Eating Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat
What’s the deal with dietary fat? In the 1970’s a study was published by Ancel Keys demonizing dietary fat and cholesterol and linking those to the cause of heart attacks. He was a giant in the nutrition research space and this viewpoint was adopted by the federal government and widely disseminated to us in the form of the USDA Dietary Guidelines. The problems were that Keys cherry-picked data from seven of the twenty-two countries he traveled to gather data, the doctors and experts who called the research supporting the study findings into question were silenced, and decades went by without any corroborating evidence of the link between dietary fat and poor heart health.
In 2015, the USDA Dietary Guidelines Committee Report states, “Previously, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that cholesterol intake be limited to no more than 300 mg/day. The 2015 guidelines will not bring forward this recommendation because available evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol, consistent with the conclusions of the AHA/ACC report. Cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for over-consumption.”
You read that right. Let that sink in. If you’re a child of the ‘70’s, ‘80’s or ‘90’s, it could take a while to un-do the programming that eating fat is bad for our health, and will make us fat. How has that been working out for us? You can look around any public place and see that we have become fatter and less healthy since the low-fat diet craze began.
Since Keys' study, which has now been de-bunked, prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering medications have become the most prescribe drug in the U. S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most prescribed drug in the United States in 2021 was atorvastatin, a medication used to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. In fact, cholesterol is a building block for our cell walls, including our brain cells, and we need it to survive. In his book, Lies My Doctor Told Me, Ken Berry, M.D., states, “Research has recently shown that elderly people with the highest cholesterol levels have better memories and less dementia than those with lower cholesterol levels.”
Is this turning your paradigm upside-down? It did for me 8 years ago when I first learned this information. I guess it shouldn't be surprising if we think about what our early ancestors ate. It certainly did not come out of a box or package, or include refined grains or GMOs.
Common sense tells us that whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods, including fats, are the ideal foods for humans. I understand that it is not realistic to cook all meals from scratch at home. But when you are thinking about your food choices, do not be afraid of fats that are minimally processed. Those include foods like avocado, olives, coconut, nuts, and oils from these foods, or eggs and meats. Fat makes food taste good, provides the feeling of being satiated (rather than searching for a snack an hour after lunch), and provides energy. Do choose foods that nourish your body - prioritizing protein, fiber (read mostly vegetables and fruits), and fat. And take a pass on highly processed foods and beverages (including soda, fruit juice and alcohol.) A good book on this topic is Eat Fat, Get Thin by Mark Hyman, M.D.
Last week, I wrote about the Fit Back Into Your Jeans Challenge, and shared what food/beverage selection changes I was making to fit back into my jeans. I’m happy to report, I’m making progress! I feel slimmer and less bloated, my mood and mental resiliency is increased. Those things make the changes worth it. I’m not quite fitting back into my jeans comfortably yet, but it’s only been one week, and I feel positive about the direction I’m headed.
See last week’s post to learn about the changes I’m implementing. I’d love for you to join me! I’ve created a free guide on how to eliminate and test the top 4 foods that are causing hidden weight resistance.
Here’s the link to download the guide. https://stan.store/Marie_Ruzek_Coaching
