The most dreaded word in many the vocabulary of any person trying to lose weight is ‘fat’. It is not uncommon to hear a dieter discuss their avoidance of eating fat as if it were something thoroughly unwholesome, or perhaps life-threatening, like an allergen, or a contagious disease|in much the same way anyone else would discuss eating a mud pie.}.
In one way, this impassioned hatred of fat is a good sign. It means there is a widely understood medical fact that overindulging in fat-rich foods often causes unwanted, and unhealthy, weight gain.
However, in another way, this fat-phobia is probably dangerous, because awareness of fat is not enough; realizing how fat influences weight gain and overall health is necessary. Unfortunately, those who abhor and avoid all fat “customarily” are overlooking an necessary difference between saturated fat and unsaturated fat.
When it comes to unwanted, and unhealthy, weight gain, saturated fat is often the culprit. These types of fats, that are solid at room temperature, initiate the production of LDL cholesterol, or “unhealthy cholesterol”. In addition to weight gain, as cholesterol increases, so will the chance of heart disease. In reality, saturated fats increase LDL cholesterol disproportionately more so than dietary cholesterol itself; that is how powerfully harmful it is to the human body[i]. Dreading and avoiding this sort of fat is therefore quite intelligent.
A lot of dieters, however are motivated less by issues regarding high cholesterol and heart disease than they are concerning cosmetic weight gain.. This isn't a criticism; the adverse health effects of excess weight are well documented, as are the emotional traumas and social stigmas that tragically affect countless overweight people, especially youngsters[ii].
Weight gain is without a doubt directly related to the excess intake of saturated fats. This is because a fat gram contains more than two times the quantity of calories as a protein gram – nine calories versus 4 calories[iii]. So, dieters will eat more than twice as many protein grams as fat grams to attain the same quantity of caloric intake. For dieters who are steadfastly watching every calorie, this a hundred twenty five percent calorie difference between protein and fat will have an enormous impact.
Fat cells, once created, can not be removed[1]; they can only be reduced in size through the body’s metabolic calorie-burning method[iv]. Since a person’s metabolic rate is decided mainly by genetics, a dieter with a slower than average metabolic rate will spend months, perhaps even years longer fighting to shrink fat cells than his or her metabolically-gifted counterpart would[v].
It's quite simple to understand, based on the earlier discussion, why the very idea of fat is feared by dieters; both because of the health hazards it poses, and its capacity to create excess fat cells. And it's simply as easy to understand why many individuals are so fearful of consuming this sort of fat that they try to remove all fat from their diet. This, however, may be a large nutritional error.
Fat is a source of energy that our body is required to have for many vital functions. It helps keep the body warm, it aids within the absorption of some vitamins, and helps control the right functioning of the brain and nervous system[vi]. This appears, however, to be a contradiction.
On the one hand there are health and weight gain hazards associated with fat, and on the other hand, there are proven health advantages related to fat. How can this be? The answer is easily understood after we make a distinction between the 2 types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. The type of fat related to health problems is the former; the kind that the body desires and uses effectively is the latter.
Polysaturated fat and monosaturated fat are the 2 sub-types of unsaturated fat. Common foods that contain polysaturated fat include safflower oil and corn oil, while monosaturated fats are found in such foods as olive oil and peanut oil. These unsaturated fats are those that provide the body with the most useful and efficient sources of fat that cause the health advantages discussed above.
However, while it's clearly beneficial to eating unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats, both types continue to offer eaters the standard 9 calories per gram. For this reason, no comsumer should eat an excessive amount of fat.
Since we are aware of, and understand that not eating saturated fat is hazardous to health, and that there is such a thing as “good” (unsaturated) fat, it might be expected that the majority of nutritional supplements out there have created foods that replicate this understanding. This can be, unfortunately, not the case.
Many nutritional supplements contain some fat content; many even contain saturated fat for some unfathomable reason[2]. Unfortunately – and there is no alternative word – several dieters are deceived into eating self-described nutritionally healthy foods which might be “low calorie”,
and may even contain some vitamins and nutrients, but they are adding to the individual’s restricted capability to ingest fat grams. Many folks who seek to lose weight by eating nutritional supplements typically gain weight. They incorrectly believe it's the results of a slow metabolism, when the cause is the quantity of fat grams ingested.
Fortunately nowadays fat-free food supplements can be found just about anywhere in the market. There are several vital advantages of this strategy that benefit dieters of all sizes.
The most apparent benefit is that a dieter doesn't be required to keep track of fat calories wheneating these nutritional supplements; they are 100% fat free, and do not boost their daily fat-intake limit.
Less clearly, however, is that a zero-fat nutritional supplement that contains protein will stimulate the digestive system and keep fat storage to a minimum. This occurs because the protein content can help regulate the body’s ability to effectively absorb the calories that it gets from carbohydrates and fats. For example, a dieter who eats a sugary, fat-filled candy bar can diminish fat storage and increase nutrient utilization by eating it with a protein-rich nutritional supplement.
The arena of nutrition has long since known the link between dietary fat and weight gain. Unsaturated fat will be a trusted ally within the fight against weight loss. Knowing how it differs from saturated fat helps clear up the stigma of unsaturated fats – a stigma that should be saved for its unhealthy relative, saturated fats.
[1] Fat cells can be removed externally, through such methods as liposuction and stapling, but these so-called solutions carry their own brand of risks and consequences.
[2] Actually, the reason is usually because of taste.
[ii] Source: “The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity”. US Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm
[iv] Source: “Can Diabetics Benefit from the Removal of Fat?”. Washington University Physicians.
http://wuphysicians.wustl.edu/newsArchive.asp?navID=1&category=home&ID=288
[v] Source: “Weight Loss Understanding Why Diet’s Don’t Work – and what DOES Work”. Healthynewage.com.
http://www.healthynewage.com/losing-weight.htm
[vi] ibid.
Author Resource:
About Protica Research
Founded in 2001, Protica Research (Protica, Inc.) is a nutritional research firm specializing in the development of capsulized foods (dense nutrition in compact liquid and food forms). Protica manufactures Profect (www.profect.com), IsoMetric, Pediagro, Fruitasia and more than 100 other brands in its GMP-certified, 250,000 square foot facility. One area of specialty is the manufacturing of Medicare-approved, whey protein shots for cancer patients.
You can learn more about Protica at www.protica.com - Copyright - Protica Research
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