Nothing New

It’s common wisdom that the saturated fats found in butter, cheese and red meat lead to heart disease – the smart patient will choose chicken, canola oil and fat-free yogurt. But is this true? Nina Teicholz persuasively argues that our current nutrition policy is based on bad science.

Ms. Teicholz discusses her hypothesis at TedxEast: as we cut back on fat we are loading up on carbohydrates. The carbohydrates break down into glucose, which causes the body to increase insulin, raising the risk for diabetes and heart disease. Substituting vegetable fats for animal fats leads to increased inflammatory and oxidative effects.

I found her well-argued précis entertaining but one needs to view it with a critical eye. Each decade brings new dietary recommendation but we still need to use some common sense. Did anyone really think that fat-free cookies were a good idea? Does anyone today think that unlimited bacon is healthy?

There is nothing new under the sun: eat small portions of different foods. Don’t ingest chemicals. Fresh is preferred but flash frozen can be better. Plan the meal and then sit down to eat it. Sweets should be a rare treat.