Dietary guidelines…do they confuse you? How much protein should we eat? What about carbohydrates? Should we eat them at all? If your blood type is O, do you eat differently to your partner whose blood type is AB?
If there’s a more confusing and contradictory issue than human nutrition, I have yet to find it. Well maybe the psychology behind male and female relations comes close – anyone who’s single & online dating will know all about that!
But scientific literature on the subject of diet and nutrition is so conflicting that you start to question the value of anything you read. You take time to study, say, four articles on diet and you get four totally different opinions written by authors with lots of impressive initials after their names.
Let’s look at fats. What a maligned character is that of poor fat. The no-fat diet was huge in the 1970s (There are those who think that this could be a direct contributor to the huge surge in brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s that we see today).
This diet is making a pretty reasonable comeback in Generation Now. People avoid fat like a Scandinavian backpacker in a shopping mall collecting money for Greenpeace.
But this avoidance of a substance we need in fairly reasonable amounts (20-30 per cent of our daily caloric intake) in our diet is not only unhealthy but also pointless, as the liver converts carbohydrate to fat very simply and quickly.
A close relative of fat, cholesterol, is even more despised. But did you know that human breast milk has a higher proportion of cholesterol than any other food? It’s also 50 per cent fat, most of which is saturated. Hmmm.
Ok, so what is saturated fat good for? It:
- makes up 50 per cent of all cell membranes, so is essential for the health of all cells.
- protects the liver from alcohol and other toxins.
- has an immune function.
- is antimicrobial in the digestive tract.
- enhances essential fatty acid utilisation.
And what about cholesterol? It is:
- essential for sex hormone production and corticosteroids that help the body deal with stress and protect against heart disease and cancer.
- essential for Vitamin D production which in turn supports bone and nervous system health, growth, metabolism, muscle tone, insulin production,reproduction, immunity, digestion, and serotonin production.
To add to this, fat (good fat that is) in general is an anti-inflammatory and makes up the myelin sheath that covers your brain, spinal cord and nervous system.
So what’s the dietary take home message? We must increase our intake of good fats, ie coconut oil, olive oil, flaxseed oil, fish oils, etc. As long as the oil is pure, extra virgin and cold pressed it will be nutritionally beneficial.
Remember the only oil you can cook with is coconut oil or butter. All other oils are destroyed by heat. Eggs (organic) are a wonder food and should be eaten with confidence. The same goes for organic butter. Trans-fats should be banned for human consumption (animal consumption too for that matter).
But what if your doctor says you should cut out saturated fats and cholesterol from your diet? Is that right? Are they sure? Before you believe them, just take a closer look at your doctor…
So, the next time you’re dating someone & the conversion turns to diets, start talking about good fat if you need to cover a few of your own pounds hanging over your belt!
If only online dating guidelines could be broken down so easily…that’s impossibly more complex than dieting.
Showing posts with label fatty foods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fatty foods. Show all posts
Friday, 16 March 2012
Friday, 24 February 2012
Simple and Powerful Techniques to Help You Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals
Many factors that determine the success or failure of your weight loss goals. Here are a few things you can do in order to lose weight successfully.
Set small goals: Most people are unable to achieve their weight loss goals because they always think big. There is nothing wring with thinking big, but don't make your goals so big they become overwhelming and intimidating to you! Don't stretch your weight loss goals so far that you feel tempted to quit altogether! Start slow and you'll see how easy it is to shed those obstinate pounds!
You know that you need to make huge lifestyle changes in order to lose weight successfully. Now, keep in mind that you cannot make these changes overnight! For example, if today I ask you to avoid eating junk foods altogether, will you be able to follow my advice? You will probably try hard to avoid junk foods for a day or two, and by doing that, you will be all the more tempted to take a bite of your favorite fatty foods. As a result, you'll end up gaining more pounds than what you started with! What a waste!
Here's an easier way to do it: Instead of trying to cut down on your junk food intake entirely, try to replace one junk food with one good food. Do you eat butter? Well, replace that with peanut butter. Next day, replace burgers with raw carrots! If you eat white breads, replace that with wholegrain wheat breads.
You won't be able to accomplish all of these changes overnight, but you will be able to achieve your goals if you do it slowly, bit by bit. Eventually you will realize that you have completely replaced your bad foods with the healthy foods, but without going through any stress or temptation!
Replace bad habits with good ones: Remember that you gained weight because of certain bad habits. Ideally you should break those old habits in order to lose weight, but I know that breaking an old habit is easier said than done. What you can do instead is modify your bad habit enough so that it becomes a good and healthy habit.
If you are like many people, you have a habit of snacking in the afternoon. Instead of trying to break your afternoon snacking habit, try to replace the snack itself!. If you eat chocolate soups and cookies as snacks, replace them with low-fat yogurt and raw fruits!
Get rid of temptations: Unless you learn to control your temptations, you won't be able to lose weight successfully. Whenever you are tempted to eat, do something that distracts you from the thought of food. You can do anything such as dancing, driving, walking around your house, doing some sit-ups, or drinking a glass of water. All of these things will help keep yourself away from the food cravings!
Set small goals: Most people are unable to achieve their weight loss goals because they always think big. There is nothing wring with thinking big, but don't make your goals so big they become overwhelming and intimidating to you! Don't stretch your weight loss goals so far that you feel tempted to quit altogether! Start slow and you'll see how easy it is to shed those obstinate pounds!
You know that you need to make huge lifestyle changes in order to lose weight successfully. Now, keep in mind that you cannot make these changes overnight! For example, if today I ask you to avoid eating junk foods altogether, will you be able to follow my advice? You will probably try hard to avoid junk foods for a day or two, and by doing that, you will be all the more tempted to take a bite of your favorite fatty foods. As a result, you'll end up gaining more pounds than what you started with! What a waste!
Here's an easier way to do it: Instead of trying to cut down on your junk food intake entirely, try to replace one junk food with one good food. Do you eat butter? Well, replace that with peanut butter. Next day, replace burgers with raw carrots! If you eat white breads, replace that with wholegrain wheat breads.
You won't be able to accomplish all of these changes overnight, but you will be able to achieve your goals if you do it slowly, bit by bit. Eventually you will realize that you have completely replaced your bad foods with the healthy foods, but without going through any stress or temptation!
Replace bad habits with good ones: Remember that you gained weight because of certain bad habits. Ideally you should break those old habits in order to lose weight, but I know that breaking an old habit is easier said than done. What you can do instead is modify your bad habit enough so that it becomes a good and healthy habit.
If you are like many people, you have a habit of snacking in the afternoon. Instead of trying to break your afternoon snacking habit, try to replace the snack itself!. If you eat chocolate soups and cookies as snacks, replace them with low-fat yogurt and raw fruits!
Get rid of temptations: Unless you learn to control your temptations, you won't be able to lose weight successfully. Whenever you are tempted to eat, do something that distracts you from the thought of food. You can do anything such as dancing, driving, walking around your house, doing some sit-ups, or drinking a glass of water. All of these things will help keep yourself away from the food cravings!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)