Despite Americans’ adherence to these guidelines, however, the obesity rate has more than doubled since 1980. And over 7% of Americans were diagnosed with diabetes in 2015, up from just 2.5% in 1980.

Still, the government promotes diets that emphasize carbs over fats – even as research proves the dangers of this approach.

Consider a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. It found that moderately obese people who followed a low-carb diet lost nearly twice as much weight as those who followed a low-fat diet.

A meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Nutrition supports this finding. Researchers examined more than a dozen studies comparing very low-carbohydrate diets to low-fat diets. People who followed the low-carb diet lost more weight than those on the low-fat diet.

Reducing carbohydrate intake can drastically improve the lives of people with diabetes. Scientists at Indiana University Health examined the impact of very low-carb diets on close to 300 diabetes patients. After two years, over 90% of these patients reduced or eliminated their need for insulin. Nearly six in 10 saw their glucose levels drop so low they technically reversed their diabetes.