I have been in a war with fat for most of my life. In fact, I cannot remember a time in my life when fat was not my enemy. Like most of you, I grew up believing that eating fatty foods made me fat. Accordingly, I tried to limit my fat intake as much as possible. It wasn’t until very recently that I became aware that this notion of “fat equals fat” is totally and completely false. What is baffling to me is that with all the evidence to the contrary, doctors, nutritionists and health experts are still so attached to this worn-out theory that they continue to promote it.
A brief summary: In the late 1950’s, a researcher named Ancel Keys received quite a bit of publicity when he proposed the Lipid Hypothesis. Keys’ theory claims that there is a direct correlation between the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet and the incidence of coronary heart disease. Despite the fact that there was very little evidence to actually support Keys’ Lipid Hypothesis, food manufacturers seized on it. They began funding studies that would promote the use of much cheaper vegetable oils (margarine, shortening and refined oils) as a healthy alternative to animal fats which were known to be high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Almost fifty years later, mainstream “experts” continue to promote low-fat diets as the best way to reduce cholesterol and heart disease.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Cholesterol and saturated fats found in animals do no cause an increased risk of coronary heart disease. Moreover, they do not make you fat. If that were the case, we should have seen a decrease in heart disease as the intake of fatty foods declined. But the reverse is true. Animal fat and butter consumption fell considerably in the last ninety years, yet the obesity rate in America today is higher than ever – more than five times as high as in the 1950’s. How is that possible? Why do so many more people die of heart disease today than they did a century ago? Think about it for just a second, and it simply doesn’t add up.
How about this fun fact? Since 1950, refined oils consumption increased 400% and sugar and processed foods consumption increased by 60%! Is that a coincidence? I doubt it.
Everything I have read, and my own personal experience, tells me that sugar and processed foods are the real drivers of obesity and heart disease, not fats.
Vegetable oils, especially partially hydrogenated ones, wreak havoc on your body. Humans are simply not built to process them correctly. They sit around in the body and are turned into fat. The same is true for flour and sugar. Not surprisingly, these three little gems make up much of the processed foods that we find in a typical “low-fat” American diet.
What do we have to show for all these “low-fat” eating habits? Bigger love handles and more cellulite, that’s what. Since Americans have cut out all that “evil” fat, obesity rates, heart disease, diabetes, and practically every other disease known to man, have risen at alarming rates.
What does this mean for you? For once, I am happy to be the bearer of good news. Yes, you can eat bacon, red meat and butter and still be healthy! Eating animal fats and other naturally occurring fats is actually very good for you. Your body recognizes this type of fat and burns it for much-needed fuel. Not only do our bodies use fat for energy, we need fat in our diet for basic cell and hormone function. Fat is also essential to vitamin and mineral absorption.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, the Paleo diet promotes eating meats, vegetables, fruit and healthy fats like nuts, seeds, avocado and olive oil while avoiding grains, dairy and legumes. What I don’t often talk about with regard to Paleo is how much fat is actually consumed on this diet and how good it is for you. To give you a better idea, a typical day for me on the Paleo diet looks something like this:
Breakfast: I usually have leftovers from the night before or chicken sausage and avocado (eggs would be great but I am allergic to them). Several days a week, I will also have a green smoothie made with greens, celery, cucumbers, apple and coconut water. I think it is delicious but I realize it is an acquired taste. “Juice” is not really considered Paleo but since I drink up all of the lovely fiber with it, I think it is fine.
Lunch: I almost always have a big spinach salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, bell pepper, olives, avocado and chicken (or some other type of protein). I use olive oil and vinegar for dressing and I don’t even measure it! Along with my salad, I will oftentimes have some carrots and a piece of fruit – preferably something in season. If I am going out to lunch, I will typically order an entrée salad or some sort of meat and veggies. Today, I had a work lunch so I ordered a salad and a steak… Who could beat that?
Dinner: I almost always cook some sort of meat (fish, red meat or chicken) and serve it with lots of vegetables. The other night, I made a garlic-lemon roasted chicken with bacon green beans and sautéed mushrooms as sides. I even cooked the mushrooms in butter!
Snacks: I typically eat some nuts. I often make my own Paleo trail mix with raw cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes, dried fruit (no sugar added) and dark chocolate chunks (more than 70% cocoa). It is super yummy. Another great snack is a piece of fruit like an apple with nut butter.
I probably should stress again that I have no financial interest in the Paleo diet. I do not sell any cookbooks and I am not a part of any sales pitch having to do with anything Paleo. I just know that it works and you should try it!
Moving past the notion that “fat equals fat” is tough. It has taken me a while to wrap my head around the truth myself. If you are still suspect, please feel free to check out a research paper titled “The Skinny on Fats” written by Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig from the Weston A. Price Foundation. It can be found at the following link: http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/skinny-on-fats. This paper provides a much more in-depth look at the Lipid Hypothesis and a variety of studies that refute the theory. I look forward to your feedback.
No comments:
Post a Comment