We've been led to believe that eating fat makes you fat. We've been told to buy low-fat yoghurt, and eat lots of pasta, bread, rice and potatoes if we want to maintain a healthy weight. Check out the food pyramid to the left. Is this what you learned in school? I sure did. Unfortunately, this food pyramid was created by corporations to encourage us to buy their products.
Carbohydrates, including cereals, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and all sugar, spikes our insulin levels, encouraging our bodies to store fat. Low-fat products have sugar added to them to make up for the flavour that fat naturally gives. We've been told to ditch butter, fatty meat and full-fat dairy products in favour of highly processed, highly profitable food-like products.
A traditional breakfast of white toast with margarine and jam spikes your blood sugar, encouraging weight gain - plus, because it is digested so fast and raises your blood sugar sky high, in a couple of hours you will be hungry for more carbs. It's an endless cycle and we never feel quite satisfied.
Since the 1970s, we have been receiving a strong message to lower our fat intake. Because there was no evidence to support the low-fat theory at the time it was introduced into policy, the president of the National Academy of Sciences at the time called it a "vast nutritional experiment." Nearly four decades later, the results are in: the low-fat, high carb experiment was a failure.
So what can we eat? Almost everything we've been told not to eat - Fat.
1. Fat is the only molecule that satiates
We feel hungry a couple of hours after eating carbohydrates because they don't satisfy our bodies needs. They are full of empty calories, but few nutrients. Since fat is slow-burning, it gives us energy for hours, eliminating the need to eat constantly. No more mid-morning and mid-afternoon energy slumps!
2. We need fat for every cell in our body to function
Especially our brains! Alzheimers, epilepsy and other neurological disorders are signs of brains that have been starved of fat. Fat is necessary for every single cell - if we don't get enough, our body starts sending us warning signs.
3. Fat is highly beautifying
Following a low-fat diet deprives us of collagen and moisture from the inside out - resulting in wrinkles, weak nails and brittle skin. A high-fat diet helps plump up our skin, helping us to look more youthful.
4. Fat helps our body to detox
There are 2 types of toxins in our bodies - water-soluble and fat-soluble. The water-soluble toxins can be released from the body by drinking a lot of water, or doing a juice cleanse, but the more potent toxins are stored in our fat cells to keep them from damaging our bodies. If we eat a low-fat diet, our bodies hold on to as much body fat as it can to keep from releasing these toxins - however when our diet is rich in fat, the toxins attach to the fat we are ingesting and are able to pass through the body. This is also why we lose weight much faster on a high-fat diet; our body is finally able to let go of its body fat after the toxins have been released.
Starting to eat more fat may seem like a challenge at first, more mental than physical - after more than 40 years of being told that fat is the enemy, we need to shift our beliefs. Once you get your head around it, this is a gloriously indulgent way to live - it's impossible to call it a "diet"! Now we can eat cream, butter, bacon, full-fat yoghurt - without a worry of gaining weight. In fact, you're doing something amazing for your body. Try it for yourself and see how you feel :)
With love,
Kate Rios
Carbohydrates, including cereals, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and all sugar, spikes our insulin levels, encouraging our bodies to store fat. Low-fat products have sugar added to them to make up for the flavour that fat naturally gives. We've been told to ditch butter, fatty meat and full-fat dairy products in favour of highly processed, highly profitable food-like products.
A traditional breakfast of white toast with margarine and jam spikes your blood sugar, encouraging weight gain - plus, because it is digested so fast and raises your blood sugar sky high, in a couple of hours you will be hungry for more carbs. It's an endless cycle and we never feel quite satisfied.
Since the 1970s, we have been receiving a strong message to lower our fat intake. Because there was no evidence to support the low-fat theory at the time it was introduced into policy, the president of the National Academy of Sciences at the time called it a "vast nutritional experiment." Nearly four decades later, the results are in: the low-fat, high carb experiment was a failure.
So what can we eat? Almost everything we've been told not to eat - Fat.
1. Fat is the only molecule that satiates
We feel hungry a couple of hours after eating carbohydrates because they don't satisfy our bodies needs. They are full of empty calories, but few nutrients. Since fat is slow-burning, it gives us energy for hours, eliminating the need to eat constantly. No more mid-morning and mid-afternoon energy slumps!
2. We need fat for every cell in our body to function
Especially our brains! Alzheimers, epilepsy and other neurological disorders are signs of brains that have been starved of fat. Fat is necessary for every single cell - if we don't get enough, our body starts sending us warning signs.
3. Fat is highly beautifying
Following a low-fat diet deprives us of collagen and moisture from the inside out - resulting in wrinkles, weak nails and brittle skin. A high-fat diet helps plump up our skin, helping us to look more youthful.
4. Fat helps our body to detox
There are 2 types of toxins in our bodies - water-soluble and fat-soluble. The water-soluble toxins can be released from the body by drinking a lot of water, or doing a juice cleanse, but the more potent toxins are stored in our fat cells to keep them from damaging our bodies. If we eat a low-fat diet, our bodies hold on to as much body fat as it can to keep from releasing these toxins - however when our diet is rich in fat, the toxins attach to the fat we are ingesting and are able to pass through the body. This is also why we lose weight much faster on a high-fat diet; our body is finally able to let go of its body fat after the toxins have been released.
Starting to eat more fat may seem like a challenge at first, more mental than physical - after more than 40 years of being told that fat is the enemy, we need to shift our beliefs. Once you get your head around it, this is a gloriously indulgent way to live - it's impossible to call it a "diet"! Now we can eat cream, butter, bacon, full-fat yoghurt - without a worry of gaining weight. In fact, you're doing something amazing for your body. Try it for yourself and see how you feel :)
With love,
Kate Rios
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