You want to make healthy choices. You don’t always have time to cook. So, when possible, you choose the low fat or fat free varieties of your favorite packaged foods. Less fat must be healthier, right?
That’s not necessarily true. Often low fat or no fat is code for high salt or high sugar. The simple truth is that fat makes food taste good. When the fat is left out of processed foods, the taste takes a nosedive. To make the foods taste good again, the manufacturers add sugar and salt. If you’re thinking that fat is the enemy, think again.
Fat is not the enemy. In fact, your body uses fat to provide energy, cushion your organs and absorb necessary vitamins from the foods you eat.
The problem begins with processed foods that claim to be healthier for you because they have less fat than their full fat counterparts. Have you inspected the package labels on some of these foods? Often, the low fat varieties have more calories and sodium than their full fat versions because the fats are replaced with sugars and salt. Another issue with eating low fat foods is that you tend to eat more of them since they seem to be healthier.
That feels like a nasty trick. Could you really be eating more calories in these foods that are specifically labeled to seem like healthy choices?
While we’re talking about sugar, when fats are replaced with sugar or artificial sweeteners, your mouth gets used to those flavors which tend to be much sweeter than foods found in nature. For example, when you choose yogurt with fruit on the bottom, the syrupy sweetness of that fruit is several times sweeter than adding the actual fruit to plain yogurt. Your taste buds are trained to crave sweeter foods so that real fruit and other naturally sweet foods no longer seem sweet enough.
Another issue is that sugar provides little nutritional value. Yes, it’s used by your body for energy, but when you overeat, your body stores the excess sugars as fat in exactly the places where you don’t want it – hips, thighs and belly. When sugars are used to replace the flavors lost by removing fat from processed foods, your caloric intake can skyrocket and lead to excess weight and often to other health concerns, including diabetes.
And then there’s the salt. Eating foods high in salt is linked to high blood pressure. Having high blood pressure often leads to heart attacks and strokes. In the quest for making healthier choices by picking up the low fat options, you’re causing hidden harms to your body that can lead to lasting troubles.
We’re all for eating foods that are naturally low in fat or fat free such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. There’s a lot of research explaining why lean cuts of meats are better for you than cuts containing higher fat quantities. That doesn’t mean that you should cut out all fats. Eggs, dairy, fatty fish, avocados and nuts contain healthy fats which make them great choices to include in your diet.
Try to choose mainly foods that are naturally low in fat or that contain healthy fats, and when it’s time for a treat, enjoy a serving of the full fat version.
What do you snack on? Tell us in the comments section!
