Myth: I will have a healthier diet if I am eating reduced-fat or fat-free products like cheese, peanut butter, and sour cream.
If a product is not naturally fat-free like an apple or broccoli, then the fat in reduced fat or fat-free products has been replaced with a very poor quality carbohydrate. This means that you are unknowingly ingesting unhealthy carbohydrates which can be very dangerous for diabetics.
If you are not diabetic, these carbohydrates are ones that largely contribute to developing Type II diabetes. Additionally, “low fat” does not indicate the product has fewer calories or less sugar. Eating these products can actually be detrimental to weight loss and cause weight gain instead.
The solution is to eat a smaller quantity of the full-fat product and eat it less frequently. Rather than focusing on overall fat intake in the diet, one should be aware of the types of fat that are “healthy” and the quantities in which they are consumed. “Healthy fats” include those found naturally in dairy products, Omega-3s available from animal and plant sources (salmon, sardines, soybeans, canola oil), and oils (olive, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, almond).
Emerging data reveal that fats naturally occurring animal fats (meats) do not contribute to heart disease, as long as they are consumed in appropriate quantities and at appropriate frequencies.
Any product that is processed is at least partially “evil” while any product that is its natural state (i.e. sour cream) is never completely “evil.” For example, margarine, a manufactured bread spread is full of synthetic hydrogenated fats. Butter, however, has natural milk fat solids.
