The Wildly, Outrageously Bad Science The American Diet Has Been Based On
That terribly bad science -- the work of researcher Ancel Keys -- is what the American diet has been based on for decades, and what has been making Americans fat, diabetic, and dead.
Tom D. Naughton writes at Fat Head about the supposedly 13,000 people Keys supposedly surveyed. But it turns out there weren't 13,000, but far, far, far less:
Keys followed the health of more than 300 men from Crete. But he only surveyed 31 of them, with one of those surveys taken during the meat-abstinence month of Lent. Oh, and the original seven-day food-recall records weren't available later, so he swapped in data from an earlier paper. Then to determine fruit and vegetable intake, he used data sheets about food availability in Greece during a four-year period.And from this mess, he concluded that high-fat diets cause heart attacks and low-fat diets prevent them.
Keep in mind, this is one of the most-cited studies in all of medical science. It's one of the pillars of the Diet-Heart hypothesis. It helped to convince the USDA, the AHA, doctors, nutritionists, media health writers, your parents, etc., that saturated fat clogs our arteries and kills us, so we all need to be on low-fat diets - even kids.
Per Gary Taubes' "Good Calories, Bad Calories" it is carbohydrates -- sugar, flour, starchy vegetables like potatoes, apple juice -- that cause the insulin secretion that puts on fat.
Nina Teicholz on my radio show on why butter, meat, & cheese are the foundation of a healthy diet. Her excellent book on the subject: The Big Fat Surprise.
Hands: How many in this forum regard their diet as composed by science? How many'd want to? What percentage of it?
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at July 23, 2014 12:42 AM
My diet criteria pretty much consists of the following:
-Was it frozen BEFORE I purchased it?
-Will it make me feel bloated and heavy?
-Does it require more than a reasonable amount of seasoning to make it palatable?
-Does the packaged food (that's advertised as 'healthy') cost more and contain more calories and sugar than the ingredients would if I made it myself?
-Did it require more than the minimal amount of 'processing'?
If the answer to any of these questions is "yes", then the odds are good that I'm not eating it.
I'll never completely give up pizza and pasta because I genuanely enjoy them on occasion. I don't really like sweets so I have those as a special treat instead and make everything myself, including the dough. That way I know exactly whats in it and can control the portions. If I know I'm gonna eat either for dinner, I tend to load up on veggies for most of the day so I don't overload.
Sabrina at July 23, 2014 6:25 AM
> Hands: How many in this forum regard their diet
> as composed by science? How many'd want to? What
> percentage of it?
To start, anyone who is a serious athlete.
Snoopy at July 23, 2014 6:28 AM
It just goes to show that an awful lot of "research" in the social sciences is crap. (And yes, under the current circumstances, nutrition falls under the social sciences.) Truth is, other than a few obvious cases of over-consumption that fall under the "dose makes the poison" category, we have little idea what a good diet or a bad diet is. Taubes does have some good stuff indicating that over-consumption of sugars and starches causes probelms, but again it's not that that wasn't known already -- the question is where the dividing line between "okay" and "too much" is.
Cousin Dave at July 23, 2014 6:54 AM
Regarding the low-fat thing for kids: It irritates me that I can't seem to find small containers of yogurt that aren't low-fat and flavored. (I know, I know -- first-world problem.)
My daughter is 18 months old and loves plain yogurt. She's tiny, so I pack as many non-processed-sugar calories into her diet as she'll eat. I've been mostly making my own yogurt for a while. Now I've started filling silicone tubes with plain yogurt. The stores seem to think kids need low-fat yogurt flavored with all kinds of crap.
MonicaP at July 23, 2014 7:02 AM
It just goes to show that an awful lot of "research" in the social sciences is crap. (And yes, under the current circumstances, nutrition falls under the social sciences.) Truth is, other than a few obvious cases of over-consumption that fall under the "dose makes the poison" category, we have little idea what a good diet or a bad diet is. Taubes does have some good stuff indicating that over-consumption of sugars and starches causes probelms, but again it's not that that wasn't known already -- the question is where the dividing line between "okay" and "too much" is.
Posted by: Cousin Dave at July 23, 2014 6:54 AM
It isn't just the social sciences. Most of medical research is.based on similar small sample sizes, faulty assumptions, and an inability to establish causation, as opposed to co morbidity factors.
Our individual genetic makeup is so varied,finding a diet that works for you as you age, is a matter of trial and error.
The only thing I know for sure, is you probably can't go wrong eliminating sugary beverages, and quite a bit of the bread from your diet.
I also tend to avoid things that are overly processed. I seem to get an allergic reaction to the preservatives they put in pre packaged snacks, and canned goods.
Isab at July 23, 2014 7:12 AM
Eliminate sugar and flour from your diet. This is what good science says.
Also, per dietary researcher Dr. Jeff Volek, see that you eat sufficient fat to balance out the protein. A lot of fat.
I like Dr. Michael Eades as a source for science. He does what author Denise Minger talked about as a way for people who don't know how to vet science can see what the deal is -- he lays out a detailed explanation about what is or isn't good about a particular study.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/
Amy Alkon at July 23, 2014 7:26 AM
@MonicaP
Yes, the difficulty finding whole milk yogurt for kids (or adults) is very frustrating.
What do you use to make yogurt? I've been toying with the idea. Because I wouldn't mind some flavor but store-bought flavors have too much sugar. I sometime mix flavored with plain.
Katrina at July 23, 2014 7:43 AM
Katrina: I usually make plain yogurt, but sometimes I add honey or maple syrup, or even just a handful of berries. A little flavor goes a long way.
Yogurt is easy to make. You can buy a yogurt maker, which is really just a heated, insulated container. I wish now that I'd bought the 2-quart size, because we consume a ton now that the weather is warm (in smoothies). There are also some cultures that don't require heat.
I buy from http://www.culturesforhealth.com/, but there are lots of places online that offer similar stock. You can buy one-shot packages of bacteria from most supermarkets, but if you buy the heirloom culture, you can re-culture batch after batch.
MonicaP at July 23, 2014 8:04 AM
I personally like the Greek Gods Plain traditional yogurt the best. You have to look for it among their various other labels.
It is full fat. Comes in a large container, but I rarely have any go bad.
I add blueberries, and coconut powder.
I do not eat cereal at all anymore. Starting my day with a carb heavy breakfast left me hungry all day, and craving more carbs.
Isab at July 23, 2014 8:17 AM
I also can't find individual portions of whole-milk yogurt- or even 2%- at my grocery store. I usually get the bigger tubs of the whole greek stuff, then add what I want later. (Blueberries and maybe a sprinkle of truvia for me, honey or granola or berries for the kid.) I'm not looking forward to packing lunches when kindergarten starts in a year; I can't imagine all the crap she's going to try to get us to pack for her, once she knows it exists. (Her daddy will get her Little Debbies and oreos and fruit roll-ups and capri suns; luckily I do most of the "snack" shopping.)
ahw at July 23, 2014 10:43 AM
Everyone wants an easy solution. Let's replace our starchy diets with lots of fat! Fat good! Eat all the fat you want and you won't be overweight even if fat does have 9 calories per gram...
EVERY piece of nutrition advice needs to be taken with a grain of salt (but no sodium overload please). I'm not going to take the advice of Tom Naughton (a professional blowhard) or Gary Taubes (a journalist who infamously cherry-picks his research to suit the conclusions he wants to make). Here is a much more balanced view of fats by someone with an actual PhD in nutrition science. http://www.precisionnutrition.com/research-review-balancing-fats
People just need to stop focusing on one nutrient as either the savior or the devil.
Rachel at July 23, 2014 11:42 AM
The only whole milk yogurt I can find at the store is YoBaby, but I'm not convinced it's what I would consider healthy either. I used to make my own, but most in my house didn't care for it because it was pretty tart.
BunnyGirl at July 23, 2014 12:02 PM
Everyone wants an easy solution. Let's replace our starchy diets with lots of fat! Fat good! Eat all the fat you want and you won't be overweight even if fat does have 9 calories per gram...
Of course you cant pig out, sit on the coach, and not gain weight. We all know that.
More recent studies tend to indicate that we metabolize fat differently than we do carbs. Fat leaves you feeling full, not lethargic and also doesn't convert instantly to glucose, raising your insulin levels and packing on the pounds.
A good amount of fat in your diet will generally cause you to to consume fewer total calories, because you wont feel starved after the sugar rush goes away.
So yea, calories count, but not as much as you think they do.
I don't really care how much I weigh. What I care about is not becoming diabetic, by the time I am 65 the way my mother did. I also want to be healthy enough to enjoy my life until I am close to death.
I don't intend to live my life without even consuming another cookie again, but ignoring the government's recommendations for a high starch low fat diet, is a good start, because frankly they are full of crap, especially about how to feed your kids.
I call a low fat, high carb diet, the cancer diet, because it leaves most people short of the fat soluble vitamins, and minerals they need to maintain both their overall health and their immune system.
Isab at July 23, 2014 12:50 PM
> Gary Taubes (a journalist who infamously
> cherry-picks his research to suit the conclusions
> he wants to make).
Any supporting evidence for this?
Snoopy at July 23, 2014 1:09 PM
@MonicaP
Thanks. I was looking for yogurt makers on Amazon but there were so many mixed reviews on them and couldn't decide.
Katrina at July 23, 2014 1:28 PM
Katrina: I have a 1-quart Salton. It's a good little heater. Honestly, it's so uncomplicated that unless you get a dud out of the box, I can't imagine anything going wrong with it for a while. You might be able to figure something out with a low-heating slow cooker, an oven or something else, but all the other methods I read about were a pain in the ass.
MonicaP at July 23, 2014 1:57 PM
Miguelitosd at July 23, 2014 2:55 PM
Gary Taubes (a journalist who infamously cherry-picks his research to suit the conclusions he wants to make).
He's anything but that.
Furthermore, the fact that someone has a Ph.D. is not reason to be impressed by their research. "He has a degree!" Really? I discover constant errors and viciously bad methodology from other people with Ph.Ds.
Amy Alkon at July 23, 2014 5:13 PM
"It isn't just the social sciences. Most of medical research is.based on similar small sample sizes, faulty assumptions, and an inability to establish causation, as opposed to co morbidity factors."
That's true. When it's my turn to be President for a day, I am going to ban all government funding for epistomological studies of any sort. Cause and effect, baby.
Cousin Dave at July 24, 2014 7:12 AM
Regarding the diet advice Amy advocates:
There are two winning arguments, for me. One that I *never* have to even think about calories. I am able to eat until I feel fed, and stop, and never consider how much (e.g. "how many calories") I consumed. The other is that I feel fabulous. I am on no meds, I have no achey/pains, my menses are regular, I have lots of energy, I sleep well, my mood is just that much better - it gets boring listing all the ways it helps me feel good.
The hard thing is the same hard thing on any diet, which is the availability and cost of crap-snacks. I have fallen down the slippery slope, and I'm climbing back out. But that is less to do with the choice of which diet (no reputable diet encourages you to make crap-snacks your primary source of nutrition), and more to do with laziness and lack of time. I feel much less fabulous at the moment, and I realize after eating well for a few years, how much worse I feel now when I eat whatever is easy and tasty. Crid asked who would want to regard their diet as composed by science, and my response is that you gotta decide between short-term and long-term happiness.
If I do spend the time to shop and cook, I will choose the foods Amy describes. I have tried many, many diets that only sorta-work, and this way of eating feels fundamentally different to me.
flbeachmom at July 24, 2014 9:02 AM
Amy, don't bring down your good common sense reputation by publishing absolute silliness like that of Tom D. Naughton (above). Whether the study he criticizes it is a good study or a bad one, it is a SINGLE STUDY which pretty much mean little when it comes to solid science. Please don't give this type of foolishness the time of day. There is good, reliable, scientific dietary information available but unfortunately it get surrounded by a lot of horse manure.
Michael at July 24, 2014 3:35 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/07/23/the_wildly_outr.html#comment-4874694">comment from MichaelUgh, Michael -- I look for a BODY OF WORK on a subject and there certainly is one. And thanks, I don't need coaching on proper study vetting from blog commenters.
Tom D. Naughton is quite good on science.
And this isn't a "single study" -- it's a debunking of the crap that is Ancel Key's work. Teicholz does that in her book in great detail.
Feel completely free to point out the "silliness" in Tom D. Naughton's post -- lest you look like a guy with an agenda against him, low-carb, etc., perhaps because you're a friend to bunnies or work at a company that produces a lot of products made out of sugar and flour.
Amy Alkon at July 24, 2014 3:41 PM
Nah, no agenda here, there's just a lot of food BS out there and sometimes I get tired of it. But hey, I'm just an aging carpenter, who had his 62 year old heart tested a few days ago and was told I have the fitness and heart of someone in his 40s (MHR 180). How do I do it? Lots of exercise, fresh fruit, piles of veggies, lean meat, and a good woman. Eat lean, eat low (low on the food chain that is)
Michael at July 24, 2014 6:37 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2014/07/23/the_wildly_outr.html#comment-4875497">comment from MichaelMichael, you eat according to dietary hearsay if you eat lean meat (unless you have, say, a fucked up allele, and it doesn't sound like you do).
Dietary researcher Dr. Jeff Volek talked on my show about how essential it is to eat a lot of fat to balance the protein (meatfat, I'm talking about).
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/amyalkon/2012/07/02/advice-goddess-radio-amy-alkon
Fruit is ill-advised -- filled with sugar.
Why are you giving dietary advice and disparaging Naughton when you clearly have no idea what the science says.
PS There's a saying in epidemiology, "The plural of anecdote is not data." Just a guess, but probably like me, you are probably genetically lucky in terms of the effect of food on your body. You prefer to attribute this to your choices. My boyfriend could eat the diet you do and put on weight.
You know, I never give advice on car mechanics and I never blog about global warming. I'm entirely out of my element in those areas and I know it. It's astonishing to me how many people feel free as anything to pontificate on just anything.
I suggest you listen to my show with Nina Teicholz -- you might learn a few things.
Amy Alkon at July 24, 2014 10:02 PM
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