Healthy to add fat to diet

Yet another study shows that a high-fat diet is better than a low-fat diet:

The Atkins diet may have proved itself after all: A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the dueling weight-loss techniques.

A bigger surprise: The low-carb diet improved cholesterol more than the other two. Some critics had predicted the opposite.

There are many studies like this. Physicians who say that fat is bad for you just don't know what they are talking about.

Here is another:

ScienceDaily (July 20, 2008) — Scientists have long been puzzled by how the Masai can avoid cardiovascular disease despite having a diet rich in animal fats. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet believe that their secret is in their regular walking.

There is strong evidence that the high consumption of animal fats increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Many scientists have therefore been surprised that the nomadic Masai of Kenya and Tanzania are seldom afflicted by the disease, despite having a diet that is rich in animal fats and deficient in carbohydrates.

Maybe the Masai have more energy because they have healthier diets.

Update: Tierney and Taubes at the NY Times point out that this study showed that eating a lot of saturated fat leads to better cholesterol profiles. Conventional medical wisdom says that saturated fat is unhealthy. It appears that physicians are wrong about saturated fat being harmful.