The truth about low-fat foods

The background to the low-fat food industry

Since the 1980s, there's been a boom in low-fat products, as many of us believed that to improve our health – especially heart health – we needed to reduce the amount of saturated fat in our diets. This was interpreted as cutting back on full-fat dairy foods, red meat and certain processed foods.

The food industry got to work replacing animal fats with unsaturated vegetable oils. Some of these changes involved altering the structure of the oil so it could be used in place of solid fats – this would extend shelf-life. A process called hydrogenation was used, which created a solid or semi-solid fat. The result was artificial trans fats that are cheap and stable at all temperatures.

Trans fats and health

Unfortunately, we now know these hydrogenated fats increase levels of dangerous trans fats which are both bad for the heart and our cholesterol. Although trans fats can be found at low levels in some natural foods, these man-made versions meant it was likely we were eating much more of them. Since learning of the dangers of trans fats, the food industry and UK supermarkets have been working to reduce them.

How to spot trans fats on a food label

You’ll typically find trans fats in packaged foods like margarines, cakes, doughnuts, pastries, ice cream, bread and fast foods.

Check the food label, and try to avoid those containing:

• hydrogenated oils
• partially hydrogenated oils
• mono and diglycerides of fatty acids.
  

Unpackaged foods, such as those from a restaurant or takeaway, are not required to list their ingredients, so it’s best to limit your consumption.

Low-fat foods are often high in sugar

As well as altering the oils, manufacturers increased the amount of sugar in low-fat products so that we continued to enjoy their taste and texture. All of this meant that the typical low-fat product tended to be high in carbs, might contain trans fats and, at the end of the day, had a very similar calorie count to the original product.

In fact, when we eat foods high in carbs, especially white refined ones, our bodies digest them more quickly. This can lead to blood sugar swings and cravings, making it more difficult to control how many calories we eat. A diet too high in refined carbs and sugars can be healthy because it increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and causes high cholesterol levels.

Good fats vs bad fats

We need some fat in our diet, not least because it makes our food palatable and tasty. Nutritionally, fats do more than simply supply calories. Certain fats, like those in nuts, seeds and oily fish provide essential fatty acids (including the omega-3 variety).

These essential fats are important for maintaining healthy blood vessels, making hormones and for the correct functioning of our nervous system. The fat in our diet also helps us absorb certain at-soluble ones vitamins, which include A, D, E and K. Following a very low-fat diet makes you more likely to be low in these vitamins and as a result may impact immunity, limit the body's ability to heal and have an influence on bone health.

Instead focus on the healthier fats by including more fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils including avocado and olive.

How to include healthy fats in your diet

• Eat more fish, nuts and seeds – for example, choose smoked salmon instead of bacon for a weekend brunch, and snack on unsalted nuts rather than crisps.
• Trim visible fat from meat.
• Include fermented dairy such as yogurt, kefir and cheese.
• Check labels on packaged food products.
• Replace spreads with cold-pressed unsaturated oils, like walnut or pumpkin, for dipping and use these for salad dressings and drizzles.
• Limit frying – instead, steam, bake, poach or grill.
• Replace mayo with plain yogurt – just add a squeeze of lemon juice and some mixed herbs, chives work well.
• Make chips by baking chunky cut potato wedges with a drizzle of cold-pressed rapeseed oil and a sprinkle of paprika.

So, is fat bad for you?

After decades of misinformation, fat is now recognised as an important component of a healthy, balanced diet. Current recommendations are that total fat should contribute no more than 35% of your daily calorie intake. Ideally, focus on food sources including oily fish such as salmon, nuts, seeds and fermented dairy such as yogurt and kefir. That said, not all fats are equally healthy, and you should aim to limit your consumption of artificial trans fats. While countries such as Denmark, Switzerland and Austria have gone one further and banned these fats, the UK has chosen to adopt the approach of allowing food manufacturers to reduce their use on a voluntary basis, this means as a consumer you need to remain vigilant.

Enjoyed this? Now read:

How much fat should I eat each day?
Is saturated fat bad for you?
10 ways to lower cholesterol
Is a low-fat diet healthy?

This article was last reviewed on 6th June 2024 by Kerry Torrens.

Kerry Torrens is a qualified Nutritionist (MBANT) with a post graduate diploma in Personalised Nutrition & Nutritional Therapy. She is a member of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and a member of the Guild of Food Writers. Over the last 15 years she has been a contributing author to a number of nutritional and cookery publications including BBC Good Food.

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