In 2016, UK Dr. David Unwin, an ordinary UK GP, won the NHS innovator of the year award for his treatment approach to Type-2 diabetes patients using low-carbohydrate (low-carb) diets and putting many patient’s disease into remission. You can find his free low-carb infographics here https://phcuk.org/sugar/ In the USA, Virta Health (www.virtahealth.com) is treating thousands of patients with low-carb diets, and reversing obesity and type-2 diabetes. Dr. Eric Westman, (ericwestmanmd.com), in his clinic at Duke University, is helping hundreds of patients lose weight, and reverse their diabetes. He has detailed this in his book ‘End your Carb Confusion’. Diabetes Australia has partnered with Defeat Diabetes, (defeatdiabetes.com.au) to provide education on low-carbohydrate diets and provide support for thousands of people who have achieved their medical goals of loosing weight and reversing diabetes.
The above results, and many more, are showing everyone that low-carb diets are safe and healthy. So why do we regularly see reports that suggest low-carb diets are dangerous?
When people go on a low-carb diet, they typically reduce the level of ultra-processed foods, sugar and grain based foods that they eat. These are the very foods that make up the bulk of the profits for large food manufacturers. The US government subsidizes sugar and grain prices, making the profit margins high for food items made from these ingredients. Think packaged foods, cereals, flour, corn, and everything made from these such as bread, pastry, pizza, cookies, biscuits, taco’s, cake, soda, corn chips and thousands of other items.
It is hardly surprising that manufacturers of these products continue to fund studies that challenge the low-carb success. This is the same type of approach tobacco companies used when it was first suggested smoking was causing lung cancer and heart disease. We have seen huge numbers of these industry funded studies exposed as junk science. In 1965 the Sugar Research Foundation paid 3 Harvard University scientists to create studies that shifted the blame for heart disease away from sugar and onto fat. See https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html
Pharmaceutical companies are also challenged by patients taking back their health, because a patient that reverses their type-2 diabetes or reduces their medication spends less on drugs from then on, possibly for the rest of their life. They also fund studies, causing confusion, to stem the tide of patients taking back their health. I understand that a high proportion of research funding comes from these sources and they expect favorable results.
What about the agencies that are supposed to be supporting people with diabetes or heart disease such as the American Diabetes Association (ADA) or the American Heart Association (AHA). Surely they are promoting these dietary approaches if they are so successful. Unfortunately, they seem to be caught up in a funding web which prevents them from admitting to these benefits. For the record The Huffington Post (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/health-news_b_4398304) reported in 2013 that the AHA received US $151 million from sponsors including large drug manufacturers and food manufacturers. The ADA website lists many drug makers as corporate sponsors. Universities are caught up in the same trap and many doctors seem trapped, adhering to a standard of care that they don’t believe but, may be de-registered for opposing. See the story of Dr Gary Fettke in Australia. Back in 2019, when I asked a NZ doctor about a low-carb diet for myself, his answer was, “Even if I thought it was the best thing for you, I could not recommend it”.
Media can be conflicted as they may lose significant advertising revenue if they promote articles or documentaries that question the standard nutrition advice possibly casting their advertisers products in a bad light. Maryanne Demasi found this out while working for ABC. It is suggested that an important motivation for spending on advertising is not to develop customers but to be able to exert control over the total media content. Sports teams may lose sponsorship money if they reveal that their players are not really using the products they are seen advertising, which could reveal their supposed endorsement to be a lie.
Even the individual professionals we trust for medical, health and nutrition advice can be providing poor guidance because of the education they have received which is based on flawed information both from teaching professionals and captured educational material. Robert Ludlum MD just released his book, ‘The Lies I Taught in Medical School’ and Dr Ken Berry has released a book, ‘Lies My Doctor Told Me’.
Low-carb diets work well in most people but, it will be many years before we see them supported by the organizations and groups we mistakenly believe are looking out for us. The change will only come from the grass-roots. In the interim we will be continually bombarded by junk science and messages designed to cause confusion and dissuade us from even trying this. A suggested guide when looking at research is to follow the money.
Go to www.takebackyrhealth.com for free nutrition guidance. Personal consulting available. Seek professional medical advice before making dietary changes, particularly if on medication.
Good health, George Elder, Diet Research Reviewer, Diploma in Nutrition.
“The greatest thing you can do for your health, is eat better.”
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