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Eat
Fat to Burn Fat
by
Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS, CSPN
For about 50 years
now, Americans have been eating low fat (some no fat) diets and the
funny thing is we have gotten progressively fatter and less healthy. Who
ever said low fat diets were healthy, and more importantly, why does
eating less fat mean you’ll be less fat?
In attempt to keep
this easy to understand, as most of what you read and hear is
complicated, confusing, and contradictory, I’m going to be direct, to
the point, and explain things in a way that most people can understand.
Where to
start??? Well, I’ve done some research on this and have found very
little science to back up the claims that eating less fat will keep you
trim. I have also found many examples that totally dismiss this idea.
For example, the French eat significantly more fat than we do here in
the
US
while there obesity AND disease and illness rates are quite a bit lower.
Another example
is the Alaskan Eskimos. They consume as much as 70% of their calories
from fat (whale blubber and fish) and they have one of the lowest rates
of heart disease in the world – until they come to the
US
and eat like us!
Before I cover other
examples I’d like to talk about some the reasons why the “low fat
diet” is not only making us fatter, but also killing people faster
than you can imagine!
Does that shock you?
If so, do I have news for you!
Ok… here are just a
few reasons:
-
eating
less fat means you have to eat more protein or carbs and most people
end up eating more carbs (and the wrong type!)
Dietary fat is very
slow burning in the body so when you replace the fat with faster burning
carbs you tend to feel less energetic, risk burning muscle tissue, and
wreak havoc on your metabolism and hormones because your energy levels
(blood sugar) are like a roller coaster.
Dietary fats supply
some of the best, and most stable sources of energy. So if you want to
feel good all day long, you need to make sure you are getting enough
fats, and the right types. I’ll touch on which types to avoid and
which to include in your diet later in this article.
-
the
human body needs fat just to function properly, let alone optimal
health
Certain amounts of
fat are necessary for proper hormone production. If hormone production
is off so will your metabolism be. Hormones regulate many things in the
body including your ability to build and maintain muscle tissue, which
is responsible for a large portion of your energy expenditure. In simple
terms, muscle burns calories 24 hours a day and if you eat a low fat or
no fat diet you will have a hard time building and maintaining muscle.
Here are some facts:
-
obesity
increased from 14% of the American population in 1960 to over 22% by
1980
-
the
Harvard Nurse’s Health Study which ran well over 10 years found
that not only did low fat diets not decrease the risk of heart
disease but also that saturated fat wasn’t so bad after all, and
that too little was just as harmful
To read more of the
facts about dietary fat and health check out these great resources:
So to sum things
up…
if you want to lose
weight and be healthy – DON’T eat a low-fat diet! You would have to
be absolutely insane to after learning the truth about dietary fats. If
you have doubts or questions please do some research and you will be
amazed at what you will find out. In the meantime, go eat some healthy
fats!
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