Low-Fat Diet Myths Debunked
Did you know that a low-fat diet might actually be unhealthy? Your body needs healthy fats to function properly.
Around 30-40 years ago, there was a significant increase in the amount of saturated fat consumed by Americans. According to Authority Nutrition, low-fat guidelines were added to the USDA food guide in 1977 because of the widespread belief that “saturated fat was a significant cause of heart disease."
Fats were also blamed for weight gain and obesity because they contain more calories per gram than proteins and carbohydrates. However, when you cut out fats, you deny your body the essential nutrition it needs.
Consuming too many carbs can also result in weight gain, which is why low-carb diets are popular. Nutritional balance is the key. Even protein, often linked with weight loss, should be consumed based on your body size and activity levels.
Fats are no different. If you eat too much cheese, those calories will add up and you might gain weight. To maintain healthy nutrition, follow two simple rules:
- Choose healthy options (go organic, avoid fast food, and skip synthetic additives like sweeteners and preservatives).
- Practice moderation in everything you eat.
Still not convinced that low-fat dieting is bad for your body? Read on, and we’ll debunk the myths about fats once and for all.
Myth 1: All fats are bad for you (especially saturated fat)
There are three types of fats: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated. All three can benefit your body when consumed from healthy sources and in moderation.
Saturated fat can be a concern, but when it occurs naturally in foods like grass-fed meats, raw cheeses, and coconut oil, it can actually be beneficial. Natural saturated fats:
- Play a role in bone health.
- Protect the liver from damage.
- Can increase good cholesterol in your body.
This means saturated fat can reduce “bad” cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease. Plus, saturated fats are stable when heated, making them safe for cooking—unlike most unsaturated fats. Butter and coconut oil are healthier choices for cooking compared to oils like flax or unrefined sunflower oil, which are healthy only if not heated.
Raw, unsaturated fats are also beneficial for your health when sourced properly. Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fats can further reduce heart disease risk. It’s about choosing your fat sources wisely.
Balance is essential. While you need both omega-3 and omega-6 fats, you might be getting too much of one and not enough of the other. Learn more about omega-3 here.
Many fast foods and packaged goods (like margarine, crackers, and baked goods) contain trans fats. Avoid these at all costs. Trans fats are polyunsaturated fats that have been hydrogenated, leading to insulin resistance, belly fat, inflammation, and heart disease.
Benefits of Healthy Fat
Including healthy fats in your diet offers many benefits, such as:
- More energy
- Efficient cell repair and growth
- Improved brain health and mental clarity
- Enhanced absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K)
- Healthy skin
- Regulation of hormone production
- Protection of vital organs
That’s a lot of benefits you’ll miss if you cut fats out altogether.
Myth 2: Cut fat to lose fat, aka 'fat makes you fat'
There are 3 macronutrient categories: protein, carbohydrates and fats.
Most of the time, when people decide to cut fats out of their diet, carbohydrate consumption increases.
When you eat carbs and don’t use them for energy production your body stores them as fat for later use.
Consuming too much protein can also have negative consequences: it can cause weight gain, yeast overgrowth and has been linked to cancer growth.
This is one of the reasons why the low-fat diet doesn’t work for a lot of people; it creates a nutrition imbalance that results in continued weight gain and other health concerns.
Not only that, but healthy fats can actually help you lose weight. We recently published a blog post with our top 4 tips for losing weight and one of them involved eating a particular type of fat. Discover more, here.
According to MindBodyGreen.com “Studies show that healthy fats, not militant calorie counting or low-fat diets, can help you get lean. In human experiments, those who ate high-fat diets had a much faster metabolism. Low-fat, high-carb diets spiked insulin, subsequently slowing metabolism and storing as belly fat. The higher-fat diet group had a faster metabolism, even while eating the same amount of calories.”
Myth 3: Low-fat means low in calories
People often assume cutting out fats and choosing low-fat alternatives will reduce calorie intake because fats contain more calories per gram than protein and carbs. However, this isn’t always the case.
While healthy fats may be replaced with smaller quantities of unhealthy fats (like trans fats), which might lower calorie counts, they can lead to higher bad cholesterol levels and unwanted belly fat or inflammation. Synthetic additives might be added to enhance taste or texture, impacting health and reducing nutritional value. For example, many vitamins in dairy products are fat-soluble, so removing fat means losing out on those benefits.
Eating whole foods rather than processed ones is healthier, even if it means consuming more calories. Sometimes, low-fat foods can have higher calories than their full-fat counterparts because of added sugars to improve taste or make them more addictive.
While research does not support the theory that fat causes weight gain, studies indicate that sugar contributes to weight gain, diabetes, and other serious health problems. Sugar is associated with high blood pressure, triggers the liver to release unhealthy fat into the bloodstream, and is linked to high LDL levels.
Fat is not the enemy, but added sugar clearly is. Dr. Axe states that a diet with plenty of naturally occurring fatty acids and nutrients supplies the building blocks needed to nourish not only a healthy gut but also a healthy brain.
Educate yourself about types of fat, balance your nutritional intake, and ensure the right blend of macronutrients in your meals based on your fitness and health goals. Working with a nutritionist or dietician to plan your macronutrients and micronutrients for weight loss or athletic performance is a great step toward understanding the complex world of nutrition.
Make fat your ally and find ways to balance your nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle to meet your weight loss goals.
Looking to get the best fat into your body? Coriander is known to help your body absorb more omega-3s from other food sources. As a healthy source of unsaturated fat, this oil does double duty.
Sources:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/do-low-fat-diets-work/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/why-eating-a-low-fat-diet_b_634011.html
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Saturated-Fats_UCM_301110_Article.jsp#.V9GoIGIrJB0
http://empoweredsustenance.com/low-fat-diet-bad/
http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-eating/family-nutrition/facts-about-fats/why-you-need-fats
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/03/too-much-protein.aspx
Leave a comment