Why Eating Fat Makes You Thin & How To Distinguish the Good From the Bad
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I have a love affair with fat. I must be making up for lost time in the 90’s. But sadly, many lovely people are missing out because of a silly fad that began in the 1980’s.
A little nutrition history:
In the 1980's, fat was deemed the new enemy ,and the food industry was quick to jump to action. As a result, food corporations created a variety of fat-free and low-fat products that started spreading on the shelves of the supermarkets like wild fire. The mantra was “take out the fat and add lots of sugar”.
And you know what? We gobbled it up.
But this insanity stops here - no longer will be buy into this fallacy. Today we are more knowledgeable, and as numerous studies have discovered, fats are crucial for our health and for maintaining our optimum weight.
The caveat, however, is that not all fats are created equally.
Know Your Enemies:
Here is the golden rule: There are good fats and there are bad fats. The good fats are your friends and promote weight loss, brain health and normal levels of cholesterol. They also protect against inflammation, which causes disease and obesity. The bad fats on the other hand promote abnormal levels of cholesterol, weight gain, and inflammation.
Which one would you choose?
The Good Guys:
Unprocessed organic oils like coconut oil, avocados and avocado oil,
Organic butter from grass-fed cows, clarified butter, and extra virgin olive oil.
Raw nuts and seeds like chia seeds, flax seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts.
Egg yolks from pastured hens.
Lean meat from animals that are free range and/or grass fed.
Coconut oil, which has special medium-chain fatty acids that promote a healthy metabolism, immune system, skin and thyroid.
The Bad Guys:
Corn oil
Canola oil
Soy oil
Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats
Margarine and shortening
So what makes the bad fats bad and the good fats good?
It all comes down to the Omega 3’s And 6’s.
The good fats are full of healthy Omega 3’s and 6’s and the bad guys are overloaded with Omega 6’s. For optimum health the ideal ratio of Omega 6 to 3 is 1:1. However, thanks to the Standard American Diet (S.A.D), the average American has a 15:1 ratio. This is a direct result from highly processed vegetable oils and trans fat.
But won’t eating fat make me fat?
No! Not if you are eating the good, friendly fats. Eating healthy fats keeps you satiated longer, and gets your metabolism revving, enabling you to burn more fat and maintain a healthy weight.
But what about my cholesterol?
According to a study by one of the world’s leading cholesterol experts, Dr. Ronald Krauss, a low-fat diet changed healthy cholesterol profiles into heart attack-prone profiles with high triglycerides, low HDL, and small LDL particles.
As we have learned, it’s the type of fat you eat, not the quantity. The bad fats promote abnormal cholesterol levels, and the good fats improve the type and quantity of your cholesterol.
Plus, women NEED fats to produce cholesterol because cholesterol makes all of our hormones. If you are eating a low-fat diet, your hormones will suffer.
So pick up where you left off with fats in the 80’s or 90’s. You’ve been separated for way too long now.
Reunited and it feels so good,
Health Coach Jenna