Professor Tim Noakes, one of the world’s leading sports scientists who is ending the war on fat, will answer the contentious question: Is the low fat diet the worst dietary advice in history? at the Durban University of Technology on Monday next week (13 October 2014).
Prof Noakes’ lecture, which is expected to get tongues wagging, will be held at the Mansfield Hall, DUT Ritson Campus, from 14h00 to 15h30.
The public lecture is being held in association with the University’s Department of Food and Nutrition: Consumer Sciences as part of the Executive Dean’s (Faculty of Applied Sciences) Lecture Series.
Prof Noakes’ eating plan- the Tim Noakes Diet, which promotes eating food that is high in protein and fat and low in refined carbohydrates- is synonymous with Banting, a eating plan that also promotes a low carb way of eating.
“The adoption of the high carbohydrate, low fat diets after 1977 as the official global (healthy) eating plan has been followed with an epidemic of obesity and diabetes that appears uncontrollable”, said Prof Noakes. “It is my belief that the cause of obesity and diabetes is simple; it is due to the provision of addictive, highly processed foods which induce over eating in susceptible individuals. Thus the cure for the obesity epidemic is to reduce the consumption of highly addictive, carbohydrate rich foods. This can only be achieved by substituting high fat, high protein foods. Unfortunately, the public has been misled to believe that such diets are unhealthy because they increase the risk of heart disease. There is no good evidence for this belief,” he said.
Prof Noakes believes that the diet debate is critical for South Africa because “a healthy population cannot be developed if children are exposed to high carbohydrate diets from an increasingly young age,”
adding that “the optimum development of the brain at all ages requires diets that are high in protein, especially fat, and low in refined carbohydrates”, such as white breads and pastas as well as sodas, energy drinks, sweetened ice tea and many fruit juices made with added refined sugars.
Professor Noakes was born in Harare, Zimbabwe but studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT) where he obtained a MBChB degree in 1974, MD degree in 1981 and DSc (Med) degree in Exercise Science in 2002. He is a Professor in the Discovery Health Chair of Exercise and Sports Science at UCT. He is also a Director of The UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine and co-founder of the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA).
Prof Noakes has published over 500 scientific publications, has been cited more than 14 000 times in scientific literature, has an H index of 63 and is rated as an AI scientist by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. His recent book, Real Meal Revolution, co-authored with Jonno Proudfoot, David Grier and Sally-ann Creed, was launched in November 2013. The book covers scientific facts behind the low carb, high fat diet and contains recipes and advice.
The details of the lecture are as follows:
Time: 14h00 till 15h30
Date: Monday, 13 October 2014
Venue: DUT Mansfield Hall, DUT Ritson Campus
Please RSVP to nirvanan@dut.ac.za no later than 13h00 on Friday, 10 October 2014.
– Sinegugu Ndlovu
Pictured: Professor Tim Noakes who will answer the contentious
question: Is the low fat diet the worst dietary advice in history? at DUT on Monday next week (13 October 2014).
