The New Canadian High Energy Diet: The High Carbohydrate, High Nutrient Way to Stay Slim, Healthy and Energetic

Robin V.H. Bellamy was an editor and bibliographer in Vancouver.

The New Canadian High Energy Diet (NCHED) is a nutritionally balanced plan that advocates the increased use of whole grains along with decreased consumption of fats (including those found in many meats) and sugars. Good advice, which, especially of late, has been offered by many food authorities. There is little reason to disbelieve the claim on the cover of this particular book; that it has “helped thousands to achieve their best possible weight, health and energy level.”

Like the better-known F-Plan Diet (by Britain’s Audrey Eyton; Crown/Bantam, 1982, 1983), the NCHED recommends generous portions of foods that are high in complex carbohydrates (breads, potatoes, cereals, vegetables, etc.). However, the F-Plan does not meet North American standards for protein and calcium; the Canadian plan does. The F-Plan specifies only a few foods that must be eaten (adding up to about 400 calories per day), leaving the dieter free to make more or less nutritionally wise choices about the rest of her or his daily intake. By comparison, the NCHED is quite regimented. Specific portions from the various food groups (based on standard exchange lists of the Canadian and American Dietetic and Diabetic Associations) are allotted for each daily caloric level. This ensures that anyone following the plan receives adequate amounts of all essential nutrients.

The major weakness of the NCHED is its treatment of vegetable sources of protein. Legumes are classed as starches, and nuts are treated only as fats. Quite a few diets, including the F-Plan and Weight Watchers Vegetarian Plan, are much more progressive in their attitudes to these foods, recognizing that their significant protein content makes them acceptable meat substitutes. The NCHED makes no provision for vegans (people who eat no animal products at all), and ovo-lacto vegetarians who look toward this diet for help with their weight problem could end up with a cholesterol problem instead, as their protein exchanges will have to be filled by eggs and cheese.

The present edition of NCHED could be improved in other ways as well. Errors in spelling and grammar are of minor importance compared with the slip in representing the vitamin B12 content of selected foods (pp. 44-45). The heading in the table says that the contents are stated in micrograms, but in fact they are expressed in milligrams: as shown, an adult would have to consume 3000 medium eggs, or nearly seven pounds of beef liver, each day, to get enough B12.

The authors claim that theirs is “an ideal reference book” (p. xvi), but such an error makes that questionable. Their claim is also disputable because of the degree to which their opinions have influenced the presentation of facts. For example, blackstrap molasses does not appear in either of the tables showing calcium and iron content of foods (tables 12 and 15, respectively), despite the authors’ admission elsewhere that it is “a good source of calcium and iron, two nutrients we often do not get enough of” (p. 256). The reason for this seeming discrepancy is that they have categorically classed all sugary foods as “senseless.”

This rigid, judgmental approach is unfortunately quite in keeping with the tone of the book as a whole, as the authors frequently emerge as pretentious and condescending. For instance, they accuse others of being simple-mindedly against carbohydrates:

The belief that meat is not fattening but carbohydrates are is frequently reinforced by the family physician, who, if you put on a few pounds will say, “There will be no more bread or potatoes for you!” (p. 8)

In their section containing diet plans tailored to specific food preferences, they claim:

We love being Super Bread Lovers. We feel so free — free from a meat-dominated diet. Free to be ourselves — free to lose weight effortlessly and naturally. We’re sure you’ll feel the same. (p. 152).

This kind of effusion is even more offensive than the dictatorial chapter heading, “Calories — You Are Probably Eating The Wrong Kind.”

The preface contains the following: “ONE WARNING. This book requires study and thought” (p. xv). It is too bad that the authors did not make NCHED more worthy of such careful consideration. Their diet is basically sensible, but their claims are much exaggerated.