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It is so disheartening. Following in the footsteps of the flawed
American food guide, and the recently revised and still misguided Canadian food
guide, I just looked through the
"New Healthy Heart Handbook for Women"
put out by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and although parts of
the guide look good, the dietary advice continues to be hugely problematic. I can't believe that the powers that be are still promoting a diet that increases the insulin response in the body, and causes inflammation!
I would have thought that by now it was common knowledge that high blood insulin levels cause arteries to clog much faster than low insulin levels! That is why diabetics are at higher risk for heart disease. So why is it that they are recommending the most servings of the type of food that causes the biggest insulin response? 6 to 8 servings of grains???? Not only that but they are suggesting bread and pasta, which are made of flour, thereby increasing the glycemic response further! This is madness.
It is important to remember that in pre-industrial times when there was no heart disease, fruit, grains and veggies were not available during the cold months. Most people ate a meat, dairy, and/or seafood based diet for several months of the year, supplementing with carbs that were dried or fermented from summer. It was only in the warmer months when
fresh veggies, fruit and grain were available. It is worth noting that in pre-industrial times no one ate vegetable oils like corn, soy, canola, safflower etc.! No vegetable oils, very limited sugar, no heart disease. Hmm...
It is so simple. Chronic consumption of high starch carbs and sugary foods causes insulin resistance. Chronically high insulin levels cause the arteries to clog. In addition to that, chronically high sugar levels lead to
Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs),
which also leads to heart disease. Need I point out that there is no such
thing as an "essential carbohydrate"? I bet if you were to go to your doctor and
get your fasting glucose and insulin levels checked, then swear off the foods
listed as "avoid" in these guidelines for a month (heck, even 2 weeks!) and retest, not only
would glucose and insulin levels be moving in the right direction, but also
probably cholesterol and triglyceride levels - and you would most likely lose
weight and have more energy to boot. Keep following the guidelines
until your sugar and insulin levels are under control, and then you can add back
in small amounts of the "avoid temporarily" foods. For the
guidelines, further details on why avoiding vegetable oils and lower-fat dairy is important, and the
reference list, please
go to my website.
If you have any comments on this new format, please reply to this email. I am trying to respond to those that say my tips are too long, and yet satisfy those that want the detail ...
Related Posts
Sugar: the disease generator
Blood-sugar regulation
Saturated fat: the misunderstood nutrient
Fats: the good, the bad and the ugly
High Cholesterol does not cause heart disease
Copyright 2007 Vreni Gurd
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