Be Fat Smart – Fats have a bad reputation in today’s world. Viewed by many as the enemy that people try to avoid at all costs. Manufacturers have even gone so much as to remove it from their products. If healthy fats are removed, then what is used in their place?
Learning about nutrition and eating right can be challenging, but fear not, I am here. I am here to help you make smart food choices. No more walking around the grocery store clueless to what all the labels on boxes say. Together, we are going to learn about making smart food choices, whether you are at home, work, or dining out. You will learn how to read through the marketing strategies that hide the truth behind the true ingredients.
What is Fat?
Fat is viewed as a negative word. It clogs our arteries and gives us extra padding during the cold months, yet, it’s in so many of our favorite foods. Have you ever wondered what is the real story about fat? Shocked to learn that our body needs fat in order to survive? Just like we need carbohydrates and protein we need fat in the correct form and proportion. Like all things in life, too much of a good thing is bad for you. So, you must be aware of what it is and where does it come from.
Fat is essential for the maintenance of your body. Calorie dense at 9 kcals/gram compared to 4 kcal/gram of protein and carbohydrates, it aid in fueling our body with the energy that it needs to perform daily activities and supplies fuel when working out. Consumption of carbohydrates, in a caloric surplus, can raise your level of triglycerides. Fats travel in the blood and stored in fat cells. The body turns carbohydrates into glucose to use for fuel but will store excess glucose as fat. In other words, the body converts carbohydrates to triglycerides. This is what contributes to weight gain and can lead to obesity as well as many health problems. To maintain optimum balance in our caloric intake, balance the amount of energy we burn in a day.
Benefits of Healthy Fats
A layer of fat surrounds our vital organs, cushioning and protecting them from damage. Fat also stores necessary nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E, and K in the liver. These vitamins release into the bloodstream as needed. If fat is not available during absorption then our body will not store them. For years, diet food products contained a manmade chemical called Olestra. Olestra worked by blocking the absorption of fats in the intestine. Thus, all fat-soluble vitamins excrete from the body. What are these fat-soluble vitamins and why do we need them?
Vitamin A also known as retinol – promotes vision, bone growth, tooth development, cell division, embryonic development, and regulates the immune system. Also acts as an antioxidant that prevents oxidation of cells, this, in turn, decreases the risk of cancer and slows down the aging process.
Vitamin D also known as the sunshine vitamin, works with natural sunlight and helps your body convert calcium for strong healthy bones and decrease your risk of osteoporosis. Another fat-soluble, Vitamin E, is an antioxidant. This vitamin helps protect our cells and fights the oxidation process that can lead to cancer. Vitamin E helps protect against heart disease by acting as a magnet to low-density lipoprotein LDL by binding to it. In addition, has neurobiological and blood clotting benefits. Vitamin K aids in blood coagulation, it is imperative to the healing process. Low levels of vitamin K have resulted in uncontrolled bleeding, weakened bones, and promote calcification of arteries and other soft tissues.
Types of Dietary Fats
Not all fat is bad and consumed in moderation. Trans fat should not be consumed and monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat should be chosen over-saturated. Fat has been marketed as a nutrient that should be avoided and food manufacturers have gone to great lengths to remove it from their products.
Marketers highlight in bold writing on the packaging that they have fat-free, low-fat, reduced-fat, 1/3 less fat, and this product is better for you and your body. Yes, we like to believe what they say is true, but at the end of the day, they are doing it to make a profit. They really don’t care how good or bad it is for you, only that they sell it and that their bank accounts keep increasing. If you look at the list of ingredients it has long names of items that we don’t recognize or understand. We would like to think they are telling us the truth because they are the experts of the product, but in reality, they are masking the harmful names of chemicals by focusing on what they can do and not how the chemical process damages our bodies.
When fat is removed from the product the taste is altered. To replace the flavor of a product high amounts of sugar or salt are added. What we believe is good for our body is actually adding to the spread of nationwide chronic disease. This is why it is so important to know what you are eating. Your body is your temple – be kind to it and make smart food choices every day. Set up an appointment today to learn the truth on what food corporations are not telling you and how to make smarter choices when eating healthy fats.
