Health Mistake: Eating Low-Fat Products and Reducing Calories
Do you concentrate on eating low-fat foods and count your calories meticulously yet see no difference in your weight or health? Focussing on the nutritional content of our food choices is what will make the difference to improving our health and wellbeing according to a recent publication from the British Cardiovascular Society.
By concentrating on the nutritional value within food, it was stated that we would see a vast reduction in the level of obesity, and therefore a reduced level of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Calories Are Not Directly Comparable
It is consistently reiterated to us that we have a recommended calorie intake that are in accordance with our gender, age, size and physical activity levels. However, what is often overlooked is the nutritional value of these products.
Take a can of coca cola for example, which contains 150 calories of added sugar, has been shown to increase your risk of type 2 diabetes when consumed regularly. By comparison, a single handful of nuts, which equates to approximately 200 calories has been shown to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Failing Fad Diets
There are billions of pounds generated each year through the advertisement and consumption of processed foods that emphasise their calorie restrictions and lessened fat quantity. But it is well documented that fad diet products can equate to a rollercoaster in weight changes. Frequent rapid variations in weight have been shown to increase likelihood of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and insulin resistance, which could lead to type 2 diabetes. All of these factors culminate in shortened life expectancy and decrease quality of life.
Promotion of Balanced & Good Nutrition
In light of the findings published by the British Cardiovascular Society, they have stated that, “…food can be the most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”
Interventions are already beginning to occur in the form of sugar taxation on sugary drinks, subsidies to increase the affordability and availability of healthier foods such as fruit and vegetables, and increasing the transparency and consistency across the marketing of products and packaging – making healthier choices easier and more straight forward.
Moving away from calorie counting, concentrating on fat content and eradicating processed foods will enable the promotion of good nutrition to focus on health and wellbeing as part of a balanced lifestyle and diet.
