No, definitely not.
The theory (now throughly debunked with forward thinking Doctor’s who keep up to date with research) started with the now discredited Heart / Health Hypothesis. In the 70s the theory was that saturated fat was linked to heart disease. So we were all told, for
the sake of our hearts, to follow a Low Fat High Carbohydrate Diet. There are only 3 different types of foodstuff, Protein, Fats and Carbohydrates. In most diets, the Protein stays about the same, so if you reduce fats you have to compensate with something. So whole populations were advised to base meals on carbohydrates, avoid fatty cuts of meat, trim the fat, throw it away, grill foods, abandon traditional fats (lard, butter etc) and instead eat ‘modern fats’ so called ‘vegetable oil’ that’s never seen a vegetable, and margarine, produced in factories from artificial ingredients.
Because people with diabetes have a higher rate of heart disease, it followed on that these people should also follow this heart healthy diet.
The problem is, fat is relatively benign in terms of blood sugar, it raises blood sugar not at all, protein is not too bad, but carbs spike blood sugar the most. So most diabetics have to embark on a drug regime that is typified by an ever increasing requirement for medications. The drug companies are very happy (more sales) the food manufacturers are very happy (high carb foods are made from cheap ingredients, have an excellent shelf life, and by adding more and more sugar to recipes, become more and more addictive.
But modern, forward thinking Doctor’s (like David Unwin) have realised that the heart disease is not actually related to saturated fat, it is actually related to inflammation, and inflammation is caused, not by saturated fat, but by carbohydrates, high blood sugar and high insulin levels.
And then along came ‘the wonder drugs’ Statins.
For anybody who is facing a Statin prescription and not happy about it, there is too much information for a forum post. Get hold of a copy of Malcolm Kendrick’s ‘The Great Cholesterol Con’. It is packed full of information and actually, it’s a cracking read, written with humility, honesty and a very dry sense of humour!