Dr. Paul Mason – ‘Dr. Paul Mason vs Prof. Behind Dietary Guidelines’

The Lecture that almost didn’t happen.

Dr Paul Mason was invited to present on Nutrition at the prestigious Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress, agreeing to provide a 40-45 minute lecture.

Three weeks before the conference, Dr Mason was notified that the offered time allocation had been reduced by half. No official explanation was provided, however there were suggestions in informal discussions that there may have been some ‘behind the scenes’ influence. No evidence was ever provided to support this, and after some intervention from one of the section convenors, the presentation time was restored.

Included in his session was Professor Linda Tapsell, who was a key player in the development of Australia’s current dietary guidelines. In her presentation, Professor Tapsell made the point that the Dietitians’ association did not, as claimed by Dr Mason, develop the Dietary guidelines. This rebuttal was correct. Rather, the DAA (now Dietitians Australia) was commissioned by the NHMRC to conduct systematic literature reviews to assist in the development of the dietary guidelines. There were no other significant points of rebuttal raised to Dr Mason’s presentation.

Neither Professor Tapsell’s presentation nor the Q+A session which followed have been made available for public viewing (consent of all participants is required).

Dr Paul Mason obtained his medical degree with honours from the University of Sydney, and also holds degrees in Physiotherapy and Occupational Health. He is a Specialist Sports Medicine and Exercise Physician.

Dr Mason developed an interest in low carbohydrate diets in 2011. Since then he has spent hundreds of hours reading and analysing the scientific literature. For a number of years Dr. Mason has been applying this knowledge in treating metabolic and arthritis patients who have achieved dramatic and sustained weight loss and reductions in joint pain.

Dr. Mason is also the Chief Medical Officer of Defeat Diabetes, Australia's first evidence-based and doctor-led program that focuses on the wide range of health benefits of a low carb lifestyle, particularly for those wanting to send into remission pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic illnesses.

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