Dear readers,
If you were around in the 1980’s, you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that fatty foods make you fat. You remember the misguided food pyramid, which recommended making bread, pasta, rice, and other starches the foundation of a healthy diet. And you saw Americans become more and more overweight. Between 1980 and 2008, obesity rates in America went from 13% to 34% in adults and from 5% to 17% in children. Since 2008, these rates have continued to go up.
So what are the facts about fat and fatness?
Dietary fat was thought to increase the risk of obesity due to its caloric density. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories, whereas a gram of protein contains 4 calories and a gram of carbohydrates contains 4 calories. Simple math tells us that the same amount of a fatty food vs a carbohydrate rich food would result in more calories.
The logic that made America fat-phobic was grounded in the calories-in- calories-out model of obesity. This hypothesis states that if we consume more calories than we burn, we will gain weight. There is some truth to this theory, as laws of thermodynamics clearly apply, but there is a lot more to the story. Unfortunately,, when guidelines were created based on this hypothesis, the quality of the foods we were eating was not considered. Whole, fat-containing foods were replaced with ultra-processed carbohydrate-based foods. This only made us sicker.
The latest research now suggests that the disease of obesity requires 4 conditions to manifest:
- Excessive calorie intake
- Insulin resistance and poor metabolic health
- Inflammation
- Oxidative stress
While it is still true that if our diet consists of too many fats, weight loss will be difficult, if not impossible. However, healthy fats can contribute positively to overall health. There are clear benefits in including salmon, olives, olive oil, avocado, nuts, and eggs in your diet including improved brain function, heart health, and lower inflammation.
While the precise extent of contribution from the four aforementioned conditions to unhealthy weight remains uncertain, it’s evident that insulin resistance and compromised metabolic health play significant roles. Modern research unequivocally illustrates that an abundance of starches and sugars in our diets detrimentally affects metabolism and undermines our well-being.
So what should we be eating?
Put simply, our focus should be on consuming whole, unprocessed foods, with an emphasis on protein and vegetables. Incorporating a moderate amount of healthy fats and a minimal quantity of minimally processed carbohydrates is key.
Still uncertain about what foods to incorporate and how to tackle the four root causes of obesity? Join us, and we’ll guide you every step of the journey.
Warm regards,
Dr. Gajer
