The latest piece of news that left me reeling, and forced another rethink in terms of diet, was the emerging research that a low fat diet isn’t good for you!! Apparently people who eat the least fat have the highest mortality rates. This challenges decades of dietary research which has been encouraging us to give up fat.
People with the lowest fat intake were found to be 23% more likely to die young. The scientists were saying instead to eat a high carb diet,including pasta and rice. However a high carb diet is also associated with higher mortality. These new findings add to the uncertainty about what constitutes a healthy diet. This debate is likely to continue for years to come.
The body needs fat, it provides much needed vitamins and minerals, and when you remove it, it hampers the body’s ability to function properly.
This isn’t to be taken too far though and there needs to be a balance so that your diet doesn’t consist wholly of fat and fatty foods which also isn’t healthy. 35% is the optimum, but problems start when people start to go below that level.
If you have ended up as confused as I am over this latest piece of news, I think it’s probably time to take a break from dieting, and come back to it in a month or two when there might be some better news!