Do You Struggle With Cravings And Persistent Hunger? You Could Be Lacking This Important Nutrient!
This week we have a fantastic guest post from Liz Codrington. Liz works with me as a personal trainer at Melbourne Central, and is also an Advanced Metabolic Typing Practitioner and holistic health coach.
Read time: 4-5 minutes
You’ve heard that saturated fats are “bad” fats that raise your blood cholesterol level increasing your risk of heart disease, right? But what if I were to shake things up a bit and tell you that these so called bad fats were actually good fats? In fact, not only are they ‘good’ but they may even be necessary for optimal health! Saturated fats really are your friend rather than your enemy. Am I starting to provide you with a little food for thought?
So What Are Saturated Fats?
Saturated fats are found mainly in animal fats such as red meat, poultry, full-fat dairy products (e.g. butter, cream, full-fat milk and cheese) and tropical oils such as coconut oil.
But let’s cut to the chase – why are they good for you?
The Palaeolithic Diet
If we look at it from an evolutionary perspective, humans are hunter-gatherers who eat animal protein and its fat. For millions of years, hunter-gatherers lived off animal meat (including the animal’s organs and fat) as their main energy source and consumed edible vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds depending on the season. Interestingly, during this time, ailments such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer and autoimmune diseases were non-existent.
In terms of our physiology, the human genome can only evolve around 0.2 per cent every 10,000 years.
It wasn’t until the Neolithic Revolution that the shift from nomadic hunting and gathering communities to the farming of plants and animals began, and this was when our diets started to change. Since the Industrial Revolution, substances such as sugar, salt, colourings, additives, preservatives, pesticides, herbicides etc, have entered the Western diet and the diseases mentioned above have become of serious concern.
Trans Fatty Acids
Saturated fats are digested and metabolised far better than polyunsaturated fats. But it’s polyunsaturated fats such as corn, soy, safflower and sunflower oils that have found prominence in our foods.
However, the fats you really need to be scared of are trans fatty acids (TFAs). These are found in manufactured foods such as popcorn, fast foods, margarine and chips. They are the result of a process called partial hydrogenation, a process that occurs artificially by bombarding polyunsaturated oils with hydrogen in order to rearrange the fatty acids into TFAs in a bid to create a longer shelf life.
Saturated fats, particularly coconut oil, provide our bodies with a slow burning, longer lasting energy and leave us feeling full and satisfied for longer. This is in comparison to diets loaded in commercially processed grains and starchy vegetables, which quickly convert into glucose in our blood causing an increase in insulin known as an ‘insulin-spike’.
In Eat Fat Lose Fat (Enig and Fallon 2006:7) the authors describe how when we eat saturated fats – particularly coconut oil – we are providing nourishment to every cell in our bodies that supports optimal function of your nerves, brain, hormones, immune system and metabolism. And if that’s not good news enough, Enig and Fallon (2006:7) go on to explain how eating these healthy fats will
‘… trigger a powerful mechanism that is key to success in permanent weight loss: satiation. When you eat coconut oil (and other healthy fats like those found in butter, cream, nuts, meats and eggs), your body produces a hormone in the stomach and small intestine that signals that you’ve eaten enough. When you feel satiated, cravings, and the persistent hunger you experience on most diets, are banished.’
And they describe an added bonus too; namely, that eating these healthy fats will give us more energy and a far more optimistic attitude towards life! So, do you need more reasons to add coconut oil to your next shopping list?
The Catch
Okay, there’s always one, isn’t there! But trust me, once you start with this lifestyle modification you won’t look back.
The catch is these saturated fats must come from organic produce. They must come from certified organic and grass-fed (rather than grain-fed) animals that are free of harmful chemicals such as fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides that are typically found in conventional farming. Because when we eat these meats and dairy from conventional farming, we are ingesting these extremely toxic chemicals.
Dairy
Dairy from an organic source definitely has added health benefits due to its ‘healthy’ saturated fat content. And wherever possible buy raw dairy, which you can usually find at your local farmer’s or organic market. Of course, if you suffer from dairy intolerance then keep away from it!
In The Metabolic Typing Diet, the authors (Wolcott and Fahey 2002) explain that we all have our own unique metabolism and as a result require different diets. Discovering your metabolic type will determine which diet is best for you. For example, you may require a diet high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrate. Alternatively, you may require a diet high in carbohydrate and low in protein and fat; or perhaps somewhere between the two.
Important!
Although you now understand that saturated fats are ‘healthy fats’, this does not necessarily mean that everyone can indulge in the same ratios. Sorry! This is because for someone who is more of a ‘carb type’, eating lots of cream, cheese, butter and animal fat, will most likely cause weight gain and digestive and/or emotional imbalances. However, a ‘protein type’ functions better on higher amounts. It really does come down to learning about your body and listening to it!
So now you know how the French remain relatively trim and have the second lowest incidence of heart disease in the world, even though their diets are rich in butter, cream and cheese!
A note from Kat
Until the end of October, whilst I’m living it up on my holiday, I’ll be introducing a series of posts from fellow Personal Trainers, BioSignature coaches, and wellness gurus. These are some of the most inspiring and useful people I know both on and offline, and I trust you’ll enjoy what they have to say. I’ll still be dropping by once a week with my own post and will be in touch via comments and email, so don’t be shy! Get in touch with Liz at [email protected]
\
Hey Kat,
I just read your blog and I’m a bit confused. I’m a carb type but you’ve suggested eating very few carbs and more protein. In your blog you say that this will make you put on weight and that a carb type should eat more carbs and less protein. Can this just mean I still eat protein with a lot more vegies than a protein type who can eat more protein and fewer vegies? What about fats? Should I be cutting them out or just sticking with the bare minimum. Should I be eating protein at every meal?
Sorry to ask but I’m really unsure of it because it was initially very against my instinct to eat more protein.
Thanks,
Hi Bonnie
Yes, you should definitely be eating protein and some good fats with every meal. Even though you are a ‘carb type’, you still need to have all three macronutrients (carbs, protein and fat) with all meals.
The thing to remember, is although you were advised to eat 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat, this is just a starting point.You then need to fine-tune these ratios to your own individual needs. Things such as your circadian rhythm, activity levels and stress levels all affect your macronutrient ratios at different times throughout your day.
As a general rule of thumb, your carb intake should be at it’s highest first thing in the morning and straight after training – especially if doing strength training as it’s very important to replace your depleted glycogen stores. Definitely eat plenty of green veges throughout your day.
If you still feel you need some guidance with your nutrition, Kat or myself could most definitely help you with the fine-tuning part of your diet, which is extremely important.
All the best!
Liz
Hi Liz and Bonnie
I should clarify for you Liz, and for other readers, that Bonnie is doing BioSignature with me, and so her food recommendations are based on her genetic carb tolerance as shown through BioSig, which means the above ratios may differ. I know that’s a little confusing! Especially as Metabolic Typing is a new concept to most Body Incredible readers. One of the things I firmly believe in is constant exposure to varied sources of information, which is why I’m so thrilled to have published the above post. For Bonnie and for anyone else reading this, if it does make you question what you’re currently doing – that’s not a bad thing! I think it’s useful to all of us to constantly learn outside our normal scope and ultimately fine-tune our eating (and other elements of health) all the better for having done so.
Kat 🙂
Hi Kat I always find your posts so interesting. I totally agree withyour take on saturated fats and they certainly make eating the way we should so much more enjoyable I love using conconut oil. And Love my nuts and a salad is just not the same without avacado. I agree with the ideas of the paleo diet but as i beleive in creation not evolution I have some difference of opinions as when i read the bible from the time we were created grains where a staple in peoples diets however i realise that grains today (and i rarely eat them now) are not what they were back then. I am nearly finished reading nourishing traditions by the authorsyou mentioned and i think its amazing. I like her take on grains and the way food should be prepared. Its such a fantastic book im sure you have read it. The only thing is it makes me wish we could all just go and live on land and grow our own food and raise our own meat have time to prepare food the way it should be. I beleive thats the way we were created to live. Shame mankind has ruined life how it was meant to be.
Hi Joanna. Thanks so much for your comment! Actually I also believe in creation. Personally when I use the word evolution I am referring to current and ongoing physiological changes our bodies make (or try to make) in order to deal with new stimulus, such as modern environmental toxins, for example. I’m glad you mentioned about grains in the Bible though, because the truth is I’d never even thought about that. I am definitely anti-grains nonetheless – like you say, the current forms of grains are far different to those in biblical times, and I am still fairly certain that wheat was not around that long. Perhaps grains such as amaranth and triticale? It would be interesting to find out.
Cool article Kat, I’d like to make a comment though;
Coconut Oil, in my experience, does not have the satiating effect that you’ve written about. In fact, I’ve used it on more than one occasion to INCREASE appetite because I’ve found that meals that include it tend to boost appetite – this is not just in my own body, but particularly in individuals who are seeking to gain weight with low appetite. That does ring true for the other fats listed, though.
One possible mechanism may be because it increases assimilation of nutrients and adjusts deficiencies – and sometimes that can boost appetite.
Hi Kyle
Thanks for your comment. I found it very interesting reading about your experiences with coconut oil. Personally, I find coconut fantastic at keeping me fuller for longer and haven’t had any experiences with clients so far that have found it to increase their appetite. That being said, everyone is different with varying degrees of digestive issues, so it does make sense that someone who is deficient at assimilating nutrients, could respond by having an increase in appetite from balancing their absorption of nutrients at a cellular level. Great comment!
Liz
I agree; very interesting comment! I’ve never heard this before. This is one thing I love about blogging; the chance to learn something new. Personally I recommend coconut oil to most clients, and often find it an effective part of a fat loss program, but what you say does make sense Kyle. Do you have any further reading on this?
That’s very interesting. Haven’t heard anyone report that as of yet either.
Wow, I never heard that either. I actually have to be careful to eat enough food throughout the day – especially since I do cardio and weight training. Sometimes coconut oil can KEEP me from eating enough.
Thanks to both of you! To clarify things, I have been doing the biosignature modulation and HAVE been getting GREAT results. I am a carb type and early on Kat and I catered towards this with playing around with different levels of protein. I have to say, to anyone out there in any doubt about carb type eating, I have found that I thrive on ‘lighter’ proteins such as chicked, fish, eggs and nuts. In terms of Liz’s advice regarding percentage proportions, I get my 40% carbs from vegetables and a small amount of fruit. Funnily enough, trusting my body has meant that I eat according to the 40% carb, 30%, protein 30% fat…the difference has been that none of that comes from refined sources nor grains (As Kat advocates- I didn’t eay many grains at all but I previously had muesli for breakfast). As for fat I still eat small amounts of butter and plenty of olive oil. To be honest, I don’t do well on Coconut oil. Eating more protein, despite being against my instinct, has given me more energy and has made my skin glow. I say all this as a high recommendation of the biosignature modulation but also because Carb Types make up only 25% of the population and it may serve as some experiential advice for any other carbs types in doubt.
Great comment Bonnie – as I can’t speak at all from experience as a carb type I really appreciate you sharing with everyone else what does and doesn’t work for you!
Yes, great comment Bonnie! Spot on pointing out to everyone you get your 40% of carbs from veges and a small amount of fruit. It can be detrimental to your progress carbing up on grains and sugar – even as a carb type. Even high starch veges should be kept to a minimum. Post workout would be a good time to have some sweet potato, for example. Sounds like you’re in good hands with Kat’s biosignature protocol. Keep up the good work!