Raw Food Diet - Day 18 (Blog)

[Joeschmoe]

This had been somewhat misunderstood. I understand that my words were poorly chosen. But i really was just commenting on how interesting the reactions, including my own, are.

[Vantage72]

Originally Posted by escapee

I think it's a little misleading to say that "excessive fat" contributes to cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Yes I thought so too. I did some research where this misconception comes from. This is an article by John Berardi, Ph.d on the topic:

So after finding out that the plaques building up in our arteries
(arteriosclerotic plaques) were made up of fats and then discovering that
certain countries with diets high in animal fat also had a higher incidence of
heart disease, 20 subsequent years of scientific investigation were spent
attempting to prove that dietary fat (specifically saturated fat and
cholesterol) was leading the heart disease brigade.

Interestingly, this science never quite produced any convincing data
demonstrating a direct link between dietary fat and heart disease. Ironically
though, in the land of "innocent until proven guilty," dietary fat was convicted
guilty of mucking up our arteries without any proof. And not only was fat
convicted of damaging our blood vessels and our hearts, it also became
associated with stroke, obesity, and a host of other maladies that many
currently associate with eating "greasy food".

John Berardi - The F-Word - All You Ever Wanted To Know About Dietary Fats

[water5]

Here is some information on the Mediterranean diet from Dr. Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live:

In the 1950s people living in the Mediterranean, especially on the island of Crete, were lean and virtually free of heart disease. Yet over 40 percent of their caloric intake come from fat, primarily olive oil. If we look at the diet they consumed back then, we note that Cretans ate mostly fruits, vegetables, beans and some fish. Saturated fat was less than 6 percent of their total fat intake. True, they ate lots of olive oil, but the rest of their diet was exceptionally healthy. They also worked hard in the fields, walking about nine miles a day, often pushing a plow or working other manual farm equipment.

Today the people of Crete are fat, just like us. They're still eating alot of olive oil, but their consumption of fruits, vegetables, and beans is down. Meat, cheese, and fish are their new staples, and their physical activity level has plummeted. Today, heart disease has skyrocketed and more than half the population of both adults and children in Crete is overweight.1