Answer To Your Fitness Questions" />Is Fat Good Or Just Bad?
July 26, 2007
This very last macronutrient and the least understood is fat. All the misinformation to date has a huge part in the obesity and diabetes problem we have today. We need to take in fats to supply us with essential fatty acids, which have an important role in good healthy functioning immune systems. It supplies us with energy, hormones, keeping the blood sugar level and also controlling hunger.
Even though there is a lot of disagreements by the scientists as to what percentage of fat is the best for a healthy diet, studies do show eating the monosaturated fats that come from olive oil, macadamia nuts and avocados have great health benefits. The scientists do agree, however, that the fats coming from hydrogenated oils or even partially hydrogenated oils, such as margarine and shortening is very damaging to health. They accelerate aging because we lack the enzyme that it takes to break it down. We don’t want that do we?
Fats add flavor to foods and texture. Fats do slow down the rate of absorption of sugar in the blood stream. Remember dietary fats do not turn into body fat because fats do not simulate insulin production. Anything that slows the uptake of insulin, the fat sorage hormone, is great for weight loss.
So don’t be scared off by fats!!!
What Carbohydrates Do For You
July 25, 2007
The second macronutrient is carbohydrates. Carbs really have one thing in common and that is they are composed of sugar. But we need carbs. They are responsible for giving us energy. If we don’t eat “good” carbs, our blood sugar levels will get too low our brains will suffer from lack of vital nutrients and then the worst thing happens, cravings!! For those of us who are trying very diligently to lose weight this is not a good thing. But remember not all carbs are good. The good ones are fruits and vegetables and whole grains that break down slowly in the digestive tract causing less of a sugar surge. But whether they are beets, bagels or rice or carrots or candy, the body breaks down carbs into sugar glucose. The difference is how quickly the sugar they contain is broken down into glucose and how fast it is absorbed into the blood stream.
The best thing is to eat “complex” carbohydrates, because the speed in which the sugar enters the bloodstream is extremely important because it determines how much of the fat-storing hormone or insulin is produced by your pancreas.
Remember in the last blog about protein, that produces higher levels of glucagons. Well, higher levels of glugagon means, building blocks and fuel, higher levels of insulin means fat storage. Glugagon is released by eating protein foods. Insulin is released by eating carbs and too many calories at one meal. But when such things as vegetables and fats are eaten, neither hormone is released.
Hmmmm, interesting. Back to that previous blog concerning the low-glycemic index.
When we combine a meal with light proteins, healthy fats, and low glycemic, high fiber carbs, we will get a “balanced” insulin to glucagon ratio. That’s when we can truly say we have eaten sensibly.
