Hygienist dispelled myths about the unprecedented benefits of low-fat foods

March 28, MINSK. Inna Bordadyn, a doctor-hygienist of the food hygiene department of the Gomel Regional Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public HEALTH, explained to BELTA the features of fat-free products.

Some buyers, among the abundance of products on the shelves and showcases, prefer low-fat products. “Their benefits are significant, especially for overweight people. After a month of eating food with a moderate amount of fat, a person’s blood SUGAR levels decrease, blood pressure normalizes, weight decreases, and body tone increases,” said the hygienist.

However, there are several significant disadvantages of fat-free products. Not everyone pays attention to the fact that their calorie content does not differ much from a regular product. “After all, the manufacturer increases it by adding carbohydrates. And psychologically, a person is tuned to the fact that the product is fat-free, and allows himself to eat more,” Inna Bordadyn explained.

Another important nuance: the taste of low-fat products is pale and inexpressive. Manufacturers compensate for the lack of taste with sweeteners, flavor enhancers and other additives. "Producers give a special place to trans fats, which are formed during heating, hydrogenation of fats. They are added to fat-free products in order to increase shelf life, improve their taste and appearance. Therefore, the so-called light mayonnaises, spreads are products with trans fats that are alien to our body and leading to metabolic disorders. It is they that provoke various pathologies of the body, "the specialist explained.

Fat-free foods contain much less valuable micronutrients than regular foods. Whole MILK saturates the body with vitamins E, A, D, which are absorbed through fats. Calcium is essential for healthy bones, nails, teeth and hair. If almost all fat is removed from the dairy product, fat-soluble vitamins and microelements are poorly broken down, and therefore are absorbed worse. Calcium from fat-free foods is not fully absorbed by the body. By eating fat-free or low-fat foods, a person deprives himself of vitamin D, which not only gives the skin a healthy look, but also prevents calcium from being washed out of the bones.

Nutritionists remind that the full absorption of vitamins and other nutrients depends on the balance of these substances in the body. Fats are necessary for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, so completely "fat-free" your diet is simply dangerous.

Experts emphasize: fat-free foods are not suitable for all people. “For example, for the full development of children, animal fats are simply necessary. For a growing body, it is more useful to eat ordinary foods in sufficient quantities for it. It is also better for pregnant and lactating women to take care not about low fat, but about natural nutrition,” the center drew attention.