Low Carbohydrate Diets are Scientifically Correct

Why Doctors Reject Low Carb Diets

As a Family Physician with eleven years of community practice experience, I can attest to the lack of detailed training in nutrition in medical school during the years I attended (I am not aware that it has changed much since then).

But there is more to it than that. Doctors get their scientific information about nutrition from the same sources that the general public gets theirs - U.S. government agencies, highly specialized professionals at universities and teaching hospitals, and research from various funding sources, including drug manufacturers.

My medical training taught me to reject "fad" diets, including the low carb diet, if they do not comply with the criteria for a healthy diet - which has been defined for many years by the experts and illustrated by the USDA Food Guide Pyramid as low in fat, and with approximately 50% of calories from carbohydrate.

Other physicians can only do the same, because they have no other basis on which to judge the merits of a particular plan. And this is not because they are not interested in nutrition - most of them would love to guide their patients in weight loss and nutritional health.

The Truth about Nutritional Science

The real truth is that physicians and other health care professionals learn the detailed biochemistry of how the human body metabolizes nutrients, but they have never been provided with the "big picture" that permits them to actually make an assessment of a particular eating plan. They, like the rest of the public, depend on the "experts" to guide them in this realm. And even the experts are not seeing the true picture.

I did not discover this until I did my own in-depth research in nutrition and metabolism. It was not easy to piece the information together, but once it is taken as a whole, it becomes evident that we already have the scientific knowledge that permits us to assess the effects of various nutrient intakes.

And an objective scientific analysis of a limited carbohydrate intake reveals that it is the healthiest way possible for most individuals to eat!

The scientific information on this site is explained in simplified terms for the general public, but is also meaningful for doctors and other professionals. Invite your doctor to review it - it will surprise both of you!

 

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(c) copyright 2000 Jan McBride, M.D.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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