dispelling the myths about fat in a healthy diet

Dispelling the myths about fat in a healthy diet.

Most active people think they are supposed to avoid fat like the plague. Rumors abound: If you eat fat, you'll get fat. Fat instantly clogs the arteries or causes cancer. Fat slows you down. Fat is the worst thing you can put in your body.

While there may be an element of truth in some of these statements, there is also room for more education. If you obsess about every morsel of fat you eat (or rather, try not to eat), or are one of the many dedicated athletes who has become fat-phobic, keep reading. Your fear of fat may be exaggerated.

Myth: If you eat fat, you'll get fat.


 Many thin people eat fat. Marathoner Bill Rodgers, for one, is known for his love of cheeseburgers, mayonnaise on pizza and other fatty foods. Yet, Bill's body is lean. Thin people who eat fat don't overeat calories.

Forget the "eat fat, get fat" theory and start counting calories, instead. If you eat excess calories, you will deposit body fat.

And, yes, if you overindulge, you can easily eat excess calories from fatty foods because of their nice taste, texture and aroma. Fat helps make food taste great.

If you avoid fatty foods, you will lose body fat only if you create a calorie deficit. If you cut out fat but eat excess calories, don't be surprised if the scale goes up.

The truth is fat adds satiety--the nice feeling of being satisfied after a meal. Satiety may actually reduce your desire to munch on yet another fat-free pretzel or cookie after a bulky but unfilling fat-free meal. Believe it or not, many of my clients have lost body fat after re-introducing an appropriate amount of dietary fat back into their fat-free regimen. A little peanut butter on a bagel can keep you satisfied for a long time.

Myth: Fat is a poison that leads to heart disease and cancer.

Without question, a diet high in saturated animal fats, fast food grease and obscene desserts may shorten your longevity. Fataholics who dismiss advice to lower their fat intake are fooling themselves. But a moderate fat diet differs from a no-fat diet. Most health professionals define a diet with 20 to 30% of total calories from fat as being health-protective. If you have low blood cholesterol or high levels of HDL cholesterol, a family history of longevity, no family history of heart disease and are lean, fit and healthy, you can include a reasonable amount of fat in your diet. Overfat, underfit folks with heart disease are the ones who need to severely restrict fat intake.

How much fat is reasonable? About 45 to 65 grams a day for active women, and 50 to 70 grams a day for active men. This comes to about 20 to 30% of calories from fat, and balances the recommended sports diet with 60 to 65% of calories from carbohydrates (to fuel muscles) and 10 to 15% of calories from protein (to build and repair muscles). This appropriate amount of fat provides fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin E, allows for adequate protein-rich foods (such as extra-lean hamburger, low-fat cheese and peanut butter), and allows for easier participation in life (like eating in a restaurant, or enjoying a piece of birthday cake guilt-free).

Myth: All fats are bad.

Although all fats are equally caloric, some fats provide more health benefits than others. Olive oil; for example, is thought to be health protective. It is the foundation of the acclaimed heart-healthy Mediterranean diet. For centuries, folks in Italy and Greece have enjoyed, in good health, a 40% fat diet. Their diet is rich in monounsaturated fat from olive oil, not saturated fat from greasy meats and lard. Olive oil, in combination with their high intake of beans (such as chickpeas in salads and cannellini beans in minestrone soup), red wine, fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables may combine with their physically active lifestyle to enhance longevity.

If you are tired of counting fat grams, being nagged by a gnawing hunger or feeling like the oddball at social events because of your limited diet, you may want to reconsider your anti-fat stand and give yourself permission to add a little more fat to your diet. The first step is to start with a fat deemed to be healthful, such as olive oil. A natural with pasta or salad, olive oil offers a nice flavor, as well as other benefits. You'll feel satisfied, benefit from the higher intake of vitamin E (an antioxidant found in oils which has a health-protective effect and may help reduce the muscle damage associated with exercise), and be able to enjoy more variety and flavor in your diet.

A Mediterranean diet, including pasta, beans, fresh seafood, vegetables and olive oil, may be the winning plan for health and performance. Here's a sample high-carte (65%), adequate-protein (15%), and low-fat (20%) sports recipe for success: 4 oz. dry pasta, cooked; 2 tsp. olive oil; 2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese; and seasonings like garlic, oregano, basil and salt. Add a salad with 1 tsp. olive oil, vinegar and seasonings and 1/2 cup chickpeas.

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Prevent Obesity, Instill Healthy Living Early!

Parents should be alert to the threat of obesity (obesity) on their children. If the child's food consumption patterns are not controlled, not only disturb the appearance, in adulthood it is probable that these children will suffer from coronary heart disease.

Research shows that about 30-40 percent of obese children will become obese adults. Therefore, parents need to instill healthy habits in children as early as possible.

The recommended healthy habits such as eating together, sleeping enough, and watch tv less than two hours each day. "Children aged four years being taught healthy habits by their parents 40 percent lower risk for obesity," said Sarah Anderson of Ohio State University in Columbus, USA, in the journal Pediatrics.

Anderson added that until now scientists have not found a way to cure obesity in children, because it is wiser to prevent it.

Control your child's diet if done through the habit of eating together. Activities eat together at the dinner table is not just to fill a hungry stomach, but also an arena for parents to teach about nutrition and discipline. Another benefit is to increase the bond between parent and child.

Another way of tackling obesity is physical exercise. Children who lack physical activity would tend to become obese when eating excess. Activities to watch tv for hours can be reduced and replaced with fsik activity.

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This Child Obesity Guide

Hint of obesity or overweight children during his life can be seen before the child was two years old. One sign is the rapid increase in body weight.

A study involving more than 100 children and adolescents who are obese show, half of the children were overweight at age 24 months and 90 percent obese at the age of five years. Even a quarter are overweight before the age of five months.

In developed countries, obesity has become a serious concern of health practitioners because of health problems that may result from excess body weight. In Britain, about 27 percent of children suffer from obesity.

Although rapid weight gain in childhood have not understood the cause, giving solid foods earlier, poor diet, and lack of physical activity believed to contribute.

The researchers reported in the journal Clinical Pediatrics states, child eating patterns established before the child was two years old. Therefore, changing the eating habits of children at a greater age is considered more difficult.

John Harrington, chairman of researchers from Eastern Virginia Medical School, said the results should be "early warning" for doctors and parents to instill healthy eating as early as possible.

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Fat people suck sperm quality

The impact of obesity on health continues to be studied by experts. A recent study revealed that obese men have poor sperm quality compared with men whose weight is balanced.

For decades experts examine the impact of obesity on fertility of a man. Some literature mentions, sperm quality is lower fat man, among others, visible from low sperm counts and sperm that can swim with nimble.

The latest study conducted by researchers from Argentina reinforce previous studies. The researchers evaluated 794 semen samples men who with his partner was doing the program pregnancy.

The researchers found that 155 men classified as obese have few sperm that can swim with the agile and able to migrate compared with men whose weight is normal.

Men also tend to have fat levels of neutral alpha glucosidase (NAG), an enzyme that is released by the epididymal fluid, which indicates whether a mature sperm cell and can swim. NAG levels in seminal fluid could be a bad omen epididymal function.

"This is the first study that reveals the impact of obesity on the function of the epididymis. Even so, it does not mean a man will be infertile because of gaining weight," says Dr. Ana Carolina Martini from the National University of Cordoba, Argentina.

Although the effect on the small number of active sperm swimming, in research conducted by Dr. Ana was not found in the impact of obesity on semen quality, including sperm count, testosterone levels, and the number of sperm with normal shape.

However, Dr Ana reveals, there is a chance for fat men to improve sperm quality by reducing the weight of his body. Research shows that weight reduction can restore reproductive hormone balance.

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David Gurnani: Lifestyle Goodbye Bad!

Many valuable lessons to be learned from the experience of David Gurnani, winner of reality show The Biggest Loser Asia 2010 from Indonesia. One is the extraordinary determination possessed David to leave his old life patterns that bad.

For anyone, reducing the weight to 83 kg in 5 months or 53 percent of the total weight and 45 percent body fat was not an easy matter. Imagine, David previously had irregular eating patterns.

He used to eat seven times a day. Once eating, he could mengasup 1000 to 12,000 calories per day. In fact, normal calorie requirement per day approximately 2,000 kalorai. His love of eating more calories also increasingly exacerbated by nature a lazy exercise.

In addition, David also come from large families and obesity. Her father was until now also obese. In terms of employment, his chances of suffering from obesity are also very open because he was often out of town with clients and finally treated to a meal.

As a result of poor pattern of his life, David's body into fat. As he walked, he was often tired, tiredness, pungung sick, and feeling unwell. ''I am also so often so many people's attention due to obesity. In fact, to find the right chair to sit on an airplane just difficult,''said the man who now weighs 84 kg it after the show The Biggest Loser news conference at the Hotel Akmani Asia, Jakarta, Friday (19/3/2010).

Currently, David has changed. He was able to follow the usual pattern of eating that he got while undergoing quarantine. In the morning, the menu is eaten cereal, oatmeal, and fruit. At noon, he ate brown rice or whole wheat bread, chicken / meat, and vegetables. The night he only eat soup, fish, and salads.

In addition to the discipline in terms of diet, David also has never missed the sport. In fact, a day without exercise, he claimed his body ached.

Dress size shrink drastically
Many positive things he got from the drastic weight loss. Pants size shrunk from 48 to 34, and clothing from 4L to size L. Now, he can not even eat much.

''If you eat a lot of definite nausea, unpleasant taste, mules, and dizzy,''said the man who received a cash prize of 100,000 U.S. dollars and the car was worth 7000 U.S. dollars.

In fact, while family and friends saw her new appearance, they are immediately shocked. However, they are also pleased that 1998 was the last he had a normal weight, which is about 70 kg. After that in 5-6 years, David's weight increases so 140 kg and 4 years later became 159 kg.

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Research: Married Make Easy elastic body

Those who are  married  are more likely to be overweight. In fact,  the risk of developing obesity may reach up to two times compared with those who are single.

Recent research by Greek scientists have found that married couples who are overweight are vulnerable due to changes in their lifestyle significantly. The man who married three times greater recorded chances are obese, while women who marry twice the risk of experiencing weight problems.

The conclusion was the result of a study of more than 17,000 couples aged 20 to 70. The fact research reveals, the married couple lazy to exercise, less frequent sex, and have poor nutrition intake. Married couples who also claimed to "comfortable" with the principle of life that flows.

Married couples also spent more time to eat together, sit together in front of the television, and prefer to order fast food. Meanwhile, sports activities, they have not too often.

Experts from Salonica and Ioannina Universities, who presented his findings at the Panhellenic Health Konferesi in Athens, concluded that "obesity" or the accumulation of fat in the abdominal circumference is the worst health problems among couples who have married.

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The issue of Obesity from Age to Age

A study linking themed painting "Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci and other artist's work by the middle of a conversation the issue of obesity among behavior experts.

Measurement of relative main food menu in the painting in the period of 1000-2000 to produce data that makes us dumbfounded. However, this study also drawn criticism.

Obesity has long been a problem. Ancient Chinese nation and the Ancient Egyptians have proposed a very disturbing health obesity. In fact, the Ancient Egyptians called it a disease.

However, not a few others who believe that obesity as a symbol of wealth and beauty. Famine stricken communities often see overweight as a symbol of prosperity.

Nevertheless, the diverse views that change when medical science began to examine scientifically the impact of obesity. In 1940 - an, antiobesitas campaign started after a study of the impact of obesity on the heart. Obesity is the highest risk factors cause heart disease.

In 1996, when it was discovered Body Mass Index (BMI), the sticking issue of obesity. This index is to determine whether a person is classified as overweight or not. At that time, cases of obesity are very high. In fact, has already hit the children and adolescents.

Several years later, the United States to make a map and the trend of obesity in several states. Every year more and more states whose citizens are not free from the problem of obesity. The level of risk increased.

Various ways done to solve the problem of obesity in developed countries. The studies conducted to find the history, causes, and various possibilities to overcome them.

Exit pathways commonly performed in the study of obesity, Brian Wansink of Cornell University and Craig S. Wansink from Virginia Wesleyan College examines changes by checking food portion sizes of food in the painting. The painting used is painting the Last Supper theme of the book published by Phaidon Press Last Supper in 2000.

The results, entitled The Largest Last Supper: depictions of portion of Plate Size and Size Increased Over The real new Millennium will be published in the International Journal of Obesity this month. However, the abstract and a summary of this research has appeared on several websites.

The paintings that are famous painting. The theme of the painting was taken from the Gospel of Jesus during a banquet on the last night before He was betrayed by his disciple to be crucified. The painting entitled "Last Supper" is a very famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci still in the wall of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan City, Italy. Brian and Craig argues, that has not analyzed the changes in the painting as the change in time. One millennium witnessed an increase and a dramatic change in the production, availability, and food safety. They suspect this change is reflected in the painting during that period.

This research was done by rests on the notion that art is imitation of life. From this assumption and then measured a number of things related to food, such as plate size, the size of bread, and also the size of a main meal (fish and meat) that is on in 53 of the Last Supper painting. In addition, also measured the average volume of the head of the characters in the painting.

To make the size of dishes, breads, and main meals as well as head, researchers used a CAD-CAM programs used for design. Painting that is measured is within the range from 1000 to 2000-a millennium.

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