If you saw the recent The Sunday Times article where the Yale Professor, Dr David Katz, has the final word on fad diets; here's my view view in a nutshell of what he is actually saying.

Dr Katz is not saying the diets don't work, he is saying the common element is what works.

He is not talking about nutritional medicine, that is, using diet and nutrition to help solve a specific health concern.  Instead, he is simply saying generally what the majority of people would benefit from eating, especially for weight loss.  In reality, you are biochemically unique and not all people can or should eat grain.  Wheat is an allergen for many, dairy likewise.  Different cultures found health in different things depending on their geography.

He is not 'the' authority - he is an authority.  Nutritional medicine is a brand new science, which is ironic given the wisdom of food (ferment, pickle, sprout, broths, wild meats) is apparent in traditional cultural diets, who were abundant in health!  

The science on gluten affecting the neurological system is brand new .. Dr Katz states that there is no evidence to support gluten having a negative neurological effect.  The point is, there is a suggestion, enough of it, to suggest it could and this is being explored.  Here Katz is referring to Dr David Perlmutter's book, Grain Brain - in that grains and carbohydrate are harming our neurological health.  Perlmutter does over step the empirical evidence and suggest unjustifiable (at this stage in science) conclusions on the link between grain and our brains.  

Back to Dr Katz - I agree with his view on fad diets.  You must always ask the question, what is going to happen to your body the minute you stop.  If you have piled on muscle due to a high fat/high burn work out diet, yet you do actually exercise generally .. do you really think you can keep this up?   Working with a nutritionist, It is best get a life long plan, that works to your own biochemistry, health and lifestyle concerns .. a diet that works for you, and you can sustain.

Contact me here to find the diet that is right for you.

Deborah McTaggart is a registered nutritionist practising in Barnes, South West London, and global via Zoom. She works with corporate nutrition and individuals on healthy eating, with a special interest in Men's Health, Shift Work Health, Travel Health and Avoiding Jet Lag. Contact me here for further information on nutrition plans.