific evidence for a low-fat diet and that to endorse it would be to gamble with the health of the American people.
Mr. Taubes argues that the recommendation of a low-fat diet has led to the doubling of obesity in the United States in the past 30 years, from 15 percent to 30 percent, and an epidemic of type 2 diabetes. Also, many studies have shown that a low-fat diet, which replaces saturated fat, such as butter, with polyunsaturated fats, such as corn and soy oil, increases the risk for cancer.
Hypothesis #2: Lack of fiber in the diet can lead to constipation, and this can lead to disease. Constipation was observed to be rare among indigenous populations, so one influential doctor concluded that lack of fiber in Western diet leads to constipation and disease. This is another hypothesis that has been shown through controlled studies to be invalid. Although a high-fiber diet is good for preventing constipation, it has not been shown to prevent colon cancer or any other disease so far.
Hypothesis #3: Too much salt in the Western diet caused the indigenous peoples who adopted this diet to develop hypertension, heart disease, and so on. So the official recommendation for the past few decades has been to reduce or avoid salt. So far, studies have shown that restricting salt can reduce blood pressure by 4 or 5 points at best. So if your blood pressure is 160/95, restricting salt may lower it to 155/90—not that big of a difference.
Hypothesis #4: The Western diet is high in refined carbohydrates—white sugar, white flour, and starches—which have become available in abundance only in the past 150 years. When the indigenous peoples adopted this diet, they started to experience cavities, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease, and so on. This hypothesis has been around almost as long as the other ones, but because no one of great influence has espoused it, the hypothesis has not received the kind of attention it deserves. Also, food manufacturers, whose products are made of mostly refined sugar and white flour, do not favor this hypothesis.
It is well known that those with diabetes have a greater risk of developing many of the Western diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s. Scientists think it could be due to high blood sugar, high insulin levels, or both.
- Cancer cells have more insulin receptors than normal cells.
- Animal studies have also shown the negative effects of refined carbohydrates and high insulin levels. The constant elevation of blood sugar due to white sugar, white flour, white rice, starches, and so on, leads to a high level of insulin in the blood. Prior to the existence of refined carbohydrates, the human body did not have to process a great amount of sugar daily.
- Under stress, our bodies release glucose into the bloodstream to help us fight or flee. This is the case even if the problem is a verbal dispute or a traffic jam. This in turn raises the insulin level in the blood. When we eat foods containing sugars, this exacerbates the situation, leading to excessive sugar and insulin in the blood.
- It has been known for the past 100 years that carbohydrates make us retain fluids and can raise blood pressure. Those who go on a carbohydrate-restricted diet tend to lose five to ten pounds in fluids in the first few weeks. One of my relatives with hypertension stopped drinking or eating anything with sugar, white flour, and starches in general, and ate fruits and beans for carbohydrates (by the way, our bodies can make their own carbohydrate). She lost seven pounds in seven weeks, and her blood pressure has gone from 160/90 to 125/65—back to normal. She no longer takes blood pressure medication. With this new eating regimen, she is also no longer thirsty all the time.
- Mr. Taubes also examines the prevalence of obesity. Native American tribes developed obesity and diabetes once their diet was changed to the government rations on reservations. Their diets became high in refined sugar, flour, and rice, and they drank a great deal of coffee. Despite an active lifestyle, the majority of adults and even many children became obese and developed diabetes.
- There are indications that excess blood sugar and insulin can lead to accelerated aging of the skin and other parts of the body.
In summary:
It appears that saturated fats in red meat, dairy products, and eggs are not bad for you after all. Salt in moderation is okay. And eating fiber is a good way of avoiding constipation.
If we can avoid white sugar, white flour, and starchy foods and keep our blood sugar and insulin levels stable, we can expect to reduce our risk for cancer, cavities, Alzheimer’s, appendicitis, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and so on, and stay healthier and feel better too. Certainly our genes, our habits, environmental toxins, how we deal with stress, and other factors can increase or decrease our risk as well.
What to do:
So there you are with a diet full of white sugar, white flour, white rice, pasta, bagels, potatoes, ice cream, cakes, sodas, and fruit juices, and these foods may be causing disease. Now that is a serious dilemma!
Here’s a simple way to incorporate this new knowledge into your life. Begin by modifying dinner: Choose red meat, chicken, or wild salmon, nonstarchy vegetables sautéed in butter, and a side of beans or hummus as your source of carbohydrates. If you get hungry before sleep, have some nuts. This way, for twelve hours or so, your body does not have to deal with elevated blood sugar and insulin levels.
For breakfast and lunch, follow your usual diet for the first week or two, as your body adjusts to no starches or refined carbs. Then begin to change your other meals and snacks accordingly.
Your body will switch from a sugar-burning machine to a fat-burning machine. Use more butter, olive oil, and coconut oil in your diet, and eat whole eggs and red meat. This will help you feel full longer and reduce the cravings that come with sudden sugar highs and the lows that come from eating refined carbs and starches. It will also help your nervous system get the essential oils it needs to function well. I have been on this diet for the past four years and feel great.
A word to parents: I know it’s hard to say no to children when they beg for sweets. But you may be putting their physical and mental health at risk by giving them sugary breakfast cereals, snacks, and desserts every day. I have seen parents give children as young as two sodas for breakfast. Each can of soda contains 12–20 teaspoons of sugar. It is not easy to say no, but it is definitely better for their teeth and bodies to offer them healthier alternatives.
The preceding is an overview of Good Calories, Bad Calories. This book gives you 150 years of research on diet and health. Dr. Weil recommends that all doctors and medical students read it. Here’s an interview with the author, Dr. Weil, and Dr. Oz on Larry King Live:
This is a link to Gary Taubes’ article “What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?” in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magazine/what-if-it-s-all-been-a-big-fat-lie.html?pagewanted=2
Here are short videos made by comedian and former health writer Tom Naughton, based on Good Calories, Bad Calories:
Stay informed. Stay well.
