Written by Lori Lipinski
Tuesday, 29 April 2003
For many years we have been told over and over again that fat is unhealthy, and most people actually do believe it. Therefore, in an attempt to be "healthy," many people avoid eating fat.
When I work with clients who claim they eat "healthy" I always ask them to explain what that means. The typical responses I hear are:
- "I never eat fatty red meats, only chicken or fish once or twice a week."
- "I don't use butter or eggs because I'm watching my cholesterol."
- "My doctor told me to use margarine to avoid the heart disease that runs in my family."
- "I'm trying to lose weight so I count fat grams, and buy everything fat-free."
I have to give my clients some credit because they are simply doing what they have been told to do. The only problem is that what they have been told to do just doesn't work. In fact, the clients I see who eat lowfat diets are usually the most unhealthy people that I work with. They typically suffer from symptoms of depression, fatigue, anxiety, mood swings, hypoglycemia, insulin resistance, constant and insatiable hunger, gall bladder problems (gas, bloating, "acid-reflux," loose stools), hormonal imbalances, and even lack of menstruation in young women. Women on lowfat diets especially complain that their hair is dry and brittle and falls out easily and their skin is dry and wrinkly. And, as crazy as it sounds, they almost always want to lose weight!
Even though most people on lowfat diets don't feel healthy, they still believe that somehow avoiding fat will make them healthier. The medical community, junk food industry and the media have done an incredible job convincing the American public that fats are bad for us. Fats have been blamed for everything from clogging our arteries to causing cancer. And fats are definitely the most popular scapegoat for our national health obsession-obesity!
So you've probably figured out by now that avoiding fat in your diet doesn't make it magically melt off your body. The truth is that eating fat does not make you fat. In fact, you don't even have to feel guilty when you eat fat because fat is essential to our health. The human brain is over 65 percent fat, our hormones are made from fat, and so is the outer layer of every single cell in the body. Fat keeps our skin healthy, enhances our immune system, stabilizes our blood sugar and prevents diabetes. Good fats benefit our heart, normalize our blood fats and cholesterol, and even prevent cancer! Here are a few steps to help you add good fats to your diet:
