Need to know, do you generally agree with this?

[SuperCell]

Thinking of sending in this letter to a city newspaper. I'm confident everything I say is true, but wanted to run it by some of the more knowledgable people here. Let me know, and thanks.

An April 1 letter discussing Type 2 diabetes claimed the disease could in part be avoided by limiting sugar and fat in one's diet. This advice is unfortunately misguided.

Over the past few decades, we have been conditioned to believe that dietary fat and sugar are somehow “unhealthy”, and are to be avoided. This was recently illustrated by NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg's ridiculous attempt to ban large sugary soft drinks.

Here are some facts about sugar and fat:

Fat is a required dietary nutrient, and should not be avoided.

Sugar (in the form of glucose) is the principle energy source for every cell in the human body. Ingestion of sugar is not intrinsically unhealthy.

Avoiding sugar is often pointless, because ingested complex carbohydrates are simply broken down into sugar anyway.

Fat and sugar in no way cause obesity or diabetes.

It should be acknowledged that fats and sugars are both calorie dense. Repeated ingestion of excessive calories is the principle cause of weight gain and obesity; which in turn is a risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes.

People should take initiative and maintain a healthy weight; not blame diseases on sugar, fat, or large soft drinks.

[cumminslifter]

I agree, except consuming copious amounts of sugar can lead to insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes(I believe)

[ELLSKIES]

I agree, OP. There are also genetic factors that predispose some people to Type 2 diabetes, that researchers are still uncovering, that have nothing to do with obesity or dietary habits. But your right, sugar and fat are not the culprits in the case of obese people who are diagnosed with it. Too many calories are. )

Case in point: If you had a couple of busy days at work, and you only had time to eat a couple of candy bars and a few Cokes, totaling about 800 calories per day, would you gain weight? Of course not. Law of thermodynamics always governs. You'd lose weight.

[lawd0]

There is much more to this, cant recommend enough the China Study book, most western diseases are caused by inflammatory diseases, not (only) excessive calorie intake.