Let's Talk Fats!

We have been conditioned to believe that dietary fats are the primary culprit in our fight with obesity. The answer lies in a hormone called insulin. Insulin is essential to life in proper amounts, but detrimental when produced in excess. Approximately 75% of Americans produce too much of this hormone when they eat a diet of refined foods and simple carbohydrates.

Both complex and simple carbohydrates turn into glucose (blood sugar) once they enter the bloodstream. Simple carbs cause a very quick rise in blood sugar and trigger the pancreas to rapidly release insulin. Its main task is to convert glucose to glycogen (the stored form of sugar), which is typically stored in the liver. When carbs are consumed in excess, especially simple and refined, some are used immediately for energy and some are stored as glycogen. Since only 2,000 calories can be stored as glycogen in the body at a time, the excess is stored as fat. As long as the body continues to get a steady supply of carbs for energy, it will be not need to tap into the fat-storage to utilize fat as an alternative form of fuel. This is why eating a diet that consists of mostly simple carbs makes weight loss very difficult.

We are in a no-fat, low-fat mindset, yet have more and more difficulties losing weight. Why? Regular sour cream, for instance, has about three ingredients! Low-fat contains about 10-12 ingredients, mostly adding flavor with sugar. Fat-free contains 20-23 different ingredients adding many chemicals with the sugar. This taxes the pancreas and the liver as to how to break all this down to utilize it most efficiently.

Remember this train of thought: the closer to God-made the better for the body, the closer to man-made the more difficult for the body to break it down and use it to our best advantage.
Therefore, butter not margarine; regular, not no-fat or low-fat; non-hydrogenated oil and little to no preservatives and additives are going to make your body run most efficiently.

People are under the faulty thinking that artificial sweeteners (aspartame, saccharine, sucralose) are a dieter's dream. Dr. Sandra Cabot, a medical doctor for 23 years states, "There are logical reasons to explain the fattening and bloating effects of aspartame. The liver metabolizes aspartame to its toxic components- phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol. This process requires a lot of energy from the liver which means there will be less energy remaining in the liver cells. This means the liver cells will have less energy for fat burning and metabolism which will result in fat storing. Excess fat may build up inside the liver cells causing 'fatty liver' and when this starts to occur it's extremely difficult to lose weight. Aspartame also causes weight gain by causing unstable blood sugar levels which increase the appetite and cravings for sweets and sugars. Thus it is particularly toxic for those with diabetes or epilepsy…it causes fluid retention, giving the body a puffy and bloated appearance and increasing cellulite.

Being a heavy diet coke drinker, I was challenged by a doctor back inthe 80's to get off of it due to memory loss. I lost 10 pounds almost instantly due to swelling. God has created us in such an amazing way. In a very short period of time of giving my body the nutrients that it needed and taking away the over-abundance of chemicals, my memory returned along with many other benefits. A renewed vitality and determination to become a healthier me had begun!