"10 years from now we’ll look back and say, 'What on Earth were people thinking when they were eating all this sugar and refined carbohydrate?'" Brukner claims. Getty Images

Meet The Fat-Scoffing Doctor

NAME: PETER BRUKNER
JOB: DOCTOR FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKET TEAM
SPECIALTY: SPORTS MEDICINE

Missed part one of our Mavericks of Health series? Check out what Samuel L. Jackson has to say about one of our biggest killers.

About 30 years ago the Western world made a horrendous mistake. It decided dietary fat was bad and “low fat” was the way to go. All of a sudden we stopped eating fatty foods. We replaced butter with margarine – possibly the worst health decision that’s been made in the history of mankind.

We trimmed the fat off meat and we tucked into carbohydrates: lots of rice, pasta and potatoes. And sugar! Which is what the food companies use for flavour when they take out the fat. The trouble is that refined carbohydrates are killing us. If you look at the graphs charting what is the biggest epidemic in the world – obesity and type 2 diabetes – they started climbing about 30 years ago.

Put simply, your body responds to a meal of carbohydrates by releasing insulin, which causes any excess of carbs to be converted to fat. In other words, fat starts with excessive carbohydrate consumption rather than excessive dietary fat, which has been the easy sell.

The medical and dietary professions have been reluctant to embrace the low-carb concept. And look, I can understand why. You’ve been teaching one thing for years and the next day you’re supposed to teach the opposite. My profession is very conservative. It also doesn’t understand nutrition very well. We’re taught a lot about drugs and operations, but we’re taught very little about nutrition as a means of maintaining good health.

“We replaced butter with margarine – possibly the worst health decision that’s been made in the history of mankind.”

You’ve only got to look at the facts. Low fat has failed miserably. If we continue the way we are, diabetes will bankrupt Western countries. Our only chance is prevention. When I tried LCHF in late 2012, I lost heaps of weight, my triglycerides and insulin came down, my HDL (good) cholesterol went up and my fatty liver disappeared – all the markers of good health improved on the diet.

Early the following year I toured with the Australian cricket team to India and turned up 12-14 kilos lighter than I’d been six months previously, which created quite a bit of interest among the players.

It’s amazing how many athletes, despite the amount of training they do, are overweight. It just shows that while there are many health advantages to exercise, weight loss is not a big one. Four or five of the players (including Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and David Warner) decided to give the diet a go and all had pretty dramatic results. Where a lot of people go wrong on LCHF is they don’t replace the carbs with fat. They go low carb and low fat, which is a disaster because you have no energy and just feel terrible. You’ve got to actively seek out fat.

It will take time for LCHF to go mainstream. It’s still regarded as a fad rather than a way of life. But 10 years from now we’ll look back and say, “What on Earth were people thinking when they were eating all this sugar and refined carbohydrate?”

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FAT LOT OF GOOD
The average Australian male consumes about 300g of carbs per day. You might want to try 30-50g if you’re looking to lose weight, or 50-100g to get the other health benefits of LCHF without the weight loss. Here’s how to sub in the fat

BREAKFAST
OUT: Cereal with fruit, toast with jam
IN: Eggs and bacon with smoked salmon, and/or full-fat Greek yoghurt with nuts, seeds and berries

LUNCH *
OUT: Sandwich with soft drink or fruit juice
IN: Chicken salad with half an avocado

DINNER
OUT: Pasta bolognaise
IN: Steak with butter and green veg, and a dessert of berries with double cream

SNACKS
OUT: Muffin and skinny latte
IN: Nuts or seeds and full-fat cheese, with coconut water or coffee made with full-fat milk

* Brukner says high-fat eating is so satiating he consumes only two meals a day – breakfast and dinner