Excess Calories - Not Fat - Cause Obesity

"Save your heart - eat less fat." This is a fallacy believed by many. People follow the simplified formula by eating traditionally low-fat foods such as bread, pasta and cereal. Manufacturers supplement consumer buying trends with low-fat cookies, crackers and treats.

The result? Statistics show that Americans are fatter than ever and no closer to avoiding heart disease than they were before the no-fat craze. Mainly this is because excess calories, not fat, cause obesity and its slew of health hazards - a detail that got lost somewhere between the lab and the food store. It's also because most consumers are replacing their fat with carbohydrates. All the extra calories in bread and pasta that aren't used for energy are converted into fat and stored in the body, just like a hamburger. Meaning a low-fat diet may also put people at risk for serious health problems.

Some fats are good for you especially the essential fatty acids (EFAs) found in certain plants, seeds, oils and cold-water wild fish. EFAs help regulate cellular oxygen use, electron transport, energy production and immune functions. They are nutritionally important because they are precursors to a group of hormone-like compounds known as Prostaglandins that regulate the central nervous system , blood pressure and heart rate. EFAs are also required to make phosphatides, the main structural components for all cell membranes. Unaware of the importance of EFAs, many consumers confuse them with fats that really are bad for you.

Source: Nutrition Science News, Nov. 1996