Low-carb high-fat (LCHF) is no longer just a passing trend, Sweden has become the first Western nation to develop new dietary guidelines that reject the popular low-fat diet, in favour of LCHF.
Why the big change?
After a 2-year study which focused on dietary treatment for obesity and diabetes, the Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment dropped a massive bombshell: they turned around and advocated a LCHF diet, not a low-fat diet, as the best weapon against obesity. And what makes it even more surprising is that some of the doctors who made up the committee of 10 experts were sceptic about the LCHF diet when they started out.
So what did they find from the study?*
- A greater increase in HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) without any negative effects LDL cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol). This applied to both a moderate low-carb (less than 40%) and a strict low-carb intake (less than 20%)
- The stricter LCHF diet lead to improved glucose levels and lower triglyceride levels for people suffering from obesity and diabetes
- They also discovered that butter, olive oil, heavy cream, and bacon aren’t harmful foods, and that fat (the right kind of course) is actually good for people wanting to lose weight.
- Very importantly, they also found that there was NO connection between a high fat intake and heart disease.
*These highlights were published on DietDoctor.com – the highest ranked health blog in Scandinavia, run by Swedish doctor Andreas Eenfeldt.
The LCHF diet has been around for a while, but it’s gained increasing popularity over the past year or so. What’s your take on it?
Read more about LCHF on the Hello Doctor blog.
Read more about the story: Sweden becomes first western nation to reject low-fat diet dogma in favour of low-carb high-fat nutrition.