Article on Healthy Fats

Article by Jillian Michaels- Trainer from The Biggest Loser.  Very interesting and poignant about healthy fats.  I was the queen of low-fat dieting and was ALWAYS hungry which led to binges on really unhealthy foods.  Now I’m Mrs. Nut Queen (in more ways than one :-))  Enjoy!

Fat: Can’t Live Without It

by Jillian Michaels

Think back on all those past dieting failures. Did you completely eliminate fat in one of those diets? Didn’t last long on that one, did you? If being ravenous within an hour of eating a plate of steamed veggies didn’t do you in, then surely the lack of energy and fuzzy thinking did.

Let’s talk about why you need fat in your diet. Animal and vegetable fats provide valuable, concentrated energy; they also provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances. Fats slow the absorption of nutrients into your system so that you can go longer without feeling hungry, and they aid in sugar and insulin metabolism, which helps you lose weight. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins, aid in the absorption of vital minerals, and help facilitate a host of other important biological operations within the body.

Convinced? Good! I know your next question is, How do I know if foods that contain fat are good to eat or not? It all boils down to molecular structure, and how different kinds of fat molecules affect your body. The fats considered to be healthiest come from plants and vegetables. They are called unsaturated fats, and here’s a basic look at the science behind them: Unsaturated fat molecules contain at least one pair of carbons linked by a double bond. Since hydrogen can’t break this bond, it can’t bond with these carbons, so any fat molecule with one or more double-bonded carbons is considered “unsaturated” by hydrogen. Now keep your eyes peeled for the magic word — unsaturated — on food packaging.

The Healthiest “Good” Fat

The healthiest unsaturated fat is monounsaturated, so named for its one pair of double-bonded carbons. This is the kind of fat that can actually lower your “bad” cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease. It also supplies fatty acids essential for skin health and cellular development, and is believed to help prevent certain kinds of cancer, including breast and colon cancers. Excellent sources of monounsaturated fat include olive oil, canola oil, raw nuts (not roasted), and avocados.