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The average Western diet is too high in fat–but it’s not that simple. Dietary fat plays an essential rolein our health, development and well-being. The real issue is that people are eating too much of the wrong kinds of fat, and not enough of the right kinds.
Poly, mono, trans, un…the list of types of fats seems never ending to me. Do you know what kinds are good for you and what kinds aren’t? I know that trans fats are the worst for you, and the fats found in fish such as salmon are the best for you. But that’s about it.
The above quote comes from an article in a free publication called “Your Health Monthly.” It’s a local health magazine found in the Willamette Valley. If you, like me don’t know a lot about the fats that you’re putting in your body, check out my fat translator for some valuable information. It could save your life. Stay tuned for some more exciting articles about fat in your diet!
J.D.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Rick // Oct 31, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Don’t believe the hype. Fats don’t make you fat. If so, how do you explain all these folks losing so much weight when they go on low carb diets? Furthermore, how do you explain the documented improvements in their blood work (cholesterol, bp, etc.)? The fact is that it depends.
I’m not sure where I saw the percentage, but it was something like only 25% of the population is carb tolerant. That means for those people a high carb diet is okay. For the rest of us–not so much.
I’m as healthy now (38 yrs old) as I’ve ever been and I get the majority of my daily calories (3000 / day) from fats. This includes a variety of nuts (almonds, walnuts, macadamias, peanut butter [hey, I know it's really a legume]), oils (olive, coconut, etc.), coconut, avocado, etc.–you name it.
There is one thing you should notice there: all of the fats consumed in my diet are NATURAL. If you are consuming fats that are naturally found in nature then you should be fine. Whatever you do, avoid fats that are in processed foods at all costs (can you say partially-hydrogenated?)!
Make sure you get plenty of protein. At least 1g / lb of body weight. If you shoot for 1.25g / lb and miss, you’ll probably still hit the 1g mark. That’s what I do. Next, get plenty of water. Finally, get plenty of fiber. I eat over 50g of fiber per day. This mostly comes from vegetables (I eat over 6 servings a day), but also comes from the coconut, avocado, and nuts.
2 JC // Oct 31, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I believe that everyone should take an omega oil supplement every day and focus on the mono and poly unsaturated sources when making food choices. A little bit of saturated fat from red meat and other animal sources is not going to hurt you.
I myself follow a high(er) carb diet and make sure I consume a minimum amount of fish oil daily.
I wholeheartedly agree with Rick in his stance to avoid trans fats at all costs.
3 Sue // Nov 2, 2008 at 3:50 am
I think that looking at food as carbs or fats or proteins is a little problematic.
It is like western philosophy verses eastern philosophy. Food is sustenance for the body and should be consumed in such a way that it brings the most sustenance and good to the body as a whole.
For example, if you decide you are going to eat low fat, and get fat free milk or low fat milk, your body will not be able to absorb the calcium from the milk, because the fat the is part of the milk helps the body do this.
It is true that trans fats and fats that are not from a natural source are extremely unhealthy and should be avoided, but I prefer looking at food as a whole and taking it from there.
4 brad // Nov 2, 2008 at 8:23 am
Just saying “natural” fats are okay is a bit misleading. Saturated fats have been linked to a wide variety of diseases, some of them fatal. And high-fat low-carbohydrate diets have well-documented health risks when maintained long-term: http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleID=221.
To learn which fats are healthier than others, check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guide at:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_everyone/basics/fat.htm
The American Heart Association also has a good guide to fats:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=532
5 Ben // Nov 3, 2008 at 8:39 am
Interestingly enough, and often overlooked, is that fat in an animal (meat, fish, whatever) really comes from what that animal eats. The reason that a lot of beef is so high in bad fats is that we generally stuff them with corn and other fats (from chickens and other sources) - while if the cow were grazing on grass as it should be, its meat would be much higher in “better” fats and have more omega-3s. So avoiding red meat isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but saying that fish fat is better defacto can be a problem because there are now more and more fish farms which are feeding their fish corn and other grains to fatten them up quickly as apposed to the algae, etc they eat in the wild which is what gives their meat the “good” fats. I could go on - but I won’t
Eat a moderate diet, try and stay away from processed crap, eat local if possible…and you should be fine.
6 Andrew is getting fit // Nov 3, 2008 at 10:08 am
All things in moderation. Can’t really go wrong with that.
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