Cook Health
FOR ANYONE who has lived through the past 15-20 years of diet fads you will be very familiar with the term “97 per cent fat free”.In fact you may still look for “low fat” options when you shop, so powerful were the low fat messages of the 1990s.
Now research published in The Lancet this week continues to damn the low fat approach finding that a low-fat diet raised the risk of death by up to 25 per cent.
The study tracked the eating habits and death rates of more than 135000 people across 18 countries for an average of seven and a half years in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology Trial (PURE).
The major finding was that individuals who consumed a higher fat diet had a lower risk of death than those who consumed a greater amount of processed carbohydrate at the expense of higher fat foods such as meat and dairy.
Importantly, a higher fat diet was not associated with an increased risk of death, and the lowest risk of death was in those people who consume three to four servings (or 375 to 500 grams) of fruits, vegetables and legumes a day.
For some time health professionals have been well aware of the dietary implications of a low-fat diet — when dietary fat is reduced, people generally eat more carbohydrate, carbohydrates that are generally processed. In an inactive population, a high carbohydrate intake results in increased insulin release, which over time can cause weight gain, insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
These findings simply confirm the fact that when it comes to fat intake it is all about the type, and when it comes to longevity it comes down to eating the right types of fat, fewer processed carbs and more fresh fruits and vegetables.
In food terms it is not difficult to achieve the dietary ratios suggested in this study, it is simple when you follow these easy steps.
1. Eat more fresh vegetables and fruit
With only 7 per cent of Aussies eating enough vegetables each day, this is a dietary area that most of us will benefit from focusing on. When you eat at least 3-4 serves of vegetables each day along with a piece or two of fruit to consume at least 400-500g of fresh produce a day your overall calorie intake significantly reduces, you eat much more fibre and are more likely to control your weight.
2. Focus on added fat type
The best evidence available suggests that a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, in addition to fat coming from nuts and seeds, oily fish and avocado will give us a daily intake of 30-35 per cent of predominantly good fats. With this approach there is minimal room for any processed fats in the diet via spreads, butter and processed oils which means there is no need to pack the butter back onto your bread just yet.
3. Go easy on the saturates
These new findings do not suggest that you can eat unlimited amounts of fatty meat, dairy and butter, rather moderate amounts that keep total intake to less than 35 per cent of energy is ideal. This means a little fat from dairy such as a serve or two of full cream milk or cheese is not an issue, but devouring an entire block of butter each week is not the goal. The same can be said for meat portions, we get plenty of fat via all meats, even lean cuts so adding in extra fat from butter or the fat found in meat to bump up your intake is not necessary.
4. Avoid the diet stuff
Processed cakes, biscuits, pastries, ice-cream, yoghurts and desserts with a low fat message will not help your dietary ratios. Rather they tend to bump up your overall processed carbohydrate intake. As such the best approach is to keep your overall processed carbohydrate intake to a minimum and indulge in these treats occasionally, ideally a couple of times each week at most, rather than eat more of them as you “think” they are healthier types.
5. Cut back on your carbs
The most significant finding of this study is that a high carbohydrate intake at the expense of fats is linked to an increased risk of death. This means that many of us need to cut back our total carbohydrate intake from 50-60 per cent of our total calories to just 35-45 per cent. To achieve this we need a serve or two of carbs at breakfast and lunch and a greater focus on lean protein and vegetables at night. A serve of carbs is equal is a small slice of bread, a piece of fruit, a few wholegrain crackers or ½ cup corn or sweet potato. Then our weight, blood glucose and cholesterol levels all benefit and we are healthier as a result.
source:www.news.com.au