the recent post from BHF itself included a link to some summer recipes. The first couple I looked at mentioned “low fat” ingredients.
My personal view is that “fat-free” and “low fat” should not be part of anyone’s diet, especially those of us with cardiovascular problems.
We should be eating natural foods. If a manufacturer removes fat, it has to include additives to make the product taste good. If you look at the ingredients of “low fat Greek yoghurt” it contains things that you would not have in your kitchen. And if I wouldnt have them in my kitchen they should not form part of my heart-healthy diet.
who agrees with me?
Written by
Happyrosie
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You are correct, a lot of low fat and fat free things are full of all sorts of stuff you don't want to be eating. It annoyed me the other week when M&S got some award or other for their "treat yourself" range of foods, they are full of crap! (the foods I mean) (Well and M&S).
I agree with you. I go for small amounts of "normal" ingredients, ie not low-fat. Fat in moderation is an essential part of one's diet. I do try to avoid trans-fats.
I use an app on my phone called Yuka. Scan the bar code on most products, not just food, and it gives you a list of ingredients and ranks the product out of 100.
You’ll be surprised at the rubbish in many foods that are labelled as “good” for you. It has changed my habits.
It is a free app, or ±£12 a year for the paid version - worth every penny.
(You’ll be surprised by the various chemicals in ordinary every day things such as shower gel, deodorants and make up)
I disagree . My natural strained Greek yoghurt doesn’t contain anything untoward .bits real Greek yoghurt , not Greek Style yoghurt . Maybe make better choices of what you’re buying ? I think we are aware that fat free flavoured yoghurts are processed to taste nice. I just don’t eat them . Low fat can be part of anyone’s diet if appropriate. It may help with create a calorie deficit thereby helping with weight loss etc. I love skimmed milk too, nothing added to it, just fat away.
2% turkey mince, low fat , nothing added .. loads of foods out there that are naturally low fat and not ultra processed . 👍🏻
I just eat a breakfast that contains a spread of nutrients , carbs , proteins and fats , no doubt similar calories to billet coffee. For me , that’s really enjoyable , satiating and sociable and sustainable. Butter on bread 👍🏻 and I don’t mind a plant sterol on bread , I make my own bread 👍🏻. Take a low dose statin and got all my stats in an excellent place for LDL , HDL , cholesterol etc. I had nstemi part July ❤️, blocked LAD and 3 others 🤦🏼, had quadruple CABG on 25th July 2023, my rebirth . I’ve got one job to do and that’s keep my new pipes clear. Mediterranean type diet and cutting UPFs as much as possible while still enjoying socials and life. The science isn’t strong enough me , neither the desire for keto or any extreme nonsense. I’m doing very well as I’m sure you are 👊🏻. Plenty more f natural low fat choices out there , plenty of low fat choices that are not so natural too , but they still have their place and can benefit many in other ways. Remember, this is a heart forum , we need all the help we can get and I’ll stick with the tried and tested until the science / natural physiology/biology indicates otherwise.. Jeep on keeping on 👍🏻👊🏻
I think you are agreeing with us. What DWizza was saying, and so do I, is that “low-fat” usually means additives. So DWizza eats Greek yog. You eat butter. I eat both!
Low fat often equals lots of sugar, lots of additoves and no taste. Similarly lots of prepared meals that claim to be healthy aren't. Look at the ingredients list of many ready to go Vegan meals. Horrible stuff.
We don't use as many herbs or spices as we ought to in meals, which add lots of flavour.
I read a book in the seventies or eighties which looked at the British diet before, during and after the war. Over the population as a whole the wartime diet improved the populations general health. Many people grew their own. Yes there was a lot of sugar and fat available with ration coupons (if you could get the food: sometimes there was nothing in the shops) but otherwise healthy.
We need fat. But just not the wrong kind of fat. We do not need the additives, so the way to go is to eat real food not manufactured. Even biscuits (nowadays) probably have additives - I don’t really know cos I don’t eat them……. As for the vegan diet - that’s fine as long as you don’t eat pretend meat.
the book “the great plant-based con” is an eye-opener.
Yes, I read that last year, very interesting, as was "ultra Processed people."
As a life long vegetarian I am completely baffled as to why food makers have gone for meat flavoured burgers and sausages etc. The ingredients are usually simply awful as well.
One way of ensuring you minimise a diet loaded with additives is to prepare your own from scratch, when you know what has gone into the meal. Unfortunately for many the time to do this is at premium, so the solution is to buy ready made, pre-prepared ingredients or even whole meals and take-aways, which have become a huge growth industry in recent decades.People who buy their food this way haven't got the time or the inclination to study labels, so it its a done deal for them irrespective of any consequences. One example is the nation's increasing appetite for curries, and as a result we now have all sorts of time saving prepared sauces in jars and packets, which were not much in evidence 15 years ago and certainly earlier, rather than people making their own from scratch, as I do, using the the basic ingredients.
I do hear people say they live busy lives and don't have time for proper food and meal preparation. I have no idea what it is that is more important to them than their health.
I could be wrong: but the food industry is very powerful. When the government suggests a little tweak to the law, so that obese kids have less processed food, the food industry comes out with all guns blazing. I suspect that they say they support charities?
I’ve learnt so much about eating healthy by watching all Michael Mosley programmes and reading his books. You can’t trust labels on food from shops they have a way of misleading the way they are written and the charts which was shown on a horizon programme. Eat whole fresh foods like vegetables, salmon and other fish or fresh/frozen fruit and drink plenty of filtered water and milk (I don’t drink animal milk though), fresh fruit drinks. Salads with goat cheese and make a honey sauce yourself and extra virgin olive oil. Organic eggs and homemade omelettes. Sour bread, Yogurts. Unsalted nuts. There are so many good food choices without buying a can or packet. When I go on holiday it’s more difficult as you can’t always know what they add in a restaurant but I always choose the healthiest meals and I do have a treat when on holiday. I recommend everyone to read Michael Mosley books I was so upset when I heard he had died. He reversed his diabetes and I’ve come down from Hb1Ac 44 to 38! Just by following his book. If I haven’t got sweet processed things in the house then I don’t eat them so there isn’t any temptation. I think the main thing is to not over eat only eat what your body needs. X
Odd, my low-fat and fat-free yogurts just have low-fat or fat-free milk in them. No weird ingredients or flavorings. I agree we need a bit of healthy fat in our diets, but the only place I see “weird” ingredients is in processed food, snacks, chips and such.
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