ENCORE: Food Fight, Part 1

With the review of red meat research that was published last week, concluding that “low- or very-low certainty” evidence exists to link red meat consumption to any kind of disease, we wanted to reprise this interview with Nina Teicholz, author of “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet.” She dishes on America’s food fight—the controversy over the optimal diet for the nation. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) enshrine recommendations for at least 1/4 of the populace dependent on some form of government food. They also influence our food choices, guide the food industry, and serve as a role model for the entire world’s population. The DGA are out of step with the latest scientific findings, which largely exonerate saturated fat and meat as health risks. The result is that organizations like the American Heart Association still exhort Americans to avoid red meat, use only low-fat dairy, and substitute refined vegetable oils for butter and lard. This has been catastrophic for American’s health over the last several decades. Nina Teicholz is the author of a highly contentious article that appeared in the BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal). The article critiqued the DGA, calling into question their scientific basis. Teicholz details the firestorm of controversy that her BMJ article generated. She fought back, even in the face of a demand for retraction. Ultimately, the BMJ stood by her article. Teicholz details how the food industry has enlisted the government to distort nutrition facts. Should we continue to look to the government as the arbiter of nutritional truth? Is saturated fat from vegetable sources like coconut and palm oil OK? Could telling Americans to eat more fat backfire? If you exercise does it really mean you can eat whatever you want? Click HERE for part 2.