Health risks and adverse effects associated with a low fat diet
Increased susceptibility to the onset of nutritional deficiencies
In order to both attain and maintain optimal health and well-being, it is essential that we ensure that we eat a well-balanced and nutritious diet where we eat the minimum amounts of the various dietary minerals and macronutrients that have been recommended by nutritionists.
One of the potential complications and adverse effects that has been associated with a low fat diet is that the absence of fat in the diet can have a significantly inhibiting effect upon the gastrointestinal system’s ability to absorb vitamins that have lipophilic (fat-soluble) properties. Specifically, this encompasses the following:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin E
- Vitamin K
These vitamins all rely upon micellar solubilization in order to facilitate their absorption within the small intestine, and so it is quite common for people who have engaged in a low fat diet for some to suffer from secondary vitamin deficiencies of the aforementioned vitamins.
The effect that secondary vitamin deficiency of each of the aforementioned vitamins is as follows:
Vitamin A deficiency
One of the primary functions and usages of vitamin A within the body is to aid in the repair of damaged retinal tissue and cells and so one of the earliest warning signs and indicators of a lack of vitamin A is impairment of vision which is particularly acute in extremities of light (whether too much or too little light present).
Xerosis, or excessive and chronic dryness of the mucous membranes of the eyes is quick to follow from the vision impairment which in turn is not only extremely painful and irritating for the sufferer but also leaves the eye vulnerable to opportunistic infection.
Vitamin A deficiency has also been reported as afflicting the mouth region as well, specifically; resulting in the ultimate onset of hypoplasia of the teeth and gums.
Vitamin D deficiency
Osteomalacia is one of the most commonly occurring and severe complications arising from deficiency in this vitamin and this health condition is typified by significant reduction in the mineral density of the bones around the body. Secondary complications arising from the osteomalacia include an increase in the risk of osteoarthritis, avascular necrosis and fractures.
Vitamin E deficiency
The symptoms that are caused as a consequence of a lack of vitamin E in the diet are primarily neurological in nature. Thankfully, it happens to be one of the rarest forms of vitamin deficiency and the chances of it being diet-related are astronomically remote indeed.
Vitamin K deficiency
A deficiency of Vitamin K will typically manifest itself in the somewhat dramatic and unsettling manner of the body bleeding profusely and without stopping whenever there is a laceration or puncture to any part of the body. Furthermore, there has been significant and compelling scientific evidence reported that has identified a very real link between the absence of Vitamin K within the diet and the onset of cardiovascular pathologies.
Potential increase in cholesterol
Cholesterol plays an essential role within the body, maintain the fluidity of cell membranes around the body as well as being involved in the conducting of nerve impulses.
However, cholesterol is composed of several different types of fats and the most important of these are:
- High Density Lipoproteins (HDLs)
- Low Density Lipoproteins (LDLs)
A low fat diet runs the risk of eliminating/significantly reducing the essential fatty acids (including Omega 3) which are essential to the production of HDL’s. This in turn allows the LDLs (which have been associated with an increase in the risk of cardiovascular pathology) to increase in volume and concentration.
Health benefits of low fat diets
One of the primary benefits associated with low fat diets is that they provide significant and tangible weight loss results in a very short space of time indeed and the reason for this is due to the fact that they happen to eliminate trans (also known as saturated) fats that have been identified as having the highest calorie content of all nutrients.
This was plainly evidenced by virtue of a study commissioned by the Journal of the American Medical Association, whereby a total of 48,000 postmenopausal women were studied for a total of 7.5 years in order to identify what effects upon their health, a low fat diet would have.
At the end of the study, it was identified that the women who had managed to achieve the greatest rate of weight loss was those participants who had reduced the amount of dietary fat in their diet. The average amount of weight loss actually achieved by women who maintained this condition was 4.8lbs over the course of the year and even more encouragingly, these women also found it easier to keep their weight under control in the future.
As such then, a low fat diet happens to provide health benefits in both the short and medium term for those of us who possess the patience and self-control necessary to commit to such an eating regime.
Another potential reason as to why a low fat diet is so effective at aiding in the loss weight loss process is due to the fact that many of the foods that have high fat content also have high concentrations of refined sugar within them.
Whenever we eat an item of food that has high sugar content, this means that our pancreas has to release and secrete additional insulin in order to stabilize the blood glucose levels of the body. As the sugar within the blood is duly diluted and removed from usage, this then triggers additional hunger cravings due to the significant slump in the energy level. As such, a low fat diet effectively brings this vicious cycle to a speedy and immediate end.
As can be seen, there are health complications that may arise as a consequence of the reliance upon a low fat diet. However, a low fat diet does not mean that ALL dietary fat must be reduced entirely, but rather, that the wrong types of fat, i.e. fats that are not essential to our survival and well-being are curtailed.