I heard this the other day and loved it – it is so true. Although I hate the word ‘fat’, the phrase stuck with me and made me think. So often, I see people fear foods that contain ‘fat’ because they think they will get ‘fat’ as a consequence. However, so many foods that contain ‘good fats’ have been proven to maintain/or help with weightloss as opposed to our sugary enemies.
For example, a handful of unsalted almonds contain fat right? So it would be better to have that chocolate bar with 0g fat but about 23g of sugar, yeah? Wrong! Our bodies store and deal with sugary foods and fat very differently. Not all nutrients are equal. Plus, it is much easier to overeat on sugary foods compared to foods that contain good fats.
Here is a little bit of science behind it:
Eating something sweet (high GI carbohydrate) causes your blood sugar levels to increase very quickly and secreting the hormone ‘insulin’ to remove the excess sugar out of your blood. Insulin is a fat storage hormone which promotes exactly that when blood sugar levels are spiked!This then means its partner hormone glucagon cannot operate properly. Glucagon’s role is to mobilize stored sugar back into the blood for energy use. This causes the two hormones to be in competition with one another which means they cannot both be dominant in the blood at the same time. So what does this mean for your body? It means it is an energy-burning/mobilizing state (glucagon) or your body is in an energy storage state (insulin) – defined by you and what you eat.
Of course that is not to say you can eat as much good fat as you like, as with everything in the diet it’s all about balance. I just wanted to share with you how it is now proven diets rich in sugar are slowly growing our waistlines and our obesity epidemic. Remember, there are still bad fats out there, and how funny a lot of them are in foods that contain large amounts of sugar… like donuts. In addition, when they take ‘fat’ out of something like your ‘low fat’ Greek yogurt.. What do they replace it with usually? Sugar!
Guide To Fats At A Glance
- Monounsaturated fats (good fats!)
- Polyunsaturated fats (good fats!)
- Trans fats (bad fats – avoid!)
- Saturated fats (proceed with caution!)
And Don’t Forget MCTs…
The proof that not all fats are bad, MCTs or Medium Chain Triglycerides are unlike other fatty acids. They pass directly from the intestines into the bloodstream, in a similar way to carbohydrates. MCTs have also been linked with energy and performance boosting properties and are very popular with athletes wanting to add quality calories to their diets to promote the lean look. Coconut oil is considered by many experts to be the healthiest dietary oil on earth due to its unique saturated fat content, which is notably high in MCTs.
Here are some great examples of the good fats you do not need to be afraid of
- Avocados
- Olives
- Nuts (always unflavoured/unsalted) such as Almonds, Peanuts, Macadamia nuts, Hazelnuts, Pecans, Cashews, Walnuts (TPW stock some yummy ones!)
- Nut butters such as Peanut Butter, Almond Butter or even Choc Almond Cinnamon Butter
- Sunflower, Sesame, and Pumpkin seeds
- Flaxseed
- Oily fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines)
I hope this helps you to enjoy and not fear fats.
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