User's Guide to Good Fats and Bad Fats: Learn the Difference Between Fats That Make You Well and Fats That Make You Sick
By Marie Moneysmith and Jack Challem
()
About this ebook
Marie Moneysmith
MICHAEL D. SEIDMAN, MD, FACS, lives in West Bloomfield, Michigan. MARIE MONEYSMITH lives in Beverly Hills, California.
Read more from Marie Moneysmith
User's Guide to Carotenoids & Flavonoids: Learn How to Harness the Health Benefits of Natural Plant Antioxidants Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5User's Guide to Carnosine Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related to User's Guide to Good Fats and Bad Fats
Related ebooks
Cholesterol: Heart-Healthy Eating: The most important information you need to improve your health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Longevity Decoded: The Miracle Plant Based Diet That Can Save Your Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnti-Fat Nutrients: Safe and Effective Strategies for Increasing Metabolism, Controlling Appetite, and Losing Fat in 15 Days Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStop Prediabetes Now: The Ultimate Plan to Lose Weight and Prevent Diabetes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThriving with Hypothyroidism: The Holistic Guide to Losing Weight, Keeping It Off, and Living a Vibrant Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUser's Guide to Nutritional Supplements Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUser's Guide to Vitamins & Minerals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5User's Guide to Antioxidant Supplements Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings7 Syndrome Healing: Supplements for the Mind and Body Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFeed Your Genes Right: Eat to Turn Off Disease-Causing Genes and Slow Down Aging Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5User's Guide to Vitamin E Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUser's Guide to Anti-Aging Nutrients: Discover How You Can Slow Down the Aging Process and Increase Energy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Diabetes Association Guide to Nutrition Therapy for Diabetes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nutritional Food Values Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5You Are What You Eat: Human Body Function in Relation to Food Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUser's Guide to Natural Remedies for Depression: Learn about Safe and Natural Treatments to Uplift Your Mood and Conquer Depression Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNutrition and Disease Prevention, Second Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving an Alzheimer's Free Life: The Why We Eat Series, #6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBio-Identical Hormones and Telomerase: The Nobel Prize–Winning Research into Human Life Extension and Health Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Optimal Digestive Health: A Complete Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPractical Nutrigenomics: a guide to setting up your personalised nutrition service Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Food Remedies - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: The most important information you need to improve your health Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmino Acids: A Practical Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImmune System: Boost the Immune System and Heal Your Gut and Cleanse Your Body Naturally Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUser's Guide to Coenzyme Q10: Don't Be a Dummy, Become an Expert on What Coenzyme Q10 Can Do for Your Health Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Diet & Nutrition For You
Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Intuitive Eating, 4th Edition: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Diet Myth: Why the Secret to Health and Weight Loss is Already in Your Gut Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ (Revised Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Muscle for Life: Get Lean, Strong, and Healthy at Any Age! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Noom Mindset: Learn the Science, Lose the Weight Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCarnivore Cure: The Ultimate Elimination Diet to Attain Optimal Health and Heal Your Body Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Step by Step Guide to the Whole 30 Diet: A Detailed Beginners Guide to Losing Weight on the Whole 30 Diet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Everything Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Cookbook: 300 Simple and Satisfying Recipes without Gluten or Dairy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep Cookbook: Easy And Healthy Recipes You Can Meal Prep For The Week Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Obesity Code: the bestselling guide to unlocking the secrets of weight loss Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The DIRTY, LAZY, KETO Cookbook: Bend the Rules to Lose the Weight! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Delay, Don't Deny Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Anti-Anxiety Diet: A Whole Body Program to Stop Racing Thoughts, Banish Worry and Live Panic-Free Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnlocking the Keto Code: The Revolutionary New Science of Keto That Offers More Benefits Without Deprivation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for User's Guide to Good Fats and Bad Fats
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
User's Guide to Good Fats and Bad Fats - Marie Moneysmith
I NTRODUCTION
If you’re confused about fat, you’ve come to the right place. In recent years, experts have taken us from an all fat is bad
position to the more realistic some fats are good
stance of today. The problem is that the transition left a lot of confusion in its wake. How can olive oil be healthier than vegetable oil when they seem so much alike? Which is healthier—margarine or butter? What makes one fat good and another bad? How can anyone without an advanced degree in chemistry make sense of it all?
The truth is, sorting out the good fats from the bad is easier than it might seem. And yes, it is worth the effort. Scientists are discovering that getting enough of the good fats—and cutting back on the not-so-good—is crucial to our health in a number of ways. Many experts suspect that some of today’s most common diseases could be controlled, or even avoided, with proper fat intake.
Research has shown that good fats can affect a wide range of health conditions, including heart disease, certain types of cancer, high blood pressure, inflammation, type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, kidney disease, digestive disorders (such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), asthma, emotional disturbances, mental functions, and—last, but far from least—obesity and weight management.
That’s right! As strange as it sounds, proper fat intake could help the millions of Americans, 60 percent of the population, who are considered overweight or obese. Why? Because good fats are now considered a key element in weight loss and management.
Maintaining a healthy weight has nothing to do with vanity. Excess pounds set the stage for the serious health conditions mentioned above, and can compromise our health in many other ways. In fact, our ever expanding girth is now considered the second-most common preventable cause of death in this country, after smoking.
Experts cite several reasons for the wave of obesity sweeping the country. One of the most ironic reasons is the explosion in fat-free
and low-fat
foods that have flooded supermarket shelves in recent years. These so-called healthy
foods ballooned into a multibillion-dollar enterprise—at the same time that more and more Americans were growing heavier, and failing to get healthier! Clearly, something is wrong with this picture.
Part of the problem was that consumers were lured into the false belief that anything with less fat was good for their health and would help with weight loss. In fact, just the opposite was true. To replace the flavor lost by the lack of fat (fat carries flavor), most of these foods are loaded with sugar, which is a simple carbohydrate and packs plenty of calories—but virtually no nutrition. Is it any surprise people could eat less fat and still put on pounds?
Meanwhile, the other health benefits associated with low-fat diets failed to materialize, too. Heart disease, cancer, and stroke are still the leading causes of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. In 1999 the numbers of deaths were just about the same for all three conditions as they were in 1981. Clearly, the low-fat plan did not lower the risk of developing the most common diseases.
The second part of the problem involves the confusion about fat. First, we were told to eliminate fat from our diets, period. Then word started getting out that some fats were okay, but others weren’t. Meanwhile, the diet gurus were arguing over which eating plan was best (High protein? High carbs? No carbs?). No wonder weary consumers threw their hands up in the air and simply gave up.
Obviously, the notion that fat is the enemy is an oversimplification. The truth is, we need fat. Or, more accurately, we need the right types of fat. With those, our brains and nervous systems function better, we absorb vitamins properly, our hair and skin look and feel more attractive, and our cardiovascular and immune systems work as they should.
Of course, all fat is not created equal. Just as there are advantages to consuming good fats, there are disadvantages to getting too many bad fats. Unfortunately, the typical American diet provides us with far too much of the bad variety in snack, processed, fried, and fast foods. And, to add insult to injury, diligent consumers who read food labels may think what they’re eating is better than it really is. Why? Because nutrition labels don’t list the worst offenders in the fat family.
In between the health-friendly fats and those that damage our health, there are other assorted fats with both upsides and downsides. Some provide relief for specific conditions; others have surprised researchers with their recently discovered health benefits. Yet with some experts telling us we are eating too much fat, and others insisting we aren’t getting enough of the right ones, no wonder confusion reigns. Sorting out the good fats from the bad is what this book is all about, and yes, it can be done. We need to rethink fat, get to know the players, and start using more good fats in our diet to improve our health, not diminish it.
CHAPTER 1
F ATS: T HE G OOD,
THE BAD, AND
THE HEALTHY
In a perfect world, there would be no conflicting studies, contradictory experts, or confusion over something as simple as fat. Our world is not there yet, but that’s no excuse for letting the lack of straight answers prevent you from staying healthy.