I think the author is about as accurate as the group thinking that she is dissing. Partially right, partially wrong --- and the picture with a stethoscope doesn't add any authority to me, but actually does the opposite without proper letters after her name --- it says "I dress like a doctor so you will believe me."
1. Low-Carb is The Best Diet For Everyone
Agreed. This one is pretty obvious to me. If one diet worked for everyone, we would only need one diet book!
On the other hand, I think a high carb diet is probably the worst diet for most humans. Look around, that's all the proof I need. Supersize me!!!
2. Carbs Are Inherently Fattening
High glycemic carbs cause insulin release which among other things causes the body to store fat. So I consider this one partially correct.
But we are on a low carb diet, not a no carb diet. Most people who follow a plan like Atkins go on very low carb during induction and then add carbs until they reach the maintenance point. After that point, carbs are definitely fattening.
I don't think our group-think says carbs are fattening, but too many carbs are fattening.
3. Carrots, Fruits and Potatoes Are Unhealthy Because of The Carbs
I'd go with quantity on this one. (1) Potatoes are pretty worthless, (2) most modern fruit cultivars have been bred to have far to much sugar in them, and (3) carrots are OK, again in limited quantities.
The apple of today is nothing like the apple of the pre-agricultural age. It was closer to a crab-apple. Years of selective breeding has resulted in cultivars that are hundreds of times sweeter and larger than the ancestors. Same for corn, pears, carrots and so on.
Just as we bred chihuahuas from wolves we have grown frankenfruits and frankenvegetables that are Goliaths compared to their ancestors,
The agricultural age is a mere speck in the time span we humans have evolved on the planet. I don't think the body was meant to ingest the concentration of carbs that most modern fruits and grain products supply
4. A Low-Carb Diet Should Always be Ketogenic
I disagree with the author's figures here. She says,
"Low-carb can be anything up to 100-150 grams of carbs per day, perhaps even more." ???? That is
NOT a low-carb diet. Anyone who thinks so knows nothing about low carb diets, and therefore everything else this author says becomes suspect.
5. All Carbohydrates Are Sugar --- Saying that all carbs are broken down into “sugar” is true, but misleading. ... Yes, starches like grains and potatoes do get broken down into glucose in the digestive tract, which raises blood sugar levels.
What??? First it's misleading and then they all break down into glucose? Are we contradicting ourselves here??? Either they break down into sugar or not, you can't have it both ways to support a weak point.
'nuff said about this one
6. It is Impossible to Gain Weight on a Low-Carb Diet
Agreed. If I ate 5,000 calories of pure fat a day, I'd still get huge
7. Drinking Butter and Coconut Oil is a Good Idea
I don't drink it, although I do put HWC in my coffee and tea. I eat a lot of fat and coconut oil. Again, this depends on the person.
I don't think it matters whether you drink or eat the fat, what works for one may or may not work for another.
8. Calories Don’t Matter
They definitely do matter. Just less on a ketogenic diet than on a high-carb diet.
9. Fiber is Mostly Irrelevant to Human Health
I take psyllium fiber every day - it makes my innards happy - however for my DW fiber binds her innards and gives her problems
10. If Low-Carb Cures a Disease, That Must Mean That The Carbs Caused it in The First Place
I think if low carb cures a disease, that means that the carbs either caused the disease (as in type 2 diabetes) or created a favorable environment for the disease to thrive in (as in cancer, candida, etc.)
I do think group thinking does affect many of us who do not do independent research on our own (and research is so easy to do). I like pubmed.gov (from the
National Institute of Health) because the articles have been published in peer reviewed publications.
However, I don't think we are as brainwashed as vegans because vegans ignore these things
- Our teeth are the teeth of omnivores, both flesh tearing and grinding teeth are resident
- We have the digestive enzymes of an omnivore
- The length and design of our alimentary canal is average for an omnivore (vegetarian animals have multiple stomachs, extremely long alimentary canals, or eat their own feces to pass the through again)
Most low carb people eat both plant and animal foods, although we are choosy about which foods we eat.
So I think the author may have a point on group think, but is not doing a good job supporting her point without committing the same sins as the group-think-tank does.
Bob