WebMD Article on “10 Diet Myths”

Posted on | November 17, 2008 | 5 Comments

Ok, I’m going to take a break from being immature and mocking people and attempt to produce something that is useful for someone.

A friend of mine’s family member recently sent an email cut and paste of CBS News piece. It’s been quoted in several of the popular online new sites besides CBS and links to a WebMB article on “10 Diet Myths”.

Now, some of the advice here isn’t bad. A lot of what is given is even what is supported by studies. I’m sure anyone with a brain can imagine the difficulty in conducting large scale observations of the effects of diet on humans in a way that really passes scientific muster. Generally, the best we can manage is a statistical analysis after the fact, based on self report behavior or data we extrapolate from animal studies.

This means that nutrition as a science advances pretty slowly. You have the registered dietician crowd, who is pretty conservative in what they accept. You have a lot of people on the fringes advocating really questionable “magic pill” approaches, which are obvious quackery. Then you have a middle ground, where it’s pretty difficult to determine what viewpoints are valid.

I understand that the author of this article is trying to give conservative, agenda free advice, that said, there are a few points where I think what is provided is irresponsible I’d like to address.

Myth: Avoid foods with a high glycemic index.

Reality: You could use the glycemic index to adjust your food choices, but don’t make it your sole strategy for losing weight or controlling blood sugar, Rosenbloom says.

Ok, I more or less agree with this one too. GI is valuable tool, but people who become obsessed with it tend to rule out good foods (for example carrots). Eating more fat with a meal with do a good deal to mitigate the impact on blood sugar as well.

So far so good.

Myth: High fructose corn syrup causes weight gain.

Reality: “There’s probably nothing particularly evil about high fructose corn syrup, compared to regular old sugar,” Rosenbloom says.

She explains that this diet myth arose in 2003, when researchers noticed that obesity was rising along with the use of high fructose corn syrup. “They speculated that … maybe we handle [high fructose corn syrup] differently than we do sugar,” but “there really isn’t any evidence to support that,” she says.

The American Medical Association recently concluded that high fructose corn syrup doesn’t contribute to obesity beyond its calories.

OK, here’s where it gets interesting. I believe the jury is still out on how HFCS is processed as compared to sucrose. In truth I’m not aware what the latest scientific verdict on this one is. I believe the fructose/glucose ratio is higher in HCFS than Sucrose (where it’s roughly 50/50).

So, for the point of argument let’s assume that HFCS is identical to sugar. Where oh where does one make the leap from that to “HFCU is OK”? Added sugar is not OK. Refined or added sugar provides no nutritional benefit other than empty calories and it does little to make one feel saited. There is limited (but not conculsive) evidence that it contributes excessive insulin secretion, depressed insulin sensitivity and metabolic syndrome, and possible type II diabetes.

In short, it’s bad for you. In my opinion, besides the occasional cheat, the ONLY sugar people should consume should be that which occurs naturally in fruits and vegtables. This is even an area where several of the conservative bodies agree with me (See the IOM Macronutrient Report).

In my opinion, telling people that HFCS is identical to sugar, without also including the message that sugar is a major problem, is going to be taking by most people as an OK to continue eating processed crap.

The author is right, the problem isn’t necessarily HFCS per se, it’s eating added sugar and refined, garbage foods.

Myth: Sugar causes behavioral problems in kids.

Reality: You might want to check your expectations about sugar and children’s behavior.

For most children, “the excitement that kids have when supposedly they eat sugar is probably more related to the event and the excitement of the event than it is to actually consuming sugar,” Rosenbloom says. She cites research showing that when parents think their kids have been given sugar, they rate the children’s behavior as more hyperactive – even when no sugar is eaten.

Uhm hum. Here we are back to sugar again. Go figure. The above information is true, sugar generally does not cause hyperactivity. However, the article neglects to mention that you shouldn’t be giving your kids sugar anyway. This is one I get pretty heated about. Why do people think it’s OK to develop habits in their children that will probably haunt them for the rest of their life? See above for my opinion on sugar and HFCS. With children it has the added bonus of forming a destructive habit in someone before they have the chance to make their own decisions.

Myth: Whole grains are always healthier than refined grains.

Reality: Whole grains are a healthy choice, but you needn’t ditch refined grains. “You can have some of each,” Rosenbloom says.

I’m not touching this one… personally I would argue that grains should not be part of a normal human diet. I don’t eat them, except on cheat days (and I’m an endurance athlete of sorts). Since I’ve made this change, my bodyfat has decreased, energy levels have improved, and my LD has dropped 16 points (from 106 to 90) while HD has raised (from 54 to 70). This is all anecdotal though, a sample size of one. So I’m not going to try to argue the “grains are bad” with other people.

That said, I believe even the mainstream bodies now advocate getting as many of your calories as possible from unrefined sources, and the added vitamins that are touted for refined grains can easily be obtained from other (fruit and vegetable) sources. Numerous studies have suggested that whole grains are a healthier option than refined grains. IMO, this is another piece of advice that will be taken by most people as an OK of the standard American diet.

That’s right people, nothing to see here. Move along…

Thoughts welcome. I’d like to hear my what readers think about this.

Diggdel.icio.usRedditStumbleUponTechnorati

Comments

5 Responses to “WebMD Article on “10 Diet Myths””

Rayna
November 17th, 2008 @ 5:57 pm

okay- some links to back you up here…
the latest verdict on HFCS- it causes resistance to leptin… the chemical hormone that tells you you’ve had enough to eat?? That’s not important at all, right…

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081016074701.htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12058364/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup
http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/3021.html

as far as hyperactivity in children- here is a link as well. Now, the test subjects in this study were diabetics, but the findings are interesting:

http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2007/11/17/5534.html
Tom Parker - Free Fitness Tips
December 11th, 2008 @ 6:20 am

The more health blogs I read, the more people I find who avoid grains. I really need to do some research on this topic as I currently eat wholegrains as part of my diet.
Chris
December 11th, 2008 @ 2:43 pm

You should check out Rob Wolf’s writing (he has a blog) for some of the science behind this. However not being a chemist, I have a little trouble following some of it. I am aware of one animal study by a Scandinavian MD (using pigs) which compared pigs raised on a cereal diet to those raised on a paleo (fruit, nuts, veggies, meat) diet.

The paleo pigs showed better numbers in almost every marker of health.
It’s just one study though.

In my opinion, if you’re conflicted about it, experiment. Get blood work done, track your resting heart rate, take “before” pictures to evaluate bodyfat. If you want to be really organized about it, track how you feel (energy levels, athletic performance etc..) in a journal daily.

Then quit on the grains for a month, and see how these markers change.
That’s what convinced me, and my girlfriend .She was initially very reluctant, and is now more strict than I am about avoiding grains.

Man, this blog is getting serious and possibly helpful – that almost worries me. I need to get back to making fun of people curling in the squat rack and flexing in the mirror.
James Goksina
January 16th, 2009 @ 2:04 am

great post hope to see some additional comments next Thursday…chao
Scott
March 12th, 2009 @ 10:58 pm

Also HFCS has been linked to more intake of Mercury. FYI