4 ms·

I don’t know if they’re “just entering into the public consciousness”. Growing up in the 90s my parents obsessively followed the “zone” diet by Barry Sears. As

I don’t know if they’re “just entering into the public consciousness”. Growing up in the 90s my parents obsessively followed the “zone” diet by Barry Sears. As I recall his books were bestsellers. The book talked in detail about the carbohydrate/insulin relationship, and the diet revolved around keeping down glycemic load by managing macros and choosing low glycemic-index carbs. It was meant to be a sustainable way of eating rather than a temporary “weight-loss” diet. I don’t know if that stuff stayed in the public consciousness at all (it seems to have faded like other fad diets.) But it was the first systematic nutrition system I encountered and it had an influence on how I eat. When I started, I counted macros, but I got tired of that pretty quickly and rough estimates seem to get most of the same benefit.

clnq 4y ago
Yes, exactly. The knowledge about low GI diets having a positive impact on weight has been around for a while if you knew where to look, or if there was a fad that briefly made them popular. Still, in recent years I've been observing a perception shift from fats intake being the culprit of obesity to carb/sugar intake, and especially high glycemic index foods being responsible. The Time Magazine dedicated their June 23, 2014 issue to this switch in public perception of fats and carbs. And to my mind, the time around 2014 was when a lot of terminology like "sugar tax" entered politics and casual conversations more. This can be seen on Google Trends, along with huge spikes in popularity of topics revolving around "paleo diet" in 2013 and "keto diet" in 2016. It now seems to be a well-known fact that sugary sodas and high carb intakes are associated with obesity and certain health conditions. We used to worry a lot more about fat intake around the year 2000.

clnq 4y ago

Yes, exactly. The knowledge about low GI diets having a positive impact on weight has been around for a while if you knew where to look, or if there was a fad that briefly made them popular. Still, in recent years I've been observing a perception shift from fats intake being the culprit of obesity to carb/sugar intake, and especially high glycemic index foods being responsible. The Time Magazine dedicated their June 23, 2014 issue to this switch in public perception of fats and carbs. And to my mind, the time around 2014 was when a lot of terminology like "sugar tax" entered politics and casual conversations more. This can be seen on Google Trends, along with huge spikes in popularity of topics revolving around "paleo diet" in 2013 and "keto diet" in 2016. It now seems to be a well-known fact that sugary sodas and high carb intakes are associated with obesity and certain health conditions. We used to worry a lot more about fat intake around the year 2000.