Real Life Wellness: The Myth of the Low Fat, Low Protein, High Carbohydrate Diet

By Bill Hemmer
“The idea that saturated fats cause heart disease is completely wrong, but the statement has been ‘published’ so many times over the last three or more decades that it is very difficult to convince people otherwise unless they are willing to take the time to read and learn what produced the anti-saturated fat agenda.” –Dr. Mary Enig, Consulting Editor to the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, President of the Maryland Nutritionists association, and noted lipids researcher.

Since the 1970s we have all been taught the same story. Don’t eat any fat. Eat fruits and vegetables, grains and a little bit of protein and you will have a healthy life. But how well has that worked for us?

Let’s look at the facts and find out.

“The diet-heart hypothesis [which suggests that high intake of saturated fat and cholesterol causes heart disease] has been repeatedly shown to be wrong, and yet, for complicated reasons of pride, profit and prejudice, the hypothesis continues to be exploited by scientists, fund-raising enterprises, food companies and even governmental agencies. The public is being deceived by the greatest health scam of the century.” –Dr. George V. Mann, participating researcher in the Framingham study and author of CORONARY HEART DISEASE: THE DIETARY SENSE AND NONSENSE, Janus Publishing

“The commonly-held belief that the best diet for prevention of coronary heart disease is low saturated fat, low cholesterol is not supported by the available evidence from clinical trials.”

Similarly, diets focused exclusively on reduction of saturated fats and cholesterol are relatively ineffective for secondary prevention and should be abandoned. –European Heart Journal, Volume 18, January 1997.

“In the adult US population, the prevalence of overweight rose from 25.4% from 1976 to 1980 to 33.3% from 1988 to 1991, a 31% increase. During the same period, average fat intake, adjusted for total calories, dropped from 41.0% to 36.6%, an 11% decrease.”  –Heini AF; Weinsier RL. Divergent trends in obesity and fat intake patterns: the American paradox.) American Journal of Medicine, 1997 Mar, 102(3): 259-64

An American study showed that low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets (15% protein, 60% carbohydrate, 25% fat) increase risk of heart disease in post-menopausal women over a higher fat, lower carbohydrate diet (15% protein, 40% carbohydrate, 45% fat). –Jeppeson, J., et. al. Effects of low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets on risk factors for ischemic heart disease in postmenopausal women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1997; 65:1027-33)

So, is it any wonder you have not been able to reach your healthy lifestyle goals using the Food Pyramid and listening to the popular advice of eating a low fat, low protein and high carbohydrate diet?

But times are changing, and you are in the right place to take your life back and begin to live life on your own terms again. Listening and learning about the latest scientific research will guide you down the path to the truly healthy lifestyle you deserve.