If there is anything in this world that is so gravely misunderstood and severely misinterpreted, it is fat. Right from the teen who is entering his adulthood to the sexagenarian grandpa playing with his grandchildren, most of us have developed a baseless apprehension towards this nutrient.
Baseless? Well, yes.
And if you are wondering why it is so, this post can give you the answers. Want to know more? Do read.
We have heard this so many times that it feels tough to believe it is a lie. But that it is what it is – probably one of the biggest lies we would have ever believed.
And the truth is – saturated fat doesn’t really raise the levels of bad cholesterol much. Bad cholesterol levels have got more to do with the individual (1).
On the other hand, saturated fat also plays a role in raising the levels of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol), thereby reducing the risk of heart disease (2). (3).
Still finding it hard to believe?
Alright, check this out – A combined study was conducted by the Oakland Research Institute and the Harvard School of Public Health. A total of 347, 474 subjects participated in the study, and they were followed up for over a period of 5 to 23 years. During this period, 11,006 participants developed cardiovascular health disease or stroke, and it was found that intake of saturated fat had nothing to do with it (4).
So yes, still finding it hard to believe? I don’t think so.
Though there has been widespread propaganda against saturated fat, it has never been proven to result in heart disease.
Fat is what resides under our skin and makes us look plump. So, eating more of fat makes us store more of it, no?
Well, no. This is not as simple as you think.
I do agree that fat has more number of calories per gram than carbs or proteins, but what I don’t agree to is the statement that eating fats makes you fat.
The truth is it is hard to over-eat foods that are high in natural fat, since they are fulfilling. And believe it or not, a number of studies conducted on high-fat diets have concluded one thing – high-fat diets cause more loss of weight than low-fat diets.
Hard to believe? I know. And here is something even more unbelievable – high-fat and low-carb diets also aid in raising the HDL cholesterol levels and lowering blood sugar levels (5), (6).
Even after all this, if you still feel a diet rich in fats and low in carbs is harmful, I don’t have anything else to say.
Though fats contain more number of calories per gram than carbs or protein, numerous studies have concluded that a diet rich in fats and low in carbs is more ideal for weight loss.
A big NO to that.
Seriously, the low-fat advice has gone to such ridiculous levels, that it’s not even funny.
Food manufacturers have so cleverly cashed our baseless reverence for low-fat foods, that they have totally removed fat from their foods. And guess how foods without fat taste? Terrible.
So, what do they do to make the foods taste good? They add loads of sugar to compensate for the missing fat. You know how dangerous foods loaded with sugar are, don’t you? They are seriously harmful and can result in a number of illnesses (7), (8), (9).
Processed foods that claim to be healthy because of the absence of fat are more dangerous than you can imagine.
Again, owing to the negative opinions about saturated fat, this notion has been circulating since the 1970s. Because of this baseless belief, a lot many people started decreasing their consumption of healthy foods like meat and eggs, and opted for foods that were processed and were high in refined carbohydrates.
A study called the Women’s Health Initiative involved 48,835 women who were divided into two groups. The first group was given the low-fat diet while the second one had a normal diet (10), (11), (12).
Seven years later it was found that the first group (that consumed a low-fat diet) weighed just a pound less than the second group, and there was no noteworthy difference in the rate of cancer or heart disease between both the groups.
Other studies too found no benefits of a diet low in fat. And further studies showed that a diet low in fat worsened certain risk factors like raising triglycerides and lowering HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) (13), (14), (15).
So, how good is a low-fat diet? No good.
The belief that low-fat diets offer benefits is just a belief, and nothing else. It doesn’t have any evidence, and moreover, numerous studies have highlighted the ill-effects of low-fat diets.
This is probably one of those statements that are hard to digest. I fail to understand how most of us have come to prefer something processed to something natural.
Even a number of studies have disproved the belief that margarine is healthier than butter. In one study conducted by the Harvard Medical School, margarine was found to be linked with coronary heart disease, while butter was not (16).
Also, studies conducted on high-fat dairy products couldn’t prove their link to obesity and other diseases (17).
Margarine can cause coronary heart disease. Also, since butter comes from grass-fed cows, it is much healthier than margarine.
No, they aren’t.
We only see that these oils come from vegetables and seeds, but what we don’t see is that they are ‘processed’. These oils are extremely high in polyunsaturated Omega-6 fatty acids, which can lead to inflammation if taken in excess (18).
Processed vegetable and seed oils are unhealthy, and can lead to serious health conditions like inflammation.
Before saying anything else, let me tell you what exactly Trans fats are – Trans fats are fats that are chemically modified in order to solidfy and have a longer shelf life.
The manufacturing process of Trans fats, which involves high pressure and heat, metal catalyst, and hydrogen gas, is quite disgusting (19). And what is even more disgusting is the fact that we thought these fats were fit for consumption.
Studies have proven the toxic nature of Trans fats, and have shown that they can cause inflammation and increase the risk of heart disease (20), (21), (22).
Though Trans fats resemble saturated fats in terms of consistency and shelf life, their chemical composition is way different. And hence, Trans fats should be avoided given their toxic nature.
So the next time you see someone saying fats are bad, show them the truth; show them this post.
Image: tea_rice | Flickr – Photo Sharing!Bron C (not here much) cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr