In this talk at CrossFit’s 2017 Health Conference, Australian orthopedic surgeon Dr. Gary Fettke presents a history of the junk science behind prevailing nutrition guidelines.
Fettke has come under attack for his critique of the mainstream: “By continuing to speak out on the topic of nutrition, I am at risk of losing my registration as an orthopedic surgeon,” he told a crowd of more than 400 on Aug. 2, 2017, at the Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin.
Fettke recommends a “low-carb, healthy fat” diet, which he says is in line with CrossFit’s recommendation to eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar.
“I feel that the combination of fructose, refined carbohydrate, and polyunsaturated oils is toxic, inflammatory, and at the root cause of all disease that we look at,” he says.
But because of his dietary recommendations, Fettke has been reported to Australia’s medical board, much like Prof. Tim Noakes, who was attacked for challenging the medical establishment in South Africa.
“The board have determined that it is inappropriate for me to let people know how to reverse Type 2 diabetes,” Fettke explains. Nevertheless, he says, “The message is too important to be silenced.”
During his talk, which is equal parts biology lesson and food-industry history, Fettke speaks out against the ideological misinformation and vested interests that have corrupted how we eat.
“With the right education,” he says, “my patients can be helped.”
Comments on Dr. Gary Fettke: The Role of Nutrition in Everything
I'm a bit confused by Keto and Paleo. I thought Crossfit was okay with Paleo too?
What a great presentation. I was literally, physically stunned by the information on the religious infiltration into dietetic and nutritional guidelines. This knowledge really deepens our perspective on why "grains are good," "meat causes cancer," and "vegetarians live longer," etc. etc remain in the public eye without any scientific basis. Share this info, and a link to this presentation, with everyone you know.
Thank you Coach! Watching this video again gives more motivation to attend it in person and thanks to CF Health for making it an option to have at the Games each year. Has it been 3 years in a row now?
All those of us who have bucked the low-fat, low-sat-fat, high in whole grains nutritional trend in caring for patients (which in the case of my husband and I dates back to the mid 1980s) have felt some degree of 'establishment wrath' though few of us to the degree of harm they've ladled out to Dr. Fettke (or Dr. Demasi or Dr. Noakes). We have, many of us, been decried as charlatans, pooh-poohed as cranks, and vilified as a public health threats by turns.
I recall once on a live radio phoner about our book Protein Power (published in 1996 and admittedly pro meat and anti carb) being repeatedly called 'Dr. Death' by the show's program director, who was on the interview call with the host and was an avowed vegan.
Headlines ran about our book in a local newspaper in the town in which we'd practiced medicine for decades, questioning 'Are these doctors killing people?'
A well-known Harvard-based weight loss expert vigorously pressured the publisher not to publish my husband's first book, called Thin So Fast, under the warning that to do so would put the lives of hundreds of thousands of people at risk.
Another well known vegetarian, ultra-low-fat cardiologist (and diet book author who claimed to have reversed heart disease with his program) pressured a NY Times columnist who was doing a large piece on our Protein Power book and on meat eating's coming back into vogue (way back in 1996) not to publish the article, again under the ominous threat that to do so would make her responsible for the deaths of thousands of readers. She published anyway, but in a much diluted form, thanks to the pressure put on the Times editorial board (that happened to include a number of low-fat cookbook authors.)
The book, spelling out much the same advice that Dr. Fettke was censured for imparting to patients he was trying to heal, went on to sell nearly 4 million copies and so far as we know there were no long lines around the block at dialysis centers or SRO at cardiac care units or a run on caskets in those years. And 23 years later it still sells.
Dr. Michael Eades is integral in this new but-not-so-new wisdom. It’s just taking a long time for the knowledge to expand. Thank you to your husband!
Is there a way we can get a pdf of this presentation, i.e. the PowerPoint or text?
Dr. Gary Fettke: The Role of Nutrition in Everything
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