[b]British National Health Service[/b] guidelines – which advise cutting down on fatty foods like butter, cream and chocolate – may be putting the public at risk and should be urgently revised, a leading heart scientist has warned. [s]The Times[/s] reports that [b]Dr James DiNicolantonio[/b] insists that diets low in saturated fat do not lower cholesterol levels, prevent heart disease or help people live longer. Health experts and nutritionists back his comments, saying that for too long ‘uncomfortable facts’ have been stifled by ‘dietary dogma’. DiNicolantonio claims that sugar and carbohydrates are the real culprits driving high cholesterol and the obesity epidemic. The report says his claims echo those of [b]SA Sports Science Professor Tim Noakes[/b], who is promoting a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. DiNicolantonio says: ‘There is no conclusive proof that a low-fat diet has a positive effect on health. Indeed the literature indicates a general lack of any effect, good or bad, from a reduction in fat intake.’
Meanwhile, a study claims that eating too much protein could be as dangerous as smoking for middle-aged people, reports [s]The Daily Telegraph[/s]. Research which tracked thousands of adults for nearly 20 years found that people who eat a diet rich in animal protein are four times more likely to die of cancer than someone with a low protein diet. The risk is nearly as high as the danger of developing cancer by smoking 20 cigarettes each day. The report says previous studies have shown a link between cancer and red meat, but it is the first time research has measured the risk of death caused by regularly eating too much protein. High-protein food plans, such as the Atkins Diet, have become popular in recent years because of their dramatic weight-loss results. The new research from the [b]University of Southern California[/b] suggests that such dieters may harm themselves in the long run. But [b]Dr Gunter Kuhnle[/b], a food nutrition scientist at the [b]University of Reading[/b], said: ‘While this study raises some interesting perspectives on links between protein intake and mortality… It is wrong, and potentially even dangerous, to compare the effects of smoking with the effect of meat and cheese.’
[link url=http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2014/03/07/heavyweights-weigh-in-on-fat-debate]Full report in The Times[/link]
[link url=http://openheart.bmj.com/content/1/1/e000032.full?sid=5e6b0cad-75ea-41a1-85e6-e5461d77846c]Research abstract[/link]
[link url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10676877/High-protein-diet-as-bad-for-health-as-smoking.html]Full report in The Daily Telegraph[/link]
[link url=http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(14)00062-X]Full Cell study[/link]