We aren't what we eat!

We aren't what we eat!  That's the conclusion of this study, the most recent of a bunch of recent studies that are overturning what decades of nutritionists have been telling us is health eating.  A diet heavy in fat – even saturated fat – is not what drives up fat levels in the bloodstream.  It's carbohydrates that do that.  Dr. Robert Atkins and Gary Taubes were right all along – perhaps not on the mechanism (the jury's still out on that), but at least on the “carbohydrates bad, fat good” thinking.

If you're interested in the story of how the nutritionists got things so badly wrong, I recommend The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet, by Nina Teicholz.  Not only is the direct story interesting, it's a terrific and detailed examination of how science in general can fail.  I saw many parallels between the ways that nutrition science went horribly wrong, and the way climate science has done so.  When I finished reading this, I had an urge to go make some egg salad (eggs, mayonnaise) with bacon – but not in a sandwich (bread is heavy with carbohydrates), just in a bowl.  But then I remembered how poor a record nutritionists have in general.  I think I'll stick with my own personal diet: anything I want, but all in moderation...