NEW USDA GUIDELINES RELEASED: NOT MY PYRAMID!

The New Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 were released today. Your can view the press conference here: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdamedia?navid=USDA_LIVE.

Watch it to the end to see the question and answer segment and you will hear a representative from the American Dietetic Association gushing about the "excellent, excellent" guidelines and an angry woman in a red scarf demanding to know why they didn't just say, "EAT LESS MEAT!" (She was told that saying "eat more seafood" means the same thing.)

You will also hear Peter Farnham of the Nutrition and Metabolism Society question the high carbohydrate content in the guidelines in light of the current epidemics of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. He was told that the committee received a lot of public input on that issue and that they did look into it, but concluded that the "the evidence was just not there" to support any recommendations in that area. Too bad Mr. Farnham didn't get a chance to ask a follow-up question about what science they found to show that we need a minimum of 3 ounces of whole grains every day. Or that cholesterol in the diet raises cholesterol in the blood. Or that eating less and exercising more leads to weight loss. Or just where did they find the scientific evidence to support ANY of the guidelines?

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PS: Jimmy Moore found 28 research studies that support carbohydrate restriction in one hour on Goggle. Check them out on his video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIPPkz8x7eE and then please forward the link to everyone you know.

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(C) 2011, Judy Barnes Baker, author Carb Wars; Sugar is the New Fat

DOMINO'S TO THE RESCUE

Domino's Pizza announced on Jan. 17 that they are, "striving to be a part of the solution," as they launched their new Domino's Smart Slice school lunch program. (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dominos-pizza-launches-dominos-smart-slice-school-lunch-pizza-program-113912129.html) The Smart Slice was specifically developed to meet the new federal guidelines for school lunch programs. It is already being served in more than 120 school districts and they plan to double that number within the next year.

Cindy Haren, CEO of Western Dairy Association, whose organization worked with the franchise and the schools in partnership with the National Dairy Council to develop the new pizza, says, "The development of Domino's Smart Slice shows how collaboration among dairy farmers, schools, processors, and major food brands like Domino's can result in healthier, flavorful, and fresh school food choices for our children."

So it seems that bread topped with tomato sauce and fake cheese is now seen as the epitome of healthful food for school children. Parents who have the resources will be able to provide better lunches for their children, but the real tragedy is that the poorest children are already the ones who suffer the highest rates of obesity and they are the ones who are most likely to depend on free meals provided by the schools. If the "solution" to childhood obesity is low-fat pizza, the new guidelines are certainly going to make the problem worse, not better.

(C) 2011, Judy Barnes Baker, Carb Wars; Sugar is the New Fat

PEDIATRIC NUTRITION WITH DR. SU AND FRED HAHN

Dr. Robert K. Su invited Fred Hahn, author of The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution and Strong Kids, Healthy Kids, and me for a three-way discussion as part of his podcast series about Pediatric Nutrition on the Carbohydrates Can Kill website. He originally planned to give us 30 minutes, but we were still going strong and having such a lively exchange that he let us keep going for a whole hour. The three of us even continued to talk long after we were off the air.

You can listen to the interview here: http://www.carbohydratescankill.com/1269/return-of-fred-hahn-judith-baker-barnes-ep-32

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

The February issue of Reader's Digest features a smiley face made out of two eggs and a strip of bacon. The headline reads: "Eat This, Lose Weight; The New Science of Dieting."

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The bacon and egg face is a parody of the frowney face on the cover of the March 26, 1984 Time Magazine. The headline then was: "Cholesterol, and Now the Bad News." Inside, an article titled, "Hold the Eggs and Butter," started with the following statement: "Cholesterol is proved deadly, and our diet may never be the same." The first assertion was false (although the second certainly turned out to be true).

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In fact, the study that lead to this conclusion was not a diet study at all, but a study of a cholesterol reducing drug. All the previous studies that tried to link dietary cholesterol to heart attack risk had failed. We now have good science that shows why; eating fat and cholesterol actually reduces the amount in the blood.

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Dr. Jeff Volek and a team of researchers at the University of Connecticut discovered that those who eat less saturated fat have more in their blood. The researchers also reported that the markers for inflammation were dramatically reduced on a low-carb diet that included more fat. You can read about the actual study on Pub Med at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrezDb=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=18046594&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
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Basil Rifkind, the project director for the study referenced in the 1984 Time article, was quoted as saying he "believed" the research indicated that lowering the cholesterol and fat in your diet would reduce your risk of heart disease. It was a belief, nothing more. (The nine-page article laid out the low-fat orthodoxy that continues to this day. You can read it here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921647,00.html#ixzz1B96rh7k4.) Now, 27 years later, we are still burdened with the fallout of that belief, but at last, there is some good news to report.
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The feature story in the February, 2011, Reader's Digest is an interview with Gary Taubes that covers some of the main points from his new book, Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It.
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According to Taubes, if the energy balance system (calories in verses calories out) determined how much we weigh, we would all be fat, because it is impossible to precisely regulate calorie consumption. Being off by just 20 calories a day would add up to a twenty pound weight gain every ten years and most of us would be obese by the time we reach middle age. Twenty calories is about the amount in one bite of a hamburger or two sips of Coke.
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He says that for the most part, you can define an obese person as "someone for whom eating less didn't work," and that the most important observation in the field of obesity research is, "that you can have an effective diet that doesn't restrict calories."
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He also says, "If you've been fat for a long time, getting rid of carbohydrates might not make you lean. But the leanest you can be is on the diet with the least carbohydrate."

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Here's one last quote that sums it all up, "All I'm saying to obesity researchers is, pay attention to the hormonal and enzymatic regulation of the fat tissue. And if you do, you'll get a different answer for what causes obesity and what cures it."
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I made the bacon and egg faces above for breakfast this morning. Join me in celebrating what the Reader's Digest calls the new science of diet by making your own bacon faces. Snap a picture and stick it up on the fridge where it can make you smile as you prepare your now officially healthful breakfast. Better yet, e-mail it to me and I'll post it here.
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© 2011, Judy Barnes Baker, Carb Wars; Sugar is the New Fat