Richard,
I love what you said which is why when Bloomberg tried (or succeeded not sure) in limiting the size of soda that may be sold in convenience stores I was not in favor of it. Maybe people were sharing the soda (we used to do that at the movies with our kids, get small cups and portion it out) maybe they were drinking 100 grams of sugar alone, I have no idea nor do I care. I put it in the same category as smoking, do not poison my air but if you want to drag that shit in your lungs go ahead.
Here is the problem, many people really want guidance from their doctor or the AHA or the A Diabetes A (lots of ADAs in health care). They want to feel that they are eating healthy and doing what they can for their health. They genuinely feel that eating a moderate diet including whole grains and limiting saturated fat is good for them and will help them live to 100. I can give tons of examples of people I know. Whether it is my TOFI friend who is dying from diabetes, one limb at a time while doing exactly what her doctor tells her, or my former dancer cousin who has has neuropathy even if her BMI is 22 and she eats a moderate whole grain diet and her weight has never fluctuated more than 5lbs. When I suggested she look at her diet see what she may want to eliminate she got quite upset and said her diet was perfect and she had been to the top doctors all over the country and no one could explain her neuropathy so what made me think I should even offer a suggestion.
Meanwhile, most of the doctors who advise these people do not have time to research and get confounded by the vegans and the ghosts of Keys when they do. While we know the diet heart hypotosis is dead, it is still the standard of care and that needs to change
