Low-fat diets 'good for the heart'
Low-fat diets may be better for the heart than low-carb, Atkins'-like diets, say US scientists.
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A study - published in the journal Hypertension - found that the higher fat content of a low-carbohydrate diet may put dieters at an increased risk of hardening of the arteries because low-carb diets often reduce protection of the thin layer of cells that line the blood vessels of the circulatory system.
"Low-carbohydrate diets are significantly higher in total grams of fat, protein, dietary cholesterol and saturated fats than are low-fat diets," said lead author Dr. Shane Phillips.
"While a low-carbohydrate diet may result in weight loss and improvement in blood pressure, similar to a low-fat diet, the higher fat content is ultimately more detrimental to heart health than is the low-fat diet."
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) recommends that, from the age of five, total fat should provide no more than 35 per cent of our calories, and saturated fat should provide no more than 11 per cent of calories.
To find out if a food is high or low in fat, look at the label. High is more than 20g of fat per 100g while low is 3g fat or less per 100g. As for saturated fat, high is more than 5g saturates per 100g while low is 1.5g or less per 100g.
Of course the amount of a particular food we eat affects how much fat we get from it. And be aware that foods labelled 'fat free' often contain more sugar and starch than the full-fat versions.
The FSA says we need some fat in our diet because it helps the body absorb certain vitamins, it's a good source of energy and a source of the essential fatty acids that the body can't make itself.
Foods high in 'good' fat include: oily fish, avocados, nuts and seeds, sunflower, rapeseed and olive oil and spreads, and vegetable oils.
If you want to make a healthy choice, you could choose:
- oily fish instead of sausages or a meat pie.
- unsaturated oils such as olive, sunflower or rapeseed oils instead of butter, lard and ghee in cooking.
- snacking on some unsalted nuts instead of a biscuit.
- making your mashed potato with olive oil and garlic instead of butter and milk for a change.
- a fat spread that is high in unsaturates instead of butter.
