To think the NHS’ dietary advice is wrong?

[Breakingmad]

Specifically this part? Surely we shouldn’t be basing our meals on starch?

Here’s the link to the full article. I really disagree with the ‘fat is the enemy’ message too re full fat milk, fatty cuts of meat etc.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/

www.whyweeattoomuch.co.uk/about.html

Andrew Jenkinson’s on the money, I reckon. The weight set point stuff is absolutely fascinating.

This with bells on it.

There is a lot of research being planned to look at individual diets as they realise one size doesn't fit all. Some people do better with more animal fat in their diet while others should have minimal fat.

The only thing that is consistently recommended is not to eat highly processed foods.

That's simply rude.

We know nothing about the poster:s genetics and gut microbiome.

One size doesn't fit all for diet. So some people can eat certain grains but not others.

Ish.

i think we are all still in the grip of low carb/paleo etc, which has really demonised carbs. I was myself, and was astounded recently to find that whole grain fibrey carbs were filling like protein, seemed a lot better for the planet and um, my digestion. I think you are too, judging by your comment about sugar.

There is no evidence low carb is a better weight control method than any other. The only two things scientists more or less agree on is refined carb/high fat n salt modern western diets are bad, and lots of veg and fruit is good.

I think it does need adjusting, but not to the extent you think. Even if v low carb is healthy, it is not environmentally sustainable. I agree fat is not the issue we used to think, but it’s high in calories and if you want to loose weight you have to reduce those.

Yanbu. The NHS website says not to alip breakfast and that this causes problems but every woman I know who has lost a lot of weight skipped breakfast as part of her regime.

yabu
carbs are not the devil, as long as you don't eat (too much) refined carbs.

it is very easy to misjudge calories in fat, which is why the advice is to not eat too much of it.

Similar - except I am ravenous on the high carbs by 11am.
I also don't eat now until between 1 and 3. Am mostly low carb (and definitely feel better when I stick to it).
Much the best way of eating for me and I shall be ignoring the NHS and anyone who tells me any different.

Yes sugar is key here. Carbs are broken down into sugar though, so essentially ARE sugar. You can offset this by eating less refined carbs such as those containing fibre, less easily broken down - think brown rice/pasta/bread, pulses etc.

So starchy (ie carb heavy) veg like potatoes, corn, are way more likely to raise your blood sugar levels quickly than less starchy ones and should be limited.

Actually there is considerable evidence to show that saturated fat is not unhealthy. It actually slows down the release of sugars into the bloodstream. Trans fats are very bad for us. Saturated fat isn’t.

Refined sugar is bad for us if it isn’t kept very low. Highly refined foods are bad for us. All calories are not equal, as the body processes different foods at different rates. The Department of Health is still spouting what was understood many decades ago!

It’s nice to see that. I consider myself someone who eats healthily, and it is very much a starch/carb based diet with full fat diary’s with lots of veg and a bit of protein med diet.

I eat an absolute shit tonne of carbs. Only time I ever put on weight was when I was stuck on a slimming world diet with MIL.

So sorry OP I do think YABU - at least for my amylase high genotype (I do know some struggle with carbs)

The "joke" about not skipping breakfast is because breakfast cereal makers funded dietary advice. (I remember seeing diet advice cards from the 80s that my mum and an older sister collected from a cereal maker that where endorsed by the NHS.)

Funny thing is if you want a sugary pudding which isn't as bad as other highly processed food and you are under about 35 plus not inactive then UK breakfast cereal as per the measures they put on the back of the packet would be ok.

The NHS is really behind on a lot of this stuff.

The NHS bases it's information on evidence. Research forms part of this; social attitudes, practical applications, observation of public health trends etc also form part of this.

Weight loss advice has to be carefully considered (e.g. the calories on menu advice and its interaction with eating disorders).

Low fibre/high fat diets, and diets high in protein, for example, may in the short term be good for weight loss, but when applied by the population in real life they aren't good for gut health and can contribute to bowel cancer. The NHS has to consider the holistic impact of the dietary advice it recommends.

I'm losing weight and I eat breakfast.

I'm having to lose weight as I am at risk of diabetes. Lots of carbs are not good for me, and I wish that I'd known the relationship beween carbs and blood sugar sooner
Never been keen on lots of fat TBH

I left Key Stage 1 a year ago. They teach the pyramid of food whereby the bottom, widest part of the pyramid is starch.
The teacher and I were perplexed as this is clearly wrong.
Similarly, the divided plate is also shown with starch being nearly half of the plate.

I despair.

the Eatwell plate shows carbs as a third www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-guidelines-and-food-labels/the-eatwell-guide/

the eatwell approach is similar to the 'toddler plate' approach that we try to live by at home:
big compartment for veg
small compartment carbs (rice/pasta/potatos/bread)
small compartment protein (& sauce/marinade)

I'm a type 1 too and my experience is the same as your friends'. Carbs are definitely not all equal in their impact on blood sugar.

I don't know that it's wrong as much as a bit lame and vague. You need to be rich, an expert cook and have good access to shops to follow that diet.

Going on the "people didn't used to be so fat" theory, a certain amount of natural fat (meat, fish, dairy, oils) and natural wholegrain carbs (rice, oats, brown bread, potatoes) seem unlikely to be the culprit.

What we didn't have before was ultra processed food with artificial sugars, starches, added ingredients, all the fibre pulped out of it and engineered to make you keep eating. Whilst the processed food industry has a massive interest in maintaining profits and lobbies accordingly to keep selling this crap, whilst 80% of supermarket shelves are stuffed with it, whilst takeaways and caterers almost exclusively sell it, most people don't have much of a chance.

If the law was changed so that foods that met the eatwell guide were subsidised and foods in the processed/occasional treat category were taxed, we might get somewhere.

Carbs are sugar

Sugar and refined starch - anything white - is the enemy.
heslthy fats are fine in moderation I would say.
have a balanced diet.

Oh Good God this is a zombie

Their dietary advice for gestational diabetes is downright dangerous. Lots of carbs and fruit.

It's all bullshit , calories Vs in and out and a balanced diet no cutting out food groups. I think portion control is more key.

Too many carbs spike my blood sugar. I am in the normal blood sugar range, but I will tip over into pre diabetes if I increase carbs.

I do eat pasta but I make my own using Einkorn wholemeal flour, as it's an ancient grain which doesn't spike blood sugar levels like modern wheat.

I agree that sugar and processed foods are the enemy. Our bodies are not designed for them.

YANBU OP. I am in a health care research related field and we've been saying for years that the eatwell plate is making people fat. Lots of more enlightened nutritionists and sports scientists etc are now advocating a lower carb diet.

There are a few issues with the eatwell plate - it categorises everyone as needing the same type of diet irrespective of things like insulin resistance, muscle mass, genetics. It also fails to acknowledge that fruit in particular (and some veg) is so genetically modified that it doesn't resemble what 'real fruit' should be like nutritionally. A large pink lady apple for example has nearly 18 grams of sugar! This will cause an insulin spike, leaving the person craving more sugar later.

If you really dig deep, you will see that modern wheat (from which starch comes from) is as good as man made as it is so far removed from its original origins. If you look at some of the more radical nutritionists, they will tell you that wheat is underpinning the capitalist economy and none of us should be consuming it in any more than tiny amounts as it is harmful to the body. It is also interesting to note that in the US in the early 70s, Richard Nixon, facing defeat at the polls, pushed through and facilitated the mass production of corn sugar to allow food to be lower priced with the end result of high fructose corn sugar being in an almost infinite amount of foods. At the same time, sugar was more or less omitted from the first American obesity guidelines, the focus instead being on fat, to appease the corn growing farmers.

Fat makes you full - sugar makes you fat!