Sugar vs. Fat
Wrong Nutritional Dogmas…
For the past forty to fifty years, people were advised to cut off fats from their diets and substitute them by carbohydrates in order to prevent obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other diet-related chronic diseases. This is because preliminary studies showed that fats, which have double the calories per gram in comparison with carbohydrates, could make people suffer from obesity and heart problems. And clinical studies performed at that time supported this theory, since people who consumed more fats, weighed more than those who ate more carbohydrates. Based on these findings, and despite the lack of premium scientific evidence, experts in the 1990s suggested that the substitution of fats with any carbohydrate could help people in reducing the calories consumed per day and all the resulting health outcomes.
Adding to the lack of scientific evidence, the previously conducted researches were greatly influenced by the desires of the sugar industry. In the article “A Bribery That Deceived Us for 50 Years” that was published by Green Area, the alteration of scientific evidence by the sugar manufacturers was discussed; and the end result of the biased review that was carried out by the three bribed Harvard scientists, claimed that fat, and not sugar, is the cause behind the increase in heart disease rates.
Yet, the story did not end at this point. The food industry was requested to manufacture more processed food products that are low in fat in an order to provide people with the assumingly, healthy alternatives. The food manufacturers responded to the demands, replaced fat with carbohydrates to maintain the good taste and promoted the new products as low-fat or fat-free items. Consequently, people started craving the widely available low-fat sugary treats.
But did these recommendations and measures bring benefits to people?
Well, unfortunately, the answer is “NO”. In fact, the rates of obesity, diabetes and diet-related chronic diseases, including heart diseases, did not decrease.
So, what were we doing wrong for the past forty to fifty years?
Well, studies showed that we were inappropriately eating more unwholesome carbohydrates and cutting off the necessary fats. Several studies, including recently performed ones, proved that sugar, and not fat, is more dangerous in causing obesity, diabetes and diet-related chronic diseases. Also, new researches show that certain types of fat are essential for our health, such as the ones found in nuts, full-fat diary, olive oil and dark chocolate, where despite being calorie-dense foods, studies showed that they result in less weight gain than other high-carbohydrate foods that are commonly consumed nowadays by people.
In an attempt to determine the relationship between low-fat diets and weight loss, the results of clinical trials of 53 studies were evaluated by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and the outcomes were published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal on October 2015. This meta analysis showed that there is no scientific evidence that supports low-fat diets as means for long-term weight loss, a misconception that we had for years. Moreover, several other studies were performed and concluded that the quality of food eaten, rather than the amount of calories eaten, is more important in maintaining a healthy weight.
Yet, obesity is not all what scientists are concerned about; heart diseases are a major burden on populations worldwide and accounts for the majority of diet-related chronic diseases. In this regard, several clinical trials showed that reducing fat intake did not result in a decrease in the rates of cardiovascular diseases. In 2016, a related study proved that people consuming high-fat diets had 16% lower rates of premature death than those consuming low-fat diets, as long as they are eating the right types of fat.
Future Standpoints
The low-fat diets are still taking over people’s daily eating habits, despite the new recommendations, where the USDA Dietary Guidelines increased the limit of dietary fat intake. Therefore, healthcare professionals should raise awareness about the proper types and portions of fats and carbohydrates that should be consumed.
People should be advised to choose “Unsaturated Fats” found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and fish, reduce “Saturated Fats” found in red meat, butter, cheese and ice-cream, and cut off “Trans Fats” that come from partially hydrogenated oils that are found mainly in processed foods.
Also, people should trim down the consumption of processed and refined carbohydrates that result in rapid rises in blood sugar levels. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging countries to tax sugary drinks, an action that aims to decrease the rates of obesity and diabetes worldwide. Besides, more researches should be conducted, in order to further study the Carbohydrate-Insulin Hypothesis, represented in the flowchart below, which explains how the reduction in unhealthy carbohydrates results in a decrease in the levels of insulin, which has positive outcomes on people’s health.
