Just read this- are we all making a massive mistake?

[Leahanddog]

Hi everyone, just joined mumsnet and I've been following the low-carb threads/ diet for about 3 weeks and was just shown this by a friend:

www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/the-truth-about-carbs.aspx

I had no idea the NHS thought low-carb was a bad idea But I can see what they mean about all the added saturated fat and everything and am now really concerned.
Friend has also criticized me saying that the diet is selfish as it is awful for environment and people owing to the high greenhouse emissions from large amounts of meat and dairy?

Just thought this should be seen, wibu to stay on low-carb on should I try and find another diet?

I think any diet or way of eating that severely cuts any food group is not sustainable. A lot of people if not most that low carb constantly start again as they go off it and gain weight.

I use to try low carb, since joining team rh on facebook I can't believe how many carbs I eat and still lose weight. It's all about your macros and calories in vs calories out. Absolutely nothing to do with carbs.

Doing that completely no-carb but eat all the cream, butter and bacon you like diet = doesn't make any sense.

I try to low-carb os of the time. I allow small portions of brown rice, sweet potato, porridge oats etc, but cut out potatoes/bread/pasta. I eat any veg and fruit I like. I only eat chicken, fish, seafood - non processed.

Its very effective and less restrictive. And it feels a lot healthier.

I've looked at the original studies, and they do indicate that

1. People who do LC weight loss plans are more likely to stick to it than those who do low fat.
2. Weight gain for both groups a couple of years on is about the same.
3. Weight gain is not a certainty - it's a myth that most people who have dieted put weight back on. Most actually keep it off.

All things being equal, I'd rather do LC. One thing that is also true, is that I'm definitely affecting my health by being fat. And I'm eating more veg now than I ever have! I would say my diet is more plant based, and I probably don't eat more meat than before. I've just replaced calories from carbs with calories from fat.

Thanks for the replies . I am not doing the whole eat all the cream/bacon/butter you like style diet- but one of Friend's family members did this at one point which led to further weight issues. I think this is where she is coming from.

I would take the article with a pinch of salt.
One of the main arguments is saturated fat being bad for you and cholesterol.
This stance is based on decades old bad science, from the viewed effects of saturated (animal) fat on the digestive and circulatory system of rabbits. Rabbits, unlike humans, are herbivores and have a digestive system that requires them to eat their own poo in order to get all the nutrients they need from their diet. Humans are omnivores and in no way comparable to rabbits, apart from both being mammals.

The NHS is amazing at front line, life saving medicine. When it comes to diet though, they're not very good, and much of their advice (including change4life diet advice) is provably wrong.

There are plenty of people (like me) who are unable to eat carbs like potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, as it triggers an addictive craving for more and more food. Low carbing means freedom from this unhealthy pattern whilst still eating enough carbs through vegetables and some fruit.

I have replaced most of my plain carbs with vegetables, some fruit.
My dairy intake has gone down.
My meat intake is the same, roughly.

There is good evidence that fats are metabolised better on a LCHF diet (IHD, obesity, diabetes have all shot up in the US since the Framingham Study demonised cholesterol).

I am at peace with my choice of diet.
And I predict that the official NHS diet advice will change in the next 5 to 10 years - it is already happening for diabetics.

There was a test run about overeating only no carb foods like butter, cream, bacon, and it was found that whilst no weight was lost, no significant amounts were put on.
I'll see if I can find it.

The trouble is, when it comes to diet info, there will always be those who interpret butter being good as "great, toast with loads of butter is a health food" and going for anchor squirty cream with gusto. This then gives low carbing a very bad name.

You can eat LCHF and still eat healthily and in an environmentally and ethically aware way. It's not a given that you will binge on bacon, crackling and cream.

If a person becomes fat by binging on high carb foods, or on carby and fatty foods, they need to change their mindset equally, whether they eat low cal or low carb. It's no god just transferring their binge to a LCHF binge.

Ultimately it does boil down to calories, but the way you get the calories, and the way you use them, can be more or less sustainable. On LCHF, at first you do eat as much as you want. But if you go about it in the right way - mindfully! - your appetite diminishes and you eat less. IE fewer calories. If you do not change your attitude, and keep binging...

Not sure how scientific it is, but here you go

LCHF is perfectly fine for you and the science supporting is far stronger than the frankly quite stupid stuff the NHS bases its advice on.

People who don't understand it haven't examined it in detail, that's all.

That's not the idea though. As someone has already said, if you binge your way through LCHF, gorging on fat and meat then you're obviously not going to be well. Bingeing is its own problem and nothing to do with what is actually a very healthy way of eating.

It boils down to calories, yes. You still can't go completely mad on calories or fat on low carb if you want to lose or maintain weight, obviously. But I find I'm not hungry for snacks on a low carb diet and that seems to do the trick for me.

When not doing low carb I'm constantly cruising around the kitchen looking in the fridge and cupboards. It's bloody boring, not to mention the weight gain.

It's not just about the calories. Perhaps if your main focus is weight loss and/or maintenance you can take it back down to that but it's really far more to do with health than many people realise. I low carb (when I do, I've been quite lax for a while now) because it's the best and most effective way to address my diabetes and hormone regulation issues.

But why are the NHS dietary requirements considered false? They are our national health service often at the front lines of medical research. Why would they lie?

gottogetyourfingerout

What macro split does RH recommend?

I've joined his page but still not sure if it's for me.

I am doing about 15,000 steps a day though.

Obviously they're not consciously lying. But their advice is based on shoddy science and outdated ideas. It takes a very long time for a behemoth like the NHS to markedly change direction.

If low carbing is deemed that bad why is it the first solution to be proffered (along with exercise) when you have type 2 diabetes?

The most senior positions in the NHS are occupied by those who have spent their careers believing that a low fat diet is the healthiest. NHS policies will change when the policy makers retire, making way for evidence-based dietary advice.

Not all NHS policies are based on fact, there's just too much we don't know still.

Here are some studies

The science on lipids/cholesterol

IMO the Framingham Study which showed a causative link between cholesterol and heart disease/stroke is what caused people to avoid butter/eggs/dairy and change to more bread and cereal (Big Cereal companies have an interest to suggest that cornflakes are 'healthy' and a fried breakfast is not...). We have forgotten how to eat for what we do - it's not just about calories but where the calories come from and what they do in terms in insulin production.

The NHS is following what for many many years was thought to be best scientific advice, but I agree, it is taking a frustratingly long time for things to turn around again.

Also, a healthy LCHF diet ought to include, you know, healthy foods, like vegetables. So eating nothing but butter and brazil nuts will not be any good for anybody

I'm sure diets that restrict food groups are never going to work in the long term, a varied diet is what it's all about. The problem I have is that I eat too much so the 5:2 is perfect for me. Having put a stone on over the summer through too many clotted cream teas I am starting again tomorrow. Two years ago I lost 3 stone so I know it works for me. I could never low-carb, I would just be craving carbs. Ditto low-fat.

There is no way to eat carb-free - most things we eat contain some carbs and we need carbohydrates, so it's all good.

Personally, I have stopped eating what I consider 'unnecessary' carbohydrates and have seriously cut down on sugar/sweet foods.

I'm doing 16:8, 5:2 required too much thinking for me

Was the Framingham study the one where they completely manipulated the figures or am I thinking of another?

@BIWI will take her big stick to you!
If you take a look at any of her long running threads, the LC Boot Camps have had some phenomenal success stories over the years.

It really works!