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For decades, we’ve been led to believe that eating fat causes weight gain and poor health. This idea was based on the Lipid Hypothesis from 1953, which suggested that a high-fat diet, particularly one high in saturated fats, led to heart disease and atherosclerosis. By the 1960s, low-fat diets became mainstream, and food manufacturers flooded the market with low-fat products. However, instead of improving health, obesity rates began to rise dramatically. By 1980, both obesity and related conditions, like diabetes, surged, raising doubts about whether fat was truly the culprit.
The low-fat diets that were recommended over the past 40 years are often filled with refined carbohydrates. These carbs, found in products like bread, pasta, and sugary snacks, cause blood sugar and insulin levels to spike. High insulin levels signal fat cells to store more energy, which slows metabolism and increases hunger. As a result, low-fat diets can leave us feeling unsatisfied and prone to overeating, contradicting the intended effect of weight loss.
The real issue lies with insulin, a hormone that regulates fat storage. When you eat a diet high in refined carbs and sugar, your insulin levels rise. This triggers fat storage and prevents the body from burning stored fat for energy. In contrast, fat has little effect on insulin. Eating fat keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels stable, which prevents fat gain and helps keep your metabolism steady. Fat also promotes satiety, helping you feel full for longer and reducing the likelihood of overeating.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, diabetes rates in the U.S. soared as low-fat diets became more popular. By the mid-1990s, around 5.1% of the adult population had diabetes, marking a significant increase from earlier decades. This rise in diabetes paralleled the tripling of obesity rates since the 1960s, when low-fat diets were first recommended. Although Americans were told to reduce fat intake, they instead consumed more refined carbohydrates, leading to insulin resistance, weight gain, and a host of metabolic disorders like diabetes. By 2000, the prevalence of diabetes had risen to around 8%, highlighting the impact of these flawed dietary guidelines. US obesity rates have tripled over the last 60 years.
A staggering 93% of Americans now show signs of insulin resistance, a condition that results from diets high in processed carbs and sugars but low in healthy fats. Insulin resistance is a precursor to metabolic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
To reverse this trend, we need to stop fearing fat and instead focus on whole, unprocessed foods that are rich in healthy fats, fiber, and protein. Foods like avocados, butter, ghee, tallow, avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, fatty fish, beef, pork, eggs, poultry, some nuts and seeds, and non-starchy vegetables are excellent examples. These foods not only help you feel full and satisfied but also stabilize blood sugar and support fat burning.
The true culprits behind weight gain and metabolic dysfunction are processed carbs and sugars, not natural fats. By choosing a diet high in healthy fats and low in refined carbohydrates, you can support better metabolic health, reduce insulin resistance, keep blood glucose stable, and improve satiety—all without the need for counting calories or battling hunger.
*References:**
1. Keys, A. (1953). Atherosclerosis: A problem in newer public health. *Journal
of Ch1ronic Diseases*.
2. Ludwig, D. S. (2016). Always hungry? *Grand Central Publishing*.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). National Diabetes
Statistics Report.
OAI Citation 1: https://daily.jstor.org/how-america-got-sold-on-low-fat-food/
OAI Citation 2: https://usafacts.org/articles/obesity-rate-nearly-triples-united-states-over-last-50-years/
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