Good Fat, Low-Fat, No-Fat??????

"Good fat" vs. low-fat is an area of confusion for many. Should I eat low-fat or should I eat good fat?

One recent study shed some light on this topic. One group of women was placed on a low-fat diet and another was placed on a high "good fat" (monounsaturated) diet.

While both had similar weight-loss results, the "good-fat" group retained more lean body mass (good for long-term fat-burning) and had a better "good cholesterol" (HDL) number. Good HDL is considered helpful in preventing cardiovascular disease.

Take-home message? Good fats may help you maintain muscle even when losing weight. Since there was no specific exercise intervention used in this study, weight-training could preserve even more lean body mass while dieting than the good fat diet alone.

Clifton, et al., Very Low-Fat (12%) and High Monounsaturated Fat (35%) Diets Do Not Differentially Affect Abdominal Fat Loss in Overweight, Nondiabetic Women, The American Society for Nutritional Sciences J. Nutr. 134:1741-1745, July 2004