Which is Better for Me -- Low Fat or Low Carb?
I've finished the last leg of my journey back to Long Island, and arrived safe and sound late last Friday. Last night, while checking the emails, I found a lot of letters about no fat and low fat and and low carb diets.
First of all, no fat diets are dangerous, and you really shouldn't even attempt anything like that except under strict medical supervision. Even then, I'm hard pressed to think of why it would be necessary.
Your body needs fat to flourish, and the only question still being debated is, how much? One thing we know for sure is that it is more than the medical community believed for almost four decades.
The same thing is true about carbohydrates. For decades, the prevailing wisdom was high carbs and low fat. You can see where that theory has gotten us.
The most important word in any diet is BALANCE.
When we speak of balance, we are speaking of the balance of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
A very important point that I have repeated time and time again is this: foods that are closest to their natural state are the most healthy for you. Baked apples are close to the natural state of fresh apples, while Apple Jacks cereal is not. Fresh grilled fish is close to its natural state, but frozen fish sticks covered in fatty breading are not.
Simply put, packaged food is not a good option. It generally contains ingredients that are highly unhealthy, with trans fats and high fructose corn syrup being two of the biggest culprits.
Additionally, almost all low fat foods have an elevated sugar content. They are made to be overly sweet so that they appeal to the taste buds. This same process is used in no-fat foods. Take a look at the label and you will find high levels of either sugar or a sugar substitute.
Low carb almost always involves a sugar substitute too, and personally, I think it always tastes terrible. You have to convince yourself that it tastes good in order to eat it. No, thanks.
A good rule to follow involving packaged foods is to choose foods that are not combined with other ingredients. It's perfectly okay to eat plain frozen vegetables, but choosing a frozen vegetable that is packaged with a sauce is distinctly less healthy. The sauces are manufactured with ingredients that are designed to keep the sauce stable, and those ingredients will make you fat, especially since the sauce most often has more calories than the vegetables themselves.
And being a vegetarian doesn't help either, no matter how many times they say it. Many vegetarians are often seriously undernourished, and have a whole host of health problems, from not eating a balanced diet.
The best way to gain control of your diet is to start slowly, one meal at a time. My friend Nate has some words of wisdom on the subject: "Practice push ups instead of doing sit downs." His message is that when you are full you should push up from the table, not sit down in order to eat more.
You should also start taking an ultra pure, enteric coated pharmaceutical grade fish oil. This will insure that you get your daily dose of of omega 3 essential fatty acids, which keep your system running at an optimum level.
Last week a friend of mine asked me to take a look at a website about bodybuilding. The bodybuilder who was responsible for the content of the site had written that he had cut back on his dose of fish oil because he believed that the fish oil was too fatty for his diet. Obviously, he has no idea at all why he was taking the fish oil to begin with. Perhaps all the muscle growth has adversely affected his brain power?
Because he is an athlete, he needs MORE fish oil that the average person, not less. With all the strenuous training that he does, he needs to add to his daily dose of fish oil instead of focusing on his intake of a few extra fat grams. He is obviously not aware that including the right amount of fat in his diet will surely make him look better and would probably go a long way towards helping him win a competition. I won't hold my breath for him to listen to this advice. - 17268
First of all, no fat diets are dangerous, and you really shouldn't even attempt anything like that except under strict medical supervision. Even then, I'm hard pressed to think of why it would be necessary.
Your body needs fat to flourish, and the only question still being debated is, how much? One thing we know for sure is that it is more than the medical community believed for almost four decades.
The same thing is true about carbohydrates. For decades, the prevailing wisdom was high carbs and low fat. You can see where that theory has gotten us.
The most important word in any diet is BALANCE.
When we speak of balance, we are speaking of the balance of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
A very important point that I have repeated time and time again is this: foods that are closest to their natural state are the most healthy for you. Baked apples are close to the natural state of fresh apples, while Apple Jacks cereal is not. Fresh grilled fish is close to its natural state, but frozen fish sticks covered in fatty breading are not.
Simply put, packaged food is not a good option. It generally contains ingredients that are highly unhealthy, with trans fats and high fructose corn syrup being two of the biggest culprits.
Additionally, almost all low fat foods have an elevated sugar content. They are made to be overly sweet so that they appeal to the taste buds. This same process is used in no-fat foods. Take a look at the label and you will find high levels of either sugar or a sugar substitute.
Low carb almost always involves a sugar substitute too, and personally, I think it always tastes terrible. You have to convince yourself that it tastes good in order to eat it. No, thanks.
A good rule to follow involving packaged foods is to choose foods that are not combined with other ingredients. It's perfectly okay to eat plain frozen vegetables, but choosing a frozen vegetable that is packaged with a sauce is distinctly less healthy. The sauces are manufactured with ingredients that are designed to keep the sauce stable, and those ingredients will make you fat, especially since the sauce most often has more calories than the vegetables themselves.
And being a vegetarian doesn't help either, no matter how many times they say it. Many vegetarians are often seriously undernourished, and have a whole host of health problems, from not eating a balanced diet.
The best way to gain control of your diet is to start slowly, one meal at a time. My friend Nate has some words of wisdom on the subject: "Practice push ups instead of doing sit downs." His message is that when you are full you should push up from the table, not sit down in order to eat more.
You should also start taking an ultra pure, enteric coated pharmaceutical grade fish oil. This will insure that you get your daily dose of of omega 3 essential fatty acids, which keep your system running at an optimum level.
Last week a friend of mine asked me to take a look at a website about bodybuilding. The bodybuilder who was responsible for the content of the site had written that he had cut back on his dose of fish oil because he believed that the fish oil was too fatty for his diet. Obviously, he has no idea at all why he was taking the fish oil to begin with. Perhaps all the muscle growth has adversely affected his brain power?
Because he is an athlete, he needs MORE fish oil that the average person, not less. With all the strenuous training that he does, he needs to add to his daily dose of fish oil instead of focusing on his intake of a few extra fat grams. He is obviously not aware that including the right amount of fat in his diet will surely make him look better and would probably go a long way towards helping him win a competition. I won't hold my breath for him to listen to this advice. - 17268
About the Author:
For help with losing weight, Dr. Bill recommends an enteric coated fish oil for health and wellness.
posted by X - Men at
3:19 AM
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