Until the popularity of eating fat as a way to lose weight swept the country, high- fat foods were avoided for all sorts of good reasons: too many calories, increased risk of heart disease, stroke and maybe even cancer. Then fatty foods hit the dieter’s plate and carbohydrates became the culprit, especially for people worried about diabetes associated with obesity. Now it looks like there is another good reason to avoid most fats: Saturated fats may damage insulin’s ability to function.

Bacon and other fatty meats, cheese, butter, cream and many other high-fat foods contain saturated fats. Canola oil, olive oil and fish oils contain unsaturated fats. Saturated fats are bad; unsaturated fats are good. The best kind of unsaturated fats is the omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. It is possible to buy these particular oils in pill form as supplements.

But even if you pop a couple of omega fatty acid pills once a day, if you eat mostly saturated fats and very little unsaturated, you won’t be getting enough benefits to override the negative effects of saturated fats. Now scientists think this may explain why people are developing type-2 diabetes in epidemic numbers. The reason involves the liver, fat and insulin.

Regardless of whether or not you eat carbohydrates, the liver produces glucose. After you eat, insulin turns off the liver’s glucose production. Insulin does not work very well in obese people; they often have something called insulin resistance. Consequently, more and more insulin has to be made to shut off the glucose being pumped out by the liver. Eventually, the demand for insulin outstrips the supply, and type-2 diabetes results. So many people assume that if they avoid carbohydrates, they have a good chance of avoiding developing type-2 diabetes.

While it is important to eat complex carbohydrates and avoid the sugary variety, it is also very important to avoid saturated fat. In an article in the October edition of Nature Medicine, scientists reported that when too much fat is eaten, some is stored in the liver. The liver then turns this fat into fat-like chemicals that may also cause insulin resistance. This insulin resistance leads to diabetes. According to the article, research is being done to prevent the liver from exacerbating insulin resistance. However, the answer may be years away.

Fortunately, there is a solution right at hand. Avoid eating saturated fat. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free dairy products, skinless chicken and very lean beef are good to eat along with oils like canola and olive oil. Your liver—and your scale—will thank you.

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written by Rob, December 12, 2007

What page of the October edition of Nature Medicine is the study you cite?

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written by Judy Wurtman, PhD, November 13, 2007

It is hard to stop eating fatty foods because many of them tend to taste better than low fat foods. Try to find lower fat substitutes such as reduced fat icecream, turkey bacon rather than real bacon, skinless chicken and crunchy foods that have a savory pleasing taste without the fat. Go to the supermarket and read labels. You will be amazed at the number of tasty foods which are now made with very little fat. Go spicy, n ot fatty when you go to a restaurant. Pasta tastes great without cream and lots of cheese if it has plenty of garlic and small amounts of good tasting olive oil. Baked potatoes do well with reduced fat sour cream and fresh dill rather than a large lump of butter. Mashed potatoes can be made with broth not butter and cream. Check out our book, the Serotonin Power diet and Platkin's book The Diet Detective's Calorie Bargain Bible, for more suggestions. And thanks for writing. Judy

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written by NICOLE, November 12, 2007

I STILL DON'T KNOW ENOUGH OR I DON'T HAVE THE WILL POWER TO STOP EATTING FATTY FOODS.SO WHAT IS A GOOD WAY TO EATTING THESE THINGS AND TAKE CONTROL