Building a new food pyramid
 For years, nutritional experts have been repeating the slogan "fat is bad." Building on comparisons with for example Japan, where low-fat diets apparently lead to lower incidents of obesity and heart problems, an official "food pyramid" has been marketed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The message is clear: eat foods that contain complex carbohydrates - bread, cereals, rice and pasta - and avoid everything with fat.
The result of this propaganda can be seen in every supermarket: all sort of foods are marketed as "low on fat" or "fat free."
However, nutritional experts have long been aware that the truth is way more complex. It has been known that some types of fat are good, and indeed reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Even worse, there is little evidence that it is correct that intake of complex carbohydrates is all that good. And the evidence is now getting stronger and stronger that it's the carbohydrates that are the main culprit for dietary problems. The "no fat" argument is not only too simplistic (which has been known all along), it is deeply flawed.
A recent article in Scientific American discusses a drive from nutritional experts to market a new food pyramid. Pastas and bread are no longer good for you.
Thanks to Duane's radio weblog for bringing this to my attention.
7:09:18 AM 
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