Cholesterol and Fats
An Important Step in the Holistic Health Lifestyle-
Learning about Fats
Let's begin with something most of us have heard about, cholesterol. High choleserol in the blood is a
result of many factors-one of which is the amount of fat you eat, also known as dietary fat.
This is an image of cholesterol in a blood vessel. The small cholesterol plaques can break off and cause a heart attack if it goes to your heart or a stroke if it goes to your brain. Holistic Medicine addresses high cholesterol in a number of ways. One way is through nutrition.
Holistic medicine and nutrition seriously addresses dietary fat. High Cholesterol and Holistic Medicine are popular topics in lay and professional journals. I don't know about you, but it is a challenge for me to keep up with the latest news AND to remember what is bad and, even more importantly, what is helpful. I promised holistic health for the busy person, and I aim to
keep that promise to you. So, read on..
Why we crave fats
It is no secret that many of us crave fats. How do I know? Go into any fast food joint and look around.
Most of the choices are high in fat and are very popular. But why is this?
Fats are stored in our body as energy. There were lean days when we hunted
for our own food (and I don't mean with a shopping cart!).
Therefore, having enoughfat stored in your body meant survival when others with less fat died of malnutrition. Fat, from a large game animal killed was often reserved for special occasions, because it wasn't so easy getting one.
Today, high fat meals are commonplace, plentiful, and yes, sometimes less expensive than healthier choices. This is part of why high cholesterol and holistic medicine have become popular topics. We are bombarded by fast, inexpensive, high fat and unhealthy foods choices.
Why is a diet high in fat bad for us? Because we don't need to store so much fat anymore. There are no real times of famine for most of us because we can easily purchase and prepare food, or simply purchase prepared foods. There are plenty times of feast, however, and the high obesity rate is proof that too much feast isn't good.
Simply stated, too much feast can kill you.
We know that cholesterol, fat and high calories can be unhealthy for you. But, do you know what these foods do to your mood?
In fact, a rule of thumb is that too much of anything isn't good.
One important lesson to learn about holistic health lifestyle is that
MODERATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS!
Types of Fats
Perhaps you've heard about saturated and unsaturated fats. The terms describe the basic chemistry of the fats.
Saturated fats have hydrogen atoms attached and unsaturated do not. There are varying degrees of saturation depending
on how many of the molecular chains are occupied with hydrogen.
Hydrogen, molecular chains, varying degrees...
What?
You don't need to be a chemist to figure this out. whether there are hydrogen atoms attached or not isn't as important as knowing what type of fat you are about to put into your mouth. I promised to keep it simple, didn't I?
Alright, let's make this chemistry thing a little more user-friendly!
Saturated fats become hard and you can't seem through them if you put them in the fridge. They also take a bit longer
to become liquid if you turn the heat on-such as in the frying pan. Examples: most animal fats including bacon and
some vegetable fats such as coconut and palm kernel oils.
Polyunsaturated fats are the opposite. (poly=many)
Most vegetable oils are polyunsaturated. Safflower oil is the most unsaturated.
Interesting Fact About Safflower Oil: Safflower is a fairly new plant to us here in the Northern Hemisphere. It is native to India and the ancient texts warn against using it as food. It has been used here for years, but as a natural dye-not food. I recommend passing onthe Safflower Oil until we learn more.
Between saturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, lie monounsaturated fats. Mono=one
Sunflower, corn, soy and cottonseed oils are monounsaturated fats. These lack saturation only at ONE point in the molecular chain.
Olive oil and canola oils have more monounsaturated fats than some of the other oils in the list.
Key point:
All fats are mixtures of fatty acids, and the terms saturation and unsaturation really refer to the predominant components. They're mixed up, and you can probably relate to that feeling right about now! Just kidding! Don't give up, because there is something wonderful-
good health-waiting at the end of the path. In fact,some helpful hints follow, but just a few more steps first...
Risks to High Cholesterol and What You Can Do About It:
Hereditary (You can't change this factor!)
Stress (This you CAN change)
Click here to learn the impact of stress on physical health.
Caffeine Intake (too much caffeine can raise your cholesterol)
Exercise (Exercise can raise your 'good' cholesterol and lower your 'bad' cholesterol
Most people are willing to make little changes in their diets before they will make some of the other changes to lower cholesterol. They may opt to take a pill.
Are there natural cures for high cholesterol?
There are natural ways to control cholesterol. Are you doing everything you can?
Back to how fats can help or hurt us.
Are polyunsaturated fats, such as vegetable oils safe?
The sad truth is that polyunsaturated fats have dangers of their own, and there are probably dangers we aren't aware of.
Remember the little chemistry lesson about molecular chains with hydrogen attached (saturated) or with not so much hydrogen attached (unsaturated)?
It seems that those areas on the polyunsaturated (poly meaning 'many') chain WITHOUT hydrogen attached to it is not stable and is open to attack by oxygen. That's right! Our friend, OXYGEN, actually attacks. This is especially true when the oils are heated.
AND, don't we often heat these oils. YES! It seems that these unstable and angry molecules can actually damage DNA and increase
our risk of cancer, speed up aging (OH NO!!!) and aggravate certain immune system and inflammatory disorders.
OH NO, both types of fats, saturated and polyunsaturated, can hurt us! What can we do now?
Okay, so what is the safest fat?
Monounsaturated fats, are those wedged between unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. If you think of a teetertotter, the monounsaturated fats are right in the middle.
Once thought to be of no harm and no good, they really are your best choice. They don't seem to increase the risk of
heart disease and raise cholesterol and they do not oxidize quickly, making them not cancer promoting. That's good news!
By eating more monounsaturated fats, such as olive and canola oil, you can lower your 'bad' cholesterol AND raise your 'good' cholesterol. This is something you want!
Omega III Fatty Acids are a type of fats that deserve a lot of mention. There is a whole page devoted to them!
Click on the photo below to learn more about the easy changes you can make to live naturally holistic!
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It is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. Always take the advice of your health care provider before undertaking any diet, exercise, or other health program. We will not be liable for any complications, or other medical accidents arising from the use of any information on this web site.
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