A few weeks back I was so incensed by the stupid 'have loads of carbs' advice on the NHS Choices website, I emailed them to say how ridiculous and outdated the advice it was. Today I received a reply:
Thank you for your feedback regarding the role of carbohydrates in the diet.
In the UK, government policy on nutrition is based on advice from expert groups, including the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), and before this, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA). SACN is a UK advisory committee of independent experts that provide advice to Public Health England (PHE), as well as other government agencies and departments. Its remit includes matters concerning nutrient content of individual foods, advice on diet and the nutritional status of people.
The Eatwell Guide depicts a diet that is based on fruit, vegetables and wholegrain starchy carbohydrates taking into account new recommendations for sugar and fibre from the SACN report on Carbohydrates and Health. Find the report in the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-carbohydrates-and-health-report
In this report, SACN considered a huge volume of evidence and applied strict inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure that the studies considered were of sufficient quality to enable sound conclusions to be reached. This was in line with SACN’s framework for the assessment of evidence (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-committee-on-nutrition).
The evidence considered by SACN for its Carbohydrates and Health report does not support using a low carbohydrate diet to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes. It also concluded that the hypothesis that diets higher in total carbohydrate cause weight gain was not supported by the evidence from the long term Randomised Controlled Trials considered; it also concluded that there is no association between total carbohydrate intake and glycaemia (blood glucose level).
As a result, government recommendations continue to advise the population to consume a diet based on higher fibre foods such as fruit, vegetables, beans and pulses, and to base meals on wholegrain starchy foods such as bread, rice, pasta and potatoes with the skins on.
So, perhaps I should stop my insulin as there is no connection between total carbs and blood sugar level and/or I can pig out on carbs with no weight gain. BTW I looked at the SACN website and the list of members and their Register of Interests. Was I surprised to find that many of the Professor members are funded by food or pharma companies - No. So now you know officially that Carbs are good for us
Thank you for your feedback regarding the role of carbohydrates in the diet.
In the UK, government policy on nutrition is based on advice from expert groups, including the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), and before this, the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA). SACN is a UK advisory committee of independent experts that provide advice to Public Health England (PHE), as well as other government agencies and departments. Its remit includes matters concerning nutrient content of individual foods, advice on diet and the nutritional status of people.
The Eatwell Guide depicts a diet that is based on fruit, vegetables and wholegrain starchy carbohydrates taking into account new recommendations for sugar and fibre from the SACN report on Carbohydrates and Health. Find the report in the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-carbohydrates-and-health-report
In this report, SACN considered a huge volume of evidence and applied strict inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure that the studies considered were of sufficient quality to enable sound conclusions to be reached. This was in line with SACN’s framework for the assessment of evidence (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-committee-on-nutrition).
The evidence considered by SACN for its Carbohydrates and Health report does not support using a low carbohydrate diet to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes. It also concluded that the hypothesis that diets higher in total carbohydrate cause weight gain was not supported by the evidence from the long term Randomised Controlled Trials considered; it also concluded that there is no association between total carbohydrate intake and glycaemia (blood glucose level).
As a result, government recommendations continue to advise the population to consume a diet based on higher fibre foods such as fruit, vegetables, beans and pulses, and to base meals on wholegrain starchy foods such as bread, rice, pasta and potatoes with the skins on.
So, perhaps I should stop my insulin as there is no connection between total carbs and blood sugar level and/or I can pig out on carbs with no weight gain. BTW I looked at the SACN website and the list of members and their Register of Interests. Was I surprised to find that many of the Professor members are funded by food or pharma companies - No. So now you know officially that Carbs are good for us