Since going low carb I continually look for evidence confirming I’m doing the right thing.  Aside from my improved health, reduced blood pressure and normalization of my blood iron count (previously suffered with bouts of anemia if I forgot to take my iron tablets), I love reading about the benefits of low carb eating.

 What the Government Doesn’t Always Tell Us

If our government really wanted to promote health, they would turn the food pyramid upside down.  Instead, money-hungry big businesses and amoral politicians encourage the distribution of the daily illness requirements known as the food pyramid.  My statements may sound harsh, but read the result of a study that is currently on the US Government National Institute of Health website.

Yes, I know the pyramid is now a plate, but it’s still incorrect.  Where are the fats?

Ketogenic Diet Study Results

The results report is a bit lengthy, so I’ll copy and paste a couple of passages from the study for you can get a general idea of what they found.  Oh, and for you guys who are not familiar with the term ketogenic diet, it’s another term for a low carb high fat diet.

If you want to read the entire study, here’s the link.  In the meanwhile check out a few of the passages below (Bolded items do not appear in the report.  I bolded for clarification and/or emphasis purposes):

“The present study shows the beneficial effects of a long-term ketogenic diet. It significantly reduced the body weight and body mass index of the patients. Furthermore, it decreased the level of triglycerides, LDL cholesterol (aka bad cholesterol) and blood glucose, and increased the level of HDL cholesterol (aka good cholesterol). Administering a ketogenic diet for a relatively longer period of time did not produce any significant side effects in the patients. Therefore, the present study confirms that it is safe to use a ketogenic diet for a longer period of time than previously demonstrated.”

“It has been found that a sugary diet is the root cause of various chronic diseases of the body. A recent study (35) showed that sugar can accelerate aging. Several recent studies (36,37) have pointed to the fact that a diet with a high glycemic load is independently associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes and certain forms of cancer.”

“Sugar consumption is positively associated with cancer in humans and test animals (58–61). This observation is quite logical because tumours are known to be enormous sugar absorbers. It has also been found that the risk of breast cancer decreases with increases in total fat intake (16).”

“A link between low fat diets and osteoporosis has been suggested. Very low fat diets are considered to be low in calcium content. Women on low fat diets excrete most of the calcium they consume; therefore, they are more prone to osteoporosis. However, a high fat diet can rectify this situation (62).”

After reading the report I was pleased to see that I’m on the right track, but the more I thought about it I got angry. The food pyramid or plate is not designed for optimal health.  The sad part is there are so many people following the government’s dietary recommendations and wondering why their blood pressure, cholesterol and weight keep going up.  The dietary recommendations were written for the businesses that benefit from an overweight and sick society.

Please, don’t take my word for it. Rather than blindly follow the government recommendations (or mine for that matter), do a little investigating and experimenting on your own.  There’s plenty of information available, you just have to dig to find it.  Additionally, as you make dietary changes, your own body will tell you when you’re moving in the right direction.