This is the final in a four-part piece exploring the problem with “low-fat” and “non-fat” products.

THE low-fat, high-starch diet that was the focus of dietary advice during the 1990’s (as reflected by the USDA food guide pyramid) is dying out. A growing body of evidence has been pointing to its inadequacy for weight loss or prevention of heart disease and several cancers. The final nail in the coffin comes from an eight-year trial that included almost 49,000 women. Although the media has made much of the “disappointing” results from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Dietary Modification Trial, it would be a serious mistake to use these new findings as reason to load up on sausage, butter and deep-fried fast food.

THE WOMEN’S HEALTH

Initiative Dietary Modification Trial was started in 1993, at a time when dietary fat was seen as a dietary evil and the low-fat diet was thought to be a straight forward route to preventing heart disease, some cancers, and the epidemic of obesity that was beginning to sweep the country. Researchers recruited almost 50,000 women between the ages of 50 and 79, of which 19,541 were randomly assigned to follow a low-fat diet.

Their goal was to lower their fat intake from almost 38 per cent of calories to 20 per cent. They were helped in this effort by a series of individual and group counselling sessions. Another 29,294 women were randomly assigned to continue their usual diets, and were given just generic diet related educational materials.

After eight years, the researchers looked at how many (and what percentage) of the women in each group had developed breast cancer or colorectal cancer. They tallied up heart attacks, strokes, and other forms of heart disease. They also looked at things like weight gain or loss, cholesterol levels, and other measures of health.

The results, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed no benefits for a low-fat diet. Women assigned to this eating strategy did not appear to gain protection against breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or cardiovascular disease. And after eight years, their weights were generally the same as those of women following their usual diets.

The researchers saw a trend towards a lower risk of breast cancer among women in the low-fat group. This trend was not statistically significant, meaning it could have been due to chance. It could also have been due to the very small weight loss during the early years of the study among women in the low-fat group who received intensive dietary counselling. There is strong evidence from many studies that being overweight increases the risk of breast cancer after menopause, and that staying slim after menopause is an effective way to reduce risk of breast cancer, along with many other diseases.

RECAP

Making good dietary choices matter, but it is the type of fat, not the amount, which is most important. Keep in mind that too many calories from both fat and carbohydrate will lead to weight gain, which will increase risks of breast cancer, colon cancer, and heart disease. While watching fat intake is important for weight loss, eating a low-fat diet that includes lots of low-fat food products can actually cause you to gain weight.

Fat digests slowly and releases the hormone cholecystokinin, which promotes fullness and satiety. Foods containing little to no fat digest quickly, leaving you hungry again even though you’ve just eaten. Also, without fat to slow digestion, blood glucose levels spike and then drop, prompting sugar cravings that can lead to overeating.

While a diet that’s high in the wrong kinds of fat can contribute to serious health issues, keep in mind that our body still needs fat for vital functions such as vitamin and mineral transport, nutrient absorption, nerve transmission, and for healthy cells.

Most of the fat you eat should be unsaturated, such as monounsaturated fats, which help raise good HDL cholesterol, lower bad LDL cholesterol, and protect against plaque build-up in your arteries. Good sources of monounsaturated fat include: olive oil and olives, canola oil, almonds, cashews, peanuts, peanut butter, sesame seeds, and avocados.

Additionally, polyunsaturated fats are helpful in lowering bad LDL cholesterol and these fats contain essential omega-3 fatty acids that boost brain function, help strengthen your immune system, and even improve mood. Most of the polys you eat should be omega-3s, found mainly in wild-caught fish such as salmon, mackerel, and herring, as well as canola oil, flaxseed, walnuts, and tofu. Omega-6 fatty acids in small amounts help promote skin and eye health, and you’ll find them in corn and safflower oil, corn-fed chicken, grass-fed beef, and properly farmed fish.

As the last topic regarding lifestyle, diabetes, low-fat diets, etc, come to a close, I am prompted by my conscience to remind the readers that I am not a medical doctor. I believe in the power that made the body and I also believe that power also heals the body. I also believe that the most effective, least invasive way to wellness, health and quality of life is to simply to educate the people on natural techniques to achieve their goals, and to assist the wonderfully created human body in removing interference within the nervous system, which chiropractors call subluxations. I give no medical advice. I simply research and report “effects” of the administration of such things.

In reference to being called a “doctor”, I would like to leave you now with the age-old prophetic words of Thomas Edison: “The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”

In that sense of the definition of doctor, I readily accept the title.

I want every Jamaican to experience the power of the chiropractic adjustment and nutrition lifestyle. Recently, I appeared for the second time in two years on TVJ (my profound thanks to RJR for their interest in making chiropractic more known to the Jamaican people), this time on Weekend Smile, where I made a heartfelt offer for all watching to enjoy 50 per cent off their very first visit to our office.

With my editor’s blessing and the generous permission of the Jamaica Observer, I would hereby like to extend that offer to all those whose eyes fall upon this page and read these words that I have written. Simply call 890-0265 and tell my assistant that you read my article in the Observer, and wish to enjoy a half-price initial visit to our office, so that you can experience chiropractic for yourselves and make your own informed decision when it comes to natural health and wellness care!

Don’t forget to “Ask Your Chiropractor” every week, where your questions may be published and answered in subsequent articles. Address questions to: Dr Chris Davis, the Spinal Mechanic at movethebone@gmail.com; or, Dr Michael Harvey, director, at dr.michael_harvey@yahoo.com or visit www.drharveychiropractic.com