ADDENDUM - OP About Diet & Diabetes.

Thanx for all the varied response on previous OP.

The intent of OP was an opinion about how our over carbed and oversized diet has been contributing to our national obesity and most likely diabetes problem. For most Americans such a diet seems to be less of a problem than populations vulnerable to the disease of diabetes.

My point was the FDA's ability to be honest about diet. Even today's guidelines seem to be somewhat ambiguous. Balanced diet is important but so is how many carbs we eat. And I look at the food industry and see it as very similar to what the tobacco industry did years ago. And we can see the same thing happening with climate science. Spread enough confusion and ambiguity and you can continue to do what you want even if you know what harm you are causing.

The other point that I was making is how diets that actually reduce food consumption is a threat to profits. A lot of economic activity today is based on creating pure volume of consumption on just about anything that is a commodity. There is one diet system that is very helpful and that is the exchange diet. The problem is that such a food regimen is pretty difficult to maintain for most people.

I have been accused of giving medical advice and if one really reads what I have said, I have made it clear that diet and diabetes management is very individual. What works for one person does not work for another. And the ADA recommendations are just parameters. You have to start somewhere.

The final point is that in our health care system we have the ability to help people individualize their diets and life styles based on where they are physically. It is all part of preventative medicine. And I believe that the medical professions are hard pressed and do not have the time to individualize medicine as we most likely should. And I believe there is pressure to avoid really doing what we should because reduction in medication and food intake stands in the way of profit for the food and pharmaceutical industries.

What is most telling about our national health is how the food industry is still attempting to hide the negative effects of high fructose corn syrup as well as hiding its continued use. The truth is out. Now they seem to trying to change the name to hide it in our foods.