Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Time to stop teaching the low fat lie
All my life, I was brainwashed into believing that the way to stay fit and healthy was to eat less fat. It started in school, where I was taught the federal government’s food pyramid and reinforced by the surgeon general and loads of other government programs and initiatives.
As I gained weight, I fell on and off the wagon but mostly when I tried to diet I did what I had always been told — I cut my fat intake. And instead, I ate more bread, and crackers and pretzels and pasta. I drank more skim milk and orange juice, drinks I had been told from an early age were “good for me” because they were low fat and natural.
Instead of getting healthier, I continued to gain weight and feel worse and worse every day. Then I discovered the Atkins diet. Following it, I lost 50 pounds and saw my blood cholesterol and triglycerides dramatically improve. And I just felt so much better day-to-day.
This taught me first, that different diets work for different people. And then I got angry that I had been repeatedly taught that the only way, or at least the best way, to be healthy was the low fat way.
So today, the big news is the results of a huge study that shows low fat diets do little to protect against diseases like heart disease or stoke and also have minimal effect on weight control.
Now every study has its weaknesses and this one, while very convincing because of its size and scope, is not the last word on low fat diets either. But this and other research I think have raised enough question about the low fat way that perhaps it’s time we stop preaching it to our kids as the only healthy way, through our schools and with force of federal support.
For me, the low fat lie was detrimental to my health for the 15 years it took before I found the diet that was right for me. I hope tomorrow’s kids are taught about all the options and theories of health and diet so they too might find what works for them.
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