I like Dr. Weil. I think he’s a nice guy and a thoughtful individual. He is obviously a very intelligent person with many respectable accomplishments throughout his storied career.
But, have I ever listened to him for nutritional advice?
No way, no how, not ever.
Here’s why.
Just like other conventional sources of health information, the deal is always changing. How can a person ever truly follow a healthy lifestyle if the dietary recommendations are in constant flux?
Case in point: Dr. Weil recently announced on his website that he is no longer recommending low-fat dairy products.
For those of you who are still buying skim milk and lowfat yogurt based on his adamant advice for many years thinking this was going to help shrink that backside and save you from heart disease, this may come as quite a shock.
21 Studies: Saturated Fat Does Not Cause Heart Disease
Dr. Weil’s reasoning as to why his “thinking on saturated fat has evolved” is based on a thorough analysis of 21 studies which showed that saturated fat is not associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
These 21 studies in total included nearly 350,000 people the majority of whom were healthy at the start of each study. These folks were followed for between 5 and 23 years and over this span of time, 11,000 developed heart disease or had a stroke.
Researchers examining the dietary intake for these thousands of participants found no difference in the risk of “coronary heart disease, stroke, or coronary vascular disease between those individuals with the lowest and highest intake of saturated fat.”
Here’s the kicker.
An apparently dumbfounded Dr. Weil writes that these findings go “completely against the conventional medical wisdom of the past 40 years. It now appears that many studies used to support the low-fat recommendation had serious flaws.”
Why Are You Still Listening To Conventional Health Advice?
My hat is off to Dr. Weil for coming to his senses, but the fact is that he should have recognized this crucial error long ago!
The clear cut data that saturated fat intake has absolutely zero to do with heart disease and other vascular ailments has been around for decades ever since Dr. Mary Enig, former Vice President of the Weston A. Price Foundation and currently Board Member Emeritus, blew the whistle on the scam ages ago and paid for her forthrightness and courage by having her research career blackballed.
What took you so long Andrew?? This is no minor “oops” on your part after all.
Dr. Weil’s 180 on saturated fat begs the obvious question.
What other nutritional errors are still being promoted by Dr. Weil and others like him from “respected and credible” outlets for health advice?
The answer is that there is a lot these TV talking heads promote that is way off the mark.
Having a medical or nutrition degree is no guarantee that the advice given is correct, not by a long shot.
How to Eat Healthy For the Long Term
Does Dr. Weil finally have it right about saturated fat?
Nope.
While his thinking on saturated fat has clearly “evolved” and he is now promoting full fat dairy, he is still off the reservation unfortunately.
For example, Dr. Weil still recommends skinless chicken and turkey and limiting saturated fat intake to 10% of daily calories in the diet. On what basis is he recommending no more than 10% of calories from saturated fat?
There is no basis for this recommendation! It is being pulled completely out of thin air! There is not a single shred of evidence that this recommendation is wise.
How do you know how much saturated fat you should be eating then?
How about looking to the past for your wisdom instead of an ever changing tide of conventional health opinion?
Dead people don’t seek profits or try to influence your buying habits, do they?
Dead people also don’t lie. You can simply examine what they did, see what the results were and objectively assess whether or not their methods were successful.
For these reasons, seeking the wisdom of Traditional Cultures who ate saturated fat with abandon and emphasized them in the diet is the simplest and best approach to health.
If you are tired of changing health advice and your head is spinning from the myriad approaches to eating that are promoted nowadays, I encourage you to take a look at the research of Dr. Weston A. Price, author of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, a book that is virtually guaranteed to forever change the way you view health and wellness.
Dr. Price traveled the world in the early 1900’s and documented the vibrant health of 14 preindustrialized cultures. What these cultures emphasized for health is very different from what Dr. Weil promotes, sincere though he is in his quest to determine what diet bestows optimal health.
If the concept of Traditional Diets is new to you, click here for a short video introduction.
Isn’t it high time to stop changing the way you eat every few months or years and follow the anthropological path to diet and health that has already been trodden by cultures who fully experienced the vitality you seek?
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
You want research?
CHINA STUDY, completed by experts in the field. Not a dentist. LOL
Good luck
The China Study has been dismissed by dozens as so flawed it’s laughable.
Keep eating that butter and see what happens in your 30’s!!! What are you people talking about! Dr. Weil is far from conventional. Things are going to continue to change based on new medical research. Too much of anything is bad for you. What people have died!!! It’s called having a balanced diet and making the best decisions with the information presented to us. If anything, the man is a pioneer, helping the masses to get away from processed crap. Stating that the man has killed people is just ignorant and you should be ashamed of yourself. But again, what should I expect from someone who is not educated in the field. FYI: Dr Price was a dentist! This could be the most worthless website on the intranet.
Sarah, thanks for your blog post. I have a serious question I hope you can answer. I’ve tried asking Sally Fallon but she seems to be stupified that anyone could have this reaction.
I’ve heard so many times that saturated fat has no connection heart disease of any kind. So how is it that every time I try to increase my saturated fat intake, I get heart palpitations, and also — even more uncomfortable for me — severe restless leg syndrome related to poor circulation? Both of these ‘symptoms’ happen, without fail, every single time I try to eat a little butter, or keep some of the chicken skin on the chicken, etc.
I look forward to your reply.
Thanks in advance,
Kelly
@Cassandra thank you 🙂 I just call it as I see it. Folks are free to disagree and that is of course fine. If folks agreed with everything I wrote, my blog would be worthless.
@Claudia Just calling a spade a spade. Dr. Weil knew about his error long ago no doubt about it. How many people has he killed by refusing to admit his mistake earlier? I don’t go easy on people who are making other people sick by being more interested in their careers than the truth.
I don’t think Dr. Weil killed anybody. That’s going too far. He relied on science, he didn’t set up rhe study. Besides, people added sweeteners to compensate for low fat and that caused them to get sick. Dr. Weil often advised against such sweeteners.
Sarah, your blog is my favorite because you don’t sugar coat things or seem to worry about offending people. Your writing is spot on and terse! That is refreshing. THANK YOU for your amazing hard work in keeping us educated!
I greatly worry about the myths that get regurgitated all the time within the media and from people who should know better. I wonder how long it’s going to be for mainstream to catch up with the truth. I agree with other posters, at least he’s used his own mind to do this u-turn.
This post is the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Dr. Weil admitted that he was mistaken about saturated fat and you criticize him for not having discovered this sooner?? I view what he did as a step in the right direction.
I have appreciated the helpful information that you’ve put out there, Sarah, but there are plenty more sources about traditional diets in the blogosphere that don’t come across as judgmental as yours, thus making the real food way of life more accessible and not as intimidating to newbies. Even Sally Fallon Morell has said, “Don’t make food your religion.”
Isn’t it loads better that he realizes a truth now than never? Your kudos to Dr. Weil, unfortunately, is buried under tons of criticism. We all can’t have all of your dietary wisdom of all things Weston Price all at once, nor is it normal for anyone to wholeheartedly agree with it in its entirety right off the bat. It may take more time for some. Sheesh, give him a bit of grace!
No grace from me. How many people has Dr. Weil made sick or killed by his refusal to admit his error years sooner? There is no doubt in my mind that he knew about the saturated fat causes heart disease error – he just chose to ignore it. He was more worried about his career than the truth until it was staring him in the face from a public many of whom “got it” before he did.
I completely agree with you there, Sarah. Dr. W. is not a nobody, not just another GP. He has a very large audience, written several books and has claimed to be in possession of the truth. People who do this must accept the responsibilities that come with such action.
Dr. Weil is a very carefully marketed individual .. the beard, the guru type of persona. It’s all very careful packaging to gain the trust and acceptance of TV viewers and those who buy his books.
Very very dangerous to listen to these types of folks when it comes to health advice.