The BDA becomes increasingly irrelevant.

The British Dietetic Association issues what is arguably their most accomplished communiqué in years. As always the BDA are experts in what does not work, especially for diabetics. As another year passes they become increasingly irrelevant, as a new wave of forward thinking medical professionals join the low carb cause.

An extract from latest information from the BDA.

"Here are some of the worst reportedly celebrity-linked diets the BDA has identified and spoken out against in 2015:

1. No Sugar diet (last year’s number 3) 2. The all-kale and chewing gum diet 3. Bulletproof diet  4. The Super Elixir 5. Trim Secrets

Speaking about these and other fad diets, Sian Porter, consultant dietitian (That's the long time over weight one) and Spokesperson for the BDA, said: (flogs spuds as a "Super Food" for the Potato Council and Margarine for the now defunct Fat Panel)

“We hear it all when it comes to the latest way to shed pounds from the good to the bad, to the down-right dangerous! When people need medical advice, they go to their GP and when people have a toothache, they go to their dentist, but some people will believe almost anything and anyone when it comes to nutrition, food and diet.

“The bottom line is, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. If you have to pay out for a DVD or book or product that will unlock the secrets of losing weight, this can be a good indicator that the only pounds you will be losing will be out of your wallet. The simple fact is, there is no ‘wonder diet’ just as there are no ‘super foods’ and no one diet fits all. What is super, is the way many marketing machines coin certain phrases to make you think there is some magic wand approach to losing weight.

“Maybe it’s not as exciting but the truth is if you do want to lose some weight do it by eating a healthy, balanced diet that you can stick to, watch your portion sizes and be physically active. Think of it as a marathon approach to achieving your goals, as opposed to a sprint approach. Aim to make permanent changes to your diet and lifestyle that are sustainable for you in the long term, not someone else’s lifestyle, nor abandoned by the end of January.”

Link to BDA dross above here.

Note there are no super foods (my bold), but here Sian ranked potatoes as super foods.

"Sian Porter, the Potato Council's consultant dietitian, told the Daily Express: 'It is important to have a wide variety of foods in your diet but sometimes our heads are turned by new things and we underestimate old favourites like potatoes and how they compare to other, often more expensive "superfoods".'

Link to the big potato sell is here. 

Jeez these people have zero memory it would appear, or is it they will say anything for money? I find myself asking does Sian follow the standard BDA advice? and if so, does she want us all to be over weight from eating too many spuds. A BDA dietitian stated on a diabetes forum us low carbers could be lining ourselves up for scurvy, osteoporosis and bowel disorders because we stopped eating potatoes. What we said at the time.

In the following example 100g of new potatoes boiled in unsalted water is replaced with 100g of broccoli boiled in unsalted water. Table 1 indicates the vitamin and mineral content for some of the more important dietary elements. It can be seen that broccoli in 13 out of 18 of the important dietary elements has a greater or equal amount of the element. In those instances where potato has a greater or equal amount of the dietary element (vitamin B1, vitamin B6, potassium and selenium) the deficit in dietary element is easily made up with side-dishes made up of combinations of one or more of celery, courgette, radish, cauliflower, or mushroom.

  

	Potato	Broccoli	Winner
Vitamin
A	0.00	80.00	+
B1	0.13	0.05	_
B2	0.02	0.05	+
B3	0.40	0.70	+
B5	0.38	N	_
B6	0.33	0.11	_
B12	0.00	0.00	Draw
Folic Acid	19.00	64.00	+
C	9.00	44.00	+
D	0.00	0.00	Draw
E	0.06	1.10	+
Mineral
Calcium	5.00	40.00	+
Iron	0.30	1.00	+
Magnesium	12.00	13.00	Draw
Potassium	250.00	179.00	_
Selenium	1.00	Tr	_
Zinc	0.10	0.40	+
Dietary Fibre	1.10	2.60	+

broccoli contains almost 5 times as much vitamin C as potato
broccoli contains 8 times as much calcium as potato
broccoli contains almost 2.5 times as much dietary fibre as potato

Unless an increase in vitamin C, calcium and dietary fibre increases the respective possibility of scurvy, osteoporosis, and constipation, it seems reasonable to conclude that the replacement of potato by broccoli (or numerous other nutrient rich vegetables) provides a viable dietary strategy for the diabetic and the illiterate ranting of the said dietitian can safely be ignored.

Information from here.

Eddie