Healthy Fats Trump Carbs!

The American Heart Association began encouraging Americans to limit dietary fat, particularly animal fats, in order to reduce their risk of heart disease as far back as 1961. Yet research has been pouring in refuting the saturated fat/heart disease link while linking processed carbs to higher rates of disease. As of 2015, the current dietary recommendations from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) still make no distinction between healthy saturated fats and decidedly unhealthy synthetic trans fats in your diet.

Every five years, the US Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) convene a 15-member panel to update the nation's dietary guidelines. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) scientific report is an important part of this process, and this year's report finally acknowledged "Dietary advice should put the emphasis on optimizing types of dietary fat and not reducing total fat."7 As noted by Forbes:

"[T]he recommendation to have no more than 35 percent of your calories coming from fats is over. 'Placing limits on total fat intake has no basis in science and leads to all sorts of wrong industry and consumer decisions,' said Dariush Mozaffarian, one of the authors of the new [JAMA] paper. Modern evidence clearly shows that eating more foods rich in healthful fats like nuts, vegetable oils, and fish have protective effects, particularly for cardiovascular disease.

Other fat-rich foods, like whole milk and cheese, appear pretty neutral; while many low-fat foods, like low-fat deli meats, fat-free salad dressing, and baked potato chips, are no better and often even worse than full-fat alternatives. It's the food that matters, not its fat content."

Evidence of this was highlighted in an editorial in the journal Open Heart.10 In it, research scientist and doctor of pharmacy James J. DiNicolantonio reviews the cardiometabolic consequences of replacing saturated fats with carbohydrates, which includes the following:

• ·       Shift to overall atherogenic lipid profile (lower HDL, increased triglycerides, and increased ApoB/ApoA-1 ratio)
• ·       Increased risk of coronary heart disease, cardiovascular events, and death from heart disease and increased overall mortality (all causes)
• ·       Increased oxidized LDL
• ·       Increased inflammation
• ·      Impaired glucose tolerance, higher body fat, weight gain, obesity, and diabetes

Before making any wholesale changes to your diet, it is always advisable to consult with a healthcare provider who specializes in incorporating nutrition as part of your overall care plan to make sure that it is safe for you. Our programs have helped our patients reverse diabetes, reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure and get off of their medications so that they can live a healthier life, naturally. If this is your goal, give us a call (210) 468-1891!

In Health, 

Dr. Niewierowski