Fat Is Not Fun

We have an increasing problem in NORTH America. Diets are killing
us by the thousands. Why is that?

The greatest problem we have can only be fixed by a complete paradigm shift. We have to stop focusing on fat, the food group, and begin to focus on a complete overall healthy lifestyle. We can see what happened when many people decided to eliminate fats from their diets. The fat items were replaced in many cases with high glycemic carbohydrates. These are starchy foods (polymers of sugar) whose calories are burned up very quickly and by their very nature, cause the body to quickly release a large amount of insulin. This is necessary to get the sugar out of the blood stream and into the cells. The problem is that insulin is also the major fat storage hormone in the body. While we thought we were generating a better state for our blood vessels by avoiding fats, we were generating a bigger problem with fat build up inside the abdominal cavity by eating all the bad carbs. It is this fat that is causing record numbers of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, type 2 diabetes and arthritis.

You see, there are good and bad in all the food groups: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The best fats, the monounsaturated ones, which give a predominance of omega-3 essential fatty acids, are found in fish oils, macadamia nut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, and to some extent, flaxseed oil. They are also found in hazel nuts, walnuts, pecans, and to a lesser degree, almonds.

When these fats are deficient, there are problems with the blood vessels, problems with the nervous system, and skin problems. These include but are not limited to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s dementia, attention deficit disorder, eczema, and psoriasis. None of these problems arise as a result of deficiency of high glycemic carbohydrates and that is what has replaced most of the fats.

On the other hand, the bad fats, the saturated ones, cause changes to the cholesterol profile leading to accelerated hardening of the arteries and accelerated aging. They also get incorporated into membranes and parts of cells which change the three dimensional character of these structures. This change in three dimensional structure alters the shape of hormone receptors, the unique docking stations that each of the hormones need to attach to in order to do their respective jobs.

The healthy proteins are ones that are low in saturated fat. They include non-animal sources such as beans, lentils, and their derived products such as tofu, tempe and miso. The animal source proteins include lean cuts of meat, predominantly range fed chicken, wild caught deep water fish, organic eggs, wild game, and to a lesser degree, range fed beef and small amounts of pork.

The best carbohydrates to choose are the non-starchy ones. (The starchy carbohydrates include bread, pastry, pasta, noodles, cereals, potatoes and rice). Because the starches are polymers of sugar, their calories are burned up quickly, causing the blood sugar to spike, and hence, the insulin level to rise quickly, shunting a lot of the sugar off into fat cells. The fat cells increase in number and size.

There is a reason why the starches are looked on as “comfort foods.” They all cause the blood sugar to rise rapidly. When the blood sugar is rising, you feel really good. However, that feeling is short lived, because the blood sugar will crash precipitously once the insulin kicks in. This can cause fluctuations in mood, energy, vision, and the ability to think clearly. The starches will also cause the triglyceride portion of the cholesterol profile to rise, causing as much of a problem as elevated cholesterol with your heart and large and small blood vessels.

This latter comment about “comfort foods” brings up another issue—emotional eating. That is, eating, not out of hunger, but to satisfy an emotional need. If you recognize this as an issue for you, get counseling assistance (available by checking elsewhere on this web site). If you are depressed, get help (keeping in mind that many of the newer antidepressants – SSRIs contribute to weight gain while others have a less noticeable affect). If you have uncontrollable cravings, these can be controlled with certain amino acids.

You can also have some control issues if you go too long between meals. Too long is more than two and a half to three hours. Frequent small meals/snacks which contain a low glycemic carbohydrate and a protein or healthy fat will stabilize blood sugar as described above. One needs to recognize that if total calorie intake is too low, this will deliver a 2 phase body punch to your weight loss efforts. These low calorie programs, which include Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and LA Weight Loss, activate all of the wrong enzymes in your body, so that a one meal indiscretion will result in an inordinate weight gain. As well, they put your body into conservation mode, which limits the amount of fat your body will lose, since the body does not know when it will be getting its next re-fueling.

One needs to be on some high quality nutritional support, that is to say, anti-oxidant vitamins and minerals. The reason for this is that most of us do not raise all of our own grains, vegetables and fruits organically or hydroponically, where all of the trace minerals are accounted for. As a result, our food is not very nutritious. Virtually all of the supplements sold in stores are of poor quality and should not be considered. Check with the manufacture to see that not only are the products you are considering made to USP standard (which relates to potency and purity) but also pharmaceutical grade quality (which relates to their dissolution time-less than 30mintes, and that they must contain 99.5 to 100.5% of what the label states, right up to the expiry date). Inadequate calcium, in particular, and chromium and Vitamin CoQ-10 can limit weight loss.

In my office, a lot of patients arrive having failed almost every diet known to man, and then some. “Diet” should be considered a dirty 4 letter word. We don’t talk so much about diet at our office as about healthy lifestyle. Fewer than 3 per cent of people who undergo a significant weight loss (greater than 10 per cent of their baseline weight) manage to maintain it for more than 1 year. The 3 per cent who do maintain the loss are those who have continued to do regular physical activities.

It has been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. A good place to start is with a pedometer (cost $15 –$40) to count every step. A good initial goal is for greater than 10,000 steps per day. If you swing your arms while walking like the power walkers do, that’s even better!

Resistance training for all of the muscles can be done with light weights, nautilus type machines or Bow Flex/Body by Jake, and many more home or commercial exercise pieces. Attendance at a gym may aid compliance with a program, but only if it requires less than 10 minutes of travel time one way. If it takes longer, you are very unlikely to keep going. Pilates and yoga activity is also recommended and can be done at home in poor weather.

Keep in mind that weight loss takes a lot of consistent effort day in and day out, and is a lot of hard work physically, mentally and emotionally. If you are not at a place in your life where you can expend that effort, you are unlikely to persist with the effort and be successful.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Determine if you are at a point where you are able to put in the necessary effort.
2. Get needed counseling for emotional issues.
3. Get a coach/cheer leader to whom you will be accountable. This needs to be a no nonsense person who won’t put up with games that will sabotage your efforts but will also praise you for regular honest effort. If necessary, schedule time to do your activity.
4. Journaling will be helpful in identifying trouble spots and allow you to develop a plan to overcome them. It will also accurately identify that you are following a nutritious eating program. Most need the following breakdown – non- starchy carbohydrates 40 – 50% of calories, healthy proteins 30%, and healthy fats 20 – 30%.
5. Eat regular small meals/snacks which contain a variety of different types of foods. Take time to enjoy your food without the television or newspaper interfering and chew each and every mouthful until it liquefies. Drink one ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight, more if you perspire.
6. Take only pharmaceutical grade quality antioxidant vitamins, minerals and nutritional supplements.
7. Start out by getting a pedometer and getting moving. Vary your activity routine to thwart boredom. Plan for activities that can be done in inclement weather.

We offer coaching and assistance with these issues at my office. We are on all major medical insurance panels but also work with cash pay patients at reasonable rates. We can be reached at:

Gerald W. Miller, M.D.
1960 NW 167th Place, Suite 103,
Beaverton, Oregon, 97006
Phone 503-466-1823 Fax 503-466-2045
docshar@verizon.net

TURNING THE ORDINARY
INTO OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS
AT THE GAME OF LIFE