Public health guidelines, such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, have long emphasized reducing dietary fat intake, but nutritionists and other health scientists now have more recent evidence that not all fats have adverse effects. Dietary fats differ with regard to their effects on health and risk for chronic diseases, particularly in regard to effects on risk for heart disease.
Indeed, some nutrition experts now believe that certain types of dietary fat may even reduce cardiovascular risk. Some dietary fats may lower fats in the blood called triglycerides. They may also increase levels of HDL, or what is known as the “good” cholesterol, and reduce LDL-cholesterol, or the less healthy type of cholesterol, thus improving the HDL to total cholesterol ratio.
Also, many diet plans that do not strictly limit the total amount of dietary fat a person consumes have been associated with better diet satisfaction, weight loss, and preservation of muscle mass.
As a research professor in the field of nutrition and dietetics, I am convinced that findings from our work, along with other published current evidence, show that the concept that dietary fat is “toxic” is very much outdated and misguided.
Although there is conclusive evidence that one type of fat, trans fat, has no place in a healthy diet, it’s important to learn how to balance the other types of fats in the diet.
