99% Fat Free - Are You a Victim of this Marketing Campaign?
by Sharon Negus
Ever noticed the number of products of the shelves that are 99% fat free. Food companies have used the fear of fat to promote their products & have created a society who fear eating fat. Is it working? Are we becoming a healthy & slimmer society by consuming these products?
The problem is that people often equate dietary fat to body fat & they are two different things altogether. To understand why the reduced fat food has not had the results people are looking for, you need to understand a bit more about food & the nutrition our bodies require. The body is very complex & needs fat, protein & carbohydrate to maintain health.
Eating fat does not necessarily lead to storing fat, the body will convert any excess food it cannot utilise for energy into stored fat, regardless of which food group it comes from.
Fat is a concentrated energy source that is vital for our heath & wellbeing. Each of the cells in our body is either sealed by or made up of fat. Fat is required to help the body absorb vitamins & to maintain a healthy body. The main groups of fatty acids are monounsaturated, polyunsaturated & saturated.
· Monounsaturated fat helps improve HDL Cholesterol (good cholesterol) & is found in
Nuts, avocados, canola & olive oil.
· Polyunsaturated fats help lower LDL Cholesterol (Bad cholesterol) and can be found in sunflower, corn & soybean oil & fatty fish such as tuna. Omega-3 & Omega-6 are groups of fatty acids important for health found mainly in polyunsaturated fats.
· Saturated fats come from animal fats, coconut & palm oil & fast foods. When these fats are eaten to excess, the liver makes LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) which, when out of balance with HDL cholesterol, can lead to heart & blood vessel problems.
Protein is the basic building block for our bodies & is required for all cells including hair, nails, muscles, organs & bones. Protein is found in red meat, eggs, fish, legumes (includes beans, soybeans & lentils), cheese & nuts. The body is in a constant state of regeneration & protein plays a critical role as it replenishes the body, providing new cells. Without adequate protein the body is forced to break down existing cells from our bodies & supply protein where it is required most. People have been encouraged to reduce fat by giving up meat, eggs & dairy, sacrificing the protein that commonly coexists with fat.
Carbohydrates perform one function for
our bodies & that is to provide energy. They are mainly found in grain, fruits, milk vegetables & confectionery. While they come in various forms the body recognises all carbohydrates as sugar that provides fuel for our bodies.
Most people have been encouraged to reduce fat in their diet & look for the reduced fat products on the shelves at the supermarket. The problem is that when the fat in the product is reduced it needs to be replaced by something else. This can be sugar or some other additive, and sugar is a carbohydrate that can be stored as fat if not used up as energy.
So should we try to eliminate fat from our diet? We all need fat in our diet for our bodies to function & maintain health. Next time you reach for a 99% fat free product take a moment to look at the label, Look at all the ingredients, including the total calories & the carbohydrate levels, then you can make a fully informed decision before purchasing the item, rather than assuming it must be healthy as it’s 99% fat free.
The author Sharon Negus helps people improve their health through nutrition & weight loss. For more information visit: http://healthy-lifestyle-4u.com
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