American TV evangelist Pat Robertson slams low-carb diets for 'violating' God's principles

Robertson was on a news programme discussing the importance of carbohydrates

Considering going on a low-carb diet? You may have considered the health implications, but have you checked it with your local priest?

If you take Pat Robertson at his word you may wish to, after the well-known American TV evangelist hit out at the fad for low-carb diets. He might not be the first person to criticise high protein diets, which have long been a subject of debate among dieticians, but he may be one of the first to try to criticise them for “violating” God’s principles.

“You get swollen joints, you get gout, you get all kinds of problems, where you ache like crazy,” Robertson told The 700 Club programme on CBN - a network that he owns. “Everybody thought Atkins was wonderful and they’ve got all these scientific tests, but... The carbs are the fire that burn everything completely. Sooner or later, it violates the principles that God set down.”

Robertson, a former hopeful for the Republican party’s Presidential candidate, also claimed that by buying Halal meat you were supporting radical Islamic organisations. And in the past, he has claimed that some gay men in San Francisco wear rings so that they can deliberately infect others when shaking hands.

So perhaps even his most devoted followers might want to take his diet advice with a pinch of bread flour.