Is it time to rethink fat?
FOR years, the accepted wisdom was that eating fat was diet enemy number one.
The message was spread far and wide – with the connection to clogged arteries apparently clear-cut.
Dietitians focused on calorie intake instead, recommending a daily allowance that meant fat could only be eaten in restricted amounts.
Then along came Atkins to turn everything upside down.
The diet’s premise was simple: restrict carbohydrates and fill up on fats to shed extra pounds. Followers noticed that eating fat and protein-rich foods was quite filling, and that, yes, weight did seem to drop off.
But not only was it unsustainable long term, people found their breath started to smell as ketosis – caused by the body burning stored fats for energy – kicked in.
So The Atkins Diet lost its lustre – but other diets relying more heavily on fats emerged to take its place. Today, the low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet, for example, is popular.
And nutritionists no longer prescribe diets low in calories but are more likely to suggest foods high in nutrients in a balanced diet.
Dr Stephanie Moore, nutritional therapist and author of Why Eating Less And Exercising More Makes You Fat, explains how the fat myth emerged. She said: “The belief is based on the ‘Heart Health Hypothesis’ in the 50s after President Eisenhower had a heart condition and got big thinkers of the day to look at it.
“Ancel Keys, a physiology professor and obesity researcher, found data that suggested all countries with the lowest heart issues also had diets low in fat – but his findings were deeply flawed. Now we know eating fat doesn’t make us gain fat – and the principles of low-fat diets being superior and BY MADELEINE SPENCER saturated fats making cholesterol go up are not based on scientific evidence.” So which fats are good, which are bad – and which, if any, should we avoid? There are three chemical structures of fat: saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated. Traditionally, saturated fats have always been considered to be “bad”, while poly or mono were recommended. In reality, those distinctions are more blurred. “No fats in nature are solely one type or the other,” explained Moore. “Meat and pork fat is largely monounsaturated but then so is olive oil. “Many regard the former as unhealthy and the latter as healthy. The reality is there aren’t any ‘good’ or ‘bad’ fats.” Moore encourages choice based on how fat has been processed. She suggests you look for something that hasn’t been bleached, homogenised or man-made, ruling out sunflower, rapeseed oils and margarines. This advice is echoed by nutritional therapist Eve Kalinik, who added: “We tend to fall short of omega-3 essential fatty acids which we can’t produce in the body.
“They can be found in oily fish such as wild salmon, sardines, mackerel, organic eggs, and in plant-based sources such as flax and chia seeds. You should try to balance these omega 3-rich foods with fats found in avocados, cold-pressed oils, olives, nuts and seeds.” Plenty of misinformation surrounds which fats may or may not be good for health when heated. Kalinik advises opting for fats that are solid at room temperature as they have a higher smoke point which means they don’t produce some of the free radicals generated by heating cold-pressed oils. “That said, all oils are affected by heat. Olive oil, for example, has lots of great benefits – even when it’s heated,” she added. Moore’s advice is simple. “The body doesn’t need carbohydrates – we’re made of enzymes that come from proteins and fats. We only use carbs as a form of energy when it’s available but we don’t need it.
“We do, however, need to eat essential fatty acids, which come from fats and we can’t make them ourselves – and essential amino acids, which we also can’t make ourselves and they come from protein.”
She says the focus should be on the balance between fats, proteins and nutrient and fibrerich vegetables, rather than on how much is eaten, as fats tend to satisfy appetite and make you less likely to overeat. The best bit about increasing the amount of fat you eat if you’re trying to lose weight is you’ll shed the pounds without lots of hunger pangs.
Kalinik said: “Fat is incredibly satiating, so you are less likely to fill up with additional calories that can impact weight.”
Moore said the combination of sugar and fat is addictive and the one you need to be wary of, adding: “It will leave you hungry and is bad for you, causing insulin levels to spike.”