Why You Should Reject All Those Low-Fat Eating Plans

I love this subject. You know why?
Because for too long we've relied on health officials and they get things wrong.
And many times they're slow to admit it.

It's time "we the people" were more informed about health matters.
We need to stop relying on what the doctor or some other presumed expert tells us.

It's time we took responsibility for our own health decisions.
And that's what I am inviting you to do.

Today I want to share some vital information that is the opposite of what we have received for decades.

WHEN THE TROUBLE STARTED
This low-fat gospel started to become mainstream dogma back in 1977. And after that, a mountain of health problems rocketed around the world. Especially in the affluent West.

These problems include "The Obesity Epidemic" and "The worldwide diabetes epidemic."

Yes, that's exactly how the NIH website describes the situation we're now in. (NIH is the US government's National Institutes of Health.)

Healthline.com has a stunning graph that shows when the obesity rate started to climb from 1977. It hasn't stopped yet, either.

An important study in a British medical journal, The Lancet, upset the low-fat dogma.
The report said, "Diet is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease[...] and current guidelines recommend a low-fat diet."
Yep, that low-fat diet was a big fat problem.

These guidelines have helped produce the present set of human health tragedies.
The study assessed a decade of eating patterns by 135,335 people from 18 countries.
So it's hard to knock it down.
The study looked for any connections between carbs and fats. And connections between heart disease and death.

CONCLUSIONS?
In plain language (mine!), they found: Eat more fat - and live longer.
Eat more carbs - and die sooner.
Or as The Telegraph newspaper put it in the UK,
"Low-fat diet could kill you."

The study found that it doesn't make any difference if it's saturated fat or unsaturated fat.

You need both,  as well as fruit and veggies every day.

Now the British food guidelines are very clear about this.
They say that processed foods labeled as low-fat, lite or low-cholesterol "should be avoided."

Here's the thing with low fat foods, they tend to taste bland.
So manufacturers add sugar, HFCS (corn syrup), and salt to make them taste better.
And when it tastes better then you will buy it.
All that salt and sugar is bad for you.

I choose full-fat yoghurt over low-fat.
I prefer skim over full fat milk though.
I eat cheese as and when I like to because eating fat doesn't make you fat.
It may in fact save your life.
Be sensible and don't go overboard.

Your best choice is to eat a variety of foods from all food groups; protein, fats and carbohydrates.
Aim for 90 - 120g of protein per day.
Use healthy fats to make your food taste good.
Get 5-7 serves per day of vegetables and fruit.

*** Question: Which fats are good?
The unsaturated fats.
Choose plant, nut and seed oils like olive, sesame, macadamia, but NOT sunflower, canola or palm oil.
Nuts (almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, walnuts).
Seeds (flaxseed, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame)
Oily fish (salmon, pilchards, herring, sardines, trout), and avocado pears.

These are some healthy saturated fats:
coconut products, carob, Brazil nuts, peanut butter (no sugar added!).

Question: What about trans fat?
They are Bad, even dangerous.
Read the ingredients list on the back of the pack, not only the "no trans fats" advertising on the front.
Labeling laws permit manufacturers to round down.

Question: What's the difference between unsaturated fat and saturated fat?
Here is a simple test. If the oil is liquid at room temperature then it's unsaturated. If it's solid then it is a saturated fat.

References:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3228640/ http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)32252- 3/fulltext