Which is it Mayo? Are carbs good or are carbs bad?

By Nurse Mark

We have written over and over again about the hazards of a high carbohydrate diet – and we have pointed out that even the US Government’s own National Academies of Science, in their massive publication Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids, makes the statement on page 275 of this 1359 page document that:

The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed.

Yes, you read that right; you could never eat another carbohydrate again – ever – and you would be just fine. In fact, as long as you are eating plenty of protein and fat you’ll be better than fine – you’ll be far healthier than any of your carb-eating friends.

Yet we continue to see, over and over and over, so-called “experts” solemnly proclaiming that a “mixed” or “balanced” diet modeled after the carbohydrate-rich food pyramid (now called “MyPlate”) and containing large amounts of high-carb starchy foods is essential for good health. What malarky – to quote a certain politician.

I recently wrote an article titled Common Food Ingredient Makes You Stupid? in which I talked about a UCLA research paper that showed that sugar impaired brain function in rats, and that Omega3 fatty acids as found in fish oil protected the rats from that impairment. There was really nothing new here, as we have know this all along – and even your grandmother knew it when she was making you swallow that awful tasting fish oil…

Now we have that invincible, unquestionable, all-wise source of medical knowledge, The Mayo Clinic, telling us that:

Eating Lots of Carbs, Sugar May Raise Risk of Cognitive Impairment, Mayo Clinic Study Finds

Wow – if the mighty Mayo Clinic says it’s so, then it must really be true!

Unfortunately, as we get not very far into the article we get this silly statement from the lead researcher – who is obviously not yet ready to give up on his daily bread, ‘taters, rice, beans, and other assorted carbohydrates:

“We think it’s important that you eat a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat, because each of these nutrients has an important role in the body,”

Hmmm… I guess the good doctor isn’t familiar with that National Academies of Science publication that says there is no need for carbohydrates in our diets…

Ah, well – so close, and yet so far. When will we break free of this unhealthy notion that we must eat sugars and starches and carbohydrates or we’ll somehow dry up and blow away?

Mayo is right – eating lots of carbohydrates is bad for you – and Mayo is wrong when they say that carbohydrates are important and must be included for a diet to be “healthy.” Which is it, oh mighty Mayo?

References:

The National Academies of Science publication Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids is available from The National Academies Press at:

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10490

The Mayo Clinic “news” release can be found here:

Eating Lots of Carbs, Sugar May Raise Risk of Cognitive Impairment, Mayo Clinic Study Finds

And to see what a really poor diet is, see the USDA “Food Pyramid” – it’s guaranteed to keep you fat and sickly!

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/Fpyr/pmap.htm

Stumble! for WP