Don't mistake marketing for truth

2. December 2006 William Davis (0)
We're all so inundated with marketing messages for food. Unfortunately, many people confuse the messages delivered through marketing with the truth.

For instance:

Pork: "The other white meat." Pork is a high-saturated fat food.

"Bananas: A great source of potassium." Bananas are a high glycemic index (rapid sugar release), low fiber food.

"Pretzels: A low-fat snack." A high glycemic index food made from white wheat flour. It makes you fat and skyrockets blood sugar.

Jif peanut butter: "Choosy moms choose Jif." Do they also choose hydrogenated fats?

Hi-C: Upbeat jingles like "Who put the straw in my Hi-C fruit drink, a new cool straw that wriggles and bends? Who put the straw in my Hi-C fruit drink, with Vitamin C for me and my friends? Who was that man, I'd like to shake his hand, he made my Hi-C cooler than before!" What about the 25 grams of sugar per 4 oz serving? And the high fructose corn syrup that creates an insatiable sweet tooth, raises triglycrides 30%, and exagerates pre-diabetes?


Marketing is not reliable, unbiased information. If Ford boasts that their cars are superior to GM, do you say "Well then, I need to buy a Ford?" Of course not. Take marketing for what it is: A method of persuading people to buy. It may or may not contain the truth. It's a big part of the reason Americans are the fattest people on earth and are experiencing an explosion of chronic diseases of excess.
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Flat tummy . . . or, Why your dietitian is fat

Flat tummy . . . or, Why your dietitian is fat

19. December 2008 William Davis (19)
When I go to the hospital, I am continually amazed at some of the hospital staff: 5 ft 4 inch nurses weighing over 200 lbs, etc.

But what I find particularly bothersome are some (not all) hospital dietitans--presumably experts at the day-to-day of healthy eating--who waddle through the halls, easily 40, 50, or more pounds overweight. It is, to say the least, credibility-challenging for an obese dietitian to be providing nutritional advice to men or women recovering after bypass or stent while clearly not in command of nutritional health herself.

What's behind this perverse situation? How can a person charged to dispense "healthy" nutritional information clearly display such clear-cut evidence of poor nutrition?

How would you view a success coach dressed in rags? Or a reading coach who can barely read a sentence?

Easy: She follows her own advice.

Hospital dietitians are essentially forced to adhere to nutritional guidelines of "official" organizations, such as the American Heart Association and the USDA. There is some reason behind this. Imagine a rogue dietitian decides to advocate some crazy diet that yields dangerous effects, e.g., high-potassium diets in people with kidney disease. There is a role for oversite on the information any hospital staff member dispenses.

The problem, of course, doesn't lie with the dietitian, but with the organizations drafting the guidelines. For years, the mantra of hospital diets was "low-fat." More recently, this dated message has begun--only begun--to falter, but now replaced with the "healthy, whole grain" mantra. And that is the advice the hapless dietitian follows herself, unwittingly indulging in foods that make us fat.

Sadly, the "healthy, whole grain" message also contributes to heart disease via drop in HDL, increased triglycerides, a huge surge in small LDL, rise in blood sugar, increased resistance to insulin, tummy fat, and diabetes. Yes, the diet provided to survivors of heart attack increases risk.

The "healthy, whole grain" message also enjoys apparent "validation" through the enormous proliferation of commercial products cleverly disguised as healthy: Cheerios, Raisin Bran, whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, etc. The "healthy, whole grain" message, while a health disaster, is undoubtedly a commercial success.

I'll bet that our fat dietitian friend enjoys a breakfast of healthy, whole grains in skim milk, followed by a lunch of low-fat chicken breast on two slices of whole grain bread, and ends her day with a healthy meal of whole wheat pasta. She then ascribes her continually climbing weight and size 16 figure to slow metabolism, lack of exercise, or the once-a-week piece of chocolate.

Wheat has no role in the Track Your Plaque program for coronary plaque control and reversal. In fact, my personal view is that wheat has no role in the human diet whatsoever.

More on this concept can be found at:

What's worse than sugar?

The Wheat-Deficiency Syndrome


Nutritional approaches: Large vs. Small LDL

Are you wheat-free?
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Comments (19) -

  • Brock Cusick

    12/20/2008 5:26:00 PM |

    Dr. Davis,

    In your clinical practice, do you see good results from patients who continue to eat oats and/or brown rice as long as they cut out sugar, wheat and corn?  

    I ask because Dr. Weston Price's research found examples of cultures that used these grains (oats and rice) while continuing to exhibit signs of good health. He did not have access to modern diagnostics however, so perhaps he missed some indicators.

    Kind regards,

    Brock Cusick

  • baldsue

    12/20/2008 7:16:00 PM |

    Each time I contemplated seeking advice from a dietitian, I changed my mind after I saw the dietitian and decided I was doing well enough on my own.  Never felt like I could believe or trust dietary advice from someone whose BMI was obviously higher than my own.

    And I love my new flat stomach.

  • Anonymous

    12/20/2008 9:44:00 PM |

    My father had surgery 7 years ago at a well known Indianapolis hospital. During visitation I could not help but notice how overweight (some obese) the female receptionists and nurses were. They all looked to be in their early to mid 30s.I was speechless.

  • Anonymous

    12/21/2008 7:40:00 AM |

    that's what can happened even to a best-selling author of diet books http://tinyurl.com/8d4d4m

    in my country there's a saying "a shoemaker that walks on bare feet"

  • Anonymous

    12/21/2008 7:42:00 PM |

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19083495

    Long-term consumption of a carbohydrate-restricted diet does not induce deleterious metabolic effects

  • Leniza

    12/22/2008 5:51:00 PM |

    I don't think that overweight dieticians (and nurses, and doctors)even follow their own advice. Not that that advice isn't garbage anyway, but I doubt that whole grains and lots of fruit and lean meats make up the bulk of their diets. It's probably more the case that these people aren't following the rules they give their patients (not that the rules would work, anyway). "Knowing" something and choosing to do it are two different things. I completely agree with you on sugar and wheat, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to indulge without guilt during the holidays (I don't have any health problems, though.)

    It's like with smoking. People KNOW it's bad for them, but they still do it. I know several doctors who tell their patients to quit smoking, but who smoke like chimneys themselves. I used to work with a PULMONARY PATHOLOGIST who was a chain smoker.

  • Jean-Luc Boissonneault

    12/22/2008 7:40:00 PM |

    Thank you, I'm so glad you said this! This makes me sick! I say practice what you preach or don't preach at all. At my personal training centre, my trainers are all in good shape. I tell them it's like a hopelessman giving financial advice.

  • Anonymous

    12/23/2008 3:27:00 PM |

    Dr. Davis, thought you'd find this interesting:

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081215184308.htm

    Journal reference:

       1. Piconi et al. Treatment of periodontal disease results in improvements in endothelial dysfunction and reduction of the carotid intima-media thickness.

    The FASEB Journal, 2008; DOI: 10.1096/fj.08-119578

  • Ricardo Carvalho

    12/29/2008 1:16:00 PM |

    Dear Dr. Davis, I suppose the WHO wants everyone to be fat, don't they?! Nutritionists simply follow these poor recommendations. Who's fault? -> http://www.euro.who.int/nutrition/20030321_1

  • extropolitca

    12/29/2008 11:03:00 PM |

    WHO is right in his recommendation.
    Right with the mean of the people living on Earth.
    I'm italian, living in Italy.
    Mediterranean diet (the real deal) is very good if you are a peasant in agricultural job doing hard work (4.000 Kcal/day). Than you can eat your pound or two a day of bread plus salami, cheese and olive oil and fruits, be full, lean and healthy.

    You move to city, start to work in an office, cut all to 2.000 kCal/day proportionally and you find yourself hungry, gaining fat and lacking minerals and vitamins with the same diet.

  • Juhana Harju

    1/1/2009 1:22:00 PM |

    This is a naughty blog entry... but I agree. Smile I have been pondering the same question.

    While I approve the use of whole grains, I agree with Extropolitcan's view that reduced energy expenditure should lead to changes in diet. We should probably use more nutrient dense foods. I would also like to promote the idea of moderation, which is really a beautiful and positive idea, not appreciated enough in our Western culture.

    Wishing everyone a Happy New Year,

    Juhana Harju
    BMI 22

  • Anonymous

    11/25/2009 5:35:44 PM |

    I've seen more fat doctors than fat dietitians. I'm a dietitian and I'm at a perfect body weight, AND I follow my own advice, which is to eat in moderation. This is an extremely unfair stereotype to make. Between doctors and nurses thinking they know all about nutrition with minimal education in it, and patients asking for advice and then telling you that you're wrong right to your face, it's no wonder clinical nutrition has such a high burnout rate and low rate of job satisfaction.

  • Anonymous

    5/13/2010 1:52:39 AM |

    I'm a fat dietitian, and we fat dietitians know how much we are hated.

    I find it interesting that the topic of "dietitians that follow their own advice" had to be written with such contempt. Consider the message your readers came away with...many commented on their contempt of fat people rather than grasping the diet advice you are promoting. "A naughty post" BMI 22 wrote. Why naughty? Because ridiculing someone for being fat is still acceptable behavior in this part of the world, even though we know we should not "throw stones". Consider promoting your message without inciting the contempt of others.

    In addition, consider how being fat can't be hidden, the way other characteristics can. For example, what physical characteristics are required of a realtor, plumber, grocery clerk, insurance salesperson? It might not matter if they were fat since they are not dispensing "health" advice, but consider all of the unseen ways they might deviate from the norm.

  • Anonymous

    7/6/2010 6:47:04 PM |

    I'm a dietitian as well, and although not "fat", I find it challenging to maintain weight. This not because of any "bad" advice I'm giving, it's just the way life is sometimes.

    That said---I hope that someday you are publicly ridiculed for something you struggle with. I hope you are ridiculed for your imperfections, which I'm sure you have. Dietitians aren't any more perfect than anyone else. Just because we understand the physiology behind things doesn't mean that life is any easier for us. Maybe the "fat dietitian" in the hallway has things going on in her life that you don't know about, and you should keep your "fat" mouth shut about it.

  • buy jeans

    11/4/2010 6:34:29 PM |

    Sadly, the "healthy, whole grain" message also contributes to heart disease via drop in HDL, increased triglycerides, a huge surge in small LDL, rise in blood sugar, increased resistance to insulin, tummy fat, and diabetes. Yes, the diet provided to survivors of heart attack increases risk.

  • Michael Scott

    10/1/2011 2:31:15 AM |

    I'm 69 and have been on Atkins, level one, for a little more than eleven years.  I now consider myself a "former" overeater because as long as I remain below twenty grams of carbs per day, I'm totally in control of my eating.  Even after eleven years I understand that my chances of ever being able  to eat more than 20 grams of carbs per day will never happen!  Like an alcoholic, whenever I reach my "carb limit" I have to stop at that point.  I can't eat even a single bite of any grain products without "falling off the wagon".  A single bite of bread or pizza crust and I become an alcoholic with food!  I'm just amazed that more dietitians  are not overweight eating grains.  Anyone who can eat grains and still remain under 400 pounds has my admiration.

    Mike Scott

  • Dr. William Davis

    10/1/2011 1:45:47 PM |

    Hi, Mike--

    Your experience is something like my personal experience, though my carbohydrate cutoff is around 30 grams per day. Some of us are just not equipped to handle the high insulin requirement, while others can get away with much more. Find your individual path and stick to it!

  • Michael Scott

    10/1/2011 3:21:52 PM |

    This information is for the dietitian who suggested eating in moderation.  Is this the same advice we give to an alcoholic?  Do we tell them to drink in moderation?   About the only advice an over eater receives from a doctor or dietitian is:  Starve yourself for the rest of your life and don't forget to kill yourself exercising!  Now we all know that these may not be their exact words, but trust me that is exactly what an over eater hears just before going into “full panic mode”.  When my eating was “totally out of control”, I had as much chance of stopping at one slice of bread as a “down and out” alcoholic has of stopping after one drink!  Until we all understand this, there is almost no long term hope for a “fat” person.  We do not suggest that an alcoholic drink in moderation for a very good reason.  How can we advise someone with a major eating disorder to eat the very foods they are addicted too.  Had I not given up whole grains, fruit and any high carb vegetables, I would now be 400 pounds.  I learned this thanks to Dr. Atkins.  If not for him I wouldn't be here now.  How many 400 pound, 69 year old men do you know?  Moderation of grains/alcohol will never work.  

    Michael Scott (again)

  • Dr. William Davis

    10/2/2011 2:44:08 PM |

    Well said, Michael!

    You make a crucial point: How many 400 pound, 69 year old men do you know?

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Why do skinny people get heart disease?

Why do skinny people get heart disease?

13. June 2008 William Davis (9)
There's no doubt about it: The majority of people with heart disease are overweight. They may not be grotesquely overweight, just a few pounds over. But weight plays a crucial role in activating numerous factors that heighten risk for heart disease.

Excess weight reduces HDL cholesterol, raises triglycerides, increases small LDL (enormously), fans the fires of inflammatory responses (CRP, IL-6, TNF-alpha, etc.) raises blood pressure, increases resistance to insulin and raises blood sugar. Overweight people tend to be less physically active, may develop diseases of obesity like sleep apnea, and on and on. You've heard this all before.

But why do slender people develop heart disease? If we can't blame weight, what is to blame? By slender, I mean body mass index (BMI) of <25. (Yes, I know there are other ways, better ways, to gauge healthy weight. But, for simplicity, I'll use BMI.) Let's put aside the two obvious causes of heart disease, cigarette smoking and Type I diabetes. (I'd be shocked if any cigarette smokers read this blog.)

Slender people develop heart disease because:

1) They have lipoprotein(a)--The big, big neglected risk factor. In fact, the Lp(a) genotype is, in my casual observation, associated with a slender phenotype (genotypic expression). The prototypical example that makes headlines is the marathon runner--slender and superbly fit, but develops heart disease anyway. People wax on about the uncertainties of exercise and fitness when they hear about Jim Fixx and Alberto Salazar. But one factor would explain it all: Lp(a).

2) The murky category of the normal weight obesity. These people are generally recognizable by their flaccid tummies despite falling into a favorable BMI <25. Small LDL is the standout red flag in these people.

3) They were previously overweight but lost it.

4) They were former smokers.

5) Vitamin D deficiency--Deficiency of vitamin D is important for everyone's health. But there appears to be some people for whom it is the dominant risk. I believe that one of our great Track Your Plaque success stories, Neal, falls into this group. Some people who are vitamin D deficient develop colon cancer, others develop diabetes, others develop osteoporosis or multiple sclerosis, while others develop coronary heart disease and plaque. The likely reason for the varied expression is variation in vitamin D receptor genotypes (VDR genotypes).

6) The murkiest of all: Hypertension genotypic variants. This is a poorly sorted-out category, and one principally based on my observations along with scattered observations in such things as variations in the angiotensin converting enzyme genotypes. But I am convinced that there is a small percentage of slender people who show variation in some genetic type that predisposes to hypertension and heart disease. They also show a propensity towards enlargement of the thoracic aorta. This group is also among the most difficult to control in the Track Your Plaque approach, i.e., they have difficulty slowing or stopping the growth of heart scan scores. While blood pressure control in this group is important, it does not seem to remove the excess source of risk.

So, yes, being slender does put you into a lower risk for heart disease category. But it does not mean you are immune.

You can also be an overweight person who still harbors some of the features of the slender--you're an overweight slender person. The above list can still therefore apply.
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Comments (9) -

  • Anonymous

    6/14/2008 9:53:00 AM |

    Believe it or not, there is a guy I work with that smokes that reads your blog with interest.  He takes the supplements recommended, but can't seem to bring himself to do any more of the TYP program.  

    The good news is that his wife appears to have stopped smoking, and she also follows the low carb diet - not easy for her since she works in a bakery - plus takes supplements.

  • Mike Turco

    6/14/2008 7:01:00 PM |

    Another smoker here... not bragging about it. As I've been reading your blog for some time I don't believe your comment was meant to exclude those who smoke. Maybe there are fat people reading too?

    Which kills more people: stress, smoking or obesity? If you could pick two out of three to eliminate, which and why?

    Just curious. Love your blog, by the way.

    Mike

  • Anonymous

    6/18/2008 8:32:00 PM |

    Very informative Doc.-- Thanks for writing this blog-- On "Vitamin D deficiency" that could lead to such thing as heart attack or diabetes; since i'm lactose intolerance and a sugar hater so i drink soy milk & mix 1-2 tbsp of honey into orange juice daily. Do you think it's enough to get some Ds for a woman in 30s? I don't like pills if i don't have to take it, including supplements. Any thoughts/ideas would be fine. Thanks for this blog again!

  • Anonymous

    6/21/2008 1:54:00 AM |

    I smoked years ago until one day I visited a friend in the hospital. In the next room was a hideously hacking and choking man -- obviously suffering severely. His sobbing young wife explained to me that he had lung cancer. It was a glimpse into hell.

    I never smoked another cigarette.

  • Dana Seilhan

    6/22/2008 6:25:00 PM |

    There was a study that came out in 2006 which debunked the "fat kills you" idea.  From what I can tell, it goes like this:  Fat by itself is just energy storage.  But fat is also a symptom of health problems that lead to diabetes.  This explains the correlation in SOME people between overweight and diabetes, and overweight and heart disease.  But excess fat in itself is not what kills you.  This is how you can be slender and still get diabetes or heart disease--it just happened that you didn't have the extra weight as a warning signal.

    If one is going to criticize a fat person or call them unhealthy it is important to do a health workup on that person first to see what's going on.  Your heart scan is a good idea;  so is a five-hour GTT with insulin levels.  The latter in particular is going to pick up glucose metabolism problems early.  Glucose metabolism problems seem to be what lead to everything else you mentioned.

    As for vitamin D I have to laugh every time I see someone fretting over where to get it.  Go out in the sun for fifteen minutes a couple times a week!  Bonus:  You can overdose on food and supplement sources of D, but you can't overdose on the kind you make from UV exposure.

  • Mike Turco

    6/25/2008 3:56:00 AM |

    Hi Dana,

    I am overweight too, actually, but I've lost a lot of weight and I'm getting towards where I want to be (low-carb, no wheat, etc.) I've struggled with my weight all my adult life. I didn't mean to say fat in a derogatory way, that is just the word that came out while I was typing. I sure didn't mean to hurt yours or anyone's feelings. Sorry.

    Mike

  • Anonymous

    3/2/2010 4:22:23 PM |

    Hi I'm a very slender person with a history of heart disease, colon issues ms and diabetes in my family (who are also slender).  I'm now entering middle age and trying to start getting a better lifestyle and cut out some of the bad foods I've been eating.

    I find this difficult because I have difficulty maintaining my body weight even with my bad diet.  It sounds like I should be really popping the vitamin D from my family history.  However do you have advice on how to eat a healthy HIGH calorie diet so that I do not lose weight?

  • Anonymous

    7/27/2010 5:04:30 PM |

    I am overweight and it isn't easy to lose the weight.  It's obvious that overweight people have a problem - addiction to food as with any other addiction such as drugs or alcohol, etc. Why isn't there more help for us overweight people?  My doctor keeps telling me to lose weight - and join weight watchers - I have but it's not helpful.  It's like telling a drug addict to stop taking drugs and letting them walk out the door and you're on your own.

  • Anonymous

    7/27/2010 5:04:53 PM |

    I am overweight and it isn't easy to lose the weight.  It's obvious that overweight people have a problem - addiction to food as with any other addiction such as drugs or alcohol, etc. Why isn't there more help for us overweight people?  My doctor keeps telling me to lose weight - and join weight watchers - I have but it's not helpful.  It's like telling a drug addict to stop taking drugs and letting them walk out the door and you're on your own.

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