Food

August 10, 2004

What goes around comes around! If you live long enough, you find that all the absolute truths that you are told are not absolute after all.

For years the FDA was telling us not to consume fat, because clearly fat will make you fat. Don't eat that steak, don't eat that cheese. That was what we heard for nearly two decades. It was a steady drum beat criticizing fat and promoting carbs. Eat more bread ... eat more pasta. So we did it.

But look what happened, we got fat. I remember when consumer organizations would come into my office and tell me how harmful butter was for your health. You should use margarine on your bread. Ten years later the government said they had decided that butter is better for you than margarine. Now the public enemy number one is Trans Fat.

The FDA is relaxing its objection to fat and focusing on the question of whether a particular food overall is good for your health. Also, if your concern is weight, calories are what count. Makes sense to me.

With the general public trying to control their weight, they are focusing on what works for them. The popularity of the Atkins diet has sparked a revolution. Protein is in ... protein is acceptable. Even fat is okay, except for Trans Fat. Carbs are out ... starch just makes you fat.

I have the food pyramid in front ofme. It is definitely in for a shake up. Do you think they would just tum it upside down with meat, eggs, and dairy products as the foundation? Probably not. But for sure there will be some repositioning of the food groups.

I think science is making progress. It is a new day! Now, I can drink to my health with a couple glasses of red wine. The National Institute of Health says so.

Until next week, I am John Block from Washington.