Low Fat Diets: A Big Fat Lie, by Suzanne Laurie

July 23, 2012 | In Health, News

We are all getting fatter. We know this because Government statistics keep reminding us of the fact. But everyone I know seems to be on a diet, and obsessed with not eating very much at all. Although most of us still tuck into the odd nutritionally questionable treat, the same statistics that tell us we are fat are also telling us that calorie intake between the mid 1970s and today have dropped and we are exercising more. So why aren’t our waistlines shrinking?

I believe it is because for more than three decades we have been fed a lot of dietary propaganda. Very simply this is that a low-fat diet is the key to losing weight and preventing disease, and that fat is the bad guy. Unfortunately the food industry, eager to sell their low-fat, high-margin, fake foods, is happy to reinforce the belief that a low-fat diet is the key to plaque-free arteries and a slim figure. The problem is that this is exactly the wrong advice for weight loss and your health. In fact, the “solution” has actually made our problems with obesity, heart disease and diabetes much worse.

The misplaced vilification of fat began in the 50s and 60s. But it was not until the late 1970s that the message was broadcast to the public. It began in the United States (as many of these things do) but soon spread across the Atlantic. Countless health organisations mobilised to spread the word and the food industry quickly joined the cause, but without the tasty fat, the food was bland. To compensate, they replaced the fat with sugar, producing thousands of new “low-fat” products. Europeans, particular in countries such as the UK and Ireland, had soon replaced a large portion of the fat in our diet with refined carbohydrates. In fact we bought into the phenomena in such a big way that many of us came to associate “low-fat” on food label with “good for you.” And if it’s good for you, you can eat as much as you like, right?

The problem is that while our percentage of calories from fat did go down, our collective weight began to go up… up… up and not only has there been an explosion of obesity, but also of related diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. The reason? Reduce the fat and to make a food palatable you need to add sugar, or carbohydrate. And we now understand that high carbohydrate diets (particularly those containing substantial amounts of refined carbohydrates and sugar) increase the risk of many chronic conditions.

Thankfully, it seems people are finally starting to wake up as compelling research demonstrates that low fat does not work. The problem is that the low-fat message is far too simple. What is crucial is not necessarily how much fat you eat, but the type of fat. Fat is a major component of your cell membranes. Your brain is mostly made of fat. Fat is also critical to help your body absorb certain vitamins and nutrients – such as CoQ10 and vitamins A, D, E, and K. These and other nutrients cannot be properly absorbed without dietary fat. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that low-fat diets were associated with 20% less calcium absorption than higher-fat diets. Other research has found that people who eat low-fat diets develop weaker immune systems.

The message is clear. The conventional “low-fat” diet advice is counterproductive to your weight loss efforts and to your health. If you want to reduce your risk of degenerative disease and maintain a healthy weight, it is far more important to limit your consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates and you should pay more attention to the type of fats you eat, rather than the amounts.





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