Wrong. The science is in and we all owe a very sincere apology to fat. In fact, the science would have been “in” decades ago if the greedy sugar industry didn’t start tinkering with the data. That’s right. The real enemy to those who want a slim waist line is sugar, not fat. First, a basic example of how A + B should always equal C. With decades of low-fat products and millions of people cutting fat out of their diets, shouldn’t we have seen some results? Well the opposite has happened. The obesity epidemic particularly in the United States has steadily increased even as our fat consumption has decreased. Clearly, dietary fat is not the main issue. According to a recent report from The New York Times, the sugar industry actually paid scientists all the way back in the 1960s to conceal certain information about sugar’s negative effect on public health — specifically heart health. Instead, it encouraged scientists to promote the idea that saturated fat is the cause. These documents that showed the private discussions and persuasions made by the sugar industry were uncovered and published only recently after five decades of misinformation. These big business influences continued over the years and still happen behind the scenes today.
The Facts on Sugar
I highly recommend a phenomenal documentary called Fed Up that talks in depth about the dangers of excess sugar consumption. More importantly, it covers the fact that food corporations have known about its addictiveness for years and that’s why you can find sugar or artificial sweeteners in nearly every prepackaged food: bread, chicken tenders, french fries, deli meats, condiments, microwavable meals… it’s in everything. They know that, at the risk of your own health, you’ll keep coming back for more. Naturally occurring sugars in fruits, nuts and vegetables are different because they register differently in the body. But refined, added sugars have arguably caused the aforementioned health crisis we’ve seen over the past several decades. Refined sugars activate reward systems in your brain that make you crave more of them. Eating too much keeps those reward systems going, much like drugs activate them. Yet at the same time, more sugar than your body needs cranks insulin production up, negatively affects hormones and drives your body to start storing fat.
The Facts on Fat
Dietary fat, contrary to popular belief, has been found by credible science to boost your energy and even amp up your body’s ability to burn fat. That’s because the body uses fat for energy. You may have heard that not all fats are created equal, and that’s true, but saturated fat in particular has gotten unfair treatment. Scientists have found that saturated fat from natural foods like meats and nuts has no negative health effects, including on the heart. It turns out that most of the negative consequences from consuming too much of this fat come from the antibiotics, hormones, and other junk that factory farming pumps into animals and makes its way into our bodies. Additionally, fats from bad cooking oils (like trans fats) are still bad. This is because certain oils become unstable and toxic past certain temperatures and reusing it, like most restaurants and deep fryers do, makes this worse. Fat from fresh, natural, proper cooking oils carry no risk.
The Verdict
It seems increasingly difficult to come across unbiased science these days, but when that moment comes, take it seriously. It turns out that for an optimal diet, keep the good fats in and leave the refined sugars and sweeteners out of the picture. ALSO READ: This Cool Gadget Could Save Your Life After a Night of Drinking The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
