In a new book, a doctor advises being wary of ‘low-fat’ foods, many of which are loaded with sugar

As if the physical changes to our food and lifestyle weren’t challenging enough, our understanding of nutrition has been clouded by a series of misconceptions – myths that have steered us further from metabolic health while seemingly promising to lead us toward it.

While our food and lifestyle have transformed dramatically, the very systems meant to warn us – nutrition education, food labeling, and health guidelines – have been compromised by marketing influences and outdated science. Several widespread nutrition myths have become so embedded in our culture that they actively prevent us from addressing the underlying metabolic problems.

The first and most damaging of these was the low-fat craze. In the 1960s, when heart disease was rising, the American Heart Association made a bold move. Based on research linking saturated fat to heart problems, they recommended that everyone cut down on total fat. This kicked off decades of fat-phobia that influences how many people eat today.

This fear of fat fundamentally changed our food landscape. Food manufacturers, initially concerned about making reduced-fat products palatable, discovered they could replace fat with sugar. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, grocery shelves were filled with “low-fat” products marketed as healthier options. These products often contained more sugar and nearly...

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