Vision
Where are we?
It is my personal conviction that there are lots of people that can to some extent acquire major health benefits by changing their dietary habits - among other changes...relatively easy!
On this website you'll find 'big and clear' topics like depression, ADHD, obesity, fatigue and schizophrenia. Often there are groups of vague symptoms that won't be easily categorized, like recurrent compulsive thoughts, concentration disorders, eating frenzies, mood changes and all the like...
Apart from my convincing personal experiences, the scientific community also acknowledges that our modern food pyramid may not be as healthy and "logical" as often claimed. For example, the long held lipid hypothesis that still seems to dominate the slimming and weight loss communities as well as dieticians advises, is falling apart rapidly, since new insights dismantle its underlying assumptions and theoretical foundations.
An interesting question is where this has led to and where this is leading us right now...
Example: a 14 year Harvard Group investigation, starring Walter Willett MD, PhD, revealed that there is no relation between dietary intake of fat and cholesterol on the one hand and the risk of a heart attack on the other. Walter Willett is the second most cited publisher of scientific trials in peer reviewed journals. This investigation doesn't stand alone...
There's a huge data bank of meta analyses and studies of different duration about nutrition. It becomes clearer every day, that the excessive intakes of refined carbohydrates and plant based fats and oils cause a myriad of problems. Next generation scientists slowly but surely reveal the misconceptions of the mid 20th century formulated lipid hypothesis, in which saturated fats and cholesterol were portrayed as the supposed culprits of cardiovascular disease.
Rather, the huge amount of empty carbohydrates and the so called polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) are quite likely to be serious detrimental dietary factors.
We tend to take for granted every day that what and how we eat is "normal" and that it has always been this way...but is this true?
Surprising?
If you take into consideration that our close ancestors' diet mainly consisted of vegetables, fish, nuts, seeds and sometimes meat, no. Our biochemistry and physiology are still set to conditions of before the introduction of modern agricultural revolution. While the Agricultural Revolution set in 10,000 years ago, our bodies stayed practically the same in a genetic point of view to a period 20,000 years ago. This has left a big gap between what we eat and what our genes are programmed for. From analyses of the feeding pattern of our Paleolithic ancestors the following data comes to light:
protein intake 19-35%,
fat intake 28-47% and
carbohydrate intake 22-40%.
Seven important parameters of our diet have changed since the Neolithic and Industrial Era:
glycemic load (GL), fatty acid balance, macronutrient balance, density of trace elements, acid-base-balance, Na/K-balance and dietary fiber (1,2).
In the US around 1900 cardiovascular diseases (CVD) were hardly any issue. After the Great PUFA and Trans fat Invasion, and the abolishment of original fats like butter and lard, the incidence of CVD in the form of heart attacks rose sharply. Can this only be traced back to the increase in average age? (3)
Bird's-eye view of my vision
Following, a brief list of the areas of discomfort and disease in modern age in my vision:
we fear the good fats too much and the real bad fats too little
we keep ingesting empty carbs with a myriad of detrimental results like obesity, CVD, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, depression, agression, mental retardation and so on...
we wrongly blame dietary cholesterol for causing CVD
we wrongly blame saturated fats for bad blood cholesterol and CVD
If I were to really briefly sum up my dietary vision, it would look something like this:
reduce the amount of high GI/GL carbohydrates as much as possible
mainly use carbohydrates from vegetables and fruits
reduce your overall intake of carbohydrates
introduce more and healthier fats and oil to youreating patterns
reduce the overall usage of refined products like sodas white breads, ready-to-go meals etcetera
Whoever critically reads the publicly available publications on the epidemic raise of diabetes, obesity, hypoglycemia/hyperglycemia, depression and the alleged dangers of dietary cholesterol and SFAs, will view our so called modern diet with a different perspective...
TIP: if you have negative thoughts on changing your dietary habits, you'll problably not be very successfull. Therefore look inside yourself to find whether you want it, whether you think you can do it and whether you having limiting negative beliefs about changing something in your lifestyle. If your gut tells you it's time to make a change, the do it...don't wait for clinical evidence often coming too late, and do what you have to do...
Mission
It is my mission to inform you on important developments in the field of nutrition and other health issues. Information here is substantiated by scientific research, finished with experiences of my own. Although specific diets are mentioned on this website, I greatly favour independent thinking and 'doing things your own way'.
After all, that's a healthy mentality!
Whatever you decide.....
I wish you lots of health and prosperity!
Bart,
Juli 2005
Sources
Cordain L, Eaton SB, Miller JB, Mann N, Hill K. The paradoxical nature of hunter-gatherer diets: meat-based, yet non-atherogenic. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2002 Mar;56 Suppl 1:S42-52 (studie 28)
Mann NJ. Paleolithic nutrition: what can we learn from the past? Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2004;13(Suppl):S17 (studie 27)
Enig MG, Fallon S. The oiling of America, Nexus Magazine 1999 http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/oiling.html#rise (October 11, 2005)
