I just mentioned, in another thread, that the McDougall plan is what I would follow if I didn't calorie count. It is mainly fruits and veggies, and natural starches and proteins, such as potatoes and beans.
Anyway, the only thing I found contentious about this lifestyle was the "no oil/no fat". I always learned certain vitamins were fat soluble.
I am no scientist - but I do know there are many scientists on this forum. I'm hoping you will pipe in.
So, this is a quote from McDougall:
“For healthy, trim people I have always said unprocessed, high-fat foods, like avocados, nuts, seeds and olives, can be a delicious addition to their diet—and may be important for those with high calories needs, such as athletes and active children.”
“Our requirements for essential fats are very small—no more than 0.5 gram daily. Only plants can synthesize essential fats—so eating plant-foods is the obvious source of these necessary nutrients. Because body fats (adipose tissue) store these essential fats efficiently, even if overweight people were placed on an artificially manufactured fat-free diet, they would have little risk of becoming deficient in essential fats over their entire lifetime. Note: a diet made of unprocessed plant foods, like the McDougall diet, naturally contains about 7% of its calories as fat—and about half the total fat found in plant foods is of the essential variety—the kind we need.”
“People struggling to lose excess body weight will want to avoid all high fat foods and especially oils—the fat you eat is the fat you wear.”
What is your take on FAT?? Is the fat we've already gathered enough? Is the fat we eat the fat we wear??