NOVEMBER 2016

 

"I wouldn’t trust the government to water my plants.
Why do I feel differently when it’s telling me what to eat?"  
—S. Hingston in an amusing editorial lamenting butter deprivation


In case you missed any of these newsworthy stories, here is a wrap on the best real-food-more-fat headlines last month.

  1. The Globe and Mail reports that the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada has (finally) reversed it's advice about restricting dietary saturated fat. "The organization is also urging Canadians to stop fixating on one particular aspect of food – such as fat, sodium, calories, sugar – and instead focus on eating unprocessed, whole foods." Amen.
  2. Butter sales up 40% in Korea due to popular TV documentary about LCHF diets and social media sharing.
  3. How did Big Food stifle food movement reforms during Obama's tenure? A long read with some sobering insights about Washington realities by the always articulate Michael Pollan. A Forbes contributor and 'food realist' asserts more was accomplished than Pollan admits. Not sure we can agree that MyPlate was an accomplishment, but the ban on trans fats certainly counts.
  4. The New York Times reports that feeding assistance program, WIC, nudges its shoppers toward healthier food. But the program encourages crackers and bread and bans whole milk. (????) To paraphrase Adele Hite, RD, MPH, the problem with government programs attempting to reduce purchase of "bad" food and increase purchase of "good" food is that they are clueless about which ones are which. Agreed.
  5. The Wall Street Journal reports on six new, interesting food trends. We like #3, a trend toward pronounceable and understandable ingredients. This might include a "biotech company... using mushrooms to remove the bitterness in cacao beans so that chocolate can be made with less sugar." Nice. And #4, a trend toward more plant waters, might help wean us from sugar sweetened beverages. Cactus water, anyone?

WANT MORE?

Watch Dr. Sean Lucan's convincing TED length talk and ditch your obsession with counting calories. Or check out this French documentary, The Cholesterol Capers—the Damaging Lunacy of the Diet Heart Hypothesis that makes a strong case against the links between dietary fat, cholesterol, and heart disease risk. Or watch a journalist give low carb a go and document his experience—a very balanced piece.

Read up on whether too much sugar can give normal weight (especially Asian) individuals diabetes. Or how some hospitals have eliminated sugary drinks and seen staff enjoy measurable health improvements. And here is a respected Harvard endocrinologist's thoughtful slam of low-fat dietary recommendations.


FROM THE ETB WALL OF SHAME:

FINALLY, FOR SOME FUN WITH BUTTER...

Why Canadian butter "really sucks." Why is milk white but butter yellow? Why make homemade butter? Why is this woman swallowing an entire stick of butter? (Caution: that last one is weirdly x-rated.)

Happy November,

The Moms @ Eat the Butter

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