McDougall Newsletter: September 2012 - An Independent Critique of Low-carb Diets: The Diet Wars Continue

September 2012

Volume 11 Issue 9

An Independent Critique of Low-carb Diets: The Diet Wars Continue

I am Travis (full identity withheld*) and my background is a concerned person who is passionate about the scientific literature. I have been in search for truth about diet, health, and longevity for the past five years. As with most people, I once believed that progressive physical dysfunction and illness were processes of natural aging, and that my genes would decide my fate. However, I have uncovered convincing evidence to the contrary: many long-lived populations remain fully functional and active until very late in life. Their diets are all similar: high in plant foods, and low in animal foods. I want to be one of these people.

During my journey to enlightenment on proper nutrition, I also identified a few individuals working hard to sabotage the truth. Their beliefs are recognized by names, such as, low-carb diet, Paleo, Primal, and Atkins. When these ideas win, people and the planet Earth suffer. One of the major efforts of believers in low-carb (high animal-food) diets has been to try to discredit respected scientists and their works. For example, Denise Minger, has spent the past several years trying to harm the reputation of T. Colin Campbell, PhD. Her writings distort the science, laying traps for death and disease for the general public that listens and follows. I have carefully read and analyzed the original science. My work has documented her inaccuracies and omissions, as well as untruths spread by many others in the low-carb camp.

Please consider my findings and conclusions in this first critique in a series to be published in the upcoming months in the McDougall Newsletter. If you judge my writings worthy, please share them with others. Also send questions directly to me at healthy.longevity@live.com. Your comments will also be published and questions answered in upcoming McDougall Newsletters.

*I have chosen to withhold my full identity for the time being because of my concern for my personal safety. Large amounts of money will be at jeopardy, as the truth becomes known.

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Forks Over Knives and Healthy Longevity: A Missed Opportunity for the Cholesterol Skeptics

This is the first part of a series of posts that addresses the science regarding plant based diets and the documentary Forks Over Knives and the very serious inaccuracies and omissions that compromise the critiques authored by the cholesterol skeptics, in particular Denise Minger.

Food Shortages, Cardiovascular Disease and All-Cause Mortality in the World Wars

In Forks Over Knives, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn described the classical findings from a paper authored by Strom and Jensen, who observed that in Norway between 1938 and 1948 there was a strong relationship between cardiovascular mortality and changes in intake of fat in the form of butter, milk, cheese and eggs, with the changes in mortality lagging behind dietary changes by approximately one year (Fig. 1).¹ Denise Minger not only ignored these findings in her critique despite citing the mortality data from the same paper, but instead claimed in regards to a paper on rationing in Norway that animal foods did not decline until after cardiovascular disease mortality had already started declining.² Denise misleads her readers by confusing the period when rationing was introduced with the period when the intake of animal foods declined. It can be deduced from the data from the Ministry of Supplies cited by Strom and Jensen that rationing was introduced as a result of a declining availability of such products, and therefore introduced after the intake of animal foods had already declined.¹