Durban - “Cancer is a carb disease,” said Professor Tim Noakes at the Durban University of Technology on Monday.
In a public lecture entitled “Is the low fat diet the worst dietary advice in history?” delivered to a packed auditorium, Noakes said there was increasing evidence that linked a high carbohydrate intake to numerous diseases.
“It’s the hi-carb diet that kills you if you have insulin resistance, which causes weight gain, high blood pressure and gout.
“No one says insulin resistance causes heart disease, but it is linked.
“Insulin resistance is the number one disease in the world,” he said.
“It’s never been proven that increased intake of saturated fat will increase cholesterol.”
He said those before him didn’t spell this out because they risked being “demonised” or, like him, labelled “criminal” or a “dire-threat”.
He defended his change in stance on carbohydrates, citing his personal battle with type 2 diabetes despite being a runner and following conventionally advocated diets.
“If you are focusing on me, you are not focusing on the issues,” he said.
He added that those focusing on the mantra “eat fat, limit carbs” were also missing the point.
“The real message is to eat real food and learn how to cook,” he said.
He said it wasn’t as simple as deciding to eat meat, but rather to eat those foods traditionally eaten, such as the fattiest parts of animals including organs, tongue and marrow.
However, his lecture was less about what to eat than it was about changing mindsets.
“Conventional wisdom is based on misconceived nutritional research.”
He added: “All diseases are nutritionally based.”
Which is why treating the conditions with drugs will not work. These are the body’s normal responses to what’s been put in.
“If you want to treat it, limit your carbs to 25 to 50g a day – that’s one apple or one slice of bread.”
“Don’t count calories. Count grams of carbs.”
The Mercury