Fat Intake: Pros and Cons... Nutritionists? Body builders? O

I watch SATURATED FATS, TRANS FATS and CHOLESTEROL.

Our body NEEDS fats for brain function among other things.
FAT FREE is not good. From everything I've read about 20-30% our calories should come from fat.

Mostly I watch because of a family history of heart disease.
(I don't worry about healthy fats from nuts, avocado, olives, etc.)

Olives,
Olive Oil
Salmon
Have fats that actually reduce your cholesterol

(Some no fat food that lower your cholesterol are red grapes, Mangoes, and oatmeal)

Here's one of those article links I dug out of another thread here:

http://www.details.com/style-advice/the-body/201103/carbs-caffeine-food-cocaine-addiction

In a nutshell, according to this article, you don't need to eat any carbs. Your body will make the carbs it needs from the other foods you eat. Too many carbs, however, trigger an insulin response that stores the carbs as fat and leads to other problems.

I'm just linking here, but it seems like sound information to me. I'm not a doctor and I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Avocados and nuts are fantastic fats to be eating regularly. When it comes to fats, stay away from trans and saturated fats, and eat more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Without getting into a bunch of science, these kinds of fats have been shown in studies to regulate your body's balance between good and bad cholesterol. Avocados, nuts, peanut butter, olive oil, fish... are all great sources of good fats. Keep it up!

I think in all areas.. it's moderation not excess and not absence. Fat is a secondary energy source, helps us absorb fat soluble vitamins, is insulation, etc. Carbs are what provide energy for you to run, as in operate. Your brain needs carbs, and they're your primary energy source.

Actually, your brain doesn't need carbs, it can function fine without them indefinitely. People sometimes get hazy when they first give up carbs because they haven't started producing keytones yet, thus it's like running on fumes, but after a 7-10 day induction window, you'll be fine I made it through the window on my third try lol

fats are a necessity, they do two things primarily. first they add substance to the diet, they slow down digestion, two little fat in the diet and you feel hungry constantly. to much fat in the diet however can bind up the stomach preventing digestion.the body's defense to this is to get rid of the excess fat, via regurgitation. the other thing is they are a slow burning energy source, because of this fats, more than anything else, are responsible for generating body heat, so you need a little more in the winter than you do in the summer. if you can stomach that much fat, I wouldn't worry about it.

Our ancestors ate 75% fat and 25% with access to very few carbohydrates. They would eat plants and animals, but vegtables aren't very dense in carbs so even when they feasted on plants, carb intake was very low. Our bodies have evolved to metabolise FAT with carbs being a very secondary source of energy, and it's certainly NOT required for brain function.

gonna have to disagree with you on that, it depends entirely on which society your referring to.

beets, yams, rice, barley, bananas, all manner of fruit, particularly dried, honey, sugar cane. these where staples in many preagricultural societies.

they say there are good fats and bad fats..the ones that are saturated and unsaturated. the ones that produce hdl and ldl. the thing is..that fats are very high in calories. meaning if you eat alot of fats, you are going to be intaking a lot of cals too.

carbs dont cause people to get fat, fats dont either. its calories. now..not saying that its totally healthy to eat an all carb diet or an all fat diet or an all protein diet, because its not. and plants are indeed heavy with carbs. meat isnt. in reality we need a good balance of carbs, fat and protein macros to function at our optimum..can we function with less or more of either..sure..but i'm saying at our optimum.

i personally eat a lot of carbs, as i am a vegetarian. i dont get much fat in my diet. and what i do get is from cheeses and butter and other plant oils.

and anyways..our ancestors were hunter gatherers..they mostly ate plant based foods, with the odd meat thrown in there. look at native peoples now in africa and south america, they are basically the same as our 'ancestors'. they'd hunt for a few small game to bring home, and divided that up with the whole village or tribe. which meant they didnt get much meat in their diet. hence not much fat.

What's your source here? I'm curious how you know what our ancestors only hunted for a few small game and divided that up? Native tribes that we look at now have been influenced by modern man, but even with that, there are some that still use persistence hunting to track down game.

The question isn't that carbs cause people to get fat - obviously. Living beside a McDonalds doesn't cause people to get fat either. However, carbs burn substantially faster:

DIGESTION TIME OF VARIOUS FOODS
(approx. time spent in stomach before emptying). ........
Water
when stomach is empty, leaves immediately and goes into intestines,
Juices
Fruit vegetables, vegetable broth - 15 to 20 minutes.
Semi-liquid
(blended salad, vegetables or fruits) - 20 to 30 min.

Fruits

Watermelon - 20 min.digestion time.
Other melons - Canteloupe, Cranshaw, Honeydew etc. - 30 min.
Oranges, grapefruit, grapes - 30 min.
Apples, pears, peaches, cherries etc. - digest in 40 min.

Vegetables

Raw tossed salad vegetables - tomato, lettuces, cucumber, celery, red or green pepper, other succulent vegetables - 30 to 40 min. digestion. -
Steamed or cooked vegetables
Leafy vegetables - escarole, spinach, kale, collards etc. - 40 min.

Animal proteins

Egg yolk - 30 min. digestion time
Whole egg - 45 min.
Fish - cod, scrod, flounder, sole seafood - 30 min. digestion time
Fish - salmon, salmon trout, herring, (more fatty fish) - 45 min. to 60 digestion time
Chicken - 11/2 to 2 hours digestion time (without skin)
Turkey - 2 to 2 1/4 hours digestion time (without skin)
Beef, lamb - 3 to 4 hours digestion time
Pork - 41/2 to 5 hours digestion time

1g of fat equals more than double 1g of carbs, however, feeling empty and post-sugar crash, many (no - not all - I get it.) people will reach for more food. I can easily pack down a whole box of Special K cereal (whole wheat) on a carb-up cheat day and skim milk in one sitting, (2,000 calories) and would seriously struggle to put down 2,000 calories of pork or chicken.

To each their own, just clearing up what I said earlier.

If you look at one of the original research papers in relation to Paleolithic / Hunter Gatherer diets, rather than the diet books trying to flog you something the following is recommended:

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Eat whole, natural, fresh foods; avoid highly processed and high-glycemic-load foods

Consume a diet high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and berries and low in refined grains and sugars. Nutrient-dense, low-glycemic-load fruits and vegetables such as berries, plums, citrus, apples, cantaloupe, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and avocados are best

Increase consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from fish, fish oil, and plant sources

Avoid trans-fats entirely, and limit intake of saturated fats. This means eliminating fried foods, hard margarine, commercial baked goods, and most packaged and processed snack foods. Substitute monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats for saturated fats

Increase consumption of lean protein, such as skinless poultry, fish, and game meats and lean cuts of red meat. Cuts with the words round or loin in the name usually are lean. Avoid high-fat dairy and fatty, salty processed meats such as bacon, sausage, and deli meats

Incorporate olive oil and/or non–trans-fatty acid canola oil into the diet

Drink water

Participate in daily exercise from various activities (incorporating aerobic and strength training and stretching exercises). Outdoor activities are ideal

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As you can see indiscriminate consumption of fat is not recommended. Like carbs, fat is not bad or evil. It is just the type and the quanties in which they are consumed.

Unfortunately, the whole paper cannot be reproduced without permission and I respect that. However, it can easily be found with a simple Google search.

Incidentally, macro nutrient breakdown for HG's were stated to be:

Protein (%) High (19-35)
Carbohydrates (%) Moderate (22-40)
Total fat (%) Moderate (28-47)

Hope that helps.

What I like about this advice is it has stood the test of time. This is what most dieticians/nutritionists have been promoting for many decades, as opposed to special diets or fads that tend to come & go over time.