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Using low-carb nutrition in disease doesn’t mean there is evidence for all Canadians to eat a low-carb diet. Health Canada has just released the new food guide, and there are many improvements.

We applaud the focus on healthy eating behaviours, the reduction of sugars and processed foods, choosing water, and returning to traditional foods. This guide will allow Canadians more flexibility to meet specific dietary needs, taking into account one’s age, current health status and food goals. This version also should improve school and hospital nutrition by reducing sugary, refined food and drinks such as chocolate milk and juice. Omitting suggested serving sizes will make marketing of unhealthy foods more difficult.

Despite all those positive changes, we do have some concerns.

The guide now includes three food groups: whole grains, vegetables/fruit, and protein foods. Notably, there is a distinct emphasis on plant-based sources of protein such as soy and beans, and away from meat, eggs and full-fat dairy. Plants are healthy, but evidence does not exist to suggest a plant-based diet is best for all, to the exclusion of all other equivalent diets. This change is based on the increasingly scientifically untenable idea that saturated fat in dairy and meat increases cardiovascular risk.

There are now at least 13 systematic reviews showing that dietary saturated fat is either beneficial or neutral to health. Additionally, data from modern, large epidemiological studies such as the PURE study and others, show that increased consumption of whole fat dairy and all fats decreased the risk of cardiovascular disease and death and that increased consumption of carbohydrates increased risk of death. Health Canada suggests replacing saturated fat foods with those containing more unsaturated fats like canola oil and margarine. However, in clinical trials (the gold standard), there was higher mortality when this was actually tested. We need the science to be settled before issuing widespread recommendations.