Welcome to The Real Skinny on Health, a newsletter dedicated to your well-being. Our goal is to inform and support you on your journey to health. I know you will enjoy this issue, so let's get started!
Are you ready to crush it this week?
There’s a little secret I’m about to share with you that will motivate you to crush something else…
... a worn-out way of thinking that’s been dunked in flour, sprinkled with sugar and then spoon fed to you in “value size” proportions since you were a kid.
What am I talking about?
The good old Food Pyramid!
You used to see it everywhere from cereal boxes to milk cartons. It was all around you: beckoning you to eat 6 to 11 servings of grains a day for your own good.
But somewhere between the cereal and bread aisles, this “holy grail” of dietary advice took a really bad turn. The aftermath is haunting your health and that of your family ‘til this day.
Your Wellness Warrior
"His depression lifted. He said it was like someone turned a light switch on in his brain the day he started the coconut oil."
— Dr. Mary Newport, Neonatologist
Nutrition Advice from the Government:
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
By Naomi Whittel
The Food Pyramid was originally designed with the best of intentions. All the government really wanted was a nutritional guideline to help families like yours avoid chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
But just like a lot of other things designed by a government committee it ended up doing a whole lot more harm than good. The Department of Agriculture wanted you to live your best life… by eating lots and lots of bread, cereal, crackers and pasta.
Hence that’s where the problems started.
You see, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was created for one reason and one reason alone. To protect and promote the interests of our nation’s farming industry. Let that sink in a second.
The department responsible for the architecture of the Food Pyramid is also the very same department tasked with helping big farms to continue to receive subsidies for growing all the food that lies at the very bottom (the biggest part!) of the Food Pyramid.
Their vision, plucked right out of the official USDA website: “…to provide economic opportunity through innovation, helping rural America to thrive…”
Talk about a conflict of interest.
But if you find that even remotely shocking you’re going to be completely befuddled by what I’m going to tell you next.
A Dubious Role Model
We take a lot of pride in the fact that for decades the U.S. has been a champion in scientific and medical research. Just think of what we’ve accomplished throughout dozens of industries with cutting-edge research and new technology.
So why in the world do the principles behind the Food Pyramid, which influence the groceries you buy, what children eat at school and how you snack, grossly lack in scientific evidence and support from the medical community?
It’s quite something when you consider it. It’s even more stark when you take into consideration what some of the brightest medical minds, as well as those close to the issue, have to say about the harm done:
“Despite being controversial recommendations based on weak scientific evidence, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) created in 1980 a food pyramid and placed carbohydrates at its base. This national nutritional experiment contributed, as we know now, to the increased prevalence of obesity.”
—Osama Hamdy, Medical Director, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Nutrition Revolution: The End of the High Carbohydrates Era for Diabetes Prevention and Management, January 11, 2015.
“Despite our evidence-based review lens where we say that food policies are ‘science based,’ in reality we often let our personal biases override the scientific evidence… it may be time for a new approach to dietary guidance in the United States.”
—Joanne Slavin, University of Minnesota, former member of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Nutrition and Policy (2015)
It's true that the Food Pyramid no longer exists as we used to know it. The powers that be have turned it into a dinner plate and adjusted the portions just a little...even though they call it "progress" it's still extremely flawed. Many of the architects, loyalties and founding principles remain untouched.
As it still promotes eating habits that put people on a path toward obesity and heart disease — a path of destruction.
This, from the editor of a peer-reviewed medical journal:
“These guidelines are hugely influential, affecting diets and health around the world. The least we would expect is that they be based on the best available science. Instead the committee has abandoned standard methodology, leaving us with the same dietary advice as before — low fat, high carbs. Growing evidence suggests that this advice is driving rather than solving the current epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The committee’s conflicts of interest are also a concern. We urgently need an independent review of the evidence and new thinking about diet and its role in public health.”
—Dr. Fiona Godlee, Editor in Chief, The BMJ, The BMJ,
September 24, 2015.
America’s high-carb/low-fat obsession has affected the health and waistlines outside its borders, as other countries seek to emulate the American way, sadly, in the worst way.
Mexico is a prime example of this type of terrible “American culture trickle down”.
For centuries Mexico subsisted on fiber-rich beans, hearty meat and vegetable broths, and hand-made stoneground tortillas and tamales. These were their primary sources of nutrition and nourishment, and the Mexican culture remained a pretty healthy one.
But, as political trade agreements gave way to an influx of cheaper, low-fat, grain-based, nutrient-depleted, American-made processed foods, Mexicans experienced a health crisis of their own. Obesity rates tripled from 7% in 1980 to 20.3% in 2016!
A Real Model for Success
We now know that simply drawing a geometric shape and stuffing food categories into it isn’t really helping anyone get healthier, whether it’s a pyramid or a plate.
But there are cultures, outside the overly processed aisles of your closest grocery store, that are actually doing nutrition and health the right way without overthinking it.
And there’s one very significant difference between the foods we consume on a daily basis when compared to other parts of the world. It all boils down to one little word.
FAT.
Nordic, Mediterranean and Japanese diets are among the healthiest in the world, full of fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, and select grains. Line up typical dishes from each region and they’ll look nothing alike ...
... except for the inclusion of certain sources and types of fat such as from fatty, oily fish, whole-milk dairy, olives and nuts.
And because of how they consume fat, these cultures also enjoy lower rates of disease and inflammation compared to the U.S.
The fascinating and unfortunate truth is that fat got a bad rap long ago, at a time when it became convenient to demonize an entire macronutrient. In the 1980s, heart disease was claiming lives at a rapid rate and the nation had to do something about it.
At the time, a landmark study pointed to fat — all fats — as the culprit, along with sodium and cholesterol. Many of the nutritious foods we share with the healthiest, fat-loving countries around the world were relegated to only small sections of the pyramid.
WHAT IF OUR FOOD PYRAMID LOOKED LIKE THIS?
Reverse the Curse
We’ve got to get outside entities with pockets to pad out of our kitchens once and for all.
Lobbyists with billions, big food companies and politicians all have something to gain by telling you what to eat regardless of how it harms your health.
It’s your turn to take back control and actually eat in a way that supports your body and how it was meant to function.
The best place to start?
Add more fat.
Fat is a vital nutrient that helps build the health of cell membranes and is used by the body to produce energy.
The government will keep churning out their own “recommendations” and guidelines, but it’s time for you to DO YOU!
Here’s how to get started:
Eat good fats, naturally occurring ones from fatty sources like avocados, coconuts, olives, seeds and nuts. They contain omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that satisfy cravings and hunger.
Don’t skim, as in skim milk. Enjoy whole milk and other full-fat dairy, butter, cream cheese, yogurt, you name it. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and there’s evidence its saturated fat has no link to long-term heart disease.
Eat to burn, by consuming foods that burn fat instead of storing it as body fat. Coconuts are a winner, because they contain the highest amount of MCTs, medium-chain triglycerides, that the body burns instantly as fuel.
Eat your meat, the best quality you can afford. Grass-fed meat, for instance, is more nutritious and contains antioxidants not found in factory meat. This goes for other animal poultry too, such as organic poultry and wild-caught fish.
As for the government’s daily recommendation of grain — follow the same rule of thumb as above. Keep them whole, natural and unrefined. The less you fool with Mother Nature, the better off your health will be.
Research shows that swapping out carbohydrates for healthy fats in the morning results in improved metabolic profiles — regulated blood sugar levels, lowered body fat, improved cardiac health, increased energy, improved sleep, and fewer cravings!
The importance of when you eat also accounts for carbohydrates.
I encourage you to eat carbohydrates last. This means both at the end of your meals but also save your carbs for later in the day.
The reason for this is due to a metabolic process called Ketosis. It’s a physiological state in which your body uses fat as fuel in the absence of carbohydrate.
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