Boy oh boy, dear readers, what a week! Seems almost unreal. The Dietary Science Foundation has set up some new goals! We will be raising funds to finance a whole bunch of scientific studies connected to diet and health. When we first started the foundation, our goal was to be able to support open-minded scientists who conduct high quality scientific research. And now, our wish has come true!

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to the 1.3 million SEK (approximately 160.000 US dollars) that we have donated towards various studies on diet and health. THANK YOU! Your donations may help prolong lives.

No treatment for fatty liver disease

One of the projects supported by the Dietary Science Foundation is an evaluation of strict low-carb diet and 5:2 diet for people with fatty liver disease. Today, there’s no treatment for those who suffer (25% of all adults in the world). They are told to lose weight: drink less soda and count calories. Few succeed and way too many die from irreversible liver damage due to inflammation. Others will get liver cancer, type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

If you can reduce or remove the fat from their livers, it will drastically reduce the risk of these diseases. That’s definitely something worth fighting for. What diet should these patients follow?

Carbohydrates and its role in obesity

The second project is to evaluate diet programs for people suffering from obesity. Questions asked are: What is the role of butter, cream and crème fraîche? And what about the importance of carb quality and quantity?

These questions have been around for a long time. And this study is really good. The Dietary Science Foundation’s mission is to support ambitious scientists who dare to aim high. One of them is Simon Dankel at the University of Bergen who studies carbohydrates and its role in obesity.

Future goal: Large Nordic study of type 2 diabetes

The real good news is that Simon Dankel will also coordinate a Nordic study of low-carb diet for people with diabetes type 2. Scientists at Karolinska Institutet, Lund University and University of Copenhagen will perform the study together. They will meet this spring to discuss the framework. Then, we will start raising funds to finance the study.

We need knowledge – not opinions

We’re tired of ideas, opinions and discussions. When the research aims to tackle some of our most severe and widespread diseases from which people die, we need facts. In all future reports, we would like to read this: The dietary advice for people suffering from type 2 diabetes is based on scientific evidence provided by well-conducted and controlled trials. People who follow the advice can expect to live a symptom free life with little or no medicine. 

Is this your goal too? Your support can change people’s lives. Please help us make this happen.

This is a guest post. The opinions expressed are the writer’s own.