Is It Time To Give Up On Low Fat

Is It Time To Give Up On Low Fat
We are surrounded by low-fat foods.

Nearly 10 billion dollars a year are spent advertising
low-fat foods - Trying to convince us that we should buy
them because they are "good for our health".

It was in the early 1980's when our government suggested
that we cut back on our fat intake. Since then food
companies have been in "product-development overdrive"
churning out low-fat foods.

From low-fat cookies and brownies, to low-fat cheese and
yoghurt, you can find a low-fat version of every one of
your favorite foods in your local grocery store.

However, before we accept the "low-fat equals good health
message", there are a couple of important things we should
think about when it comes to the effectiveness of low-fat
foods:

1) If you take the fat out of food, you have to replace it
with something. Binders, emulsifiers, bulking agents, and
yes sugars like high fructose corn syrup are all used to
replace fat. What's more, the foods that traditionally have
higher fat, like cheese and yogurt, are the ones that need
the most additives once the fat is removed.

2) The low-fat food trend is only 25 years old. And in the
last 25 years, as low-fat foods dominated our grocery
stores, obesity, diabetes and cancer have all been on the
rise. The idea that simply switching to low-fat foods will
help us maintain a healthy weight has failed miserably.

3) A recent study examining the lifestyle habits of 18,555
women found that women who ate at least one serving of high
fat dairy every day appeared to reduce their risk of
ovulatory infertility. While this is only one study, it
does have a very large subject group and does lead to the
idea that fats may not be as bad for you as once thought.
Indeed, even saturated fats may actually have some health
benefits.

4) The scientific evidence behind the idea that low-fat
eating is healthy is actually pretty weak. It was in the
1950's that a small group of people began to popularize the
idea that low-fat eating was healthy eating. Since then
hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on research
trying to prove the idea was correct. The results of this
research have been so surprisingly weak that it is starting
to make many scientists skeptical of the supposed damaging
health effects of fat.

5) The "fat is bad" message is very oversimplified. Take
butter for instance. Yes it is a source of saturated fat,
but it is also almost 25% monounsaturated fats, of which
almost 80% is oleic acid, the same type of fat found in
olive oil. There are many foods out there that have been
wrongly accused of being simply saturated fat.

Bottom line - We need to stop trying blame obesity on the
fat in our foods.

As a simple guideline- Eat less, but enjoy the foods you
eat. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and lots of herbs
and spices. And maybe most importantly, spend less time
stressing over the types of food you are eating. These are
probably the best thing you could do for your health.

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Brad Pilon is a strength training and nutrition
professional and author of Eat Stop Eat. You can learn
about his new book "Eat Stop Eat" that is quickly changing
the way people think about dieting, by visiting
http://www.eatstopeat.com Brad Pilon is an expert
contributor at eFit-Today
http://www.efit-today.com/public/department59.cfm