Why are low fat versions bad?

[DevaMajka]

I recall reading that low fat versions of naturally high fat foods are bad (ie skim milk, lowfat yogurt, etc). I try to only consume the normal versions, but I don't really remember *why* they are better.

[zinemama]

I can't imagine why the things you mentioned would be bad.

There are plenty of nasty "diet" products out there that are technically low calorie (diet coke, etc) that are bad. Or "lowfat" ice cream that's loaded with sugar. But plain yogurt made with lowfat milk? I can't see how that could be bad for you.

[JamieCatheryn]

Fat isn't evil and "eat fat" doesn't necessarily = "get fat" the way many dietitians assume it does. Good things like certain vitamins are found in fat, and it makes you feel full and the energy lasts. Lowfat dairy has dry milk added to thicken it, and dry oxidized milk is terrible for cholesterol. My policy is that the whole food is probably in correct proportions without tampering with it.

[katelove]

They aren't always bad but often the fat is replaced with something else to improve the taste, fat = flavour, and that something is often sugar. Especially in the case of dairy products. So you're better off looking at the overall calorie count rather than fat content if your goal is to reduce calories.

Also most of the research shows that when people see something labeled "low fat" they give themselves permission to consume more of it thereby consuming more calories in the long run.

Another issue people may have with low fat products is the extra processing which takes the product further from it's original, natural state.

And then there are the fat soluble vitamins which will be less available in a low fat product.

There may be other reasons but they're the ones I can think of, off the top of my head.

[pawlaa]

I read somewhere (and I can't remember where either) that when you consume a milk product that has the fat taken out results in your body getting tricked. The milk is not meant to be digested without its fat version and therefore is harder for the body to digest. As a result, the body doesn't know quite what to do it with it and stores it as fat.

So, you can actually lose more weight by eating a full fat version.

Is this what you were thinking of?

[kjbrown92]

I've heard that about sugar-free food where your body is tricked, but not about lowfat food. I think it was the Nina Planck book, Good Food, Bad Food that explained it well. And it was about how that takes all the nutrients out of the food that occur naturally, and then they put fake vitamins etc. back in. I'm obviously not saying it the way she did. But that was a really good book about a lot of things!

[DevaMajka]

Thanks everyone!
I think it's a combo of a few things mentioned. I think it had something to do with the body being "tricked" like mentioned above. These reasons sound familiar:

Originally Posted by katelove

Another issue people may have with low fat products is the extra processing which takes the product further from it's original, natural state.

And then there are the fat soluble vitamins which will be less available in a low fat product.

Originally Posted by pawlaa

I read somewhere (and I can't remember where either) that when you consume a milk product that has the fat taken out results in your body getting tricked. The milk is not meant to be digested without its fat version and therefore is harder for the body to digest. As a result, the body doesn't know quite what to do it with it and stores it as fat.

So, you can actually lose more weight by eating a full fat version.

Is this what you were thinking of?

These are what I was sort of already thinking. But what doesn't really make sense to me is that people aren't meant to drink cow's milk in the first place. So it wouldn't really make sense that our bodies would need cow's milk to be in it's original state to be digested properly. hmmm...

[ParisApril]

I like to eat all foods in as close to their natural form as I can get. Raw milk, yogurt and cheeses. No added ingredients please.

Originally Posted by DevaMajka

But what doesn't really make sense to me is that people aren't meant to drink cow's milk in the first place. So it wouldn't really make sense that our bodies would need cow's milk to be in it's original state to be digested properly. hmmm...

Why aren't people meant to be drinking cow's milk? Cows have been domesticated for at least 5000 years now.

[DevaMajka]

Well, perhaps we've adapted to drinking cow's milk. But it's not meant for people to consume- it's meant for baby cows, kwim? The same way that people milk is intended for baby people.

I guess this line of thought starts with an assumption that there is such a thing as something we were originally meant to consume, which I guess necessitates a thought that some intelligent creator intended it to be so. Which I'm not sure if I believe that way or not. lol. If there was no intelligent creator designating foods which we are to consume, then it all boils down to what we've adapted to eating, I suppose. I guess I'll have to ponder that...

One could also argue that cows or chickens are not intended for people to eat, in that the original purpose of muscle is to help the animal stay alive/move/ function. And that fruit isn't intended for people to eat- the original purpose is to spread seeds to grow more fruit. And so on. So...hmmm...

Thought provoking, at least for me.

[Magelet]

But what doesn't really make sense to me is that people aren't meant to drink cow's milk in the first place. So it wouldn't really make sense that our bodies would need cow's milk to be in it's original state to be digested properly. hmmm...

Milk is very rich in fat soluble vitamins. without the fat, your body can't digest those vitamins, or can't digest them as well, because they aren't soluble in water. (actually, I think though I'm not sure that skim milk and low fat milk don't even have the healthy fat soluble vitamins like a and d that are naturally in grass-fed whole milk, and that's why they add synthetic versions back in? though maybe the reason is because there isn't much from grain fed cows, I don't know...)

anyways, other than missing the fat soluble vitamins, I don't think that skimmed milk and skimmed milk products are BAD for you, just not great, if they're... "homemade". Like, you or the farmer just skimmed the cream off, and didn't add anything back in, IF you are also eating plenty of animal fat, like eating the cream seperately, making it into butter, etc.

[zinemama]

Does anyone have links to reputable studies substantiating these ideas?

[HappyMommy2]

They have to put something in it to make it taste good once they take out the yummy fat. Usually it is extra sugar or salt.