Several studies have already shown that fat is essential and healthy – if you eat the right thing. Let’s know exactly what has compiled scientific findings on petroleum and its influence on body weight. Does fat make you fat or not?
Over the past few decades, the food industry has brought more and more low-fat light products onto the market and sold them to consumers as healthy slimming products. No wonder people have been taught for decades that too much fat in food is unhealthy – and above all that, it makes you fat.
The diet industry used this connection for itself and sold it to people who wanted to lose weight in an easily understandable way: fat makes you fat, so you should eat as little as possible. And because this seems so simple and coherent, it still lingers in our minds – even though it’s wrong.
Differentiation Between Unsaturated And Saturated Fats
It has long been known that fats are not inherently evil. In general, a distinction is made between unsaturated and saturated fats, which used to be labeled “healthy” or “unhealthy” – a difference that is now considered outdated. Humans need both types of fat every day for metabolic processes in the body. They are necessary for absorbing the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, ensuring a natural feeling of satiety, are required to function hormones and enzymes and reduce fluctuations in blood sugar levels.
Why Reduced-Fat Products Are Problematic
Anyone who has set out to lose weight with a low-fat diet will most likely fail – at least in the long term because low-fat light products are less filling. Possible consequence: a constant feeling of hunger. Would you like an example? While a yogurt with 3.5 percent fat can fill you up, a yogurt with only 0.1 percent fat will not fill you up. And that’s very common with reduced-fat products.
“Anyone who eats a lot of fat will notice that the onset of nausea limits the fat intake. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, do not cause nausea when consumed in large quantities and, in contrast to fat, are less satiating.
Better To Lose Weight “Low Carb” Instead Of “Low Fat”
The researchers recruited 148 overweight men and women under the age of 50 with a BMI of just over 35 and weighing around 100 kilograms. Previous illnesses, such as diabetes or cardiovascular problems, were not present.
Half of the participants followed the low-carb diet and reduced their carbohydrate intake to a maximum of 40 grams per day. On the other hand, the other half opted for low-fat and consumed no more than 30 percent of their daily calories in the form of fat. Otherwise, there were no further rules on the researchers, such as no restriction on the number of calories.
The scientists observed the two groups for a year (approx. 20 percent dropout rate per group). In the end, the researchers found that the group that had significantly reduced their carbohydrate intake (low carb) was substantially more successful in losing weight than the low-fat group. They lost an average of 5.3 kilograms – the participants in the low-fat group, on the other hand, only 1.8 kilograms.
It’s Not Fat That Makes You Fat – It’s Sugar
Only studies that were carried out from the year 2000 were used. Analyzing the data, the researchers found that increased consumption of fiber and nuts hardly leads to weight gain, while high meat consumption favors weight gain. Evidence was also found that whole grain products, oatmeal, and fatty milk products protect against weight gain. In addition, fiber and fruit prevent an increase in the waist.
Healthy, High-Fat Foods
The Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health writes that it’s not the amount of fat that matters but the type of fat we eat. Fatty fish (e.g., salmon), avocados, nuts, and cold-pressed vegetable oils (e.g., olive oil) are healthy fats. Refined vegetable fats/oils or hidden fats in ready meals and heavily processed foods are particularly unhealthy. Since we take them in unconsciously and usually in combination with sugar and white flour, they mutate into calorie bombs, fattening, and disease-causing.