Insanity in the nutritional advice

Open letter to the central association of statutory health insurance (GKV) and the Federal Joint Committee, Berlin

Ernährungsbratung will only be reimbursed by the statutory health insurance, if it meets the outdated provisions of the German Society for Nutrition (DGE). Here patients require individual and oriented on current knowledge consulting:

Dear Sir or Madam,

on August 27, 2010 you published a new version of the »Prevention Guide. Fields of action and criteria of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds for the implementation of §§ 20 and 20a SGB V.«. In it, you again commit yourself to only supporting nutritional advice to avoid malnutrition and malnutrition if it is based on the current food recommendations and advice standards of the German Society for Nutrition (DGE).

We would like to point out that the "current" DGE recommendations are almost unchanged from the 50s, when the population's food supply was scarce, physical activity at work and in leisure time was high and the majority of the population was slim and fit .

The food supply is now plentiful, physical activity is negligible, and well over half the population is overweight or obese. These people typically develop a disorder in which carbohydrates cannot be metabolized adequately (insulin resistance). In most cases, it causes other disorders that are summarized as metabolic syndrome. The DGE also encourages these people with metabolic disorders to consume more than half of their daily calories in the form of carbohydrates. When people with a carbohydrate metabolism disorder eat mostly carbohydrates, they overload their compensatory mechanisms over time and overwhelm their pancreas. An unphysiologically high insulin concentration occurs, which promotes further disorders. For this group of people in particular, a high-starch diet has been recognized as an independent diabetes risk. With your recommendation to only allow DGE-compliant nutritional advice, you are helping to ensure that the diabetes rate continues to rise.

The advantages of low-carbohydrate, high-protein and high-fat diets for people who are overweight, have metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes have now been scientifically proven. In addition, there are reports of very good results from countless therapists who have been motivated by their patients to test this alternative diet: the metabolic values ​​improve, cravings and sweet hunger attacks do not occur, and the risk indicators drop, even if they do not lose weight. This is the biggest advantage over the low-fat, carbohydrate-heavy diets that have been commonly recommended up to now.

We challenge you to heed the scientific evidence and set new standards for the growing population of people with insulin resistance and its consequences. The current nutritional recommendations of the professional societies are neither up to date nor useful, but rather counterproductive. One must even assume that they are harmful and aggravate the health problems of these people. Therefore, we believe it is unethical to force the DGE recommendations on them.

More and more health insurance companies are facing bankruptcy because the income does not cover the expenses. As far as expenses are concerned, you may be interested to know that a diet that does not reduce fat, but carbohydrates, can reduce the medication requirements of type 2 diabetics by around 70 percent in the near future. With ten million people affected, the savings that can be achieved should be significant.

How long will it be before health insurance companies act for the benefit of patients and promote nutritional advice in a result-oriented manner? What is decisive is that a nutritional concept reduces risks and improves the quality of life in a comprehensible manner and not whether it corresponds to the outdated doctrine of a specialist society that is under political pressure. We therefore ask you: If you can prove your success, allow alternative nutritional concepts to be subsidised.

With kind regards,

Dipl. oec. trophic Ulrike Gonder, Hünstetten

dr Nicolai Worm, Munich

Source: Hünnstetten, Berlin [ Ulrike Gonder - Dr. Nicolai Worm ]