Why ‘Good’ Fats Are Great For Women

I recently came across a book that is good news for all of us who believe in eating healthy fats, as it shows how it can help you lose weight, and our diet is an important part of staying healthy.

There are a million diets out there, but ‘The Core Balance Diet: 28 Days to Boost Your Metabolism and Lose Weight for Good’ by Marcelle Pick Msn OB/GYN NP and Genevieve Morgan sheds light on an often misunderstood essential element of our dietary health.

Low fat diets have been very popular but, according to the authors, more and more studies are showing exactly the opposite to be true.

The risks associated with dietary fats have been heavily promoted as being high risk for increased risk for heart disease.

Current research shows no evidence that dietary saturated fat increases risk of coronary or cardiovascular disease.

Low fat does not mean more health benefits or weight loss for women

In fact research is showing that low fat diets aren’t as beneficial as once thought, and as many low fat items are also processed or with additives they are certainly not guaranteed to be a healthy option.

Low fat items do not have the same flavour or taste once you remove the fat and replacing that with sugars and refined carbohydrates is certainly far from healthy.

Of particular interest is a study of more than 48,000 postmenopausal women whose results showed that low fat diets did not improve health, or give increased weight loss when followed.

So why do we need fat at all?

Fat is essential as it helps us support many of your body functions, including heart health, cholesterol levels, brain function and keeps our skin supple. This essential nutrient also supplies your body with energy and you want to get that from a mix of sources, of which more below.

So what does work for weight loss?

Well the healthiest, and best option for weight loss is that old favourite the Mediterranean diet, and it is the most heart protective too. Spanish researchers on the PREDIMED study found that, compared with a control diet, a high-vegetable and saturated fat Mediterranean diet with no calorie restrictions showed lower body weight, and a smaller waist size too.

What will help you live a longer, healthier life? Sticking to an everyday diet that consists of high quality fats and non-processed whole foods high in the nutrients that help our bodies function at their best and that means a majority of your consumption comes from fruit, vegetables, fish and whole grains.

So just what are these healthy fats that are outlined in The Core Balance Diet? The top five are these:

• Avocado. This fruit has so many benefits: it helps your body absorb the nutrients from foods you eat it with, is packed with nutrients and monounsaturated fatty acids.

• Nuts and Seeds. Another great source of those great and essential monounsaturated fatty acids, they also contain Omega-3 fatty acids. Nuts and seeds are packed with minerals and vitamins, including vitamin-E and B-complex vitamins.

• Fish. Cold water fish like salmon, mackerel, lake trout, sardines and albacore tuna offer substantial amounts of important omega 3 fatty acids.

• Coconut oil or butter. An all round good fat as it helps with improved brain health so can help with the ‘brain fog’ of menopause, and of course has long been used to improve the condition of your skin and hair.

• Olives and Olive Oil. Not just a snack with a glass of wine they are an excellent way of increasing HDL (good) cholesterol, help to reduce inflammation, prevent heart disease, and reducing the effects of asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Helpful information

If you want to know more about weight loss with healthy fats then ‘The Core Balance Diet: 28 Days to Boost Your Metabolism and Lose Weight for Good’ by Marcelle Pick Msn OB/GYN NP and Genevieve Morgan would be a good place to start.