One of the most esteemed nutrition researchers on the planet, Harvard University nutrition professor Walter Willet, is a vocal opponent of low-fat diets, "Scientific American" reports. He claims that low-fat diets have actually contributed to the current obesity epidemic. While the American Heart Association clings to its decades-old low-fat ideals, many nutrition experts like Willet are becoming disillusioned with low-fat diets and jumping ship. Even so, many low-fat diet myths, often presented as facts, remain.
Low-Fat Diets Are Ideal for Weight Loss
Because, gram for gram, fat contains more calories than protein or carbohydrates, early nutritionists theorized that an ideal weight loss diet should limit fat intake. However, in practice, low-fat diets often fall flat. A study conducted by Iris Shai of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and published in the January 2008 issue of the "New England Journal of Medicine" pitted low-fat diets toe to toe with a low-carb diet and the Mediterranean diet in a group of 300 obese volunteers.
At the end of the 2-year trial, the low-fat dieters lost less than half the weight of those following the high-monounsaturated fat Mediterranean diet.
Low-Fat Diets Are Good For Heart Health
In the aforementioned "New England Journal of Medicine" study, the researchers also looked at how the diets influenced risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Reduction of crucial heart disease risk factors like fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and total blood cholesterol were most markedly improved in the groups not following a low-fat diet plan.
Researchers aren't sure how a higher healthy fat diet can boost heart health, but they hypothesize that the fats found in healthy low-carb and Mediterranean diets tend to be of the monounsaturated variety --known to reduce inflammation and improve cholesterol. Also, the hefty amount of refined carbs that low-fat diets allow may increase blood sugar and stimulate excessive insulin release.
Low-Fat Diets Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
Ross Prentice of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center tested the hypothesis that low-fat diets combat breast cancer risk in research published in the January 2008 issue of "The Journal of The American Medical Association." The volunteers in the study were assigned to either a low-fat diet or no specific diet at all.
After following the dietary patterns of a group of over 48,000 older women, he found that a low-fat diet had no impact on breast cancer risk over an 8-year period.
References
- New England Journal of Medicine: Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet
- American Heart Association: Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations
- PBS: Scientific American Frontiers . Losing It. Debunking the Low-Fat ...
- JAMA: Low-Fat Dietary Pattern and Risk of Invasive Breast Cancer
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