An article with this headline was published the other day in The Washington Post. I am glad that such materials began to appear on the pages of the leading media. This is practically the “yell” of a cardiologist at the nutritionist, which I wanted to support with a translation. He urges doctors to come to their senses and stop prescribing carbohydrates for patients with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Below is a translation and a link to the original article. What do you think? Will the dietary advice system start to change in the world? Are we going to live?
Carbohydrates are killing us
More than 610,000 Americans will die of heart disease this year. It is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
For decades, doctors and nutritionists have been prescribing low-fat diets for people trying to lower their risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in meat and dairy products was thought to clog our arteries. Grains - especially "whole" grains - have been considered beneficial for everything from high cholesterol to digestion.
A growing body of research shows that this advice was wrong. For most people, it is carbohydrates, not fats, that are the true cause of heart disease.
Consider a report published last year in The Lancet, which examined the nutrition of more than 135,000 people in 18 different countries, making it the largest observational study of its kind in history. The researchers found that people who ate the least amount of saturated fat - about the same as recommended for patients with heart failure - had the highest rates of heart disease and death. Meanwhile, the people who consumed the most saturated fat had the lowest heart attack rates.
Limiting your carbohydrate intake rather than fat intake is a more reliable way to reduce your risk of heart disease. An analysis of more than a dozen studies published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that patients on low-carb diets had healthier body mass and cardiovascular health than those on regular low-fat diets.
I am a cardiologist from Virginia and my own patients have seen the benefits of a low-carb, high-fat diet for the first time.
Consider Marge. At the age of 71, she lost more than 100 pounds a year without medication, meal changes or surgery - simply by removing sources of sugar and starch from her diet, and eating healthier foods.
Denise had uncontrolled diabetes. Her blood sugar levels were often over 250 - a level above normal - despite the fact that she was on insulin. She then began a low-carb diet. After a week, she was already without insulin and had normal blood sugar.
When Jeff started working with me, he had severe lipid abnormalities. Four months later, his HDL cholesterol, which is commonly known as "good cholesterol," increased 13 points. And his triglyceride levels dropped from 468 to 78 - well below the normal 150. All of this was without medication or exercise.
The misconception that fat causes heart disease stems from weak, outdated research. Back in 1961, the American Heart Association published its first report recommending limiting the intake of animal fats and cholesterol. The report cites several studies that show the relationship between high-fat diets and heart problems.
But this hypothesis has never been tested in a clinical setting. Controlled research is the only way to prove causation, and not just a correlation that can occur due to random error or some other unknown variable.
As Dr. Philip Hendler, former president of the US National Academy of Sciences, said nearly 20 years later, “What right does the federal government have to invite the American people to conduct an extensive dietary experiment with themselves as subjects with so little evidence?
Eventually, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began conducting clinical trials. However, these tests were deeply flawed. In addition, when evidence contradicted mainstream medical opinion, researchers effectively forget it. Between 1968 and 1973, one NIH study found that there was little to no relationship between saturated fat and various health problems, but they weren't published for another 16 years.
Despite the flimsy evidence against saturated fat, leading nutritionists still advise people to eat a lot of carbohydrates and avoid fat. The AHA recommends limiting saturated fat intake to 6% of your total calories. Federal nutritional guidelines encourage people to eat low-fat or low-fat dairy products and lots of grains.
This advice condemns hundreds of thousands of people to early death and disability. Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack. The disease costs $ 200 billion annually in medical care and lost productivity.
For decades, our public health leaders have delivered deadly nutritional advice. This needs to be changed. Many doctors, myself included, have seen first-hand how low-carb diets can help patients lose weight, reverse their diabetes, and improve their cholesterol.
Eric Thorne is a cardiologist at Virginia Central Hospital.
Translation by Anna Platova
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