Fat and weight loss, what you need to know
With the release of a new book on nutrition (1) , articles and comments were on the web. It is clear that for the past few days, eating fat has become a “trendy” phenomenon. Admittedly, this is paradoxical ; also it is useful to distinguish between what characterizes good and bad fat. Like organic cholesterol, the lipid sources of salmon, charcuterie or cashew nuts do not have the same properties and values for our health.
Usefulness of lipids
Before the advent of the sacrosanct computer, fats were essential to the state of health. The daily work was physical and exhausting. The body needed long energy to be consumed by the muscles. With its 9 kilocalories for 1gr of lipids, fatty products were popular. These essential constituents perfectly met the needs of the workers of yesteryear. Lipolysis (or lipid degradation) is the source of muscular energy which allows prolonged efforts of several hours, whereas aerobic glycogenolysis does not exceed 90 minutes.
Consuming lipids, whatever they are, is only useful when the body has to exert itself and fight the cold. There is no point in over-consuming it to spend hours in front of your television set. For the past twenty years, a fight against fatty products has been under way. It is the apology of thinness, today even rejected by the deputy Olivier Véran who attacks the image conveyed by anorexia.
Lipids are accused of all evil. However, omega-3 and omega-6 (n-3 and n6-) have the main role of calming inflammatory reactions. They are essential to our proper functioning. These fatty acids are mainly found in oily fish, oilseeds such as almonds and walnuts, seeds, linseed oils, rapeseed.
What the authors of the book say
According to Zana Morris and Helen Foster, a lack of omega-3 would be a factor of overweight or even a brake on the slimming process. For them, saturated fats are eliminated only if they are “infiltrated” by the polyunsaturated fatty acids that are omega-3. This process is beneficial for the silhouette by improving the melting of fats, by slowing down their storage with a better rate of “good cholesterol”.
In addition, the lack of omega-3 promotes hypertension, the formation of blood clots, increased triglycerides in the blood. Thus, fats would be metabolized more slowly, stagnating more in the bloodstream, before being stored in adipose tissue.
So, lose 5 pounds in 14 days by eating fat? New nutritional Eldorado?
Some nutritional recommendations
For those who hesitate before these recommendations, use common sense . If not eating enough fat is detrimental to the state of health, it is necessary to privilege the essential fatty acids which are the n-3 and n-6. Our cells need them to function well, the skin also in order to be better hydrated, the vision, the brain, the memory and the mood as well. And all this in addition to soothing the inflammation of our tissues.
Thus, the choice of our lipids is therefore essential. According to a study published in the “British Journal of Nutrition” (2) the omega-3s contained in marine products (DHA) provide more health benefits than those of vegetable origin (ALA or linolenic acid).
As for the health authorities, they readjust the share represented by lipids to 40% of the total energy intake (against 30 to 35% previously) while advocating the consumption of essential fatty acids.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.