Comments to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

http://www.westonaprice.org/federal...acomments05.pdf

Heh! I'll bet you a Bunless burger that the agriculture lobby has their hooks in too deeply in Washington to pass a recommendation like that along.

I loved this ..
But will anybody listen? Not likely .. there's too much money tied up in carbohydrates -- especially refined carbohydrates.


Doreen

My personal choice is to avoid protein powders and other such "substitutes," and here they are recommending that. Interesting...

hmm interesting

sorry for the multiple posts this thing is 54 pages long

Quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Isolated protein powders made from soy, whey, casein and egg whites are currently
popular as basic ingredients in diet beverages and many so-called health food
products. These protein isolates are usually obtained by a high-temperature process
that over-denatures the proteins to such an extent that they become virtually useless
while increasing nitrates and other carcinogens and decreasing vitamin A levels;
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
interesting, but might be true.. stay away from processed/unnatural carb,fat and protein..

I'm rather interested in where the Funding for The Weston Price Organization comes from.

Oh here we go: http://www.westonaprice.org/funding.html

Reading random stuff on the site, sounds like a pretty holistic, natural products, supplements promoting site with a bent towards promoting saturated fats. I think they're probably right about some things, not about others.

I would HIGHLY recommend Mary Enig's book, "Know Your Fats", if you're interested in understandng the role that fats (saturated, mono- and polyunsaturated, transfats) play in our bodies and the foods that we eat.

She gives an in-depth discussion about the dangers of transfats. Also discusses the rapid decline in general public health since tropical oils and saturated fats have been removed from our foods by the political lobbyists from the edible oils industry. It's a very informative read.

Where did you find this book?
I looked on amazon and and bn and neither one of them are carrying the book.

Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...3445535-6319061

$29.95 new, unfortunately no used ones at this time but the shipping is free.

Amazon says will take at least 2-4 weeks shipping. Which means they dont have it in stock and can take months lol. BN.com and half.com dont have it in stock and when I went to the website it just gave an amazon link.

Well,

one of your local bookstores might be able to order it directly from the publisher more quickly then that. It is odd that none of the major bookstores seem to carry it in stock, but a smaller holistic/alternative health store might, or one of those new low-carb themed stores.

If you are willing to be patient for a used copy, one of my favorite sites is www.bookfinder.com It searches a lot of internet booksellers (not Amazon's used books though). Also you can set Ebay to email you if a copy turns up there.

If I find a better way I'll let y'all know, I want it too!

I agree.

The first thing that strikes me is how I found their request to redefine the food pyramid so poorly written worded and unprofessional. Then I read the content and I was sure these people were motivated by some unscientific agenda (either that, or not all right upstairs). It seems clear to me they are motivated more by an unscientific belief that natural foods are superior to any food which is processed (this is obviously not true: there are many toxins and poisons in nature, and not everything processed is deletarious to health), and thus they are strongly against all foods and food derived products which are unnatural. That, and they are also heavily funded by if not a front for the holistic market.

Much of their evidence against soy, protein isolates, and other "bad foods" were drawn from exaggerated (example: they claim protein isolates are "so processed" that for some reason or another that they don't bother to explain, these amino acids are now are "useless" to the body) or specious claims (example: they went so far as to say soy, not genetic racial/familial difference, is primarily responsible for the trend toward much earlier sexual maturation of minorities). They are also quick to point out how their detractors are funded by industry, but they neglect to mention they are funded by the holistic product business.

Like Nancy LC said, they do offer some valuable information (such as their information about phytoestrogens and their effect on the endocrine system of susceptable persons when found in excess), but the whole site is just full of half truths and exaggerations to the point where the org's claims are just ridiculous (for example, their conclusion is that all people should avoid soy like a poison since soy is high in phytoestrogens; however they NEGLECT to mention that phytoestrogens are present in ALL plant foods. Broccoli, an extremely healthy anti-oxidant rich veggie, is also very high in phytoestrogens).

As with all things, moderation is called for. Soy should probably be eaten in moderation, but not avoided all together. Saturated fat should be eaten in moderation, but it should not make up 50% of our total fats (!!). Balance is the key, and I notice from reviewing my food journal that my fats are usually in equal balance. That is natural to me. IMO, they are just as wrong as the USDA.

Thanks Woo for posting that. I was afraid I'd get egged if I did. Good analysis of their claims. I was very suspicious when I saw someone suffering from classic symptoms of a sinus infection being told it was just her body trying to get rid of "toxins" and she shouldn't undertake the antibiotic treatment her doctor was recommending.

It's easy to just assume that anyone that speaks authoritively about things we're not experts on, is an authority, but there's a lot of people with agendas we aren't aware of promoting extreme positions. You gotta ask yourself, why? Are they selling a book or a service or promoting a certain sort of industry or are they just fanatical about their beliefs?

BTW: We might be getting lots of REAL estrogen in our drinking water and fish and such because of women on birth control pills excrete it and it gets into the water supply. I heard some guy that has been going around the country testing for it saying that it is pretty prevalent.

The other thing I hear is that phytoestrogens might actually be beneficial to women because they bind to estrogen receptors in place of the real thing.

In my feeble understanding of it, they cause the body to respond only somewhat as if a true estrogen had locked to the receptor, causing a much weaker response because the fit isn't perfect. Which, some reports I read, said that might actually reduce estrogen related cancers.

But then again, it is good to stay skeptical because if you dip into the research you'll also find that mice fed soy had more estrogen related tumor growth than ones that weren't fed the soy.

I am a little afraid that people are jumping on the soy bandwagon prematurely. I know i did. But on the other hand, it is a little early to be saying soy is terrible too.

One study doesn't prove anything. Often studies are flawed or biased. They need to be repeated and tested and summarized and it is a slow process from what I understand.

I'm a lay person, but I do love being an arm chair spectator of science.