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What happened to low-fat foods?

Don't Waste Your Money
Posted at 12:12 PM, Jun 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-20 16:32:07-04

Remember when low-fat foods were all the rage? Not anymore.

In 2017, the U.S. government is no longer suggesting a low-fat diet.

Nutrition experts now say healthy fats, such as olive oil, are actually good for you, and should not be removed from diets.

But one woman wonders if we're going too far now in the other direction.

Hot Dogs Bring Back the Fat

Christina Adkins is looking for her favorite low-fat hot dogs, and not finding them at any grocery store.

"I was having a hard time finding the things we used to buy," she said.

Her children like hot dogs, she says, so to keep them happy she was buying them versions with less fat and fewer calories.

"They often like hot dogs for lunch," she explained, "and we try to be conscientious about what we're eating."

But Adkins says it's not just hot dogs putting the fat back in.

She likes Johnsonville sausage on Sunday mornings, but can't find the lower fat version anymore.

Same with the Texas Toast that she serves with spaghetti. The only type she can find now has a higher fat content, she says.

"There was a Texas Toast product that was lower far garlic toast that we liked, and we can't find anymore," she said.

Cooking Light magazine confirms that low fat products are disappearing  From yogurt to granola to hot dogs, even Burger King's low fat "Satisfries" were recently discontinued due to slow sales.

Government Says Some Fat is Fine

Now, new government nutrition guidelines no longer recommend a low fat diet, and dietitians are now portraying sugar, not fat, as the biggest cause of obesity.

But Adkins says she still wants some low-fat products, as she is not comfortable giving her kids meat products loaded with 20 grams of fat or more, much of it the less nutritious saturated fat.

"It's something that needs to be addressed," she said.

She understands the new guidelines, but worries the diet pendulum is now swinging back too far in the other direction.

Supermarkets Reduce Low Fat Offerings

Johnsonville sausage tells us it continues to make low-fat sausages, but says many supermarkets are no longer ordering them, due to supply and demand, as customers have moved on from low-fat products.

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