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I am following the hearing against Tim Noakes with great interest. I suppose that Twitter is not the best place to try and pass on information to others. But in case the powers that be have not noticed, we live in the information age. Over the years I have researched dietary advice on the web from hundred of sites from dieticians, nutritionists, doctors, psychiatrists, health guru’s and ordinary people who have shared their stories.
Many of these views have been totally conflicting and I’ve tried many different diets to see what suits me.
By trial and error I found out what worked for me. I found that there were 2 important principles that were important when trying to decipher all the information. Firstly, our bodies are designed to live on natural foods. So any diet that pushes a lot of processed foods is generally not good. Secondly, your body has a unique make-up so just because something is labelled a superfood does not mean that it is good for you. You have to listen to your body and react accordingly. Different people respond to different diets and it is important that people be given options to choose what works best for them.
So when I hear that people are trying to push their own version of reality then I immediately question it. Let’s look at some of the prevailing wisdom that has been presented as gospel in the last few decades. Don’t eat saturated fat, rather substitute with unsaturated fat. Keep starch as a part of a balanced diet. Eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Where has this led us too? The biggest diabetic epidemic in history!
On whose watch did this occur? The very diet Mandarins who are now attacking Tim Noakes. Now banting does not work for me and it is not for everybody, but can we not respect and be comfortable with differing opinions?
I have seen enough patients for whom banting has been a lifesaver. For them it was the right answer. I have seen vegans prosper and have seen vegans wither away only to prosper again when they reintroduced meat in their diets. It is all dependent on how your body responds. There is no one right way. To try and kill off the Tim Noakes message is an attack on the diversity of opinion and information that we need in order to make an informed choice. And to run to “daddy” to complain is really cowardly. If Tim Noakes’ message is wrong then fight him with the latest science so that we can all make up our own minds!
