Are low-fat diet foods really healthier?

The diet industry is growing as more and more people struggle with maintaining a healthy weight. Whether you turn on the TV, walk down your supermarket isle or are browsing online, you cannot help but be bombarded by low-fat, “lite” and diet products. But are they really as healthy as they appear?\n\nFat isn’t necessarily the enemy when it comes to weight management. Eating a little of it helps you to feel full, and it is also what makes a lot of foods so enjoyable to eat - the food industry calls this quality “mouth feel”. Healthy fats are a vital part of your diet and they contain essential nutrients. Fat also performs another important function: it can actually help manage your blood sugar levels. Adding some butter to a potato or cheese to a slice of toast slows down the rate at which the carbohydrates are converted to sugar and released into your blood stream.\n\nNevertheless, over the last 25 years we’ve seen low fat diets become increasingly popular, and food manufacturers have enthusiastically responded to this demand. Consumers asked for low fat versions of their favourite foods, so companies squeezed out as much oil as possible. Unfortunately, the end result was a product that had poor flavour and texture. The solution? Replace the fat with sugar! Don’t believe us? Next time you’re in the supermarket, compare the sugar and carb contents of the low-fat alternative to the original and you will be shocked.\n\nLow-fat foods are lower in both fat and calories, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for you! A good example of this is the low fat, fruit-flavoured yoghurt – a staple amongst the followers of low fat diets. Without the fat from the milk, the added sugar from the yoghurt quickly causes a blood sugar spike. Not only does this increase appetite later on, but it’s also bad news for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes. A healthier alternative would be a full fat Greek yoghurt, with some fresh, seasonal berries and a natural flavoured sweetener (like our Flavoured Liquid Stevia SweetDrops). The fat content means that the energy from the yoghurt and fruit is released slowly, and it will also keep you fuller for longer.\n\nMany health and fitness experts now agree that you are better off having a small amount of normal full fat foods than the processed high-sugar, low-fat versions.\n\nFor more information about why fat is vital, how low-fat foods can make you fat, and healthy & tasty sugar alternatives, check out the book "Eat Fat, Be Thin" by Andi Lew and Dr Natalie Kringoudis, for whom we are official sponsors.\n\n