The Myth of the 'Low-Fat' Diet, and Why Consuming Healthy Fats is Vital to Your Health

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www.naturalnews.com - February 20th, 2013

Many people today still adhere to the misguided belief that nearly all fats are bad, and that the best way to stay slim and healthy is to cut fats, whenever possible, from your diet. On the contrary, fats are an absolutely vital component of any healthy diet as they aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and minerals, as well as feed the brain, heart, liver, lungs, bones, cells and nervous system the nutrients they need to function properly.

It is widely assumed that, because they are called "fats," these substances must contribute to obesity and obesity-related illnesses like heart disease that afflict millions of people today. This is true for trans fats and certain other unhealthy fats, of course, but there are all kinds of healthy fats as well, such as coconut oil, for instance, or even animal-based fats like grass-fed butter and naturally-produced lard that can actually promote good health.

At the recent World of Healthy Flavors Conference in Napa, Calif., the myth of the low-fat diet was tackled head on by several key figures in nutrition and epidemiology, including Walter Willett, chair of the nutrition department at the Harvard University School of Public Health (HSPH), and his colleague Dariush Mozaffarian. As part of their "Focus on Fat" panel, these experts encouraged their audience to abandon the low-fat mindset and learn about the benefits of consuming healthy fats.

Many low-fat food items contain high levels of processed salt and refined carbohydrates, they pointed out, which are added to low-fat foods to make up for the loss in taste and flavor that results from the artificial removal of fats. Both of these additives, which are devoid of their nutritional counterparts due to over-processing, are linked to numerous health problems, including obesity and heart disease.

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