FACT OR FICTION? EATING LOW-FAT IS ALWAYS BEST - Printer Friendly

FACT OR FICTION? EATING LOW-FAT IS ALWAYS BEST

Lose your fat phobia and ask for some oil & avocado

By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Building your body is a 24-hours-a-day job: Everything you eat is in an effort to maximize muscle and minimize bodyfat. We're willing to guess that when you go out to dinner, your evening typically looks like this: When bread is brought to the table you eat yours plain, silently laughing at everyone who's dipping theirs in the plate of olive oil; you order your salad with fat-free dressing; and your main course is broiled fish or a grilled chicken breast - no butter or oil added - with a plain baked potato on the side. All in all, another successful night of dodging dietary bullets. But are low-fat meals like this one always best when dining out?

>> Verdict: Fiction

>> Solution: When you eat fast-digesting carbs such as bread and white potatoes, they cause the hormone insulin to spike. Sure, this anabolic hormone helps with muscle growth, but only when the muscles are primed for it, such as after workouts. When you're inactive, an insulin spike results in increased fat storage. What's an active woman to do? For starters, replace the fast-digesting carbs with slower-digesting ones, such as whole-wheat bread or a sweet potato. Another option is to skip the carbs altogether. Unless you're eating low-carb, however, that may not be the best option. Instead, the solution may be to just add some fat. Yes, fat.

Research from Australia reports that eating fats such as olive oil with or before a meal of fast-digesting carbs significantly slows the carbs' rate of digestion and keeps blood glucose and insulin levels lower. In addition, research from Iowa State University (Ames) reports that eating a salad with full-fat dressing increases absorption of critical phytonutrients much more than eating a salad with fat-free or reduced-fat dressing. It may take some retraining, but eating some |fat could do your body good.