The Benefits of Low Fat Diets

It has been studied and surmised for decades. Low fat diets, before the low carb craze, were seemingly the golden ticket to good health, a trim body, and boundless energy. But new studies are starting to cast doubt on this long standing paradigm, paving the way for a possible nutrition breakthrough.

The specific study that prompted the new questions was a government funded study with almost 20,000 mostly overweight postmenopausal women. The study closely monitored the women's diets, radically changing their eating habits in order to subsequently lower their risk of cancer and heart disease.

What the researchers found was less than compelling evidence that low fat diets significantly altered the risk of heart disease and cancer as once hypothesized.

Some Importants Facts to Point Out About the Low Fat Diet Study

While the results of the studies admittedly were not stellar, scientists still acknowledge there were other factors in their study's control group of overweight, postmenopausal women which may have negatively impacted the outcome of the studies.

For one, due to the women's age, they were - in essence - trying to reverse years of bad eating which may have already caused irreparable damaging effects on their health. Although most of the control group on the low fat diet did initially lose a few pounds, most of them continued to retain too much weight.

However, the diet prescribed was not directly designed for weight loss, but instead put an emphasis on dietary fat reduction rather than calorie restriction. This fact kept the weight on most of the test subjects, and excess weight in itself is a high risk factor for most cancers and heart disease.

Important Final Note on Low Fat Diets

Research has still suggested that a balanced, low calorie diet, with a healthy dose of "good" fat is the best way to secure a future that is healthy and disease free. Not only that, but before you break open the Ho Ho's and Twinkies, high fat diets are still considered one of the most dangerous, and people who eat a lot of fat consistently have shown up with a higher incidence of heart disease and cancer.

To find the best diet for your lifestyle, I recommend you take a look at the following three diet plans for the best healthy eating principles for longevity, health, disease prevention and energy. By the way, none of them are considered to be "low fat", but rather they focus on keeping the fat in your diet limited only to heart healthy fats which actually aid the body in staying healthy rather than clog it up.

1.) The Zone by Dr. Barry Sears

2.) South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston

3.) Body for Life by Bill Phillips