Why Low Fat Dieting May be Risky

There was a time when a low fat diet was thought to be the path to weight loss and better health. While there are benefits to limiting fat intake, particularly saturated fats and trans fat, adopting a diet that’s extremely low in fat may actually be detrimental. Some fat in the diet is critical for proper bodily function and adopting a very low fat diet can have adverse effects on overall health. What are the dangers of a low fat dieting?

A low fat diet may not protect against heart disease.

Twenty years ago, a low fat diet was aggressively promoted by the medical community as a means of preventing heart disease. This was based on the idea that eating a low fat diet would lower overall cholesterol levels. While this may be true, a low fat diet not only lowers LDL (the bad cholesterol), but HDL (the good cholesterol as well) and a high HDL has been shown to actually reduce the risk of heart disease. There’s also evidence that a very low fat diet can increase triglyceride levels when first adopted. An interesting study published by the National Institute of Health in 2006 showed that adoption of a low fat diet had no apparent effect on heart disease or stroke risk. Subsequent studies have supported these findings. It appears that a low fat diet isn’t the magical panacea for heart disease that it was once thought to be.

It may not be the best for weight loss.

Surely, a low fat diet must be good for weight loss, or is it? In a comparison of three diet plans for weight loss; the Mediterranean diet, an Atkins style low carb diet, and a low fat diet; the low fat diet was found to be the least effective. Not only did people following the Mediterranean and Atkins diets lose more weight, but they showed greater improvement in their HDL levels, which suggests that these diets may be more heart healthy.

t may decrease absorption of important vitamins and nutrients.

Another danger of low fat dieting is the effect it can have on vitamin and nutrient absorption. Certain fat soluble vitamins are best absorbed in the presence of other dietary fat. When a meal does contain enough fat, the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, may not be adequately absorbed, increasing the risk of deficiency. This is why people are urged to add a little olive oil to salads to increase absorption of fat soluble vitamins.

Although fats are an important part of the diet, focus should be on polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats rather than trans and unsaturated ones. Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats not only protect the heart, but may reduce the risk of other chronic diseases as well. Good sources of poly and monounsaturated fats are fatty fish, nuts, and olive oil. Most experts recommend getting between twenty and thirty percent of daily calories from these healthy fats. Just make sure they’re good ones.