Tonight: Fat: The Healthy Option?
It was once joked that the UK is the ‘fat man of Europe’. As a nation, obesity affects 1 in 4 people in the UK. Levels have trebled in the last 30 years and it’s estimated that could double again. By 2050, half of us could be obese.
Not to take that laying down, people are in a near constant battle of the bulge with nearly two thirds of us on a diet most of the time. The common enemy? Fat. It clogs your arteries and sticks to your hips.
But is it time we started changing our thinking? Could fat be more friend than foe?
But is it time we started changing our thinking? Could fat be more friend than foe?
One day coconut oil is said to be a miracle food, the next day it’s just another fat. Sometimes we’re told butter is better, the next day the message is to eat low-fat spread. And should we really be having avocados with practically every meal?
We’re also told that all fats are not created equal. Fish oil is a good fat, essential to our health, and saturated fats - which we’ve traditionally been told to avoid - are more complicated when they appear in dairy foods.
Professor Ian Givens from the University of Reading told Tonight:
Reading University’s Centre for Dairy Research have found a way to reduce the unhealthy saturated fat in milk, while still retaining its goodness.
By adding a good fat: rapeseed oil, to the cow’s diet, they’ve been able to reduce the proportion of saturated fat in their milk - from 70% of total fat, to 50%.
Professor Chris Reynolds told Tonight:
While at Imperial College London, Dr Tony Goldstone has found that no matter how hard we try, there are some foods we just can’t resist. His study found that brains light up when participants saw foods with a specific mix of fat, salt and sugar.
Dieting makes cravings worse.
Dr Goldstone is using his findings to develop a hormone which will stop those intense cravings, making it easier to lose weight.
With all the confusion about what to eat and what to avoid, can fat ever be healthy for us?
The healthy fat is the fat found in natural foods, like oily fish, eggs and avocado with a little bit of dairy thrown in.
And beware of food containing fat, sugar and salt- particularly too much saturated fat - which can cause weight gain and can also lead to heart disease.
See more at 7:30pm on Thursday 14th September on ITV as Catherine Tyldesley reports on Fat: The Healthy Option?
Let us know your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #ITVTonight
Useful links:
NHS Fat - The Facts
Imperial University Obesity Study
Tower Hamlets Food For Health - advice for takeaway owners
British Dietetic Association - Fat Factsheet