Wow, we've been lied to!? - Page 2

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by berry987

My dad, who has followed a low-fat, high carb diet, as prescribed by his doctor, for 25 years (and very well for that matter), now has diabetes, dementia, and high blood pressure. He initially went on it at age 42 because his cholesterol was above 200. Now he is on a cocktail of meds. His health is getting worse, and the doctors are now telling him to cut salt, but it's apparently fine for him to eat those nasty glucerna supplements. And the problem is, I can't get through to him or my mom. They are so brainwashed they think I am nuts. I just keep picturing my dad at 42 - tall, slim, active, healthy - and the doctor reads a lab and changes his whole life for the worse. Tragic.

Along these lines, here's some info that came out last fall -- Apparently a study was done to see which was better at fighting high cholesterol - Zetia (an expensive rx drug) or a Niacin supplement (vit.B3.) Guess which won? Of course, I didn't hear about this until a blog that I subscribe to highlighted it. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, but I can imagine that wasn't easy to do with all the pressure to keep things like this hush-hush.

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/gener...acin-b3/883436

and Berry - sorry to hear about your dad. It really is tragic.

[LauraLoo]

Oh my - it gets even better!!

After the New England Journal study was published in Nov., apparently this new method of combining statin drugs WITH niacin was being promoted. Goodness! And then here's the icing on the cake:

Niacin should only be initiated under the direct supervision of a physician using current cholesterol lowering treatment guidelines that are designed for patient specific clinical scenarios.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ves.html?cat=5

and of course, there's no mention of trying to get natural sources of niacin because the niacin they were promoting was still an rx form.

[mamaofthree]

lauraloo: of coarse! you can't have any natural food based treatments cuz they can't charge you $100.00 a month for it. ugh!

[Laniemama]

Money, money, money, money, money, it is all about the money!

[womenswisdom]

Originally Posted by MamaEli

Don't forget Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes....really answers the WHY and HOW. And what to do next--I think that book has changed my life!

BEST. BOOK. EVER. Seriously changed my life and the way I eat forever. OP, if you want info about how this all came about and the research to back up the truth, read this book.

[mamaofthree]

my library has a copy! i am gonna check it out.

h

[7thDaughter]

I've been pussy-footing around food issues for years. I try a little of this and a little of that and take on what works for us. It's hard to be a purist when dh who is a scientist doesn't care to study nutrition. He's more likely to believe govt scientists than Dear Wifey. Although I can't complain as he eats whatever I put in front of him, but when we food shop I'm always trying to move him away from snacks, colored sugared cereals, canned stuff & preserved stuff that he grew up with. Our son is with him. Kraft Mac & Cheese is better than Mom's homemade. I struggle to minimize the damage. DH doesn't quite get the connection between diet and health -- his family has been struck with cancer twice (but that was just by chance - rare cancers, could have happened to anybody). My current low-grade campaign is to convince him high $ organic foods now = a healthy old age & low health bills later. He just doesn't believe it. He'll read an article published by some govt agency that says a study proves organic is no more nutritious than regular produce, and I'm back on the defensive.

But with the kids I am clear: If you can't read it or pronounce it, when it comes out of a factory instead of from a healthy plant or animal, it doesn't belong in your body. When they bring a powdered drink mix to me, I just hand it back and say read the label. They put it back on the shelf. I occasionally make exceptions (mac & cheese) but the general rule is pretty clear. I tell them if even the bugs and mold don't want it, it's not real food! They get that.

[geekgolightly]

7th Daughter,

Buy Good Calories Bad Calories for your DH. If anything will convert him to a healthier way of eating, it will be that book. My husband is the same way.

It won't convince him of organic though. I am looking for papers that prove that for DH, because he says the same your DH does about it.

[serenbat]

Buy Good Calories Bad Calories

I just gave this as a gift yesterday and I am expecting magic to happen!!

It's THE BOOK to read!!!!

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by serenbat

I just gave this as a gift yesterday and I am expecting magic to happen!!

It's THE BOOK to read!!!!

It's a great book, and terrific for the scientists.

BUT there is a drawback. It's about nutrition science, but it doesn't really prescribe any diet. I'm not asking for a "Better health in 12 easy steps" kind of book, but I like Michael Pollan's stuff because he does tell you what to eat (and convincingly explains why). With Gary Taubes you have to read it and then take it a step further yourself to decide what to eat.

So ultimately the point of Taubes's book is "The prevailing wisdom you read in Redbook and Reader's Digest and the advice you get from your family doctor is based on bad science. I'll prove to you that the science is bad, and explain a bit about how the bad science came to be accepted and promoted." And while you can read between the lines to say "ok, fat is good and necessary, and sugar and white flour is killing us" he doesn't go into explaining what ratio of macronutrients might be ideal, what types of fats to seek, etc.

[7thDaughter]

I'll order it from Amazon. My mom had us eating yogurt before it was cool -- early 60's -- she read Adele Davis and raised a large family on one salary and we're all non vaxed, free of allergies & obesity, though things like arthritis are creeping in. Next gen hasn't been so fortunate, but still above average healthwise -- no ADHD in her grandkids yet, but allergies showing up. Dr. Preston's book on generational breakdown put my mom's work and mine into perspective, esp when I see what's happening to families around us.

I love Mothering's forums. People here get it.

[Quickbeam]

Factory farming is a money maker, plain and simple. For me and my family, TF is as much about doing things on a small, human scale as it is about avoiding disease.

The two things the "diet dictocrats" and the TF folks agree on is that white flour and refined sugar are killing us, and that whole foods are the way to wellness. Neither of these positions please the factory food lobbyists.

[organicmidwestmama]

Originally Posted by MamaEli

Don't forget Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes....really answers the WHY and HOW. And what to do next--I think that book has changed my life!

it is a fantastic, important book on the subjects of diet, modern peoples health problems, govornment control of food and medicine all in one.