The Crimes We Commit Against Our Bodies:
Essential Fats And Weight Loss

So what's the crime?

Doughnuts. Extra large doughnut--28 grams of fat, 250 calories just from the fat!

French fries. Large McDonald's French fries--30 grams of fat, 270 calories just from the fat!!

Hamburgers. Wendy's Triple Cheeseburger--60 grams of fat, 540 calories just from the fat!!!

So what do you do if you want to lose weight? Do you just stop eating fat? The answer to that is...

You need some essential fats

You need fat in your diet. You can't live without it. It should be about 25-30% of your total calories.

And you can get that with lean meats, eggs, and a little cooking oil.

The only cooking oil you should use is olive oil. There is no comparison between the health effects of olive oil and any other oil. Use olive oil for cooking and you will live longer.

But you don't need a lot of fat

You don't need to use a lot of oil for cooking. Just a little in a pan will keep food from sticking if you don't cook on too high heat. You can get olive oil cooking spray and that works well.

You don't want to use too much oil because there are 120 calories in a tablespoon of oil--it really adds up fast.

Some fats are essential fats

There are two "essential fats"--which are fats that your body needs but cannot make by itself. So you have to get them from your diet.

They are called omega 3 and omega 6. These are just the chemical names for the fats.

Note--

Warning!! Here's a little chemistry. Feel free to skip it.

What are fats? All fats are long chains of carbon. That's all, just long chains of carbon. And each of these carbon atoms have hydrogen atoms attached to the sides of them.

Have you heard the term "saturated fats?" When all the carbon spaces are filled the fats are "saturated." That's what saturated means--there is a hydrogen atom in every space.

Have you heard the term "unsaturated fats?" Some fats are "unsaturated"--meaning there is not a hydrogen atom in every space. So you say "so what?"

Well, two of the unsaturated fats are essential fats. They are essential because you need them and you can't make them.

They are the omega 3 and the omega 6 fatty acids. The numbers 3 and 6 refer to the first carbon atom in the chain which is missing hydrogen.

They are essential because you need them for growth and development of the brain and nervous system, immune system, and heart and blood vessels. You can't make them because you don't have proper enzymes. So you need them from your diet.

If you get them in your diet, you can be healthy. If not, well, you suffer the consequences.

Now, you don't really need to know all the chemistry. But what you do need to know is that you do need omega 3 and omega 6 essential fats. And most people get too much omega 6.

Most people get far too much omega 6 in their diets and would do better with more omega 3.

Omega 6

Omega 6 comes from corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil, and there is just too much omega 6 in the modern diet.

See, omega 6 is essential to your health, but modern diets have too much omega 6 and not enough omega 3. It is a problem of balance.

Too much omega 6 can cause:

• cancer
• heart disease
• arthritis
• asthma
• and depression.

And you don't want any of those.

Omega 3

On the other hand if you get in the right balance with omega 3 you can do a lot to improve your health.

Here's what omega 3 can do for you:

• helps with blood pressure
• improves cholesterol
• lowers triglycerides
• reduces your risk of heart attacks
• and it can help you lose weight.

It is kind of "in with the good and out with the bad." When you take in good fats it lets your body get rid of the bad fats. When you don't get good fats your body clings on to stored fat.

But when you take in enough good fat your body can let go, and you can start to lose the bad fat--you can actually lose more weight.

Fish oil and flax seed oil

So how do you get more omega 3 fat in your diet? You find omega 3 in cold water fish--wild salmon for instance. (But not in farmed salmon which are fed grains and have more omega 6.) But unless you are eating fish several times per week you would be better off taking a supplement.

You can get the omega 3 you need with a fish oil supplement. You can take it in capsules or as a liquid.

Another way to get omega 3 is by taking flax seed oil. You can get flax seed oil in any health food store.

Flax seed oil comes in a dark bottle because it is sensitive to light. You cannot cook with it because it is sensitive to heat.

You can take 1-2 tablespoons per day of the liquid flax seed oil. One tablespoon of flax seed oil will give you 6 grams of omega 3.

You just pour it into a tablespoon and swallow it down. Different brands have different tastes. Try a few and see which one you like. If you don't like the taste you can put it in a little orange juice, mix it up and drink it.

So give yourself an oil change. Eat lean meats. Have some nuts. Cook with olive oil. And have yourself a little extra fish oil or flax seed oil. You'll feel better and look better. It's all part of healthy weight loss.

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