Release date: 11/14/2022
Podcast Duration: 47:04
A summary by Brandon Johnson, DC
5 Key Takeaways
A large percentage of Americans are following government guidelines on diet yet obesity and weight related diseases are on the rise
Government research on nutrition is funded by big food companies
The government subsidizes cheap and unhealthy commodities (corn, canola, soy)
The current guidelines chose not to recognize new research regarding the immense benefits of high fat, low carb diets
Only 1% of guideline funding goes to scientific review of nutritional research
Dr. Mark Hyman begins this podcast with a discussion about the dietary guidelines that are given to us by government agencies. These food guidelines play a large role in regards to the decision making around food in our society.
What Entities are affected by these Guidelines?
Medical Community: all nutritional information given to patients is based off of guideline recommendations
Schools: follow meal plans that are structured around government guidelines
Hospitals/ Nursing Homes: serve "my plate" meals that have the macro nutrient breakdown offered in the guidelines
Military: all personnel are fed according to guideline recommendations
Dr. Hyman believes that many of these recommendations are out-dated and do not follow the most recent science. He believes that the Guidelines are negatively impacting the health of Americans. Government dietary recommendations were first offered to the public in 1980 and were not called into question until 35 years later.
Issues with the current Guidelines
Evidence shows that a large percentage of Americans are following this dietary structure.
Metabolic disease continues to rise
Saturated fats: the recommendation is to drastically limit intake to preserve heart health
New studies show that saturated fats do not play a large role in bad cholesterol or negatively impact heart health
Guidelines call for 6-11 servings of grains/carbohydrates
The concept of eating high carb(sugar)/ low fat diet correlates with obesity and diabetes
The guidelines are reviewed every 5 years which delays change following new research
A lot of the research used in the guidelines are funded by Big food companies that prioritize profit over health.
1% of funding in guidelines goes to scientific review
Other countries use a stop light method rather than portioning
Green: eat freely
Yellow: eat with caution
Red: eat sparingly
After laying out several issues about the current guidelines Dr. Hyman begins to talk about key studies and statistics that are being excluded by the government food recommendations. He states that we cannot exercise our way out of a bad diet and that in some cases, we are "literally poisoning" our citizens.
Key Topics and Studies
All scientific reviews on negative effects of high carb diets were being remitted during the last guideline review
Rate of obesity in military is 14% with 2/3 being overweight
High fat diet study lead to people reversing type 2 diabetes (a disease of carbohydrate intolerance)
94% of people off insulin
Reverse 60% in 1 year- the study was ignored
Average weight loss 12% or about 30lbs
High fat low carb was associated with improvements in cancer, autoimmune disorders and autism
USDA agency in charge of the guidelines has initiated a more evidence based reform, however this idea is not reflected in the guidelines
After discussing the literature on current nutritional science, Dr. Hyman then begins to discuss food labels and how they can be deceptive. He believes that the current issues are more about politics and not discrepancies in science.
The Issue with Food Labels
Labels include things like Gluten free, No cholesterol to make sugar dense processed foods appear more healthy
Often show nutrition facts for 1 serving when there are many in the package
This makes the consumer think there are less calories
Label regulations are difficult to change because of congress backlash which is funded by big food companies
Kraft American cheese is not 51% cheese so its called “slices”
Kraft in the UK cannot use artificial colors or ingredients
MSG has had its name changed to(hydrolized yeast protein) to hide in labels
Used in lab rats to make them eat more and become fat
Three Questions to ask when reading a Label
What are the ingredients?
Find out and understand the ingredients
Are they real ingredients that you've heard of?
Example: TBHQ- causes T cell issues and increase allergic reactions and stomach cancer
Are these ingredients good for you?
Do they offer nutritional value
Do they negatively impact your health
Where did the ingredients come from?
Do they occur naturally
Were they made in a lab
"Natural flavor" is almost always synthetically designed
Natural flavoring increases cravings “biggest evil” in labels
After touching on food labels Dr Hyman discusses the issues with big food companies and their collaboration with government entities. He explains that these food companies are only concerned about improving margins with no regard to human health. It is explained that reform is very difficult because the immense funding behind large food companies.
Big Food companies and Government
Root cause is because of agriculture and subsidies given to produce cheap commodities for American consumption
Corn, canola and soy being the worst
Corn and soy create imbalance from omega 6 to omega 3, causing inflammation
Dairy farmers were over producing so the federal government helped promote more consumption of dairy and processed cheese
“Got Milk?” campaign
Spend millions in research to make their products "cravable" or "snackable"
Avoid the word addictive
Companies use extensive science to make food more addicting
Vanishing caloric density: science proves that if the food dissolves in your mouth the mind doesn't feel that it is consuming dense calories (example cheese puffs)
We are up against a mega PR campaign vs our health
For example: Kellogg creates waffles and gets millions of dollars in advertising and media coverage
Government Accountability office allows food companies to market and manipulate unhealthy foods
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