Professor Tim Noakes – High Fat Low Carb (HFLC) Diet Proponent Wins Legal Case
Following a two year legal case, the Supreme Court of South Africa has confirmed that the Professor did not give HFLC medical advice following his 2014 tweet to a young mother. The Professor says science continually mis-represents his message: ”following a high carbohydrate diet is detrimental to the health of persons with insulin resistance whereas carbohydrate restriction in this group can be profoundly beneficial as it can reverse obesity and in some cases Type 2 diabetes mellitus – the two conditions that will ultimately bankrupt South African medical services unless we take appropriate preventative action”. He might have added “and a few other Countries too”. The clue may be that our bodies naturally convert fats and proteins into resultant glucose for our vital daily energy. But the body doesn’t make carbs – they’ve put in a relatively recent (and cheap) appearance.
In days gone by “oh yea, oh yea, bring out your healthy fats” might have been our rallying call. So, if all human existence on Earth was represented by just one day: we have been eating a plant and protein based diet for almost all of that ‘one’ day, while eating processed grains for five minutes and industrialised sugars for just the last five seconds. Yet, with a Global diabesity epidemic, the real world trial is currently not going too well. Perhaps pies, fries and sugary drinks have shaped our current outline – more so since 1977 when the US Health Authorities mandated their low fat/high carbs mantra.
The Professor has run 70 marathons but became an instant heretic when after decades of training, he said that his high carb diet had been the wrong one to follow for optimal health and that it subsequently triggered his Type 2 diabetes. Similarly afflicted Olympic rowers might share such a view? The Professor has an interesting view on cholesterol as well – that it’s the ‘innocent bystander trying to help at the scene of a crime’ – cholesterol is there trying to counter the real villain of the piece: sugar and grain triggered bodily and brain inflammation. (Ed, if only Ancel Keys hadn’t left out 15 of the 22 Countries he studied in the 1950’s we might not be right here, right now…).
Professor Tim coincidentally shares his surname with Blue Peters’ John Noakes (those of a certain age will recall John from 1970’s British TV). Maybe, John would have awarded Tim a healthy and lithe Blue Peter Badge for his efforts. Those sought after badges also took time and effort to be ‘dished up’.