This is in large part due to the conflicts of interest between large corporations (which at first glance sounds like a conspiracy theory but hear me out). There are several industries that are at odds with a full paradigm shift in the nutrition industry such as Agriculture, Pharmaceutical, and Fitness industries. In large part, companies that have stakes in any 3 of these will also have a stake in Media - which we take for granted. Here is a quick article I wrote on my facebook page: (http://www.facebook.com/KetoLiving ) - This article is commenting on an article produced by livestrong.com advising to eat as much as 300g of carbohydrates per day.
[Editorial] The role of corporate/journalistic irresponsibility and it's effects on the obesity/diabetes epidemic.
I get it, I really do. I have a communications background and I understand that these types of companies need to produce articles in order to get information out to its reader-base as their revenue stream is largely advertising based.
However, the articles that I'm seeing more and more, especially from these sites that are quite prominent in the health and nutrition industry (like livestrong, mens/womens health, etc.) have become quite lazy. When I write an article, as you can see in any of these posts, I clearly show the scientific rationale for presenting my views, largely so you would be able to either contest or agree with the particular studies.
What I've found in the large majority of these types of articles, is that they take the studies out of context. Take this for example: "A 2,000 calorie per day diet should contain 275 to 300 g of carbohydrates, or about 100 g per meal." 300 grams of carbohydrates. Really. As more and more studies come out that make these types of claims, simply because it's linked with a 'big name' or 'expert studies' people are more apt to believe them.
All this, as we now understand, in the context of someone who does eat carbs, fiber is absolutely essential. Why? Because fiber limits the amount of carbs entering your bloodstream. It says nothing to the fact that the reason that you need fiber is simply to limit the amount of digestible carbs going into your body in the first place. This, somehow, has translated fiber-rich foods as "Healthy" in the consumer mind-set (regardless of actual carb content), and is still completely perpetuating the negative health effects we see today as backed by modern science.
It's up to us as a low-carb community to arm ourselves with information, whether it's about Paleo (low-carb or otherwise), Keto, Low-carb, Zone, etc. not about what we do personally about the diet, but about the scientific basis for our beliefs. This is the only reason people will ever change their beliefs from stemming from mass-media to rooted in real science. In doing so, you're also perpetuating a lifestyle that promotes real health, and not the advertised health claims.
