It seems the recommendations for how to be healthy are constantly changing.
The medical community discovers something new.
The government creates a new food pyramid.
It turns out that it’s a lot more complicated than just cutting back on fat.
What is a low-fat diet?
A low-fat diet simply meanslimiting the amount of fats and oilsin your regular diet.
People on a low-fat diet would avoid foods with high fat contents like butter or fatty pieces of meat.
Rather, they’d choose lower fat alternatives, such as chicken breast over a steak.
Low-fat craze
In the 1980s and ’90s, low-fat diets became increasingly popular.
This is the time when we saw a huge rise in low-fat and fat-free products hitting the grocery shelves.
We got it wrong
The problem with a low-fat diet isn’t the fat content at all.
“There were definitely unintended consequences of the original guidelines,” she explained.
It’s lower in fat but it’s higher in carbohydrates."
When the low-fat diet became popular, many assumed that eating anything low in fat meant it was healthy.
Dr. Walter Willett, author ofEat, Drink, and Be Healthy,talked toPBSabout about his similar concerns.
“I even had colleagues who were telling the public that you might’t get fat eating carbohydrates.”
Unfortunately, simply cutting back on fat won’t make us healthier.
The throw in of replacement can have a major impact on health outcomes."
So fat is okay?
“Some also are good sources of two essential fatty acids linoleic acid and -linolenic acid.”
When it comes to fat, the bang out matters.
Not sure how to tell the different types of fat apart?
Just remember what they look like at room temperature.
Saturated fats like those in a big, juicy steak are solid at room temperature.
The healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, like olive oil, are liquid at room temperature.
A good example of this is margarine.
This is probably due to the fact that they’re so closely connected to heart disease.
The2015-2016 Dietary Guidelines for Americansrecommends limiting our intake of trans fats as much as possible.
They cause an increased risk of heart disease, heart attacks, and LDL.
Research from the Harvard School of Public Healthhas concluded just how dangerous trans fats can be.
“The human body uses some saturated fats for physiological and structural functions,” the report said.
“But it makes more than enough to meet those needs.”
So do we need to completely avoid saturated fats?
No, the guidelines state that there is still a place in a healthy diet for these fats.
It is also strongly linked to a lower risk for heart attacks and heart disease in general.
The authors recommend starting to incorporate these healthy fats by eliminating your usual sources of saturated fats.
If you usually cook with butter, try substituting olive oil or avocado oil.
If you love a big juicy burger, try substituting a salmon burger once in a while.
Some examples of monounsaturated fats include olive oil, canola oil, and avocados.
According to Harvard University’sThe Family Health Guide, polyunsaturated fats are “essentialfats.”
This simply means that our bodies need them to function.
Because our bodies cannot produce these types of fats, we need them from our diets.
Some great sources for polyunsaturated fats are fatty fish like salmon and flaxseeds.
Omega-3 fatty acids are linked to preventing heart disease and stroke.
They may even improve arthritis pain!
Sure, we shouldn’t eat fattening foods all the time, but we do need some fat everyday.
According to Harvard University’sThe Family Health Guide,“Your body needs some fat from food.
It’s a major source of energy.”
Fats allow our bodies to absorb some vital vitamins and minerals.
