Dietary guidelines and health—is nutrition science up to the task?

[Josiesmum]

Great response to BMJ article about nutrition:

bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k82...

[greygoose]

Nice article. But, she doesn't seem to realise they got it wrong about cholesterol, too.

[BadHare in reply to greygoose]

greygoose I was called in to see my GP's practice nurse the year before starting thyroid hormones, as my cholesterol was 7.1. When I told her my dietary habits, she said there's no advice that she could give me. I haven't had it tested since, but guess it's now lower.

[greygoose in reply to BadHare]

Silly nurse! Cholesterol levels have little to do with diet, anyway. It's made in the liver!

[BadHare in reply to greygoose]

But they STILL don't know that!

[greygoose in reply to BadHare]

I know.

[Hidden]

Nice to see the BMJ giving this voice.

[BadHare]

Yes, but no to some of the points...

I'm vegetarian & don't eat processed food, so this bit is inaccurate, unless it refers to the US, only:

That many of the studies of whatever origin come complete with a massive bias from the funder and that the "plant based" lobby largely represents the processed food industry.

Even the hardened raw food vegans I know don't eat 63 portions of vegetables a day, or even a quarter of that. I think that figure may have been suggested by the loo paper lobby!

Sensible plant based herbivores opt for a wholefood diet. After falling for the processed fats myth for a few years after a relative had a heart attack, a reflexologist pointed out that butter was natural, so fine in moderation. So are wholegrain carbs which I eat for amino acids.

I agree completely that processed food is bad, & so many people are ill from eating highly refined & chemical products that don't even resemble food which disrupt our hormones, metabolism, gut health, & everything else. theguardian.com/lifeandstyl...

I don't agree with everything on this website, but the food advice is sound:

anhinternational.org/wp-con...

anhinternational.org/campai...

anhinternational.org/campai...

anhinternational.org/campai...

Mark Hyman & Chris Kresser's functional medicine advice is also excellent, especially with regard to eating for autoimmune disease as affects many folks on TUK.

[greygoose in reply to BadHare]

I did wonder about the 63 portions. Couldn't make up my mind if it was a typo or irony. Such a strange number!

[BadHare in reply to greygoose]

I probably have 63 portions in a week, though that includes fruit, legumes, nuts & seeds.

[greygoose in reply to BadHare]

Just the idea of counting your portions seems strange to me. How much is a portion, anyway? Weighing your food does seem a little obsessive/compulsive, and no way to live.

[BadHare in reply to greygoose]

I think the portion size thing is for the confused & weightwatchers. I just eat a lot of plant stuff as I'm wholefood veggie aside from NDT.

[Gambit62]

sorry but as far as I am aware guidelines for treating diabetics are still low carb diets

[Josiesmum in reply to Gambit62]

Unfortunately that hasn't been the case. The NHS has been advocating a low fat diet with lots of starch: diabetes.co.uk/diet/low-car...

[Gambit62 in reply to Josiesmum]

looking at the actual NHS advice that particular page is a little misleading.

most of the actual advice I can find on NHS sites is to include a moderate/small amount of starchy food which is high in fibre.

nhs.uk/conditions/type-2-di...

nlg.nhs.uk/content/uploads/...

[Josiesmum in reply to Gambit62]

I don't understand why the NHS should be advocating eating starchy food like pasta when there's no nutritional need for it and it just spikes blood sugar and worsens insulin resistance.

youtu.be/wBsnk2PtPeo(Not working as expected?)

There are better ways to get fibre than pasta.

[Gambit62 in reply to Josiesmum]

sorry - haven't looked at the video.

NHS advice is generally around low glycemic index - starchy foods that contain a lot of roughage actually have a lot of starch in them which means they are digested more slowly and don't result in sugar spikes. Porridge is an excellent food in this respect. The problem with modern diets is that processed foods tend to be totally devoid of roughage.

I have lived with diabetes in the family all my life and have to say that my experience with my mother's GP is very much one of dietary advice on avoiding refined foods and going for wholemeal foods - though impossible to get my mother to actually follow it.

Eat pasta but make sure it is made with wholemeal. Eat it in small doses. Eat a lot of foods that are high in roughage.

[Josiesmum in reply to Gambit62]

Well worth watching the video if you are dealing with T2. Lots of great info on there.

[Josiesmum in reply to Gambit62]

Also interview with Dr Unwin:

diabetestimes.co.uk/big-int...

[Gambit62 in reply to Josiesmum]

diabetes in question is MODY - nearer to type 1 and not an issue for me as I don't carry the gene.