Fat and the Fat Bomb - The Everything Big Book of Fat Bombs: 200 Irresistible Low-Carb, High-Fat Recipes for Weight Loss the Ketogenic Way - Viveca Menegaz

The Everything Big Book of Fat Bombs: 200 Irresistible Low-Carb, High-Fat Recipes for Weight Loss the Ketogenic Way - Viveca Menegaz (2016)

Chapter 3. Fat and the Fat Bomb

If you’re one of the people who followed a low-fat diet and failed to lose weight, or failed to see any other major health improvements, don’t worry; you’re in the company of millions. When the popularity of the low-fat diet surged, many followers found themselves gaining more weight. Removing fat from your diet was supposed to make you thinner and healthier, but it did just the opposite. When people started replacing fats with carbohydrates and low-fat alternatives, the incidences of diabetes and obesity began to skyrocket. Could the beloved low-fat diet be to blame? Absolutely.

Low-Fat Diet Myths

If you’re still on the low-fat diet train, read this next sentence carefully and really let it sink in: Fat is not your enemy; sugar is. And that applies to all forms of sugar, not only the granulated stuff that you put in your coffee in the morning. Sure, the sugar in fruit is packaged with vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and other valuable nutrients, which makes it a far superior choice over regular old sugar, but overdoing it can actually hinder weight-loss efforts and set you up for more serious conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But before delving too deeply into sugar, it’s important to spend some time debunking the myths that have surrounded the word “fat” for years.

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As the low-fat diet gained in popularity, there was also an increase in the availability of low-fat food items, such as cookies and candy bars. To create these items, manufacturers removed fat and replaced it with sugar to keep it palatable so consumers would continue to buy the product. These packaged food items were lower in fat, but they were higher in sugar and contained the same, if not more, calories.

Eating Fat Makes You Fat

On the surface, the theory that eating fat makes you fat seems like a no-brainer. Of the three macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates, and fat—fat contains the most calories per gram. Protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram, while fat contains more than twice that at 9 calories per gram. It would make sense that if you cut out fat or replace fat with protein or carbohydrates at each meal, you would be saving yourself a ton of calories throughout the course of the day. While technically you would save on calories, it doesn’t lead to sustainable weight loss.

In order to understand why fat doesn’t make you fat, you have to understand how you gain weight in the first place. The simple explanation is this: You start thinking about food and your body secretes insulin in response. The insulin triggers a response that tells your body to store fatty acids instead of using them for energy, so you get hungry. When you get hungry, you eat. If you’re on a low-fat diet, your lunch may consist of two slices of whole-wheat toast with a couple of slices of turkey—no cheese, no mayo—and an apple on the side. If you’ve subscribed to the low-fat diet theory, this seems like a healthy meal, but in reality, it’s loaded with carbohydrates that pass through your digestive system quickly, causing significant spikes in blood sugar, and has virtually no fat.

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Carbohydrates are a fast-acting source of energy for your body, but they don’t do a lot to fill you up. Even carbohydrates that are loaded with fiber are far less satiating than either protein or fat. If you want your meal to be truly satisfying, make sure it contains plenty of fat.

Your body quickly breaks down your high-carbohydrate meal, which sends a rush of glucose into your bloodstream. Your body responds to this glucose by secreting more insulin, which carries the glucose out of your blood and into your cells. Once the glucose levels drop, you get hungry again, your body secretes more insulin, and the cycle starts over.

Here’s where you’ll want to pay close attention. Your body’s main regulator of fat metabolism is insulin. Insulin controls lipoprotein lipase, or LPL, an enzyme that pulls fat into your cells. The higher your insulin levels, the more fat LPL pulls into your cells. Translation: when insulin levels increase, you store fat. When insulin levels drop, you burn fat for energy. The main thing that affects insulin levels is carbohydrates, not fat. So when you eat a lot of carbohydrates, your insulin levels increase, which increases your LPL levels, which increases your storage of fat.

It’s important to remember that overdoing it on any of the nutrients will lead to weight gain. Regularly exceeding your caloric needs will cause weight gain regardless of whether you do it with carbohydrates, protein, or fat—but fat is not the major culprit when it comes to weight gain.

Cholesterol Causes Heart Disease

The cholesterol you eat actually has very little impact on your blood cholesterol levels for two reasons. The first reason is that your body doesn’t absorb dietary cholesterol very efficiently. Most of the cholesterol you eat goes right through your digestive tract and never even enters your bloodstream. The second reason is that the amount of cholesterol in your blood is tightly controlled by your body. When you eat a lot of dietary cholesterol, your body shuts down its own production of cholesterol to compensate. There is a percentage of the population, however, that is hypersensitive to dietary cholesterol. For these people—about 25 percent of the population—dietary cholesterol does cause modest increases in both LDL (low-density lipoprotein) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) levels, but even so, the increased cholesterol levels do not increase the risk of heart disease. In fact, both the Framingham Heart Study and the Honolulu Heart Program found the opposite to be true: Low cholesterol levels were actually associated with increased risk of death. A separate study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported findings that neither high LDL (“bad” cholesterol) levels nor low HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels were important risk factors for death from coronary artery disease or heart attack.

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Most of the cholesterol in your blood (75 percent) is actually made in your body. Only 25 percent comes from the food you eat. If you followed a completely cholesterol-free diet, your body would compensate by increasing its cholesterol production by the liver to keep your blood levels steady. That’s because your body needs cholesterol to survive.

Cholesterol is absolutely essential for your survival. This lipoprotein, as it is physiologically classified, performs three major functions. It makes up the bile acids that help you digest food, it allows the body to make vitamin D and other essential hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, and it is a component of the outer coating of every one of your cells. Without cholesterol, your body would literally crumble.

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The focus has been so much on high cholesterol that doctors seem to have forgotten the risks associated with low cholesterol levels. Without sufficient cholesterol your immune system cannot properly function, you cannot produce sufficient steroid hormones (leading to severe sex hormone imbalances), your cell membranes get weak, and you end up with impaired memory and brain function.

That’s not to say that you should throw all caution out the window when it comes to cholesterol, but you need to pay attention to the right thing, and that’s the size of the cholesterol particles in your bloodstream rather than the total numbers. Cholesterol comes in two forms: large particles that “bounce” off the arterial walls and small, dense particles that stick to the walls of your arteries and contribute to arterial blockage, which can eventually lead to heart disease. The problem is that so much focus is placed on the total numbers that many people fail to pay attention to cholesterol particle size.

According to Dr. Mark Hyman, a functional medicine doctor at the UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, it’s not fat that causes the accumulation of small, dense cholesterol particles in your blood; it’s sugar. And that’s sugar in any form, including refined carbohydrates. Sugar decreases the amount of the large cholesterol particles in your blood, creates the small damaging cholesterol particles, increases triglyceride levels, and contributes to prediabetes.

Saturated Fat Causes Heart Disease

The other widespread belief is that eating saturated fat causes an increase in the amount of cholesterol in your blood, which in turn causes heart disease or increases your risk of heart disease. This theory was developed from some human and animal studies that were done decades ago. However, more recent research calls this theory into question.

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The idea that eating cholesterol causes heart disease is called the diet-heart hypothesis. The theory that high cholesterol levels in the blood cause heart disease is called the lipid hypothesis. Both of these hypotheses are so widely accepted that most healthcare professionals and consumers don’t even question them, although more recent research has shown that cholesterol and heart disease may not be as interconnected as previously believed. Inflammation, especially low-grade chronic inflammation driven by excess carbohydrate consumption, has been found to be the real driver of cardiovascular disease.

In 2010, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition did a meta-analysis of several studies that investigated the relationship between saturated fat and heart disease and concluded that there is no significant evidence to make the claim that dietary saturated fat is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease, in general. In fact, several of the studies the journal investigated showed a positive inverse relationship, which means that a higher intake of saturated fat was actually associated with a lower incidence of heart disease.

Why Fat Is Your Friend

Fat is an integral part of every cell in your body. This macronutrient is a major component of your cell membranes, which hold each cell together. Every single cell in your body, from the cells in your brain to the cells in your heart to the cells in your lungs, is dependent on fat for survival. Fat is especially important for your brain, which is made up of 60 percent fat and cholesterol.

Fat and cholesterol are used as building blocks for many hormones, which help regulate metabolism, control growth and development, and maintain bone and muscle mass, among many other things. Fat is vital for proper immune function, helps regulate body temperature, and serves as a source of protection for your major organs. Fat surrounds all of your vital organs to provide a sort of cushion for protection against falls and trauma. Fat also helps boost metabolic function and plays a role in keeping you lean.

Fat is an essential nutrient. This means that you need to ingest it through the foods you eat because the body cannot make what it needs on its own. Fat is composed of individual molecules called fatty acids. Two of these fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids, are absolutely essential for good health. Omega-3 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function and growth and development, while omega-6 fatty acids help regulate metabolism and maintain bone health. Fat also allows you to absorb and digest other essential nutrients, such as vitamins A, D, E, and K, and beta carotene. Without enough fat in your diet, you wouldn’t be able to absorb any of these nutrients and you would eventually develop nutritional deficiencies.

As if that weren’t enough, fat is a major source of energy for your body. The fact that each gram of fat contains 9 calories is actually a good thing. This makes it a compact source of energy that your body can use easily and efficiently. Unlike with carbohydrates, which your body can only store in limited amounts, your body has an unlimited ability to store fat for later use. When food intake falls short, as between meals or while you’re sleeping, your body calls on its fat reservoirs for energy. This physiological process is what the entire ketogenic diet is based on.

Your body needs a continuous source of energy to maintain its functions. The body’s preferred source of energy, because it’s fast acting and easily accessible, is glucose, which comes from carbohydrates. When you give your body access to glucose, it stores fat in your fat cells for later use. When you deprive the body of glucose, it turns to fat for energy.

Reducing Body Fat

Now that you know what causes your body to store fat, the obvious next question is, how do you use that knowledge to help reduce your body fat? The quick answer, and one that may seem counterintuitive at this point, is to eat more fat, but it’s not that simple. You can’t simply add fat to a diet that’s full of carbohydrates and loaded with protein and expect the weight to fall off. You need to reduce carbohydrates in order to achieve a state of ketosis and maximize the fat-burning ability of the body, and get to that stored body fat. In other words: a ketogenic diet.

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Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet, in Stockholm, Sweden, found that the number of fat cells you have as an adult remains the same no matter how much weight you lose. When you lose weight, the number of fat cells doesn’t actually decrease; the cells just shrink in size, essentially taking up less room and making you look leaner.

The Importance of a Healthy Body-Fat Level

Fat is important, there’s no doubt about that, but too much on your body can be bad for your health. Having excess body fat increases your risk of various health problems, including:

· Type 2 diabetes

· Heart disease

· Gallstones

· Sleep apnea

· Certain types of cancers

· High blood pressure

· Stroke

· Osteoarthritis

· Fatty liver disease

· Infertility

· Kidney disease

· Gestational diabetes

Reducing the amount of fat you carry on your body can help reduce your risk of developing these chronic conditions, even if you have a family history of them.

Improving Your Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels

A major component to keeping yourself healthy, or improving any current health problems, is regulating your blood sugar and insulin levels. Imbalances in blood sugar and insulin are significant factors in the rapidly growing epidemic in diabetes in both children and adults.

Insulin Resistance and Diabetes

You already know that insulin is responsible for bringing the glucose from your bloodstream into your cells so that your body can use it as energy, but insulin also stimulates your liver and muscles to store excess glucose, which is called glycogen, for later use. In a healthy person, insulin and glucose do their jobs effectively and efficiently, and as a result, both insulin and glucose levels remain within a certain healthy range.

Insulin resistance is a condition in which the pancreas produces enough insulin, but the body is not able to use it effectively. When you’re repeatedly exposed to high levels of insulin, your cells begin to say, “No, thank you” and start building up a resistance to insulin. When insulin, which carries glucose on its back, can’t enter the cells, glucose remains in the bloodstream as well. This signals the pancreas to release even more insulin, which only exacerbates the cycle. While your body may be able to sustain this added stress for a certain period of time, eventually the pancreas gives up and insulin production decreases or stops altogether.

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Many people aren’t aware that they have insulin resistance until they are officially diagnosed with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. Early warning signs of insulin resistance include fatigue, energy crashes, carbohydrate cravings, and weight gain around the midsection. If you experience any of these warning signs, it may be beneficial to have your insulin and glucose levels tested.

Without insulin, glucose can’t enter the cells, so it stays in the bloodstream, wreaking havoc on your system. This is the point when many people are diagnosed with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. Elevated glucose levels also contribute to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, certain types of cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

What Do Carbs Do?

When you eat carbohydrates, your body breaks them down into glucose. The rate at which this happens differs depending on the type of carbohydrates you’re eating, but eventually, all carbohydrates, with the exception of fiber, become glucose. When glucose enters your bloodstream, it triggers the release of insulin, as you already know. Constantly bombarding your body with carbohydrates and refined sugars increases glucose and insulin levels dramatically, increasing your risk of developing insulin resistance and the other resulting health problems. The goal is to avoid surges and crashes in glucose and insulin and to keep your levels consistent and steady throughout the day. When you do this, your body is better able to handle both glucose and insulin over the long term.

How Fat Can Help

Unlike carbohydrates and refined sugars, eating fat doesn’t cause a dramatic spike in glucose or insulin levels. When you turn your body from burning glucose for fuel to burning fat for fuel, which is the basis of the ketogenic diet, you help stabilize your glucose and insulin levels, which decreases your chances of developing insulin resistance.

Feeling Satisfied While Losing Weight

One of the biggest complaints you’ll hear from dieters on a weight-loss program is that they don’t feel satisfied. They’re always hungry or the food just isn’t good. This is where most diets fail. If you’re always hungry on a diet, what are the chances that you’re going to be able to stick to it long-term? Probably close to zero. No one wants to be hungry all the time. On the other hand, consistently eating foods that lack any flavor and always leave you wanting more is a recipe for disaster. At some point, your cravings for delicious, satiating foods are going to triumph over your determination to lose weight and you’re going to give in to temptation—and probably in a big way. Feelings of deprivation are one of the biggest causes of eventual binges. This is where fat shines.

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Foods with a high fat content tend to taste so good because many different flavors dissolve in fats. Butter especially works as an excellent carrier for a wide variety of flavors, including spices, vanilla, and other fat-soluble ingredients. The human body is also genetically programmed to seek out high-energy foods. Because of this, fatty foods are inherently perceived as more flavorful.

When you cut fat out of your diet, it’s hard to reach that point when you really feel satisfied. This is why people on low-fat diets complain of being hungry all the time. Fat also adds a ton of flavor to food, so when you eat fat you’re actually enjoying the food you’re eating, which makes you more likely to stick to your diet plan. Sounds like a no-brainer, right?

What Are Fat Bombs?

Fat bombs are low-carbohydrate, high-fat recipes or foods that include a high percentage of fat and a low percentage of carbohydrates. Fat bombs were originally created as pure fat snacks to reach your fat macronutrient goal for the day when following a ketogenic diet. Since the ketogenic diet requires such high levels of fat for the body to enter and stay in ketosis, fat bombs are an easy solution to help dieters reach their fat requirements each day. Over time, and with the widespread use of the diet, the concept of the fat bomb has widened a little to include small meals with an adequate ratio of protein to fat that also keep the carbohydrate content to a minimum. These snacks and meals, when consumed throughout the day, will help you successfully maintain your macronutrient ratios for the diet while providing necessary nutrients and keeping you satisfied.

Adapting to a High-Fat Diet

The concept of a “fat bomb” can be quite shocking if you are not familiar with the principles and challenges of a ketogenic diet. At first a fat bomb may sound quite unappealing to you, but once you understand its value and application within the diet, you will be eager to try all the enticing and flavorful ways to get more fat into your body.

One of the hardest parts of the ketogenic diet is matching your required fat intake, especially at the beginning. If you are transitioning from a long-term, low-fat dieting plan, chances are, you forgot how to use fats in your diet.

Current low-fat recipe trends combined with ready-made “healthy” meals sold in supermarkets will not help you meet your weight-loss or health goals. Often they are high in carbohydrates and sugar, despite being labeled as “healthy” because they are low in fat. Once you start keeping track of your macros on a ketogenic diet, you’ll find yourself reaching your carbohydrate limit early in the day, while you still have a lot of calories left to fill in the form of fat and protein. The fat bomb is the easy solution for this seemingly impossible problem.

Using Fat Bombs for Success on the Ketogenic Diet

Fat bombs can be used to balance your macronutrient intake of fat and protein while leaving your carbohydrate intake adequately low. You can start your day with a savory, egg-based fat bomb for breakfast to get a head start in consuming healthy fats and make sure your blood sugar will be stable for the rest of the day. Or, you can add in a fat-bomb snack in the middle of your day to combat that midafternoon slump and problematic sugar craving. Another idea is to use a small fat-bomb dinner to keep your caloric intake as low as needed and fill your need for fat. These are just some of the ways a fat bomb can be your invaluable ally for your success with a ketogenic diet.

Using Savory Fat Bombs

Many fat-bomb recipes feature sweet ingredients to make the fats more palatable. However, as you adjust to adding fat bombs to your diet, you’ll need to balance savory with sweet. In addition to the benefits of savory fat bombs as meal replacers, there is another very important reason to use savory fat bombs, instead of just eating the sweet, “treat-like” ones. Sugar consumption is directly related to insulin release into the bloodstream. Your body becomes so trained to expect a blood sugar spike following the ingestion of sweet-flavored foods that it creates an almost automatic response. It is clinically proven that the ingestion of noncalorie sweeteners will still trigger an insulin response in the body, especially if you are insulin resistant. That mechanism is proven by the fact that a sweet-flavored treat with the same macronutrient ratios as a savory one will make you hungry much sooner. When weaning yourself from the habit of sugar, the sweet flavor alone can become a trigger for powerful cravings, even if the sweetener had zero carbohydrates in it.

Enjoying Liquid Fat Bombs

Convenience will make it easier to successfully stick to your eating plan. Liquid fat bombs are a great way to help you get the right balance of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates for your body. When pressed for time it can be invaluable to be able to throw a few ingredients into a blender and make it a meal. Liquid fat bombs can be easily created, easily transported, and easily shared. They will provide the right macronutrients your body needs, some essential nutrients, and a lot of great flavor to your diet.