Somewhere in the middle 20th century "fat" became demonized. Not the word fat, but the nutrient fat. Drilled into our heads was "eat fat, get fat". The bummer of the past 50 odd years? That advice is wrong.
Fat isn't the enemy - fat is a nutrient essential to our physical and mental health. Appropriate amounts (and types) of fat provide quick energy, protects our organs, and boosts metabolism. Quick warning: this statement is not a license to guzzle milkshakes and cheese steaks.
Your body needs fat, but in the proper amounts and from the proper sources. The food sources containing the best fat are those with which you are already familiar: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Avocado, Peanut Butter (organic only), and nuts. Stock your diet with these and you'll find yourself in good shape.
The true enemy is Sugar. Arguably, your body needs very little sugar to function properly, but many Americans consume pounds of sugar each year. Our love affair with sugar is two fold:
1. Ancestrally speaking, fat and protein were readily available in cave man days. Sure they had to hunt for their food barefoot, wearing a loose fitting loin cloth as "clothing", and using a spear or rock, but the food was there for the taking. Sugar was not. Fruit was hard to find and when found, our ancestors consumed mounds of it knowing full well it could be weeks or months before they found more.
Over thousands of years this "sugar loading" built itself into our bodies. Now, humans love sugar and consume it in great quantities, often with little satiety after.
2. In response to the low fat craze of the last 50 years food manufacturers responded by dropping the fat content of their processed foods. Problem: Low fat processed food tastes like a table. Solution: Add sugar. And with that our lives were set on a path to massive sugar consumption. (There's much more to this, but a full scientific explanation would require charts, graphs, easels, laser pointers, etc.)
As the years passed sugar began hiding in places we would never expect. Sugar is now added to bread, pasta sauces, dairy products (especially yogurt), canned and frozen fruit, nut butters, and juice. The sugar is used to make tart foods more palatable, bland foods more robust, and sweet foods sweeter. Sugar hangs out everywhere.
Avoiding sugar is tough. However, virtually any food sold in the US has a nutritional label. Sugar is listed clearly under "carbohydrates" . The next time you visit the grocery store, take a look at some the nutritional facts on food labels...you will be shocked to see how much sugar lurks in some of the most innocuous places. How many "health"foods have boat loads of sugar - yogurt one of the worst offenders.
Aside from looking at the nutritional label, look at the actual ingredients. If "sugar" is listed, ditch it. Be advised, Sugar knows its being hunted, so its created a number of aliases and fake identities: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cane [fill in the blank], Maltose, Molasses, Syrup, Fruit Concentrates, and more. Sugar hides, be vigilant.
Cutting sugar from your diet isn't easy - as mentioned above, it lurks in alleyways, hides in the shadows, hoping you don't see it. Also, our taste buds develop as we consume sweet food. Over time, we need more and more sweet for our taste buds to register. Fortunately, tastes change. Over time, as sugar intake is reduced, your sensitivity to sweetness will ramp up. You'll need less and less to have the same effect. (this also works with Salt).
The Rule: Generally - avoid foods with more than 6 grams of sugar per serving.
As expected, every rule has its exceptions. The rule does not apply to raw, unprocessed foods. For example, while fruit has sugar, the benefits of fruit outweigh the risk. Also, be realistic - if you like a certain peanut butter that happens to have 9 grams of sugar, go for it.
Avoiding sugar will have a terrific effect on your physical health, and your mood as you'll suffer fewer sugar crashes. Give it a try. See how much better you feel.
Remember: "If you've got it, flaunt it. If you don't, get it with us".
