WORLDVIEW: Exonerated Tim Noakes – another plaudit for banting-obsessed SA’s hero

As a long-term Tim Noakes fan, I've recused myself from reporting on his well publicised victory after a lengthy hearing where his reputation was on trial. Covering Noakes on Biznews fell to Marika Sboros before our former colleague branched out on her own. So our coverage of the outcome of the medical industry's trial of the decade has been light..The contribution below from multi-talented Biznews colleague Chris Bateman puts that right. Bateman, who spent a decade and a half focusing his journalistic efforts on the medical sector, is the ideal man to contextualise the latest instalment in the Tim Noakes story. He kicks it off with a wonderful quote from the fellow who pipped Nelson Mandela to the total man of the (last) century..Chris writes: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." – Winston Churchill..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.That neatly sums up the swim-against-the-current career of A-rated University of Cape Town, (UCT), sports scientist, Professor Tim Noakes, cleared last week of professional misconduct for (again) going against traditional medical "wisdom"..He told a breastfeeding mother on Twitter in 2014 that good first foods for infant weaning are low-carb-high-fat (LCHF). The former president of the Association for Dietetics in SA, Claire Julsing-Strydom, lodged a complaint with the corruption-tainted, dysfunctional Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)..Desperate to regain credibility as the country's healthcare regulator, the HPCSA, spurred on by Noakes' scientific antagonists, found a nutrition professor who opined that he was not qualified to advise on dietary matters, least of all in a terse electronic manner and without proper consultation..The hearing began in November 2015..Noakes, who sees it as a vindictive, avoidable debacle, is hugely relieved it didn't result in a career-besmirching finding and/or the removal of his name from the medical register..For his family, the marathon hearing was the culmination of years of personal attacks on 67-year-old Tim in which the global pharma (statins mainly) and the soft-drinks industry mounted a relentless CIA-type campaign to swat an annoying and potentially-debilitating mosquito..What hurt him most was when senior UCT colleagues persuaded his mentor, globally-respected cardiologist Lionel Opie, a fellow Life-Time Achiever of the National Research Foundation, to sign a public letter condemning his dietary advice..Decades earlier, Noakes took on SA's rugby doyen, Dr Danie Craven, over rugby injuries and won – re-writing the global safety rule book, punted carbohydrates in long-distance running, (courageously recanting), before turning his attention to over-hydration, making yet another sport safer..He started fitness monitoring with former Springbok rugby captain Morne du Plessis, birthing the global Discovery Vitality program. He has elevated sports science to the top of academia and the titles of his books trip off the tongue..My latest connection came when I covered what he calls a "Kangaroo Court" debate at UCT against fellow A-rated scientist and cardiologist, Jacques Rossouw, over 'correct' dietary advice..Set up by senior epidemiology and diabetes campus opponents, they labelled Noakes a 'public health threat' in my ensuing SA Medical Journal News article..His response, (with the help of sugar-addiction counsellor and Chris Barnard's granddaughter, Karen Thomson) was a R3 million, Old Mutual-sponsored, 'Health Convention,' at the Cape Town International Convention Centre where 15 of the world's' top LCHF experts spoke..Now Noakes is taking the Banting lifestyle to low-income areas, where families too often eat meals high in sugar and carbs. So, what's driving the global diabesity pandemic? You decide.".Pardon the pun but Chris's contribution surely does provide food for thought. For me, I'm delighted Noakes has batted away the reputational threat. He is a national treasure. A fact that most of banting-crazy South Africa already knows.

WORLDVIEW: Exonerated Tim Noakes – another plaudit for banting-obsessed SA’s hero

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