This Pretty Much Explains What Went Wrong

If you want a clear example of a big part of the reason we’ve become a nation full of fat diabetics, take a look at this video from the Wall Street Journal.

“The agency plans to update its definition of healthy for the first time in two decades.”

Yup.  So for at least two decades — and know it’s closer to four decades now — perfectly good foods like avocados and almonds have been labeled “unhealthy” while complete-garbage foods made from sugar and grains have been blessed with the “healthy” label because they’re low in fat.

In fact, of the agency’s five criteria — fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium (“unhealthy”) and beneficial nutrients (“healthy”) — they were dead wrong on four of them.

This video is a year old, but I haven’t heard anything about the FDA changing its definitions yet.  In fact, I just visited the FDA site out of curiosity and found this gem:

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. today. You can use the Nutrition Facts Label to compare foods and decide which ones fit with a diet that may help reduce the risk of heart disease. Choose foods that have fewer calories per serving and a lower %DV of these “nutrients to get less of”

Total Fat
Saturated Fat
Cholesterol
Sodium

Sugar still isn’t on the list.  Processed grains aren’t on the list.  Industrial oils aren’t on the list.

Same old, same old, at least for now.


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81 thoughts on “This Pretty Much Explains What Went Wrong

  1. Randal L. Schwartz

    This continues to sadden me. Monetary decisions override science. Science has been overridden by “well, this has to be true”. AND PEOPLE DIE. Sorry, can’t say anything more but just… sad.

    1. Tom Naughton

      Fortunately, surveys show that fewer and fewer people believe in the government’s dietary advice.

      1. Firebird7478

        Surveys show that fewer and fewer people believe ANYTHING the government tells them!

      2. Barbara K

        Fewer and fewer people don’t believe in the government’s advice but our children’s lunches have to follow those guidelines. There are some extreme cases where the child’s lunch from home is vilified and not allowed.

        1. Tom Naughton

          That’s what government does: imposes rules we don’t want for our own good.

  2. Trevor

    I was wondering: how do you boost your metabolic rate after it’s already been damaged? Do you just eat the right foods and it’ll rebound naturally, or is there something else you have to do in order to manage that?

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      I’m not sure if anyone has done the definitive study on how much a metabolism can be repaired. But certainly eating the right foods is the way to start. Boosting the percentage of protein in your overall diet will also raise your metabolism a bit.

      1. Firebird7478

        Isn’t that part of Jimmy Moore’s issues with his weight? Yo yo dieting permanently damaged his metabolism?

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          I think it’s a combination of factors. Genetics is of course a big one. His mother was obese and regained 100 pounds after bariatric surgery. His older brother was obese and died of heart disease at age 42.

          Jimmy also used to drink a dozen Cokes per day. If that won’t screw up your metabolism, I don’t know what will.

        2. Thomas E.

          I am not an expert, far from. But I do sometimes wonder if we are still in a phase of knowledge gathering were we are still primarily figuring out what we don’t know. And filling in the new gaps as quickly as possible.

          From reading Dr. Cates updated book, Deep Nutrition, it would makes sense that a person who has obese parents, and grand parents already has a food in the epigenetic problem pool. Add in other epigenetic damage from years of bad diet, and you it is possible you wind up with a fairly deep pool of epigenetic problems.

          It is my hope that with years of great nutrition, that from our (this collective community) knowledge it would appear he is doing, he his body will see mini-reboots along his journey.

          Dr. Nally has said a few times that in his clinic he has seen patients plateau for periods up to years, and then all of a sudden start to lose weight and extra skin.

          That is all semi-educated guesswork on my part.

          All I do know is I have to send out a huge thank you to Jimmy, and all of the other people who have stuck their head up to yell to the masses there are problems in the medical world, and likely much better ways to take care of yourself than the powers at be suggest. And with that we circle back to the point of the post.

          At to that point, it will be interesting to see how much of a fight we see in the next few years from these billion dollar companies.

          Speaking of which, another brick in the wall

          https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB790

          http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/05/19/california-pharmaceutical-industry-gifts-doctors/

          As much as I hate to see a government planning to legislate morality/ethics. It would appear doctors need to have a law to keep them placing themselves into a position of conflict of interest.

          1. Tom Naughton Post author

            Well, doctors as a group haven’t had any problem leveraging government to stifle competition, so I won’t cry a river over their conflicts of interest being subject to government oversight.

      2. Trevor

        I’m hoping that we’ll eventually see the obesity rate reverse itself, but it just continues to climb. The only ray of hope is that it’s leveling off in some states. I’ve been reading the reviews of “The Big Fat Surprise” and “Good Calories, Bad Calories”…. damn, these people are furious.

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          With good reason.

          I suspect rates of obesity will eventually drop, but it may take a generation after people realize how bad the Food Pyramid and MyPlate advice is and abandon the hearthealthywholegrains nonsense.

    2. BobM

      You can perform intermittent fasting. This will boost your metabolism. This still takes a while to correct things, and even it may not correct everything.

    3. The Older Brother

      I think fasting deserves a look. “The Complete Guide to Fasting” that Jimmy Moore co-wrote with Jason Fung (who also wrote “The Obesity Code”) makes a good case for fasting being able to help reset insulin sensitivity and other metabolic phenomena.

      Both books have been reviewed here.

      Cheers

    4. Nick S

      You can increase your BMR or base metabolic rate by adding lean muscle (i.e. do strength exercise, even with body weight alone) and by being active in general.

  3. Randal L. Schwartz

    This continues to sadden me. Monetary decisions override science. Science has been overridden by “well, this has to be true”. AND PEOPLE DIE. Sorry, can’t say anything more but just… sad.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Fortunately, surveys show that fewer and fewer people believe in the government’s dietary advice.

      1. Firebird7478

        Surveys show that fewer and fewer people believe ANYTHING the government tells them!

      2. Barbara K

        Fewer and fewer people don’t believe in the government’s advice but our children’s lunches have to follow those guidelines. There are some extreme cases where the child’s lunch from home is vilified and not allowed.

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          That’s what government does: imposes rules we don’t want for our own good.

            1. Tom Naughton Post author

              Because they promise to give us stuff and make other people pay for it.

  4. Bob Parker

    Seems to me that you guys are not clear on what is meant by “healthy”.
    What the FDA means by healthy is a healthy balance sheet for the pharmaceutical corporations. They are simply not interested in any other form of health.

  5. Bob Parker

    Seems to me that you guys are not clear on what is meant by “healthy”.
    What the FDA means by healthy is a healthy balance sheet for the pharmaceutical corporations. They are simply not interested in any other form of health.

  6. LeeAnn

    I found it interesting that the video itself states, “At the urging of food companies and lawmakers, the [FDA] agency plans to update its definition of healthy”…..hm….so tell me…. where is the science? Where is the proof? As you have said, “follow the money’ and you KNOW who is making the decisions that affect the health and lives of the people of this country…..

    1. Tom Naughton

      Yup. The definitions need updating, but they should have been updated because they’re wrong, not because food companies and lawmakers are applying pressure.

      1. Walter Bushell

        They were implemented without evidence and so can be abandoned without evidence.

        [Christopher Hitchens, who, in a 2003 Slate article, formulated it thus: “What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.] Methinks this has been stated many times many ways.

  7. Dianne

    I wonder how many billions of dollars people have spent on trash “food” because they believed government guidelines, and how many more billions have been required to treat the resulting medical conditions. More billions, no doubt, for lost work time and still more billions for diet programs that were doomed to failure from the outset. Of course, no dollar amount could ever be placed on the sheer misery experienced by people who trusted these guidelines. I speak as one who has experienced quite a bit of that misery myself. Thanks again, Tom, for getting me started on the road to better health!

    1. Tom Naughton

      That’s why I want government out of the diet and health business. Look at the wasted taxpayer dollars: first they take our money to subsidize wheat and corn, thus making grain products and high fructose corn syrup ridiculously cheap. Then they take our money to create anti-obesity programs that don’t work … because they’re based on flawed CICO thinking and the belief that more grains = better health. Then they take our money to treat the health problems caused by following their guidelines.

      If this situation doesn’t change, there’s no way we can afford the looming health-care bills. Doesn’t matter if it’s private insurance, Medicare, single-payer national system, whatever. We can’t suck enough money out of the population to pay for medical treatments for a nation full of people with metabolic syndrome.

  8. LeeAnn

    I found it interesting that the video itself states, “At the urging of food companies and lawmakers, the [FDA] agency plans to update its definition of healthy”…..hm….so tell me…. where is the science? Where is the proof? As you have said, “follow the money’ and you KNOW who is making the decisions that affect the health and lives of the people of this country…..

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Yup. The definitions need updating, but they should have been updated because they’re wrong, not because food companies and lawmakers are applying pressure.

      1. Walter Bushell

        They were implemented without evidence and so can be abandoned without evidence.

        [Christopher Hitchens, who, in a 2003 Slate article, formulated it thus: “What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.] Methinks this has been stated many times many ways.

  9. Dianne

    I wonder how many billions of dollars people have spent on trash “food” because they believed government guidelines, and how many more billions have been required to treat the resulting medical conditions. More billions, no doubt, for lost work time and still more billions for diet programs that were doomed to failure from the outset. Of course, no dollar amount could ever be placed on the sheer misery experienced by people who trusted these guidelines. I speak as one who has experienced quite a bit of that misery myself. Thanks again, Tom, for getting me started on the road to better health!

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      That’s why I want government out of the diet and health business. Look at the wasted taxpayer dollars: first they take our money to subsidize wheat and corn, thus making grain products and high fructose corn syrup ridiculously cheap. Then they take our money to create anti-obesity programs that don’t work … because they’re based on flawed CICO thinking and the belief that more grains = better health. Then they take our money to treat the health problems caused by following their guidelines.

      If this situation doesn’t change, there’s no way we can afford the looming health-care bills. Doesn’t matter if it’s private insurance, Medicare, single-payer national system, whatever. We can’t suck enough money out of the population to pay for medical treatments for a nation full of people with metabolic syndrome.

    1. Tom Naughton

      Well, here’s how it works: if the FDA says an avocado is bad and you eat one, it will kill you. But if the FDA changes its guidelines and announces that avocados are healthy, you can eat them with no bad results.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Well, here’s how it works: if the FDA says an avocado is bad and you eat one, it will kill you. But if the FDA changes its guidelines and announces that avocados are healthy, you can eat them with no bad results.

  10. Jamie

    Banging my head on my desk would give me less of a headache than the absolute stupidity that goes into claiming FROSTED flakes are healthier than an avocado.

    1. Tom Naughton

      But … but … there’s NO FAT in the frosting!

      Yup, same logic that led the USDA to ban whole milk in schools while allowing sugar-laden, non-fat chocolate milk.

      1. Jamie

        By that logic twizzlers are part of a healthy diet because they’re fat free. So I can totally eat a whole bag and not have any negative effects to my health, right?

    2. Walter

      Coco Puffs (aka chocolate coated sugar bombs) got the American Heart Association Heart Healthy check mark.

      Now they say 6 teaspoons of sugar max for men and four for women.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      Several showed up. You won’t see them until I approve them. Otherwise the comments section would be full of bogus comments linking to great deals for Viagra, athletic shoes, Gucci purses, and many others.

        1. Tom Naughton Post author

          If I let enough spam go through, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of links to sites willing to take your credit-card information. I doubt you’ll get the purse, though.

          1. Walter Bushell

            Oh, possibly Firebird would get an genuine imitation Gucci purse. If it looks like the real thing, it’s just as good. At Canal Street prices buyers know they aren’t getting the real thing

            I did a double take the first time I saw Land of Lakes fat free Half and Half. Not marked as imitation as it should have been.

            1. Walter Bushell

              But given the intelligence applied to diet by the average American, this needs to be spelled out.

            2. Firebird7478

              “Lactose intolerant milk? If you can’t have milk then what’s in the carton?” ~ Lewis Black

            3. Bonnie

              “genuine imitation Gucci purse”

              I remember an advertisement from years ago for a “genuine faux pearl necklace.” Considering the price, they were depending on people not knowing the meaning of “faux.” Which, come to think of it, is what the government does too. If we’re confused enough, they can get away with anything.

  11. Jamie

    Banging my head on my desk would give me less of a headache than the absolute stupidity that goes into claiming FROSTED flakes are healthier than an avocado.

    1. Tom Naughton Post author

      But … but … there’s NO FAT in the frosting!

      Yup, same logic that led the USDA to ban whole milk in schools while allowing sugar-laden, non-fat chocolate milk.

      1. Jamie

        By that logic twizzlers are part of a healthy diet because they’re fat free. So I can totally eat a whole bag and not have any negative effects to my health, right?

            1. Dianne

              I’m doomed! Tonight’s dinner was a burger patty with salad and half an avocado. I ate the other half avocado with last night’s burger patty. The odd thing is, I feel really good, and I would feel absolutely rotten if I’d eaten Frosted Flakes. Guess I’m just weird that way.

            2. Tom Naughton Post author

              Haven’t you heard? To be healthy, you’re supposed to live your life in misery/

            3. Dianne

              Well, Mother always said “It hurts to be beautiful.” But I thought that was only because she was pulling my hair while twisting it into long ringlets. (That was something you just had to put up with if you were born in ’42.)

    2. Walter

      Coco Puffs (aka chocolate coated sugar bombs) got the American Heart Association Heart Healthy check mark.

      Now they say 6 teaspoons of sugar max for men and four for women.

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