Confused and befuddled with Grain Brain: Welcome to the world of dietary advice

I think we can be forgiven for feeling that all the dietary advice that dominates our headlines and magazines (even The Listener for heaven’s sake) is confusing and often contradictory. Always at the forefront of trends,  the library too has its fair share of titles to confuse and befuddle! At this point I hasten to add that this is part of our business, i.e. to purchase items that give information,  different viewpoints and ideas etc. As a society we are concerned about obesity, fast foods and lack of exercise, and of course publishers are well aware of these trends as well.

Fat was the harbinger of all evil until about 8 to 10 years ago, now it’s carbohydrates and its evil twin Sugar. However baking is still hugely popular with sugar always being a star component, although some Paleo books are doing their best to steal its thunder.

Cover of Why diets fail Cover of Taste sweet feast Cover of Paleo sweet treats

Low fat diets were considered essential for a healthy heart, but this book tells us that butter and fat actually make us slim!

Cover of Low-fat feasts Cover of 200 Low carb high fat recipes Cover of The grain brain cookbook

We embraced whole grains to now being told we have Grain Brains…

The Paleo diet has been holding its own for a while now still topping the charts, although Pete Evans of My Kitchen Rules fame and the kingpin of Paleo did have his last book pulled from publication as it contained what was considered to be unsafe information.  However paleo – and its cavemen and women – are covering all bases from smoothies, sweets, chocolate and fast foods, and of course Cavewomen Don’t Get Fat.

Cover of Clean living fast food Cover of Amazing grains Cover of Paleo desserts  Cover of Paleo Smoothies Cover of Edible

Interestingly, recent title Proteinaholic : How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do about  has come along to question paleo and its meaty companions …

An acclaimed surgeon specializing in weight loss delivers a paradigm-shifting examination of the diet and health industry’s focus on protein, explaining why it is detrimental to our health, and can prevent us from losing weight.

If all else fails we can always rely on insects –  low fat, low sugar, full of protein and tasty. Yum.

2 thoughts on “Confused and befuddled with Grain Brain: Welcome to the world of dietary advice

  1. Big Red Carpet Nurse 22 April 2015 / 1:11 pm

    Or you can muddle along until some real evidence comes along, not hype and fluff and bluff and sales. I ignore all of it.

  2. Laraine 22 April 2015 / 1:16 pm

    When I was a fat teenager in the sixties, in a world where nobody looked like me (well, that’s how it seemed) the “evil” foods were starch, sugar and fat. If it had any of these in it, it was forbidden. That left very little for me to eat, of course. I couldn’t even have a salad—only raw vegetables. And I hated all those parties where I could neither eat nor drink and even the company didn’t make up for that because I couldn’t hear what anybody said. (I’ve never understood people who can’t enjoy themselves unless there’s a din going on around them.)

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