Did you know that the latest research shows that it is the type of fat that you eat and not the total amount of fat you eat that has the greatest impact on your weight and your health?
In fact if you look back at what our ancestors ate, studies have shown that the typical hunter gatherer's diet was 30-45% fat, whilst the typical Western diet contains 35-40% fat - pretty much exactly the same. What has changed markedly along with our waistlines is the type of fat we eat (as well as the protein-to-carbohydrate ratios and exercise levels).
Previously our diets were rich in healthy fats. The sort of fats that we get from fish, grass-fed, free range meats and flaxseed oil are very different from the fat in your average hamburger.
Studies have shown that populations like the people of Crete and the Inuits of Greenland and Denmark had relatively high fat intakes, yet low incidences of heart disease and cancer.
Another study by the USDA in 1995 showed that so long as people ate healthy ratios of fat they had the same changes in total and LDL cholesterol whether their diet was 22% or 39% fat. In other words, it wasn't a reduction in the amount of fat that altered their cholesterol profile; it was a change in the ratios of different fats (i.e. more healthy omega 3 laden fats). The changes to our fat intake don't end there. It is not just the reduction in healthy fats that is damaging our health; it is the increased intake of unhealthy fats. One of the biggest culprits here is trans-fats. These fats are found in virtually all processed foods, sometimes labelled as trans-fats but more often hidden as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats. These fats not only adversely affect your cholesterol profile but are linked to many other lifestyle diseases.
So remember, whether you are trying to lose weight or just be as healthy as you can be, fat is not the enemy. In fact healthy natural fats from fish, grass-fed meats, flaxseed oil, coconut and olive oil (amongst others) are an essential part of any healthy diet.
Do you our obsession with fat free is healthy?
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