Low-fat diet can increase the risk of heart disease

Almaty. April 14. Kazakhstan Today - Many studies have suggested that fat reduction could increase the risk of heart disease, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Low-fat diets can actually increase the risk of heart disease, new research has revealed, the Daily Mail reported.

For years people wanting to protect their hearts have avoided eating fatty foods such as red meat and dairy products.

But the study suggests that low-fat diets weaken the immune system and slow the body's healing process and make it less effective.

A lack of fats and cholesterol can allow damage in arteries and veins to reach critical levels and lead to heart attacks, strokes or organ failure.

Nutritionist Natasha Campbell-McBride, who runs the Cambridge Nutrition Clinic, believes fats and cholesterol are 'essential to life'.

She said: 'The whole notion of saturated fat as some kind of bete noire is simply wrong, as is the existence of so-called 'bad' cholesterol.

'Fats and cholesterol help create and protect the white blood cells and millions of other cells that repair the wall linings when damaged.

'The so-called 'bad' type of cholesterol, LDL, is specifically sent to the wound by the liver and this is why patients with heart disease are seen to have high levels in their body.

'Unfortunately, because LDL is found at the 'crime scene', the cholesterol is mistakenly blamed for the heart condition when in fact it is nature's way of trying to combat it.

'We've been subjected to relentless medical advice demonising natural fats and cholesterol but they are in fact essential to life.

'Extensive reviews of the available studies have shown me that the myth of heart disease being down to fat is wrong.

'If the anti-fat message was correct then we should by now be seeing a reduction in the level of heart disease when in reality we're not.'

Medical experts have issued repeated warnings that foods containing saturated fats can raise LDL cholesterol levels in the blood stream and clog arteries.

But Dr Campbell-McBride believes these 'bad' fats and cholesterol are used by the body to repair artery walls damaged by infection and off fight 'alien' bodies in the blood.

People who have low-fat diets can't make these repairs, which leads to significant scarring, narrowing of the arteries and increases the risk of dangerous blockages.

This in turn increases the chances of heart conditions and can also lead to degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Low fat diets can actually increase the risk of heart disease - and balance is crucial, scientists claim.

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