Are Government Nutrition Recommendations Killing Us?

Latest research suggests government nutritional advice is likely killing us. The study, published in The Lancet, is the first major study to look at all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease and nutrition. Here are just two of the major takeaways: 1. High carb diets are killing many of us around the world. The study tracked over 135,000 people aged between 35 and 70 from 18 countries; those on a low fat/high carb diet had an increased risk of early death compared to those on a lower carb/higher fat diet. 2. Raw and cooked vegetables are not created equal. Broadly speaking, the study showed that consumption of raw vegetables was more protective against cardiovascular disease than cooked vegetables. As our colleagues at ANH-International point out, many phytochemicals, vitamins, and other nutrients are heat-sensitive and may be damaged by heat. These findings, particularly on fat versus carbs, echo our criticisms of the government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans that were released in 2016. Those guidelines encourage Americans to reduce consumption of saturated fat, based on the outdated notion that fat leads to heart disease. Don’t wait until 2020 when the US government next updates its Dietary Guidelines. History tells us the revised guidelines won’t change much. Pressure from Big Food, Big Ag, Big Biotech and their revolving doors with the USDA, NIH and FDA will likely still override the state-of-the-art of nutritional science.  The bottom line is that government should not be in charge of doling out nutrition advice.