Breaking news: FATS DON’T MAKE YOU FAT!
This is what I hope you will keep in your mind after reading this.
Fats have been demonized for decades. And as research and objective facts have proven it: the human population hasn’t been doing very well since they have been decreasing their fats consumption and increasing their (bad) carbs intake. Facts speak for themselves.
And still, I can see people choosing low-fat version of xxx, or “diet” soda, thinking this won’t make them fat. This is SO WRONG. Those processed products should be banned, and shouldn’t even be named as “food”. I would rather call them “toxic supply” or something like that.
Fats are essential to the primal functioning of all cells in your body. Without good fats, you would die. Life can physically not happen without fat. Obviously, I am talking about the right types of fats here: saturated fats, Omega 3/Omega6, mono-unsaturated fats… (READ HERE for more details).
Many studies have shown how eating good fats help decrease considerably Cardiovascular health problems, stroke, or myocardial infection. Many studies also show that eating good fats is actually necessary to be healthy and that being deprived accelerates the aging process- and death.
Now, so many people today are concerned with their physical appearance that maybe knowing that eating fats make healthy won’t really convince them. Well here it is for them: good fats make you lose weight! It is rather eating sugars and grains that will make you fat. I like to say that good fats flush out the bad fats in your body.
Refined carbs from sugar or grains are among the primary causes behind today’s skyrocketing obesity rates, diabetes, heart disease, chronic diseases and even cancer. By decreasing the amount of sugar/grains you are eating, and increasing the amount of saturated fats, you can significantly help reverse, prevent and/or heal most of the chronic health issues. One way to do that is to avoid all types of processed foods and choose only fresh, organic wholefoods.
A very important point here is this: DON’T CUT YOUR VEGETABLES INTAKE. Those are essential carbs that your body needs! When you start decreasing your daily sugar/grains intake, it is even more important to increase your amount of fats, proteins and vegetables daily. To feel satiated and help your body in its healing and detoxification process.
Comparing the same amount of calories between good fats and fructose for example, good fats are much more nourishing and won’t have any of the very negative metabolic effects of fructose (yes, I am also talking about the type of sugar that is in fruits…READ THIS to know more about it). Fructose actually tricks your body by turning off your appetite control system. Therefore, when you eat some, you can not really stop eating more of it. Fructose leads to weight gain, especially in the abdominal area. It disrupts the good ration and balance of CHOLESTEROL, increases triglycerides, increases blood sugar levels and blood pressure as well. In the medium to long term, this can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, any other chronic disease and even cancer.
An important point here is to realize that you can not compensate for it by exercising more. Fructose literally nullifies hard work by preventing natural human growth hormone.
So yes, you get it. Stop eating so many refined carbs, and even beware of the amount of fruits you are eating. The daily dose of 15-25mg of fructose per day shouldn’t be exceeded.
So now you get the picture: fats don’t make you fat. They are vitally essential for you to live. On the contrary, refined carbs, especially all types of sugars (fructose from fruits as well) and grains, can make you chronically sick, fatigued, with brain fog, moody and they make your body stock up on the unwanted fat cells.
So, bad carbs make you fat, good fats make you healthy and help with weight management. Here are a few important points to understand why, biologically, fats are our allies:
1. No fat = no bile secreted = toxic harmful bile accumulation in gallbladder
For bile to be released by the gallbladder, fats must be ingested. They are the trigger for healthy bile release, which is essential to the whole digestive tract, and which contributes to toxins and excess hormones detoxification. When someone has been on a low-fat diet for a while, the bile just sits there, becoming thick, viscous and toxic. That’s also how gallstones can occur, and many people on low-fat diets have their gallbladder removed…! This shows how anti-natural eating a non-fat diet is. If you have been on a low-fat diet for a while, increase your fat intake GRADUALLY, so that your gallbladder can adapt to the change and start functioning again. As for your muscles, gallbladder system is quite simple: use it, or lose it….
2. A good cholesterol balance requires a right amount of good fats
Please READ HERE if cholesterol is your major issue. There are a lot of misconceptions around it and a usual “bad cholesterol” level might not be so bad after all.
Cholesterol is a healthy agent that gets mainly produced by your body itself, to protect you from inflammation and/or stress. It acts like a healing agent. Low cholesterol levels are linked to an increase mortality rate, increase rate of depression, increase rate of crimes/suicides and increase risk of dementia or Alzheimer, and so much more.
Saturated fats like in raw grass-fed butter, animal fats or coconut oil are essential to help balance your cholesterol balance and improve your cholesterol quality (bad small and dense LDL become larger and more fluffy, which is much better and healthier).
You can not live without cholesterol, and you can not live without a good fats intake.
3. Fats are essential to absorb fat-soluble essential vitamins
Here we are talking about vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin K. Those essential vitamins NEED FATS to get absorbed. If you take them without any fat supply, your body won’t absorb them and they will be flushed out through the digestive system.
4. Blood sugar level balance
This is why I always advise my clients to accompany their carbs intake with a good source of fats. Want an apple? Have some nuts with it. Want a good salad? Add some great olive oil or raw butter with it. Fats slow down the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. Therefore, they help balance the blood sugar peaks (and therefore the insulin levels become more stable as well throughout the whole day). Avoiding highs and crashes of insulin is mostly important to decrease inflammation and stay away from many chronic diseases and auto-immune problems. On top of that, good fats help improve the flavour and taste of those foods. No wonder that they have always been added to traditional meals.
Today, the low-fat versions of some foods want to attract people because those products are cheaper. But by taking the fat out, they take out moisture and taste. So to counterbalance that effect, the industrials often add harmful chemicals and other sweeteners. And what you thought as a health and “weight loss” food is in fact a toxic harmful chemical that your body can not even recognize as food.
5. Overall hormonal balance requires fat
Cholesterol-rich fats are the building blocks of many vital hormones, especially sex hormones (testosterone, estrogen and progesterone). Many women on a low-fat diet are actually progesterone-deficient, which is the start of many imbalances and most particularly reproduction problems. They may start suffering with PMS (premenstrual syndrome), or menopausal syndrome.
For men, low-fat diets means a lack of testosterone, with the same results: low libido, erectile function problems, “man boobs” and infertility.
So ladies and gentlemen, I hope you understand: stop the commercial brainwash and help your body function the way it should by adding some good healthy fats into your daily nutrition intake.
6. No fats, no detox
Your liver acts as a toxin filter and is one of the most essential component of your body’s natural detoxification process. It collects toxins (from your food, the air you are breathing, through your skin, your make-up…) and packages them in the bile. As we said earlier, if you are on a low-fat diet, this bile won’t be released and that’s another reason you will accumulate all those bad harmful toxins even more. Therefore: start adding some good fats, slowly and gradually, and help all those body functions do their work. You can not feel well and be healthy if your body is not detoxifying properly. So now you know.
7. No fats, no weight loss
Are you still feeling better “psychologically” when you are eating light rice cakes instead of a teaspoon of almond butter? Think again. Now you have a better vision thanks to all we have just said, and because carbs intake only keeps you satisfied for a very short period of time, compared to a good fats intake. With those types of carbs intake, you will be craving some more food in 1-2 hours because your blood sugar levels will crash in 1-2 hours.
Fats signal satiation because they are digested slowly. It is a long burning energy process that satisfies highly the taste buds and the whole appetite control. You can not binge on a whole jar of coconut oil, right? And because they also help your body to detox, they actually help you lose this stubborn fat (which is the reason of most people's unhappiness...).
So even if you are still focusing on your weight rather than on your health, good healthy fats HAVE TO BE PART of your meal plan.
By healthy fats, I mean: (ALL ORGANIC)
- coconuts and coconut oil
- olives and olive oil
- raw grass-fed butter
- raw nuts (almonds, macadamias, pecans, walnuts...)
- free-range or pasture-raised eggs, chicken, poultry
- avocados
- grass-fed meat
CONCLUSION
FATS ARE OUR BEST FRIENDS.
We have been avoiding them for too long, shutting down our own sensations in profit of the massive commercials and marketing campaigns out there. There are many reasons why our modern society became so sick, suffering with so many chronic diseases. The quality of our food is essential. We are what we eat, we are what we absorb. By helping our body to function the way it is meant to, we help ourselves feel good, energized, healthy. Stop listening to these misleading commercials and start doing your own research. Governments are now adding some more saturated fats into their nutritional guidelines, after decades where they have been banning them! Things are changing. Don’t wait to be sick to make the change. You have the right to thrive in live, NOW.
In Health and Happiness,
Stephanie