The Most Damaging Food Lie We Have Ever Been Told
Mark Hyman MD
Other than the lie that fat makes you fat and causes heart disease (which has been thoroughly debunked by myself in Eat Fat Get Thin, in Harvard doctor David Ludwig’s book Always Hungry, and even in our new 2015 US Dietary Guidelines),
This seems logical, except it is scientifically wrong.
In fact, on one major morning show I did a segment about why they weren’t the same and snuck it under the radar working closely with one producer. After that, they wouldn’t let me back on the show. Why? Because the food companies are a major source of advertising revenue.
--->>> Our news is driven my money, not science or facts. [Bingo! Decades of Even More Corrupt Old MSM's Censorship and Fake News]
What is so bad about this message is that it blames the person who is overweight. The implication is that you are a lazy glutton who eats too much and won’t exercise. This is, in my view, harmful, cruel, and even criminal
This is not just my opinion, but from an increasingly growing body of literature that proves that all calories are not the same.
That quality matters more than quantity.
The Science of Why Exercising More and Eating Less is the Worst Idea for Weight Loss
Let’s just look at a few studies (and if you want more you can read my books Eat Fat Get Thin and The 10 Day Detox Diet.
February 7, 2018Mark Hyman MD
Other than the lie that fat makes you fat and causes heart disease (which has been thoroughly debunked by myself in Eat Fat Get Thin, in Harvard doctor David Ludwig’s book Always Hungry, and even in our new 2015 US Dietary Guidelines),
the biggest lie
that has caused endless suffering for tens of millions of people is that
to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more.
This lie goes something like this: that has caused endless suffering for tens of millions of people is that
to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more.
All calories are the same.
Weight loss is about math
—calories in/calories out.
If you eat more than you burn you will gain weight.
If you eat less than you burn you will lose weight.
This is called the Energy Balance Hypothesis. Weight loss is about math
—calories in/calories out.
If you eat more than you burn you will gain weight.
If you eat less than you burn you will lose weight.
This seems logical, except it is scientifically wrong.
It is the message that our government tells us,
the message that almost every doctor, nutritionist, and weight loss program tell us.
And, it’s even what our public health and professional organizations tell us, including the American Nutrition and Dietetic Association, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association (which, by the way, all get huge amounts of funding from the food industry).
The food industry, of course, tells us the same thing. That fact alone should make us suspicious. Weight loss is an energy balance problem. Just eat less and exercise more. It’s just about moderation. Any food is fine as long as you don’t eat too much. The 100 calories snack packs of Oreos are the same at 100 calories of blueberries or nuts. Two hundred calories of soda are the same as 200 calories of an avocado. Nonsense.the message that almost every doctor, nutritionist, and weight loss program tell us.
And, it’s even what our public health and professional organizations tell us, including the American Nutrition and Dietetic Association, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association (which, by the way, all get huge amounts of funding from the food industry).
In fact, on one major morning show I did a segment about why they weren’t the same and snuck it under the radar working closely with one producer. After that, they wouldn’t let me back on the show. Why? Because the food companies are a major source of advertising revenue.
--->>> Our news is driven my money, not science or facts. [Bingo! Decades of Even More Corrupt Old MSM's Censorship and Fake News]
What is so bad about this message is that it blames the person who is overweight. The implication is that you are a lazy glutton who eats too much and won’t exercise. This is, in my view, harmful, cruel, and even criminal
because it flies in the face of science
and perpetuates a harmful myth
that literally kills millions from chronic disease.
This implies that a diet of 1,800 calories of soda is the same as 1,800 calories of broccoli or almonds. Even a 5-year-old would understand that this just doesn’t make sense. Yet it is the foundation of almost every weight loss program.and perpetuates a harmful myth
that literally kills millions from chronic disease.
This is not just my opinion, but from an increasingly growing body of literature that proves that all calories are not the same.
That quality matters more than quantity.
That food is not just energy but
information or instructions or code that literally controls almost every function of your body—
including your hormones, appetite, brain chemistry, immune system, gene expression, and even your microbiome
with every single bite.
And that the quality of the information matters more than the quantity. The composition of the food you eat is what matters.information or instructions or code that literally controls almost every function of your body—
including your hormones, appetite, brain chemistry, immune system, gene expression, and even your microbiome
with every single bite.
The Science of Why Exercising More and Eating Less is the Worst Idea for Weight Loss
Let’s just look at a few studies (and if you want more you can read my books Eat Fat Get Thin and The 10 Day Detox Diet.
- A review of 53 randomized trials (the highest quality evidence possible) of low-fat vs. high-fat diets published in Lancet Obesity found that the high-fat diets won out every time and the bigger the difference—meaning the highest fat/lowest carb vs. the highest carb /lowest fat diets—the more the weight loss.
- A recent year long randomized controlled trial in the prestigious journal Nature found that an unrestricted high-fat diet (meaning low carb, high fat, eat as much as you want) compared to a calorie restricted (not so much fun), low fat diet did much better. In fact, the high-fat diet group lost more weight, had better control of blood sugar, and lower triglycerides and better HDL or good cholesterol). And the high fat group got off diabetic medications too!
- Even more research is pouring in about the extraordinary benefits of ketogenic diets (super high fat—70%—and very low-carb diets with no grains, beans, sugar, starch) for weight loss and reversing type 2 diabetes as was recently reviewed in this JAMA article.
- A new online company, Virta Health, uses a ketogenic diet to treat type 2 diabetes with more success than any other approach. 87% of patients eliminated or reduced insulin, 56% of patients completely normalized their blood sugar and reversed type 2 diabetes, and the average weight loss at 6 months was 12% of their body weight. All without restricting calories. That is unheard of in traditional calorie restricted low-fat programs.
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