To think that a carb heavy diet is best for some people?

[Darlingdahlia]

Or at least for me?! I find that when I eat lots of carbs I feel all the things that other people claim to feel when they give them up. I have much more energy, can maintain my weight and don't get hungry. When I cut them out I feel exhausted, tired and very grumpy. I exercise an awful lot, running or doing an interval workout daily plus walking 4 or 5 miles a day pushing a buggy, so that's possibly why I need lots of carbs, and I'm a slim size 10. The vast majority of my carbs are from complex carbs, ie whole grains, oats, brown rice, fruit, veg etc. I feel great on a relatively low fat, low protein diet, although I always eat full fat yoghurt etc rather than low fat options; basically try to opt for least processed food options without additives where possible but do eat too much chocolate. Rarely eat any other junk food. I find the anti carbohydrate trend a bit faddish and I just don't think it works well to cut carbs if you're very active.

You should write that book, therealslimshady1. YANBU, OP.

All civilisations eat a basic carb to survive. We are now lucky enough to have lots of different carbs to choose from.

The problem is the amount people eat, and slavish adherence to mealtimes, oh and "snacking".

Just eat exactly what you want but only when you're hungry.

ASD hurrah, at last the message is spreading as far as the NHS

Red meat is not a proven health risk. Nutritional science is really not that simple. Red meat has lots of fantastic health benefits in fact.

The studies which suggest red meat might be a health risk don't tell us if the people who have poor health are eating a really terrible diet full of junk with poor quality red meat. So lots of chips and beer and chocolate and crappy quality pies with red meat in them for example. They can't narrow the health risks down to the red meat specifically. For that you'd need to be much more controlling about what you feed your participants over a long stretch of time. It isn't possible to do such studies.

Low carbers who eat good quality red meat tend to see an improvement in their health. Better cholesterol levels, lower body fat, better blood sugar readings. Low carbing does wonders for diabetes among many other things.

Oh and Sweden now officially advises its citizens to watch their carb intake if they want to be healthier and lose weight. Their butter consumption has been going up slowly over the last few years as a result and obesity levels are levelling out and dropping.

The NHS might be a bit behind the times in advising carbs, but not everywhere is. Check out dietdoctor.com for lots more information about that by a medical professional.

I don't want to live a life without rice, pasta and potatoes. Bread. Everything in moderation, but give me carbs!
Good for your brain too if you are studying a lot, so I've heard.

Red meat is not a proven health risk

Yes it is I'm afraid, see for example this large study.

But as that very study says, it's processed meat that causes most of the problems:

Those who consumed the highest levels of both unprocessed and processed red meat had the highest risk of all-cause of mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality. After adjusting for other risk factors, the researchers calculated that 1 additional serving per day of unprocessed red meat over the course of the study raised the risk of total mortality by 13%. An extra serving of processed red meat (such as bacon, hot dogs, sausage and salami) raised the risk by 20%.

And the last paragraph also exposes the fundamental weakness of this study!

Since this was an observational study in which people reported their own food intake, it's possible that the associations seen may be due to other factors. When the researchers accounted for known risk factors in red meat—like saturated fat, dietary cholesterol and iron—they still couldn't account for all of the risk associated with eating red meat. Other mechanisms may be involved, or other unknown factors may affect the results. Further study will be needed to fully understand the connection between red meat consumption and health

... so it's hardly conclusive, is it?

the researchers calculated that 1 additional serving per day of unprocessed red meat over the course of the study raised the risk of total mortality by 13% Both processed and unprocessed red meat is bad, though processed is worse.

When the researchers accounted for known risk factors in red meat—like saturated fat, dietary cholesterol and iron—they still couldn't account for all of the risk associated with eating red meat
It seems like a pretty well-controlled, high-quality study to me, and is by no means the only study reaching similar conclusions. The authors are rightly cautious about over-interpreting their results (as are all good scientists). However, the best evidence currently available does indicate that consumption of large quantities of red meat leads to greater incidence of many serious diseases.