Disappointing T2D advice from mainstream "science" media

australia
failingmedia
#1

After Dr. Maryanne Demasi was keelhauled for a two part series about cholesterol, saturated fat and statin prescription in 2014, I wondered how the same Australian, nationally broadcast, science show may be treating nutrition 5 years later?

Dr. Demasi’s work, "Low carb diet: Fat or Fiction?" is still viewable online: https://maryannedemasi.com/documentaries

Nutrition treatment by the Australian national broadcaster (ABC) 4 years later? Carefully, it seems. And in so doing, quite disappointingly, with a re-iteration of: “eat less, move more” and demonstrations of plant based, low fat cooking and calorie counting.

This is the link to the latest episode, Sept 2018, about treating T2D and pre-diabetes “without resorting to fad diets”: https://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4888637.htm

I’d say this is backward stepping.

#2

Catalyst is less than a shadow of it’s former self. It used to be a great program.

(Joe Ruder) #3

I can’t say I agree. It feels like you are complaining about the fact that they used the word ‘fad diet’ – but that assumes that they are grouping a Keto diet as a ‘fad diet’.

The show seemed pretty fair and balanced and the results speak for themselves.

I don’t see this as a disappointing result at all.

#4

Yes Joe.

First up. Thanks for getting me to form my thoughts a bit more. Your comment is much appreciated and a fair review of the 2018 episode.

The fair and balanced show approach is exactly part of the problem. I agree it is very balanced and conformist. It demonstrates the current ‘don’t rock the boat’ status quo science reporting that does not cover all the potential options.

The reporting is so tepid that, again you are correct, the presenter does not even clarify if the ‘fad diet’ alluded to is ketogenic, LCHF, vegan, carnivore…

The demonstrated dietary advice, again is very safe. It is the whole foods higher fibre, thus lower glycemic index, slower release carbohydrate eating that some consensus can form around. ‘Good enough’ advice for many. But the title of the show is “Beating Type 2 Diabetes”. It specifies an intent to tackle a particular problem in a defined segment of the population. In so doing, it doesn’t hold that general ‘safe’, easy to back out of, dietary advice is the optimal approach applicable to ‘beating’ diabetes.

Yup, give the so-called ‘fad diets’ of the past decade a test versus type 2 diabetes and compare them against each other and the whole food high fibre ( code for ‘plant based’) suggestions.

They do include the importance of sleep and activity. The nutritionist presenter and her think-tank apply the standard advice of 150 minutes of activity per week They hint toward resistance training for the TOFI participant. So plenty of positive ideas and approaches to further bury the ‘fad diet’ passing comment.

All this at a time when the Virta Health data was freely available on diabetes to the researchers of the Catalyst TV show.

The fact that the busy mum drops out of the 10 week standard advice program is telling in itself.

The evidence, and baking into conformity, of baseline creep for standard biomarkers with blood glucose measures of 7.0mmol/l and HbA1C of 6.5mmol/l being regarded as ‘normal’ is also disappointing. Also to mention the presenter’s own glucose testing blood level excursions toward 9mmol/l after a meal and very slow return to ‘normal’ being acceptable. I wonder what pattern she would discover from a fasted insulin and 2 hour after eating blood insulin biomarker test?

And I am looking at it through a comparative lens of the more cutting edge science investigation of the low carb diet that the same show produced in 2014. That show’s resources were freely available for this most recent show.

#5

I think u should just leave all these media/mainstream diet advice in their own realm and do ur own thing, waste of time reading anything they have to say.

#6

True that, ODE.

But it’s where my friends and family get their ‘trusted’ dietary advice. I cop the flak.