We’ve been told for decades that fat is detrimental to our health. Meanwhile, low-fat “diet” products, often full of sugar, have flooded supermarket shelves. It’s been a factor that coincided with the start of the obesity epidemic. While this doesn’t prove causation, it’s clear the low-fat message didn’t prevent the obesity increase, and it’s possible and likely it contributed.
Studies now show that there’s no reason to fear natural fats. Instead, on a low-carb diet, fat is your friend. Simply minimise your intake of sugar and starches and increase the fat you need to feel satisfied. When you avoid sugar and starches, your blood sugar tends to stabilise and the levels of the fat-storing hormone, insulin, drop. This increases fat burning and makes you feel more satiated, reducing food intake and causing weight loss.
The questionable science behind the “low fat” message and subsequent change in dietary guidelines introduced in the US in 1977—followed by the UK public health dietary advice issued in 1983—has had unintended disastrous health consequences, resulting in increased consumption of low-fat junk food, refined carbohydrates and polyunsaturated vegetable oils. The striking rise in obesity immediately following the introduction of this advice suggests that it’s a significant contributor to the problem.
It’s likely that nutrition science has also been corrupted by commercial influences. The recorded influence of the multi-trillion-dollar food industry on official guideline bodies and politicians has posed a significant challenge to public health. This isn’t just a conspiracy theory; it took 50 years from the first published scientific evidence linking smoking and lung cancer until effective regulation was introduced to curb tobacco consumption. Big tobacco companies embraced a strategy of denial, planting doubt, obfuscating, and influencing the opinion of scientists. The recent similarities with big food companies is disturbing.
Well-managed blood glucose is hugely important in maintaining good health, especially in a population such as the UK where type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes are rapidly increasing year upon year. The role of inadequate dietary advice in this devastating epidemic has been ignored for far too long!
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