One of the keys to having good energy, staying focused and maintaining a healthy metabolism is by using healthy fats. You can actually program your body to burn fat with good fats!
Even if one isn’t overweight, it is important to burn fat because many of the toxins that enter our body are stored in fat cells. When we burn fat this moves toxins into the colon to be removed.
Burning fat is the tangible process of using fat for fuel…fats are our source of energy. It is actually a chemical process and not just a metaphor for losing weight.
Fats are only one kind of fuel that can be used by our body. Carbohydrates/sugars are another. When the body has both available, it will burn the carbs/sugars first, and the fats second. As it turns out, burning fats has a plethora of benefits beyond weight management.
Fat is the body’s most precious fuel…it is the body’s “calm” non-emergency fuel. Fat burns slowly & steadily providing energy for several hours. By contrast, sugar/carbs burn quickly providing quick bursts of energy, but what often happens soon after is the dreaded crash.
Burning fat detoxifies us and neutralizes toxins that build up from stress. The problem is many of us have lost the ability to burn fat effectively and we start storing fat and gaining weight. Why does this happen? It could be that we’re not eating enough healthy fats, or we’re eating the wrong fats, or maybe we have too much insulin.
Did you know that good fats actually have the ability to improve your metabolism? It’s true! But when we bombard ourselves with the wrong kinds of fats, that sends a message to our body to store fat and often promotes inflammation.
On the other hand, good fats assist with the absorption and transport of necessary vitamins. Good fats reprogram your genes, fight inflammation, increase metabolism and help you to maintain a healthy weight.
Good fats are necessary for a healthy immune system, hormone production, lubricating your joints & organs, strengthening your cell walls, brain function, and a healthy nervous system. Healthy fats also help control inflammation.
The brain is 60% fat. You simply cannot be a happy and smart person if you don’t eat enough good healthy fats.
Good Fats versus Bad Fats
We want more of the omega 3 fats and less of the omega 6 fats. Anything that says vegetable oil should be avoided including canola, soybean, peanut and safflower oils. These are some of the most chemically-altered and inflammatory substances in our food supply and yet they are promoted by the media and manufacturers as being healthy and this is NOT true so don’t be fooled. In addition, when heated, these oils become trans fats and become distorted into shapes that your body cannot even recognize or process and that’s how these nasty molecules create inflammation, cardiovascular harm and accelerate the aging process. It is very important if you want to be healthy throughout the lifespan to avoid these bad fats.
What you want to do is eat the good omega 3 fats. Healthy fats are found in extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, butter, avocados, nuts, seeds, and fish like wild salmon and sardines. Your body uses these fats for fuel and not storage. They turn on your metabolism and restore fat as your active fuel supply.
I recommend a 1 Tbsp. serving of healthy omega 3 fats in every meal. Yes…one tablespoon!
Please check out the following salad dressing recipes…they are full of healthy fats and are easy to make. I hope you enjoy them!
The Fat Conundrum: Good Fat versus Bad Fat http://t.co/HQQESpXSE9
— Shannon Garrett RN (@AutoimmuneRN) August 26, 2014
