The Low Fat Diet. It's a Loser and Not in a Good Way

The Friday Eve Morning Numbers:

• Fasting Blood Glucose Level:  96 mg/dl.  Makes my morning mood. 
• Weight: 190ish lbs. 
• Exercise:  45 minutes.  A tad nippy, but tolerable for a ride this morning. 
• Mood:  8.5.  Any reading below 100 mg/dl is good. 

The  Friday Eve Menu:

• Breakfast:  Last of the tofu and kale quiche and a fruit salad of bananas, Texas's own Rio Star ruby red grapefruit and red grapes. 
• Lunch:  A hummus plate with vegetables and one whole wheat pita bread round.
• Dinner:  Pizza, one slice,  and a salad.  Project Runway All Stars tonight with model whose legs are nearly as good as Heidi Klum's.  
• Snacks: Some almonds and some Stacy's Pita Bread Chips and not too many of those.

Fat. It Does a Body Good, More or Less.

Low fat was considered the way to go for a long time to lose weight, lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good cholesterol.  Now not so much.  In a three way race, the low fat diet came in last at lowering cholesterol.  The final standings:

1.  The Mediterranean diet
2. A diet containing a "portfolio" of foods known to lower cholesterol
3. The low fat diet.

The really funny thing about this is that the number one diet, the Mediterranean diet, does not really exist.  There is no such diet.  It's just a list of foods typically eaten in Mediterranean countries. It consist mostly of eating lots of fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, seeds and nuts.

You know, low fat stuff with lots of fiber, what your mother told you to mostly eat.

Animal protean, mostly from poultry, fish and eggs were limited to one serving per day along with limited amounts of cheese or yogurt.  Red meat was limited.  Up to 40% of the calories could come from olive oil and the occasional glass of red wine was included.  Since the research showing that resveratrol, the key good ingredient in red wine, was mostly made up, I guess it was mostly used to brighten the day.

The number two diet was eating a portfolio of foods believed to lower cholesterol.  From the article:

"The portfolio approach begins with a basic heart-healthy diet (plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; daily low-fat dairy; and limited red meat and other sources of saturated fat). To it are added four types of food that have been shown to lower cholesterol: oats, barley, eggplant, okra, and psyllium; tofu, soy milk, or other soy foods; walnuts, peanuts, almonds, and other nuts; and margarine made with plant sterols or stanols (such as Promise activ, Benecol, or Smart Balance HeartRight Buttery Spreads)."

To my very untrained mind in these matters, the first two are pretty similar.  The article does not say what exactly was in the low fat diet. Must have foods low in fat and high in sugar.  That is my guess.