In spite of all the health improvements & weight loss experienced by Noakes & others, many nutritionists & registered dietitians have had a lot to say about the Banting diet.
Whilst the Banting diet is not a new weight loss eating plan, it has shot to prominence recently due to the success Tim Noakes & many other Banters have had with it.
In fact Noakes’ support & promotion of the LCHF Banting diet as a far more healthy way of eating (compared to the high-carb, low-fat diet that was previously recommended by the AHA & other health professionals as a “healthy diet”) has come in for a fair amount of criticism by many nutritionists as well as his peers.
Below are some of the comments made in favour & against the Banting diet.
Nutritionists Pro the Banting Diet
1. Sally-Ann Creed, a highly regarded nutritional specialist & therapist, credits this low-carb, high fat Banting diet for ridding her of a myriad of chronic conditions.
Before changing her diet (and before discovering Banting) she had suffered most of her life with chronic asthma, sinusitis as well as panic disorder.
After undergoing 13 operations to her sinuses & suffering with panic disorder and agoraphobia for 13 years she discovered that food and dietary choices could dramatically improve her health & provide her with the quality of life that so many of us strive for.
Once she had regained her health after making the correct dietary choices, she qualified as a Nutritional Therapist and completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Nutrition, from the International Academy of Nutrition in Australia in order to help others experience improved health & well being through making the right food choices.
2. Gary Taubes is an American science writer & author of Good Calories, Bad Calories (2007), which is titled The Diet Delusion in the UK.
Tim Noakes is a huge supporter of Gary’s writings & research on healthy diet.
Furthermore, Taubes is highly critical of eating refined carbohydrates which, he says, should be public enemy number one whereas natural fats are nowhere near as dangerous as previously described in dietary literature and policy since the 1970’s.
Carbs & sugar addiction is fuelling the obesity epidemic
Nutritionists Against the Banting Diet
1. Claire Julsing Strydom (Dietician) said she had “treated seven patients whose adherence to fad diets had led to health complications” – although the Banting diet could hardly be called a “fad diet” as its been around since 1861 (1½ centuries already).
She also claims that one of her patients had developed diverticulosis, or pouches that develop in the colon wall which is a condition that could stem from a no-fibre diet.
Another of Strydom’s patients had reduced kidney function, and this she believed was partly caused by following a high-protein diet.
Strydom went on to say that “A lot of dieticians are saying they are seeing more and more of this“.
2. Kelly Lynch, a Dietician, says if Banting was working so well for everyone she would be out of a job.
She says eating a well balanced diet is the key to good health & Banting is not balanced no matter what anyone says, however she does say it definitely has a place for diabetics & those who are insulin resistant.
Other criticism she has of the Banting diet is that it increases your cholesterol levels.
She’s had patients who’ve seen their LDL-Cholesterol levels increasing since they started Banting which is fine if you believe Prof Noakes’ theory that LDL-Cholesterol does not cause heart disease. However, Kelly Lynch does not believe this as she says it has not been proven in a long-term study.
She’s also worried that the high amount of red meat & dairy recommended on the Banting diet could contribute to cancer.
3. Patrick Holford (world renowned nutritionist) is another who says Tim Noakes’ Banting diet is a specific eating plan intended for diabetics and may have a negative effect on long-term health.
He goes on to say that there are “real risks associated with a very low-carbohydrate diet include breast cancer, decreased bone mass, added stress on the kidneys and low moods as we rely on carbohydrates for energy to feel good“.
To Sum It All Up…
Succinctly put by an online poster responding to all those dieticians & nutritionists saying they want to see Tim Noakes’ Banting research.
“Well, ladies, get online and start reading! I am neither a doctor/scientist as Tim Noakes is, nor a dietician as you are, but I’ve read plenty of the research papers that he quotes, and they’re a lot more convincing than the mainstream dietary advice that has been working so badly for the last 40 years.
Personally, what’s more important than any research paper is the fact that I’ve lost 20kg and kept it off for 18 months and at 56 I’m fitter, stronger and healthier than I have been since my 20’s. Keep up the good work Prof Tim!”
It seems that the findings of these nutritionists regarding the LCHF Banting diet are unlikely to be the final word in what has been a long & contentious debate concerning which foods are best to eat for losing weight & improving overall health.
Sources & References
- Sally-Ann Creed: Post Grad Dip Clinical Nutrition, International Academy of Nutrition, Australia http://www.sallyanncreed.co.za/
- News24: http://www.news24.com/Live/Lifestyle/Food/We-want-to-see-Tim-Noakes-Banting-research-dieticians-20140905
- Times Live: http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2014/08/29/the-great-big-fat-debate
- Health24: http://www.health24.com/Diet-and-nutrition/Healthy-diets/Banting-dangerous-for-long-term-health-says-world-renowned-nutritional-expert-20140811
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