I was pretty pissed off when I wrote the draft to this post a few days ago.
Since then, I’ve cooled down a little bit.
I’ll leave the original title, as well as the image that I had selected for the post, since I already forked out a few bucks for the license.
But I have completely rewritten it since the original draft.
Being angry isn’t helpful to anyone, and I think a voice of reason is always more convincing and helpful than a voice filled with spite.
Registered Dietitians and Nutritionists
These people are supposed to be “the experts” on health and nutrition.
After all, they need to finish several years of college to get these credentials, so you might start to think that they would actually know what they are talking about.
But somehow, almost every time I see them giving out advice, their claims challenge both common sense and basic science.
They almost never cite studies or sound arguments for their claims, but insist that you should heed their word just because they have gone to college and have credentials behind their names.
On several occasions I’ve started an on line argument with a nutritionist about some claim that I think is bogus, such as that saturated fat is bad for you or that low carbohydrate diets are unhealthy.
Never, ever, has any of those “experts” been able to say anything when I provide them with studies that actually prove them wrong.
Before I continue, I’m sure most dietitians are good and sensible people that only want to help. However, you will find biased and arrogant people in all professions, it just seems that in nutrition, these people are especially prominent.
Mainstream Nutrition is Tainted by Politics and Money
The main problem here, is that most dietitians promote the guidelines provided by the USDA (The United States Department of Agriculture — huh?).
The problem is, is that these guidelines aren’t based on what is best for the individual, and they don’t take into account the scientific progress that has occurred in the last few decades (1).
The guidelines are tainted by politics and financial conflicts of interest, and it just so happens that these guidelines are very profitable for the US Economy (The Agricultural and Pharmaceutical Industries).
I am 100% certain that an independent panel of scientists would come to a massively different conclusion.
It has come to the point where almost any sensible, health-conscious individual seems to know more about how to be healthy than these corrupt “experts”.
Things They Get Wrong, Every Time
It doesn’t require a college degree to be able to read studies on nutrition. The text is fairly simple for anyone who has a basic understanding of science.
I’ve been doing this for years, way before I started med school.
And these studies often completely demolish claims made by the dietitians, such as these:
- Dietitian: “Saturated Fat Causes Heart Disease” — Truth: “Saturated fat has no association to heart disease whatsoever.” (2, 3)
- Dietitian: “Gluten is okay for those who don’t have celiac disease” — Truth: “Several studies show that gluten is harmful for non-celiacs”. (4, 5, 6)
- Dietitian: “Everyone, even the diabetics and obese should eat a high-carb diet with plenty of whole grains” — “The diabetics and obese should eat low-carb, every controlled trial says so.” (7, 8, 9, 10)
- Dietitian: “Sugar isn’t that bad, it’s just empty calories”. — Truth: “The calories from sugar and HFCS are vastly different from starch, because they contain a high amount of fructose, which has many negative metabolic effects.” (11, 12)
This is just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to see the entire dietary guidelines torn apart by a group of real scientists, then check out this study. It is fairly easy to read, and anyone interested in health should go through it at least once.
The biggest, unforgivable mistake, in my opinion, is not acknowledging the therapeutic potential of low-carb diets, not even for diabetics.
Promoting a high-carb diet to diabetics is a crime against humanity.
Conclusion
I’m sure some nutritionists and registered dietitians are okay, and are willing to accept new facts instead of the old bologna they were taught in school 40 years ago.
Unfortunately, those who are most prominent in the media seem completely unwilling to change their minds, despite the entire western world going through a public health crisis.
Anyway, I’m not going to continue starting on line arguments with these people. It is a waste of time. Things will change when these people retire. I just wonder how many millions of lives will be unnecessarily forfeited by the time that happens.
“Science progresses one funeral at a time.” — Max Planck
AMEN!!! I could not agree more! Having worked in a hospital for years, this was one of the most frustrating things! Iceland is so lucky to have you as a future doctor. Have you considered taking IFM courses?
Thank you, Helena! What are IFM courses?
It´s applying functional medicine in clinical practice. Here is a link to a seminar that was this weekend in UK: http://www.afmcp-uk.org/ If you want to go in the future, be in touch with Nordic, as we can often get good deals…
IFM = Institute for Functional Medicine
http://www.functionalmedicine.org/
Oh yes. I have considered it but haven’t made up my mind yet. It looks very appealing.
It gets even worse, when they shove pre prepared diet plans suuposingly for u, n a lot of those foods I don’t even eat!! U expect to change my lifestyle with a stupid piece of paper that has foods I’d never eat!!! In addition to that, if u ask exercise related ques they are clueless!! So many years in college to learn the cal and grams n stuff but nothing clinical or at least realistic!! Btw I am a practicing physician (GP) that will refuse to listen or advice any pt to c a dietitian
I have just started post grad nutrition, we share papers with the dietetics post grad group as well.
I am actually very heartened by the topics we are having to review and write about, then make dietary recommendations based on our review. First one was on saturated fat, the second on high protein (and by association low carb diets)
We have to look at current clinical studies in order to write our recommendations.
At least for me – sat fat comes out looking neutral and there is no doubt that the bulk of current studies show a lower carb higher protein diet is beneficial.
What I am enjoying about our course is that we are being set up as nutritionists or dietitians to constantly review current research, and advise clients based on this v.s. following a set of rules.
I’m aware that not all uni courses are like this – but at Massey University (NZ) it is.
I sure hope things are changing, it is just happening way too damn slowly in my opinion.
Hi Kris, so Dr. Atkins was right afterall, my dad is diabetic and the nutritionist has him on a high carb diet plan, i’ve told him its NOT GOOD
I am convinced that low-carb is the way to go for diabetics. The evidence is very strong, and ignoring it makes me wonder about the intentions of organizations like the American Diabetes Association.
sorry Kris, wasn’t finished the last post…
anyway i told my dad high carb will make his diabetes worse but he will only listen to the stupid nutritionist, it makes me so mad that these so called nutritionists are handing out the wrong advice and eating plans to their patients, they are making diabetics sicker instead of helping them with their condition. To make things worst the dietician my dad goes to gives him a lecture everytime he goes to her about his high readings, and in fact it is because of the eating plan she has given him that is giving him the high readings, he hates going to see her as she gives him such a hard time, and he can’t understand why when he is following her plan, my blood is boiling!
Maybe you can point your dad to this article here, and also this one: http://www.kriskris.com/dietetic-board-battles/
And you should also point him to this website. It is managed by a type II diabetic that is thriving without drugs, by ignoring the horrible advice given to him by the dietitians and taking matters into his own hands: http://www.diabetes-warrior.net/
It really disgusts me the way diabetics are treated by those people. In most cases, type II is completely preventable and reversible with the right lifestyle changes.
I don’t want to sound too extreme, but hiding a potential cure is a crime against humanity. That is my opinion and I’m sticking to it. This is costing people their lives.
My 79-year-old diabetic mother was just in the hospital for heart stents. They brought her a plate of spaghetti to eat, and I protested that I don’t let her eat that at home as high carbs raise her blood sugar. The nurse just shrugged and said, “we are monitoring her blood sugar here.” Gee thanks!
Great post Kris… and I agree as you might imagine!! :))
“….you should heed their word just because they have gone to college and have credentials behind their names.”
I was told this exact statement… by an obese, drug and insulin dependent, Type 2 Diabetes Educator. She ‘blew out’ her pancreas on a high carb meal plan… and she was teaching others to do the same. :(
Thanks, Steve!
Spot on Kris! Nowadays you really are better off on your own trolling the web and educating yourself rather than listening to the “experts” and their outdated research. Thank god for the internet…. and your blog :) Nice post!
Thanks!
Thanks for that Kris. Can i ask you a question please? What is the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes? I have a friend that has type 1, she has put on a lot of weight recently, she has it about 10 years now and has to give herself injections daily, is type 1 preventable and reversible? Thanks, Irene
Type I and type II are actually very different diseases.
Type I is an autoimmune disorder, that occurs because the body’s immune system for some reason attacks the B-cells of the pancreas, the ones that make insulin.
So effectively, type I diabetics need to shoot insulin for the rest of their lives because they can not live without it. They can literally make zero insulin on their own.
I’m sure that if type I diabetics would eat ultra low-carb they would need less insulin and may have less complications from their disease. Type I is definitely not reversible though.
37th year type 1 and 4th low carbing. Down 25lbs, retinopathy has stalled, sub 6 A1C, normalized BP, TGs rock bottom and high HDL, much more energy, improved aerobic performance, improved sexual performance, far fewer and far less severe hypos. Did I say there’s no signs of retiopathy after 18 years? I had a vitrectomy in 2006.
Rockin’ on!
Go you good thing!!
Awesome isn’t a strong enough word to describe that!
Awesome results John! Congrats!
Rock on J0hn!
Sounds like you’re doing all the right things now.
In contrast, a friend of mine who’s a type 1 (for a little over 50 years) and is a diabetes educator has a different story. She had a kidney transplant some 10 or so years ago, has congestive heart failure, was recently hospitalised for back surgery during which she had a heart attack and her kidney shut down.
And yep, she’s been eating high-carb very low fat and taking a metric asstonne of pills for years. She’s absolutely meticulous about her diet — still weighs and measures everything, never eats a mouthful that’s not on her plan.
Everyone says it’s wonderful that she’s managed to get to 65 as a type 1 diabetic. I, on the other hand, would love to get her to change her diet. I think that would require too great a paradigm shift for her. So I don’t say anything, just try to be an example.
Here is a story from a New Zealander with type 1 who eats a low carb paleo diet. Fantastic results http://paleozonenutrition.com/2012/02/24/type-1-diabetic-loses-weight-achieves-normal-blood-sugar-on-low-carb-paleo-diet/
Wow these are incredible results! Thanks for sharing.
Hi,
Very interesting as usual. I would like to read the study you mention – is there any way to access it for free? I seem to keep hitting an option to pay.
Sorry about that, apparently the link doesn’t work for some people.
On one hand it’s a shame that I had to go in and get a diabetes diagnosis before I figured this all out, but since that day and walking down the Paleo path I’ve never felt better. Some day the truth will win out.
I agree. The truth will win out eventually, it’s just taking too damn long :)
Hello, thank you for your sound advice. I am a type 2 diabetic and until January of this year was taking metformin and gliclazide. I decided as my blood glucose levels were so elevated, to dispense with the medication and change my diet to low carb. Thank goodness one of the first sites i came across was yours. The guidance and information are second to none. I am now 2stone 9 lb. lighter. I have just seen my doctor for the results of my annual diabetic review. He can’t explain the weight loss nor the extremely low cholesterol ,triglycerides and ketone results. keep up the good work Kris. Regards, Pete.
Congratulations on your results, and thanks for sharing. I’m very glad things are working for you!
I agree. It is a complete waste of time to argue with those who won’t even listen to anything contrary to the propaganda. I have to say though, it must be difficult to break away from that mindset when you have dumped all your money into an education that completely failed to ‘educate’ or help you think for yourself. It’s a little humiliating.
A little research on the part of dieticians could tell them that their whole training program was bought and paid for by the likes of BIG FOOD and BIG AG. (Hershey, soda companies, etc).
Thanks for another great post!
Thanks for commenting, Jen!
Most of our anger should be directed toward the educators that teach the dietitians and nutritionists. I really think that they truly believe what they are taught and want to help people. They’ve just been brainwashed. Don’t give up hope entirely though. Things are going in the right direction. My husband has been seeing the same dr for 15+ years. When he was first diagnosed with diabetes he was put on an 1800 calorie diet with no mention of carbs. Just recently he was told to keep his carbs under 60 per meal and 15 per snack. Now I know those numbers are still high compared to dr bernstein and Steve cooksey but at least it is an improvement and his A1c has already gone down! The kids and I have decided to follow the 15g rule for our sweets. This means instead of each of us getting a candy bar now we split it 3 ways. And we have to decide how we want to spend our 15g of sweets per day. So instead of a soda and a candy bar it’s either/or. I have already lost 9 pounds from this one simple change and my daughter has lost 5!
It’s good that you calmed your anger Kris. Not good for your blood pressure ;)
Another great article Kris. Would have liked to have seen the original text before you toned it down! My mother is a Type II diabetic and I have shown her this article. I hope I can get her to adopt a low carb diet in the near future.
Please would you send me a copy of the .pdf document as I am also unable to access it here.
Greetz from Spain!
Oh how I wish yours was a common knowledge…
The highcarb-plans and fatphobia is, in my opinion (after reading several studies and articles), what sent off this tsunami of obesity!
I myself have struggled with my weight my whole life – always been fat, always been dieting and never succeeding. I went low carb in may 2011 and in one year I’ve lost 75 lbs and the blood pressure medication I started taking at age 28! The weight just piled off without me even noticing, it was that easy. The hardest part was, and is, dealing with other people and their opinions in my “extremely unhealthy” diet and claims that I’m bound to fail because I never indulge, like sugar and carbs is something that keeps you an overall sane and healthy person?
What infuriates me most is these prominent “experts” proclaiming that in order to be healthy you MUST eat plenty of grains (carbs!), almost no fat and of course 6 meals a day! Everyone should do this. Everything else is unhealthy. Recipe for success!
People arent all the same and being completely close minded to what might help them is, like you say, a crime!
Please come back home and spread the word! =o)
Thanks for sharing such an inspiring story, I really appreciate it.
Totally agree Kristjan
Corporate America has always had a vested interest in keeping the nation unhealthy because lets face it if it were otherwise their revenue would take a nose dive. What the world needs is more like yourself to rise up against the establishment and force change.
Fortunately New Zealand is as far removed from the US as you are over there but we still have our share of dumb politicians and greedy corporations.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much for this critical way of thinking and the courage to publish this. The truth is that if people would listen to what you have to say a big business would go bankrupt (fitness halls, diet production companies, pharmaceutical companies etc). The whole nutritional economy is a bluff and the legislation is there to support it, and the legislation forces are backed up by the capital owners. And we are taught in school what is healthy and what is not and the school system is paid for and taught in accordance with basic lines from the government.
Thank you for the feedback :)
The generally accepted viewpoint is that dietary saturated fat and cholesterol intake is associated with cardiovascular disease. However, this viewpoint has been disputed.While many studies have affirmed the link between consumption of saturated fats and heart disease, some studies have not found a statistically significant link or have been inconclusive.
Saturated fat and cardiovascular disease controversy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturated_fat_and_cardiovascular_disease_controversy#cite_note-Siri-Tarino2010-0
“A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD.”
This study pretty much confirms what I said. There is no significant association, and given how extensively this has been studies then I think it is safe to assume that “saturated fat has no association with heart disease”.
The effect of nutrition on health is notoriously hard to test with good research trials. As such, studies have conflicting results. You seem to base your nutritional advice on the outcomes of studies that compliment your viewpoint (a process known as cherry-picking) and denounce the others as fueled by conspiracy. Nutritionists and dietitians (as a profession) are in fact experts on nutrition. They recognize that the results of a handful of studies don’t necessarily change the body of scientific literature. They give the best possible recommandations based on accepted nutritional viewpoints that are backed by a large amount of scientific evidence. If and when convincing evidence against a certain viewpoint emerges they re-evaluate. All in do time, because they, unlike you and your blog, can be held accountable for their recommendations. As a friendly reminder I would like to point out that you reference your medical education heavily, and yet, I see no disclaimer were you inform your readers that your opinions are in no way based on what you are taught at the University of Iceland. Seeing that this particular article has been referenced in Icelandic media titled “Medical student does not trust nutritionists” this is cause for concern. The public might think that doctors largely mistrust nutritionist when really, this is your personal viewpoint and is not held by the majority of the medical profession.
I do not cherry pick studies, that is not true.
I stand by the claim that I believe the nutritional recommendations are not based on current science, or even what is best for the individual for that matter.
And I do not reference my medical education heavily. I did it once in this article, to make a point that anyone with a basic understanding of science should be able to read papers about nutrition.
I never said anything about a conspiracy. Please don’t put words in my mouth.
http://kriskris.com/www.terms-of-service/
“I am not a doctor (yet) and nothing on this website is to be considered as medical advice. If you have any concerns for your own health, then you should consult with your doctor.”
Whilst I think that to a certain degree it’s impossible not to dwell on studies that we find favour with, I also find that your articles try to present both sides of an argument, and very little cherry picking seems to be done.
I would also add that government scientists are very rarely able to express honest, scientific opinion. Just read ‘food politics’ by Marion Nestle for an introduction to this profoundly important subject, for instance.
One thing that the web is really encouraging is the asking of questions, and of questioning accepted dogma. I’m all for things that work and help people, but there are still too many people who follow medical advice that is decades out of date, and based on flaky science in the first place.
Keep up the good work Kris!
George Super Boot Camps
Nutritionists I know are experts at three things….
1) Selling grains for Monsanto
2) Selling drugs for Big Pharma
3) Selling the need for more and more ‘healthcare’ services.
Memorizing and parroting information that promote the Low Fat, High Carb dogma has produced this epidemic of obesity and diabetes.
The only groups that benefit are Big Pharma, Big Food and the Medical Industry.
Olafur Gunnar, saturated fats do raise total cholesterol, that’s true. Thing is, total cholesterol is not a good marker for hearth health. 2 individuals can have the same total cholesterol, while one can be extremely healthy, the other one can be a ticking time bomb.
HDL: Total cholesterol ratio is what matters. Saturated fats are very effective at raising HDL, therefore improving the HDL: Total cholesterol ratio.
“ABSTRACT
Background: The effects of dietary fats on the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) have traditionally been estimated from their effects on LDL cholesterol. Fats, however, also affect HDL cholesterol, and the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol is a more specific marker of CAD than is LDL cholesterol.
Results: The ratio did not change if carbohydrates replaced saturated fatty acids, but it decreased if cis unsaturated fatty acids replaced saturated fatty acids. The effect on total:HDL cholesterol of replacing trans fatty acids with a mix of carbohydrates and cis unsaturated fatty acids was almost twice as large as that of replacing saturated fatty acids. Lauric acid greatly increased total cholesterol, but much of its effect was on HDL cholesterol. Consequently, oils rich in lauric acid decreased the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol. That is, boosted HDL. Myristic and palmitic acids had little effect on the ratio, and stearic acid reduced the ratio slightly. Replacing fats with carbohydrates increased fasting triacylglycerol concentrations.”
http://www.ajcn.org/content/77/5/1146.full?ijkey=846a72387ebc0d82545acd5442a0c3a9e9fc3566
“All available population studies show that dietary coconut oil does not lead to high serum cholesterol nor to high coronary heart disease mortality or morbidity rate. The cholesterol lowering effect of EFA [essential fatty acids]-rich corn oil may really not be so beneficial in as mush as the HDL. Cholesterol is simultaneously decreased and the ratio of cholesterol or LDL to HDL is thereby increased”
http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search/display.do?f=1998/PH/PH98005.xml;PH1997011100
Effects of Lauric Acid on LDL oxidation: http://www.ajcn.org/content/77/5/1146.full?ijkey=846a72387ebc0d82545acd5442a0c3a9e9fc3566
Great article. I was wondering what your position toward exchanging simple carbohydrates (like from wheat, sugar and starch) to complicated ones (like vegetables and fruits) and still eat a good amount of protein? I was on a diet where I had plenty of simple carbohydrates and I was obese, aching all over, always tired, always hungry and on anti-depressants. Now I’ve joined Grey Sheeters Anonymous and I eat lots of protein for every meal and loads of veggies and some fruit, I’m almost never hungry, I have more energy, more concentration, ache less, have lost over 25 pounds in less than three months and I’m off my anti-depressants. I guess my depression was just due to bad diet! It was like a ball rolling, making it worse and worse with time. Now I finally see the light. I wish I had known more about how to eat a balanced diet that is actually good for you way before this. Then I wouldn’t have had to give up my dream career. I was too addicted to carbs to be able to loose the fat and I lost everything I had worked for. Now it’s to late. Fortunately I was able to find another way to go with my life that I’m also happy with.
What makes you group all starch as simple carbohydrates and all fruit as complex carbohydrates?
Jokull is right. That simple/complex doesn’t fit with the foods you selected.
I don’t like that description myself. I’d rather say “good carbs” or “bad carbs”.
Fruits and vegetables definitely fall into the “good carbs” category, but they also contain “simple” carbohydrates, that is natural sugars, but they do contain a lot of fiber and various nutrients, way more than you would find (calorie for calorie) in most starchy foods.
I’m familiar with the Greysheeter’s anonymous plan and I believe it to be very healthy. Very glad you found something that works for you.
I got rid of the gluten in my diet and feel like a 19 year old. I’m 55. I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance. What they hey is that? You can either handle gluten or not, right. That’s like say you are pre-diabetic or pre-hypertensive. Are you pre-dead, too?
The fact of the matter is that you are diabetic or not, hypertensive or not, have celiac disease or not, dead or not dead. The medical profession needs to quit coddling their patients. In the U.S., doctors don’t want to hurt their patients’ feelings, so they use terms like pre-diabetic, pre-hypertensive, gluten intolerant.
I was told that I could eat a limited amount of gluten by the dietician. Having gone totally gluten-free, I feel great. One day someone gave me a treat and I was stupid – I ate it. I had to leave work early because my abdomen hurt so bad! Eventually, after being sick, I felt better, but it took two days to get back to where I was before eating the stupid treat.
The news needs to get out that people are becoming ‘gluten intolerant’ because of all the gluten that they ingest. It’s in everything!! If you don’t eat it, you use it in your soap, hair products, hand creams, etc. If the public knew the truth, knew that all this gluten intolerance is from the constant exposure to gluten creating an allergic reaction to gluten, they would protest.
At least I would hold they would protest.
The same with GMOs. The research shows that GMOs are not the same as the real thing, yet Monsanto fights to not have products that have GMOs in them to be marked as having it.
Why do we have peanut allergies? GMOs. Children who were fed milk made from soy as an infant have a greater chance of being allergic to peanuts. Why? Is it because of the fact that 90% of soy beans these days are GMO. Those soybeans contain the genetic code of peanuts, which was used to modify them. That code includes the genetic information that causes peanut allergies.
Monsanto doesn’t want us to know these things. Potatoes that are GMO increae a person’s risk for cancer, especially prostate cancer. Why?
Do nutritionists/dieticians know this information? I don’t know. Most doctors don’t know this information is out there because, in the U.S., Monsanto tries to bury this studies. I have read these research studies by using the online translator to read the Russian study (potatoe study) and contact a British friend to get a copy of the soy study. I couldn’t find them in the U.S. Why not? Who wants to hide this information?
I have lots of questions. The U.S. government is bought and paid for by the agricultural, food, and oil industries. They are the ones running the U.S. and the people in this country better stop being sheep soon or it will be too late when it comes to their health.
You’re officially my new best friend :)
It is nice to see a future doctor being so serious about nutrition. I’m afraid that the majority of doctors are still prescribing medication (such as statins) for conditions that are entirely reversible (and preventable) with proper nutrition. I personally know of many cases where people have ignored advice from doctors (statins+low fat, low cholesterol crap…) and managed to get their bodies back under control by eating stuff homo sapiens thrive on. They go back in for tests, sometimes within just a few weeks and all health markers are close to ideal. I share your frustration regarding the amount of time it seems to be taking the medical profession (not to mention nutritionists!) to wake up to this reality.
Yes, those damn arrogant dietitians and nutritionists they don´t know what’s happening in the field of nutrition – or what? As an “arrogant” nutritionist I can assure everyone that I follow very closely the research carried out in the field of nutrition science. And a claim such as that nutritionists/dieticians „..almost never cite studies“ is just ridiculous! Of course it is correct what Elias (see his response above) writes when he states: “The effect of nutrition on health is notoriously hard to test with good research trials. As such, studies have conflicting results. You (Kristjan) seem to base your nutritional advice on the outcomes of studies that compliment your viewpoint (a process known as cherry-picking)…“ For example, the doctor to be claims that: “Saturated fats have no links with heart disease.” In other words, the “informed” medical student is telling us that he is absolutely sure that there is no relationship between consumption of saturated fats and coronary heart disease. And to support his view he quote some research that suits him but does not quote other research which does not support his point of view. Continuing the discussion of saturated fat then Kristjan claim that dietitians believes that “saturated fats cause heart disease”. Of course this statement is not true! However, as can be seen in the recommendations of the Public Health Institute, now under the Directorate of Health, then a high intake of saturated fat is considered an undesirable factor for health “because it raises LDL – cholesterol and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. ”
Fact: Many studies have shown that there is a relationship between consumption of saturated fat and heart diseases where high consumption increases the risk. However, some studies indicate that there is no such connection.
Here is a link to a “overview article” which focuses on the effect of saturated fat on coronary heart disease.
Saturated fat and cardiovascular disease controversy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturated_fat_and_cardiovascular_disease_controversy
Like we talked about in the emails we exchanged, many of those studies aren’t specific about saturated fat and heart disease.
Some of them are examining whether replacing polyunsaturated fats for saturated fats leads to a reduction in cardiac events, not whether saturated fat per se is a causal factor.
We all know that Omega-3 leads to a protective effect, but that has nothing to do with whether saturated fat causes heart disease or not.
Given that the link between saturated fat and heart disease has been studied extensively, and that there hasn’t been found a consistent association in large meta-analysis, then I think it is safe to assume that “saturated fat has no association with heart disease”.
http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract
Saturated fat raises LDL, but it’s the large, fluffy LDL type, which is benign. The LDL subtype that is actually associated with heart disease is the small, dense LDL, which saturated fat doesn’t affect.
Saturated fat also happens to raise HDL, which provides a protective effect, which of course you know but choose not to mention because it doesn’t fit with your biased view on saturated fat.
All in all, saturated fat has no statistically significant association with cardiovascular disease. I consider this to be pretty much a fact at this point.
But this is getting pretty tired. You already posted about saturated fat in a comment yesterday, as well as in the emails we exchanged.
How about sharing your view on “nonsense” like low-carb diets for treatment of the metabolic syndrome and specifically type II diabetes?
I am highly interested in your informed opinion on this very important but often ignored matter.
I’m not sure Olafur Gunnar has read the article he just cited as it just mostly proves that saturated fats are not the problem. I have not seen one comment here in this blog, or anywhere else for that matter, that doubts that omega-3 fatty acids (from marine source) has protective properties against CHD. So replacing saturated fat with PUFA doesn’t prove saturated fat is the villain. Making such an assumption is irrational.
Here is one research that hasn’t shown up in these comments.
n-6 fatty acid-specific and mixed polyunsaturate dietary interventions have different effects on CHD risk: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21118617
What it shows that it is the omega 3 fatty acids that are protective (no surprise there) and omega 6 fatty acids are a problem for CHD
//
n-3 and n-6 PUFA replaced a combination of TFA and SFA in all eight datasets. For non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI)+CHD death, the pooled risk reduction for mixed n-3/n-6 PUFA diets was 22 % (risk ratio (RR) 0.78; 95 % CI 0.65, 0.93) compared to an increased risk of 13 % for n-6 specific PUFA diets (RR 1.13; 95 % CI 0.84, 1.53). Risk of non-fatal MI+CHD death was significantly higher in n-6 specific PUFA diets compared to mixed n-3/n-6 PUFA diets (P = 0.02). RCT that substituted n-6 PUFA for TFA and SFA without simultaneously increasing n-3 PUFA produced an increase in risk of death that approached statistical significance (RR 1.16; 95 % CI 0.95, 1.42)
//
And one of the greatest source of omega 6 fatty acids in the modern diet would be…. Vegetable oils. And please remind me what profession has been doing such a great job of telling us to eat all of these vegetable oils instead of saturated fats! Can it be the dieticians?
And lastly, as Kris has stated, the only reason dieticians say saturated fat is harmful is because it raises LDL, but it has everything to do with the type of LDL, as the following research states.
Influence of dietary carbohydrate and fat on LDL and HDL particle distributions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16256003
//Variations in the size and density distributions of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles have been related to risk for cardiovascular disease. In particular, increased levels of small, dense LDL particles, together with reduced levels of large HDL and increases in small HDL, are integral features of the atherogenic dyslipidemia found in patients with insulin resistance, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Increased dietary carbohydrates, particularly simple sugars and starches with high glycemic index, can increase levels of small, dense LDL and HDL, primarily by mechanisms that involve increasing plasma triglyceride concentrations. Low-carbohydrate diets may have the opposite effects. Diets with differing fatty acid composition can also influence LDL and HDL particle distributions.
//
This would be one more research that is pointing towards simple, high GI carbohydrates to be a more serious risk factor then SFA.
And I’ll bet you that all the dietitians will ignore (i.e. cherry-pick) this connection between LDL form (small dense vs. big fluffy, or more correctly subfractions A and B LDLs) and CHD.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-density_lipoprotein#LDL_subtype_patterns
This is because their LDL argument is their last argument that saturated fat is bad (i.e. SAF raises LDL), and now it has been proven wrong. I have watched this cholesterol theory debate for a long time (and first I believed SAF was bad for you!) and I believe the theory will be proven wrong in a not such a long time and the focus will be more on high GI carbohydrates which raise triglycerides and move LDLs to subfraction B (and also unfavorable influence on HDL). Please see “Influence of Dietary Carbohydrate and Fat on LDL and HDL Particle Distributions” for more on this. CURRENT ATHEROSCLEROSIS REPORTS
Volume 7, Number 6 (2005), 455-459,DOI:10.1007/s11883-005-0062-9
http://www.springerlink.com/content/jl5l118071p886k8/
Try Holistic Nutritionists and you will see absolutely different approach to foods and healing. They are the ones who reverse diabetes and pre-diabetes with special diets. Mainstream concept that people with diabetes can eat everything and will be ok if they take their meds, in fact is just killing them!
The best thing for diabetics is exercise. The solution is never simply “a radical no-this-a-lot-of-that-diet”, it´s the combination of physical activity and a good diet. And usually the phenotype will become less flexible when we grow old(er), so you better have good habits when you get there!
I disagree. Exercise is very important too, but a “no-this-a-lot-of-that-diet” is absolutely the right thing for diabetics.
I suspect that the reason ones phenotype becomes less flexible is because we become less well nourished as we get older. It’s as if the gradual changes in underlying physiology and structure are not noticeable, but still happening, and this gradual change is, in large part, modified by the diet.
This may not totally describe what’s going on, but I think that getting nutrition right goes along way toward helping our bodies and minds remain flexible.
Just my 2c (and the opinion of one of my nutrition tutors)
George Super Boot Camps
http://www.eatright.org/corporatesponsors/
Do we have to talk about this ???
Wow, that’s quite a list of ‘sponsors’. I bet they don’t want any say at all about the information published by this organisation….
We should (I do) … of course the nutritionists claim that there is nothing wrong or improper. That is supremely naive to assume their blood money did not buy influence.
Is there any wonder that the American Diabetes Ass. promotes a high carb, glucose raising, drug inducing meal plan… for diabetics?
Is there any wonder why the American Dietetics Ass. promotes a high carb, low fat, grain based meal plan?
… I think not.
Those same people would raise hell if British Petroleum donated to Green Peace…. yet many close their eyes and eat Monsanto’s grains every day.
I am a registered dietitian and quite honestly I am appalled at the ignorance of this. We follow recommendations from a robust sound evidence base, just because one paper might say otherwise this does not mean we are not doing our job properly. The papers quoted are likely to be of poor quality, small sample size and a drop in the ocean of evidence to suggest otherwise. The profession is continually reviewing new evidence all the time and guidelines constantly change as a result. At the end of the day it all boils down to a healthy balanced diet, healthy lifestyle and everything in moderation. We do not preach, we work with individuals and negotiate goals to promote healthy behaviour change, allowing individuals to manage their clinical conditions most effectively. I feel who ever wrote this does not know entirely what our profession is about, and this does not reflect at all on how the profession is in the slightest. It is a great shame if this is truly what some think of the profession. Dietetics is a profession to be respected, we work along side doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and many other credible health professionals. All dietitians have to be registered with the health professions council in the UK and work hard to keep their knowledge base up to date. Before anyone reading this thread passes judgement or agrees, please do your research and understand what we stand for.
I, for one, will start taking dieticians seriously when they drop the ‘follow the government guidelines’ for a healthy diet. I find it hard to take a profession seriously when they promote the methods Kris talked about in this post, and others.
Sadly the fact that you work with another group of professionals does not automatically make you respectable, it simply means that your governing bodies have done what they needed to do to get in the inner circle. The same could be said for physio’s when compared to other forms of physical therapy, or counselling when compared to hypnotherapy or NLP. There are professionals working in all arena’s who are good and bad, so we should base our judgement on our experience, which is where the internet comes in very handy…
This is just my opinion.
The problem is … big food and big pharma fund the studies that prop up the failed nutritional guidelines.
You can continue to promote the failed policies of the last 30-40 years… or you can stop promoting a ‘diet’ that causes obesity and diabetes at epidemic levels.
Is it a coincidence that the ‘diabetes protocols’ is a high carb, grain based meal plan… a meal plan that causes an increase in drug and insulin usage?
Wake up…. and stop harming people.
Dietetics is a respected profession? … not while they take money and nutritional advice from Kellogg’s, PepsiCo, Coke, General Mills etc etc
If the standards for accountability for those in the dietitian profession in the UK are in fact as you describe, then the same standards for the US counterparts are pathetic by comparison. If you knew of the experiences of so many American T2 diabetics have with RDs, you’d better understand why so many of us have such a negative view of your profession. After attending two ADA sponsored diabetes expos ( and posing identical questions to about ten RDs ) I found out for myself what other veteran diabetics have long agreed upon—Our registered dietitians tend to be very arrogant, condecending, vague & defensive when pressed for details, ill informed and entirely inconsistant in their so-called ‘advice’…The only common ground they share is the exorbitant fees they charge thru the hospitals they work for –When I was diagnosed in 2006 their price was $250-$300 per consultation ( source-Tacoma General hospital, St Joseph hospital & Allenmore; all in Tacoma Wa). I could hire a good lawyer for less than that. Dave
Thanks for the feedback.
Here is a great critique of the latest dietary guidelines by the USDA, which seem to be mirrored by similar organisations all around the world:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899900710002893
What this paper’s authors (including a registered dietitian like yourself) suggest is that the mainstream guidelines are anything but evidence-based.
It is pretty obvious that such guidelines are crafted with a preformed objective, and studies are cherry picked to fit with the current policy.
Scientists that cherry pick studies, and deny blatant facts and alternative treatment options that are probably much better, aren’t scientists in my opinion.
George Super BootCamps – I am unsure of your knowledge of the dietary management and recommendations for diabetes at present, as dietitian’s within the UK do not promote a high carbohydrate diet, and a low-carbohydrate diet would not be recommended under any circumstances. What we promote and practice is modifying the individuals carbohydrate content to ensure an even spread of low-glycaemic carbohydrates through out the day, by means of three regular meals and small healthy snacks. We also promote portion control and guidance of carbohydrates for weight management.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I believe it should be well informed. Making judgements and dismissing a profession you don’t understand is ignorant. I appreciate everyone has different experiences, but i urge you not to label us all from that one experience.
Kristjan – I wouldn’t be in a position to comment on American Guidance. I’m speaking purely from my experience as a dietitian in the UK. The “Cherry Picking” could well be a possibility, however again you are basing and forming this opinion and theory on the basis of one research paper. This is not enough solid evidence to suggest that “Cherry Picking” is the case at all. This is one publication, a tiny drop in the ocean of research that has been completed, and not at all robust enough to draw any sound conclusions.
C.A. There really is no point in trying to correct Kristjan or the people who comment on this blog. This is blog is for paleo circle-jerking only. They cite studies that confirm their viewpoints and denounce any study that disagrees with their viewpoints as biased (or completely ignore that such studies exist). It’s nutritional religion.
What a surprise … name calling. When you do not have facts on your side… resort to insults and ridicule.
Monsanto appreciates your continued support. Unfortunately 90% of diabetics fail because they follow your advice.
I have never given any advice and do not support Monsanto. In fact, I never took any position on the validity of any of Kristjan’s theories or studies. I did however criticize Kristjan for only citing articles and studies that confirm his viewpoint when there are many studies that contradict it, I did criticize Kristjan for not acknowledging the complexity of the current science on nutrition, and I did point out that the people who are best equipped to navigate the sea of contradicting literature are in fact the people who have studied it extensively (e.g. nutritionists and dietitians). When he completely dismissed my criticism without addressing any of it, I realized that this is not a place for debate, but a well oiled money making machine that caters to arrogant nutrition-enthusiasts (i.e. circle-jerk). I didn’t have to “resort” to anything.
Well obviously we disagree on a few points here.
Why would low-carb diets not be recommended under any circumstances?
There are many randomized controlled trials that confirm its effectiveness, and they always produce more favourable results than the diets they are compared to, which are often in line with dietary guidelines.
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/2/1/34
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633336/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15148063
http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v15/n1/full/oby2007516a.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17447017
http://www.ajcn.org/content/86/2/276.full
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18635428
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1475-2891-10-112.pdf
Elias, if you knew me and had followed my blog for a while, then you would know that I think every individual needs to find out what works for them. I’m not dogmatic about anything.
The reason I recommend low-carb for weight loss is because that it has a lot of clinical trials to back it up as a dietary intervention, usually coming out ahead against the different plans it is compared to.
Take a look at the studies I cited right above this comment. Am I wrong about this? Am I cherry picking studies to fit my own view? Then prove it, please.
I also do not promote a paleo diet, although I believe it to be very healthy (and there’s a decent amount of data to back that up, too). I don’t have a problem with all grains and dairy.
The term “low-carb diet” can be extremely misleading. Optimising portion control of carbohydrates will generally involve lowering an individuals carbohydrate intake as often individuals do have too higher carbohydrate intake.
I have said my piece. Elias is right, there is no point. You’ll “cherry pick” what you want to hear and want to believe.
Thanks for confirming everything I said in my article.
I don’t feel I have confirmed anything of the sort. You don’t know me and you don’t know how I practice. All you know is that I’m passionate enough about my profession to put my view point across on this blog. I’m not the sort of person to ignore such ignorance.
The role of a dietitian is to communicate a robust scientific evidence base to the public, in order to allow them to manage their clinical condition safely and effectively. We follow guidance and professional consensus of opinion. We are careful to critically review any new evidence that comes to light and assess whether this can be applied to practice.
I don’t know what experience you have had to form such an opinion. But don’t be so ignorant to think all dietitian’s are the same. Maybe you have had a bad experience which has lead to this very narrow minded view, but don’t discourage others from seeking sound clinical advice from a health professional expert in nutrition. There are alot of people who greatly value (and rely on) our services, that highly rate the profession.
I’m not directing my words at you, personally, but rather the dogmatic and unproven advice promoted by dietitians around the world, and their unwillingness to adopt new knowledge because it doesn’t fit with their biased views.
Well, this has really been an interesting reading!
I’m neither diabetic or do I have high blood pressure, but I’m approaching my 50th birthday and I’ve been on a diet since my teenage years, always struggling with my weight. I’ve tried all kinds of diets except the Vodka diet and the amputation diet:) including meetings with Olafur once a week to get an educated follow up on mine eating habits.
Finally 3 years ago I was introduced to including protein in my meals at least 3 times a day, lots of vegetables and much less of carbs. It took me more than 3o years to learn the simple fact that protein (meat, fish, eggs) makes your stomach feel full.
At long last I have a balanced appetite, I’m not thinking about food and what I’m missing. I’ve completely lost that feeling when my mouth watered at the thought of a greasy hamburger or a Snickers bar. I’ve lots of energy and it doesn’t make any difference for me if I workout fasted or not, my blood sugar doesn’t drop!
And yes, my physical health is far better at age 49 than it was when I was 25.
Thank you, Ragna! :)
Well if that is the case they should not be practicing!
There are off-the-cuff-call-themselves-nutritionists around that yes can provide “dogmatic and unproven advice”, they should not be practicing, but unfortunately get away with it, and i have heard of some nasty consequences of individuals going to see such “nutritionists”.
“Dietitian” is a protected label for health professionals who specialise in nutrition, who should be practicing with the most up-to-date knowledge and guidance. I’m not sure how this is regulated in the USA, but this is regulated closely here in the UK, and there is a great support network to ensure all the new evidence is constantly reviewed and disseminated to dietetic departments within the NHS, private practice and to freelance dietitian’s nationwide.
I hope this has cleared up a few things, and pulled back a little of the credibility you destroyed of the profession in writing that article.
Well thanks for clearing that up. I appreciate the feedback.
I would like to share a recent experience I have had as a Dietetic Student at university. Each week we are to participate in a diet and blog about our experience and how we will advice future patients. Last week was a Low G.I. diet for Diabetics. As I did my study I came to realise the national NHRMC advice is based on level 4 advice nearly 20 years old with one recent level one paper showing a 0.46%(off memory) change in HbA1c. I also came to realise that G.I. is a poor indicator of how it will affect different diabetics. Moreover the variation in response is due to cooking methods, what the CHOs are eaten with etc.. This is not and cannot be taken into account on this regime. I stated that if anything G.L. was a better predictor of response, however, it seemed to me that NO studies have been done comparing Low G.I. with Low Carb directly. I have since found one and the results are clearly with low Carb as being a better diet to control BGL. Most studies seem to only compare Low GI with the same carb amounts however refined(High G.I.). This is not a true respresentation at all. I stated in my blog that I was doubtful that adhering to the 50-60% CHO and using Low G.I. would be the best for diabetics. I stated that G.I. is way too variable at different times for different people to be anything more than a loose guide. As you may guess, I was duly rounded upon by my tutor and she stated that some fruits are high G.I. and other low G.I. foods are beneficial and as it is in guidelines I will have to stick with this advice. From my reading watermelon is high G.I. but low GL, you would have to eat five cups of watermelon from an overnight fast to reveal a G.I. of 71. I have also noted on boards that most diabetics spike on Oats(the holy grail), All bran, bananas amongst other foods routinely recommended by dietitians in my country. So I am between a rock and a hard place. I think my strategy will be to get through and parrot advice however ridiculous and then do my own thing. I don’t know if I will get away with it, but I see no other option. My firm belief that the only way to control diabetes is an individual – eat to your meter approach. I have read that some dietitians frown upon too much testing (one forum I read the diabetic stated that oats made her BGL spike and the dietitian said don’t test so much. She stated that the problem would still be there at which the dietitian stated – ‘But you won’t know about it’.!!!) It seems you can’t diss the mighty Oats! I have become slowly disallusioned with a sneaking suspicion that dietitians are little more then the real estate agents of the medical world. Unneeded and having made a slot and job for themselves must defend it at all costs. There is really nothing I can tell any intelligent person that they can’t learn for themselves, it seems. Bummer that I’m already in the middle of Third Year! Maybe I should switch to BioMed before it’s too late? On a lighter note – this week I’m gluten free and actually enjoying it! I hope this gives you some insight of what we are up against. Anyone willing to speak for themselves is unlikely to retain their marks. We are forced to be sheep.
Thank you for this. I’ve also been contacted in private by another nutrition student (in my own country, Iceland) who also completely disagrees with the way they’re doing things and is thinking about switching to another profession.
It is horrifying to know how your teachers can ignore a potential cure for the biggest health problem in the world (met syn and related disorders, including T2D).
The best book out there is Food Politics by Marion Nestle. She explains how politics and agriculture get in the way of the government mandating what the public should eat.
I am an RN and was sent to a nutritionist for education for weightloss. She really pushed those carbs and I basically ignored her. All the research says that the fat around the belly comes from carbs. Gluten is on of the worse things for a body. So why should I eat them? Energy, she says. I have fat for energy. Lift weights to maintain muscle. Switched my diet to low carb and shed 40 pounds. Working on another 45.
Nutritionist can take their plates with little plastic food portions and put them in a dark place. They preach what they learn in college and that is what the agricultural industry tells them. I just heard on the radio that over 50% of the U.S. population will be obese in another 10 years. 50%!!! Why are we pushing the same old thing?
There is evidence that the obesity epidemic started when the government started pushing the increase of carbs in the diet. They push carbs in order to support the farmers, not for a person’s health. Pollard, Nestle, and a lot of other authors have been saying this all along – ignore what the government tells you because they have been bought by agricultural companies through campaign money. If not bought, the agricultural industry has placed people who worked for them in key government positions.
When it comes to nutrition, our government is a sham. Nutritionists/dieticians are parroting what the government says. Not all of them. There are some good ones, but they are few and far between. The best way to overcome this is to read what researchers and others are saying about food and its affect on the body.
Thank you for your rant. I know what you mean about writing when you are angry.
Thanks for the feedback!
I don’t know if you’ve see this article from the Guardian, Kris, but it gives a very interesting historical perspective on our current dependence on grains and sugars — especially as breakfast cereals: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/23/food-book-extract-felicity-lawrence
It was, back then, and still is more about money than nutrition.
Thanks Hugh, that was an interesting article.
They have been indoctrinated. Just like most MDs. So sad. You really have to take control of your own health! I always laugh when I think about the food pyramid I was taught in elementary school. So much bread!! And I believed it!Now that I’m older, and a little wiser, I have learned to question everything (and follow the money trail). Ever since I went organic and GF the weight has MELTED off. I wasn’t even trying to loose weight. I just wanted to feel better. And BTW I eat a ton of saturated fat. Every day.
Thanks for sharing, Allegra.
Hi Kristján
Conflicts of interest? While it is commendable to use your blog, as you describe in this interview below, to generate a good income through the number of visits and advertisements on the website, the need for frequent visits to support yourself may undermine the faith that visitors have in your blog/views.
ES
Hello Engilbert, thanks for the comment.
If you look around, you will see that I don’t have any ads on the front page, forum, any page linked to from the home page, or any article since last year for that matter.
I did not gain a single dime from the publicity that this article spiked. Therefore, the conflict of interest doesn’t apply to this case.
even if you were making money… is it NOT wrong for someone to be compensated for their work/time.
Even though Kris would be making money, I would only thank that is faire that people make money from their work!
Finally! Thank You! I can remember when Sly Stallone made his Rocky Debut. He was BIG (and one of the first) to mention low carb, high protein, etc. and I thought then it made perfect sense! Was just reading an article where a “nutritionist” was telling a diabetic on a 1600 cal a day diet she should eat 720 carbs! Really?!
This is what diabetics in Iceland are being advised to eat. Grains and starch in every meal! WTF?
This is horrifying! Reading this stuff makes me very angry.
Sometimes I just have a hard time believing that things are the way they are.
I’m going to be working with these people in the future, so I need to be careful of the words I use.
This MUST change!
maybe we are a little further ahead in NZ, not perfect http://www.diabetes.org.nz/food_and_nutrition/ideal_plate/main_food_groups but heading in the right directions “Too much carbohydrate may increase blood glucose levels above desirable for someone with diabetes… The size of the servings will depend on your weight, activity level and blood glucose control.”
It’s only recently that I actually stumbled upon the discussion of wether SFA really are bad for you. At first I thought it was som bullshit, however a lot of the time, the authors cited studies and they were good studies.
So I started to think about it and read some more, and I began to notice that whenever I was reading an article that put SFA out to be the bad guy, they didn’t cite studies. Even though the articles usually claimed that alot of research, and the science community backed up the “fact” that SFA are bad for you.
I just finished reading through the wikipedia article about SFA and CVD controversy, and the first part looked like it would back up the commonly held belief, that SFA are bad. However that pretty much fell apart once you got through the whole article.
So I have found a lot of studies, through citations that SFA are not associated with heart disease. However I have had a hard time finding studies that actually link SFA with heart disease convincingly. But I know that I am not the one best suited to actually finding those studies.
So now I want to ask someone (maybe Elias, C.A or Olafur) to put some convincing studies in the comments for me to read, that show the other viewpoint (not Kristjans). That way I can read from both sides, and be absolutely sure that no cherry picking is going on.
That’s the thing, the claim that saturated fat ever was unhealthy for you was bogus the whole time, and the nutrition community has exposed themselves for the biased pseudo-scientists that they are.
I’m sure you can find some single studies that say that saturated fat is bad for you, but often you will find flaws in them, and when you pool a lot of studies together (like the meta-analysis I cited) to get more reliable results you will find that there is no statistically significant association. It was a lie, the whole time.
Now those geniuses have started inventing new reasons to recommend against saturated fat. They’ve invented the term “SoFAS = Solid fats and added sugars” in order to try and categorize them with sugars as empty calories, but of course the foods that naturally contain saturated fat are incredibly nutritious (way more nutritious than the “heart-healthy” whole grains).
They also claim that saturated fat contains a lot of energy (fat = 9kcal per gram) and that it can make you gain weight, but of course that is nonsense as well. High-fat diets aren’t fattening as long as they don’t contain a lot of unhealthy carbs (wheat, sugar, etc) to go along with them.
The nutritionists still cite a mild increase in LDL, but as has been covered extensively in the comments above they raise the benign subtype of LDL (harmless), and raise HDL (protective), which I’ve never heard a nutritionist point out as it doesn’t support their theory, but they know this very well.
Anyway, if you want to read an article by a respected scientist where he digs through all the major saturated fat-heart disease studies, both supportive and unsupportive, then I suggest you look at this one here:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/12/dirty-little-secret-of-diet-heart.html
I assume you know how to use the internet. Find the studies yourself. You understand what a controversy is? That is when a situation arises where experts disagree. That happens when studies have contradictory conclusions. Now, if you read my comments on this blog, you’ll notice I never once say Kristjan is incorrect. I have never taken any position on the validity of his points simply because I have no basis to do so. I have not studied the scientific literature enough to feel confident enough to say that experts are correct or incorrect. Contrast this with Kristjan who feels he has such a deep understanding of the literature that he is comfortable denouncing a whole profession. My critique has been a) Kristjan’s arrogance, b) the fact that he doesn’t disclose that his beliefs are not based in any way, shape or form on his medical education at the University of Iceland and, c) his over-simplifications on the issues he blogs about. The fact is there is no one truth on these issues. Otherwise THERE WOULD BE NO CONTROVERSY. It is not helpful to pretend that everyone who disagrees with you is an idiot, or has sold out to Big Food. It’s childish and not befitting of someone who wants to be taken seriously.
a) If you knew me, you would know that I am anything but arrogant. Brutally honest, maybe, but the main thing is that I speak up for what I believe in.
Now I (and many others) have realized things are not the way they should be, and I’m doing my best to tell the world about it. I don’t care if I hurt some outdated experts’ feelings while I’m at it as so many more people will hopefully benefit.
b) I have a terms of service page on this blog and I almost never mention that I am a med student at the university of Iceland. Every sensible person knows that a med student’s advise is NOT doctor’s advice, not even close.
c) I simplify the issues I blog about in order to make them understandable for those who don’t have a background in science.
I don’t oversimplify. Sometimes I think the “experts” are trying to make things complicated in order to justify that they should have a job, have credentials behind their names and be part of the academic community. Healthy nutrition isn’t complicated.
And in fact there is a truth on those issues. If people weren’t so incredibly biased then there wouldn’t be such a big of a controversy.
The controversy arises when other scientists and the public realize that the entire guidelines that they are supposed to follow are based on bogus science, and is one of the many factors leading to a worldwide public health crisis.
Well done !!
Wow, I should just find the studies myself? Of course I know how to use the internet, however I am not a nutritionist, and as I stated above, I may not be the person best suited to find these studies.
Why? Because I think a nutritionist, that does read studies would be better at finding good quality studies. And I did ask for convincing studies.
Well anyway thank you Kris for directing me to some studies that have opposing views.
Oh and Elias I have read all the comments on this article, and I never said that you stated Kristjan was incorrect. I simply asked for studies with the opposing viewpoint.
I would still like to read more studies from the opposing viewpoint if anybody has some good quality studies?
There is only one nutritionist I trust, and I consider her a scholar. I live in a tight community and I’ve yet to run into someone who didn’t receive the *best* care and advice from her. She’s the one who explained to me the difference between nutritionists and dietitians, so I’m always skeptical of dietitians, personal trainers, medical doctors, and even other nutritionists.
I’m lucky that she has set the bar high. She’s a great inspiration and I’m always impressed by her determination to research the latest studies of nutrition.
That is awesome to hear!
Hello Kristjan,
There seems to be a lot of confusing advice given by nutritionists which people are following blindly. A few days ago while I was having my breakfast in a hotel which only serves natural food, a customer got into an argument with the owner as to why he is stocking coconut oils because coconut oils are full of saturated fat which is bad for heart. Now what the customer was not realizing that the opposite is true. The saturated fats inside the virgin coconut oil(unprocessed oil) is actually very god for heart otherwise people in tropical islands who mainly have a diet based on coconuts will not be able to live long and healthy.
“science progresses one funeral at a time.” those are excellent words so we best be careful. The thing is people place too much trust in titles, just because someone went to study for something, does not mean they are up to date or they are not financially influenced.
I’m a medical school drop out, wasn’t the right path for me but I can see you are going to make a great doctor. I always find it boring to read medical journals but being informed trumps being bored big time.
Great article Kris! The information about what is good and healthy seems to change every couple of minutes ;). No wonder we have such high obesity rates. No one knows what the hell to do.
I have been saying the same thing fro some time now. Nice to have a article to point people too.
Money changes everything.
Bias is something that a true scientist would guard against when evaluating any topic and as such I can’t help but feel that you have sought out a biased sample of examples. There are plenty of Dietitians who give evidence-based advice to patients / clients so please be wary of knocking a profession that is more progressive than many others.
“The main problem here, is that most dietitians promote the guidelines provided by the USDA (The United States Department of Agriculture — huh?).” Obviously dont know what you are talking about here….and have it totally wrong. Maybe you need to do more research before posting non-sense like this on a website.
How about giving a real argument instead of labelling my article as nonsense?
I stand by everything I said, and I’ve cited quite a bit of scientific studies in both the article and the comments.
Not one of the many dietitians that has contacted me or commented has been able to refute anything in the article, and so far have only confirmed what I said.
Kris – I really enjoyed reading this article. I’m in a post grad nutrition program and I’m shocked at what I read in the text book. It promotes carbs but doesn’t explain what they really do good for us besides give us a little energy. Second, it denounces saturated fats but the text reads to say sat fats are good. Hilarity. I’m either going to find a holistic nutrition program or get an MBA. I can’t take the lies any more. And for the person who said they would never recommend a low carb diet to a diabetic: I AM(WAS) PRE-DIABETIC. Standard American Diet crap didn’t work for ****. I went low carb and I’ve not only improved every reading on my blood panel; My arthritis is all but non-existent. I’ve gone from 240 24% BF to 195 11% BF. I’m 37 and I feel like I’m back in high school. But according to the “professionals” on this thread, I should switch back to eating pasta and rice every day. You are my hero of the day. I looked forward to reading your blog daily.
I had never had a problem with being overweight, until I got severe chronic anemia (less energy = less activity) and gained weight. After gaining the first 20 pounds I turned to “experts” for advice. Results? I gained over 100 pounds. Then I broke out on my own, sick of these “one size fits all” diets they claim should work for everyone and figured out what works for me. Results? I’ve lost nearly 50 pounds so far. I’m now eating more meat and veggies and threw away the bread. Scientific or medical mumbo jumbo don’t mean diddley squat if it don’t work. – I’m not saying it doesn’t work for others. Obviously someone had luck with the other diets, but it’s not one size fits all. If it’s not working, don’t blame the individual and make them feel even worse for continuing to gain weight. Suggest they try something different.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein
Thank you Kris. I just can’t thank you enough. I really wish I had learned about all this 15 years ago!
I say well done to you for having the bravery to go it alone.
Well done!
If you subtract the people who don’t actually do what they’re told, then the only thing that’s left to change is the plan. But I guess that, as with many fields, most of these ‘experts’ are too arrogant to believe that their way should be adapted.
And yet we have that saying, ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting a different result’….
That is incredible, Mary. Congratulations on your success!
So if anyone can be a dietitian and give advice online by reading a few articles and citing a few studies then I guess I can be a medical doctor the same way. Apparently no education is necessary at all since we have the internet. All I need to do is read and make claims based off a few studies and just hope that the scientists did their job correctly. With your methods I can make a claim that certain particles can travel faster than the speed of light…forget Einstein and reality…it must be true since some scientists at CERN said it is. Oh wait…they were wrong…they made a mistake.
You are a med STUDENT…get off your high horse and do some real work before you go off making some erroneous claims. There is a reason people go to school and get an education. So they don’t go on the internet and instantly believe everything they read. By the way…the Earth is flat and man never walked on the moon in Apollo 11. There are some studies on the internet that say so.
Mark,
What are you suggesting here that would be useful to the general populace?
It’s one thing to have a go at Kris (and he can defend himself, that’s not my goal), but to attack a position, and then not offer any sort of solution is inadequate, in my opinion.
Cheers
George
I believe I have seen the scientific evidence that the nutrition authorities all around the world are giving outdated and potentially harmful advice to the general population.
What am I supposed to do? Just be quiet about it, because I’m not a dietitian? Wait for them to figure it out in the next lifetime or so?
I don’t think so. I believe it is my moral obligation to bring this matter to attention.
Thank the good Lord we have people like you who will stand up for what you believe in, if it wasnt for the likes of you and some others we would still be putting on weight (which is what I have done all my life). Well done Kristjan keep up the good work and keep us informed.
Is it possible that I could download your free eBook on weight loss, I have lost the original one that I downloaded.
Very good article. I was perusing for the new food pyramid, which is a plate now, and found it wierd. So I was wondering if dieticians actually knew what they were doing and found this article. It was well put together and I agree. Thank you.
Very interesting discussion! It’s striking that those of “conventional wisdom” attitudes just cannot move out of that paradigm. I would imagine that most that support your conclusions at one time did subscribe to the old beliefs as well, but were open enough to look at the data objectively and found that it just didn’t support those old conclusions. I know it took me awhile to come around and I had to wrestle with it, and admittedly it was uncomfortable. We get very attached to our beliefs and when others contradict those the tendency is to become defensive and disbelieving that there could be another point of view. To those that disagree that is your prerogative, we will never all agree on everything; however, at least have the courage to be open to looking into other possibilities rather than dismissing them out of hand as ridiculous.
You dont know what you are talking about. Im a R.D. have worked in clinical and public health for past six years and what you are saying is non-sense. The reason for obesity is not carbs its protein. Think about it, complex carbs are plant base foods that are easily digested bec they dont have hardly no fat and are low in weight per serving( 4kcals/gr). A protein diet is animal base, hard to digest because of long chain amino acids + the fat it contains(protein 4kcals/g+fat 9kcals/gr) thus protein weighing alot more than plant base foods. Its as simple as this if I give you a plate of beans which is plant protein+starch and another choice of steak animal protein. If you eat that steak, whithin 20min you are going to feel heavy and sluggish. If you eat those beans I guaranteed you will feel good and light. Second of all a animal base protein diet is death trap for your cells. If you have taken biochemistry you would know that vitamins & minerals act as coenzymes for glycolysis and kreb cycle wich is cellular metabolism. A high protein diet is dead food bec it is not rich in vitmins and mineral your coenzymes thus slowing cell metabolism. Anything from soil is rich in micronutrients anything from animal is dead food. And third diabetes is not caused by carbohydrate overload its caused by the individual gaining to much wt from a high protein diet, so the pancrease cannot compensate for that wt gain per body surface. Again carbs is not the reason for obesity its protein. Do me a favor next time you go eat that cheeseburger with your dressing cheese and beef tell me how you feel after 20min? Its called protein overload…
I wouldn’t normally use Gen-Y lingo, but Marco WTF!!! You cannot be serious? Your biochemistry is all wrong not to mention the physiology. The reality is that carbs have been in the hominid diet no more than about 20,000 years, whereas meat, plants and nuts about 6 million years…this is why we have retained incisors and there are not fat lions but lots of fat hippos!!!! Even if you don’t buy my logic can you answer the following: Why do the indigenous communities who have a high fat/protein diet have no heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes and a host of other diseases? Answer, no carbs!!! Why is Multiple sclerosis prevalent in countries where there is high grain consumption? And by the way, we should not listen to professions giving us dietary advice when the professional body is sponsored by Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Co, Kellogs, Mars, Nestle. Look for the evidence and get your biochemistry right. By the way I’m a PhD with an h-Index of 19 and hundreds of published peer reviewed articles.
Hey Frank,
FWIW there are also tribes across the world that thrive on a high carb diet. Have you read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration? There’s a good few listed in there. It’s a good read in addition that (sorry if I’m teaching you to suck eggs).
It seems the bigger issue is eating a diet of processed food, not necessarily one that is high in any of the macro’s. Eat unprocessed food and you tend to be healthy. Eat a diet of your traditional foods and you tend to be healthy.
I’m bang on with you about not listening to the majority of professional advice though, even if I would count myself as a health, fitness and nutrition professional!
Cheers
George
Oh I forgot, to mention you are RX a high protein diet for DM. What a joke, you need to get educated and know that a high protein diet to a DM leads to ketones and renal problems which they will eventually develop or already have. You are living in the 80s with Dr Adkins and his high protein animal diet. Its 2012 & now we have plant base substitutes replacing animal protein.
By the way…its ATKINS not Adkins and regardless of what you might say it turns out he was right…that’s the facts. Textbooks cause of high blood triglycerides….high carb diet. Yet, you lot continue to peddle junk science with simplistic hypotheses like “you eat fat you get fat”. Do the reading in the peer reviewed journals not opinion pieces in ‘runners’ world’, Men’s health mag, sports illustrated etc.
No hard feelings man, but if you would be eating more of a vegetarian diet and not animal diet you would nt be loosing your hair..
You have said so many thing that don’t even make sense so I’m not really sure how to answer. To begin with I think you didn’t even take a look at the references in the article before posting your comment.
High-protein diet = obesity?
High-protein = ketones?
Please find me a randomized controlled trial where a high-protein diet based on real foods leads to harmful effects.
And also, I’d be very interested to see a randomized controlled trial where your plant-based nonsense is pitted against a low-carb, high-fat, high-protein diet like I recommend?
The truth is that it doesn’t exist, and you are spreading dangerous propaganda. I have a hard time believing you’re an actual R.D., but if you are then you have confirmed everything I said in the article.
Please do your clients a favor, go read up on the randomized controlled trials on low-carbohydrate diets, which basically prove that everything you just said is wrong.
Here’s a good meta-analysis, easy to read:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/86/2/276.full
Take some time to go through it, for your clients’ sake.
So Marco says: “No hard feelings man, but if you would be eating more of a vegetarian diet and not animal diet you would nt be loosing your hair..”
Well, this is the typical nonsensical response one expects from a misinformed and cowboy scientist. The problem with your hypothesis is this…I lost my hair at age 30. I was a vegetarian and high carb eater until 6 months ago until I was sick of feeling like crap and no one would help including nutritionists who continued to say to cut out the fat and protein to get over my ailments. So, your hypothesis is out the window my friend. However, in the interest of scientific inquiry why don’t we do one small experiment if you are game?
Find one peer reviewed cross-sectional, randomly controlled study in a high impact journal that shows that a high fat/protein low carbohydrate diet leads to heart disease or high cholesterol (not that high cholesterol is bad!) or even if there is a gain in body weight. Just one…
You are disconnected from reality. Before you start writing negative blogs about professionals and topics you have no experience and knowledge. I suggest you look at yourself and and reflect on what credentials you have. Are you a R.D. Biologist, Chemist, Biomedical Scientist or M.D. If your not dont be writing bogus blogs that are based on som irrelevant trial study in which you are not even involved.
Sniff, sniff, sniff, what’s this?
I smell a troll…
The vast majority of people who give diet and diabetes advice across the Internet are dilettantes who merely pass along whatever clap trap they have heard elsewhere… the vast majority have no expertise at all… in the case of dietary information the similarity of advice given is a product of herd mentality rather than an science….. I am a T1D of 50 plus years and want to tell you that these self appointed experts are worse than ineffective but actually dangerous…. dietitians have been taught that fat makes you fat and this is obvious to them as tomatoes make you red and beef makes you moo…. try Taube, Attia and Atkins if you want to lose weight as the low carb approach actually works… try Dr. Bernstein if you are a diabetic and want to control your condition…. that’s Richard K Bernstein MD and you can find him on youtube or read his book, “The Diabetes Solution”…. these guys who KNOW are on the Internet as well but the bad to good advice ratio on the Internet is even greater than 99 to 1… the most commonly repeated advice is simply folk wisdom without any scientific backing at all… America is not becoming ever more fat for any lack of this continuing lousy advice
As a dietitian for 15+ years, I completely agree with your article. Dietitians are taught outdated information that does not take into consideration the condition of our current food supply, including fresh fruits and vegetables. They simply DO NOT contain the nutritional quality that they once did. I believe supplementation is a necessity in today’s world and I know Dietitians are still taught that we can get all the nutrition we need from a healthy, balanced diet — hogwash!
That’s great to hear from someone in the industry Kelly.
What’s your story with keeping yourself updated?
I remember when studying sports nutrition at uni and being very frustrated at the ’1 size fits all’ information we were given officially, and then told privately that this doesn’t actually work, but they simply have to teach it that way!
Do you have any legal issues with respect to your slightly controversial position?
Cheers
George
I couldn’t agree more Kris! Thank you for the link to that study! Fantastic! I wonder if part of the problem is the number of vegan or vegetarian dietitians? How many dietitians are vegetarians or vegans? Do they have to disclose that information to a client? I think that traditionally vegans and vegetarians have been attracted to the profession because they have an innate interest in diet. Of course, they are bringing their morality into what is essentially a health profession. This is a real ethical dilemma!!!
Hi… I am a nutritionist, well… I have a bachelors degree in Nutrition. And I totally agree with you! Most Nutritionists and Dietitians i know are clueless. In fact my degree really has nothing to do with my knowledge of nutrition and holistic methods of healing or what I do for a living. I learned all I know through certifications, reading and studying on my own and of course over 15 years of experience!
Heidi,
Do you have any idea what you are referencing to when you mentioned the “720″ carbs for the diabetic. What do you think the 720 represents? It is 720 CALORIES FROM CARBOHYDRATE, GENIUS. This is approx 180 grams of carbohydrate daily. I’m certain that of those 180 grams, lollipops, potatoes, and donuts were not being encouraged.
SMH.