May 11, 2011
In recent years a fierce debate has raged among nutrition experts over the wisdom of prevailing dietary guidelines that emphasize eating less saturated fat. Three experts from the School’s Department of Nutrition cut through the chatter and explain what you can do to eat healthily. The secret, they say, is balance.

Amanda Holliday, MS, RD

Amanda Holliday, MS, RD

Amanda Holliday, MS, RD, LDN, clinical associate professor of nutrition, says that eating fat plays an important role in maintaining good health. People need to consume fats to obtain some vitamins, she says, and the unsaturated fats found in plant oils, certain vegetables and fish can actually reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Eating some fats also makes you feel satiety, or fullness, Holliday adds. “We don’t feel quite as hungry, and that may help with weight control.”

Dr. Barry Popkin

Dr. Barry Popkin

A number of experts argue that we should worry more about sugar than about fat. Dr. Barry Popkin, Carla Smith Chamblee Distinguished Professor of Global Nutrition at UNC, has denounced the empty calories that sugar adds to our daily intake, particularly in beverages. Other researchers say carbohydrates, not fats, are the true diet villains.

These ideas, referred to collectively as “the alternative hypothesis,” suggest that filling up on carbohydrates, which are found in foods such as cookies, bread, pasta and potatoes, is making Americans heavier and more prone to heart attacks, strokes and diabetes. The solution, advocates say, is to stop worrying about reducing fat in the diet. Instead, cut carbs.

Dr. Suzanne Hobbs

Dr. Suzanne Hobbs

But the consensus within the scientific community still supports limiting intake of saturated and trans fats, says Suzanne Hobbs, DrPH, clinical associate professor of nutrition and health policy and management at UNC’s public health school. Most medical researchers believe that saturated fats, which are found in animal products such as butter, dairy and meat, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Trans fats, which are created during food processing, may be even more harmful than those that occur naturally.

When nutritionists began to advocate a low-fat diet decades ago, Hobbs says, they recommended that consumers replace fat in their diets with healthier foods. But then many companies started offering packaged foods that were low in fat but high in sugar and refined flour.

“The companies were really playing up the fact they were in low in fat, when in fact that didn’t make them a healthy choice at all,” Hobbs says.

In the midst of this advertising blitz, many consumers missed the message that achieving a healthy diet meant reducing their consumption of sweets, refined carbohydrates, saturated and trans fats, while increasing the intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Hobbs says the original message is still valid advice.

Tips for a healthy diet

  • Beware of diets that suggest avoiding entire food groups, such as high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets. Such diets may deprive your body of essential nutrients and increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.
  • Rather than trying to eliminate a particular food group, you should aim for a balanced diet, Ms. Holliday said. When planning meals, she suggests that you imagine a dinner plate. Half of that plate should contain fruits and vegetables. A quarter should contain lean meat or protein, such as fish, skinless chicken, nuts or beans. The last quarter should contain healthier grains or starches, such as whole wheat pasta.
  • Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature. Examples include butter, lard and pork fat. Try replacing them with unsaturated fats, such as olive or canola oil. Avocados, nuts and fish also contain unsaturated fats.
  • Avoid trans fats, which are healthy fats that have been transformed during processing into fats that won’t spoil quickly. They’re usually listed on food labels as “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils.
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UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.

 

 

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