Why There Is so Much Commercial Corruption in Nutrition

The prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes has skyrocketed, as has the number of articles published about diabetes in medical journals. “Why does our wealth of academic knowledge not translate more directly to improving the human condition?” Perhaps our over-attachment to the reductionistic mindset that proved so successful with acute deficiency diseases may actually represent an obstacle to success battling chronic disease.

These days, health seems to have been reduced to a highly commercialized commodity, in which we’re marketed all sorts of high-cost, high-tech tests and treatments of dubious value with substantial risks attached. “This is worrisome because most of the things that make us healthy and keep us healthy are cheap and largely available without professional help or commercial prodding.” This isn’t to say modern medicine can’t work miracles, but what about the big picture? That is, what about the 80 percent of death and disability caused by preventable diet-related diseases?

What about the field of nutrition? In my video Why Is Nutrition So Commercialized?, I discuss how it’s become about profits and products, and extracting nutrients from whole foods so they can be repackaged and marketed. But food is best eaten whole. Eat the broccoli and the blueberries, not some broccoberry supplement. But the reason there aren’t more studies on whole foods is fairly obvious: You can’t patent them. Why should a company spend a lot of money, time, and effort to convince you to buy broccoli when any other company can sell it to you? That’s why the field of nutrition can be more about marketing profitable products than educating people about the fundamentals of health and wellness. For example, the benefits of whole grains over refined grains is commonly attributed to the fiber, which enables the food industry to whip out fiber-fortified Froot Loops and make you feel all better.

Let’s consider this ingenious study: Burkitt and colleagues thought the extraordinarily low rates of killer chronic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa were due to all the whole, plant foods they were eating. This turned into the fiber hypothesis, the reductionistic thought that fiber must be the magic bullet active ingredient. What happens if we put it to the test? What if we compared two groups of older women, both getting around six grams of grain fiber a day, but one group mostly from whole grains and the other mostly from refined grains? Who do you think lived longer? If it was just the fiber, there shouldn’t be much difference because both groups ate about the same amount. In fact, the whole grain group lived longer and with a significantly lower mortality rate, which implies that it may be all the other wonderful things in whole plant foods “linked to fiber [that] may confer important health benefits above and beyond effects of the fiber itself.” That’s why fiber supplements wouldn’t be expected to offer the same benefit.

Indeed, food, not nutrients, is the fundamental unit in nutrition.

As Dr. David Katz has pointed out, “Our culture doesn’t want to hear that the active ingredient in broccoli is broccoli—it wants to know what supplement it can take.”

This is part of my extended series on the reductionist trap, which includes:

The Five to One Fiber Rule still holds, though, since it’s an indication of how heavily processed a product is.

There are two sides to the intellectual property argument when it comes to food. I explore both in Plants as Intellectual Property: Patently Wrong?.

And, of course, this is why I always recommend Taking Personal Responsibility for Your Health.

In health,
Michael Greger, M.D.

PS: If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my free videos here and watch my live, year-in-review presentations:

from NutritionFacts.org https://ift.tt/2XAdqIO FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK THE LINK => http://bit.ly/2UW9az5

How to Save 600 Calories a Day

By now you know: Losing weight boils down to using up more calories than you consume. It seems simple enough. The hard part is actually making it happen. But cutting calories and dieting doesn’t have to mean cutting out all your favorite foods. Don’t believe us? Check out these four simple swaps guaranteed to save you over 600 calories a day without putting the kibosh on your favorite flavors: Drink fat-free milk instead of whole Replace your whole milk habit with a fat-free fix, and for every 16 ounces you trade, you’ll save over 130 calories. Feeling adventurous? Opt for unsweetened almond milk instead of your whole milk, and you’ll save even more—over 230 calories per 16 ounces. 6 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Snacking Swap regular soda for seltzer water One 20 ounce regular Pepsi clocks in at 250 calories*. Substitute just one regular soft drink a day with a seltzer or sparkling water, and you won’t just save yourself 250 calories, you’ll also spare your...

Monday Motivation: 10 Workday Habits of Healthy People

Spending a good chunk of your day inside an office, plopped and stressed in front of a computer, can take a toll on your health, frame of mind and diet. You’re likely not moving your body enough and perhaps sticking your hand in the communal candy bowl a little too much. Making a few small changes to your workday routine or office space can help you stick to your diet plan, shed unwanted pounds and even sneak in a little exercise and added weight loss motivation! 9 Sneaky Fat Traps at the Office You Need to Avoid Read More Here are 10 simple strategies to help you stay healthy at work: 1. Fill up before work. Eating a nutritious breakfast not only helps provide the fuel you need to begin your workday but can also help you lose weight and keep it off. A survey from The National Weight Control Registry showed that the majority of people who maintained a 30-pound weight loss for one year or more ate a breakfast. Plus, according to Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, studies ...

10 High-Protein Slow Cooker Dinner Recipes

Set it and forget it: That’s the way you want to cook during the week when work, kids, school activities and sports all collide. And truth be told, you don’t mind making weekend meals the same way, either. Slow cooker dinners are your solution when you’re short on time (and energy). Plus, when that slow cooker recipe also happens to be super-high in protein, you can consider it a win for your waistline. A high-protein diet keeps you fuller for longer and helps your body build muscle. Protein is also more thermogenic than carbohydrates and fats (meaning it requires more energy for digesting and absorbing). This means that you’ll burn more calories eating a high-protein food compared to something higher in carbs and fat. Get energized and stay satisfied with protein-packed meals that are delicious and nutritious! Here are 10 high-protein slow cooker dinner recipes that are made easy in your slow cooker: 6 Easy Ground Beef Dinner Recipes to Get in Your Protein Read More 1. Slow ...

Beautiful Amazing World

Search This Blog