Ranks of stupidity

Dear Reader, I'm not sure who makes up all those "top ten" lists you'll find floating around the internet. But I can tell you that the people who write about diets are usually wrong. Typically, they're registered dieticians. And despite their apparent credentials, they generally have no idea of what a healthy diet is. These so-called diet "experts" are almost always bogged down in old science and "standard" recommendations. And they wouldn't know how to dole out good advice if either their or our lives depended on it. I'll admit that there are many RD's who have stepped out of the box and really learned about nutrition. But there's still a big difference between dieticians and nutritionists in terms of education and training. So why am I ranting about dietician advice? Because I want you to know that it's all garbage. And I'd like to offer up U.S. News and World Report's latest ranking of the "Best Diabetes Diets" as a shining example of just how misguided this brand of conventional wisdom really is. As you know, proper diet is the number one way to manage diabetes--losing weight can even prevent it. And as the title suggests, a panel of "experts" rated the 29 diets on the U.S. News list based on their ability to prevent and manage diabetes. The one that came out on top was none other than The Biggest Loser Diet. Now, you know how much I love "reality" television. But are they serious? The only reason those people lose weight is because they are placed in an artificial setting and made to exercise a million hours per day. Personally, I'd like to see just how many of the contestants actually kept the weight off. My guess? Not many. Next up on their list was the DASH diet, which is also endorsed by our government. It stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. I hate to break it to these list makers, but researchers have already pitted the DASH diet head to head with a Mediterranean diet (which my New Hamptons Health Miracle is built off of), an ultra-low-carb diet (a.k.a. Atkins), and an ultra-low-fat diet (a.k.a. Ornish). And guess what? The DASH approach yielded the worst results when it came to losing and maintaining weight--and for controlling or preventing diabetes, too. So I ask you, how could this diet be among the "best" on the list? Am I the only one who reads the research? Other diets that were mentioned on this list included the Engine 2 diet (is it just me who's never heard of this?), the Flexitarian diet, the Ornish diet (again, please read the literature--this diet performs poorly in head-to-head studies), the Mayo Clinic diet, and a vegan diet. Once again...what is wrong with these people?! Low-fat and vegan diets are so packed with carbohydrates that they almost never work for sustained weight loss. And they certainly don't help fight diabetes. Quite the opposite, in fact. These types of diets cause a rise in insulin levels, which in turn causes a rise in fat deposition, especially around the mid section. Plus, they're really hard to maintain. Being a true vegan without becoming a "carbotarian" is next to impossible in America. And besides, why do we have canine teeth if not to eat animal protein? Again, when these diets go head to head with lower-carb diets, they always lose. And yet, all of the protein-rich eating plans were on the bottom of this list. Lunacy!!! These morons even placed the Mediterranean diet--the whole-food, good-fat-rich approach to nutrition that most closely resembles my New Hamptons Health Miracle-- down around number 10 on the list. Just slightly above Slim-Fast. How is Slim-Fast even a diet program worth mentioning? Honestly. As if anyone would seriously consider staying on Slim-Fast their entire life. Anyway, I could go on forever talking about the problems with this absurd list. But here's the real truth: These panels are packed with people who are biased towards spin and lies... and who are influenced by everything from big business to bad science. So please... Don't listen to them. I've got your voice of reason right here. And it advocates a lot more than just a sensible dinner. It advocates good sense... period. Until next time, Dr. Fred