They told us that the number of calories was less important than where the calories came from. They also told us that fat is evil and that fried foods are our foes. Turns out that both of those bits of advice may have been less than accurate!
Recent research published in the British Medical Journal, has suggested that it isn’t all fried food that is bad, what may be more important is the type of oil used and whether the oil has been used before.
Spanish researchers found that it wasn’t thefatty or fried food itself that increase risk of coronary heart disease, but the cooking medium or oil that was used to fry that food.
Even those who ate fatty food, were seen to be less at risk when they consumed food cooked in sunflower or olive oil.
People with Mediterranean diets use a lot of ‘fresh’ olive oil and sunflower oil which is what makes them better. On the other hand, diets that include American style takeaways are far less healthy because the food is cooked in oil that is reused and which may have higher proportions of trans fats.
There is also the fact that such fast foods contain a lot of salt, which is another risk factor for heart disease risk and blood pressure.
Meanwhile another study, this one conducted by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana found that strict proportions of fat, protein and carbs aren’t as important for weight loss as thought earlier.
It is the number of calories rather than the source of calories that may be more important for those who are looking to lose weight.
Researchers found that cutting the total number of calories and sticking to the lower calorie program or adherence are the two factors that are more important for those looking to lose weight.
Christopher Gardner, a Stanford University professor is of the view that you can suit yourself – whether you prefer a low fat diet or a low carbs diet, both are likely to be as successful. What is more important than this is that anyone looking to lose weight should choose a diet that they are more likely to stick to.
This increases the chances not only of losing weight in the first place but also of keeping the weight off. It is regaining weight that is seen to defeat most weight loss programs in the longer run.
