The myth of low-fat foods.. How did fat become the villain of the contemporary diet?

“Low-fat” or “skim-fat”, it is likely that you are attracted to buying products that have such phrases written on their packaging, which manufacturers are often keen to highlight by shading them in a distinctive color from the rest of the packaging, as they know very well that one phrase is a component Two words can sell millions of additional packages without a single additional advertisement on TV.

This pattern of anti-fat promotion stretches back nearly four decades. In the 1980s, “fat” came under fire from specialists in the cardiovascular fields, and low-fat or fat-free products became a staple of a healthy diet. But this belief did not last long. Today, nutrition experts largely agree that a healthy diet should include some fats, including those found in whole milk for example.

Fat..the nutritional villain

Scientific evidence does not support that low-fat or fat-free products are healthier than full-fat products. (Shutterstock)

Over the past decades, medical guidelines based on a number of scientific studies presented in the United Kingdom and the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s recommended a reduction in total consumption of dietary fat. But recent studies, including a paper published in the research journal Open Heart in 2015, say these guidelines lacked any strong empirical evidence.

The study notes that the national dietary guidelines provided by the US and UK governments were aimed at reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease by limiting fat intake, but confirms that the dietary advice given to 220 million Americans and 56 million British citizens was based on While studying a small number of unhealthy men, the results of the meta-analyses confirm that there is insufficient evidence to support recommendations for reducing dietary fat consumption in order to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease or related mortality. (1).(2)

The study argues that when describing fat as the “major dietary villain”, public health teams have not paid enough attention to the risks posed by other foods, particularly carbohydrates, which are believed to be helping to fuel the obesity crisis with proven negative health effects. (3) According to the Harvard Medical School platform, it is unhealthy to completely ignore fats. Healthy fats, including those found in olive oil, nuts, seeds, and avocados (unsaturated fats), can help the body absorb essential nutrients, which makes it It plays a role in supporting and promoting the general health of the body.

But what about the fats in dairy products? Is low-fat or non-fat milk or cheese better than full-fat dairy products? The answer, offered by Dr. Frank Ho, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is: “No,” explaining that scientific evidence does not support that low-fat or fat-free products are healthier than full-fat products.

Reducing the intake of saturated fats and replacing them with unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturated fats, will reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease. (Shutterstock)

What makes some people argue that dairy is unhealthy is the fact that it mainly contains saturated fats (those found in cheese, butter, high-fat cuts of meat, palm oil, coconut, etc.) that previous studies have shown can contribute to obesity. Heart disease risk, which is different from the unsaturated fats found in olive oil or nuts. The remedy for this, which Dr. Frank advises, is “moderation,” not abstinence. (4)

Many experts agree with this trend, who argue that focusing exclusively on saturated fats rather than the whole diet does not take into account the effects of other food components, such as added sugars, that may negatively affect health. For example, replacing foods high in saturated fats in favor of a high-carbohydrate diet has been shown to inadvertently increase the risk of heart disease. Here it is important to take into account the whole diet and not just one component of it. (5)

Meanwhile, the medical literature is still full of articles discussing conflicting positions on saturated fats. For example, in 2017, after reviewing the evidence, the American Heart Association strongly supported that reducing intake of saturated fats and replacing them with unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturated fats, would reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease. The results of this study stated that the experiments that reduced the intake of dietary saturated fats and replaced them in favor of unsaturated vegetable oils witnessed a reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases by 30%. (6)

Then, just three months after the previous endorsement, another study of 18 countries came to the exact opposite conclusion: total fat and other types of fat were not associated with cardiovascular disease or mortality. In contrast, the study said, it was carbohydrate intake that was associated with a higher risk of death from these diseases. (7) The researchers believe that the large difference in the results of the studies may be due to the inherent complexity of human diets, and methodological considerations, in addition to the role that bias may play.

It should not be completely ignored

One study indicated that eating full-fat dairy products had a neutral or protective effect on the risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. (Shutterstock)

The Harvard Health Platform states that dozens of types of saturated fats are important building blocks and energy stores for the body, and that the problem only occurs when we eat a lot of these saturated fats (dairy or meat) while reducing unsaturated fats (olive oil or nuts), because that increases The amount of cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream and within the walls of the arteries. These deposits, called plaques, can narrow coronary arteries, which can cause angina (8).

To avoid this from happening, the American Heart Association recommends that you aim for a dietary pattern that brings in 5-6% of your daily calories from saturated fat. For example, if you need about 2,000 calories per day, no more than 120 of them should come from saturated fat, which equates to about 13 grams of saturated fat per day. (9)

According to Healthline, it’s also important to keep in mind that different forms of saturated fat do not have equal effects. For example, a diet high in saturated fats, which comes in the form of fast food, fried products, sugary baked goods, and processed meats, is likely to affect health differently than a diet high in saturated fats in the form of full-fat dairy products and natural, unprocessed meats. (5)

This is illustrated by a review of research, published in 2016, which indicated that eating full-fat dairy products has a neutral or protective effect on the risk of heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. (10) In contrast, a study published in 2015 showed that eating processed foods rich in saturated fats, including fast food and fried foods, was indeed consistently associated with an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, and many other health conditions such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. blood (11), which confirms that the source from which we get saturated fats is essential.

This means that when some people experience health problems as a result of their diet, it is rarely just because they chose a full-fat dairy product over a low-fat one, but more likely because they overeat fried and processed products. Sometimes when people focus on cutting fat, they start eating more refined carbohydrates and sugar as a substitute, which can lead to other health risks that may be more certain (4)

Are fat-free products really healthy?

Skim and low-fat milk goes through additional processing to remove the fat, which results in a product with a higher percentage of sugar. (Shutterstock)

Add to this another very important problem, as many people associate the phrase “low or fat-free” on food products with the fact that these foods are healthier and perhaps more beneficial than others. This link overlooks the fact that many processed foods are classified as low-fat, from your favorite breakfast cereal to low-fat yogurt and ice cream. But are these “low-fat” foods actually a healthy alternative to regular or full-fat foods? In fact, there are many ingredients added to these “low-fat” foods that don’t make them a healthy choice at all, including artificial colors and sweeteners, added flavors and stabilizers, added sugar and salt, and high-fructose corn syrup (12).

For example, sweetened low-fat breakfast cereals, which are promoted as a healthy food based on their low fat content, in addition to being fortified with vitamins and minerals, contain a lot of added sugar. In the ingredients section of these cereal packages, sugar is usually the second or third ingredient listed, which means that it is present in large quantities. (13)

Low-fat yogurt is also widely popular as a healthy food. However, sugar-sweetened yogurt cannot be considered a healthy option even if it is low-fat. Some may also prefer to buy low-fat peanut butter, and this product also may not be as healthy as imagined. Natural peanut butter contains only peanuts and maybe a little bit of salt. In contrast, reduced-fat peanut butter contains sugar, corn syrup, and other additives to make it more delicious. Furthermore, although the total fat is lower in reduced-fat peanut butter, some of the healthy, monounsaturated fats found in regular peanut butter are replaced with processed vegetable oil to create the reduced-fat butter (14).

Fast food and processed food in general is one of the biggest problems we face. (Shutterstock)

With regard to skim milk, which has long been touted as the healthiest type of dairy, recent research suggests that this is skeptical, to say the least. First of all, we have to point out that skim and low-fat milk goes through additional processing to remove fat, which results in a product that contains more sugar, which is higher than the sugar content found in an equal portion of whole milk. (14)

Otherwise, an important study published in 2019 indicates that full-fat dairy products, especially yogurt and cheese, do not have the previously expected adverse effects on insulin sensitivity, lipid profile, and blood pressure. These products also do not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and may actually protect against cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, according to the study. (15)

In the end, perhaps we should know that healthy eating is not about advertising terms like “full-fat” or “skim”, but about our whole diet. It seems that evil, then, is not in fats in general, as there is a lot of controversy in this area, but what everyone agrees on is that fast food and processed foods in general is one of the major problems facing us, and it is the main villain in this novel.

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