Low fat, saturated fat, reduced fat, good fat, bad fat, fat free, healthy fat, smart fat. Most of us don’t know what to do with this F- word. Its confusing at times and the only “truth” we know about it is what the Marketing Food God’s tell us to eat. Butter bad, margarine good. Beef bad, chicken good. Egg yolk bad, egg white good. Stick with me and I will blow your mind about the Relevant Real Deal Holyfield of FAT. (queue applause)
Its when we’re about to get into the shower and we’re as naked as Frank the Tank that we all experience groupthink: Cellulite Sucks. We stare, pinch, grab, twist, and cry as we jiggle the fat in the mirror and watch it ripple like waves on the north shore. And our immediate solution is if I eat less fat then I will get less fat. Little fat in my diet means little fat IN MAH BELLEH! There is a theory called “lypid hypothesis” and it states that there is a direct relationship between the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet and coronary heart disease. The creator of this theory was Ancel Keys and in the late 50’s this was hot. A dude named Nathan Pritikin jumped on board and said lets do the “low fat diet”. People loved it. Ashlee Simpson with a new nose kind of L-O-V-E! And why wouldn’t they since they started losing weight. I’m sure most of us have done this and seen results. But problems arose. Raise your hand and say “AMEN!” if this has happened to you…it was hard to stay on the diet, not much energy, and sure enough the pounds came back with vengeance. Why is that?
Our bodies need fat. Fat, which we all know comes from animal and veggie sources, give us the energy we need to think and be active. Its the essential building block for cell membranes and all kinds of hormones (more on how it effects stress in future posts). Fat acts like Fed Ex in the body because it carries Vitamins A,D,E, & K all through the body. We have to have it. Good fat is great for the body but the Food Giants can’t make money on their crap low fat food if we’re not buying it.
100 years ago heart disease in America was very rare. It just didn’t happen. Can you guess what is the leading cause of death today in the good old U.S. of A? We don’t eat animal fats like juicy steaks anymore. Butter use to be a huge part of the American diet, now its “I can’t believe this has no taste.” We have walked away from the beef, eggs, bacon, whole milk, butter, cheese, and we are now enjoying pooches and tires around our waists. I could start citing study after study about entire people groups who are healthy and have little heart disease issues but where’s the fun in that. YOU want to hear about something cool like how NASTY partially hydrogenated oils are. PHO is used because it is the cheapest to produce and its found in things like margarine and shortening. Also known as trans fat its in more things than you realize. You’ll love the process of Hydrogenation.
Its when you take polyunsaturated fats (some forms are veggie and/or canola oil) which are suppose to be liquid at room temp and make them solid at room temp. Sounds fun already. Now make note that poly fats go rancid when heated. Its why after frying a vat of chicken the oil smells. So they take the oil that is yucko from the extraction process and fill it up with metal particles like a nickle oxide. Now that it has the nickle as a catalyst its put into a cooker at high temp and high pressure. Always good to keep heating things that smell more foul the more you heat it up. At this point you have a mess so they put emulsifiers in to give it a better look and feel. But here’s another problem, it smells so bad they have to put it through high heat again to give it a good hose down. Can’t have the death syrum smell now can we? You in love with Trans Fats yet? Well, how about if I told you the orginal color of maragrine is actually grey, and that they have to bleach it and then dye it to get it to look something remotely like butter. Trans fats are found in EVERYTHING these days. Its toxin heaven and your body hates you for it. Heart disease, diabetes, getting sick all the time, cancer…and if that doesn’t freak you out then know it even effects the MOJO if ya know what I’m sayin’.
So let’s get fat. I’m not saying overweight kind of fat. But lets start eating GOOD saturated fat. The kind found in meats, tropical oils, and butter. What you will start to find is you’ll actually eat less. Ever have a bag of chips for a snack but then was just hungry 15 min later? Try grabbing a piece of Ezekiel Live Grain Bread, toast it, and then smother organic butter all over it. You’ll not only have a huge smile but you will be satisfied. For breakfast try frying and egg over easy and eat it with some bacon. Have some organic strawberries with it and you will be good to go!
When God made the egg there is a reason He included the yolk. He knew what he was doing when he came up with the avocado. He’s a very smart Creator and knew one day how amazing guacamole (I promise that recipe is coming soon) would be. Nut butter is good for you (crowd gasps). Start reading and researching yourself. Start noticing that over the last 50 years America is getting unhealthier and fatter. Pay attention to what is in your chips, cookies, fast food, snack bar, and on and on the list goes. The problems started when we lost in touch with our roots. I’m not saying go out today and wrap a stick of butter in a tortilla and call it “good for you”. But what I am saying is don’t be afraid of fat. Hey Hey Hey good fat will do wonders for your body!
Coming soon. Cholesterol and Stress. Triglyceride levels and how they don’t just come from fatty foods. The kind that gives you the heart disease (fat in the belly area is first sign) is made from the liver from the excess sugar in your diet that is not being used. Oh the world of sugar, we’ll save that for next time.
SB
