Fat Fiction

Obesity is a global problem, one that seems to have a straight-forward enough solution – manage one’s diet better. However, in America, managing food consumption is really not as simple as it ought to be. In fact, the obesity problem can even be traced and linked to an attempt by the national food management that was based on a faulty premise.

The premise was simply that eating fat will make you fat. The idea was and is not backed by science but still became a part of the US recommended diet. Since it was government backed, a lot of people chose to follow it. It was an initially understandable adaptation since it was the result of a solution presented in the public’s interest. In 1955 when U.S. President Eisenhower had a heart attack, the scare yielded a lot of attention from the public and there was a collective interest in taking extra care of cardiovascular health to prevent heart-related diseases.

It is natural for an incident affecting a president to receive plenty of attention, speculation and if necessary, research. Years later, despite evidence against the low-fat diet approach towards cardiovascular health, its promotion persists.

Apparently the high-carb, high-sugar replacement to the usual fat inclusive diet is more damaging health-wise. In fact, it is more damaging in the specific way it is supposed to prevent, since a high-carb or high-sugar diet will increase one’s cholesterol.

This feature explores the advent of the “low-fat diet” and the evidence, or lack thereof to support the approach. Industry experts, investigative journalists, medical professionals, research participants and those who have been the most affected by the widely accepted dietary recommendation speak about what they believe is the best way to move forward.

It is interesting to see practicing medical professionals change their strategies and even find themselves awed by the differences in the results when they let go of what is recommended and adapt what actually gets results. The relief of patients is also awe-inspiring to see since a surprising number of them get to abandon injectables, and other food and exercise regimen that was not quite making them better, anyway. The short space of time it takes to get them results is another interesting feature to note.

If you are interested in food-based medicinal concepts or if you are simply someone interested in genuine food-education, this will be an enlightening watch for you.