The "Fat" Deception

For years nutritionists and doctors have touted that eating fat is wicked, it will kill us. On the surface, this seems to make sense. Most doctors that I have seen tell me to do just that, reduce fat intake. Eliminating fat can mean eating more sugar and carbohydrates. We can all agree that there needs to be balance in our diet. Feeding our body and protecting our health is the purpose of food. And now we have new research showing that fat is not so anti-heart after all. Nurses General Nursing Article

The "Fat" Deception

First, Let's Review The Different Types Of Fat

Beginning with the good fats, because we all need some good in our lives, they are liquid at room temperature. There are the two extensive categories of good fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Monounsaturated fats: peanut oil, avocados, nuts, sunflower oil, canola oil, and olive oil.

Polyunsaturated fats: salmon, mackerel, sardines, flaxseeds, walnuts, unhydrogenated soybean oil

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, and are considered in between the good and bad fats. Milk, red meat, and coconut oil are examples of saturated fats.

The worst is saved for last - trans fat. These fats are marketed as partially hydrogenated oil found in solid margarine and vegetable oils.

Trans fats can be found in many commercial pastries, cookies and fast foods.

*Fat is a needed by the body to absorb needed minerals and vitamins as well as energy.

According to the article, "Saturated fat may not increase heart disease after all" by Hannah Nichols, the following are the conflicting recommendations.

Current Contrasting Conclusions

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics - recommend de-emphasizing the role of saturated fat in developing heart disease, due to the lack of evidence connecting the two

American Heart Association - agree with government warnings and echo that the consumption of saturated fat can lead to levels of bad cholesterol in the blood that may raise the risk of heart disease

For more than 50 years it has been taught that saturated fat is bad to have in our diets, however, a new study published by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that challenges this body of thought.

New Research

Professor Simon Nitter Dankel along with his colleagues put the philosophy that foods containing saturated fat such as meat, butter, and cheese should be limited in our diets to the test. Their research included 38 men with abdominal obesity broke into two groups with one group following a low fat, high carbohydrate diet and the other followed a high fat, low carbohydrate diet. Fat mass was measured in the abdomen, heart, and liver along with risk factors for heart disease.

Their diets contained limited sugar and intake was similar between the two groups with protein, energy, and polyunsaturated fats. After twelve weeks, Ottar Nygard, contributor, professor and cardiologist tells us, "The very high intake of total and saturated fat did not increase the calculated risk of cardiovascular diseases."

In fact, they found that the participants who were on the high fat diets were found to have improved blood pressure, blood lipids, better blood sugars. "Our findings indicate that the overriding principles of a healthy diet is not the quantity of fat or carbohydrates but the quality of foods we eat," Johnny Laupsa-Borge PhD tells us.

Furthermore, it was established that the high fat diet resulted in a higher LDL. The outcome of the study shows that the health risks related to fat in our diets that have been the standard for many years have been excessive guidelines. The focus should be to reduce processed foods, flour based and sugar added products.

Now For The Piece De Resistance

In the past few years (for those paying attention) we have become acutely aware of fake news. False information changed the diet recommendations over 50 years ago. Academic researchers from the University of California uncovered documents from the 1950s derived by the Sugar Research Foundation about dietary concerns and heart disease at that time.

Thousands of pages of "correspondence and documents at Harvard and other academic libraries that showed leading sugar industry officials devising a plan by the mid 1960s to shift the nutrition heart disease debate away from the sugar and toward fat through a combination of research, lobbying and public relations efforts."

These documents were published showing that the sugar industry whitewashed the link between sugar and heart disease. In 1965 the Sugar Association published research that blamed fat for heart disease while downplaying the effects of sugar on heart disease. Present day federal diet guidelines are based on this very data. The article can be found here.

In response to this information, the present Sugar Research Foundation states that there is no proven link between heart disease and sugar. They admit that there should have been more transparency regarding the research from the 1960s and that that research didn't require peer review.

Conclusion

Disregarding research, it has been true for over 50 years that America has been told to eat low fat. Unfortunately, due to the accepted dietary guidelines, there are many people that feel it is good to eat low fat and high sugar.

Personally, as a diabetic, when I eat low carbohydrate my sugars are much lower which translates into less insulin use. Also, my cholesterol levels are fantastic and I have hyperlipidemia. Yes, I take medications for the hyperlipidemia, which keeps it controlled, but a low sugar, low carb diet takes it to a different level.

What has been your experience?


References

Nesbit, Jeff. "Fat Might Not Be Bad for You After All." 12 Sept. 2106. USNews.Com. 12 Dec. 2106. Web.

Nichols, Hannah. "Saturated Fat May Not Increase Heart Disease Risk After All." 27 Dec. 2016, Tuesday. MedicalNewsToday. 28 Dec. 2016. Web.

"The Truth About Fats: The Good, The Bad, and The In-Between". Feb. 2015, ud. 7 Aug. 2015. Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School. 28 Dec. 2106. Web.

Gastrointestinal Columnist

Brenda F. Johnson, BSN, RN Specialty: 25 years of experience in Gastrointestinal Nursing

61 Articles   326 Posts

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Surg-OncRN

2 Articles; 104 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg., Oncology, Observational Units.

Nobody seems to be commenting on this great information, so I will. Despite the science, many health care professionals still are educating patients with old information about fat being bad. The news that fat is good for you has been around for 10 years now and is just NOW getting out in the mainstream with articles such as this. I wish we had educational packets for patients with a more fat friendly basis. We need to educate patients on which fats are good for them and that fat is not the enemy. The problem with correcting this misinformation is it is going to take a lot of money out of health care by people getting well. Decreased CAD, obesity, and DM 2 just to name a few. Thanks for writing a great article Brenda.

smartnurse1982

1,775 Posts

Nobody seems to be commenting on this great information, so I will. Despite the science, many health care professionals still are educating patients with old information about fat being bad. The news that fat is good for you has been around for 10 years now and is just NOW getting out in the mainstream with articles such as this. I wish we had educational packets for patients with a more fat friendly basis. We need to educate patients on which fats are good for them and that fat is not the enemy. The problem with correcting this misinformation is it is going to take a lot of money out of health care by people getting well. Decreased CAD, obesity, and DM 2 just to name a few. Thanks for writing a great article Brenda.

You have a point,but wouldn't we swipe those for other health problems like kidney disease and liver diseases?

Libby1987

3,726 Posts

This should be old news, especially on a forum such as this.

My experience? Great health and weight on a high fat low carb diet, clean eating of course. That's the bonus, the diet naturally cleans up when produce becomes the only carb intake. It's harder to find a dirty fat when it doesn't come combined with carbs.

Gastrointestinal Columnist

Brenda F. Johnson, MSN

61 Articles; 326 Posts

Specializes in Gastrointestinal Nursing.

Wow, Thank you for your response! I was wondering if people were reading this, I actually expected some flack. Appreciate your support(Referring to the first comment)

MDobg

3 Posts

Thanks for the post. It is old news the reasearch has been around for some time, just continues to be ignored. I produced a program to limit carbohydrates and bring awareness to this for 25 years ago and have advocated for it since. Patients and staff wouldn't here of it, because THEY, hypnotized by the latest marketing, knew better. Any provider should know the metacolic differences between polyunsaturates, saturates, fructose and glucose sources of energy.

We deserve what we now have. Triple maternal mortality since 1981, lack of access to physicians...

seraphimid

80 Posts

I would be weary of the fish oil lobby as well.

Fats, functions and malfunctions.

CATT49

2 Posts

This nurse still has things incorrect. She thinks that Canola oil and Soybean oil are good and coconut oil is bad. This is backwards. Butter, cream, etc from non commercial grass fed cows is just fine and commercial pasteurized/homogenized milk is the main precursor to heart disease, diabetes, gut issues and all manner of problems. So glad I was never fooled by the propaganda wheel.

Nurse3000

60 Posts

Specializes in Aged, Palliative Care, Oncology.

Brilliant article. And I'm so lucky to have stumbled across LCHF recently proscribed by an excellent General Practitioner (GP).

One is very lucky to have this new information tries and tested. I have PCOS and was finding hard to lose weight... doc suggested this new way.. hardly any refined carbs, no sugar and even fruit... unrefined carbs and fruit can be introduced in small amounts as weight/fat begins to fall of or has reduced.

It's sad that millions of people are hungry on their lo cal, lo fat, high carb diets and wondering what the hell is going on and why a lot of us are failing the diet/"healthy eating plan", or becoming frustrated with not being able to lose and/or maintain weight.

Obviously healthy/normal enough weighted people don't have to be too strict with carbs (the unrefined ones), but just a bit of extra good fats, incl. the inbetween good fats (saturated), and less and/or avoidance of refined carbs, i.e. pastries, flour.

Plus, way less/no sugar, i.e. chocolates, candies, added sugar/juice/cordial/soft drinks/teaspoons of sugar....

It's all good, it can be a bit tough, (But gets easier over time/tastebuds change with better LCHF diets).

The better off, satiated and healthier we'll be!

More people will be better off... things need to change, in this case, the faster the better!

Gastrointestinal Columnist

Brenda F. Johnson, MSN

61 Articles; 326 Posts

Specializes in Gastrointestinal Nursing.
This should be old news, especially on a forum such as this.

My experience? Great health and weight on a high fat low carb diet, clean eating of course. That's the bonus, the diet naturally cleans up when produce becomes the only carb intake. It's harder to find a dirty fat when it doesn't come combined with carbs.

As is stated in the article, the American Medical Association still stands by a low fat diet, so many people and doctors follow that. It may be old news to some, but now we have real research to back it up

Gastrointestinal Columnist

Brenda F. Johnson, MSN

61 Articles; 326 Posts

Specializes in Gastrointestinal Nursing.
Thanks for the post. It is old news the reasearch has been around for some time, just continues to be ignored. I produced a program to limit carbohydrates and bring awareness to this for 25 years ago and have advocated for it since. Patients and staff wouldn't here of it, because THEY, hypnotized by the latest marketing, knew better. Any provider should know the metacolic differences between polyunsaturates, saturates, fructose and glucose sources of energy.

We deserve what we now have. Triple maternal mortality since 1981, lack of access to physicians...

Exactly, did you read the part about the Sugar Association putting out false information? That takes a long time to reverse

Gastrointestinal Columnist

Brenda F. Johnson, MSN

61 Articles; 326 Posts

Specializes in Gastrointestinal Nursing.
This nurse still has things incorrect. She thinks that Canola oil and Soybean oil are good and coconut oil is bad. This is backwards. Butter, cream, etc from non commercial grass fed cows is just fine and commercial pasteurized/homogenized milk is the main precursor to heart disease, diabetes, gut issues and all manner of problems. So glad I was never fooled by the propaganda wheel.

I was only stating what the information out there says. The purpose of the article is to show how the misinformation is still out there. I use coconut oil all the time and almond oil - great for the skin and hair.