Australian medical experts are calling on the leading health research group to include polyunsaturated fats as a necessary new food group.
Polyunsaturated fats, known as ‘good fats,’ are found in foods including avocados, certain types of fish and olives, and are known to improve the risk of heart disease and reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
The fats work by making the membranes in the heart more fluid, making the body more sensitive to insulin.
Australian dietitians and cardio-nutritionists want the National Health and Medical Research Council (MHMRC) to recognise the benefits of polyunsaturated fats and include them to necessary food groups.
One of Australia’s most senior cardiac nutrition experts, Professor Peter Clifton, said the organisation should be proactive in advertising the importance of polyunsaturated fats.
Decades of low-fat diets being promoted as the only way to lose fat have had a huge impact on society’s perception of fat, and many people are unaware of the different types of fats and which ones are crucial to a healthy diet.
Many steer completely clear of any kind of fats in the belief it will reduce or maintain weight, but the experts believe the only way for people to accept and consume the good fats is to educate about its importance.
The calls come after the NHMRC released the draft 2012 Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, which only mentions the five basic food groups and advises us to “limit intake of foods and drinks containing saturated and trans fats” and “include small amounts of foods that contain unsaturated fats”.
The traditional food pyramid, which for decades advised eating cereals and breads more than any other food group underwent a change last year, and the federal government is currently working on a mandatory front-of-pack nutritional labelling scheme, following demand from health groups and consumers.
In June, a study was release that found 95 per cent of Australian children over two exceeded their recommended intake of saturated fat but almost 70 per cent of children did not have enough Omega-3 polyunsaturated fat.
Do you agree that polyunsaturated fats should be added to the official necessary food groups?