Why we need to get the Eatwell and 5 a Day guidelines changed

[ianf0ster]

Those of us on a Low Carb lifestyle are all too well aware of the need for the Government Guidelines on food to be changed. But for those who have doubts, perhaps this talk from a 'citizen scientist' at the recent Public Health Collaboration Conference will be persuasive

 

[DaveB]

Hi. Many of us over many years have tried to get the PHE (and DUK, BHF, BDA etc) diet guidelines changed with little effect. You will find that all of the bodies involved with diet advice are in 'Group-Think 'mode and will only slowly change. Do add your own influence but underneath it all is the food industry lobby - carbs are cheap and profitable.

 

[Drummer]

Newly diagnosed type twos are still being told that starches are absolutely fine - lose weight and avoid sugar seems to be the advice trotted out. Also, that they do not need to know their numbers, not even Hba1c, and never their blood glucose levels. It is almost criminal.

 

[Ljc]

I agree with you as I think the majority if not all of us here do.
We have fought for years now but it’s hard when you’re fighting against the big powerful food industry, slow but sure their is light at the end of the tunnel.
My newish nurse understands its carbohydrates.
When I was diagnosed and under the care of a hospital diabetes team, I learned carbs were my enemy , once I left there care until I met this nurse earlier this year it was very different, so much so I refused to discuss my diet with the gp DN nurses over the years.

So like folks on other sites we battle away in hope.

 

[Docb]

Can I add a note of caution?

For a very large group of the population the eatwell plate idea provides the sort of basic nutritional advice that they need. The problem is one of presentation. The eatwell plate is designed very much in the modern fashion, presented in the same way somebody would try to sell a soap powder. Things are good or bad, treating the recipient as they cannot cope with anything more complicated than that.

If there is a problem with the "eatwell plate" it is that it is presented without caveats. It is presented as if it is perfect for all when that cannot be the case. So to my mind I would say don't change the idea but think hard about how it is presented. Make it clear that it is general advice and that there are groups for whom it needs to be modified. Stop treating people as being unable to understand anything where there is some element of doubt.

 

[Drummer]

I think we Eatwell deniers are dealing with the situation as it is at the moment - the population in general is becoming fatter and sicker, mobility in older people is becoming reduced for a higher percentage of the population, unable to walk, climb stairs, requiring assistance for everyday living, problems with coping with various foods, most notably gluten is increasing. Food intolerances are increasing - or at least that is what we are told, IBS is common, problems such as PCOS are appearing more frequently, but that seems to respond well to eating low carb, to judge from messages to the low carb forum I found on Facebook - so does IBS and diverticulitis, for some.
I have read William Banting's 'letter on corpulence' from the mid 1800s and he likened the normal diet back then to feeding a horse on beans - which they are able to cope with up until the time when they are no longer able to do so.
I believe that the basic premise of Eatwell amounts to what someone young and fit can eat, up until the consequences kick in.
Having been put onto carb based diets again and again during my lifetime the restoration of vitality once I stop the stupidity is very familiar to me. I am just thankful that I survived to this age of 68 as well as I have done and am now regaining strength and energy yet again.

 

[Ljc]

Yes @Drummer that’s exactly what I mean.