To be completely confused about fat..?

[Scarletohello]

Been watching a tv show about health and it was saying how fat clogs up your arteries, using the metaphor of fat clogging up drains. I'm a big fan of low carb diets ( which means high fat), have lost lots of weight on them before and feel well when I'm not eating wheat or sugar. But when I see programs like this I get so scared and confused about whether animal fat is ok or not ... What do people think??

low carb does not have to mean high fat
it can mean high protein
and high fat diets - unless you can be highly active - can be dangerous
what was the programme?

I am confused too - I've heard so many different things from different people.

Apart from anything else, don't forget there are different kinds of fat. Haven't you seen the flora adverts?

I think the type of fat makes a difference. Have you read the science in the Briffa book?

As I understand it, starchy carbs are the glue that binds far to the wall of the arteries. Without the carbs, the fat slips away without damaging the arteries.

You can either have a high fat low carb diet, or a low fat high carb one. Not both.

HTH

It was called Long Live Britain where Drs checked people for diabetes, liver and heart disease.

I was watching that too... My understanding is animal fats are bad, fish oils and a certain amount of vegetable fats are good for you.

What everyone knows really, don't eat junk, cook fresh, eat oily fish and lots of veg, moderate red meat intake and increase pulses.

Wish I could do that!

Too much of the wrong fats can be dangerous. You can't expect to be as fit as a fiddle from eating fried breakfasts everyday.

Saturated fats and hydrogenated fats are the clog your arteries, early heart attack material. Unsaturated fats, omega 3's, 6's and 9's if you can get 'em are the hero's.

Being on a low carb diet doesn't give you the green light to scoff down lard with every meal, it advocates nuts and seeds and olive oil.

I don't see how it's confusing at all, you can google the good and bad effects of pretty much everything then come up with a balanced view on things.

Yes I have read a lot of the science behind low carb high fat diets and it totally makes sense to me but its hard when a mainstream tv program with real drs is saying how bad saturated fat is for the liver and the heart. I'm not a scientist or Dr and don't know what to believe!!

Loki, you described it better than I could - that's a great description!

I agree.

I personally would far prefer natural 'animal made' fat than the synthetic stuff made from goodness knows what which is extruded and put into pots.

Don't think I said flora was good for you, just that their old advert mentioned the difference between saturated and (poly)unsaturated fat?

There are different types of fat and they do different things. High amounts of saturated fats are bad regardless. The omegas are very good for you, though most western people have more omega 6 and 9 in their diet than omega 3, which causes all sorts of problems. (omega 6 is plant based and most farmed animal are fed an unnatural cereal based diet rendering them unable to provide Omega 3 to the food chain. Animals reared on grass/real plants, such as venison and wild boar do contain omega 3)

As long as you roughly have your fat consumption balanced you have nothing to fear.

Also 'wild' type animals have lean meat where as intensively farmed - eat crap all day and get no exercise animals, lots of saturated fat.

Hydrogenated. That was the other one I was thinking of. Saturated fat that has been chemically altered. Yummy!

(PS, my diet is still pretty bad, but I'm learning and making changes as and where I can)

You see, even on this thread there are already contradictory opinions..!

I can only go on my own experience which us that when I did Atkins a few years ago I was eating all the foods we had always been told were bad for us and fattening, cream, cheese, nuts,meat, avocados etc and I lost ten pounds in the first two weeks, and two stone in the next few months. I stopped it because of all the bad press about fat and then put most of the weight back on. It's a constant battle...

If you are more susceptible to certain genetic diseases, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and the likes then eating too much of the wrong fats can promote early death, this is fact.

I've been doing quite a bit of reading about this since dh had a stroke a few months ago (not from lifestyle reasons). His GP was desperate to get him onto statins and a low fat diet, to the point where she was rather forceful.
I have reached one of 2 conclusions.

1. the nhs is peddling a load of outdated unproven bollocks that is actually contributing in the decline of health in this country, and making big pharma mega bucks in the process.
2. the likes of John Briffa are peddling made-up claptrap in order to sell millions of books a make mega bucks in the process.

So there it is. I'm confused.
I tend to sway towards Briffa eat al, because they do show all the research that backs up their claims.
I feel at my healthiest when I eat fewer carbs and more good fat. My skin looks better, I don't crave chocolate, I have far more energy. It's such a pity that cakes, biscuits and crisps are carbs and not vegetables, or I'd be a damn sight healthier :)

Actually bella, there is loads of research out there proving that low cholesterol is a more robust indicator of early death than high, particularly in women.
There is also research pointing towards these diseases rearing their ugly heads because of sugar/carbs.

Stating that it is fact is simply churning out what we are told by those that have money to make. Companies selling cholesterol reducing products, big pharma selling statins etc.

Processed foods aren't good, whichever way you look at it, bread, rice, cereal, cakes and the list is endless. But to emit 'pure' foods from the diet, fruit, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash and so on because they are higher in carbs then their sister fruits and veg is ridiculous.

The majority of people doing this are trying to lose weight. Why can't we eat to nourish ourselves. It's our mentality towards food that needs changing. The GP's don't help beyond the superficial. We bed to dig deeper.

I was referring to these diseases which are genetic, the ones we cannot escape from, the ones where the food we eat, the choices WE make determine the length of our lives. I've experienced this first hand, with several genetic diseases, we need to eat to nourish our bodies. Refined and processed food is good for nothing, for no-one. Saturated fats in moderation, fine, fried breakfast in lard everyday, not fine.

There is no problem with eating fat.

Have a look at this reivew - a meta-analysis of 21 different studies , the conclusion of which was:

"CONCLUSIONS:
A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD. More data are needed to elucidate whether CVD risks are likely to be influenced by the specific nutrients used to replace saturated fat."