Does FAT make us FAT?
For years we were told that dietary fat was bad for our health and our waistlines. But newer research shows that some fats are good for us, and that low-fat diets might actually cause us to pile on the pounds. Confused? Sue Quinn explores this weighty topic
THE SANE VIEW
ILLUSTRATION KAVEL RAFFERTY
Once upon a time we were led to believe all fatty foods went straight to our thighs and clogged up our arteries along the way. But did they? It now appears the anti-fat message was vastly oversimplified, as today’s experts tell us small amounts of certain fats are good for us.
Today, some doctors and dietitians go as far as to advise against low-fat diets for weight loss, arguing they may, in fact, have the opposite effect. But the evidence still isn’t clear-cut – health experts can’t agree on this line of thought, and while they’re at loggerheads, the food industry continues to market low-fat products as effective aids to shifting those unwanted pounds. It’s no wonder many of us are scratching our heads in the supermarket aisle.