Why Is the Federal Government Afraid of Fat?

>Based on years of low-fat messaging, most Americans still actively avoid dietary fat, while eating far too much refined carbohydrates.

This is the crux of the problem; years of social programming is hard to reverse. Try to explain to someone that fat is good and carbs are bad. It shouldn't be hard to convince someone, but even the basic premise is tantamount to heresy to most Americans. Fat gives you clogged arteries! Fat makes you fat!

Carbs and sugar are the American Way™.

Because whenever they set dietary guidelines last the common way of thinking was that "fat is bad" and since it's the government progress is ridiculously slow and also because resetting dietary guidelines is probably way down on the list of "Things that we should really fund this year"?

I've seen comments here and elsewhere pop up across the entire internet in response to this article saying that obviously it's a government conspiracy and a lobbying issue and they're all trying to keep us fat and stupid but that's some serious tin foil hat lines of thinking.

Also: But rather than focusing on total fat or other numbers on the back of the package, the emphasis should be on eating more minimally processed fruits, nuts, vegetables, beans, fish, yogurt, vegetable oils and whole grains in place of refined grains, white potatoes, added sugars and processed meats.

Which seems to be saying "hey, if you don't eat processed stuff and instead eat more whole foods from a variety of sources and strive for lots of variety in your diet then you're probably going to be healthier and less likely to gain a bunch of weight" which seems to be pretty ridiculously obvious nutrition science.

Most Americans could not sustain a ketogenic diet for any amount of time, so it is pointless for the purposes of a national health body.

That is curious, considering our rates of heart disease and diabetes were a fraction of what they were today when people ate more saturated fats (e.g butter). And when switching to a diet where saturated fat is the primary energy source, people tend to lose weight and see an increase in insulin sensitivity.

We don't know much about our bodies. I feel like every time a major news publication publishes an op-ed or a study, they're contradicting themselves[1]. One week eggs are bad, the next they're good. Same with dairy, carbs, and red meat. Then you mix in the whole "diet" complexity: Atkins? Paleo? Keto? Vegan? How do I choose?

When you study the longest-living peoples of the world, you also find extremely varied diets: the carbohydrate-rich Greeks rely heavily on fruits, veggies and whole grains. They also love goat's milk and wine. While natives of costa rica are primarily relying on "evil" white rice and beans, and heavy on pork and chicken. The people of Japan are also heavy on white rice, and virtually no fat in their diet, since their diet is primarily plant-based[2].

The truth is that everyone's needs are different. As an anecdotal example, I was convinced that keto was the right way, and that carbohydrates were not going to help me. Did I lose fat? Yes. Did I feel great? Sure. It turns out that even with great HDL and Triglycerides, my LDL and fasting glucose were still high. And I'm not alone in this problem from keto either [3].

After switching to a broader, less-restrictive diet, which now includes whole grains (quinoa, oatmeal, and wild rice), beans, and fermented vegetables (kimchi, sauerkraut), lots of fruits and vegetables (including starchy carbs like sweet potatoes and squash), I've lowered my LDL and fasting glucose (yes, now that carbs are back in my diet). Different things work for different people because everyone has a different metabolism. It seems that, if you study the longest-living people, the trends are as follows:

* Don't overeat.

* Eat mostly plant-based, whole or minimally-processed/refined foods.

* Leave 10-20% of your diet for indulgences. Virtually all of the longest-living peoples drink alcohol or coffee on the regular. And even then, by allowing yourself that affordance, you don't risk binge eating or rebounding for days/weeks/months on end.

* Ignore fad diets. Stick with the whole foods that you like to eat, get in some variety, but don't be dogmatic about dietary approaches, because not only will you likely not adhere to such restrictions, but you'll probably find yourself being contradicted by another study in the next 3-10 years.

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/opinion/sunday/why-nutriti...

[2] http://www.nsca.com/uploadedfiles/nsca/inactive_content/prog...

[3] https://www.google.com/webhp?#safe=off&q=keto+fasting+glucos...