Why Prof Noakes Decided to Fight

“I often ask audiences: Why do we have universities? For if we really did know “everything”, why should we bother investing money in (what would be) a useless pursuit (of new knowledge)? This usually convinces the audience that perhaps we don’t know everything, and perhaps there is a need for at least some scientists to push the boundaries of knowledge by being “unconventional”.

The reality is no great scientific advance has ever been made, but that it was once considered “unconventional”.

The point perhaps is that what may at one time appear to be “unconventional” advice might very soon become the accepted mainstream “conventional” idea.

I have taken the position on diet that I do because of a deeply felt conviction that someone in South Africa has to stand up against what I, and a growing band of scientists and doctors globally, perceive to be poorly conceived dietary recommendations based on poorly conducted science.

The result, in my opinion, is a monumental error, arguably the greatest in the history of medicine, and which has had very serious consequences for our national and global health. That these consequences and their causes are obvious (to me) but apparently not to many others, continues to inspire me daily to keep bringing the message to more and more people around the world. For I believe that change will only occur through the action of those most affected – the global community suffering as a result of this incorrect advice.

My commitment to this cause is such that I have formed (and funded the start-up costs) of The Noakes Foundation that receives all the (past and future) monies from The Real Meal Revolution and other of my activities.

The Foundation’s immediate goal is to raise enough money to provide R2 million per year in perpetuity to support South African research to discover the optimum nutrition. The work that we fund will be rigorously independent and completely transparent as all data collected in our funded trials will be provided to the global scientific community via the internet.

The goal is not to “prove” that I am correct but to advance knowledge by discovering truths that will improve the nutritional health of all South Africans” – Prof Tim Noakes

 
Noakes said, together with his wife Marilyn, they decided to fight his hearing with all his might. “We did so because we knew that what we are saying is the truth, and in the end the truth will always win.”