WAKE UP WORLD: The history of the Heart Attack/Diabetes pyramid

Today we are going to talk about the history of the food pyramid, which I call the heart attack/diabetes pyramid. All this information has been taken from the publications of Dr Nicolai Worm. He is THE leading nutrition and vitamin D expert in the German-speaking world. He continues to work to get the German, Swiss and Austrian nutrition associations to respect the current science about fat, cholesterol, protein and paleolithic nutrition, rather than representing the interests of big industrial companies.

EVOLUTION OF NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES

The first origins of the nutritional sciences are in the 19^th century, when Dutch physiologist and doctor Jakob Moleschott described the diet of the manual labourer. He documented that their diet consisted of 56% carbohydrates, 26% fat and 18% protein.

Other nutritionists of the era also surveyed and analysed the diet of manual labourers, focussing especially on the total caloric- and protein intake, considered to be important in order to fulfill bodily needs when performing daily heavy work. The scientists only observed what people were eating, but didn't ask them why they were eating as they were. They could have eaten like that just because there was nothing else available.

Based on these nutritional surveys, some German scientists from Munich gave their first guidelines for healthy eating which consisted of a diet of 3,055 kcal, 118g of protein, 56g of fat and 500g of carbohydrates for a person weighing 70kg (= 154 pounds) and doing heavy manual labour.

In 1894, American nutritional scientist Atwater took these guidelines from Germany and wrote them down for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) which promulgated them to the American population. They were still intended for „men at work“ and recommended a daily intake of 3,350 calories comprising 55-58% carbs, 13-18% protein and 24-33% fat.

After World War 1 the military was interested in identifying the best diet for keeping their soldiers fit and strong. They determined that the existing guidelines for macronutrients were also valid for soldiers. In 1917 British nutritionists from the Food War Committee recommended a caloric intake of 2,550-2,980, made up of 65% carbs, 10% protein, 25-30% fat. These guidelines were then taken on by the League of Nations (a precursor to the UN) in 1935.

Notice that the carb component is creeping up from previous recommendations. This is the basis of the “healthy” whole grain myth. Then, during World War 2, Hitler instructed German nutritionists to use the LON guidelines to develop the optimal diet for his German soldiers. Many other governments did the same, and came up with similar guidelines as a result. Even today no other country promotes whole grains as much as Germany.

CHANGE OF SCENARY

After World War 2, the public became richer and worked less, however the nutritional guidelines remained the same.

Now here's were the U.S. plays a key role. In 1941 the USDA wrote the first official nutrient guideline, the “recommended daily allowance” (RDA) chart. Updated guidelines followed every few years thereafter. In 1974 the American Heart Association (AHA) was invited to suggest the RDAs for fat consumption: lower than 35% with saturated fat making up only 10% to prevent heart disease. Then came Ancel Keys and his (saturated-)fat- and cholesterol phobic “7 country study”; between Keys and the AHA, the American public was convinced that a high-fat diet was the cause of heart disease (If you find me a clinical study that supports this hypothesis I will give you a cookie ).

Presenting nutritional guidelines as a “food pyramid” first came up in Sweden in 1974 and was then adapted by the fat-phobic, whole-grain-pushing USDA in 1992, becoming famous world-wide. Many Europeans argue that the American diet is dreadful, but almost nobody knows that when it comes to food guidelines we Europeans take them ALL from the U.S.

As a side note: NESTLÈ paid for the design of the USDA food pyramid. In fact, they are still promoting the food pyramid on their cereals (Kellogg's is owned by Nestlè). They tell us we are supposed to eat lots of the foods on the bottom of the food pyramid for a “healthy” life. The truth is that doing so only ensures these industries a healthy bottom line. THAT is the bitter truth.

WHY THE HEART ATTACK/DIABETES PYRAMID?

What happened when governments advised people to eat less fat and replace it with carbohydrates?

We ditched butter for margarine, eggs and bacon for cereal, and got more heart disease, diabetes and obesity, and just plain hungry as the years wore on. Why?

FATS

1. Governments put fats and oils at the top of the food pyramid, advising us to consume very little of them and to replace saturated fat with vegetable oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (especially omega 6). Maybe this is some of the worst advice ever given, since O6 intake is a strong indicator of obesity, heart disease, chronic disease and autoimmune disease. Keeping the omega 6:omega 3 ratio even and low is “associated with a 70% decrease in total mortality”.

2. Governments still advise us to replace saturated fat with carbohydrates, mostly from grains, which are high on the glycemic index (don’t think brown bread will save you, since whole grain wheat is still higher on the glycemic index than table sugar). This leads to “predisposition to cardiovascular and inflammatory disease”. Furthermore, insulin is needed to prevent damage to the body from the glucose spike brought on my eating carbs, and insulin is a fat storing hormone, pulling glucose from the blood and storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle. It also prevents the body using fat as an energy source by inhibiting the release of glucagon from all the places it’s just sent it.

CARBS

3. The dieticians’advice (at least here in Europe) is to have 5 carbohydrate-based meals in a day to spread the carb intake out over many small meals to prevent huge blood sugar and insulin swings. I have to ask myself how on earth I survive 8 hours’ sleep every night without a glucose drip in my arm. There's a biochemical process called gluconeogenesis that synthethizes glucose from aminoacids (from protein). So if my body can run without them, carbs are not essential. If carbohydrates are not essential than why on earth am I suppposed to have 300g of them everyday?

4. You have to ask yourself whether there is any point in carb-loading the whole day while many of us spend our time on the coach or hold a job that requires absolutely no physical activity. Your kitchen might contain more carbohydrates as you read this than your ancestors ever saw in their whole lives. Practically, you are eating like a manual labourer without ever lifting a pitchfork. Remember that although we live in the 21^st century, our whole physiology and biochemistry still works like that of a hunter and gatherer in the stone age.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS

5. Not only are we advised to eat more easy energy than we need, they are more often than not “empty” carbohydrates. Whole grains contain antinutrients such as phytic acid, meaning we don't absorb their nutrients. In fact our bodies cannibalise minerals in an effort to catch and expel the antinutrients. So eating grain products only causes raised blood sugar, well-filled glycogen stores, calcium and magnesium deficiencies, and fat deposits.

6. It's the nutrient density of a food that tells you “I've had enough”. Having empty calories at the bottom will only make you overeat while you’re starved for nutrients. What are nutrient dense carbohydrates? Vegetables, fruits and tubers.

7. Eating per the Food Pyramid, working and living in closed rooms (and eating from animals who do the same), vitamin D deficiency is rampant. The 200 international unit RDA for Vitamin D is totally outdated. It was recorded in the 1950ies for infants to prevent rickets, a serious bone illness. So this RDA is valid for babies with a body weight of 3.5 kg. Yes, and since then nothing has changed
8. So why are nutrition associations still not reacting to the huge vitamin D research? Because they’re sure their pyramid represents a complete diet, one that doesn’t require supplements (statins excepted, of course!).

With all this non-food leaving your body craving actual nutrition and sending desperate signals to get you to eat in an attempt to get it, how are you supposed to make a low-fat diet such as we see in the food pyramid work? By counting your calories. That’s right: you should eat less of this non-food nonsense and then you’ll be healthy and happy! Or perhaps, based on what we now know, going against the pyramid is the better way to go.

9. It's a fact that low-carb diets have a better influence on HbA1c (a marker for insulin sensitivy), LDL, HDL, and triglycerides than alternative diets. These are all factors that are important in calculatin the diabetes/heart disease risk of a patient.

10. The paleo community knows that serum cholesterol has nothing to do with dietary cholesterol. Elevated cholesterol does not have to be a risk factor for CHD; it is not the cause, but a symptom of heart disease.

CONCLUSION

So, after all that, why are our governments still lying to us? Because there is huge interest from the industry companies not to change any guidelines. On the other hand, pharmaceutical companies embrace all the diseases caused by incorrect nutrition and lifestyle. The more sick people there are, the more money big pharma makes. It's a sad reality! My advice? Do your own research and educate yourself in nutrition, but let me give you a hint: Start by first looking at it from the evolutionary perspective!

References:

“Mehr Fett – warum wir mehr Fett brauchen um fit und schlank zu bleiben” Dr Nicolai Worm und Ulrike Gonders

“Syndrom X oder ein Mammut auf dem Teller! - Mit Steinzeitdiät aus der Ernährungsfalle” Dr Nicolai Worm

“Heilkraft Vitamin D” Dr Nicolai Worm