metabolic health. diversity. Washington, DC.
Thanks for publishing my photograph, @Popville.
It’s an image of the White House, in Washington, DC (of course), from a newly remodeled rooftop. Enjoy.
Photo by PoPville flickr user Ted EytanEd. Note: Yesterday we heard the other side.From Councilmember Grosso’s office:”The following is Councilmember David Grosso’s opening statement delivered at the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety hearing on the Community Safety and Health Amen
This data isn’t new, and it’s not enjoyed by anyone I’ve seen write about it, including plant-based or plant-free eating advocates.
It paints an unseemly picture of the Standard American Diet (SAD) or a diet gone wrong.
According to ERS’s loss-adjusted food availability data, total daily calories per person decreased by 2 percent between 2000 and 2010 from 2,545 to 2,481 calories. The share of calories from animal- and plant-based foods was the same in both years at 30 percent and 70 percent, respectively. In both years, grains were the primary contributor to daily calories per capita (596 in 2000 and 581 in 2010). Added plant-based fats and oils—such as salad and cooking oil, margarine, and shortening—ranked second (480 in 2000 and 518 in 2010), followed by meat, poultry, and fish (438 in 2000 and 416 in 2010).USDA ERS – A Look at Calorie Sources in the American Diet
The accuracy of food availability data is also challenging, even if it’s loss adjusted (meat tends to have lower food loss % than non-meat foods). However/and, the data is consistent with this year’s study using the NHANES data set, which shows that plant-sources are dominant, unfortunately, unhealthy ones are dominant, too:
The data
I’m including a short timeline and my experience of what happens/what has happened when people/our country have substituted fat in their diet for carbohydrates.
They did as they were told, and these have been the results. A generic “eat more plants” or “eat more carbs” does not serve us well. A more specific “eat better plants, and eat better carbs” has had some results, but not very impressive ones, in the last 10 years.
One correction below with newer data, Insulin is now the 7th most expensive liquid on the planet. It’s still right behind Chanel No. 5.
In 1961, spurred by emerging medical and epidemiologic research, the AHA issued dietary recommendations to reduce the intake of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.Cohen E, Cragg M, DeFonseka J, Hite A, Rosenberg M, Zhou B. Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity. Nutrition [Internet]. 2015 May 1 [cited 2017 Dec 4];31(5):727–32. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837220
…the shift in the share of fat and carbohydrate is primarily due to an almost 65 g, or about a 260 kcal, daily increase in Americans’ intake of carbohydrate from 1965 to 2011.Cohen E, Cragg M, DeFonseka J, Hite A, Rosenberg M, Zhou B. Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity. Nutrition [Internet]. 2015 May 1 [cited 2017 Dec 4];31(5):727–32. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837220
There is a strong relationship between the increase in carbohydrate share of total intake and obesity. This is reflected by the high correlation at the individual level between caloric share from carbohydrate and adult BMI: 85.3% for men and 91.2% for women.Cohen E, Cragg M, DeFonseka J, Hite A, Rosenberg M, Zhou B. Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity. Nutrition [Internet]. 2015 May 1 [cited 2017 Dec 4];31(5):727–32. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837220
After 2000, shifts in scientific evidence and dietary guidelines promoted health benefits of healthy fats and plant sources of protein and the harms of low-quality carbohydrates.Shan Z, Rehm CD, Rogers G, Ruan M, Wang DD, Hu FB, et al. Trends in Dietary Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat Intake and Diet Quality Among US Adults, 1999-2016. JAMA [Internet]. 2019 Sep 24 [cited 2019 Sep 30];322(12):1178. Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2751719
You can access these on my disclosures page. Short version, I have none.
Thanks for publishing my photograph, Urban Turf DC.
The title is a mouthful; it refers to Washington, DC’s comprehensive plan, which is of great importance in our nation’s capital.
The photograph is from one of Washington, DC’s newest rooftops, in the NoMA neighborhood. Enjoy.
This Element of the recently released Comprehensive Plan draft establishes new growth priorities while undermining NIMBY arguments.
Source: NIMBYs, TODs and 100-Year Floods: Land Use Amendments Reflect DC’s Changing Development Priorities
This paper is a review of the dietary habits of Americans from 1999 – 2016, a follow-up from a previous analysis, using the NHANES database.
As the chart above shows:
In 1961, spurred by emerging medical and epidemiologic research, the AHA issued dietary recommendations to reduce the intake of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.Cohen E, Cragg M, DeFonseka J, Hite A, Rosenberg M, Zhou B. Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity. Nutrition [Internet]. 2015 May 1 [cited 2017 Dec 4];31(5):727–32. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837220
…the shift in the share of fat and carbohydrate is primarily due to an almost 65 g, or about a 260 kcal, daily increase in Americans’ intake of carbohydrate from 1965 to 2011.Cohen E, Cragg M, DeFonseka J, Hite A, Rosenberg M, Zhou B. Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity. Nutrition [Internet]. 2015 May 1 [cited 2017 Dec 4];31(5):727–32. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837220
There is a strong relationship between the increase in carbohydrate share of total intake and obesity. This is reflected by the high correlation at the individual level between caloric share from carbohydrate and adult BMI: 85.3% for men and 91.2% for women.Cohen E, Cragg M, DeFonseka J, Hite A, Rosenberg M, Zhou B. Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity. Nutrition [Internet]. 2015 May 1 [cited 2017 Dec 4];31(5):727–32. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837220
After 2000, shifts in scientific evidence and dietary guidelines promoted health benefits of healthy fats and plant sources of protein and the harms of low-quality carbohydrates.Shan Z, Rehm CD, Rogers G, Ruan M, Wang DD, Hu FB, et al. Trends in Dietary Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat Intake and Diet Quality Among US Adults, 1999-2016. JAMA [Internet]. 2019 Sep 24 [cited 2019 Sep 30];322(12):1178. Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2751719
The attached editorial says the following:
The evidence of some improvement in diet quality reported by Shan and colleagues offers reasons to hope that continued national,local,and individual efforts encouraging population-wide adherence to the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans could subsequently improve health and delay onset of chronic disease.1. Van Horn L, Cornelis MC. US Dietary Guidance—Is It Working? JAMA [Internet]. 2019 Sep 24;322(12):1150. Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2751694
I’d call them “numerous”
For the first reference (Shan Z, Rehm CD, Rogers G, Ruan M, Wang DD, Hu FB, et al. Trends in Dietary Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat Intake and Diet Quality Among US Adults, 1999-2016):
Dr Rehm reported receipt of personal fees from Nestec Ltd and the Dairy Management Institute. Dr Hu reported receipt of grants from the CaliforniaWalnut Commission and personal fees from Metagenics, Standard Process, and Diet Quality Photo Navigation. Dr Mozaffarian reported receipt of grants from the Gates Foundation; receipt of personal fees from GOED, Nutrition Impact, Pollock Communications, Bunge, Indigo Agriculture, Amarin, Acasti Pharma, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, America’s Test Kitchen, and Danone; scientific advisory board membership from Elysium Health (with stock options), Omada Health, and DayTwo; and receipt of publication royalties from UpToDate; in addition, Dr Mozaffarian reported holding patents US8889739 and US9987243 listing Dr Mozaffarian as a coinventor for use of transpalmitoleic acid to prevent and treat insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and related conditions as well as reduce metabolic risk factors. No other disclosures were reported.
For a previous reference related to this work
Since this issue is coming up in other venues for other studies, I noted this conflict of interest from one of the authors for previous work on this topic. I would also call these significant conflicts.
Dr Mozaffarian reported receiving honoraria from Nutrition Impact, Haas Avocado Board, Amarin, and AstraZeneca; personal fees from Bunge, Life Sciences Research Organization, and Boston Heart Diagnostics; serving on advisory boards for Unilever North America (ended 2014); and chapter royalties from UpToDate. No other disclosures were reportedRehm CD, Peñalvo JL, Afshin A, Mozaffarian D. Dietary intake among US Adults, 1999-2012. JAMA – J Am Med Assoc [Internet]. 2016 Jun 21;315(23):2542–53. Available from: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jama.2016.7491
You can access these on my disclosures page. Short version, I have none.
For me this is actually a re-read, since NHANES data is continually being recycled to attempt to describe what’s been happening with American diets.
This paper modeled data from 1965 (pre-NHANES, USDA Household Food Consumption Survey used for this year) through to 2011. It describes what is essentially a flip in the American population in the percentage of calories coming from fat vs carbohydrates.
The image in the slides is taken from a trip I took to the Library of Congress photo archives. While searching for something else, I happened on this series, “Harried Housewife preparing dinner w/ convenience foods,” from 1968, which was remarkable to me for many reasons:
…the shift in the share of fat and carbohydrate is primarily due to an almost 65 g, or about a 260 kcal, daily increase in Americans’ intake of carbohydrate from 1965 to 2011.Cohen E, Cragg M, DeFonseka J, Hite A, Rosenberg M, Zhou B. Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity. Nutrition [Internet]. 2015 May 1 [cited 2017 Dec 4];31(5):727–32. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837220
We know what happened next.
“Most people became heavier at about the same time. …We believe it is implausible that each age, sex and ethnic group, with massive differences in life experience and attitudes, had a simultaneous decline in willpower related to healthy nutrition or exercise.” Rodgers A, Woodward A, Swinburn B, Dietz WH. Prevalence trends tell us what did not precipitate the US obesity epidemic. Lancet Public Heal [Internet]. 2018 Mar; Available from: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2468266718300215
There is a strong relationship between the increase in carbohydrate share of total intake and obesity. This is reflected by the high correlation at the individual level between caloric share from carbohydrate and adult BMI: 85.3% for men and 91.2% for women.Cohen E, Cragg M, DeFonseka J, Hite A, Rosenberg M, Zhou B. Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity. Nutrition [Internet]. 2015 May 1 [cited 2017 Dec 4];31(5):727–32. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837220
Here’s an example of a spurious correlation (there are many more at this site)
Ultimately, it is not known what caused the rise in obesity, even if we can speculate on what didn’t cause it. The physical activity analyses of NHANES are not enlightening on this point either, I will post on that next.
There’s an additional photo which I cannot show here for copyright reasons, called “Well kept refrigerator for the man-about-town” from Look Magazine in 1965. That one shows what one would expect in 1965’s refrigerators – real food, including meat and dairy. If you make it to Washington, DC and can stop in to the Library of Congress, have a look 🙂 .
Here are more photos of the harried housewife and her engineered foodstuffs
1. Rodgers A, Woodward A, Swinburn B, Dietz WH. Prevalence trends tell us what did not precipitate the US obesity epidemic. Lancet Public Heal [Internet]. 2018 Mar; Available from: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2468266718300215
2. Cohen E, Cragg M, DeFonseka J, Hite A, Rosenberg M, Zhou B. Statistical review of US macronutrient consumption data, 1965–2011: Americans have been following dietary guidelines, coincident with the rise in obesity. Nutrition [Internet]. 2015 May 1 [cited 2017 Dec 4];31(5):727–32. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25837220
This photo was taken in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, in Washington, DC (of course), and I’m sharing it here on national coming out day.
What was remarkable about the moment this and additional photos were taken was that amidst the worry, fear, contention, counter-protesting going on, a group of faith-based leaders stepped forward and began singing, “we are not afraid.”
Indeed, the 20th Century ended a long time ago, and it’s not coming back.
Enjoy the photos, and celebrate the people in your life who are living as their authentic selves. Some days it’s hard to do this. It’s worth it every day.
Thanks for including my photo in this reprint of an @EatonWorkshop press release.
As I mentioned when @FastCompany published a similar article, I have questions about how helpful this substitution is:
Thank you! And yes, a focus on fossil fuels is probably more impactful than the one described in the article. Appreciate you taking a look and your work 😀
— Ted Eytan, MD, MS, MPH (@tedeytan) September 30, 2019
I’ve been asked to eat one of these food products while wearing a continuous glucose monitor to see how they impact blood sugar levels. I’ll consider it. If someone else has done this and can spare my metabolism, let me know.
Add whole-food plant-based version of food to the menu during this trial and not an artificial, genetically engineered one.
Look at at energy use. Is Eaton Workshop reducing its carbon footprint by investing in non-fossil-fuel sources of energy (easy to do)? I’m about to write a post on how I did this for myself and my carbon footprint. It’s far more useful if large organizations do this too.
1201 K Street, NW. Photo by PoPville flickr user Ted EytanFrom a press release:”Eaton DC has announced their decision to go beef-free for the month of October 2019. The hotel has decided to make this change in response to the record-breaking fires destroying the Amazon rainforest and the eff
Source: PoPville » “Eaton DC has announced their decision to go beef- free for the month of October 2019.”
People who eat animal-sourced foods to maintain their metabolic health are equicapable and equiresponsible for mitigating climate change.
It’s very difficult, if not impossible, to accurately calculate one’s carbon footprint, because of the different assumptions made about lifestyle in each model.
I’ve purchased offsets through the United Nations so I’m using their calculator as a baseline. A more comprehensive calculator with good documentation developed at UC Berkeley is also available (see references).
Estimations of animal sourced food vs a vegan diet seem to range between increase in emissions by 0.8 – 2 metric tons of carbon emissions/person/year. The UN model adds 1.21 tons for a meat-inclusive diet so that’s what’s I went with.
I may follow-up with a post that goes into more detail about my calculations here. In the meantime:
Here’s that image, again.
The much greater impact overall is in large organizations doing this at scale – reducing fossil fuel use and investing in renewable energy and regenerative agriculture projects.
The greatest impact on carbon footprint is in managing energy use, and that includes energy used for transportation as well as to create goods and services whose use could be averted (such as health care).
The much greater impact overall is in large organizations doing this at scale – reducing fossil fuel use and investing in renewable energy and regenerative agriculture projects.
I don't eat meat, for several reasons. But I am concerned about crap arguments that hopelessly exaggerate the carbon emissions associated with eating meat.
Science matters. Getting the facts right matter. Regardless of your opinions.
This thread: https://t.co/1GfE83lmU6 https://t.co/uUcuqkmEFx— Michael E. Mann (@MichaelEMann) July 17, 2018
I have purchased carbon offsets for the footprint above – see: Purchasing Carbon Offsets as a non-diabetic physician on an LCHF diet – How, What, Why
Our climate is changing:
And, we’re in the era of diabetes reversal, why don’t more doctors know?
Feel free to check my work in the comments, we have a desire to know rather than a desire to be right.
See my disclosures page. Short version: I have none.
It’s relatively easy to offset one’s carbon footprint with verified projects/vehicles through the United Nations (@UNFCCC) as well as other organizations.
These are projects that reduce carbon in the atmosphere in measured amounts, via means that include replacing fossil fuel energy with renewable sources (the project from the United Nations – @UNFCCC), or prevent carbon sinks from being destroyed (the project from Cool Effect – @Cool_Effect ).
Since I purchased from Cool Effect, that project has met its goal and no more offsets are available for sale for this project.
The idea that diet is the only/best way to mitigate carbon footprint, or that people who eat meat in pursuit of metabolic health are exclusively unable to mitigate their carbon footprint is counterproductive and inaccurate.
I’ve written a separate post detailing the carbon footprint calculation I used to determine how many offsets to purchase. Sneak peak via the image on the right.
We don’t need to ban cars; we need to electrify them (and we need that electricity to come from clean energy). We don’t need to ban burgers; we need climate-friendly beef…The bigger issue is that focusing on individual choices around air travel and beef consumption heightens the risk of losing sight of the gorilla in the room: civilization’s reliance on fossil fuels for energy and transport overall, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of global carbon emissions.See: Individual Choices Won't Be Enough to Save the Planet | Time – @MichaelEMann
My disclosures are on this page. Short version, I have none. No endorsement of organizations mentioned here is implied.
This happened in our lifetimes. I have witnessed examples just like this in my own career. Including in this decade.
Look Out! In this undated photo, DC First Responders are warned that residents of certain homes are suffering from AIDS.
These photographs are part of an exhibit of queer history in Washington, DC.
“The Jury looked at all the facts and recognized that Tyra was not a man dressed as a female but a human being,” said Earline Budd a transgendered (sic) activist who watched most of the trial.The future of LGBTQ rights was born here, too: Vermont Avenue and the Death of Tyra Hunter
Source: Timeline of Triumph – Capital Pride Alliance
A (the) most famous case of animus directed by the medical profession against people different than them is the death of Tyra Hunter, who was refused medical care by a physician based on her identity. The resultant lawsuit and multi-million dollar judgement against the city forever changed Washington, DC into a place with the strongest human rights protections in the United States, and yet still with challenges:
See: The future of LGBTQ rights was born here, too: Vermont Avenue and the Death of Tyra Hunter
I still see versions of this approach directed toward the people we serve – the imposition of identity, orientation, or lifestyle choices, such as diet, without a basis in science. This should be undertaken with great care, or actually not at all, since the failure rate of this approach is 100 %.
We should always think about the impact of what we do. We cannot bring back people, communities, generations of people lost to due to the inability to meet people where they are.
Source: Washington Blade (@WashBlade) photo archives, on display at the Outrage (@its_the_outrage), Washington, DC
