Fat is good. What kind?

Ok kids, I’ll take you today through a biology lesson. All we hear about these days is how bad fat is, how we should stick to low fat or nonfat diets or how fat and obesity cause cancer. Actually fat plays a crucial role in your body. If you want to lose weight and have abs, read carefully the following paragraphs. There are three types of fat in this world: trans fat, saturated fat and unsaturated fat.

TRANS FAT: This is one of the fats you should really stay away from. I MEAN REALLY AVOID. This is the type of fat that is man made, not found in nature. It was invented around 1970. Scientists added hydrogen to regular oil and saw that its peak point (the point that it starts to smoke) is way higher than in regular oil. Fast foods and restaurants alike loved it. It was cheap and you could buy large quantities of it at a very low price. We all know that fat melts when heated. Well if you put a block of hydrogenated fat at room temperature, it’s rock solid. There is a strong fight going on at the moment between large companies and the health boards worldwide. Companies refuse to write on their products' labels, the quantity of trans fat they contain, knowing that people may not wish to buy them anymore. Which products have trans fatty acids? Well, nowadays most of them do, it’s really hard to avoid them, put we can manage our intake by checking the label. Here’s a general rule. On you label you might see, carbs, protein and fat. At the fat column, you will see saturated fat. Subtract the saturated amount (grams or whatever unit) of fat from the total amount of fat. Thus you’ll end up with the quantity of trans fat that is not listed. Most of the products that have it are sweets, cakes, chocolate, fast foods of any kind, merely everything you crave for. Even some cans of vegetables or even fish, have it. Even your “crispy cereals”(if you have natural muesli, oats, barley, unsweetened, unflavored, then you’re safe). Trans fats are the no.1 cause of obesity (and one of the most cancer causing ones). They won’t do you any good so please avoid them.

SATURATED FAT: Although this is considered a “bad” fat, it’s found in most of the animal products: meat, eggs, milk etc. This is not as harmful as trans fat as it can be found in nature and the body’s ability to deal with it is pretty good. You should keep the intake pretty low though. Try eating lean meats (lean beef, chicken breast, lean turkey) and low fat or nonfat dairy products, as some tend to have a lot of this kind of fat.

MONOUNSATURATED AND POLYUNSATURATED FATS: These are the champions of health. They promote good blood circulation, prevent cloths and inflammations. They also keep your heart, liver and digestive system healthy. They cut your bad cholesterol (which you get from trans and saturated fat) and boost your good cholesterol. Foods? Olive oil, nuts and seeds (walnuts, almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, flax seeds etc), fish and some fruit. Good fats are omega-3 and omega-6 fats. Omega 3 keeps your brain cells healthy, repairs injuries, makes your blood thinner preventing cloths, makes your skin look better and much more.

This omega-3 fat has been considered a lifesaver by a lot of scientists. Nowadays most medics recommend getting up to 3-4g of this fat daily, either through supplements or through food (though it is recommended through food). Omega 3 is mainly found in salmon, tuna, shrimp and some other fish, walnuts and flax seeds. If salmon is too expensive for you, get walnuts. You should get 1-2 handfuls a day to reach your body’s requirement. Toss all kinds of nuts and seeds (unroasted, unsalted) in your morning cereal or on a mid day salad. They can be easily integrated in your meals. Don’t fry the fish in deep oil. Roast it to keep its nutritional value. I remember how skeptical I was when I first read about “good” fat. Now a proudly own a 6 pack and eat about 30% of fat in my daily intake. Knowing what foods to eat and in what quantities makes the difference in your health. Well, hope this helped and got you started reading more from books or online resources. For more on this topic, checkout the World’s Healthiest Foods Website.

Come back soon as I’ll be taking on the subject of protein and carbohydrates, trying to dismount some myths. I’ll be posting smoothie recepies and juicy, tasteful, healthy meals to help you get going on a healthy lifestyle and beautiful abs. As a side note: Try reading the book I recommended.

Have yourself a great day!

This week's book

Ok readers this is my book recommendation for this week. It's packed with all you need, to look and feel better. Abs, lean muscle, healthy eating, it's all present in this New York Times BestSeller. You may be saying right now: Damn, another model recommending yet another diet book. It's not a book that restricts you from eating, it's a book that tells you to eat 6 times a day, only good food, healthy foods with rich nutritional value. I'm not saying only broccoli and yogurt, i mean stakes, powerful smoothies, healthy, juicy fruit salads, nuts, almonds, walnuts, peanut butter etc. These Power Foods, combined in certain quantities and distributed throughout your entire day, can make you shed those pounds in just six weeks. It's written by the editor-in-chief of Men's Health Magazine. It's an amazing book for models, businessmen, mothers, fathers, people that are undergoing treatments and so on. The food combinations are amazingly tasty and packed with nutrients and vitamins to keep you both energetic and healthy. I STRONGLY recommend it. The difference between this book and other diet books, is that this one tells you what to eat, not what not to and it's not a short-term eating plan. It's a life long eating plan. Fantastic book, very well written, structured and packed with extremely useful information. Get your hands on it now!!! --- Check it out, read the hundreds of reviews and even browse a few pages on Amazon.com. Have a great day!