It is nothing short of a miracle that those of us who survived the recommendations for fat-free and low-fat diets that were firmly established by the 1990s have managed to survive to the age we are today while maintaining measurable levels of health. It’s not even a thing.
Regarded by many modern nutritionists as: The worst dietary experiment ever to befall the American people. The low-fat craze began around 1976, when the late South Dakota senator George McGovern made changes to Americans’ diets and the heart, after eight U.S. senators died from heart-related problems in the ’60s and early ’70s. I believed there was a connection between the disease and the disease.
At this time, cholesterol theory Many heart diseases were born, and at that time saturated fat, the fat found in eggs and meat (also found in breast milk and coconuts), could raise low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, also known as “bad cholesterol.” There was evidence that there was. . With so little data and so much speculation, it didn’t take long for all fat to be demonized, and removing fat from American diets sounded like the best course of action.
Carbohydrates were what kept us healthy, thin, and disease-free.
But as every farmer knows, the best way to fatten an animal is to feed it corn or grain, simple carbohydrates. But from the mid-70s to the mid-90s, based on erroneous health advice, we greatly increased the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in our diets, driving national levels of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease into equal proportions. I succeeded in pulling it up. Until 1980, obesity rates in the United States were about 12% to 14%, but by the early 2000s, her third of Americans were overweight.
Unfortunately, the recommendation to move away from eating like our grandparents and great-parents and toward industry-made cooking oils and food-like substances didn’t take long to fully take hold.
For more than 35 years, U.S. dietary guidelines have believed that dietary cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease and should be restricted. Dietary cholesterol has not been shown to affect blood cholesterol. That was just an assumption.
But in 2015, cholesterol was finally deemed “no longer a nutrient of concern.”
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It’s becoming increasingly indisputable that eating a low-fat or fat-free diet is one of the worst things you can do for your overall health.
Study after study and trial after trial are gathering more evidence that different dietary fats are present. polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated — It not only speeds up metabolism and absorbs certain vitamins, but is also essential for proper hormone production and brain health. Eating a variety of fats also helps fight age-related diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and various types of cancer.
How do you do this? One of the most important ways to do this is to pay attention to the types of polyunsaturated fats you’re consuming.
Polyunsaturated fats: it’s complicated
Two important fats in this category are omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids. Both of these are “essential,” meaning that our bodies need them but cannot make them, so they must be obtained from our diet.
Omega-3s are the “better” of the two, as they are thought to reduce inflammation, protect both brain health and cardiovascular health, and help prevent metabolic disorders such as diabetes. Thing. There is compelling evidence that getting enough omega-3s improves mental disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder, and reduces obesity rates.
The body requires two specific types of omega-3 fatty acids. Both DHA and EPA are found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, and black cod, as well as pasture-fed chicken and eggs, and grass-fed and grass-finished meats. . Flaxseed, hemp seeds, chia seeds, algae, walnuts.
Omega-6s are necessary and “essential” for our overall health, but they are inflammatory. can It causes widespread inflammation in the body.In other words, it is intention Excessive intake causes inflammation — And in today’s world, most people do.
In support of this, omega-6s are found in seeds, vegetables, and the oils extracted from them: soybean, corn, canola, cottonseed, safflower, and sunflower. Omega-6 fatty acids are also found in grains and legumes, but for the most part these natural foods aren’t necessarily causing the imbalance.
Nutritionists agree that we should get our omega-6s from whole foods rather than those made from highly processed oils. Unfortunately, the average American consumes well over his 10% of calories. soybean oilwhich is very high in omega-6 and is commonly consumed most often. hydrogenated This is simply another name for trans fat.
Soybean oil is found in nearly every processed food item on grocery store shelves, from desserts to salad dressings, snack foods to take-out meals, and is a staple in restaurants, from fine dining to fast food. It is also the oil used in In today’s world, it’s difficult to avoid consuming excess.
With the technology of extracting these high-omega-6 oils only around 100 years old, our bodies haven’t had time to adapt to such a significant increase in consumption. These “foods” are so far from their seed and vegetable origin that the human body probably never will.
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These oils are exposed to very high heat, sometimes bleached, and sometimes deodorized, as they become very foul-smelling after such extraction measures. Heat alone can convert these oils into trans fats. Additionally, these crops from which the oil is extracted are some, if not the most, of the most glyphosate and pesticide-contaminated crops on the planet, and are genetically modified.
According to a survey from National Institutes of HealthIn just 50 years, from 1958 to 2008, the amount of omega-6 fatty acids in body fat stores increased by 200%. I’m sure it’s even higher now.
What percentage of polyunsaturated fat should I consume?
The ideal ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids should be approximately 1:3 or 2:3. There was a time when this ratio was easy to achieve. But in an age where we consume mostly factory-fed meats and farm-raised seafood (corn, soybeans, grain feeds) and eat out more often than at home, where we have more control over what we eat, Americans According to a 2006 study, they are consumed at an overall ratio close to 16:1. ”Evolutionary aspects of diet, omega-6/omega-3 ratios and genetic variation: nutritional implications for chronic disease.. ”
The animal sources we relied on to obtain omega-3 fatty acids have been replaced by overpopulation, disease management, hormone therapy, and proper animal diets, primarily corn, soybean, and grain-based diets. They are primarily at risk due to the inhumane conditions. .
That being said, scientists Harvard Medical School, Don’t believe the answer is to try to get enough omega-3 fatty acids in an incredibly skewed ratio. However, supplementing with cod liver oil and other omega-3 supplements is beneficial for most people. All data points to limiting omega-6 fatty acids. Increasing home cooking, eliminating ultra-processed foods, and choosing grass-fed beef, dairy, and pastured eggs from certified humane companies can all go a long way toward transitioning away from a high-omega-6 diet. .
As far as making a difference in your own kitchen. Current research suggests that The following oils are suitable for cooking: avocado oil, grass-fed butter or ghee, virgin coconut oil, tallow, lard, and humanely raised animal fats such as duck or chicken fat. Use the following oils for salad dressing: Extra virgin olive oil. Walnuts, almonds, macadamia and sesame oil. and flax oil and hemp oil (but not for cooking).
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