If you have been following my blog you must know by now that I am not a fan of low fat diet for a number of reasons. Firstly, fat is an important nutrient in our diet and performs many essential functions in our bodies. It is essential for healthy fat metabolism in the liver and the good fats (MUFAs) protect against certain forms of cancer and other age related mental disorders. Secondly, its unhealthy if the calories that must come from healthy fats are substituted with calories from carbohydrates as they raise insulin levels in the blood and lead to insulin resistance which eventually causes type II diabetes.
A two year
study done at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) showed that even though the medically prescribed low-fat diet for weight loss is as effective at losing weight as the low-carb diet or the Mediterranean diet the later two were better at improving the HDL/LDL ratio of the dieters.On top of that the low-fat diet actually increased the fasting glucose level by 12mg/dL while the Mediterranean diet decreased the fasting glucose level by 33mg/dL. This is especially important for diabetics or people with high blood sugar that are trying to lose weight. So don't shy away from fat and try to get a third of your daily calorie requirement from healthy fats. Your heart and mind (and the rest of your body) will thank you for it.
