When it comes to fat consumption, it often\u00a0seems like there\u2019s a lot of noise and little\u00a0agreement about how much (or how little)\u00a0you should eat. This can be frustrating for\u00a0people who are trying to be healthy and\u00a0follow expert recommendations, and it\u2019s\u00a0tempting to try to eliminate fat intake\u00a0altogether and let the experts fight it out.\u00a0But is the amount of fat you eat really the\u00a0issue? According to the Harvard School of\u00a0Public Health, it\u2019s time to end the low-fat\u00a0myth. Research has shown that the number of\u00a0calories from fat that you eat, whether high or\u00a0low, isn\u2019t really linked with disease. What\u00a0really matters is the type of fat.\u00a0Unsaturated fats, which are found in nuts,\u00a0avocadoes, fish and vegetable oils, are\u00a0considered \u201cgood\u201d fats. Some of these, like\u00a0omega-3 fatty acids, are considered essential\u00a0fats that must be eaten regularly because the\u00a0body cannot produce them internally.\u00a0Saturated fats, which are found in cheese,\u00a0butter, red meat and some oils, have long\u00a0been seen as a key culprit of heart disease\u00a0and high cholesterol.<\/p>\n
The American Heart Association, along with\u00a0the Harvard School of Public Health,\u00a0recommends limiting saturated fat\u00a0consumption, but cautions against doing so\u00a0by choosing products that replace fat with\u00a0sugars and other refined carbohydrates.\u00a0In fact, a 2009 review published in the\u00a0American Journal of Clinical Nutrition\u00a0concluded that replacing saturated fats with\u00a0carbs had no discernable benefits, while\u00a0replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats\u00a0reduced the risk of heart disease.<\/p>\n
Finally, there are trans fats, found in heavily\u00a0processed breads, baking mixes, shortening,snack foods and fried foods. For once, there\u00a0is little disagreement\u2014the overwhelming\u00a0scientific consensus suggests that trans fats\u00a0are dangerous. Last year, the Food and Drug\u00a0Administration took the dramatic step of\u00a0seeking to redefine artificial trans fats as\u00a0\u201cgenerally not recognized as safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for obesity, the trend is clear: Over the\u00a0past 30 years in the United States, the\u00a0percentage of calories from fat in people\u2019s\u00a0diets has gone down, but obesity rates have\u00a0skyrocketed. This suggests that limiting fat\u00a0intake is not a silver bullet for weight loss.\u00a0With the exception of trans fats, eliminating\u00a0all fat to make your overall diet healthier is a\u00a0bad idea. The key to a healthy diet, including\u00a0fat intake, has always been balance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When it comes to fat consumption, it often\u00a0seems like there\u2019s a lot of noise and little\u00a0agreement about how much (or how little)\u00a0you should eat. This can be frustrating for\u00a0people who are trying to be healthy and\u00a0follow expert recommendations, and it\u2019s\u00a0tempting to try to eliminate fat intake\u00a0altogether and let the experts fight it out.\u00a0But is the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3096,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_hpuaeo_plugin_post_data":"","_hpuaeo_plugin_meta_tags":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletters"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n