| You've seen the headlines blaring: "Low-fat Diet is | | | | others are accusing him of manipulating statistics. I |
| Healthiest." We have a tendency to trust what we | | | | don't know if this has anything to do with him being |
| hear in the media, especially if it's based upon | | | | the one to state that second hand smoke is deadly. |
| research. The problem is that it's dangerous to trust | | | | Back to Fats in Food |
| the media's interpretation of research. We must all | | | | Do you enjoy the mouth-watering taste of a juicy |
| realize that "the news" we hear and read is based | | | | steak... you know, the one filled with marbled fat? |
| upon what will draw people to watch the show. It's | | | | Just so you know, I do. Rib eye is my favorite. I |
| all based upon advertising and ratings. | | | | wanted to give you this piece of information before I |
| The Problem with Interpreting Research for Your | | | | gave you some information that assures me this |
| Health | | | | steak is perfectly healthy for me. |
| Frequently the media does not accurately reflect | | | | Ann F LaBerge wrote the scholarly article How the |
| what was found in an article in a medical journal. It | | | | Ideology of Low Fat Conquered America. As she |
| may contain a piece of information taken out of | | | | traces the history of the low-fat diet, she found no |
| context, and it may not report the whole truth. After | | | | research to back it up. |
| all, the whole truth is difficult to reduce to a 5-second | | | | Brian Peskin, in his book The 24-Hour Diet talks about |
| sound bite. | | | | the scientific knowledge of cellular biology that the |
| Another problem about research that is being | | | | cell membranes of your cells, more than 100 Trillion |
| revealed is something I, and most scientists, consider | | | | (note the "T"), are made up of 50% fat. We need |
| unethical. Pharmaceutical industries and food | | | | fat. He even suggests a little experiment you can do. |
| corporations are actually ghost writing the research. | | | | Eat scrambled eggs made up of 5 egg whites. Now |
| This means that the doctor's name on the paper is | | | | time how long it is until you're hungry. Now try it with |
| not the one who wrote the research. S/he was paid | | | | 3 egg whites and 2 whole eggs. Time how long it is |
| to put her name on the paper... a pretty cushy job! | | | | until you're hungry. |
| Another problem are the statistics. Yes, I'm sure | | | | The fat in the yolk is what satisfies the hunger. The |
| you've heard how statistics can be manipulated to fit | | | | less fat you eat, the hungrier you will be. It you |
| whatever conclusion you want. What if the statistics | | | | know the research showing that obesity has risen |
| themselves are wrong? Dr. Stanton Glantz, a | | | | with the fat-free diet, it makes sense. If you're |
| Professor of Medicine at the University of California | | | | hungry you will eat more. |
| has found that 50% of the top medical journals | | | | Get your diet information from more than one |
| based their conclusions on the wrong statistics. | | | | source so you can attempt to discover the truth |
| The problem is who to believe. Please note: I | | | | about eating healthy. |
| searched for information on Dr. Glantz and found that | | | | |