How Healthy is a Low-Fat, Low-Sugar, and Low-Salt Diet?

Will this really lead to better health?

Research has shown that:

• Animal fat is strongly associated with cancer and heart disease;
• Refined table sugar can cause a multitude of problems;
• Salt reduction can have a small, short-term effect on blood pressure.

On the other hand, what would be the result if a person ate:

• Natural fats from plant sources such as olives, avocados, coconuts, nuts and seeds;
• Natural sugars from fruit such as oranges, mangoes, pears, bananas, peaches, dates, figs and cherries;
• Salt from natural sources containing trace minerals, e.g. sea salt or mined salt?

Good Health on a 40%-Fat Diet

Since that time, many scientific studies have been conducted suggesting that people who consume diets high in fruits, vegetables, and healthy fat have very low blood pressure, very low rates of heart disease, and are healthy while eating fat and sodium according to taste.

Thriving on a 45% Fat Diet

12 years later found her on the same diet and feeling fantastic. In addition to fruit she ate plenty of avocados, almonds and walnuts, averaging 45% of her calories from fat. She ate the amount of salt and fat that she desired, and was in excellent health with lots of energy and a blood cholesterol level of 137 (quite low).

Essie Honiball's fascinating story has been recorded in a small book "I live on Fruit".

When local scientists heard her story, they wanted to find out if her diet could really work. Researchers at the University of Pretoria, Medical Research Council of South Africa, and the Atomic Energy Board of South Africa selected nine blacks and eight whites began a six-month study.

Is a "High-Sugar" Diet Healthy?

• Research has shown that high-fat diets lead to atherosclerosis. Cholesterol intake appears to be a major troublemaker, but are there other kinds of fat that contribute to atherosclerosis?

• Some researchers claim that table sugar is more closely linked to atherosclerosis than fat. Also, a high-sugar diet has been shown to affect tolerance to glucose. How would a mainly fruitarian diet affect atherosclerosis and glucose tolerance?

While eating a "high-sugar" diet (liberal amounts of fruit), their performance on glucose tolerance tests improved. While they were allowed all the table sugar, honey, molasses, or any other type of sugar they wanted, they ate very little because their need for sweet food was satisfied by the sweetness of the fruit. Table sugar is clearly detrimental to health, but natural sugar as found in fruit appears to be beneficial.

With no restriction on salt, fat, or sugar, both groups were in much better health at the end of six months. The participants loved the food and felt great. The South African Medical Journal published the results of the study in 1971. The researchers analyzed blood work and other parameters frequently during the six-month study and were not able to find any negative outcomes, rather only positive results. The questions they had at the beginning of the study were answered. A fruit diet supplemented by nuts and vegetables improved participant's health in every way. ^{1 2}

Weight-loss on a 35%-Fat Diet

Most people find a moderate-fat diet much more enjoyable than a low-fat diet. The people on the moderate-fat diet didn't really feel like they were on a diet because they could eat high-fat foods such as nuts, nut butters and peanut butter. The difference in the dropout rate was marked. At the end of the study, 19.6% of the low-fat group had managed to stay on the diet, while 54% of the moderate-fat group were still participating.

A key to the success of the moderate-fat group may have been that they were encouraged to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Nonetheless, the researchers would not have predicted that people would lose weight on a 35%-fat diet. More details on this study may be found here.

In another study, one group was unable to reach the target goal of 20% fat. At the end of the study, they had made it to 29%, only 8% lower than the control group. Many animals as well as humans seem naturally drawn to a moderate-fat diet. Orangutans, who are very similar to humans physiologically, are mainly fruitarians. Their favorite fruit is durian, which contains 30% fat.

Humans Need Salt

In her excellent book "Wild Health: How Animals Keep Themselves Well and What We Can Learn From Them", Cindy Engel reports how elephants make a strenuous and dangerous journey to a mountain in order to satisfy their need for salt. "Sodium is particularly valued by all land animals, as it is lost in urine and sweat and must be continuously replenished. It is so vital to human health that, in the past, salt (sodium chloride) was used as a universal form of currency." She gives several examples showing how animals satisfy their need for salt. Hunters have long used salt blocks to lure animals. She gives interesting examples of how reindeer, buffalo, butterflies, dogs, rats and moose find salt (pages 31-33). She also explains on page 61 how sodium and other minerals may aid in detoxification.

Given the above information, we feel that while eating a diet high in fruit and vegetables, there is no need for arbitrary restrictions on natural sugars (fruit), salt, and natural fats.

Animals in the wild find the right balance among these items instinctively and are generally quite healthy. Cravings and desires often show us what we need, and within the parameters of natural foods, we feel eating what we instinctively desire will lead to health.