Ditch the rice cakes. Move over Snackwells. Look out Entenmann's Fat-Free Coffee Cake... Say hello to full-fat Oreos.
Fat-phobia is so '90s. In the last ten years, the general US population has become obsessed with eating low-fat and no-fat foods. Admit it - we all thought, even if only for a short while, that fat was our worst enemy. We all fell into the Snackwells trap and believed that we were actually doing our bodies good by eating a box of Snackwells sweets instead of two homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Just about every single one of us, at least once, has felt less guilty eating 20 jellybeans rather than a mini-Snickers. Herein lies our confusion; diet experts tell us to eat less fat, so we do. But that's not enough. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie - whether it comes from a jellybean or a Snickers bar. Since 1990, food manufacturers have introduced more than 1,000 low-fat products to the market each year. Cutting back on fat in the American diet has not helped us lose those love handles. In fact, the nation's waistline is bigger than ever before.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Americans have cut back on fat from 40 percent of calories in 1968 to 33 percent today, and we have reduced the amount of saturated fat in our diets from 18 percent to 11 percent. So why are 20 to 30 percent of adults in the US at least 30 pounds overweight?
The most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) showed that the average amount of total fat in the American diet has increased from 81 to 83 grams per day, and the average daily caloric intake has increased from 1,989 to 2,153 calories. According to this data, the percentage of calories from fat has gone down, but only because the number of calories the average person is eating has increased as well. Therefore, the actual amount of fat we are eating is greater - two grams greater to be exact. Health experts say that we need to reduce the percent of calories from fat, while maintaining or reducing the total number of calories.
So, do we need to eat a low-fat diet? Yes and no. There are a number of sound reasons for avoiding fat - especially saturated fat and cholesterol. But all fat is not bad, and fat in your diet is essential to good health. A diet should be very low in saturated fat and cholesterol, because these fats are known to increase the risk for heart disease.
But according to nutrition experts, a diet high in "good" fat is not a bad thing. A diet high in unsaturated fat - found mostly in plant-based foods like vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, grains, as well as fatty fish like salmon and tuna - has been shown to reduce the risk for heart disease. On this type of diet, the level of bad cholesterol goes down, good cholesterol goes up, and triglycerides, which increase the risk for heart disease, are kept in check.
What is fat good for?
Fat is a concentrated source of energy, which helps us maintain our strength and stamina during sports and other physical activities. Without this source of energy we would find it very difficult to "play." Fat is essential for mental health. It is a component of nerve cells. Therefore, inadequate dietary fat may cause problems in the nervous system, which has been found to contribute to depression. Fat in the diet actually helps some people to lose weight. Fat contributes to the nice texture and taste in food, which satisfies hunger and curbs the appetite. One of the major groups of essential nutrients is fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E, and K. These vitamins can only be absorbed into our bloodstream if we eat them with some fat. For example, when you eat a salad - chock full of leafy greens, red pepper, carrots, and squash - throw some sunflower seeds on top and toss it with a full-fat salad dressing to reap the benefits of this healthful foursome.Diets go in and out of style with the seasons. However, health experts always come back to the same general rules of thumb for dieting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Portion size - Watch the number of calories you eat rather than where those calories come from (fat, protein, or carbohydrate).
Nutrient Density - Eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains, which have more nutrients per calorie than other foods - more bang for your buck.
Physical activity - The amount of calories you eat should be balanced by the amount of calories you burn.
The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests the following guidelines to keep portion sizes modest:
Airline food portion sizes are good standards.
A serving size of meat (three ounces) is about the size of a computer mouse or a deck of cards.
A tennis ball is about equal to one cup.
The tip of your thumb equals a tablespoon of butter.
Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter recently reported that enjoying the food we eat is healthier than eating food we don't love. Researchers found that by eating something we like, our bodies are better equipped to absorb the nutrients in the food. So eat up, but keep that bag of airline peanuts close at hand to moderate your portion sizes. And most importantly, enjoy your food.
Elizabeth Gilbert is a graduate student studying nutrition communication at Tufts' School of Nutrition
Science and Policy.
