It still seems to me there are a lot of people out there that follow a low fat diet. I don’t and I haven’t for years. After working in the health & fitness industry for almost ten years, and having the privilege to work alongside some awesome health professionals, these are some of the conclusions I have come to regarding fat.
1. Low fat diets are damaging your long-term health
Yes, despite popular belief, studies have shown that healthy fats are critical for overall brain health & healthy cell function. Fats are also essential for weight loss, which aid in stabilising blood sugars and are a steady source of energy through the day. You can learn more about the importance of fats in the diet in our Christine Cronau interview here.
2. Healthy fats do not make you fat
Excess carbohydrates make you fat! ‘If you eat a great deal of carb’s (which is all converted into glucose), the liver will then convert excess glucose into fat. The average body can only store about 2,000 calories in total, & once this limit is reached there is only one thing to do with it: convert it to fat & store it.’ Dr Malcolm Kendrick, The Cholesterol Myth. Click Here for a list of my top fats I include in my daily diet.
3. Natural occurring saturated fat does not cause heart attacks
I believe saturated fat found in animals do not lead to clogging arteries and making you high risk to a heart attack. Foods that cause inflammation lead to this problem (learn more here). There are now multiple independent studies without financial incentives that support this. It was even on the Dr Oz show recently. Just remember though, not all animal fats are created equal. That’s right folks, just like us, animals are what they eat. So I always go for pasture fed animals & organic sources, as the quality of the fats is much greater!
4. Not all oils are created equal
Especially commercial processed bottled vegetable oils claiming they are healthy! Things you should consider are; if they have undergone any chemical refining, are they hydrogenated, what is their smoke point (heat threshold) etc. All these factors come into play as to whether the oils are damaging your health for the long term. You can learn more about selecting the correct cooking oils HERE.
5. Eat natural butter over margarine
If you have low fat margarine in the fridge, throw it in the bin right now! I believe margarine contributes to inflammation (damaging), they are full of artificial flavourings and colourings, and the instability of the vegetable oils is under scrutiny. If you can tolerate dairy in your diet, give me grass fed butter over margarine any day! You can learn more on why we prefer butter HERE.
Did this post help? Do you have fat with every meal or do you follow a low fat diet? Love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below… Guy
On a side note: I truly enjoy writing these posts, hence our frequent blog posts. At the end of the day though, these are just my thought’s and feelings around a topic I’m passionate about. I encourage everyone to do their own research and check out the facts for themselves.
If you did enjoy the post and got something from it or have something to share on the topic, I would love to hear your thought’s in the comments section below. If you feel others would benefit from this then it would be great if you could share it using one of the icons below (Facebook etc). Cheers, Guy…
8 Replies to “5 Things You MUST Know About Fat To End The Confusion Now”
I am loving these posts at the moment – and this one is a timely one as I am starting to read more and more a discover just how healthy fats can help your health
I don’t follow a “low-fat” diet but I do wonder how much fat become too much. Surely too much if anything is not good, but how do I work what what my body needs in terms of fat intake?
It’s a lot easier to eat too many fats than it is to eat too many carbs when eating whole foods. It’s very easy to over consume nuts/coconut cream/butter than it would be to over eat potatoes & fruit which are more filling due to the fibre & water.
Excess consumption of anything is going to make you fat.
A low carb diet is probably going to affect hormones, exercise performance and overall mood.
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/low-carb-diets
Loving all this information and the videos are unreal so helpful!!!
Thank you so much for your information. I have been having so much trouble with my itchy skin that I noticed that when I changed my types of fat that it seemed to improve it. Now I realise it could be hormonal as well as I am in my mid 50’s. I still have a lot of research to do as I am trying to stay away from chemical enhanced creams till I know what is going on.
Hi Christine,
If you think it’s hormonal I would look at taking dairy out your diet especially milk and see how you feel. Maybe seeing a Naturopath would be good.
Hope that helps. 🙂
Angela
I’ve been following low fodmap diet and told to avoid to much fat such as only allowed 1/8th of an avocado as it can cause issues with my IBD and or IBS as well some are high in fodmaps what are your thoughts on this thanks
Hi Anne… To my limited understanding with FODMAPS, avocado is on the food list of ‘Polyols’, which is suggested to eat sparingly and not because of the fat content. If you are not already, I would recommend seeing a professional practitioner that can help your gut issues with IBD and IBS. If you are looking for a second opinion, I can recommend you a good naturopath? Hope that helps, Guy
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