Let them eat steak: Charlottetown doc calls for food guide facelift

Don't be surprised if Dr. Laura Hogan tells you to have a glass of whole milk and cook up a steak the Charlottetown physician is one of a growing number of practitioners who want the next version of Canada's Food Guide to change and reflect new science.

"The food guide definitely has some deficits and it really still has a low fat slant to it, the science isn't really supporting that," said Hogan.

Her name, and close to 180 others, appears on a letter to Health Canada calling for new nutrition guidelines.

'Opposite nutrition advice'

Hogan said research shows full-fat dairy products are OK, and eating some red meat for protein isn't bad either. It's advice shepasses cautiously on to patients, knowing not everyone is on the same page.

"I'm hesitant to jump totally head first into opposite nutrition advice that the mainstream medical community is providing," she said.

This isn't about cutting out certain foods, or depending on diet alone to keep you healthy Hogan explained many countries like Brazil have a holistic approach to their food guides, telling people to eat in groups, and share the cooking experience.

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Other European countries essentially tell people not put anything in your mouth your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.

"Within my own practice I certainly promote reductions of sugars eating meals that fill you to satiety, not treating butter like the enemy," said Hogan.

New Food Guide on the way

Health Canada launched a Healthy Eating Strategy on Oct. 24, 2016, and revising Canada's Food Guide is part of the process.

The public will have a chance to make comments this year, while the federal government will consult with experts to gather the latest science.

This process will take the better part of two years, with the new food guide and nutrition guidelines being released in stages by the end of 2018.

Hogan hopes those changes include more emphasis on reducing added sugars and refined carbohydrates and acknowledge that humans should eat fat as part of a balanced diet.

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