Where Low Fat Came From and Why It No Longer Makes Sense

This post should be short. My hope is to make shorter post with increased frequency. I write most of these without a lot of planning and I know I can ramble on and on.

So where did this idea of low fat come from and what was the rationale behind it? I think it is a very important question to know the answer to but so few actually understand. About 50 years ago Americans began getting fat. During WW2 Americans were required to ration their meat for the soldiers fighting on the front lines in Europe. To replace the calories America turned to grains and our waist lines started to expand. (This coincides with Coke introducing high fructose corn syrup). Exercise for weight loss was unheard of, it was called "working up an appetite" back then. So America was getting fat and something needed to be done.

The scientists of the day looked at the macro nutrients (nutrients that provide energy) to see where they could make cuts. Protein and carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram and fat contains 9 calories per gram. The simple idea was to cut fat and therefore cut calories. The thinking was that eating fewer calories and exercising (burning calories) would result in weight loss. This sounded easy and is still the current view of most backward thinking doctors. Unfortunately not all calories are equal. Weight gain is not a matter of eating more calories than one burns. Many studies have shown that simple calorie restriction will result in an equal reduction in resting metabolism. The body adjusts the the amount of fuel it is given.

Weight control is more a matter of chemistry than calorie. For starters, cutting fat means cutting a nutrient that the body requires. Ever hear of "essential fatty acids?" Guess what, they come from fat! Also, cutting fat usually means reducing protein intake since most fats are literally attached to proteins. But protein is absolutely required, it is what most of the human body is made of. But what about carbs? Has anyone ever heard of a disease or condition that resulted from not enough carbohydrate in the diet? Absolutely not! Actually, the body's daily requirement for carbs is ZERO! That's right, I will say it again. ZERO! A healthy liver produces all the blood sugar the body requires and that in turn maintains a level blood glucose AND insulin level. Any sugar added to the blood stream, sugar from the digestion a carbohydrate, will cause insulin spikes which tell the body that there is plenty of easy access energy around and now is the time to store it. Extra energy is stored as... Anyone? FAT!

Below is a short clip from the upcoming movie called Fat Head. It is a brief but humerous look at the science that resulted from the poor judgment of cutting fat.