Definitely a new craze diet! One steeped in controversy. Most people just blindly follow it without really doing the proper research for themselves.
What is Banting?
In his book, The Real Meal Revolution, Noakes encourages eating mostly leafy vegetables, protein, nuts, fat and cheese. Sugar and Carbohydrates are out of the question. He claims that animal fats such as butter and cream keep hunger pangs away for longer.You will crave the sugars and Carbohydrates less.Carbohydrate deprivation leads the body into ketosis, a chemical fat-burning process that causes weight loss. Although some suggest that this diet works because of the fewer calories that are eaten and not in the cutting out of the Carbohydrates. The diet even cuts out fruit, because of the fructose which is a sugar and some fruits like bananas are high in Carbohydrates. What everyone seems to have forgotten is that too much fat still clogs up your arteries which leads to high cholesterol and higher chance of heart attacks.
Posting your favorite banting recipe on facebook or pintrest seems to be the new cult. The cauliflower pizza seems to be a winner amongst Noakes groupies. There are some creative recipes that come along with this diet such as almond flour pancakes, sweet potato nachos and flourless chocolate cake. Even if you are not a Banting radical, you could still enjoy a few of the recipes on occasion.
Why do they even call it Banting?
It was named after William Banting,a London Undertaker which suffered from obesity, was prescribed a strict diet by a Harley Street surgeon in 1861 with considerable success
We saw this happen in 1974 with the Atkins Diet. That too was steeped in controversy and there has even been question as to Atkins own death, some say he died of a heart attack but this was proven to be false, he died of a head injury but he did suffer a cardiac arrest in 2002, just a year before he died. There were just too many questions surrounding this diet. Sound familiar?
Banting is sweeping through the country like a plague causing great concern with many Health professionals.
The recent Stellenbosch University study on 10 July 2014 conducted by Dr Celeste Naude of Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Evidence, in fact proved that the diet doesn’t work and is even dangerous. cardiologists, endocrinologists, epidemiologists, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of SA, the Association of Dietetics of SA, and the Health Professions Council of SA, all in agreement ,concluded the same thing.
At the Vitality Summit on Friday 1 August 2014, Johannesburg cardiologist Anthony Dalby has called sport scientist Tim Noakes’s high-fat diet “criminal”. Reputable Nutritionist Patrick Holford says that Tim Noakes Diet is a specific eating plan intended for Diabetics under strict medical supervision.
Despite all the evidence the public are still, pardon the pun, eating it all up. Maybe our grandchildren will laugh at us like we laugh at the popularity of smoking in the 1920’s.Tim Noakes’ fame is spreading like wildfire and his book has sold more 100 000 copies since publication in December 2013, making it South Africa’s bestseller ever.
