In layman terms - why is fat okay?
viren19890
Posts: 778 Member
Hello,
So tried and tested LCHF three times successfully and had wonderful results but obviously eating 10% fat yogurt raises eye brows and fury of questions when family saw me eating when I was dieting. Now I'm on maintenance, achieved ideal weight.
How can I better explain in layman terms the idea of fat being okay? Could someone please explain it to me so I can help others understand it as well.
My theory is everything is okay in moderation if you don't have a medical condition. So now I'm back on carbs but enjoy fats equally without guilt trip.
So tried and tested LCHF three times successfully and had wonderful results but obviously eating 10% fat yogurt raises eye brows and fury of questions when family saw me eating when I was dieting. Now I'm on maintenance, achieved ideal weight.
How can I better explain in layman terms the idea of fat being okay? Could someone please explain it to me so I can help others understand it as well.
My theory is everything is okay in moderation if you don't have a medical condition. So now I'm back on carbs but enjoy fats equally without guilt trip.
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The body needs fat to function properly. It should have 0 stigma to it. I don't notice much if people find it odd but whenever I hear people talking about low fat fat free blah blah I mention that your body needs fat and there is no reason to avoid it.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Fats-101_UCM_304494_Article.jsp#mainContent0 -
It's an essential nutrient.
If it is the (weight is only determined by CI<CO) calorie counters, then toss that back at them. Weight is just about calories, right? The fats fit my calorie count.0 -
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viren19890 wrote: »
Yeah but those people all believe in that shotty science that has since been proven wrong.2 -
viren19890 wrote: »
Cardiologists don't even believe that any more.1 -
viren19890 wrote: »
Yep. Tell them they are still living in the 80's.
It's hard to reason with people who are wrong without just correcting them. 3 -
Okay, so I'm going to attempt to explain what causes clogged arteries. If I get it wrong hopefully someone will come in and correct me.
1) Inflammation (damage) in the artery is the start of a clog. Things that cause inflammation are high insulin levels (from highly processed foods/carbs), stress (cortisol), lack of Omega 3 fatty acids.
2) The body sends many things to repair the damage in the artery wall -- cholesterol, calcium, collagen, fibrin (sp?).
3) When there is continual inflammation (damage) because the person is continually stressing the body/arteries with highly processed foods (that are typically carbs) the damage to the artery wall can't heal so more healers are sent to the site trying to make things better. This is what causes plaque build up/clogging.
Now notice nowhere did I mention fat. Fat is not the culprit in damaging the artery wall. The body on it's own manufactures 80% of our cholesterol with only 20% coming from what we eat. Every cell in the body has cholesterol. Now here comes the part I'm sketchy about...I think the cell walls are, at least in part, made up of cholesterol.
The part where cholesterol becomes a problem is in the size of the LDL particles. There are big fluffly ones that float around the blood stream that are harmless and there are little tiny ones. The little tiny ones are the ones that get caught in the inflammation spots. The little tiny ones are made from eating highly processed foods/carbs not fat.
Hope this helps you explain to those you wish to.
Now for my caveat, you don't owe anyone an explanation.3 -
Okay, so I'm going to attempt to explain what causes clogged arteries. If I get it wrong hopefully someone will come in and correct me.
1) Inflammation (damage) in the artery is the start of a clog. Things that cause inflammation are high insulin levels (from highly processed foods/carbs), stress (cortisol), lack of Omega 3 fatty acids.
2) The body sends many things to repair the damage in the artery wall -- cholesterol, calcium, collagen, fibrin (sp?).
3) When there is continual inflammation (damage) because the person is continually stressing the body/arteries with highly processed foods (that are typically carbs) the damage to the artery wall can't heal so more healers are sent to the site trying to make things better. This is what causes plaque build up/clogging.
Now notice nowhere did I mention fat. Fat is not the culprit in damaging the artery wall. The body on it's own manufactures 80% of our cholesterol with only 20% coming from what we eat. Every cell in the body has cholesterol. Now here comes the part I'm sketchy about...I think the cell walls are, at least in part, made up of cholesterol.
The part where cholesterol becomes a problem is in the size of the LDL particles. There are big fluffly ones that float around the blood stream that are harmless and there are little tiny ones. The little tiny ones are the ones that get caught in the inflammation spots. The little tiny ones are made from eating highly processed foods/carbs not fat.
Hope this helps you explain to those you wish to.
Now for my caveat, you don't owe anyone an explanation.
Thanks a lot for this.
You are right but my younger siblings when they ask I like to share with them what I know so knowing in basic layman terms makes it easier for me to explain it to them. Since most of the times their parents don't know the truth either and have been believing what they've seen on TV commercials.1 -
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I actually love telling people I've lost over 90lbs by significantly increasing the fat content of my diet and that ALL of my blood work and vital stats are impeccable. They usually look at me the same way ppl look at Trump when he says he's the picture of good health...but in my case it's true. So, the proof is in the high fat pudding.7
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When your PCP has begged and ordered you to go back on the statins and you have refused... and your cholesterol has dropped 60 points in 4 months... vindication that LCHF works for me!
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I just had to explain why fat is okay over dinner last night. Here's what I said … when you stop eating carbs, your body starts to use fat as fuel. Because you're burning fat as fuel, the fat doesn't stay in your system.
That's a pretty loose description but it seemed to answer their question.
I also had my cholesterol checked recently and it was fine, so I mentioned that, too.
Now, when I loaded my food up with salt, that got some looks.3 -
Just say, "Eating fat is good for my metabolic health".
Healthy saturated fat is preferred because it allows you to eat nutritious, delicious and satisfying real food without causing your insulin levels to spike unduly - at least not to the same degree as eating carbohydrates and to a lesser extent, protein does.
At the end of the day what we are after; the Holy Grail of this project, is metabolic health. This goal is not the same as other goals such as eating to a calorie deficit or eating a "balanced diet", "burning off the fat" or any other goal, and is not even the same as controlling our blood sugar level.
Metabolic Health, via healthy insulin control affords us the chance of a long, healthy life free from many of the diseases of modern civilisation including type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's (aka type 3 diabetes), cancer, atherosclerosis and so many other chronic illnesses that have their origin in hyperinsulinemia.4 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »viren19890 wrote: »
Cardiologists don't even believe that any more.
Except if they're in South Africa.
Edited for spelling.0 -
viren19890 wrote: »Hello,
How can I better explain in layman terms the idea of fat being okay? Could someone please explain it to me so I can help others understand it as well.
Maybe it is OK if others don't like eating fatty meat. Here's why: Right now in Australia the high fat cuts are cheaper. But for how much longer? Fatty pork belly is already getting pricier now as more people are discovering the health benefits of healthy saturated fat. Other formerly unfashionable cuts such as lamb shanks and beef cheek are also getting more expensive. So the longer most people prefer the lean cuts the better for us fat eaters.
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Thanks everyone for posting.
I had the right line of thought in my mind but I just wanted to make sure -that I was indeed on the right line of thought haha.0 -
The hardest thing is when someone expresses interest with skepticism about fat, but is willing to let you explain it and you cannot say it simply enough to satisfy their curiosity. That's when I say, you know, it's a fair amount of information that's contrary to standard beliefs to take in but there are really good, reputable, science based resources that make it simple to understand if you're really interested, and I can send you a link to get you started if you want. But I can't debate it.
Then direct them to dietdoctor or Cholesterol Clarity and let them know that's just a dip in the pond of available resources. You can even direct people to those recent reports about the sugar connection like the New York Times one. Those are all linked on this dietdoctor page too.
https://www.dietdoctor.com/nyt-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-fat2 -
Trans fat is bad though right? At least consensus on that yeah?0
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viren19890 wrote: »Trans fat is bad though right? At least consensus on that yeah?
Yes. Trans-fat is bad.
No one has mentioned the LaunchPad FAQ yet.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10107242/the-skinny-on-fat-silencing-your-fear-of-dietary-fats/p1?new=1
About half way down:Are There Bad Fats?
It is now becoming common knowledge that saturated fats are not the villains we thought. Animal fats and monounsaturated fats, also called MUFAs (like the natural fats found in olives and avocados) are quite healthy for you. However, some fats are BAD. Polyunsaturated fats, also called PUFAs, (canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil-basically oils that require massive processing to obtain) are not good for you in high doses. They contain unsafe levels of Omega-6s that can cause damaging inflammation (due to it becoming oxidized), which is exacerbated by high temperatures in cooking. Most foods have all three of these fats in some proportion. However, the body was not designed to handle the ratio of Omega-6/Omega-3 we've added to our diet through overuse, and poor use, of polyunsaturated oils. Stick with a high concentrations of saturated fats, properly use monounsaturated fats, avoid using processed foods that contain polyunsaturated fats, and avoid using polyunsaturated oils when cooking...1 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »viren19890 wrote: »
Cardiologists don't even believe that any more.
My new MD is in her 40's and when my cholesterol was down to 257 she said that was fine because they do not even consider statins until it hits 290. Last year it was 200 at the same clinic when they wanted to start me on statins. MD knowledge about cholesterol and fat is improving it seems.3
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