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Experts: There's A Good Reason To Put Fat Back In Your Diet

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Low-fat, no fat -- you've had those drummed into your head so often that you probably think that's the only way to lose weight and be kind to your heart.

But lately, people have been going back to full-fat foods. As CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez explained, doctors agree with the trend -- sort of.

There are two reasons for the low-fat and non-fat diet recommendations. One is for heart health, and the other is for weight loss.

For years we've been told that the same foods are best for both goals. It turns out that might not be true.

Fat is high in calories -- very high, it's also what clogs our arteries. So why are so many people going in the other direction and putting fat back in their diets?

"I feel like low-fat food they take out the good fat in it, so I do mostly full-fat," Maria Batista said.

Diet experts say there's a good reason to put some fat back in our diets.

"Higher fat intake gives us a greater sense of fullness and you can cut down on consumption of starches and sweets," Dr. Louis Aronne, Weill Cornell Medicine said.

Dr. Aronne, an internationally known obesity expert said that eating somewhat less fat is a good way to lose weight for some people, but there's a problem.

"What are you going to substitute for the fat," he said, "If you substitute fat with starches and sugars, you're probably going to gain weight."

There's a better way to think of things.

"I don't think of it as low-fat, I think of it as good and bad fat," Lauren Prince said.

In fact, there are large studies that show people who ate diets very, very high in good fats -- olive oil and nuts -- actually lost weight, and reduced their risk for heart attack and stroke.

The critical factor is what you combine those good fats with.

"The lethal combo is fat plus carbs. So you can have protein and carbs, you can have protein and fat, but you can't have fat and carbs," Dr. Aronne said.

The more processed those carbs are -- white flour, white pasta, sugar, etc. -- the worse the combination for your heart and waist.

The bottom line; no one diet is best for everyone, if one doesn't work try a different one, and some fat is okay.

 

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