As diets go, the Prasouda Diet is a relatively low fat diet, especially compared to the standard American diet. Because the Cretan people were so healthy it could be expected that someone would make that connection. But is fat really bad for us? Is it really saturated fat that causes heart disease?
The Skinny on Saturated Fat
The Cretan people didn’t eat a lot of saturated fat, so it makes sense that we shouldn’t either because they were really healthy. Simple right? Well, not really.
If we look at many other healthy populations, we see a wide range of saturated fat consumption. Most commonly cited is the ironically titled “French Paradox”, which refers to how the French eat a ton of saturated fat and still live long and healthy lives. That should be a red flag right there. Then there’s the Maasai, who eat huge quantities of beef and whole milk. They’re basically disease free. And the Inuit, who live on an all-but-carnivorous diet and don’t have any of the health problems that we do.
So what gives? The truth is that saturated fat isn’t the heart disease harbinger it’s made out to be and neither is fat in general.
If Not Saturated Fat Then What?
So if it’s not saturated fat or fat in general that’s making us sick and fat, then what is it? Is it the carbs? Are we not getting enough Omega-3s? Too much Omega-6? Too much salt? Too much sugar?
The truth is, nobody knows for sure. Nutritional science has come a long way, and we are able to point at some things that probably do contribute to our poor health, such as over-consumption of vegetable oils and sugars, and too many nutrient-barren foods. However, it’s absurd to say that we understand the whole picture. Even the top nutritionists disagree on some of the details.
Here’s what we do know: people have lived long and virtually disease-free lives in a lot of different diets and in a lot of different places. Crete is one of those places and the Prasouda diet is one of those diets. We don’t need to get bogged down in ambiguous details to eat well and be the healthiest we’ve ever been.
A Low Fat Diet Plan, or Not
The essence of this article is that there’s no one nutrient is responsible for everything. There’s no golden fruit or miracle berry, and there’s no one thing that makes us sick either. The Prasouda diet is a life style, not a quick fix diet that you stay on for two weeks and then give up in frustration.
It’s a big change, but if you’re looking to be lean, energetic and healthy in the long run, it’s well worth it.