Diet too complex to blame one thing or other for disease

  • By Barbara Quinn The Monterey County Herald
  • Monday, June 30, 2014 12:17pm
  • Life

This letter from Joan V. caught my attention:

“I am an 80-year-old lady who has enjoyed eating all my life. I am most comfortable eating meat and vegetables … always have been.

“For parts of my life (like WWII and later) we were able to grow a lot of our own food — wonderful fresh vegetables, lamb, pigs, chicken, eggs. I never ate much fruit. I like it, just don’t bother with it.

“In 1961, I had my third child, and the government advice came out to eat less meat and more carbs. I tried it but I felt terrible. Went back to meat and vegetables, and I have been fine for 52 years.

“Recently, I had surgery for 14 rib breaks (had a bad fall off my horse) and the doctor commented that I had the bones of a 30-year-old.

“Because we are in our 80s, we don’t eat much anymore. For breakfast we eat eggs or bacon, or sausage, with toast, butter, or potatoes. For lunch we eat soup or salad, and a piece of meat. For dinner we eat meat and a vegetable, usually. We use butter and a lot of olive oil. We are both very healthy. My husband hikes three days a week, and I ride a horse.

“I do have congenital high cholesterol but also very high HDL, which I feel is more important.

“I have just read the book ‘The Big Fat Surprise,’ which explains why the benefits of giving up meat for carbs is not a good thing.

“Have you read the book? And what do you think? I am just curious.”

Dear Joan,

As one horse lady to the other, I applaud your time in the saddle. And, yes, I have read this book. This is what I think:

Years ago I was lambasted for writing a column about a beef rancher. This book turns the table in the opposite direction with the subtitle, “Why butter, meat &cheese belong in a healthy diet.”

I agree that these foods can belong in a healthy diet. So can olive oil, fish and wine. And fruit. And vegetables.

Author Nina Teicholz states she researched this book with “a dose of skepticism” regarding our current recommendations for fat, particularly saturated fat.

And she rightly acknowledges the complexities of studying the health impact of one particular element (fat, in this case) in the human diet.

She is correct that no one food — be it cheese or steak or bran muffins — has been shown to cause obesity, diabetes, or heart disease. Rather it appears that patterns of eating — the amount of various combinations of nutrients — are more influential on our health than individual substances.

I was disappointed to see — after lengthy analyses of every conceivable glitch in nutrition research regarding dietary fat — on the last pages of this book, an all-encompassing conclusion that obesity, heart disease and diabetes “are caused instead by carbohydrates.”

One piece of valuable research this book seems to have regrettably missed is the landmark Diabetes Prevention Program — a lifestyle intervention trial in 27 clinical centers in the U.S. — that identified lifestyle behaviors that significantly reduced the risk for type 2 diabetes. Along with exercise and weight loss (duh), reducing excess fat (especially saturated fat) significantly cut the risk for developing diabetes.

I’m not the first to suggest that the ideal diet for humans provides the right balance of nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals) in the proper amounts from a variety of foods.

And may we also remember while we sit around and debate which diet is best; our growing epidemic of obesity and diabetes are because we are stuffing in too many calories from fats and carbs.

Putting the entire blame on one food element or the other might be likened to shooting your horse because your foot slipped out of the saddle. Probably smarter to make some corrections as we go down this trail.

I suspect long-lived and healthy people like yourself and your hubby have overall healthy habits and attitudes about life. That may be the most obvious surprise of all.

Barbara Quinn is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. Email her at bquinnchomp.org.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.