If you’ve lived to a certain age, you probably remember the food pyramid from elementary school. It was a staple in every classroom, like a blackboard and a number line. A daily reminder that a healthy diet consisted of a tiny amount of protein and fat, a slightly larger serving of milk, cheese and nuts, a slightly larger serving of fruits and vegetables, and a much larger serving of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta.
To learn today that the food pyramid was not only incorrect, but completely upside down, is proof positive that we have been profoundly misinformed for decades, (or worse, intentionally deceived,) by tens of thousands of “experts” who were flat out wrong about any number of critical topics. (Medical experts who were, surprise-surprise, sitting on the boards of Nabisco and Kellogg’s, and advising people running the FDA and USDA.)
That doesn’t mean that Dr. Philip Ovadia is correct when he argues that cholesterol is not bad for you, or that a carnivore diet is the best diet for the most people. Just because the experts were dead wrong about fundamental nutrition, doesn’t mean they’re also wrong about the supposed dangers of cholesterol. But, all things considered, after being so wrong about so much, on what basis can they object? More importantly, what concerned parent or typical American can afford to dismiss his research, simply because his findings contradict decades of conventional dietary wisdom?
Dr. Ovadia’s books, Stay Off My Operating Table, and his latest Stay Off My Kitchen Table, (both of which I recommend) pose an interesting challenge to those who have become skeptical of medical experts, because he is an expert himself. He’s a board-certified thoracic surgeon who has come to the conclusion that much of everything he assumed to be true about basic heart health was as flawed food pyramid we all grew up with. And so, after conducting over 3,000 open heart surgeries, and dramatically turning his own health around with a high fat, high protein diet, Dr. Ovadia his dedicated his life to telling the truth about the true role of cholesterol and meat in a healthy diet.
He’s fun to talk to, important to listen to, and fully qualified to be taken seriously. Our whole conversation is here. (Warning – listening will make you want a steak.)