Special Report: Part 1

The Three Biggest Mistakes When in Comes to Weight Loss, Health and Fitness

MISTAKE #1: FAT IS BAD (particularly animal fat)

We’ve come a long way. Gone are the days of spears and fires, they have long since been replaced with cellophane and microwaves. We have shifted into an age of convenience and speed when it comes to what we eat, but despite what the television commercials tell you and what the FDA approves, this is not a positive shift. Even something as fundamental to our survival as eating, has been completely altered and mutated into something that is now killing us as a species. Two million years ago we didn’t have refrigerators, we didn’t have microwaves, and we most certainly did not have grocery stores, let alone fast food chains. We hunted and gathered. Our job was to find food. Chasing animals and foraging for nuts and berries all day was something that was imbedded into our natural instincts; in fact, it still is (but I will get to that in the Exercise section). Today we have an overabundance of nutrient-deficient, genetically modified, processed, and straight up synthetic foods. We are told that fat is the root of all evil and illness and that you should NEVER eat animal fats, and that “fat-free” is healthy. We are encouraged to eat a predominately carbohydrate diet because you have to replace the fat with something (like sugar) to make food taste good. People, listen up! THIS IS BACKWARDS. We NEED fat and we need animal fat. Do you think your Paleolithic brother or sister turned their nose up to the fatty part of an animal for fear of raising their cholesterol? NO. You see, back before we started to over-analyze everything and make up solutions that turn into bigger problems, we were intuitive and instinctual. We ate the fat because our bodies craved it, and our bodies craved it because we NEEDED it. We are no different today. What if I were to tell you that the cause of high cholesterol, heart disease, and obesity was not fat? Would you believe me if I told you the culprit is a high-carb diet and not enough meat and fat? Well, it’s true. Here are bariatric Dr. Michael Eades’ seven reasons why you should eat more saturated fat (which I have extrapolated from author Tim Ferris’ blog).

1) Improved cardiovascular risk factors
Though you may not have heard of it on the front pages of your local newspaper, online news source, or local television or radio news program, saturated fat plays a couple of key roles in cardiovascular health. The addition of saturated fat to the diet reduces the levels of a substance called lipoprotein (a)—pronounced “lipoprotein little a” and abbreviated Lp(a)—that correlates strongly with risk for heart disease. Currently there are no medications to lower this substance and the only dietary means of lowering Lp(a) is eating saturated fat. Bet you didn’t hear that on the nightly news. Moreover, eating saturated (and other) fats also raises the level of HDL, the so-called good cholesterol. Lastly, research has shown that when women diet, those eating the greatest percentage of the total fat in their diets as saturated fat lose the most weight.

2) Stronger bones
In middle age, as bone mass begins to decline, an important goal (particularly for women) is to build strong bones. You can’t turn on the television without being told you need calcium for your bones, but do you recall ever hearing that saturated fat is required for calcium to be effectively incorporated into bone? According to one of the foremost research experts in dietary fats and human health, Mary Enig, Ph.D., there’s a case to be made for having as much as 50 percent of the fats in your diet as saturated fats for this reason. That’s a far cry from the 7 to 10 percent suggested by mainstream institutions. If her reasoning is sound—and we believe it is— is it any wonder that the vast majority of women told to avoid saturated fat and to selectively use vegetable oils instead would begin to lose bone mass, develop osteoporosis, and get put on expensive prescription medications plus calcium to try to recover the loss in middle age?

3) Improved liver health
Adding saturated fat to the diet has been shown in medical research to encourage the liver cells to dump their fat content. Clearing fat from the liver is the critical first step to calling a halt to middle-body fat storage. Additionally, saturated fat has been shown to protect the liver from the toxic insults of alcohol and medications, including acetaminophen and other drugs commonly used for pain and arthritis, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs, and even to reverse the damage once it has occurred. Since the liver is the lynchpin of a healthy metabolism, anything that is good for the liver is good for getting rid of fat in the middle. Polyunsaturated vegetable fats do not offer this protection.

4) Healthy lungs
For proper function, the airspaces of the lungs have to be coated with a thin layer of what’s called lung surfactant. The fat content of lung surfactant is 100 percent saturated fatty acids. Replacement of these critical fats by other types of fat makes faulty surfactant and potentially causes breathing difficulties. Absence of the correct amount and composition of this material leads to collapse of the airspaces and respiratory distress. It’s what’s missing in the lungs of premature infants who develop the breathing disorder called infant respiratory distress syndrome. Some researchers feel that the wholesale substitution of partially hydrogenated (trans) fats for naturally saturated fats in commercially prepared foods may be playing a role in the rise of asthma among children. Fortunately, the heyday of trans fats is ending and their use is on the decline. Unfortunately, however, the unreasoning fear of saturated fat leads many people to replace trans fats with an overabundance of polyunsaturated vegetable oils, which may prove just as unhealthful.

5) Healthy brain
You will likely be astounded to learn that your brain is mainly made of fat and cholesterol. Though many people are now familiar with the importance of the highly unsaturated essential fatty acids found in cold-water fish (EPA and DHA) for normal brain and nerve function, the lion’s share of the fatty acids in the brain are actually saturated. A diet that skimps on healthy saturated fats robs your brain of the raw materials it needs to function optimally.

6) Proper nerve signaling
Certain saturated fats, particularly those found in butter, lard, coconut oil, and palm oil, function directly as signaling messengers that influence the metabolism, including such critical jobs as the appropriate release of insulin. And just any old fat won’t do. Without the correct signals to tell the organs and glands what to do, the job doesn’t get done or gets done improperly.

7) Strong immune system
Saturated fats found in butter and coconut oil (myristic acid and lauric acid) play key roles in immune health. Loss of sufficient saturated fatty acids in the white blood cells hampers their ability to recognize and destroy foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Human breast milk is quite rich in myristic and lauric acid, which have potent germ-killing ability. But the importance of the fats lives on beyond infancy; we need dietary replenishment of them throughout adulthood, middle age, and into seniority to keep the immune system vigilant against the development of cancerous cells as well as infectious invaders.

So there you have it. If you are interested in finding out more about their research, check out Dr. Michael Eades and his wife Dr. Mary Dan Eades’ latest book, The 6-Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle: The Simple Plan to Flatten Your Belly Fast! Not only do they address weight loss, but also optimal health.



Up Next, Mistake #2: I DO JUST FINE ON 6-7 HOURS OF SLEEP A NIGHT