Friday, February 11, 2011

Minger 1, USDA 0


Under the subheading called “Needs for Future Research” (AKA “Stuff We Don’t Really Understand Yet”), they wrote:
1. Determine the benefits and risks of MUFA vs. PUFA as an isocaloricsubstitute for SFA. Confirm the metabolic pathways through which dietary SFA affect serum lipids, especially as some SFA (e.g., stearic acid) do not appear to affect blood lipid levels.
Basically, they’re recommending we swap saturated fat for unsaturated varietieswithout being sure what the effects are, and that we slash all saturated fat consumption without being sure whether the reasons are biologically justified. I guess by the time the next tome of guidelines is released, the USDA will get to see whether their lipid recommendations helped or killed us off faster. Welcome to America, land of 300 million guinea pigs.
The unfortunate part of the USDA recommendations, to me, is that they bind agents of the government to recommendations derived from immature science.  The more fortunate thing for now is that we can test these recommendations for ourselves using equipment from a 'drug store.'  If you eat meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar/no wheat, and you blood glucose readings are better, you lose weight, you feel better, your appetite is controlled, and you perform well mentally and physically, forget the USDA, you've already learned what they should.  

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