The Winter Wellness Diet - 17

WHY CUTTING DOWN YOUR FAT INTAKE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT TO
THIS DIET AND YOU GETTING HEALTHY
So far we’ve talked about what your body needs and how to get more of it. Now is the
time to switch gears and talk about what your body doesn’t need and what to consume
less of. The next 3 sections will probably blend together. Hopefully like the micronutrients
section, by the end of it you will have the point beaten permanently into your
head.
FAT. It’s the #1 enemy to health and maintaining a healthy weight. It stores toxins, puts
an excess load on your system, makes your organs work harder which ages you
quicker and leaves you more susceptible to sickness and disease. That was a mouthful
right? So is fat. Our bodies are very efficient at storing fat as I just went over.
Unfortunately, this also means that our bodies are efficient at storing toxins too.
Cooking, especially the way we cook in the West changes the chemical structures of the
fat. High heat damages these fragile oils and changes them into trans fats, high in free
radicals which tear our body apart on a cellular level. In addition, many processed
foods contain hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils to help preserve them. These
oils are toxic to our bodies as well.
Fat is not inherently bad though. In fact we need it to be healthy, but only in small
amounts. The food that nature provides us with is not very high in fat. Therefore, why
would a high fat diet be good for us? Only in an extreme environment where the basic
rules of survival don’t apply like the Inuit are faced with in the Arctic. I went over the
basics of fat earlier. Just to recap, we need all types of fat but our primary goal for
losing weight and getting healthier will be to begin correcting the imbalance of omega 3
fatty acids in relation to omega 6 fatty acids.
Fat is used to build new cells in addition to being a source of energy. Once again, with
your best interests at heart, I will give you the relevant information to take action. There
are plenty of books and articles out there that can give you the full rundown on fat. To
be honest, I’ve already given you more useful information on fat than most of those
books ever will.
Omega 3 fatty acids are some of the most important parts of our diets. Why? Well the
30-60 trillion cells that our body is made of all need Omega 3 fatty acids. They help to
line the cell walls during cell construction which makes the membrane more permeable
and able to receive the proper nutrients. (24)Additionally, your brain is mostly fat, 60%
comprising of DHA, an essential Omega 3 fatty acid. If your diet doesn’t contain
enough, then you have tens of trillions of cells that are unhealthy and unable to operate
at full capacity. The amount of essential fatty acids our body needs to build healthy cells
and maintain normal functioning is relatively small to the tune of a couple grams of fat
each day.
A quick aside. Given you now know that the brain is about 60% DHA, which is an
Omega 3 essential fatty acid consider this: A pregnant woman (while nursing also) not
only has to nourish her brain, but that of a growing baby inside her. Therefore, I
HIGHLY recommend that if you or anyone you know is ever pregnant to advise them of
Omega 3 supplementation. The most concentrated source of safe DHA is a purified fish
oil. OK, back to business.
Some organs like your skin replace cells every few days. Others, like your liver or
bones may take a few months to a year. This means that all those times you got
motivated and cleaned up your diet for a month or two didn’t really do much for your
whole-body health. Of course, doing something is better than doing nothing, but to think
that a month or two of “better” eating really made that much difference is likely incorrect.
That’s why getting healthy and losing weight is truly a lifestyle change. To change your
body significantly, you need to change your life. A year from now the cells in your body
will be completely different ones than today. It’s your choice: Do you want those cells to
be healthy ones or unhealthy ones?
So yes, fat is essential, but in fact we need very little of it compared with other nutrients.
I will go into it more later, but a low fat diet with exercise encourages even more fat loss
because of the way our body utilizes fat for energy. Remember what you’ve learned
about it so far: It contains 9 calories per gram. We need essential fatty acids to build a
brand new body, but only in modest amounts. Our bodies are very efficient at storing
fat, and thus storing toxins.