Note from Larry: In 1991 I was lucky enough to be accepted to do my elective physiotherapy term at the UCT sports injuries clinic in Cape Town. I spent some time with Prof Tim Noakes and his teams. He is not only one of the world's most recognised sports scientists he he also a medical doctor who treats sports injuries. He is the author of hundres of scientific articles and he is also a really nice guy. He has recently stirred up debate regarding diet, carbohydrates and health.
These are his words below.....
There has been an extraordinary recent media interest in exactly what Tim Noakes is eating. Some have even asked for the full details of 'Tim Noakes’s diet'. It is clear that many South Africans are unhappy with the way they eat or with the unpleasant consequences that they perceive to be due to their dietary choices.To begin with some initial points. First the eating plan I follow was first prescribed in 1861 by a Harley Street surgeon Mr William Harvey with great success to a corpulent London undertaker, Mr William Banting. Thus it is more appropriately named the Harvey/Banting diet. In time the term to “bant” was introduced into the English language. It referred to the use of this low carbohydrate diet for weight loss. Indeed 'banting' was the standard treatment for weight loss in all the major European and North American medical schools for nearly 100 years until it suddenly went out of fashion after 1959 when it was written out of all the major medical and nutritional textbooks, to be replaced with its polar opposite, the currently popular low fat, high carbohydrate, 'heart healthy' diet.