Science shows that the low-fat diet approach most people have adopted based on "trusting responsible bodies", comes with a lot of health risks. Yet, knowing about this scientific research, the American Heart Association (AHA) keeps promoting the low-fat diet! I don't want to be cynical and assume the reason the AHA is not abandoning this ill advised position is driven by money.
I can't let the fact that "in their annual report for 2012-2013, the AHA lists among its lifetime donors of $1 million or more, Big Food companies including; Conagra, Quaker Oats, and Campbell Soups, among others.". This is after the fact that through the Heart Check programme, AHA currently endorses 889 foods as “heart-healthy.”. For this they charge Big Food companies annual fees to give their Heart Check stamp of approval. We in turn buy those foods, trusting that stamp of approval, and believe we are acting in the best interest of our hearts.
Earlier this year, I changed my eating plan, adopting an eating approach a lot of South Africans refer to as the Professor Tim Noakes Diet. It is not a diet, unless if by diet you mean "a way of eating". Within a week of changing my world, one meal at a time, I went to have a medical for the purposes of my Discovery Vitality points accumulation (not for my health, as I look after my health but Discovery can't take my word for it). My cholesterol came out the highest it has ever been. I did not panic, but I was worried. The cholesterol count being high was to be expected as the week before, we concluded the funeral of my father-in-law (high stress levels lead to a high cholesterol count) and my new eating plan was now low carbos high fat. By high fat, I don't mean all fats, so the hydrogenated fat dipped chips at Burger King are not included, so research further before adopting.
The fact that I was losing weight, feeling energetic and good about myself relatively, were shadowed by the high cholesterol count, and I started doubting myself wondering if I was backing the wrong horse by changing to the Real Meal Revolution. I told my wife I would meet her at the local bookstore, Exclusive Books. I needed time out to think. While I was browsing the book shelves, I came across the book The Diet Delusion by Gary Taubes.
I had also tweeted Professor Tim Noakes, asking him about his research and recommendations, and what his view was on controlling the cholesterol problem impact. To his credit, Professor Tim Noakes was quick to respond to my tweet, simply advising me to read his book, The Real Meal Revolution. In short, I remember a tweet to the effect of "cholesterol is an inconclusive way of measuring your helath, I touch on it in my book". While it was comforting, I did not want to simply take his word for it, a second, third and more opinions would give me more comfort.
Reading an independent book, The Diet Delusion, the first thing the book jumped into was the fat-cholesterol hypothesis and the workings of the AHA came to light for me. I also saw the charts in The Real Meal Revolution, which indicated that the risk of heart disease events did not increase as the population had a higher cholesterol count in men. The data was using various countries, so you could say it's global. Scientific Research highlights the disconnect between the AHA's stance and reality, such as the article I just read by Dr. Barbara H Roberts, titled The Heart Association's Junk Science Diet.
The American Heart Association is serving who with their view? I have just done a couple of Discovery Vitality online assessments. I will score badly on the count of my eating habits, given I have adopted the low carb high fat approach and abandoned the low fat diet pushed by the AHA. That since my assessment last year, my weight has dropped as well as my waistline will probably go unnoticed by Discovery Vitality. I am convinced I am becoming a better health risk for them to insure, and they are convinced that I become a higher health risk to insure, all because they based their thinking on the AHA.
"If science is to progress, what we need is the ability to experiment, honesty in reporting results... the results must be reported without somebody saying what they would like the results to have been... and finally... an important thing... the intelligence to interpret the results. An important point about this intelligence is that it should not be sure ahead of time what must be." ~ Richard Feynman, Nobel Prize winning physicist.
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