fat consumption

[Guest guest]

Dear Dr. Mirkin: What's the current thinking on fat restriction?

Almost 50,000 women in the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial

from Harvard Medical School were given dietary counseling to reduce their

fat intake to less than 20 percent of their daily calories (Clinical Diabetes,

July 2006). This intense dietary counseling did not reduce the incidence

of heart attacks, strokes, or cancers even though the women reduced their intake

of fat by 8.2 percent.

Their data from the eight-year follow up show that it is difficult to reduce

total fat intake, and that dietary counseling to reduce total fat intake does

not reduce the risk of heart attacks or cancers. It lowered weight only = an

average of three pounds and diastolic blood pressure only slightly. However,

other studies have shown that reducing total fat intake does lower risk for

certain cancers.

The probable reason for these dismal results is that food contains both good

fats and bad fats. Most doctor agree that we should restrict saturated fats

found in meat, chicken and whole milk diary products, and partially hydrogenated

fats found in many prepared foods. However, the monounsaturated fats found

in seeds and nuts and the omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood and seeds are

healthful fats that should not be restricted.