A new survey of eating habits and health outcomes has come up with a surprising result: It’s not so much the Carbs and Fats that make your diet bad – it’s the type of Carbs and Fats and the lack of Whole Grains and Fresh Produce that determines how healthy you are, overall.
Recent findings indicate that Pasta does not contribute significantly to
developing obesity. That supports this study’s contention that it’s
the kind of Fat or Carbs, not the amount that counts…
They were looking at which is better, a low-fat/high-carbohydrate diet or a high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet. But researchers were surprised to find that it doesn’t really matter, as long as you limit saturated Fats and Processed Carbs, and add certain other foods to your eating regime.
What they did…
A team from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, and colleagues with diverse expertise and perspectives on the issues laid out the case for each position. This was a totally intellectual exercise; no lab animals were involved.
Researchers pooled their experience and expertise and their knowledge of the fundamental research to date and came up with a consensus on the issue.
“This is a model for how we can transcend the diet wars,” said Lead Author David Ludwig, Professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Chan School and a physician at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Our goal was to assemble a team with different areas of expertise and contrasting views, and to identify areas of agreement without glossing over differences.”
What they found…
Many participants in the meeting of minds were surprised to discover that the quantity Carbs and Fats in your diet doesn’t really matter, as long as you limit Saturated Fats, added Sugar and Refined Grains.
They agreed that by focusing on diet quality – replacing Saturated or Trans Fats with Unsaturated Fats, and replacing refined carbohydrates with Whole Grains and non-starchy Vegetables – most people can maintain good health within a broad range of dietary Fat-to-Carbohydrate ratios.
The takeaway…
More research needs to be done on several areas of concern that emerged from the study, including:
- Do diets with various Carbohydrate-to-Fat ratios affect body composition (ratio of fat to lean tissue) regardless of Caloric intake?
- Do ketogenic diets provide metabolic benefits beyond those of moderate Carbohydrate restriction, and especially for diabetes?
- What are the optimal amounts of specific types of Fat (including Saturated Fat) in a very-low-Carbohydrate diet?
Finding the answers to these questions, the researchers said, will ultimately lead to more effective nutrition recommendations.
My take…
For me – and the average person, I suspect – the results of this study just underline the need to give Whole Grains and Fresh Produce greater emphasis in our diets. If we do this, regardless of what some folks perceive as prohibitive costs, we can enjoy better health and enhanced longevity.
What we really have to come up with is a way to make healthy foods available to more folks subsisting at or near the bottom of the economic ladder.
~ Maggie J.