It was President Eisenhower’s heart attack during office, in 1955, that resulted in the US declaring a war on heart disease, just as Beau Biden’s death from cancer has inspired President Obama to declare a war on cancer this year.
Back in 1955, there was very little that could be done to prevent and treat heart disease, but despite that, Ike lived another 14 years until dying at age 79, in 1969. The war on heart disease led the country to shun high fat foods, prompted by the research by the famous Ancel Keys (the inventor of the “K” …for Keys…ration, as we’ve spoken of in previous posts), and some claim it has caused our current obesity epidemic by prompting the national standards for diet that include low fat/high carbohydrate foods.
We are now dismantling the high carb diet craze that lasted from 1970’s until now, and perhaps we we be able to reverse the obesity epidemic as a result. As noted in my recent post about the new book Always Hungry, it’s time to shelve our old notions and move forward with dietary recommendations that will reduce weight and improve health. This story is developing and incomplete, but we will keep you posted as it progresses.