STOP FEARING FAT
If you’ve tried losing weight before, you’ve probably gone down
the low-fat fad road. You’ve tried all those rubbery fat-free cheeses, the
cardboard-like fat-free cookies, the bizarrely tasteless fat-free chips, the
thin, flavorless fat-free ice creams. You’ve been there, and I’m guessing you’re
not particularly interested in going there again.
Well, you can relax. One of the great things about The Healthy Diet is that it’s not a super low-fat diet. Sure, we keep an eye on the amount
of fat you’re eating because fat has a fair amount of calories, and we’ve got to
keep calories in check in order to bring down weight. But there’s no reason in
the world to cut all fat out of your diet. In fact, eliminating fat is actually
a really bad idea.
I’m not saying you can lose weight by eating unlimited amounts
of full-fat cheese and snack foods—definitely not. But you can—and should—eat
adequate amounts of healthy fats in order to bring down your weight as well as
your risk of disease.
FAT FACTS
When it comes to dietary fat, there are three really important
things you need to know right off the bat.
1. FAT IS NOT THE ENEMY!
For years we were told that dietary fat was just about the worst
thing you could eat. Scientists said it. Fad diet opportunists said it. Even the
most well-meaning doctors said it. We all thought it was true, and we advised
people to cut out as much fat as possible from their diets. But when people
ditched all the fat in their diets, researchers were amazed to see that health
problems actually got worse rather than better. Super low-fat diets didn’t
eliminate heart disease or cause people to thin down to healthy weights
overnight. More careful research told us what we now know: although some kinds
of fat are not healthy, and although we do have to limit our overall fat intake
because of the calories it contains, there is actually no
reason at all to cut every bit of fat from our diets. In fact, some kinds of
dietary fat are incredibly good for us, and by leaving them off our plates,
we’re missing out on some amazing nutrients.
2. LOW-FAT AND FAT-FREE FOOD SUBSTITUTES CAN ACTUALLY BE WORSE FOR YOU THAN THE FULL-FAT FOODS THEY REPLACE.
That’s right—replacing full-fat foods with highly processed,
commercially manufactured low-fat or fat-free alternatives—fat-free cookies,
chips, cakes, some kinds of cheeses, and so on—actually can cause more harm than
good. When people eat a low-fat diet, they typically cut out the good fats as
well as the bad fats. And they eat way more sugar, simple carbs, and artificial
fillers.
3. EATING FAT DOES NOT MAKE YOU FAT.
In fact, including a healthy amount of fat in your meals can
actually satiate your hunger and help you lose weight. If you’ve ever suffered
through the agony of a salad tossed with fat-free dressing, I can’t wait to tell
you about the studies that show that olive oil–based salad dressing can be a
better weight-loss tool than the fat-free sludge that’s sold in the name of good
health.
It’s time to stop fearing fat and start being smart about it.
As long as you know what kind of fat to eat, how much fat to eat, and how to
include it in your diet in the healthiest way—which is what I do in The Healthy Diet—you no longer have to think of fat as your enemy. Instead, consider it an
ally in your quest for weight loss and good health.
WHEN PEOPLE EAT A LOW-FAT DIET, THEY TYPICALLY CUT OUT THE
GOOD FATS AS WELL AS THE BAD FATS. AND THEY EAT WAY MORE SUGAR, SIMPLE CARBS,
AND ARTIFICIAL FILLERS.
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THE SKINNY ON FATS
All fat is not created equal. Some are good for you, some
aren’t. So let’s start with a quick look at the various kinds of dietary
fats.
SATURATED FAT
For a long time, scientists believed saturated fat—the kind
found in meat, full-fat cheese, butter, cow’s milk, cream, ice cream, and palm
and coconut oils—was a major cause of heart disease. But that belief has
undergone a seismic shift recently, as researchers have learned more about
saturated fat. As it turns out, the connection between saturated fat and heart
disease is more complex than we previously thought.
Here’s the current thinking. Saturated fat raises LDL
cholesterol, which is bad for your heart. But it also seems to raise HDL
cholesterol and lower triglycerides, which is good for your heart.
In effect, current research shows that saturated fat can have
both a positive and negative impact on heart health. Recent population studies
(i.e., studies of large numbers of people over long periods of
time) back this up: they are finding that there is no significant evidence that
saturated fat intake is associated with an increased risk of heart disease. It
doesn’t seem to raise risk, and it also doesn’t seem to lower risk.
Of course, we saw hints of this awhile back when the French
paradox first came to light. The French paradox is the discovery that the French
have lower heart disease rates than their high-saturated-fat diet would suggest,
leading researchers to wonder if saturated fat really is a cause of heart
disease.
Separately, we also know that monounsaturated fat (found in
fish, nuts, olive oil, avocado, and the like) is good for your heart. Studies of
people who include ample unsaturated fats in their diet find that they lower
heart disease risk.
So where does that leave us—should we go ahead and eat saturated
fat, or stay away from it?
The answer is, it depends on what you’re comparing it to. I
don’t mean to be coy here, but this really is a complicated question. Here’s
what it comes down to: When people replace saturated fat with healthier
unsaturated fats, it benefits their heart health. But if they replace them with
simple carbohydrates, trans fats, and other unhealthful foods, it harms their
heart health.
As it appears now, saturated fat can be both good and bad—in
other words, neutral. But unsaturated fat is good. And trans fat is bad. So
whether saturated fat is a better choice really comes down to what you’re
comparing it to.
Think of it this way. You’re looking at a dinner menu with three
choices, each with an equal number of calories: fried chicken that’s breaded and
cooked in shortening that contains trans fat, sirloin steak, and baked salmon.
Which should you order?
The salmon is the best choice, because it’s loaded with
heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids that help your heart. The sirloin steak, which
contains saturated fat, may be heart-health neutral. And if it’s from a
grass-fed cow, that’s even better. But the fried chicken is flat-out bad for
your heart.
So compared to the fried chicken, the grass-fed sirloin is a
better choice. But compared to the sirloin, the salmon is a better choice.
My advice? Order the salmon most of the time. Have a steak
occasionally. Avoid fried chicken pretty much all the time. In other words, keep
saturated fat to a minimum, but it’s OK to enjoy it occasionally. Think of red
meat, butter, full-fat dairy foods, and other high-saturated fat foods as things you eat occasionally in smaller amounts.
It boils down to making sensible choices. I’d rather you choose
natural foods with some saturated fat over unnatural foods filled with simple
carbs and trans fats. Have a little bit of real ice cream instead of a big bowl
of the fake stuff. Nibble on a small square of real cheddar cheese rather than a
giant slice of the fat-free junk that tastes like plastic. Sauté your broccoli
in a bit of butter rather than a pool of margarine. You get the idea.
But don’t close the book on saturated fat yet. I think we’re
going to be hearing more about this topic in the near future as researchers
study it more closely, so stay tuned as we learn more.
I’D RATHER YOU CHOOSE NATURAL FOODS WITH SOME SATURATED FAT
OVER UNNATURAL FOODS FILLED WITH SIMPLE CARBS AND TRANS
FATS.
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TRANS FAT
I’m not big on using the word “bad” when it comes to food,
because I don’t like taking such an absolute black-and-white viewpoint. But I
make an exception for trans fat, because it really is bad. Trans fat, which is
also known as trans fatty acids, is found naturally in small amounts in meat and
dairy products—but I’m not really concerned about that. The trans fat that I
really don’t like is the stuff created in factories by food manufacturers. It’s
not just bad; it’s terrible for you.
Most of the trans fat in the American diet come from
artificially processed sources—foods that contain partially hydrogenated oil,
which is formed by a manufacturing process called hydrogenation, in which
hydrogen is added to liquid oil in order to turn it into a solid fat.
Food companies use hydrogenated trans fat for a variety of
reasons. Not only is it cheaper than other kinds of fats, but it also helps
prevent spoilage, which allows foods to stay fresh longer. It also gives foods
an appealing texture, making pie crusts flakier, French fries crispier, and
crackers crunchier. Hydrogenated fat is also used in some kinds of margarines,
cake frostings, and other foods with a creamy texture.
It also greatly ups your heart attack risk because it raises LDL
(“bad”) cholesterol, raises triglyceride levels (which are
better off being lower), and lowers HDL (“good”) cholesterol. And that’s a
trifecta none of us wants!
Even small amounts seem to be detrimental to heart health. A
major study found that heart disease risk went up by 50 percent in women who ate
just four teaspoons a day of stick margarine made with trans fat. Trans fat
contributes to thousands of heart attacks and heart disease deaths each year in
the United States.
Eating trans fat also seems to mess with your blood sugar and
insulin response and can turn up the heat on systemic inflammation—more reason
to stay away from it, since systemic inflammation plays a part in a range of
chronic diseases, from heart disease to cancer.
As we’ve become more aware of the danger of trans fats, their
use has gone down, thank goodness. Some local governments now restrict their
use, and as a result, many manufacturers have reformulated their products to be
trans fat–free. But trans fats can still be found in many foods, including some
kinds of microwave popcorn, frozen pizzas, commercially produced baked goods
(cake, cookies, pies), some margarines and spreads, and some kinds of coffee
creamers.
Dietary guidelines from the Institute of Medicine recommend
eliminating as much trans fat from your diet as possible. That’s a
recommendation I agree with wholeheartedly—I suggest aiming for zero trans fat
(except for the small amounts found in meat and dairy foods).
You can cut out trans fat by choosing whole, natural foods
instead of processed, commercially manufactured foods. Use olive oil—or even a
small amount of butter—instead of margarine, or choose trans fat–free olive oil
margarines instead.
Keep in mind that trans fats can hide in foods. Labeling rules
allow foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving to be labeled
“trans fat free” even if they contain small amounts of trans fats. Crazy, I
know. But that’s what we’ve got. So in order to make sure you’re staying away
from trans fats, ignore the marketing claims on the front of food packaging and
instead look at ingredient lists on the back. If anywhere on the ingredient list
says “partially hydrogenated oil” or “shortening,” then I leave it on the store
shelf. You should, too.
UNSATURATED FAT
Now let’s look at the good kind of fat: the unsaturated kind.
Unsaturated fats are the healthy fats, the ones that play a major role in a
healthy diet (and in The Healthy Diet).
Unsaturated fats fall into two categories: monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated. They’re each good for your health. Monounsaturated fats and
polyunsaturated fats both help reduce heart disease risk by improving
cholesterol levels. They also help stabilize blood sugar. Polyunsaturated fats
go a step further and actually seem to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes.
Two main kinds of polyunsaturated fats are omega-3 and omega-6
fatty acids. It’s easy to confuse these two omegas, but they have different
qualities. Both are essential to good health and contribute to many body
functions, including blood clotting, brain health, and heart health. They’re
referred to as “essential” fatty acids because, since our bodies can’t
manufacture them, it’s essential that we get them from foods.
- Omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce systemic inflammation, may play a part in protecting against cancer, inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and arthritis.
- Omega-6 fatty acids are also healthful, but they work best when they’re in good balance with omega-3 fatty acids. Most of us get plenty of (or too much) omega-6 fatty acids, since they’re found in many vegetable oils, but not enough omega-3s. The Healthy Diet helps get your omega fats in balance by focusing a bit more on foods with omega-3s, and a bit less on foods with omega-6s.
A CHANGE IN THINKING
Change can be hard, especially when you’ve bought into a certain
belief for a long time. But change is also part of life, and the better we can
be at adapting to new lessons in life, the better.
That’s how it is with fat. For a long time, the idea that all
fat is bad was hammered into our heads. And it’s true: some kinds of fat still
belong in the “eat only rarely” column. But now we know that some kinds of
dietary fat are actually good for us, and we need to be incorporating them in
our daily eating plans.
Here’s one of the things I love most about healthy fats: you can
use them to make other foods taste better. That really comes in handy with
veggies, which are the focus of our next Food Prescription.
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