Contesting the Fat-Free Craze

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  Oct, 2001  by Jule Klotter

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Eat Fat, Lose Weight: The Right Fats can Make You Thin

Ann Louise Gittleman, MS with Dina R. Nunziato, CSW Keats Publishing, 4255 West Thuhy Ave., Lincolnwood, Illinois 60712 USA Softbound, 1999, ISBN 0-87983-966-X, 176 pp, $16.95

Eat Fat, Lose Weight Cookbook

Ann Louise Gittleman with Ann Castro and Claudia Galofre Krevat Keats (NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, Inc.), 4255 West Touhy Ave., Lincolnwood, Illinois 60712 USA Softbound, 2001, ISBN 0-658-01220-7, 175 pp. $17.95/ $25.95 (Canada)

The terms "fat-free" and "low fat" found on the labels of processed foods attract many consumers in our weight-conscious society: The common belief is that fats in food readily convert into body fat and weight gain. Research and clinical experience indicate that the fat issue is far more complicated than advertisers and food manufacturers would have us believe. In her book Eat Fat, Lose Weight: The Right Fats Can Make You Thin, nutritionist Ann Louise Gittleman explains the fallacies and negative effects of the fat-free craze.

Ms. Gittleman began observing health problems caused by fat avoidance while working at the Pritikin Longevity Center (Santa Monica, California) as the Director of Nutrition from December 1980 to 1982. In the zeal to eliminate fat from the diet, protein and fatty acids essential for the healthy functioning of all body systems are also eliminated. Ms. Gittleman believes that excessive weight results from a combination of over-consumption of fat-free carbohydrates, which stimulate insulin production and fat storage, and a deficiency of fatty acids.

The fat-free craze has been driven by what Ms. Gittleman calls, the 'cholesterol hoax.' For years people with high cholesterol levels have been advised to eat low-fat foods and to avoid eggs, meat, and dairy, which are high in the fat-like substance. Yet, our bodies produce 75% of the cholesterol found in the blood because the substance is used by the nervous system, including the brain, and in adrenal and sex hormones. Oxidation of LDL cholesterol, not cholesterol itself, has been linked to heart disease. Oxidation occurs during frying, smoking, or aging of food.

The 14-year Nurse's Health Study, which followed 80,000 nurses, showed that certain types of fats, rather than total fat intake, increase heart attack risk. While saturated fats found in meat and dairy do contribute to heart disease, so do transfats found in margarines, processed bakery products, and foods fried with hydrogenated vegetable oils. Transfatty acids result from high temperatures during cooking, food processing, and hydrogenation. The body cannot use these unnatural fats. Ms. Gittleman explains: "Research has shown that transfatty acids contribute to impaired cellular function, clogged arteries, and degenerative disease. We also know they are believed to interfere with the body's ability to efficiently process good fats."

Among the good fats are the omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids (EFAs). These fats are necessary for healthy cellular membranes that can withstand viruses and bacteria. Because our bodies cannot manufacture these fats, we must obtain them through diet. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in flaxseed and fish oil. Omega-6 sources include unprocessed, unheated corn, safflower, sunflower, soy, cottonseed and sesame oils. Commercial processing of these oils results in transfatty acids, destroying the beneficial essential fats. Raw seeds and nuts, borage, evening primrose, black currant seeds, legumes, leafy greens, lean meats and organ meats also provide omega-6 oils.

Because essential fatty acids are used throughout the body, adding EFAs to one's diet can have many beneficial physical and behavioral effects. Ms. Gittleman reports that restlessness, short attention span, irritability, mood swings, and panic attacks are among the clinical signs of EFA deficiency. "When children diagnosed with ADHD start eating the right kinds of fats," she writes, "many parents notice that their children become calmer and more focused." She also says that essential fatty acids promote weight loss. Experiments with laboratory animals have found that omega-3 oils stop insulin resistance, a condition in which eating carbohydrates leads to an overproduction of insulin and increased fat storage. In addition, the omega-6 fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA) activates brown fat and increase metabolic rates in healthy adults. Brown fat cells contain large quantities of mitochondria for burning fat. GLA is found in evening primrose oil, borage oil, and black currant oil.

Eat Fat, Lose Weight gives much food for thought for consumers who have taken advertisers' assertions that low-fat foods are the key to health and a slim figure. After explaining the roles of carbohydrates, protein, transfats, and essential fats, Ms. Gittleman gives guidelines and a menu plan for one week, designed to encourage weight-loss. For consumers who are eager to implement her suggestions but want more specifics, she has written a second book, Eat Fat, Lose Weight Cookbook, which gives a 21-day sample menu plan and over 150 recipes. Each recipe contains a source of healthy fats. The recipes are uncomplicated and sound delicious. A "Master Diet Blueprint" explains how many servings of omega-9, omega-6, omega-3, protein, fruit, vegetables, carbohydrates, dairy, and water should be eaten during the day and week. Together, Eat Fat, Lose Weight and Eat Fat, Lose Weight Cookbook give consumers an understanding of the importance of eating healthy fats and a way to apply that understanding.

COPYRIGHT 2001 The Townsend Letter Group
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