Interesting chat.
As a few have commented there are so many confusing and conflicting views about nutrition.
My particular point in this thread was related to weight loss. Decades of advice from official channels and the diet industry has been a total failure. Calorie counting and exercise regimes will work in the short term but they are horrible and almost always end up rebounding. If you wanted to enjoy a large and expensive meal of an evening on a special occasion you might spend the day eating less and moving more so as to work up an appetite and yet that is exactly the advice we are supposed to stick to.
A few things that are certain ..
- All sugars and carbs cause a blood-glucose spike
- Insulin is released in order to suppress blood glucose
- Elevated insulin forces our cells to convert glucose to fat and store it
- Most people have elevated insulin levels most of the day
- Over time we become insulin resistant leading to a plethora of diseases including obesity
- Approximately 88% of Americans and a similar number of Brits have metabolic disorder
The results people get when they ignore official advice and severely limit carbs in favour of fats and meat is dramatic and long-term. As a few have said balance is important. The only really useful changes are ones you can live with in the longer term. Reducing refined carbs and ultra-processed food is really important for health. If food comes in a packet with more than five ingredients try to avoid it.
The food industry cares ONLY about profit - they are no more ethical than tobacco companies.
I think when I get time I will start a new thread about how the official food pyramid came about and why it is so messed up.