Dumb Advice

From Parade magazine this week:

No one recommends starting every day with a doughnut, but it's better to eat a sugary snack than to fast until lunch, says dietitian Karen Ansel, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "A doughnut provides enough glucose to switch your body into gear -- at least for an hour or two, before your blood sugar plummets again."

She should be the spokesperson for the American Society for Promoting Diabetes. The advice to eat a doughnut for breakfast is a bad idea on many levels:

1) The body does not need glucose to start the day;

2) Doughnuts are not nutritious in any way (they lack protein and vitamins and good fats);

3) In fact, as highly processed carbohydrates with a high glycemic load, doughnuts are far worse for your heart than meat, eggs, and milk (see also this).

4) Occasional fasting is affirmatively good for you in many ways.