No-Bologna Facts
- There’s never been a single study that proves saturated fat causes heart disease.
- As heart-disease rates were skyrocketing in the mid-1900s, consumption of animal fat was going down, not up. Consumption of vegetable oils, however, was going up dramatically.
- Half of all heart-attack victims have normal or low cholesterol. Autopsies performed on heart-attack victims routinely reveal plaque-filled arteries in people whose cholesterol was low (as low as 115 in one case).
- Asian Indians - half of whom are vegetarians - have one of the highest rates of heart disease in the entire world. Yup, that fatty meat will kill you, all right.
- When Morgan Spurlock tells you that a McDonald’s salad supplies almost a day’s allowance of fat, he’s basing that statement on the FDA’s low-fat/high-carbohydrate dietary guidelines, which in turn are based on … absolutely nothing. There’s no science behind those guidelines; they were simply made up by a congressional committee.
- Kids who were diagnosed as suffering from ADD have been successfully treated by re-introducing natural saturated fats into their diets. Your brain is made largely of fat.
- Many epileptics have reduced or eliminated seizures by adopting a diet low in sugar and starch and high in saturated animal fats.
- Despite everything you’ve heard about saturated fat being linked to cancer, that link is statistically weak. However, there is a strong link between sugar and cancer. In Europe, doctors tell patients, “Sugar feeds cancer.”
- Being fat is not, in and of itself, bad for your health. The behaviors that can make you fat - eating excess sugar and starch, not getting any exercise - can also ruin your health, and that’s why being fat is associated with bad health. But it’s entirely possible to be fat and healthy. It’s also possible to be thin while developing Type II diabetes and heart disease.
- Saturated fat and cholesterol help produce testosterone. When men limit their saturated fat, their testosterone level drops. So, regardless of what a famous vegan chef believes, saturated fat does not impair sexual performance.
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I must admit I was skeptical, until I watched your film. I had been a Supersize Me fan…but that was when I was McDougalling (high-carb, low fat-vegan diet, *yuck*). I was constantly:
1. tired
2. sick
3. irritable
4. fat
5. tired
6. did I mention tired?
Six months ago my wife was checking out diets, b/c McDougall wasn’t doing her any good recovering from pregnancy, and she stumbled on Weston A. Price. Well, I haven’t felt so good since I was a kid! I’m kinda pissed that I missed out on butter and meat etc for 9 years! Not to mention I developed lactose intolerance in 1996 and hadn’t had milk until now, it has to be grass-fed and non-pasteurized/non-homogenized otherwise I get sick, but hey, it’s great!
I want to thank you for putting together this documentary. It explained to me why I’ve always been heavy despite the low-fat diets. I’ve always been a bread fiend and I used to eat cereal like a liberal increasing taxes.
Keep up the good work. I’d love to see a follow-up to Fat Head w/ some of the information you weren’t able to get in due to time constraints. You mentioned a miniseries. Well, why not?
Your experience with low-fat diets pretty much matches mine. Isn’t it liberating to realize you can eat the fats you crave and actually become healthier?
Sure is! Not to mention my teenage libido has returned! Heh heh heh! Ooh, should I be saying that on here?
You’re allowed.
Check out this morning’s National Propaganda Radio (NPR) story on school lunches. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/10/school_lunches_need_a_nutritio.html
Ohmigosh, look at that plate! Bread, corn, and lowfat (sugary) chocolate milk. Talk about a sugar rush …
Well Hi again Tom,
I left a couple messages about 6 months ago when I first discovered your movie.
One of your replies was ” Just how think what you’ll look like and feel like six months from now.”
Well as I said it has been 6 months since I started low carbing.
105kg down to 85kg and now going into a maintenence phase as I am at my 2nd goal weight a full 2 months ahead of schedule. I am aiming for about 80kg as a final goal/maintain weight but I am in no hurry.
What do I look like now? Well I dont look like an overweight ex-rugby player anymore, I am much leaner, muscles definition is showing up nicely, my point there is the muscle has remained and the fat has gone.
In my last post I was exercising every other day with high intensity resistance training, this lasted about 6 weeks and although I saw few changes in body composition I sure did feel the difference, however I stopped the training after losing enthusiasm for not seeing any physical results (hidden from view under the fat).
Also at about the same time I discovered some pretty credible names citing that weight loss had little to do with exercise, so I decided to actually put that theory to the test.
I have not exercised for 90% of my low carb journey and it still worked for me, however in my case I do have a very active physical job which should help keep my general fitness levels up anyway? Climbing ladders, crawling through roof spaces, working at a good pace, combined with mental challenges for each new job every few hours I seem to get a pretty good workout.
How do I feel?
I feel much better about myself, self esteem most importantly. Physically most things are easier, I dont breathe as hard when walking up a hill, I can lift myself into a roof attic without much thought, I can now go and buy a pair of jeans that actually fit properly!!!
Mentally I am sharper as well, in fact lately I have been working on a few projects in my spare time and I am having trouble with insomnia a few times a week because I cant seem to switch off, especially when I have a problem to solve, and I then I also start worrying about how bad I am going to feel with only 3 hours sleep and a full day of work on, but strangley I get through with little trouble.
When that had happened pre-lowcarb, I would feel like I had had a damn good drinking session the night before with a mind numbing hangover.
So Tom, thankyou once again for making Fathead, it has changed my life.
Sincerely
RobH
You just made my day, Rob. I’m delighted to hear about the many improvements in your quality of life. Thanks for letting me know.
I was reading the Wikipedia page about the “french paradox”, and when I saw this statement backed up by a reference:
“Although a systematic review of dietary studies found strong evidence of the causative effects of saturated fats on coronary heart disease risk”
I decided to follow that link. What it lead to was a relatively recent Canadian meta-study of 600 cohort studies and randomized trials, and the findings are remarkable, since they confirm in a systematic and methodologically proven manner that there is no established causal link between saturated fat and heart disease risk. This should of course be ground-breaking news since 95% of the Western population believes the bologna. To sum up, their main findings is that a “Mediterranean” diet rich in whole, real food, vegetables and nuts decreases the risk but junk carbs and trans fats increase the risk, significantly. But of course this is ignored by the mainstream media and people keep eating “heart healthy” foods like Cocoa Puffs with skim milk…
Full text: http://www.dcscience.net/mente-aim-2009.pdf
Article from Medical News Today: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145891.php
Most members of the media probably only read the comment section. The study data showed a strong link between trans fats and heart disease, and little or no link between saturated fats or total fat intake and heart disease. It’s right there in the numbers. But here’s what the authors wrote in the comments:
“The general consensus from the evidence currently available is that a reduced consumption of saturated and trans–fatty acids and a higher intake of fruits and vegetables, polyunsaturated fatty acids including omega-3 fatty acids, and whole grains are likely beneficial.”
They just went ahead and lumped saturated fats in with trans fats. Translation: we want to keep our grants.
Palm Oil, an oil high in saturated fat, was removed from foods years ago. Now, there’s research showing that a variant of it not only stops, but actually reverses arteriosclerosis. This is quite amazing since most big pharma medicine can at best keep it from progressing.
http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/natural_health/article01//indexn2_html?pdate=081009&ptitle=Ancient%20but%20potent%20healing%20power%20of%20palm%20oil
Hi Tom-I am in NZ and wote to you way back when FAT HEAD viewed here…A type 1 diabetic, chubby on a low fat diet- with high colesterol on Lipex with few ideas left on how to improve things -getting fatter every year……I didnt understand
that was back in April—–Low carb I am12 kgs lighter- insulin needs are down from 27 units per day to 10-12 units
i am coming up 50 but have never felt so alive!!!!!……..Took myself off Lipex -yeah! Took control………
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU…….from my happy heathy heart !!!
Kindest regards
sue
Thank you for letting me know.
How do you explain Japan? They are mostly vegetarian, and rarely eat red meat and diabetes and heart disease is rare there.
The Japanese actually eat a lot of pork and fish and, despite the rice, consume fewer carbs than the average American … thanks to our donuts, sugar-coated cereals, sodas, bagels, chips, fries, bread, noodles, ice cream, etc.
Their average cholesterol has gone up quite a bit in recent decades, but the rate of heart disease has gone down. For a long time, however, their rate of stroke was much higher than ours.
New Years day 2010 freedom and liberation at hand ! I’ ve been a 20 cup a day coffee and sugar man , can drop that knowing I can eat most other things , Tom you da man, RobH a real inspiration .
It’s not that poor folks are stupid, it’s just that we can’t afford to buy prime beef ribs and still pay our university fees.
But that’s all right now, we saw the latest showing of your documentary in New Zealand and it’s given us another excuse to eat lamb flaps - other than the fact that, you know, it’s the cheapest cut of meat when you have a soaring student loan.
(If you’ve never heard of lamb flaps, I don’t blame you. That’s the part that is so ridiculously saturated with fat that it has to be completely removed before the meat is marketable outside the country as “Lean 100% Pure New Zealand Lamb”. They then sell all that fat for dirt cheap to all us empty wallets and stuffed brains.)
Lamb flaps — I’ll have to ask for those, now that we’re buying our meat from local farmers.
I have seen the movie three times and even though I am not over weight I am very interested in eating healthy. I am still confused at times though with what is or is not healthy. Is olive oil products the same as vegetable oil products? Which items have trans fats as opposed to saturated fats? I know that some people who have spent a life time worried about their food will know but for people like myself it would be great to have a sample menu for the week made up complete with recipes. I reckon that would sell heaps of books and be easier to follow.
Olive oil is a natural oil. You can squeeze olives to get the oil. Humans have been consuming olive oil for ages, and it’s good for us. The problematic oils are those that require industrial processing … corn oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, etc. Those are full of omega 6 fats, go rancid easily, oxidize easily, and cause inflammation. Avoid anything that says “hydrogenated” or “partially hydogenated” on the label.
The Protein Power books and the 6 Week Cure for the Middle Age Middle, written by Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades, have lots of recipes.
Fathead is amazing. I’m grateful that some one put this information in such an easy to understand media. And not only made it easy to understand, but made it funny and entertaining as well.
People don’t realize the HUGE impact that hormones play on your body. Fat forms the basis of many endocrine functions in addition to testosterone. But the importance of having healthy test levels cannot be underestimated and goes well beyond just sexual libido. It also plays a role in fat mobilization, body composition, recovery, maintenance and ability to put on lean mass, the prevention of osteo, etc.
And with women it’s also an important hormone, not only because of the great benefits already outlined, but because testosterone also turns into estrogen.
All true. Too bad more health “experts” don’t get it.
Just saw the documentary on Sky in New Zealand. What a mind-changing programme! I have a raised cholesterol level, so have always believed the standard diet - having been warned off avocadoes even (but never followed that advice!) The trouble is that I am vegetarian (by choice) so my choices of foods will be more limited, but will give the low-carbs, fat foods a go.
It’s a bit more a challenge for vegetarians, but it can be done. Saturated fat is an important nutrient, so if you don’t consume butter or eggs, I hope you at least get some coconut oil.
Like other of your comments, my wife and I saw Fat Head on New Zealand TV. Sheeese…what an eye opener. And it makes complete sense.
I used to be a porridge and breakfast cereal freak and getting older and fatter. I was ‘watching’ my fat intake but completely ignoring starch.
My energy is higher now that I’m eating more greens and no (or less) pasta, potatoes, bread and rice. It’s only been a month but in four weeks I have cut out (most carbs) and lost 2KG. My friends haven’t seen your film, and think I’m nuts.
Thanks for the work you’re doing.
Rhys Coffin
Auckland
Some of my friends think I’m nuts too. They mention that after they’re done complaining about hard it is to keep their weight down.
Saw the film here in NZ and - wow!
I have had heart surgery aged 38 (for an aortic dissection and a bicuspid valve) and having survived that (nearly nine hours of surgery as an emergency!) am on Lipex and trying to loose weight.
I now know for a fact that carbs do not suit my metabolism - if I eat lots of bread (which I love) and pasta (ditto) and potatoes (ditto) then I put weight on like crazy.
I can’t cut those things out (I just get hungry if I do!) but I have reduced them (2 slices of wholemeal bread per day, small amount of pots or pasta with dinner) and upped things like meat and cheese.
Weight dropping, I feel better etc etc. I just wish a “no carb” version of bread existed!
Even had a 1/4 lb cheeseburger the other day - and got a funny look for dismantling it and eating only the middle, leaving the bread!
Keep it up - good work.
Sorry to hear you had heart trouble at such a young age, but here’s to your future health. Cutting back on the carbs will only help.
Tom,
You mention on here that kids who were diagnosed with ADD were successfully treated when natural saturated fats were introduced into their diets, because the brain largely consists of fat. I would like to know a little more about this.
What specific type of saturated fat did these kids start eating?
Was this part of a study/experiment?
Also, I have read that the main constituent of the human brain is Omega 3 - specifically an omega 3 derivative called DHA. Omega 3s are polyunsaturated. They aren’t saturated at all. Doesnt the human brain mainly consist of omega 3 DHA? Please explain this.
Can’t find my original links — my hard drive blew a few months ago and I lost quite a few — but here are some articles:
http://stephanie-on-health.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html
http://www.fabresearch.org/view_item.aspx?item_id=1027
I also can’t find anything on the specific makeup of fats in the brain, but of course we know much of the body’s cholesterol is in the brain. Natural fats such as butter, lard and tallow (perhaps “saturated” isn’t the proper word, since much of the fat them isn’t saturated) contain a much better balance of omega 3 to omega 6 than most vegetable oils, which are too high in omega 6.
The brain-fat connection is mentioned in these articles:
http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/fats.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12728744
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/omega-3-000316.htm
The first one, specifically talks about the importance of Omega 3 DHA, especially in growing children and infants. It also talks about balancing the intake of Omega 6 to Omega 3 - as well as the neurological harm in consuming tras fats from processed foods.
Thanks for the links. DHA is yet another reason to eat grass-fed meats, which we do. The girls also like sardines … can’t say I care for them myself.
Have watched the documentary “Fathead” on Sky (NZ) twice as well as taping it and showing it to as many of my friends as I can.
I have always been a believer in natural fats like butter. I never eat margarine. There were times when I tried to eat low-fat, like the Pritiken diet, but never gave up things like butter and nuts and cheese. Have also (like many others) tried the eat fat get thin diet, which we were scared off with the threat of big bad saturated fats.
Years ago I read Adele Davis’s books, and she talks of cutting down on carbohydrate foods to lose weight.
Thanks to Fathead we now know why it was so hard to lose weight on a high carb-low fat diet.
Glad you enjoyed the film, thanks.
Gotta say, I loved the documentary.
But, I have to disagree about something you said in October of 2009:
Most members of the media probably only read the comment section. The study data showed a strong link between trans fats and heart disease, and little or no link between saturated fats or total fat intake and heart disease. It’s right there in the numbers. But here’s what the authors wrote in the comments:
“The general consensus from the evidence currently available is that a reduced consumption of saturated and trans–fatty acids and a higher intake of fruits and vegetables, polyunsaturated fatty acids including omega-3 fatty acids, and whole grains are likely beneficial.”
They just went ahead and lumped saturated fats in with trans fats. Translation: we want to keep our grants.
What was said in the quotes is true, but the media doesn’t just get their info from the comments section. If that were true, then they would have noticed that it said “the general consensus,” and also noticed the following:
Our implementation of the Bradford Hill criteria identified strong evidence that a causal association exists between CHD and intake of vegetables, nuts, monounsaturated fatty acids, foods with a high glycemic index, trans–fatty acids, and overall diet quality or dietary patterns.
If the media got their information from the comments section, they would be reporting that saturated fats are not related to CHD. Instead, the problem lies in the fact that they pick and choose what they want to report, instead of just reporting the truth.
Sorry, I also meant to add that directly after making the “general consensus” statement, they went on to say:
“This is reflected in the revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 from the US Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture.24 However, little direct evidence from RCTs supports these recommendations.”
The authors of the study disagree with the “general consensus.” It’s the media that are picking and choosing what to report.
I just wanted to point out that it’s not the report that’s leading us astray. Nor is it the media reporting the findings of the study. The problem is that the media are reporting a disagreement the authors have with conventional wisdom as findings of the research.
As the famous saying used to be on all those Wendy’s commercials….
“WHERE’S THE BEEF?”
i look forward to seeing the documentary in whole part. i discovered you on youtube. great work!
We’re on Amazon, also on Netflix if you’re a member.
I also think that the more all this TRUTH comes out and people look at the history of how all this came to be. Junk-Science, committees of FDA ruling on some bogus food pyramid, the scam of Nutritionism and manipulating foods and nutrients into fake frankenstein food and all these oils abused in a lab to become a trans-fat, pesticides and chemicals by Monsanto…. and how the govt and FDA and approval of all this goes on while we get sick and fat and tired and sick and fat and tired and……..
the question comes out that maybe arent they just intentionally trying to kill us?
…because true logic says that all this manipulation of food just isnt natural and distorted food=distorted bodies and distorted health
I don’t think they quite want to kill us because then they’d lose customers. But I don’t think they care if we’re healthy or not.