6. The Role of Corporations in Shaping American Food Culture and Nutrition Guidelines

Healthy AF | Healthy After 50

Today, we're going to dive into a topic that's been on my mind for the past 25 years as a fitness professional - our flawed nutrition guidelines and the ideas behind them.

Do you ever wonder why our nutrition guidelines, which have only led to increased metabolic diseases, continue down the same path despite decades of failure? Well, there's a strong driving force behind it all. (Can you guess what it is?) Hit play to learn more!

The famous 1979 food pyramid recommended 6 to 11 servings of grains, leading to weight gain. The guidelines were established by politicians and nutrition scientists, including Mark Hegsted who was paid by the Sugar Research Foundation to promote sugar and blame saturated fat for heart disease. Hegsted later became head of the USDA and drafted the nutrition guidelines. The food pyramid was released in 1980 and updated every 5 years.

The nutrition guidelines have been influenced by politics and the food industry, including organizations like the USDA, Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Last year, two articles revealed the extent of industry influence over these organizations. 95% of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Council members had conflicts of interest with the food and pharmaceutical industries.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics became a pro-industry voice, accepting corporate contributions and investing in companies like Nestle and PepsiCo, even if it clashed with their original mission of public health.

Academic institutions like Harvard and Tufts, heavily funded by corporations, have been recommending a low-fat, plant-based diet and vilifying meat, full-fat dairy, and saturated fats for decades. With 65% of the US diet being processed food and 80% of the US being metabolically unhealthy, it's clear that this isn't working. Eating whole foods is the solution.

That's why I created the Healthy AF club, a community of like-minded individuals who support each other and receive weekly coaching from me in an effort so we can all learn the truth together. If it resonates with you, check the links below to learn more.

Episode Minute-by-Minute Recap:

• 0:41 Where it all started to go wrong for health guidlines
• 1:16 How the Food Pyramid was funded and created
• 3:10 The truth about dietary cholesterol
• 5:46 The 10 Food brands that own ALL the brands
• 10:33 When the plant-based switch was flipped
• 12:29 Metabolic disease doesn’t have to be the norm
• 14:27 How to find more like-minded people who want to eat well

Connect with Zane:

• Join The Healthy AF Club Now: http://HealthyAF.Club

• Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zanegriggsfitness

• ReLyte Electrolytes by Redmond Real Salt https://shop.redmond.life?afmc=Zane

Links For This Episode:

See the Charts and Graphs mentioned on this PDF:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BTiCkQENrZ9zD1HbhMRYXVGrNiqVWMkS/view?usp=share_link

Conflicts of interest for members of the U.S. 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35311630/‌

The corporate capture of the nutrition profession in the USA: the case of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/corporate-capture-of-the-nutrition-profession-in-the-usa-the-case-of-the-academy-of-nutrition-and-dietetics/9FCF66087DFD5661DF1AF2AD54DA0DF9

Sugar Foundation Paid Harvard Researchers

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5099084/

Sugar Foundation Paid Harvard Researches news article

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/sugar-industry-artificially-sweetened-harvard-research