Finally a change is happening…..
People have cottoned onto the fact that counting calories are a thing of the past!
What they need to understand more is that food is more than just fuel, it is chemical information and unhealthy food instructs the body to build fat cells.
Exercise helps not only mental health, longevity, reduces chronic diseases, improves heart health and Alzheimer’s – it also generates the signal to convert fat into muscle and other lean tissues.
Let me explain more….
Now we understand more from the amount of science and research available and that results from studies that have been conducted for so long, we can piece together the good and the bad way to look at calories.
One latest fad is to increase the good fats in your diet, to not be afraid of the fat, however in saying that some of our the fats are being increased a little too much and I’ll explain what I mean:
Omega-6 fatty acids – Enzymes in your body can convert these into arachidonic acids (AA) which can make the fat cells divide. Stress, sleep deprivation, and obesity can lead to an excess of these enzymes. Excess consumption of omega-6 fats can generate too much AA.
This factor can make you build fat – so be careful not to eat vegetable oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, soy oil, cottonseed oil, margarine and the salad dressing containing these ingredients. You need to stick to coconut oil, olive oil, tallow, lard, pure butter, pure cream and fresh fish which has more omega-3 fatty acids.
Other factors that make you build fat are:
Insulin – Increase fat cell numbers. Signs that you may have abnormal levels of insulin are dark patches of skin in creases and under you arms, and central obesity – fat tends to collect around the waist and under the chin. Irregular periods may also indicate abnormal insulin levels.
Sugars – sugar drive insulin production, and insulin turns on enzymes in the liver and in fat cells that convert sugar into its storage form: triglyceride fats (fat in the blood).
Glucocorticoids – stimulates fat cell division. The body makes glucocorticoids all the time, but levels rise during stress and sleep deprivation.
Mega Trans fats – promote free radical formation, cell membrane damage, and inflammation – all of which lead to the deposition of belly and neck fat while intercepting healthy cell building signals.
However this may all sound glum, here are some factors that can eliminate fat that is easy for you to control:
Exercise – reduces insulin and cortisol levels as well as levels of many other less well-known pro-inflammatory and fat promoting chemicals.
Sleep – reduces cortisol levels, and increases levels of immune system chemicals that reduce inflammation and fat cell number.
Leptin – reduces fat cell numbers. Leptin is the hormone that controls your appetite and metabolism. So listen to your body when it says it’s full, and stop overeating. Being mindful of what you are eating and eating slow truly helps this factor.
And one of the biggest controversial conversations most people have –
Cholesterols – reduce appetite. Studies have shown that plant sterols and stanols effectively reduce appetite. These are what cholesterol in plants make. Bile acids also contain cholesterol. When secreted into the small intestine after a meal, they signal the body that you’ve had enough to eat. You can test this by day one: eat two eggs cooked in butter and see if you’re hungry by lunch and day two: have packet granola in skim milk and see if you’re hungry by lunch.
These two meals both contain about 500 calories, so goes to show you calories are not all equal. If you’re having a meal with nutrient dense calories, your body will be satisfied as opposed to ‘empty’ calories that your body does not care for.
It’s like buying something you think your child would like, yet they have no interest in it when they open it up – it’s basically a waste of money – same goes for certain foods for your body.
You see making fat may seem like the body’s default reaction, but really it’s just the default reaction in periods of stress and nutrient deprivation.
When your body gets real food, exercise and rest it needs, the default reaction is to convert unwanted fat cells into something better, so once you nurture and understand to relieve stress – you remove fat cells.
Some nutrient deficiencies and stress levels are so severe, however, that it become increasingly difficult to ship nutrients throughout the body effectively. If sugar and fatty acids can’t make the journey from wherever they were (usually in your digestive system) into a proper fat-storage cell, then they end up lining your arteries, seeping into your tendons, and polluting your body. Now instead of building fat – you just get sick. White blood cells will enter to help clean up the mess and white blood cells cause inflammation, which damages tissues, makes your joints hurt, and clots your blood.
This is why a diet that makes you fat also makes you feel bad, raises your blood pressure, and causes diabetes, heart disease, kidney problems, and so many other diseases.
It’s also why white blood cells filled with fat are found in so many degenerated organs.
This definitely leads to cancer.
Don’t just think this happens to fat people, even thin people can, through poor diet, can encourage fat to infiltrate healthy tissues – this leads to cellulite, weakened bones and brain and muscle loss. It can cause blood clots and fatigue.
So eating a diet of fresh plants, clean protein and good fats compared to a low fat, processed diet with the same amount of calories can have too totally different effects on your health. A calorie is not just a calorie!
Stop counting calories, choosing a tim tam over a banana due to the calorie number or point system – because these two products contain a nutrient value at the totally different end of the nutritional spectrum.
If you learn the chemical effects of what is in a processed/packaged food, and what it is really doing to your health, I have no doubt you’ll be changing your diet immediately.
As I said gone are the days of counting calories, and I hope gone are the days you choose low fat items with more sugar in them, and now your diet is fresh and clean.
You know where to contact me if you would like more information.
To your health
Kerrie
