I agree that it seems the target is moving.
However, it seems that heart disease, obesity and other bad conditions have only increased as we've heeded the guidance that suggests we avoid fats, eat low fat foods, etc.
Moderation is probably the best course of action. I tend to believe that eating from the perimeter of the store is your best bet. Eat real meats, fish, dairy, fruits and vegetables for the most part, with moderate additions of things from the aisles of the store that are processed, often with sugars and a host of science experiment chemicals.
I don't think I fall into the tin-foil hat crowd that is saying science is bad. But I don't understand why flour has to be bleached and then fortified? Why not just use all of the grain to make the flour in the first place?
Why do we need to add sugar to breakfast cereals? For instance, take something like Kellogg's Cracklin' Oat Bran Cereal:
https://www.kelloggs.com/en_US/products/...nutrition-modal
A serving (if people actually measured out a serving it's 3/4 cup) is 200 calories and 34g of carbohydrates. Of that 14g are sugars. Sugar is the 2nd ingredient. According to the FDA, that's 11% of the RDA for carbs. That means the typical person on a 2000 calorie diet is to get 309g of carbohydrates, or just over 1200 calories (60%) of that diet from carbohydrates.
My dietitian has me on a 225g/day carbohydrate diet and 2250 calories/day or about 40% carbohydrates. As I said before, my fasting BG has dropped from over 180 mg/dL to averaging around 110-115 mg/dL. No change in my exercise routine. Just more protein, not necessarily lean, and fats and fewer carbs. About a 40% carbs and 30% each fats and protein.
How many people really eat a single serving when they open a package of cookies or chips or ..... ?
I looked at a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. One serving is 160 calories, mostly carbs, then fat, and a trace of protein, maybe 1g.
Lots of calories, very little actual nutrition.
I did have breakfast at McDonalds on Monday as I had an early service call 140 miles from home. An Egg McMuffin is not a bad choice. It's about 300 calories, 30g carbs, 12g fat and 18g protein. Instead of the hash browns that come with the meal, get the apple slices. Two bags are 30 calories. Yes, they are all carbs, but you get better nutrition than the hash browns which are 160 calories, 16g of carbs, 10g of fat and 1g of protein.
But you would have thought I was the only person to have ever asked for the apple slices as the girl at the register didn't know how to sub the apple slices for the hash browns.
Add to that a coffee with cream and it's a pretty good meal. Not as good as the peppers and onions omelette I usually make to go with my 2 slices of center cut bacon and a banana or a bowl of fruit. But not bad for on the road. (BTW, my 2 egg omelette meal described above is 405 calories, 35g of carbs, 30g from the banana, 20g fat and 24g protein.)
And I'm getting some real nutrients.
How many have a doughnut or sugary cereal, or something and call it good. Then they are hungry a few hours later?
I see this with oilBabe and me. We both have to watch our weight. She is still convinced that low fat is where it's at. But who is losing weight when we watch what we eat? I proportionally will lose 2% of my body weight for every 1% she does with her low fat regime.
I realize this is anecdotal. However, when you look at the entire body of research, it's hard to make a case for the low-fat, low-cholesterol eating plan. It's hard to make the case that the 60% carbs food pyramid is sound.
I'm not going as far as to say we should become Ogg the caveman and go totally Paleo, or Ketogenic (unless you have siezures and are ordered by your DR to go ketogenic) with carbs being under 10% or 25% of our diets. But I do believe the healthy number, for most, is somewhere above that 25% and below the 60% that the FDA has suggested for decades.
