Food, fads and moderation

Is it OK now to eat piles of butter and bacon or lots of chips and ice cream? The message in the media is that it could well be - after studies found no obvious link between saturated fats and heart disease.

What a turnaround that would be from the advice of recent decades. How nice it would be to lather rich butter on to sandwiches without a twinge of concern or a smidgen of worry about hardened arteries.

It seems, though, that what the recent studies might say is being misinterpreted. Both the Heart Foundation and Prof Jim Mann, a leading world authority from the University of Otago, say the go ahead has definitely not been given to gorging on animal fat.

The Ministry of Health public health principal adviser Harriette Carr, meanwhile, has said ''the few'' recent studies endorsing high saturated fat diets did not counter the ''wealth of counter evidence''.

While the Heart Foundation recognises some studies fail to confirm the tie up between saturated fats and heart disease, it is what is eaten instead of the saturated fats that can matter. If the replacement is lots of refined carbohydrates - like white flour or sugar - then these generate their own problems.

Large quantities of ''fast carbs'' cause issues, and they certainly do nothing for obesity, a major and growing problem in this country.

What the Heart Foundation continues to recommend is replacing saturated with unsaturated fat - nuts, avocados, oily fish, vegetable oils and the like. It has come to be recognised the body does, indeed, need fat and that the super low fat diets of recent times were potentially harmful. These unsaturated fats are actually good for the heart.

What has not changed over decades is the basic advice from dietitians: moderation and variety, plenty of fruit and vegetables, mostly minimally processed foods. These and the reduced fat dairy options and lean meat are still preferred as the best way of eating for a healthy heart.

Debate about nutrition is good for awareness about diet. And conventional wisdom and current knowledge must always be up for challenge. That should be the nature of scientific method and evidence based research in this and in other areas.

In fact, there have been modifications in advice over the years. Once it was thought more than about an egg a day might be bad for us, this changing as understanding about good and bad cholesterol grew. Knowledge has also increased into the importance of good fats.

While animals are the main source of saturated fats, there are also plants that contain substantial amounts, notably coconut. The fad of recent times to substitute coconut oil for other oils is not recommended.

There are other drawbacks to saturated fats. Many foods high in saturated fats - similar to foods high in refined sugar - are energy rich but nutrient poor, in other words empty or near empty calories. As well, the consumption of saturated fats could well mean fewer of the ''healthy'' fats are eaten.

It is also being recognised that people react to different foods in divergent ways. As well as wide individual variations, even within families, this might be related to age, ethnicity or gender.

Of course, fundamentally, food does not have morals and is not intrinsically ''bad''. It is simply some foods are more nourishing and lead to healthier outcomes.

The Heart Foundation and most dietary advice recommend avoiding the latest fads and going to extremes.

There is scope for enjoying butter, bacon, ice cream and chips. It is just that it would be foolish to pretend they are healthy foods or to eat them often or in large amounts and displace other more nutritious foods.

That message about moderation and variety is encouraging and has not changed. It continues to stand the test of time.

 

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