If you have read some of my articles, you will know that there is a lot of misinformation on many topics of health and nutrition, and I try to correct those stories with real scientific facts. Some of the misinformation is just from urban myths, hearsay or unsubstantiated stories. Other health or medical stories are manufactured from poor scientific studies funded by the industry or the company who intends to profit from a positive result. This happens all the time, sadly.
Once such biased and corrupted story which has amazingly gone on for almost 50 years was conducted by the American sugar industry in the 1960s. At the time, research was starting to emerge that showed heart disease was being linked to a higher intake of sugar at that time. The sugar industry was understandably concerned about this, and decided to respond by funding scientists to write studies which falsely linked saturated fat to heart disease, while exonerating their own product - sugar.
The sugar industry then lobbied government policy-makers to introduce low-fat health measures, which are, for the most part in government and medical areas, still being promoted today. New published research in late-2016, uncovered old papers and letters showing that the sugar industry did manipulate research and government food guidelines in the 1960s and ever since.
The practice of industries funding research into their own products (as opposed to independent studies which are less prone to bias) still happens today. For example, Coca Cola in 2015 were shown to be sponsoring studies which showed sugary soft drinks were not linked to obesity! There are many more like this. Luckily some journalists or independent scientists are suspicious of such research results and investigate them deeper, and the public are becoming more wary of such blatant bias, and they are not falling for it.
The conflicts of interest in modern science needs to stop. The editor-in-chief- of the most prestigious medical journal "The Lancet" in 2015 said that a lot of the scientific literature published (and peer-reviewed) was simply false. His counterpart in another of the oldest medical journals, The New England Journal of Medicine, similarly said that it was impossible to believe much published research, or to rely on the judgment of doctors or medical guidelines. This is a sad indictment of science today - it's all about profits for the company funding their own research, or getting funds to do research or perhaps for the ego of the scientists writing the papers, but very little to do with improving your health. A lot of this "scientific" fiction is actually harming people and their health.
Most, if not all, of the independent scientific research (which is less prone to poor study designs and biased results) shows that saturated fats are NOT a major factor at all in the development and progression of heart disease! It IS sugary foods and drinks which are linked to heart disease instead, and other refined carbohydrates (grain products, alcohol etc) which causes heart disease - by causing chronic inflammation, damaging blood vessels, raising blood sugars and causing insulin resistance (ie, diabetes), increasing blood pressure and bad cholesterol levels.
Be careful what and whom you believe when it comes to health and medical advice! When different scientific results come out, have an open mind and do your own research, or just ask a practitioner (Doctor, GP, Naturopath etc) for evidence, then check it out for yourself. Be prepared to change your opinion, depending on what you find!
Once such biased and corrupted story which has amazingly gone on for almost 50 years was conducted by the American sugar industry in the 1960s. At the time, research was starting to emerge that showed heart disease was being linked to a higher intake of sugar at that time. The sugar industry was understandably concerned about this, and decided to respond by funding scientists to write studies which falsely linked saturated fat to heart disease, while exonerating their own product - sugar.
The sugar industry then lobbied government policy-makers to introduce low-fat health measures, which are, for the most part in government and medical areas, still being promoted today. New published research in late-2016, uncovered old papers and letters showing that the sugar industry did manipulate research and government food guidelines in the 1960s and ever since.
The practice of industries funding research into their own products (as opposed to independent studies which are less prone to bias) still happens today. For example, Coca Cola in 2015 were shown to be sponsoring studies which showed sugary soft drinks were not linked to obesity! There are many more like this. Luckily some journalists or independent scientists are suspicious of such research results and investigate them deeper, and the public are becoming more wary of such blatant bias, and they are not falling for it.
The conflicts of interest in modern science needs to stop. The editor-in-chief- of the most prestigious medical journal "The Lancet" in 2015 said that a lot of the scientific literature published (and peer-reviewed) was simply false. His counterpart in another of the oldest medical journals, The New England Journal of Medicine, similarly said that it was impossible to believe much published research, or to rely on the judgment of doctors or medical guidelines. This is a sad indictment of science today - it's all about profits for the company funding their own research, or getting funds to do research or perhaps for the ego of the scientists writing the papers, but very little to do with improving your health. A lot of this "scientific" fiction is actually harming people and their health.
Most, if not all, of the independent scientific research (which is less prone to poor study designs and biased results) shows that saturated fats are NOT a major factor at all in the development and progression of heart disease! It IS sugary foods and drinks which are linked to heart disease instead, and other refined carbohydrates (grain products, alcohol etc) which causes heart disease - by causing chronic inflammation, damaging blood vessels, raising blood sugars and causing insulin resistance (ie, diabetes), increasing blood pressure and bad cholesterol levels.
Be careful what and whom you believe when it comes to health and medical advice! When different scientific results come out, have an open mind and do your own research, or just ask a practitioner (Doctor, GP, Naturopath etc) for evidence, then check it out for yourself. Be prepared to change your opinion, depending on what you find!
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