David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Diet and Fats
Wellbeing and Health
July 9, 2009
The diet wars don?t show any sign of going away any time soon. There is much conflicting advice around.
I think this has the unfortunate consequence of people not trusting their own taste and judgement and relying on experts. All this seems to be underpinned by the assumption that people are inclined to behave like naughty children who should follow the advice of those who know best. This is very unfortunate ? with all the complexity involved in our diet (budget, location, preferences and allergies, and culture to name only a few variables) it is very unlikely that we will ever find someone else?s diet that will suit us perfectly. My answer is to start paying attention to what you do eat and how it affects you (the best way I have found to do this is to keep a food diary).
The following two links are to articles that question the bad attitude to fats that is so prevalent in some dietary advice at the moment.
The first is a link to a transcript of a radio broadcast. The show, Health Report, is on Australian ABC radio (the equivalent of the British BBC, the Canadian CBC and the US Public Radio). It is about the type of fat we eat rather than a low fat diet. It was broadcast ten years ago but is still very valuable.
The second is to an article from the New York Times about the controversy surrounding the Atkins Diet. It is called What If It Has All Been A Big Fat Lie?. The Atkins Diet is a low-carbohydrate rather than low-fat diet. It is also fairly old but still very relevant.
It looks like a diet high in particular kinds of fats (e.g., olive oil) can be quite healthy.
See also:
Wellbeing and Health
July 9, 2009
The diet wars don?t show any sign of going away any time soon. There is much conflicting advice around.
I think this has the unfortunate consequence of people not trusting their own taste and judgement and relying on experts. All this seems to be underpinned by the assumption that people are inclined to behave like naughty children who should follow the advice of those who know best. This is very unfortunate ? with all the complexity involved in our diet (budget, location, preferences and allergies, and culture to name only a few variables) it is very unlikely that we will ever find someone else?s diet that will suit us perfectly. My answer is to start paying attention to what you do eat and how it affects you (the best way I have found to do this is to keep a food diary).
The following two links are to articles that question the bad attitude to fats that is so prevalent in some dietary advice at the moment.
The first is a link to a transcript of a radio broadcast. The show, Health Report, is on Australian ABC radio (the equivalent of the British BBC, the Canadian CBC and the US Public Radio). It is about the type of fat we eat rather than a low fat diet. It was broadcast ten years ago but is still very valuable.
The second is to an article from the New York Times about the controversy surrounding the Atkins Diet. It is called What If It Has All Been A Big Fat Lie?. The Atkins Diet is a low-carbohydrate rather than low-fat diet. It is also fairly old but still very relevant.
It looks like a diet high in particular kinds of fats (e.g., olive oil) can be quite healthy.
See also:
