If you read my previous post, you know about some of the strategies that I employ frequently to keep myself sane during this incredibly busy and hectic time of year. Don't get me wrong! I do love the holidays, and I have pretty much inoculated myself against the constant barrage of seasonal marketing, but sometimes a sister's gotta know when she's had a enough. When that happens, generally the only remedy is wine or chocolate...and sometimes wine & chocolate...
Can I get a heck yes?!
Anyway, in the midst of trying to help you navigate the season mindfully, healthfully, and happily, I thought I would interject with a little myth-busting. The topic du jour that I want to discuss in this post is the impossibly-hard-to-shake myth that dietary fat should be avoided at all costs because it is what makes you fat. I'm just going to come out and say it: Fat Doesn't Make You Fat.
There, myth busted. Case closed. You can all go back to browsing Amazon.com for your holidays gifts now...
JUST KIDDING! No, but really. Fat isn't the culprit, or rather, the SOLE culprit, of this nation's massive weight problem. I'm not the first to state this, nor will I be the last. I'm also not talking out of my @$$, as several renowned researchers, scientists, and health professionals have published studies and written articles and books that theorize that dietary fat is rather benign while excess sugar in the form of carbohydrates is the true problem with the Standard American Diet.
Fat got a bad rap back in the 80s and 90s, and it's still trying to fight its way back into our hearts by way of our mouths. If you're old enough, you may remember hearing way back when that butter and red meat must be avoided because they contain too much saturated fat which clogs your arteries and brings on heart disease. Fat was vilified, and carbohydrates rose to prominence along with reduced-and-fat-free foods. This was largely in part to the USDA and the wheat and corn industry lobbyists who made billions marketing and selling the idea that fat is bad and carbs are good. The more carbs, the better, in fact: remember the food pyramid??
Fast-forward 20+ years and we're a nation of fat, overweight, unhealthy, sugar addicts who order Diet Cokes with their Big Macs and fries.... Let me reiterate the irony of this scenario for effect: somehow, over the years, we accepted that sugar isn't good for us in excess (go us!). However, what we failed--and fail--to accept is that carbohydrates in the form of bread, starch, cereal, crackers, hamburger buns, french fries, etc. are just sugar in disguise. They break down into simple sugars like sucrose (table sugar) during digestion!! So opting for Diet Coke (which doesn't contain sugar, rather equal parts chemicals and hormone-disruptors) with our massive burgers and Supersize fries doesn't really tip the balances in our favor...at all.
It's not entirely our fault where find ourselves in terms of our collective health. We've been fed (pun intended) lies upon lies by the food industry in whose interest it is to have us believe that fat is bad for us. They've benefited to the tune of billions of dollars by increasing our consumption of carbohydrates. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy: the more carbs we eat, the more we crave because carbohydrates are addictive. Studies have shown that sugar has an impact similar to that of certain illicit drugs on our brains, leading some experts to label sugar a bonafide drug. And yet the myth perpetuates that fat is to blame.
It would be irresponsible of me to write that in no way, shape or form will fat make you gain weight. There are more calories per gram of fat than either of the other macronutrients, and excess consumption of calories in whatever form will add weight to your frame. However, fat is a nutritious and essential component of a healthy diet. Good sources of dietary fats include avocado; organic, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil; coconut oil; organic, humanely-raised beef, pork, and chicken; nuts; and seeds. Fat helps maintain healthy hormone function; keeps nails, skin and hair lustrous and healthy; and enhances satiety. Not to mention the fact that fat makes food taste sooo good :-)
The cornerstone of a healthy diet should not be fat, as far as I'm concerned. Some who follow a Paleo or primal diet may disagree, as many other low-carb enthusiasts who aim to be in a state of ketosis. However, I do believe that the days of dietary fat-shaming are coming to an end, and I think this is good news for all of us. Not only are we learning the truth--that fat doesn't make us fat--but we're starting to see the detrimental affects of a highly-processed, carbohydrate-heavy, sugar-filled diet. I'm hopeful that with continued health and nutrition education we'll see a reversal in the rates of obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases linked to diet.
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