Noakes and the holy grail

Apologies, I've gone all medical on you this week (just a bit of sternness before weeks of merriment set in).

A fat food year

The biggest local food news this year had little to do with deliciousness, and more to do with the holy grail of being thin. Cronuts and foraging both got a look in, and the word artisanal spread like a terrible rash all over suburbs and markets, but the huge thing has been the high-fat, low-carb diet.

Popularised locally by Professor Tim Noakes, but punted for decades by respected physicians and journalists internationally, it's had everyone in a frothy. What's been great about the rabid adoption of this diet is that saturated fats, long erroneously connected with cardio-vascular disease, are no longer the enemy. What's less great is that the hoo-haa has been around weight loss.

There's nothing more inspiring in this life, it seems, than the promise of a svelte body. But the skinny factor has obscured the most important point of the diet - longevity. Sure, being overweight is in itself connected to a shorter life and, sure, there are those who have adopted the diet to cure diabetes and feel better but, in the main, the chatter has all been about kilograms lost.

Why is this bad? Because if we don't understand that eating this way is about our general health, we'll start eating cr*p again once the weight is gone. Our motivation needs to change.

For very readable info on the role of saturated fats and cholesterol, go to www.zoeharcombe.com for a thinking dietician's take on the matter.

Faking it

The one thing I hate about the low-carb craze is that, as with many other diets - from vegan to low fat - it has spawned yet more substitute food. I can't bear it. Low-carb pizza base? Low-carb pasta? Forget it.

These loathsome items nestle in the same dark valley as soy "chicken nuggets" and the terrifying dairy-free "cheese" I see in health shops. Guess what? If your general diet is great, one helping of wheat will not be the end of you. Neurosis is also bad for your health.

A salty scam?

Now for good news. The low-salt theory came about through research that is just as flawed as that which gave birth to the lipid theory. We've been told that 6g of salt a day is the recommended maximum. But consider this: if you're in hospital, the standard drip you're hooked up to contains 9g of salt per litre. You'll usually go through at least two litres in 24 hours. And bear in mind that your blood pressure is being monitored, and doesn't reflect an increase once you're on the drip. Does this make sense? Pass the (pure) salt, thanks.