This Isn't A Surprise to Everyone.

Noell — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 17:08:28 -0600

There are many of us who know that all these fad diets are just that: shallow fads. This includes no-fat diets. The key to maintaining or losing weight is consuming less than you expend. In other words, eat less.

When you start watching your calories, it becomes clear that if you eat mainly fat and sugar, you reach your maximum allowed calorie amount too quickly. You leave yourself hungry, and for some of us, our blood-sugar level drops. It's a matter of finding the foods that fill you up and keep you full within the right amount of calories. This will lead you to concentrating on whole grains, vegetables, fish. But it will also allow a moderate amount of fat.

No-Go on the Low

mipmup — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:16:43 -0600

I was surprised to read reports about the recent study sponsored by the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) showing that a low-fat diet did not help protect women against colon cancer, breast cancer, heart attack and stroke. In fact, I thought that I was reading the headlines incorrectly in my pre-caffeine morning haze.

Unfortunately, my eyes did not deceive me. The $415 million, eight-year study of almost 50,000 postmenopausal women states that diet just didn't matter. It is tough news to swallow and conflicts with advice we've received for years.

Paper Palate discusses the findings and hypothesizes that the news is "sweeping the major newspapers of the world today, mostly because the results go against conventional nutritional wisdom" and gives us some thought-provoking quotes by experts as they appeared in leading newspapers. The author of this post also points out that "no mention of the women's exercise or activity level is made in the study," nor "of trans-fatty acids," leading to some of her concerns.

So what advice are we supposed to follow?

The blog of the Women's Bioethics Project asks, "Does this mean I can eat deep-fried ice cream with hot fudge?" Check it out for the answer.

Or perhaps this is just a passing fad? Vista on Current Events wonders if this study is just disproving yet another dietary myth and she will be following the advice of her father: "Enjoy life and do all things in moderation."

On the other hand, Scattered Thoughts cautions readers, "Before you go on a steady diet of McDonald's fries and lard," take a close look at how the study was executed. She questions the time period, the previous dietary habits of the participants ("Bacon and peanut butter sandwiches deep fat fried in coconut oil or watercress on iceberg leaves?") and exercise/lifestyle.

An insightful post by Molly Go Lightly points out that in light of the scientific nature of this long-term study, we need to remember that studies are usually not "absolute truth."

The report was published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the complete findings can be found here on the WHI site.

photo credit: PCRM Online
-----
mipmup.
Contributing Editor, Health & Wellness

For more by mipmup, read:
BlogHer archive for mipmup
mipmup.

BlogHer - No-Go on the Low - Comments

This Isn't A Surprise to Everyone.

No-Go on the Low