Are Low Fat Diets Helping to Cause Type 2 Diabetes?

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Are Low Fat Diets Helping to Cause Type 2 Diabetes?

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Byron s, CCN

Researchers at the _Harvard School of Public Health1_ (#ref1) , in a study

funded by the National Institutes of Health, have come to the conclusion

that dietary intake of high-fat dairy offers significant protection against

developing a variety of metabolic problems, including the onset of type 2

diabetes. The researchers were stunned to report that Americans with a

fatty acid in their blood (trans-palmitoleate), which elevates in direct

proportion to the amount of high-fat dairy products that are consumed, had a

rather amazing three-fold less likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. The

study turns public health dogma about eating a low-fat diet on its head.

The idea that eating a low-fat diet somehow produces health has actually

never been proven. It has been proven that overeating is not a good thing,

and high fat intake is often a dietary staple of those prone to overeating.

It has also been proven that eating a high-fat diet with a deficiency of

fiber, plant polyphenols, and DHA is not a good thing. Furthermore, it has

been proven that over-eating a diet that is high-sugar and high-fat is one

of the fastest ways on earth to become type 2 diabetic. But it has never

been proven that fat in and of itself, as a higher percentage of calories

of a normal amount of food, has any adverse health consequences.

This study followed 3,736 participants in the National Heart, Lung, and

Blood Institute-funded Cardiovascular Health Study, who have been followed

for 20 years in an observational study to evaluate risk factors for

cardiovascular diseases in older adults. Blood samples were collected back in

1992,

including an analysis of the fatty acids present in their blood. At

baseline, higher circulating levels of trans-palmitoleic acid were associated

with

healthier levels of blood cholesterol, inflammatory markers, insulin

levels, and insulin sensitivity. During follow-up, individuals with higher

circulating levels of trans-palmitoleic acid had a much lower risk of

developing

diabetes, with about a 60% lower risk among participants in the highest

quintile (fifth) of trans-palmitoleic acid levels, compared to individuals in

the lowest quintile. “This represents an almost three-fold difference in

risk of developing diabetes among individuals with the highest blood levels

of this fatty acid,†said Mozaffarian, lead author of the study. “This

is an extremely strong protective effect, stronger than other things we know

can be beneficial against diabetes.â€

Unlike dangerous synthetic trans-fats that ruined the health of a

generation, this type of trans fat is naturally produced by the digestive tract

of

a cow. Trans-palmitoleic acid is almost exclusively found in

naturally-occurring dairy and meat.

In the new world of nutrition and gene science it is quite clear that

fatty acids of different types have different metabolic signaling effects.

Trans-palmitoleic acid is associated with higher levels of protective HDL

cholesterol, less inflammation, less insulin resistance, better insulin

sensitivity, and a significantly reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

This

means that the concept of “fat grams†as bad is a surface-level notion

about health. Those who wish to be proactive about health need to rise above

public health nutrition dogma, which is tied closely to the sales of

billions and billions of dollars worth of cardiovascular and diabetic

medication.

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