Fight Fat With Fat

With all the fad diets and nutritional advice that seems to appear daily, its no wonder most Americans are scared to death of fat. Fat. The word has had a negative connotation for decades. The reason for heart disease? Must be too much fat. The reason you didn’t get the position? Must be because you’re too fat. Don’t eat that—its too fattening! Let’s eat at home this weekend; restaurants serve food that is just way too fattening. Really? Its time we stop this madness and get the facts straight.

In the words of Walter Willett, MD and author of the book “Eat, Drink and Be Healthy”, the average American has  reduced the percentage of calories that she or he gets from fat over the past three decades. As a nation, we spend billions of dollars a year on low-fat cookies, fake-fat chips and pills that block the absorption of fat from the digestive system. But two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight, more than 30% of adults are considered obese, and diabetes in on the rise. Clearly the war on fat hasn’t fixed heart disease and cancer, and we are still getting fatter and fatter despite our best measures.

For years and years, we’ve a flawed way of seeing fat, and it hasn’t helped us with heart disease, diabetes, cancer or obesity. Despite our best measures we are still doing something very wrong— the answer is NOT those fake-fat potato chips. Put them down! We’ve been trying to cheat the system by restricting calories, reducing fat intake and filling up on fake substances that our bodies cannot recognize. Its time to get real.

What’s next? If the answer isn’t a restrictive diet filled with non-fat items, then what is the answer? Its almost too simple. First off, we have lost sight of the fact that all fats are not created equal. The fat in whole milk is not the same fat found in almonds. Some fat, the good kind, is actually very healthy and can be beneficial in preventing disease and obesity. Fight fat with fat? Yes.

Good fats help our bodies by lowering “bad” cholesterol (LDL), preventing the increase in triglycerides (the form of fat linked to heart disease), reducing blood-flow-blocking clots that form in our arteries, and reducing the development of erratic heartbeats. Basically, good fats can save your life.

Omega-3 fatty acids are a specific class of polyunsaturated fat (the type that is GOOD for you) and they deserve a special round of applause. These fatty acids, which you can get from flaxseeds, walnuts and canola oil, help build cell membranes throughout the body—most importantly in the eye, the sperm cells and the brain. These fats also help prevent and treat heart disease and stroke, and may play a preventative role in cancer.

Other good fats include:

Monounsaturated Fat

• olive oil
• peanut oil
• avocados
• canola oil
• most nuts

Polyunsaturated Fat

• salmon
• tuna
• whole grains
• seeds
• corn and soybean oil

Moral of the story? Don’t be afraid of fat! You aren’t going to get fat by eating fat; you are going to get fat if you eat more calories than you expend through physical activity and exercise. And, yes, metabolism does play a role as well. Good fat can help with that by helping your metabolism run more efficiently and therefore actually assisting in weight loss.