| Newsletter
> Low-Fat: Good or Bad?
Low-Fat: Good or Bad?
The article below from XTEND-15sec-NEWS mirrors
our philosophy and that of Dr. Joel Wallach. Dr. Wallach from
American/Canadian Longevity, states that carbohydrates (high-glycemic, such as
bread, pasta, grains) are not necessary. Even fruit eaten out of balance can
cause blood sugar problems.
He
concurs with Matthews (chairman of Xtend Natural Products) regarding fat
and oil consumption and goes on to say that any fat that changes colour in
cooking becomes carcinogenic. Vegetable oil, whether that be olive, peanut or
any other type is not necessary in our diet.
The
reasoning here is that our original diet did not consist of anything
processed, including oils (even cold
pressed oils are processed). We ate, meats, fish, some vegetation, berries,
nuts and seeds. Most of the fat we consumed came from animals.
Now it
may be difficult to emulate this entirely in our modern society, but we can
certainly avoid trans fats (margarine, hydrogenated cooking oils and frying)
as much as possible. We can also, cut down dramatically on high-glycemic
carbohydrates by eliminating sugar, juices, flour products, and over
consumption of fruits, grains and starchy vegetables (potatoes, winter squash,
carrots and parsnips). We aren’t saying you can never have any of these
things, we are simply saying 'be reasonable.' Observe the 80/20 rule…follow
the proper food plan 80% of the time and allow a little indulgence 20% of the
time.
Is the 'Low Fat Diet' a Con?
On
Sunday the 7th of July this year, the New York Times Magazine ran
an article by Gary Taubes which asks: "What if It's All Been a
Big Fat Lie?" Taubes states that "a small but growing minority of
establishment researchers have come to take seriously what the low-carb-diet doctors have been saying all along."
Among these researchers is the chairman of
the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, Walter
Willett. Willett is the spokesman for a long-running study that includes data
on almost 300,000 subjects and he says that the low-fat-is-good-health message
is clearly contradicted by their findings. Furthermore, it appears that the
extreme focus on the adverse effects of fat may have contributed to the huge
upswing of obesity in America.
During the last 3
decades whilst the low fat diet has been preached, the number of obese
Americans has been steadily rising to the point that obesity is now epidemic.
The current NY Times article points out that the
Atkins Diet
|
Warren
Matthews comments: The
Atkins Diet which this article refers
to has drawn a lot of 'flak' over the years as its opponents often
call it a 'high fat diet' whereas it is actually a low carbohydrate
one. Atkins maintains saturated fat which occurs naturally in meat and
butter, etc. is essential to health and should not
be avoided. He is very adamant that all fats and oils which are trans
or hydrogenated should be avoided at all costs. These principles are
ones that I totally subscribe to and which are being continually being
reinforced by new studies.
|
|
