If you have any interest in health or nutrition you know what I’m talking about. That time not so long ago when everything with fat was bad for you and fat free products lined the shelves of every store. To be healthy you had to be fat free.
I, for one, am glad it is over. At least people are realizing that it is just the saturated and trans fats that have a negative influence on health. We can finally enjoy rich foods with healthy fats again knowing they are good for us.
Just think, all that time we were eliminating great food from our diet the French were over there eating full fat cheese and drinking wine and still remained healthier (and thinner) than us. Thank goodness it didn’t take us as long as a society to pull ourselves out of the low carb phase.
There is still a problem though. The availability of great food has suffered considerably since the fat free craze. Low fat and fat free foods are still out there. To make matters worse, it is nearly impossible to get full-fat, healthy foods unless you go to a specialty store.
The first thing that comes to mind is cheese. I love the convenience of shredded cheese. What I don’t like is that pretty much all you can find is part-skim mozzarella.
Have you ever tried cooking with this stuff? It basically does not melt. What a disappointing food experience! Yes, cheese has saturated fat, but it can be part of a healthy diet – a very satisfying healthy diet.
It’s like both consumers and manufacturers are still afraid of the full-fat versions of some foods. Maybe it wouldn’t sell. I don’t know. However, these are the kind of real foods we need.
You’ve probably seen all the information in the media the past few years about 3 servings of dairy daily and weight loss. Well a study came out last year which had participants make at least one of those servings full-fat dairy. They lost more weight.
As long as you keep your total saturated fat intake in check for the day, enjoying these filling foods is perfectly acceptable. I say bring on the full-fat yogurt! This is such a treat compared to the fat free, sugar free version that is always marketed so heavily.
I wish that the fat free craze hadn’t damaged our healthy thinking so much. When shopping, even I hear that little voice in the back of my head telling me I should get the low fat version. I hope that we can one day start accepting these foods back into our society and shopping carts with the ability to eat them and truly enjoy them in moderation.
Photo by rosevita, morguefile.com
Word. I tried the fat-free thing for probably a year in the States, when I was in high school. Fortunately I came to Chile to study abroad for a semester and realized that the main US eating problems didn’t include eating too much fat per se, but eating huuuuuuuuge portion sizes. I still find it slightly traumatic to go to a restaurant in the States and try to order a small snack. Ha! The concept doesn’t exist. I also noticed they eat waaay more fruits and veggies in Chile, like every day. Healthy fat is actually very satisfying and curbs hunger. I actually poor a few tablespoons of olive oil into my morning oats, banana and orange juice mix.
Hi Maeskizzle,
Thanks for your comment. Portion sizes are definitely out of control in the States. I feel that portion sizes in Brazil are way too large also. However, like you metioned about Chile, Brazilians eat a lot more fresh produce. It helps that these things are so plentiful and inexpensive.
I was a total fat-free nut for years! From the time I was about 9 or 10 years old all the way through high school, I did everything I could to cut out all the fat from my diet. I finally learned to accept fat in moderation and especially good fats once I was in college.
But when I was 21, I had to have my gallbladder removed. Once the doctor got in there to do the surgery, he found my gallbladder was a big mass of scar tissue from repeated infections. Normally, you have to be female, fat, and over forty (the 3 F’s) to have gallbladder issues. But in our generation, there is a growing number of young, otherwise healthy women with gallbladder problems.
Since the gallbladder holds reserve bile and pumps it into your stomach to help with the digestion of fats as needed, there is speculation that an extrememly low fat diet can cause the bile to just sit there for a long time and eventually cause problems. I totally believe my drastic fear of fats for so many years is to blame for my gallbladder issues!
Wow, Emily. Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry to hear about your health problems. I can definitely understand the connections. I honestly haven’t heard much about those speculations. Very interesting. Another reason to incorporate healthy fat for sure.