The most avoided phrase in the vocabulary of most dieters is ‘fa’. It isn’t uncommon to listen to a dieter discuss their avoidance of eating fat as if it were something thoroughly unwholesome, and even life-threatening, like an allergen, or a contagious disease.
In one way, this impassioned hatred of fat is positive. It displays a generally understood medical truth that overindulging in fat-rich foods typically causes unwanted, and unhealthy, weight gain.
On the other hand however, this fear of fat can be potentially dangerous, because being aware of fat is usually not enough; a deeper understanding regarding the affect of fat on weight gain and total health is also necessary. Unfortunately, those who dread and avoid all fat “as a rule” are overlooking an essential difference between saturated fat and unsaturated fat.
Oftentimes, saturated fat is the true trigger for these unnecessary, and probably unhealthy, pounds that you’ve been piling on. These kinds of fats, which are solid at room temperature, initiate the production of LDL cholesterol, or “bad cholesterol”. In addition to weight gain, as cholesterol increases, so does the risk of heart disease. As a matter of fact, saturated fats unevenly increase LDL cholesterol levels more than dietary cholesterol; which is why it’s horribly dangerous for the body. Dreading and avoiding this kind of fat is therefore fairly intelligent.
Some people are more concerned about cosmetic weight gain however, and fewer about the possibility of high cholesterol and heart disease. 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 tens of millions of obese people, especially children [ii].
It is undeniable that an excessive amount of consumption of saturated fat results in weight gain. The predominant reason for that is that one gram of fat actually contains more than double the amount of calories as one gram of protein – 9 calories for fat against only 4 calories for protein [iii]. Because of this, dieters can really consume more than twice the amount of protein grams versus fat grams to arrive at the same caloric intake. For dieters who’re steadfastly watching each calorie, this 125% calorie difference between protein and fat can have an enormous impact.
Fat cells, once created, cannot be eliminated [1]; they can only be made smaller by way of the body’s metabolic calorie-burning process [iv]. Since a person’s rate of metabolism is determined largely by genetics, a dieter with a slower than average metabolism will spend months, even perhaps years or longer struggling to shrink fat cells then would his or her metabolically-gifted counterpart [v].
It is quite easy to understand, based on the above dialogue, why the very thought of fat is dreaded by dieters; both because of the health hazards it poses, and its capacity to create excess fat cells. And it’s just as easy to understand why many people are so afraid of consuming this kind of fat that they strive to remove all fat from their diet. This, nonetheless, is a big nutritional oversight.
Fat is a macronutrient that the body requires for a number of necessary functions. It is a source of energy. It helps regulate the proper functioning of the brain and nervous system, aids in the assimilation of certain vitamins, and keeps the body warm. This appears, nevertheless, to be a contradiction.
On the one hand there are health and weight gain hazards related to fats, and on the other hand, there are confirmed health advantages associated with fat. How is that possible? The answer is easily understood after we differentiate between the two forms of fat: saturated and unsaturated. The form of fat associated with health hazards is the former; the type that the body needs and uses effectively is the latter.
There are two sub-kinds of unsaturated fat: polysaturated fat, and monosaturated fat. Common sources of polyunsaturated fats are safflower oil and corn oil, while monounsaturated fat can be present in foods such as peanut oil and olive oil. These unsaturated fats are responsible for providing the body with the most efficient and useful sources of fat that lead towards the health advantages mentioned above.
However, though there’s a clear benefit to eating unsaturated fat instead of saturated fats, both types continue to offer eaters the usual 9 calories per gram. Because of this, overeating of fats ought to be avoided at all times.
Equipped with the awareness and understanding that avoiding saturated fat is hazardous to health, and that there’s such a thing as “good” unsaturated fat, it might be anticipated that the majority nutritional dietary supplements on the market have created foods that reflect this understanding. This is, regrettably, not the case.
Most nutritional supplements contain some fat content; many even contain saturated fat for some inexplicable reason [2]. Tragically – and there is no other word – many dieters are deceived into eating self-described nutritionally intelligent foods which may be “low calorie”, and may even have some vitamins and nutrients, but they’re adding to the person’s restricted capacity to ingest fat grams. Oftentimes, most individuals who wish to lose weight through nutritional supplements actually end up gaining weight. They mistakenly assume that it’s because of their slow metabolism, when in fact it’s the quantity of fat grams that they ingested which should be blamed.
Fortunately, there are several fat-free food supplements on the market today. There are several essential benefits of this strategy that benefit dieters of all sizes.
One clear benefit is that you no longer have to engage in tedious fat calorie-counting whenever you take these nutritional supplements since they’re 100% fat-free, and does not add to your daily limit for fat intake.
Less obvious, however, is that a zero-fat nutritional supplement that contains protein can stimulate the digestive system and decrease fat storage. This is because the protein content might help regulate the body’s capacity to effectively absorb the calories that it derives from carbohydrates and fats. For instance, a dieter who consumes a sugar-filled, and fat-filled cupcake can minimize fat storage and improve nutrient utilization at the same time, by consuming it along with a high-protein nutritional supplement.
The world of nutrition has long since recognized the link between dietary fat and weight gain. Unsaturated fat is usually a worthwhile asset in the battle against weight gain. Differentiating it from saturated fat helps enlighten individuals about the stigma unfairly attached to unsaturated fats – a stigma which ought to only be reserved for its unhealthier kin, 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.
REFERENCES
[i] Source: “Fat Dictionary”. Dietsite.com. http://www.dietsite.com/dt/diets/HeartHealthy/fatdictionary.aspSATURATED FATS:
[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
[iii] Source: “Reducing Dietary Fat”. WebMD. http://my.webmd.com/content/article/46/2731_1679
[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.
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