The secret to healthier weight loss

If you need to improve your cholesterol and lose weight—there’s one thing you’ve got to put at the top of your list. And that’s to eat more fat — but the right kind.

There are so many diet recommendations — it’s hard to know which route to take. That’s why a group of researchers decided to test three specific diets to see how they performed, not only in amount of weight lost, but also in health benefits gained. This is what they found…

Overweight and obese adult women were enrolled in a one-year behavioral weight loss program and were randomly assigned to one of three diets consisting of either:

• Low-fat and high-carbohydrate;
• Low-carbohydrate and high-fat;
• Or a walnut-rich, high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet.

All the women — on all three of the diets — experienced an average weight loss of eight percent. But the health benefits were varied, based on the fat composition within the diets. Here’s what they found…

The walnut-rich diet had the most impact on cholesterol levels by decreasing low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad cholesterol, and increasing beneficial high-density lipoprotein (HDL). The low-carb, high-fat group, which consumed monounsaturated fats, did not experience the same beneficial effects as the walnut-rich diet, which featured polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Insulin sensitivity was also assessed in the study because people who are overweight usually have some degree of insulin resistance. Insulin-sensitive women lost the most weight with the low-fat diet but that strategy did not result in the most benefit for lipid levels.

What’s healthier: Higher weight loss or lower lipids?

From the information this study provided, it’s clear that all of the diets they tried, resulted in weight loss.

According to Cheryl Rock, PhD, principal investigator of the study, “This weight loss may not put these women at their ideal weight, but it made a significant reduction in their risk of cardiovascular and other diseases. This level of weight loss is achievable and can have a dramatic impact on their quality of life.”

Greater weight loss occurred with the low-fat diet, which was of most benefit to insulin-sensitive women. But the women on the high-polyunsaturated fat diet gained healthier cholesterol levels. What does this mean?

It may mean that it’s a better idea to choose a diet based on your unique health issues. But you can simplify that even more by just sticking to unsaturated fats — preferably polyunsaturated fats found in walnuts, seeds and omega-3 sources like krill —because of the cholesterol-lowering, heart-healthy benefits.

According to Dr. Michael Cutler, “Even a brief consideration of the importance of fat in your body demonstrates why cutting back on dietary fat is almost always a bad idea. Every cell membrane you own contains fat. Your brain is mostly made of fat. If you cut back on fat and substitute carbohydrates like starch and sugars, your body suffers.”

So if you still want to lose more weight, don’t sacrifice the healthy fats your body needs. Instead, follow what the research is finding to be true. And that is…

“Diet composition impacts lipid levels, but the critical factor to lose weight continues to be to burn more calories than you consume,” said Rock.