Is Your Fat Being Threatened
By Gary Matthews
What if I told you that fat is a major contributor
to the increasing problem of obesity in the
world today. It's stored in the fat cells
of the body. The number of fat cells is estimated
to be around 50 billion for the average person.
It can be up to 100 billion for the obese
person.
Fat cells are like storage tanks of energy
to be used for later use. It has been shown
that obese people who binge eat may stimulate
baby fat cells to sprout to increase the number
of fat cells they have.
Fats are found in foods such as butter,
margarine, oils, fats, dripping, nuts
and oil seeds.
Research conducted indicates that good
fats such as fish oils especially deep
sea fish, olive oil, canola oil, avocado
and nuts contain important fatty acids
which if taken by people aged 65 plus
reduced the risk of a fatal heart attack
by 44%.
Other names for fats include... Lard,
animal shortening, coconut oil, palm oil,
vegetable oil, butterfat, whole milk solids,
copra, tallow, chocolate chips, shortening,
margarine, cocoa butter.
Lets have a look at the different types
of fat. There are three types of fat to
found in the diet:
Saturated fats - are found mainly in
animal products and do the most damage
and are the most related to the build-up
of cholesterol in the arteries.
Research has indicated that saturated
fats in the diet can increase LDL cholesterol
levels in the blood, which is the unwanted
cholesterol and should be avoided. The
following foods contain this type of fat:
* Meat
* Dairy
* Eggs
* Cakes, biscuits and pastries
Monounsaturated fats - Monounsaturated
fats help to decrease the cholesterol
and LDL levels in the blood. The following
foods contain this type of fat:
* Olive Oil
* Canola Oil
* Peanut Oil
Polyunsaturated fats - Polyunsaturated
fats in small quantities can help to decrease
total cholesterol. Examples of polyunsaturated
Fats - would be vegetable oil and palm
oil.
We also know that eating too much fat
leads to health problems and weight-gain,
but we do need some healthy fats in our
diet. Fats are a source of soluble vitamins
A, D and E.
As pointed out before, consuming fats
is the major culprit that leads to fat
being on the human body mainly because
fats are high in calories. I recommended
that people eat less than 20% of total
their total calories from fat.
Fats provide hormone production and skin
health and protection of vital organs
and insulation Too much fat in the diet
however, can increase the risk of a number
of lifestyle diseases that are common
in the western world
So Please remember...
* Limit the saturated fats in your diet
- which includes butter, cream, full-fat
dairy products, fatty meats, cakes, pastries
and fried foods.
* Choose lean meats where possible and
trim visible fat and skin before cooking
* Select low fat dairy products where
possible
* Be aware of the hidden fats in processed
foods and foods high in salt
* Choose liquid fats over solid fats
e.g. olive and canola oil over butter
* Include amounts of unsaturated or 'good
fats' in your diet. Sources include fish,
olive and canola oil, nuts and avocado
* Also try to include the good omega-3
fats daily - fatty fish such as salmon,
tuna, and sardines are good sources and
try to eat three fish meals a week if
you can.
Now that you are armed with this information,
start checking what you are eating, firstly
by checking the labels on all the foods
that you consume. Remember anything that
has 5grams of fat or below is good and
anything above this figure eat sparingly.
About The Author
Gary Matthews is the author of the popular
fitness eBooks Maximum Weight Loss and
Maximum Weight Gain. Please visit http://www.maximumfitness.com
right now for your 'free' weight loss
or muscle building e-courses.
