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Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

scientificamerican.com

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Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#41

Post by patrickk »

fanboy123 wrote: post #23

I think the real answer is because it is more systematically profitable to sell carb products and (food) companies are really really good at selling things to people. It is interesting to see comments on this forum that involve the strategy of reasoning with the public to get them to accept their idea. Next time you see somebody drinking a soda explain to them what fructose does metabolically to their bodies. Your me…

"...it is more systematically profitable to sell carb products and (food) companies are really really good at selling things to people."

Apart from the cheap, unhealthy ingredients and slick marketing, modern processed food is also engineered to be appealing; and for the want of a better word, addictive. Prehistoric man would have to do a lot of hunting and gathering before he would consume the equivalent amount of carbs, sugar and salt that one could quickly and easily consume in a single meal from a fast-food restaurant. Humans never evolved to be able to cope with the amount of crap in modern food.

We also evolved to hunt or farm our food before we could eat. Now with the internet, you can order your groceries with the barest physical exertion - the click of a mouse.

Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#42

Post by guelo »

I guess I haven't been paying attention but I thought the Atkins diet from a few years ago had been discounted as an unhealthy fad diet. But now I'm reading that it has been scientifically proven to be the healthiest diet. Is that right? Are carb-filled fruits and vegetables supposed to be less healthy than for example fried bacon?

Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#43

Post by guelo »

forensic wrote: post #14

The "fat is evil" thing that happened in the latter half of the 20th century is going to go down as the biggest scientific fuck up ever. The very people who were given all the authority and trust, and who were supposed to protect human life, actively killed people by pushing carbs as healthy and fats as unhealthy. They directly caused spiking obesity, the #1 medical issue in our society. Repeat after me: The biggest…

Calm down there. It is scientists after all that are informing you of the new evidence.

Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#44

Post by jobu »

andrewcooke wrote: post #5

Well, my guess would be: Because "evangelists" on both sides use words like "worse" to reduce complex issues to sound bites.

I just wish the "evangelists" would stress "for some people" when they talk about these diets.

Some people stay healthy and trim on a low-fat diet. Some people do much better on a low-carb diet. Some people are physically harmed by eating meat (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gout-diet/MY01137).

Unfortunately we just need to experiment a little as individuals to find what works best - and hope for a day when we doctors/scientists can recommend diets based on genetic traits.

Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#45

Post by terio »

jradakov wrote: post #27

That's funny. There are many studies showing that vegetarians live longer, more healthy lives than omnivores.

Many vegetarians eat some food from animal sources, like eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. On the other hand, I have heard cases of people that tried to be pure vegan and had serious health problems.

Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#46

Post by jinushaun »

danssig wrote: post #29
kzaragoza wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can trust them to continue diving into the science of nutrition. The interesting thing about this whole episode is that it serves as a wonderful illustration of the self-correcting nature of the scientific method. Consider what's happened: First, health authorities made observations about diets and various diseases, creating hypotheses along the way. Next, they gathered some data and analyzed it. They drew conclu…

>The interesting thing about this whole episode is that it serves as a wonderful illustration of the self-correcting nature of the scientific method. This is actually not very good PR for science. The wonderful illustration here is that after billions of dollars and millions of lives we realized we were wrong? What system couldn't do that? To me, what this actually illustrates is the mistaken way we use science today…

The problem isn't science or the scientific method. It's marketers and salesmen (laypersons) that take one scientific study and go crazy with it. The studies themselves are probably littered with probabilities, statistics and caution conclusions. That doesn't work when you're trying to sell snake oil.

Just look at the whole anti-oxidant craze with cranberries, pomegranate and acai berries. Suddenly people are buying gallons of juice. The scientists didn't do that.

Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#47

Post by matwood »

jpk wrote: post #28
joshklein wrote: post #16

I think there are a number of issues: 1 - People relate fat the nutrient to fat the body type because they share the word "fat". Not much to do there. In high school I was taught that carbohydrates were "energy" and fat was "waste". People should probably be taught the right way our biological systems operate. 2 - Medical authorities have worked with the best science they had available at the time, and are almost alw…

Related to your key #1, this[1] talk by Robert Lustig (who's work has seen some exposure on HN in the past) has a pretty good run-down of how some of the carbohydrates are metabolized. Specifically, he points to fructose as the culprit when it comes to obesity. I recommend watching the whole thing, but skip to about 36:00 to see the biochemistry. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Sigh. A good criticism of Lustigs demonizing fructose:

http://www.alanaragonblog.com/2010/01/29/the-bitter-truth-ab...

Key takeaway that Lustig ignores - USDA numbers by the way:

Total energy intake in 1970 averaged 2172 kcal. By 2007 this hiked up to 2775 kcal, a 603 kcal increase.

Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#48

Post by jnorthrop »

terio wrote: post #8
PagingCraig wrote: post #2

Neither should be demonized.

Of course. If it wasn't for wheat, potato, rice, and other grains and tubercles, most of humanity would starve. Simple carbs are cheap.

The point of the article wasn't to discuss the opportunity cost of keeping or eliminating carbs. It was a discussion of what is optimal for our health.

Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#49

Post by matwood »

DavidBishop wrote: post #33

People resist the idea because the answer is too simple. "Fats" are better than "Carbs". So lard is better than a banana? Ugh. It's not the broad category of "Fats" vs "Carbs". It's the TYPE of food. Eat good food. Period. Not something made in a factory. Twinkies: out. Soda: out. Standard pizza with refined grains and loads of cheese: out. Eat healthy food: the right meats, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lots…

I totally agree, the problem is that it's harder for people to eat healthy than simply pick a single thing and demonize it. Plus, telling people to eat healthy doesn't sell a lot of books.

Re: Why do people resist the idea that carbs are worse than fat?

#50

Post by mcantor »

terio wrote: post #40
mcantor wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There happens to be an entire nutritional philosophy based on exactly that approach: http://thepaleodiet.com/

I know, that's was one of my starting points. My comment addresses the last part of the parent comment: you should experiment and find what works best your yourself. Although I consider myself a paleo, I am not a purist.

Well-said. Lately one of my mantras has been "Do What Works For You". We tend to broadcast our opinions as if they were the only possible approach for all people, because our insecurities make us fear being wrong every time we see someone with a different solution. Or, worse; we choose to take the "easy way" of following someone else's belief system to avoid the uncertainty of nurturing our own, even if it obviously doesn't work for us. Each individual person experimenting and drawing their own conclusions seems like the most reliable way for everyone to actually see results.

If only everyone would just be quiet and follow my opinions about that...

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