For awhile the high carbohydrate and low fat diet was all the rage. Books like Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé, written 30 years ago, talked up the benefits of a vegetarian diet and emphasized the ways in which we coud eat to minimize our impact on the earth. The Pritikin Eating Plan (which has since been revised a bit) originally was all about low fat with a focus on carbohydrates. Similarly, Dean Ornish’s plan limits fats and meats with the expectation that heart health will be improved by doing so.

So it all sounds good, right? Bring on the Snackwell fat-free cookies! Not so fast…
Here are my pros and cons for the high carb / low fat plans:

Pros:

• these plans are good for ecosustainability in the sense that it takes WAY more water and land to grow cows than it does to create a comparable amount of vegetable and grain foods

• complex carbs and veggies contain healthy amounts of fiber and nutrients that we definitely need

Cons:

• these diets do not focus exclusively on complex carbs—to the extent you eat refined versions of these carbs, the excess carbs turn to sugar and are stored as fat, setting the stage for diabetes, obesity, and other health problems

• packaged foods which claim to be low fat often replace fat with sugar for taste, or worse, artificial sweeteners—never a healthy choice

• lack of essential fatty acids leads to high cholesterol, heart disease, poor brain function, hormone imbalance

• it is difficult to get adequate protein, B vitamins, and amino acid balance on these plans—which can really hinder weight loss

Stay tuned—next diet to be reviewed: South Beach