Scientists Say Fat Intake Is Healthy

good fat

Scientists have determined that fat intake is healthy for a nutritious diet. Low-fat and no-fat foods are no longer ideal in the prevention of diseases that good fats can provide.

An updated to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is due later this year and it will include an updated assessment of the important role fat plays in human nutrition. While saturated fat intake is still a contributing factor to high cholesterol and other ailments, “good fats” known as polyunsaturated fats, like those found in nuts and avocados, are essential. Current dietary recommendations limit fat to 20%-35% of a person’s daily intake, but the real limit should simply imply to saturated fat. Scientists still agree that a healthy diet should limit saturated fats to 10% of a person’s total calorie intake.

Not everyone is in full agreement of lifting the restriction on fat, citing confusion and misinterpretation by consumers. Jessica Cording, a New York City registered dietitian notes that misinformation is possible.

“Removing the guidelines, especially without providing any education to give context to the role of fat in the diet, isn’t necessarily going to fix anything. There should still be information available for people who need it to help them make choices that will keep them healthy, even if it’s a ballpark idea of how many grams of fat a person should consume.”

Inquisitr recently reported on the ban of artificial trans fat, another “bad” fat available to consumers in today’s global diet trends. More research on fat intake has followed after concluding that trans fat has caused numerous illnesses and deaths.

Monosaturated fats are still good for people. Those are found in olive oil and peanut oil.

“There is a pretty solid consensus now that it’s the type of fat that’s really important,” says Penny Kris-Etherton, chair of the American Heart Association’s nutrition committee.

The issue with fat began in the 1970s and 1980s when the belief was that an overall lowering of fat would target saturated fat intake. Unfortunately, over the decades, people began to vilify all fats and take on a no-fat or low-fat diet approach, especially with developments in food processing. As a result, major nutrients and complex nutrients found only in certain fats have been missing from the popular diets for a long time. In an effort to address the possible correlation between diseases and poor nutrition, scientists have agreed to update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to reflect no necessary restriction on fat intake.

(Photo courtesy of Yahoo Health)

Scientists Say Fat Intake Is Healthy is an article from: The Inquisitr News

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