MYTH
2- A LOW-FAT DIET WILL PREVENT HEART DISEASE
The Origin
In the 1940s, heart disease was the top killer in the United States. To identify the causes, many studies were launched, including the landmark Framingham Heart Study and the Seven Countries Study. The latter examined risk factors across cultures and linked diets high in saturated fat to heart disease. The American Heart Association endorsed the findings and sounded the alarm on saturated fat. Companies responded with low-fat processed foods. Belief in the heart-healthy benefits of a low-fat diet still persists today, even though heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the nation.
The Truth
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent trying to replicate the Seven Countries finding, without success. In fact, the study’s methodology has come into question. In November, new research in The Lancet spanning 18 countries across five continents concluded that “total fats and types of fat were not associated with cardiovascular disease.” Ironically, reaction to that original flawed science turned out to be the real killer. Since low-fat food is bland, food producers added sugar. We now know that sugar is extremely harmful to health. According to a 2014 JAMA Internal Medicine study, people who get 25 percent or more of their daily calories from added sugar are more than twice as likely to die of heart disease as those who get 10 percent or less. And that’s regardless of age, sex, physical activity, and body mass index.
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