[unoti]

Fat is not the enemy. Fat that you eat can be converted handily into energy. An overabundance of carbs is the enemy! It's hilarious to me that people who think nothing of downing a 48 oz Dr Pepper, then getting a refill, after a dinner featuring potatoes, pasta, and bread will thumb their nose at having a 12 oz glass of whole milk. Those carbs, especially when consumed late in the day, go straight into fat.

The nutrition information we were given in school is mostly a load of baloney, and puts me in mind of the cargo cult science Richard Feynman discussion from the other day https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6543791 . It's interesting how much of this nutrition information passes without being scientifically proven.

[gngeal]

Fat is not the enemy.

My once-inflamed pancreas says otherwise. :-) I guess there's no one-size-fits-all solution to that.

[bluecalm]

I am usually not quick to jump on conspiracy bandwagon but I really think it's malice at this point not incompetence.

[danmaz74]

"Fat that you eat can be converted handily into energy" What is this supposed to mean? That an overabundance of carbs is bad, while an overabundance of fat isn't? This is getting ridiculous.

[unoti]

By "Fat that you eat can be converted into energy" I meant that just because you eat fat doesn't mean it's going right to your belly or hips.

And a lot of people are terrified of consuming 5 grams of fat, but think nothing of consuming 400 carbs in the form of bread, pasta, and sugar. I'm advocating an approach based on whole foods, less sugar, carbs only from wholesome sources like oatmeal and whole grains. I'm just trying to say people focus too much on fat.

[danmaz74]

Many people focus too much on fat. Many others, though, focus too much on carbs. What worries me is seeing a myth spread, the myth that you can eat as much fat as you want as long as you don't eat carbs: That's just not true, and dangerous to tell.

[np422]

This is a somewhat interesting anecdote ... http://live.smashthefat.com/the-21-day-5000-calorie-carb-cha...

tl/dr; Guy eats 5800 kcal every day of fat for 3 weeks, gains 1.3 kg and loses about an inch from his waistline, same guy eats 5800 kcal from carbs every day for 3 weeks, gains 7.1 kg and about 10 cm on the waistline. Exercise is supposed to be the similar in both cases.

Yes, it's just an anecdote, but an interesting one. And imho a reason to be a little humble about the things we think we know about how the human body responds to different kinds of foods. More research is needed.

[danmaz74]

I'm not the one claiming to know the truth ("fats are good! carbs are bad!")

[aguynamedrich]

I didn't see anything in there advocating overabundance on either side, simply the irony of selling an alternative to one overabundance to a mass of people willing to engage in an equally or similarly harmful overabundance of something else.

[cncool]

"especially when consumed late in the day"

That's a myth.

[unoti]

Wow, apparently so. Thanks for telling me about this!