Another reason to tax something else that is "bad" for us.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/31418
Obesity has a new scapegoat, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
says we’re supposed to eat three ounces of it every day. Uh oh: Time to
eliminate those carbs from your diet (again). A growing number of top nutritional scientists blame excessive carbohydrates -not fat - for America's' ills.
A growing number of top nutritional scientists blame excessive
carbohydrates — not fat — for America’s ills. They say cutting
carbohydrates is the key to reversing obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and hypertension.
“Fat is not the problem,” says Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health If Americans could eliminate sugary beverages, potatoes, white bread,
pasta, white rice and sugary snacks, we would wipe out almost all the
problems we have with weight and diabetes and other metabolic diseases.”
Fat is not the problem? Does this mean we can all guiltlessly chow down on butter and hot dogs?
For you nutrition junkies out there, here’s the logic: Carbs are converted into blood sugar, and refined carbs carbs are converted even faster. In order to shepherd the blood sugar
into cells, the pancreas produces insulin. But consuming too many carbs
can lead to your cells becoming resistant to insulin. This can cause an
excess of glucose, and ultimately diabetes.
Plenty of dietitians have recommended cutting carbs to lose weight,
with the most popular example being the Atkins Diet. But suggesting that
cutting carbs is an obesity cure-all is ludicrous. White rice is a key
staple of China’s cuisine. And while the Chinese obesity rate has been
on the rise lately, it’s still only about one in 70 people, or 1.4
percent. Americans should be so lucky.
Nutritionists have placed the blame for our love-handles on
everything from saturated fat to carbohydrates. But what about the two
most obvious villains: an overabundance of calories and a lack of
exercise?
The simplest explanation for obesity remains an imbalance of calories
going in and calories going out. If you’re eating 3,000 calories a day,
it doesn’t matter whether it comes from pasta or beef or tofu: If
you’re not burning what you take in, you’re going to gain weight.
The converse is also true. The easiest way to stay slim is to
equalize those two calorie-counts by limiting portion sizes and engaging
in regular physical activity. No wonder one major 2004 study found that
“insufficient vigorous physical activity was the only risk factor” for
overweight boys and girls.
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