Chapter 8.
Fats and
oils... the good, bad and the ugly!
Fat plays a crucial role in not only your good health but also in the
normalization of your weight. The importance of fat is misunderstood
by most people. However, a greater public awareness is now evolving
and as such you may be aware of some of the things that I am about to
tell you.
Which
are the bad Fats and oils?
It is likely that you are unwittingly eating some bad fats every day.
No, they are not the natural saturated fats that you are constantly
warned against by those pushing 'low fat' diets! What I am referring
to is UNNATURAL man made fats and oils known as hydrogenated or transfats.
These fats are found in abundance in almost all processed foods including
low fat foods.
They could quite fairly be labeled as the UGLY fats because they do
so much damage. The human body (unlike natural saturated fats) is not
able to assimilate these fats as they have a molecular structure like
no other. In fact the molecules are actually 'bent out of shape'. No
kidding, they are distorted and completely foreign to the body.
This is
how they are made...
They are produced by starting off with a cheap vegetable oil and putting
it through a process called hydrogenation. This process combines heat
and pressure to add several hydrogen atoms to the oil. The oil is kept
at around 400 degrees F for several hours in the presence of a nickel
or platinum catalyst which converts the liquid to a semi solid. This
prevents the oil from becoming rancid even though it destroys its nutritional
value. Hydrogenation enables manufacturers to convert cheap low quality
oils into butter substitutes... hence the explosion of margarines on
the market.
You will find hydrogenated oils almost everywhere including cookies
and cooking oils. Look carefully at the labels of any processed food
or oils that you buy. If you see hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated
on the label put it back on the shelf.
These reprocessed oils and fats are completely foreign to the body and
it cannot assimilate them. There is therefore no nutritional value to
them at all. Studies have shown that hydrogenated fats and oils are
significant contributors to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, immunity
and reproduction problems, as well as obesity. If you value your health...
and want a slim body give them a wide berth!
What about
saturated fats?
These are the fats which are found in meat, poultry, fish and dairy
products. Also some vegetable oils such as coconuts and palm oil are
high in saturated fat.
The mainstream media warns you to stay away from these fats. This is
either through ignorance or influence from their advertisers, or both.
There is no doubt that eating saturated fats in excess would not be
good for you, but this principle applies to virtually all food.
The simple fact is that your body is designed to cope with saturated
fats and has been since the first human walked the earth. Not only are
our bodies designed to cope with the ingestion of a certain amount of
saturated fats, our bodies also need it. I accept that many people have
too high an intake of dietary fat, but it is not usually through this
source, but rather from trans or hydrogenated fats.
Saturated fats are natural fats whose molecules have not been 'bent
out of shape. You need a certain amount of them for good health and
in particular brain health. The rising rates of Alzheimer's may well
be influenced by the reduction of these fats and the increase of hydrogenated
fats over the last three decades.
Unsaturated
fats?
There are two types of unsaturated fats - poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated.
It is generally believed that all unsaturated fats are OK, but this
is not the case. Poly-unsaturated fats are bad for your health and are
consumed in excessive amounts. They should be avoided.
Polyunsaturated fats are found in safflower, corn, sunflower and soybean
vegetable oils. They remain liquid at room temperature. They do not
have any redeeming health benefits. They are widely used because they
are cheap and although they contain Omega 6 essential fatty acids most
people get far too much Omega 6 which must be partially offset by Omega
3 essential fatty acids. More on that shortly!
Switch
your polyunsaturated oils to mono-unsaturated.
The most common sources of mono-unsaturated fats are olive oil, hazelnuts,
almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, avocado, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds.
Oils made from these foods are much more stable at high temperatures
than the poly-unsaturated alternatives, and they do not have the negative
health implications. The best oil for cooking is without doubt EXTRA
virgin olive oil. I put the 'extra' in caps because it so important.
Most of the mono-unsaturated oils have varying degrees of processing
done to them. The more processing, the greater is the loss of the nutrients.
The best is cold mechanically pressed oils which are usually processed
in darkness because of the sensitivity of these oils to light and oxidation.
Studies have shown that a quality cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
will help lower the bad LDL cholesterol and raise the good HDL cholesterol.
However, ordinary virgin olive oil makes no change.
So, only use quality mono-unsaturated oils for your cooking needs.
Chapter 9.
Essential
fatty acids…Omega 3 and Omega 6.
An overview...
This is another subject all on its own, so I will just try and give
you the outline in a nutshell!
As the names suggest Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids are just
that... they are 'essential'. Many, many ailments including brain diseases
can be traced to a shortage of one of these... specifically Omega 3.
There is no shortage of Omega 6 in the typical western diet. In fact
there is a general over consumption of this as it is present in most
cooking oils. The problem is a deficiency of the Omega 3. The optimum
ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 is 3:1. Some scientists even suggest that
the optimum ratio is 1:1. Over the last couple of decades that ratio
has got out of control where it is now estimated that the ratio is something
like 20:1 or maybe even as high as 50:1.
Start adding Omega
3 essential fatty acids into your regular diet. The best natural source
is flax seeds. Go to your local health food store and buy some ground
flax seeds (preferably organic) and sprinkle a heaped tablespoon on
your food every day. You can also get omega 3 from oily fish such as
salmon. The problem there though is the difficulty of getting fish which
is 100% free of contaminants. Avoid farmed salmon for the reasons outlined
earlier.
Fish oil is another
alternative but you need to find one which has been molecularly distilled
and therefore free of contaminants. Fish oil has the advantage in that
it contains EPA and DHA which are the two substances which give your
body and brain the real benefits. The omega 3's in flax and other plant
oils have to go through a further process within your body in order
to convert the oils to EPA and DHA.
Essential
for weight loss...
As I mentioned earlier this is a subject all on its own and I will write
a special report on it later this year. For, now please remember that
essential fatty acids in the form of Omega 3's are essential if you
are to lose weight and maintain good health. Unless you are eating a
lot of good quality fatty fish you will need to supplement with this
substance…generally about 3,000mgs per day.
Chapter 10.
Glucogen...
you need to know about this!
Because you now have a basic understanding of the importance of insulin
in relation to weight loss and health, it is also important that I now
tell you about another essential hormone which plays a major role in
weight control.
This is
GLUCOGEN.
Glucogen works in the opposite way to insulin. Whereas insulin gets
involved when blood sugar levels are too high with the purpose of escorting
the glucose to the cells, glucogen comes into the picture when the blood
sugar levels are too low!
Glucogen helps release stored glycogen to balance your blood sugar level.
It will also encourage your body to burn fat for energy as well. This
is why this hormone is so important because it helps balance the all
important levels of blood sugar thus preventing fatigue and possible
mood swings.
You need a good
supply of protein to ensure production of glucogen. If you have insufficient
supply then you will have difficulty in making your body burn excess
fat. This is one of the reasons why obese people simply cannot seem
to lose weight no matter how little they eat.
If they have insufficient glucogen their excess fat remains 'locked'
up and unless they go on a starvation diet they simply will not be able
to get rid of it.
