Comments on NIH Draft Nutritional Plan
Prior to the strong governmental advocacy, starting in the 1960’s-70’s, of a diet low in saturated fat and high in carbohydrates, our health, and weight status was infinitely superior to our current status. It had been for millennia. We must focus our research now, not on extreme dietary experiments such as vegetarianism, but on the benefits of the traditional human diet which always included red meat and saturated fat, whenever possible, along with plant-derived foods. The few, relatively recent vegetarian peoples of the world have well recognized diet-caused nutrient/health problems (e.g. low iron and B12 anemia).
It is shocking that the focus on the vegetarian diet and a peculiar version of the Mediterranean diet low in animal protein is still being supported by the NIH, despite this year’s discrediting of the former NIH food scientist responsible for promulgating the questionable health claims for both diets.
For additional information read these articles:
Sloppy science bears substantial blame for Americans’ bad eating habits