We are so obsessed with low fat everything in this country that we are creating a massive imbalance in the system.
Essential fats have huge benefits and eating them in a balanced fashion can promote optimal health and support hormones.
Research suggests eating essential fats can help in the prevention of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Eating “good” fats won’t make you fat. Rather, they can improve body composition and actually help you lose fat.
Fat tends to be known as the macronutrient that is most easily processed in the body, meaning it requires the least energy to break down.
However, not all fats are created equally.
Scientific studies show that the body processes the assorted types of fat very differently.
The body does not store the essential fatty acids (EFAs), such as the Omega-3 fats found in fish and flaxseeds, as fat in the body. The body likes to use these fats to make hormones and build the outer layer of cells.
The effect is that eating the Omega-3 fats will raise energy expenditure, leading you to burn more calories than you would otherwise.
For example, a study of overweight men found that when they increased their Omega-3 intake from 0.43 g/day to 2.92 g/day, they experienced a 51 percent increase in the amount of calories they burned after eating.
Studies suggest that it’s not just the EFAs that don’t get stored as fat in the body.
Monounsaturated fat that is found in avocado, olive oil, and most nuts doesn’t appear to increase body fat levels either.
Fat is also very filling.
The fats highlighted here will improve insulin sensitivity, decrease inflammation and support hormone balance – everything I have talked about over the last few weeks.
But they can’t fix the damage that you do if you eat lots of carbs, trans-fats, or processed foods.
Therefore, eating a diet that limits carbs but is abundant in an array of healthy fats will give you the perfect diet for promoting health and preventing heart disease.
In contrast, a diet high in carbohydrates and low in Omega-3s and other fats is very sluggish, leading to fat gain.
Other benefits of Omega-3 fats are brain protection and lower inflammation, allowing for decreased cancer and heart disease risk.
Great sources include: avocado, oily fish, nuts and virgin olive oil.
