CHAPTER 11
How Much Fat? Low Fat, Light & Fat Free
PART 1
Using Sense, Finding Balance
Eating for health isn’t rocket science. At least that’s what most experts will tell us. Losing weight? That can be a different story. But then again, most responsible experts will suggest we focus on the former and the latter will take care of itself. Eating for health, however, does require being able to make sense of food labels. And when it comes to fat, comparison shopping, in the nutritional sense, as well as some basic “fat math,” are in order. READ MORE
One of the reasons that Congress passed the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 was to “bring a sense of order to the understanding of terms” used when describing a food product as being “high” in some nutrient or “low” in another. The NLEA required the FDA to set standards for nutrient content claims that had previously been inconsistent and confusing. The goal was to quantify vague terms such as “Light” or “Lite,” “low cholesterol” or “a good source of fiber,” “high in vitamin C” or “reduced sodium.”
Navigating through “low,” “lite,” or “reduced” claims doesn’t require a calculator, but it does involve a bit of mental math. And it also involves going beyond the simplistic notion that either all fats are bad and all carbs are fine (the fat-free cookie strategy), or that all fats are fine and all carbs are bad (the bunless, bacon-cheeseburger gambit). “Not all fats are created equal,” Dr. David Katz, Director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University’s School of Medicine, reminds us. “And that goes for carbs too.” It isn’t a matter of throwing out one food group, but rather, a matter of finding balance across all food groups. LESS
PART 2
Doing the Math on Fats
Dietary advice on fats can essentially be boiled down to this: replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats. That, along with eating more fruits and vegetables and whole grains, is good advice that will stay good advice no matter what superfood happens to be making news. “A body needs a certain supply of different fats, but there is a balance to be struck,” says Katz. “An oversupply of one type is not a good thing and the modern diet provides a huge excess of saturated fats.” Our waistlines and health are struggling to cope with a huge surplus of a nutrient that was always in short supply for most of human history. READ MORE
Recommendations for total amount of fat in the diet are broad, ranging from 20-35% of daily calories (the FDA uses 30% in its calculations). Based on a 2000 calorie, that is approximately 600 calories, or about 65 grams of fat. For most dietary experts, however, the main focus is on the type of fat. LESS
PART 3
Subtract Saturated Fats from the Nutrition Equation
When totaling dietary fats, saturated fat is what we need less of. It is generally recommended that saturated fat not exceed 10% of the daily fat intake, though some experts suggest getting it down to 7% would be a healthier target. The FDA uses 10% of daily calories as its recommended upper limit for saturated fats. That’s 200 calories, or roughly 20 grams of saturated fat. Keeping saturated fats to that level is a real challenge, however, considering that we live in a sea of marbled steaks, juicy sausages, sizzling bacon, melted cheese, ultra-rich ice cream and butter everywhere. READ MORE
The Nutritional Facts Panel can help you keep track of your daily fat math. Check the amount of saturated fat contained in one serving of the food and keep a rough running balance as you eat throughout the day. If you begin your day with a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, for example, you’ve eaten around 12 grams of saturated fat, more than half of the FDA’s recommended daily intake. More surprising is the fact that many breakfast cereal bars have nearly as much saturated fat.
Also keep in mind that researchers believe it is the amount of unsaturated fat you consume in relation to the amount of saturated fat you consume that seems to be the key. In other words, cutting back on saturated fat won’t lower the risk for heart disease unless you also increase your unsaturated fat intake. What that translates into in terms of daily diet means replacing butter, cheese and fatty meats for heart healthy oils, nuts, fish and lean meats. LESS