Interesting name for a new blog.
And, the author's apparently had accuracy issues before: https://www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i6061
USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
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Re: USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
#12[flagged]
To be fair, low-carb and keto diets are not the same thing.
Re: USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
#13I'll know they're serious about health when they put a tax on added sugar and an additional tax on high fructose corn syrup. Until then, they're just actors on a stage
Do you mean taxes on the producers for using it because it is addictive? Because taxes on the consumer makes zero sense.
A big part of the reason why we have an epidemic of obesity is because it's cheaper (and easier) to eat junk food than to eat healthy.
Here in the Bay Area, I can buy a McDonalds value menu hamburger and a soda for $2, or I can buy a healthy salad at SweetGreen/Panera/Mendocino for $15-20.
If healthy food was on a level playing field, many people would choose to eat healthier.
(Now, this doesn't address the problem about rising food costs, and the macroeconomic implications hare are beyond my expertise... but surely forcing those with a low income to have to eat junk food isn't what we want as a society.)
Re: USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
#14the best diet is the one that works for you. for some it’s low carb, for others it’s vegan. what’s key is to focus on what you eat, that’s probably 80% of the battle.
"The best treatment for cancer is the one that works for you"
"The best way to change your oil is the one that works for your car"
Come on.
Re: USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
#15The USDA only protects and represents producers: full corporate capture. They run interference for Puppy mills [1], organic food mislabeling [2], misdirected trade aid to large operations instead of family farms [3], and germane to OP, all kinds of lobbying and gigabuck price supports for dairy products which shouldn't even be recommended daily diet. Etc. 1, https://www.aspca.org/news/usda-letting-puppy-mills-operate…
Organic food itself is a fraud as it doesn't actually mean anything. If anything they should just ban the label entirely.
Re: USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
#16I'll know they're serious about health when they put a tax on added sugar and an additional tax on high fructose corn syrup. Until then, they're just actors on a stage
Do you mean taxes on the producers for using it because it is addictive? Because taxes on the consumer makes zero sense.
It makes no difference. Goods aren’t produced in a vacuum, and a tax on one is eventually a tax on the other because prices changes are transitive.
Re: USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
#17The USDA only protects and represents producers: full corporate capture. They run interference for Puppy mills [1], organic food mislabeling [2], misdirected trade aid to large operations instead of family farms [3], and germane to OP, all kinds of lobbying and gigabuck price supports for dairy products which shouldn't even be recommended daily diet. Etc. 1, https://www.aspca.org/news/usda-letting-puppy-mills-operate…
Dairy products are a solid part of low carb; butter, cream and whey are all completely normal, even in Keto.
Re: USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
#18I wish the article was framed in terms of what the author really wants instead of burying it. The author is framing the issue as something mostly non-political, simply acknowledging the existing body of research, but actually wants something very political which is changing the USDA guidelines (which have far reaching effects) to recommend low-carb as essentially the go to default diet. So while the aim is noble the author doesn’t really care about the science except as a useful tool to drive a particular political outcome. And same with the accusation of ignoring science except as a way to make the board look bad because the author would clearly not be satisfied with “we each read in full literally every paper on the subject of low-carb diets but as a group remain unconvinced in its merits for a general recommendation.”
tl;dr the author is probably right about low-carb diets but made sure to frame it in such a way that makes enemies out of the people with actual power who now can’t actually do what she wants without making themselves look uneducated. Shame has never made people dig their heels in /j
Re: USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
#19I'll know they're serious about health when they put a tax on added sugar and an additional tax on high fructose corn syrup. Until then, they're just actors on a stage
Yes, I totally agree. Until we shut off the cheap sugar pump, everything else is whistling past the graveyard.
Re: USDA ignoring the science on low-carb diets
#20the best diet is the one that works for you. for some it’s low carb, for others it’s vegan. what’s key is to focus on what you eat, that’s probably 80% of the battle.
Euh no, while diets must be adapted to individuals, there are objective and well established principles about what works or not.
A prerequisite for "works for you" is "works at all". A less efficient diet that you stick with is better than a more efficient one that you don't stick with.