Critical Importance of Good Fats! [Part II]

Good fats as I said last week are essential for your health. Good fats rarely cause problems are they are essential to the functioning of the body. Bad fats are what cause the harm. Start reading food labels and look out for terms like…Fat content, ‘as saturates, as unsaturated, contains trans fats, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats’: (Chemically processed to alter the nature of the fat so it goes hard.)

Found in a lot of processed foods as they can increase product shelf life and they are a cheaper form for processors to use especially in fast food, snack food, fried food and baked goods. It is critical for your health, your body weight and your metabolism that you keep these out of your diet as much as possible.

There are many different types of fats and as consumed they all perform differently in the body. Saturated fats or hard fats are solid upon cooling. A similar effect happens inside your body. The artery walls are so narrow they can become blocked easily and this happens over time as the saturated fats deposit on the arterial wall. Avoid ‘pop in the microwave or oven meals’ and takeaways as much as possible as they are generally high in saturated fats.

Fats easily become Rancid or Oxidised by the air e.g crisps, nuts, seeds… you will know by their horrible taste! A high intake of these fats can result in free radicals in the body, which can cause headaches, tiredness and sluggishness in the system. Keep packets well sealed and eat within best before date. Add a capsule of vitamin E to oils you have for cooking with to reduce the oxidative process.

Never cook with olive oil, despite what all the chefs say as it is not heat stable. It is damaged by the heat when it reaches 42.c Olive oil contains fabulous health properties however these are destroyed upon heating so use olive oils as dressings, add to smoothies, take a teaspoon on its own, add to yoghurts, drizzle over cooked veg. use coconut oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil for cooking with as they are stable at high temperatures.

Bad fats also cause problems when the body’s metabolic rate (the rate at which your food/fuel is burned up by the body) changes. This change can be due to dietary choices, poor eating habits, toxins, age, sedentary lifestyle, genetics, serious illness, thyroid imbalances, hormone imbalances, adrenal fatigue and so on. What the body does not use up or burn is stored in the body as reserve. This is called Adipose tissue and this is what you see reflected on the weighing scales. Get your body moving to burn off those excess, unnecessary stores.