Tuesday, November 10, 2009


I think most of us believe that it is important & crucial to include "healthy fats" in our diet and that reducing them too low can be harmful to the body. Many of us also believe that saturated fat is bad for us & we should limit it to 10% or so of our daily calories. Many many studies have shown that saturated fats are bad for us. Of the many, I pulled a couple below:

Dietary Fats: Know Which Types to Choose - Part of this article from Mayo Clinic below:

When choosing fats, pick unsaturated fat over saturated or trans fat. Here's how to know the difference.

When choosing fats, your best options are unsaturated fats: monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These fats, if used in place of others, can lower your risk of heart disease by reducing the total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in your blood. One type of polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, may be especially beneficial to your heart. Omega-3s appear to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease. They may also protect against irregular heartbeats and help lower blood pressure levels.

Saturated and trans fats (trans-fatty acids) are less healthy kinds of fats. They can increase your risk of heart disease by increasing your total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol isn't technically a fat, but it's found in food derived from animal sources. Intake of dietary cholesterol increases blood cholesterol levels, but not as much as saturated and trans fats do, and not to the same degree in all people.

Fat Facts: Good Fats vs. Bad Fats - Some of the article from WebMD below:

Fat is the target of much scorn, yet it serves up health benefits you can't live without. Fat supplies essential fatty acids (EFAs). "Your body is incapable of producing the EFAs, known as linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, so it must derive them from food," explains Wahida Karmally DrPH, RD, professor of nutrition at Columbia University and director of nutrition at The Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. In addition, fat ferries vitamins A, D, E, and K -- known as the fat-soluble vitamins -- into and around the body.   "Fat is also necessary for maintaining healthy skin, and it plays a central role in promoting proper eyesight and brain development in babies and children," Karmally tells WebMD. For all the good it does, fat is often fingered as the culprit in the battle of the bulge. It's easy to understand why. At 9 calories per gram, any type of fat -- good or bad -- packs more than twice the calories of carbohydrate and protein. ... BUT.... "Excess calories from any source is what's responsible for weight gain, not fat per se,".

There is a well-established link between fat intake and heart disease and stroke risk. Diets rich in saturated fat and trans fat (both "bad" fats) raise blood cholesterol concentrations, contributing to clogged arteries that block the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart and brain. But there's a caveat: Very low-fat diets -- 15% or 34 grams of fat in a 2,000-calorie diet -- may not reduce artery-clogging compounds in the bloodstream in everyone. Nor can most people maintain a very low-fat diet in the long run. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that we get 20% to 35% of our calories from fat. Most Americans get 34% or more. The two fats to limit are:

• Saturated fat found in meats, butter, cream, or ice cream, and other foods with animal fat.
• Trans fat, a man-made fat found in some margarines or packaged baked.

BUT there are those that believe saturated fats can be good for you & in fact can lean you out, especially in middle age.  Some of the explanation involves fatty liver disease and is explained as such in a book, The 6 Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle, that I will be reviewing this Monday, November 16th. I also have TWO BOOKS TO GIVE AWAY if you are interested in the basics behind this program. They also talk about the evils of HFCS which most of us agree with. A small tidbit of the book below:

"Adding saturated fat to the diet has been shown in medical research to encourage the liver cells to dump their fat content. Clearing fat from the liver is the critical first step to calling a halt to middle-body fat storage. Additionally, saturated fat has been shown to protect the liver from the toxic insults of alcohol and medications, including acetaminophen and other drugs commonly used for pain and arthritis, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs, and even to reverse the damage once it has occurred. Since the liver is the lynchpin of a healthy metabolism, anything that is good for the liver is good for getting rid of fat in the middle. Polyunsaturated vegetable fats do not offer this protection."

So, no matter what we believe & follow for our own diet program, there is always an opposing view. I have found the book informative to read since this is not a plan I follow at all. Check back Monday for more of my thoughts and that GIVEAWAY(U.S. & Canada only) for those that want to know more about this plan OR just want to hear all sides of the coin on weight loss. From a person that is middle-aged+ and is fighting the middle-aged middle (sort of & more on that Monday), I was very interested in reading this for knowledge sake even though low carb & saturated fat goes against all I do now! Check back November 16th for more!

PS: That is only ONE pound of fat in the pic... YIKES!