How did the "dietary fat is bad" roller coaster get started? Investigative reporter Gary Taub in his insightful and through research report published in the New York Times Magazine explains what happened.

"It all began in 1977", says Taub, "when a Senate committee led by George McGovern published its 'Dietary Goals for the United States', which warned Americans to curb their fat intake to abate a supposed epidemic of "killer diseases". It peaked in 1984, when the National Institutes of Health officially recommended that all Americans eat less fat.

The food industry jumped on the roller coaster with a flood of new low fat products to meet the new recommendations. Fat was replaced with sugar or high fructose corn syrup to replace lost flavor. Millions were spent on advertising as the "low fat train" picked up speed.

The low fat diet message effectively ignores the fact that some fats, such as olive oil, coconut oil and the omega 3 oils such as fish, flax and borage oil are essential for heart health. They also benefit the brain, improve arthritis symptoms and skin tone.

For the last 20 years the Food Pyramid put together by the National Institute of Health has expounded the following advice: "Start off with plenty of breads, cereals, rice, pasta, vegetables and fruit and go easy on the fats, oils and sweets."

As you can see, the NIH lumps vegetables, fruit and white flour in the same box and makes the unlikely association of essential fatty acids with sugar. This food pyramid would be closer to accurate if it was turned upside down. The new one published recently isn't much better but at least it finally requires manufacturers to list trans fats on the label. Trans fats are far more dangerous than saturated fat. What more could you expect from a government bureaucracy?

The link between eating fat and getting heart disease has never been proven although the N.I.H conducted five major studies and spent several hundred million dollars trying to show a connection.

The latest research shows that inflammation is the chief culprit in heart disease not saturated fat and high cholesterol. Sugar and other highly refined carbs are the primary causes of the inflammation, which leads to clogging of the arteries and heart attacks according to Nicholas Perricone, MD who has spent years researching inflammation and its causes.

Gary Taubes says in his New York Times article, "Foods considered more or less deadly under the low-fat dogma turn out to be comparatively benign if you actually look at their fat content. More than two-thirds of the fat in a porterhouse steak, for instance, will improve your cholesterol profile; it's true that the remainder will raise your LDL cholesterol, the bad stuff, but it will also boost your HDL cholesterol (the good guys.)"

If you need to lose weight or just want to be healthier and more energetic I recommend that you give Dr. Atkins diet plan a try.