Eat fat, get skinny?
As Americans, we have been told over and over again not to eat fat... fat makes us unhealthy, right? Well, once again it is time to get down to the truth about health and nutrition. I work with many patients that truly believe they are eating "healthy". So I ask them what it is they are actually eating, and they proceed to explain that they stay away from red meats, eat fish or chicken once or twice each week, never use butter or eggs because they are watching their cholesterol, use margarine because they have a history of heart disease in their family, and buy everything fat-free or reduced fat because they are trying to lose weight.
I have to give them some credit, because they are just doing what weight loss magazines have told them to do. But let’s look at the facts. Over 65 percent of Americans are now overweight, and half of those are considered obese. What that means to me is what we are doing in this country IS NOT WORKING! In fact, clinically the patients I see with a low fat diet are the most unhealthy patients I have. Fatigue, depression, GI disorders, insulin resistance, dry skin, frizzy hair, constant hunger, the list goes on. So what’s the deal? Is fat fattening? Let’s break it down.
1. Low fat diets make you hungry. Not including enough healthy fats leaves your brain feeling unsatisfied. (Remember, your brain is at least 65 percent fat). This leads to binge eating and more weight gain.
2. Low fat leads to high carbohydrate and low protein intake. This puts your body into storage mode instead of burning mode, causing metabolism to drastically decrease and insulin levels to skyrocket. If you are one of those people who is constantly working out, but not gain- ing muscle or losing fat, this is your problem.
If you want beautiful skin and hair, a tough immune system, stabile blood sugars and no mood swings, it’s time to add some fat! Good fats benefit our heart, normalize our blood fats and cholesterol, and even prevent cancer. Here are a few steps to help you add good fats to your diet:
1. Avoid reduced fat products. When fat is taken out, chemicals, preservatives and sugar are added to make up for the taste. Your body does not recognize these things and ends up accumulating them as toxins.
2. Use butter (organic is good and raw organic is best). Did you know that margarine eaters have twice the rate of heart disease that butter eaters have (Nutrition Week 3/22/91 21:12)? We’ve also been told that saturated fats, the kind that are in butter, clog the arteries. But according to a study published in The Lancet (1994 344:1195), the fatty acids found in artery clogs are mostly unsaturated, not saturated, as we have been led to believe. Butter is also a good source of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), and trace minerals like magnesium and zinc.
3. Steer clear of vegetable oils. The way these oils are processed is the issue. For many years, magazines have been telling us to replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats, like those from vegetable oils. This advice does more harm than good. In the process of producing vegetable oils, toxic chemicals and high temperatures are used to extract the oil from the seed or bean. In this process, virtually all of the nutritional value has been destroyed, not to mention that the high temperatures turn the oil rancid before you even bring it home.
4. If you are able to get your red meats from grass-fed organic animals, you’re good to go. If the meat is store bought, chances are it is grain fed. This means the quality of saturated fat in it will cause problems.
5. Start by adding good-quality tropical oils, such as coconut oils, and real butter. If you are someone who has been avoiding fat, this is the easiest way for your gall- bladder to get accustomed to the situation. The type of saturated fat found in these (lauric acid) has anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties, is stabile at high temperatures and keeps your cell membranes strong and resistant to disease.
6. Concentrate on getting a minimum of 30 percent of your daily calories from a good quality fat source. Once again, do your own research, be an informed consumer!
Written by Dr. Ida Bergman June, 2018