In today's world of nutrition, low-fat has become synonymous with healthy. However, most fats are not only good for you but essential for a good diet and can assist in weight loss. If you think all fats are bad for you, you need to think again. They are perhaps the most beneficial substance in our diet. Fats are very often the missing ingredient in developing and maintaining good health and fitness. But a misunderstanding of the role of fats and misinformation disseminated by the media and through advertising has misled the public.
First let us define fats. I'm talking about vegetable oils, butter, egg yolks, the fats in meats, cheeses and other naturally occurring fats. Make no mistake, these high energy items can be harmful if overeaten. It is simply a question of balancing your intake of them. Too much or too little is dangerous. Just as you want a balance of health and fitness, and aerobic and anaerobic, you need to balance your intake of fats.
There are two factors which disturb the delicate balance of fats: the first is eating too many of one kind, such as meat and dairy. Consuming all the different types of fats will maintain balance. The second is consumption of bad fat: processed fats such as hydrogenated oils, and over-heated oils such as fried foods. This means chips, french fries, and fried chicken -- to name a few popular foods -- are out. They are loaded with the wrong types of fats.
Your aerobic system depends on fats as the fuel for the aerobic muscles. Fat produces energy, and prevents excessive dependency on sugar, especially blood sugar. Your body is capable of obtaining most of its energy from fat. Fat provides more than twice as much potential energy as carbohydrates (9 kilocalories as opposed to only 4 kilocalories). So, anytime you eat a Snickers for a quick burst of energy, remember this is the quickest way to shut your fat burning off!
Proper aerobics exercise stimulates the red, fat-burning muscles to generate more energy. If we go into nature and compare the duck to the chicken, you can gain a clearer picture of how fat burning is used in muscles. The duck, which flies long distances, is all "dark" meat. It's not really dark meat but just muscle tissue filled with blood and oxygen for long-distance trips. The duck is very fatty because it needs that energy source for those long trips. On the other hand, the chicken has lots of white meat. Not much blood, oxygen or fat in the chicken. That is why it can't fly from one side of the barn to the other without taking many breaks.
If there is not enough of the right kind of fat to use for energy, the body will start relying on sugar. This can lower the blood sugar and create highs and lows. In other words, the ever-so-popular hypo- and hyperglycemic patient. Other symptoms rise from not being able to utilize fat as your primary mode of energy: mental and physical fatigue, depression, allergies and even psychoses.
How can we avoid the highs and lows? By maintaining enough balanced fat for energy. If your body is burning fat for energy while it exercises, cooks dinner or sits in the office, your brain and nervous system will have enough of the sugar they need for energy. Remember, sugar is the only source of energy the brain and nerves can use, although the nerves do use a fat covering. Clearly, if the body uses up the brain's supply, the brain will not function at peak performance
Another reaction to the body not having enough balanced fat is that it may store fat. The body likes fat. Just think of all the foods you like to eat with a high fat content. Actually the body likes fat so much that it changes carbohydrate and protein to fat for future use. Heart muscle function depends on fats called phospholipids for its energy requirements.
So, remember fat is essential for proper aerobic, anaerobic
function, mental attitude and many different metabolic functions. Enjoy
some almonds!
Dr. Scott Rubin is a chiropractor, applied kinesiologist, and certified acupuncturist. His practice is located at The Center for Healing in St. Petersburg, FL. (813) 895-4625.