Nutrition researchers disagree with the popular belief that low fat diets are better and healthier than moderate or high fat diets. To bust the old, low fat diet related food myth, nutrition experts at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and chefs and registered dieticians at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) have developed five new muffin recipes that incorporate healthy fats and whole grains, and use a lighter hand on the salt and sugar.

Their primary objective is to “make over” the widely available low-fat muffin, touted as a “better-for-you” choice when in fact low-fat muffins often have reduced amounts of fats – healthy for heart, such as liquid plant oils, but boast plenty of harmful carbohydrates in the form of white flour and sugar. They said that low-fat processed foods are not much better, and are often higher in sugar, carbohydrates, or salt than their full-fat counterparts; and for good health, type of fat mattered more than amount. Adding further, they suggested that diets high in heavily processed carbohydrates can lead to weight gain and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The new Blueberry Muffin recipe offered by HSPH and the CIA is less than half the size of a coffee shop muffin and contains just 130 calories, in contrary to the former having 450 calories on average. It is made with a mixture of whole wheat, white, and almond flour and uses canola oil, a healthy fat.

Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition and chair of the Department of Nutrition at HSPH said, “It’s time to end the low-fat myth”.

The belief that all fats are harmful and food containing white flour and sugar are healthy choices, have caused accruing in the number of diabetes cases reported and death for many. Clearly, these healthy muffins offer lessons for all of us – that fatty foods can be made both tasty and healthy by combining the right ingredients, wisely.

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