of corn oil), and Fleischmann’s (makers of margarine). Manufactured oils like
margarine suddenly became good for our health, and natural fats like butter
became dangerous.
After the dietary cholesterol theory of heart disease took center stage, it was
not long before the American Medical Association, American Dietetic
Association, and the National Academy of Sciences followed suit and began
promoting manufactured vegetable oils over natural saturated fat. It is interesting
to note that, at that time, Dr. Keys was on the nutrition advisory committee of the
powerful American Heart Association (AHA). As a result, his biased research
became the official basis for the AHA dietary guidelines published in 1961.
Although the relationships among refined polyunsaturated oils, trans fats, and
cancer were emerging, endorsement by the medical establishment made us
believe these manufactured fats were better for our health. The
cholesterol/saturated-fat theory was here to stay.
But this dietary misinformation was just the beginning of a more radical
change in the way Americans viewed all fats—both good and bad—with the
advent of low-fat diets.
Origin of the Low-Fat Diets
The steps to highcarb eating in this country were just the beginning of a radical
change to eating more and more carbs with the advent of low-fat diets. In the
1950s, Nathan Pritikin, an engineer in his 40s, became interested in nutrition
after he was diagnosed with heart disease. Believing that his own heart disease
was caused by consuming too much fat, he devised an eating plan that consisted
of a whopping 75 percent of total calories from carbohydrates. Pritikin’s
approach greatly influenced Senator George McGovern, who was interested in
addressing the burgeoning obesity epidemic in this country.
This diet enjoyed immense popularity in its time, and its dominance led to the
creation of the original United States Department of Agriculture food pyramid
(Fig. 2.5), which featured grains (bread, pasta, and cereals) as its base.
Furthermore, the pyramid didn’t specify whether or not the grains should be
whole or refined. These dietary guidelines were written by a reporter with no
scientific background, and based solely on a single nutritionist’s opinion. They
were designed to make it simpler for the public to condemn all fats, placing them
at the apex of the pyramid (which meant they were to be eaten only sparingly).
The “preferred” diet was suddenly high in sugar, low in fiber, and low in all fats,
whether they were good or bad.
Once the USDA made the low-fat dogma official, the food industry quickly