Dr Trudi Deakin - Diabetes Specialist

"3 Reasons Why We Need To Bin Dietary Guidelines In Relation To Saturated Fat"

A growing body of evidence is turning the tide on the low-fat dietary advice. A vast collection of studies are changing the dieting landscape, as experts open their eyes to the real enemy targeting our waistlines - carbohydrates. Dietitian, Dr Trudi Deakin, has revealed her diet is 82 per cent fat - and claims she has never felt healthier.

Dr Deakin said: "Traditionally, the advice has been high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets are best. We should stop promoting carbohydrates in people with diabetes, I started being contacted by diabetic patients and GPs who had started a low-carb diet and found it to be successful."

"Despite that, patients told me their diabetes care team were still promoting a high-carb diet. GPs have been telling me for years they had seen patients coming through on a low-fat high-carb diet but complaining it wasn't helping them."

Insulin Encourages Weight Gain

Dietary carbohydrate is broken down into glucose. But for the body to be able to use glucose for energy, it has to pass from the blood into the body's cells. For that job the hormone insulin is needed.

Insulin acts as a key, fitting perfectly into the cell wall and unlocking the glucose, allowing it to leave the bloodstream and move into the cell to produce energy. But for those people who are insulin resistant, the 'key' doesn't quite fit.

'For people who are insulin resistant, their pancreas has to make extra insulin,' Dr Deakin, so it makes sense that someone who is insulin resistant, and therefore produces more of the hormone, will struggle to lose weight.

Benefits of Saturated Fats

“Dr Deakin stressed, a high-fat diet is not a green light to gorge on cakes, fast food and snacks as these are a combination of refined vegetable oils and carbs. It is about concentrating on incorporating REAL foods. Real foods contain natural stable healthy fats that haven’t been processed. ‘Yes, this does mean consuming more saturated fat but there is not one single piece of clinical evidence that demonstrates saturated fat increases a person's risk of heart disease or stroke,' Dr Deakin pointed out. 'It is a myth which started in the 1950s.

Dr Deakin, who has been following the diet since April 2014, said as well as not feeling hungry all the time, the plan has had other benefits. 'Previously I was always hungry,' she added. 'But now I'm never hungry – I don’t count calories but when I analysed my diet over an eight-week period, I found that on average I’m eating 25g carbs per day, over 150g fat and around 65g protein. 'I have never had a problem with my weight, but I did used to suffer IBS, bloating, wind, pain, PCOS but now all the symptoms have disappeared.’

Changed Her Own Diet

"My new diet is 82% FAT and I've never been healthier," dietitian claims - "Research shows it's carbs that fuelling the obesity and diabetes epidemic."

For years, dieters have been told that high-carb, low-fat is the key to weight loss, but a body of new evidence is turning the tide and changing the advice.

There is no evidence that saturated fat causes heart attack or stroke, she said.

“Natural healthy fats found in foods such as extra virgin olive oil, butter, lard, coconut oil, avocados, cheese and oily fish leaves you feeling fuller for longer and less inclined to snack”.

High-carb diet promotes the production of a weight-promoting hormone, insulin.

Excess carbs in the body are converted into fat which sits around your internal organs.

HOW TO ENJOY A HIGH-FAT DIET

Dr Deakin said she started 3 years ago but once she was fat adapted she no longer had the appetite to eat 3 meals per day. Now she only eats once or twice per day. Adopting a LCHF dietary approach naturally leads to intermittent fasting!

I find that interesting because about a year ago this was Trudi's regularly daily menu, that she found to be filling and full of variety. It's much like the menu I was eating six months ago. For me, lunch is becoming a non-event.

So this is still a useful guide how people begin on a LCHF diet. Begin with a good breakfast.
BREAKFAST: Three eggs cooked in the microwave with butter and cheese, like a souffle, served with oily fish - smoked salmon or mackerel - or avocado.
LUNCH: A bowl of berries with double cream or a homemade walnut scone, made with ground almonds rather than flour, served with double cream
DINNER: Meat or fish with a serving of vegetables cooked in butter

Low Carb Pilot study in a Hertfordshire GP surgery.

Dr Deakin said around 80 patients were given the choice of attending two educational sessions, one on a Wednesday, and the other on a Friday.

All those who opted for the mid-week session were taken through the low-carbohydrate high-fat approach. The individuals attending on Fridays were told to follow the standard dietary advice, where the emphasis is on eating more carbohydrates and opting for low-fat options.

Weight loss and waist circumference were recorded at six weeks.
The results, Dr Deakin said, were emphatic - a high-fat diet helps you lose weight faster than a low-fat alternative.

The Wednesday group had reduced their carbohydrate intake from 48 per cent of their daily calories, to 14 per cent. As a result, they had increased their fat intake as a percentage of their calories from 32 to 59. After six weeks, they had lost an average of 6lb (2.8kg) and their average waist circumference had fallen by 3.1cm.

In comparison, the group on a standard high-carb, low-fat diet, lost an average of 3.5lb (1.6kg) and 1.3cm from their waist measurement.

Weight loss and waist circumference at two months
The group eating a high-fat, low-carb diet lost on average 11lb (5kg) - while dropping 9.5cm from their waist circumference. 'Eating fat has a greater satiety value and so you feel fuller for longer and you don't have to eat as often.'

Meanwhile the group on the high-carb, low-fat plan only lost 1kg, and 0.1cm from their waists. When people try to lose weight on a high-carb diet is people give in because they feel hungry.