Introduction

There is little doubt that recent changes in nutritional behavior are largely responsible for rapid increases in obesity, diabetes and many so called non-communicable diseases over the last 40 or so years. Many aspects of prevention nutrition incrementally add up to large health gains but what are the most important issues and how can they be adapted into every day habits in the face of deeply ingrained food culture.  The information in this website attempts to address this problem by describing the most meaningful practical measures that can deliver the best health gains and the science behind these claims are linked so that readers may go into as much of the original research as they wish.

Several measures introduced in the past that were expected to improve health have failed to show any benefits in large scale studies.  For instance the reduction in fat and increase of fruits and vegetables achieved in the Women’s Health Initiative did not produce any significant improvements.  Studies on supplements with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals have largely failed to show any positive results. These measures likely do have some merit but as is the case with exercise, you can’t outrun a bad diet. We do not totally dismiss these ideas but put them in perspective in the pecking order of measures that contribute in an incremental way to improvements in healthspan.

The single most effective measure to improve health and control weight is to replace high glycemic carbohydrates with very low glycemic carbohydrates.  This does not mean the elimination of an important food group but it does mean a substantial reappraisal of the type of carbohydrates and how they should be labeled. This one conscious and quite difficult change in food choice has far reaching implications for weight control, cell function and disease susceptibility by steering away from the most harmful foods towards those that are most beneficial.  We present evidence for a predominantly plant based ketogenic diet, high in fiber and phytonutrients with modest protein as our best chance of minimizing obesity, metabolic disorders and the risk of age related diseases.