“LOW FAT” Explained by a Functional Nutritionist
Does eating fat make you fat?
It is unfortunate that dietary fat has the same name as body fat, because people assume that eating fat makes them fat (so reducing it leads to weight loss).
"Low-fat" is a common but somewhat deceptive marketing term.
It depends on metabolism…
Just as with low-calorie diet messaging, this is not the whole story.
This reductionist approach fails to consider the complexities of metabolism.
Different types of calories (carbs, fat, and protein) are broken down and utilized differently.
In fact, eating more fat promotes your body's ability to burn it (versus being stuck in a sugar-burning mode, which often leads to unhealthy weight gain)!
Fat can be healthy.
Fat is necessary for many things in the body: nutrient absorption, inflammation management, hormone production, consistent energy, cell membrane structure and signaling...
A diet without enough healthy fats can lead to fatty acid deficiency.
In addition, low-fat products often have more added sugar to compensate for the missing fat.
TAKEAWAY: Be wary of low-fat marketing claims and choose to eat healthy, whole-food fats.
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References
Nguyen, P. K., Lin, S., & Heidenreich, P. (2016). A systematic comparison of sugar content in low-fat vs regular versions of food. Nutrition & Diabetes, 6, e193. https://doi-org.uws.idm.oclc.org/10.1038/nutd.2015.43
Fuentes Artiles, R., Staub, K., Aldakak, L., Eppenberger, P., Rühli, F., & Bender, N. (2019). Mindful eating and common diet programs lower body weight similarly: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 20(11), 1619–1627. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12918