Which is better, a low-fat/high-carbohydrate diet or a high-fat/low-carbohydrate diet — or is it the type of fat that matters? In a new paper featured on the cover of Science magazine’s special issue on nutrition, researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, and colleagues with diverse expertise and perspectives on the issues laid out the case for each position and came to a consensus, sort of.
See, the researchers agreed that no specific fat to carbohydrate ratio is best for everyone, and that an overall high-quality diet that is low in sugar and refined grains will help most people maintain a healthy weight and low chronic disease risk. Which means that they decided not to take sides, instead opting to rise above the fray. “This is a model for how we can transcend the diet wars,” said lead author David Ludwig, professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Chan School and a physician at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Our goal was to assemble a team with different areas of expertise and contrasting views, and to identify areas of agreement without glossing over differences.”
Ugh! Should we be doing Paleo, Atkins, Raw Foods, Ketogenic, or Mediterranean? Should we be counting calories, carbs, or points? Should we be juice cleansing, sucking down lemon and cayenne pepper, or getting a weekly enema? We want answers!
The authors of the study did outline the evidence for three contrasting positions on dietary guidelines for fat and carbohydrate consumption:
* High consumption of fat causes obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and possibly cancer, therefore low-fat diets are optimal.
* Lower-carbohydrate or ketogenic (very low-carbohydrate) diets with high fat content are better for health.
* The relative quantity of dietary fat and carbohydrate has little health significance — what’s important is the type of fat or carbohydrate source consumed. For example, processed carbohydrates have negative effects on metabolism.
These experts ALL agreed that by focusing on diet quality — replacing saturated or trans fats with unsaturated fats and replacing refined carbohydrates with whole grains and nonstarchy vegetables — most people can maintain good health within a broad range of fat-to-carbohydrate ratios.
So, eat healthy and with moderation? What kind of sensible diet advice is that?
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