An interesting article

A college colleague posted this article on Facebook yesterday. Give it a read: The Worst Lies That Mainstream Nutrition Has Told You.

I read it and was going, "Uh-huh." "Yep." "I agree." for pretty much all of it. Then I went to read some of the comments and they are all over the place.

Now, I'm not going to say that this was a great article and that there isn't still some controversy out there, but more and more and more stuff is coming to light that the low fat, high carb diet (plus being sedentary) is what is doing us in and making us fatter. I'm curious how long it will take for it to become more mainstream.

And, through my own trials of losing weight and getting healthier, I've pretty much found that this way of eating that is the best for me. Though, it's not the gluten that gets me - but the simple carbs of any grains that get me. Although, perhaps gluten/wheat does affect my system somewhat is I do break out more, my gut behaves less efficiently, etc.

We have it in our heads that fats are bad and that eating saturated fats make our hearts unhealthy and our arteries clog. It's not that simple. If people moved more they would find they could eat whatever they wanted and would be in perfect health. That, and it is being shown that eating higher carb diets lead to higher cholesterol - bad cholesterol. It's not from eating a higher cholesterol diet.

When I was eating a high carb, low fat diet, my cholesterol level was around 200 and the breakdown was borderline bad. Now that I eat lower carb (under 100 net grams of carbs a day) with high fat and higher protein diet, my cholesterol is 170ish and with a great good/bad breakdown. My fasting blood sugar is way better. My blood pressure is way better and I feel way better. It's a combo of diet and exercise.

Carbs taste good, are easy and cheap. That is the big issue. It costs more to get a bigger piece of meat/dairy and lots of vegetables. It was cheaper when we ate a big side of rice or potatoes, a big portion of veggies and then a small portion of protein.

Although it wasn't my intention, but almost all of us in my family has lowered their carb intake with my diet. Since I'm the cook, I just make less of that fluff (and it is mostly fluff) and make more of the green stuff and proteins - adding in more nuts, soy, dairy, eggs and beans. AND adding in more fat - roasting vegetables in the oven with olive oil, or with a bit of chopped pancetta, etc. It tastes freaking fantastic and it's healthier. We are getting more nutrients and less fluffy stuff that only filled our stomachs and filled them temporarily. We have less need for snacking (which tends to be the unhealthy stuff too for most of us, right?)

Not all people are sensitive to sugars and simple carbs, but many of us are. That's another thing we need to get into our heads. We are all different and how and what we eat can be different too. If a person can eat a high carb diet with bread and rice and sweets and maintain their weight and have good blood results, then great. But many of us can't without getting into that craving sweets/carbs mode.  My mother in law has an incredible sweet tooth, but she can deal with it. For me? That would be a disaster to eat like that as it used to be and will be again if I ever go back to it. So, I've found another way to eat and it's what's mentioned in the article and boy, is it easier than ever to not overeat.