What we don’t know about diet

Are you tired of all those bogus claims about such-and-such foods being good for your heart? 

Me too.

Finally, we have some help. Researchers have compiled the data from 200 studies involving millions of people that looked at how specific foods affect our hearts. The results were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

And as it turns out, there’s only a few that we can definitively say are heart healthy. Those are the staples of the Mediterranean diet: fish, good fats and oils, vegetables, and nuts.

The least surprising part of this study, at least to me, is the confirmation that the foods most Americans rely on are bad for the heart, including foods high in starchy carbs. In other words, the basic component of what I call the Torture Chamber Diet.

Yet somehow we’re still being told that this is the diet we need to follow for good health.

How much more evidence do we need that this has been not just a failure, but a disaster of epic proportions?

It’s like a farmer who repeatedly watches his crop fail, year after year, but refuses to make any changes. At some point, you need to just accept reality and realize that it’s time for a new approach.

Other foods found to be especially bad for your heart include some of the most common dishes here in the United States: processed lunch meats, refined grains, and high-processed fat dairy products.

The researchers say the jury’s still out on many other meats, eggs, and milk.

But it’s safe to say at this point that the high-carb Torture Chamber Diet habit that I observe in my patients all too often isn’t just bad for the heart, it’s bad for your stomachs, your insides, and even your brain.

It’s making us sicker and fatter than ever before, and yet they continue to shove it down our throats, ignoring the decades of poor results.

Don’t be fooled by all that diet noise. I wouldn’t put most of that garbage out in a pig trough, much less on my dinner table, and you shouldn’t either.

But you can eat better and live better by making common-sense choices with your meals and stepping outside that torture chamber for good. That means avoiding processed foods no matter what the label says – they’re not healthy, and they’re not fooling us when they make those claims.

Limit your carbs, avoid sugars, and enjoy meals with a blend of healthy fats, some fresh fruits and fresh vegetables.

It’ll be good for your table, and good for your heart, too.