Comments on Thrifty Mom in a Consumer World: Dr. Sears is off his rocker and sugar is still bad...

I came across your blog in a google search.. I am ...

2009-07-25T18:25:09.930-04:00

I came across your blog in a google search.. I am very pleased that I did. It was a great find! Kudos to you on your progress!!!

AND ANY kind of sugar even in the raw is TERRIBLE for you... It is NOT natural and raw sugar should never be mistaken for something that is good for you.

Bryce: This is the Dr. Sears of attachment parent...

2009-07-24T22:23:25.326-04:00

Bryce: This is the Dr. Sears of attachment parenting fame, not Barry Sears who invented the Zone diet.

Dr. Sears of attachment parenting actually is a pretty decent guy, and obviously loves kids as he's had something like seven or eight of them. Unfortunately he has had about as much nutrition education as most MDs, which is to say "woefully inadequate."

Even Dr. Atkins might never have dug deeper to find out about low-carb eating had he himself not gotten fat during his residency. He'd have lived out his days as an ordinary cardiologist and life would be very different now.

It's a shame, but there it is. Medical schools have a lot to answer for. Their students have a massive amount of information to absorb in a relatively short amount of time and they're relying on these schools to have sorted it all out for them.

MrsEvilGenius:
I totally agree with you.
Dr....

2009-07-22T17:34:21.298-04:00

MrsEvilGenius:
I totally agree with you.
Dr. Sears is really focused on a different group of people though-- many parents think for example, that high fructose corn syrup is not bad -- I mean afterall, isn't that what the TV commercial says? (lol)
I believe that Dr. Sears was attempting to get people to understand the difference between different types of sugar. If he can get people to that first step, then maybe they can get to the point where they do only get carbs from veggies. In this society though, if you told a parent that french fries didn't really count as a veggie, many would be shocked (sad but true -- what is the percent of babies that have been fed french fries?)

So, my point is-- he needs to start somewhere. If he tries to ward people off of all non-veggie carbs-- many wouldn't even listen. It's baby steps to try to reach a population that may not be able to "hear" everything. (i.e. better to teach some algebra before getting to calculus)

I respect Dr. Sears for what he is trying to do and I think he is on the right path-- introducing parents to nutrition is the first step-- hopefully once they begin to learn, they will want to continue on that path and move to bigger and better ideas and concepts (i.e. "carbs ARE sugars and grains, starches, fructose, and other sugars are completely unessesary in our diet")

Bryce, I agree that hes to be politically correct....

2009-07-22T17:17:58.285-04:00

Bryce, I agree that hes to be politically correct. It's sad, however, that a doctor would state scientifically disproven 'advice' just to make a buck. :(

Thnkingmomma, I will confess that I got so cross and frustrated that I didn't read the entire lengthy article.

But carbs ARE sugars and grains, starches, fructose, and other sugars are completely unessesary in our diet, IMHO.

Carbs from veg are totally cool in my book, however. :D

Perhaps Sugar is not the right word in that senten...

2009-07-22T11:55:59.478-04:00

Perhaps Sugar is not the right word in that sentence-- I think he is pointing more towards carbohydrates -- making the point that that carbs have gotten a bad rap but that not all carbs are bad. He does go on in the article to talk about the negatives of refined sugar and candy bars, etc. and how they are a different type of sugar.

I read Dr. Sears Zone book and I think he does rep...

2009-07-22T11:39:17.943-04:00

I read Dr. Sears Zone book and I think he does represent a step in the right direction for most people. The diet he recommends is slightly higher in fat and protein, and lower in carbs, than the SAD, and he does encourage minimal refined sugar for the most part.

His diet encourages insulin management. That's good. He seems unwilling, however, to actually go all the way and tell people that sugar/refined carbs are plain bad.

I think you're right. I think he knows what the science really says, and he's trying to be politically correct by offering his middle of the road diet to the masses, so that it will sell.

I almost choked reading the paragraphy by Dr. Sear...

2009-07-22T08:49:48.666-04:00

I almost choked reading the paragraphy by Dr. Sears!

No one in their right mind should ever postulate that sugar is good for you!