Eat More Fat, Lose More Weight?

It has been drilled into your heads that fat is the enemy and cutting fat is the key to losing weight. Is this true?
All your life you have been told fats are bad for you. They only lead to weight gain and cause unwanted health issues.

Books, dieticians and doctors have said fats are your enemy and the only way to lose and maintain a healthy weight is to cut them out completely.

On the contrary, fats have been part of the food pyramid and one of the building blocks to your health for years. When fat was labeled as something to avoid, you might have steered away from certain types of foods.

When this whole "fat is bad" trend began, diets started to emerge which focused on limiting your fat intake, and fat-free and low-fat foods began appearing in grocery stores.

However, recent findings are showing you not only need fats in your diet, but they are necessary for keeping your weight consistent.

A Journal of the American Medical Association study recently revealed that a "low fat" diet showed the greatest drop in energy expenditure and increased insulin resistance – which is a precursor to diabetes – compared with a low carbohydrate and low glycaemic index (GI) diet.

Medical Director of Northwestern Wellness Center, Larry Kaskel, MD, joins Melanie Cole, MS, to discuss the reasons why fat has been deemed evil, why you actually need fat in your diet, and ways to get good fats into your diet.

Additional Info

  • Segment Number: 1
  • Audio File: staying_well/1427sw1a.mp3
  • Featured Speaker: Larry Kaskel, MD
  • Book Title: Dr Kaskel's Living in Wellness; Make Food Thy Medicine
  • Guest Bio: Larry Kaskel Dr Larry Kaskel is the current medical Director of Northwestern Wellness Center in Libertyville IL.

    He attended Rush medical college and did his Internal Medicine residency at Rush Pres St. Lukes Medical Center in Chicago finishing in 1991.

    He is board certified in Internal medicine and received another Board certification in Clinical Lipidology in 2003 He has been in private practice since 1991.

    Dr Kaskel is an expert in using Therapeutic Lifestyle Change in his practice and has lectured extensively internationally on this topic. Dr Kaskel has hosted and recorded over 300 radio shows on ReachMDXM a satellite radio channel for medical professionals.

    He currently writes a blog at Living In Wellness and remains passionate about treating patients with his philosophy of "More Education and Less Medication."

    His new book Dr Kaskel's Living in Wellness; Make Food Thy Medicine is available at Amazon.com.

    All proceeds of the book go to charity. He is married and has two young children and lives in the Northern suburbs of Chicago
  • Length (mins): 10
  • Waiver Received: No
  • Host: Melanie Cole, MS