In his book, The True You Diet, Dr John Briffa says many 'healthy' foods are not good for us, writes Sylvia Thompson.
The game is up for the food industry, according to a London-based medical doctor, writer and nutritional expert, Dr John Briffa. Briffa believes that many processed foods that claim to help people lose weight and stay healthy simply aren't good for us.
"We've seen how the tobacco industry lied to us about the dangers of cigarettes. We see how pharmaceutical companies have hidden information about dangerous side effects of medicines and now I believe independent experts are beginning to expose the untruths of many so-called healthy foods," he says.
In his latest book, The True You Diet (Hay House), Briffa challenges a lot of conventional views on certain foods. For instance, he says margarines are not better for us than butter, mainly because of the chemical processes used to make them.
He also highlights scientific studies which point to a link between the artificial sweetener, aspartame, and certain cancers. He also claims dairy products aren't essential for healthy bones and the role of grains in the diet has been exaggerated.
The True You Diet is not an easy read and is certainly not for those looking for a step-by-step approach to losing weight. Instead, it's for people who want a better understanding how certain foods have - wrongly, according to Briffa - become associated with healthy eating.
"A lot of myths pervade nutritional thinking and diet books traditionally haven't explained the true effects on health of different foods," he explains. "I believe that a lot of nutritional information is motivated by economics and food politics and if you explain that to people, they can then understand better why there is a yawning abyss between what we've often been told and what the truth is."
In the book, Briffa reiterates much of the established knowledge on the dangers of salt and sugar in the diet. He argues that dairy products are a frequent factor in food sensitivities and recommends people avoid fruit yogurts because not only do they contain very little fruit but because they are also full of sugar and/or artificial sweeteners.
He comes down heavy on carbohydrate foods too. "Grain-based foods such as bread, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals now account for about a third of the total calories we consume," writes Briffa.
Like many other nutritionists, he argues that it's processed foods high in refined carbohydrates that have little nutritional value.
He does, however, favour complex carbohydrate foods such as oats, brown rice and rye bread.
So, in a very roundabout way, Briffa is arguing for more protein and subsequently more fat which is a part of virtually all high-protein foods. "Studies show that, calorie for calorie, protein is the most appetite-suppressing component of the diet," he writes.
He is, however, not a fan of processed soy-based or Quorn-based protein foods.
The central thesis of The True You Diet is that there is no one single healthy diet to suit everyone and that we need to look back to the diets of our ancestors to find the solutions to a healthy diet. "We need to look to the primal diet of meat, fish, fruit and vegetables and nuts," says Briffa.
And in what some dietitians might call a bid for a new populist diet concept, Briffa superimposes the hunter/ gatherer population divisions from pre-agrarian societies onto 21st century humans. Then, he goes on to divide us all into hunters, gatherers or hunter/ gatherers.
According to Briffa, "hunters" need to eat regularly. They like their food, eat large portion sizes and tend not to put on weight easily. "They are warm individuals with high energy levels both mentally and physically. They like heavy food and don't feel a meal is complete without meat," he says.
In contrast, "gatherers" tend not to be as hungry and don't need to eat as regularly. "They put on weight more easily yet they can eat fruit as a snack and feel that it satiates their appetite," he explains.
Briffa believes that understanding these fundamental differences between people is the key to helping them choose the right foods and maintain a healthy weight.
"I've seen individuals thrive on a vegetarian or vegan diet and find foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans and lentils to be satisfying and enlivening. However, for other individuals, a diet relatively devoid of fat may simply fail to really satisfy their appetite and leave them on a constant quest for food."
Briffa argues that for many "hunters", eating heavier foods such as red meat and buttered vegetables will often actually speed weight loss and improve their energy levels and mood. And he draws on scientific studies to support his argument.
"Scientific evidence shows that our ability to handle macronutrients varies considerably from person to person which has profound implications when it comes to determining our own ideal diet," he writes.
In a nutshell, it's all down to whether your body metabolises fat quickly or slowly.
Briffa agrees that the categories of hunters, gatherers and hunter-gatherers has strong parallels with the traditional Indian medicine system of Ayurveda.
In Ayurvedic medicine, people are divided into Vata, Pitta and Kapha types and understanding which type you are helps you to live life in harmony with yourself and the world around you.
But, while Ayurveda includes advice on exercise and looking after your body, Briffa concentrates only on the diet. "I didn't want the book to be an encyclopaedic account of how to live healthily. Do people really need to be told that they need to exercise more," he asks.
Well, it would seem so. Just last week, the European Commission's proposals on EU-wide efforts to tackle the obesity epidemic included both stronger action on the food industry to improve nutritional labelling and reduce salt, fats and sugar in food products and strong campaigns to encourage physical activity in European citizens, one in three of whom don't take any exercise in their free time.
See also www.thetrueyoudiet.com