Slash diabetes risk with one two-ounce snack per day...

Dear Reader, It's interesting that the "powers that be" in the medical community keep telling you to lower your consumption of fat if you want to stay healthy. Even while science continues to prove them utterly and completely wrong. Well, I suppose "interesting" isn't the right word, is it? "Infuriating," "outrageous," or "grossly irresponsible" might be better choices. But I didn't bring this up today to start a discussion about semantics. Instead, I want to share the results of two new studies--both of which show that eating one kind of high-fat food can help ward off type 2 diabetes. Even if you're already at high risk. (And with global obesity rates being what they are today, that category includes a whole lot of people.) This research focused on nuts--almonds and pistachios in particular. In one study, participants were split into two groups. One group ate two ounces of almonds daily for four weeks, while the other did not. And it turns out that subjects who did eat the nuts felt less hungry than those who didn't. They also had lower blood sugar levels. The other study showed that overweight and obese subjects who ate two ounces of pistachios daily for four months benefited from significant drops in fasting blood sugar, insulin levels, and insulin resistance. I have to say, I was surprised to see researchers zero in on pistachios. They don't usually get a lot of press. But pistachios are actually a good source of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs)--which research shows help to boost your mood and melt fat off of your waist. Making nuts a regular part of your diet can also lower your heart disease risk, improve your cholesterol profile, and balance your blood sugar. And that's just the short list of benefits. Which is why it makes me a little angry when no one bothers to report on findings like this. And what angers me even more is the fact that many people still think of pistachios, almonds, macadamias, and other nuts as "junk food." Why? Because they follow the advice of the USDA, the AHA, and all of those other idiots who know nothing about nutritional science. Or how food can actually help heal your body.  And now we're in the midst of one of the biggest health crises since HIV--another epidemic that killed far too many people before the government finally took action--because of it.  The difference, of course, is that we didn't know how to stop HIV when it first showed up. But we know exactly how to stem the growing diabesity epidemic.  Yet the powers that be keep espousing the same old dogma, year after year. And millions more just keep getting sick.  Luckily, you know better. And you can count on me to continue telling you the truth.  Unlike all those government "experts," I am always willing to adjust my belief system. In this case I didn't have to. But science evolves--especially nutritional science (which is still fairly new, in the grand scheme of things). And I know as well as anyone that a few new, solid studies can change everything.  Well, not everything. There will always be some consensus on which foods are good for us. (Like nuts.) And which foods are undeniably bad. (Like sugar.)  The bottom line: All those people responsible for writing "the rules" better catch up quick. Unless they want to sacrifice yet another generation in the name of willful ignorance.  Until next time,    Dr. Fred