Fat: Friend or Foe?

We’ve all heard about low fat and high fat diets.  But how about a “moderate” fat diet?  The Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics recommends 20-35% of our calories should come from fat.  This is the perfect amount to support our body’s needs while not going overboard. Fat acts as a source of energy, supports brain function, builds cell walls, and absorbs fat-soluble vitamins. However if we over-indulge, fat can make us feel groggy, contribute to heart disease, and may cause weight gain.

So how do we find the right balance? Along with focusing on how MUCH fat we eat, it’s important to consider what KIND of fat we’re eating. Some fats you want to avoid completely, while others are okay in moderation. Here’s the breakdown:

TRANS fats are solid at room temperature. They’re chemically modified to increase shelf-life, but in doing so, they hurt our arteries. Trans fats are hidden in plenty of processed foods such as cookies, crackers, and microwave popcorn to name a few. So how can you tell if something has trans-fat? The words “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” on the ingredient list are both red flags.

SATURATED fats are solid at room temperature but have not been chemically modified. They are found largely in animal-based foods, such as red meat and whole fat dairy products. When eaten in excess, saturated fat may increase your “bad” cholesterol levels. Even so, the link between saturated fat intake and heart disease isn’t conclusive.  Saturated fat can be part of a healthy diet when eaten in moderation. See the infographic below (credit: Cancer Research UK) for an example of what moderation can look like:

UN-SATURATED fats are healthy for us (in moderation). We find them mostly in fatty fish, nuts, avocado, and vegetable oils. They may improve our cholesterol and brain health.

Putting it all together:
1. Choose more plant and fish-based fats like avocado, nuts, seeds, salmon, ground flaxseed, and olive oil.
2.  Choose animal-based fats in moderation and processed fats rarely.
3. Keep in mind you need fat to absorb certain nutrients, so try to get a source of fat along with carbohydrate and protein at each meal.
4. Fat helps to keep us full, so will prevent over-eating later on!

Bottom line: No need to over-complicate food. Healthy living is all about moderation, so fat is still our friend.

Allana Kerr, RD

Getting Started: Mindful Eating Basics (Part 1)

Key Points:

•  Food nourishes us in physical and non-physical way 
• With busy lifestyles and a “diet” culture we’ve disconnected from eating
• Mindfulness helps us become aware of our experience in the moment
•  Mindful eating supports a healthy relationship to food guided by internal cues such as hunger and satisfaction
• Get started with the BASICS of mindful eating in part 2 of this blog post

Eating is essential for life. Food is one of the earliest and most important connections to the world around us.  Children are naturally aware eaters, knowing when they’re hungry and when they’re not. However, as adults with busy schedules and a multi-tasking lifestyle it’s easier to eat “mindlessly”. 

Think about your last meal or snack today.  Do you remember what and how much you ate?  To go further, did you enjoy and savor your food? If you have only a foggy memory you’re not alone. “Mindless” or distracted eating is common in part because we eat foods in many locations (away from the table) and while doing other things (driving, watching TV, texting etc.). This can contribute to feeling unsatisfied (missing our internal fullness signals) as well as prompt us to want to eat more making overeating more likely.

On the flip side of overeating, “dieting” is another type of mindless eating. Following a set of rigid eating rules based on external sources of information can lead to food fears, weight “cycling”, and potentially longer lasting disordered eating patterns¹.  Diets (and other restrictive eating approaches) are not sustainable because they require using “willpower” to follow someone else’s rules rather than tuning into our own inner wisdom regarding food and what nourishes us.

So what can we do to bring awareness and enjoyment to eating as well as create a healthier relationship to food informed by our own experience?  Mindfulness is one strategy that has been getting more attention as a way to connect back to our eating experience.

So what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is commonly defined as paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.² Mindfulness has gotten a lot of “buzz” lately and for good reason. There’s a growing amount of research that supports its physical and mental health benefits³ (such as stress reduction, reduction of anxiety and depression, and improvement in overall well-being).

So mindful eating could be thought of paying attention non-judgmentally while we’re eating so that we tune into our experience of eating. This helps us turn towards our own answers about what and how much to eat (and turn down the volume on the external food messages).  When we do that there’s more of a chance that we can really hear what’s going on in our body before, during, and after eating.  

The good news is you don’t have to do this all at once—there’s not really a destination or final goal where you’ll be the perfect mindful eater.  Like many things in life, starting with small practices that you can build on and keeping a sense of fun to explore and discover on your own time in your own way is a good way to start.

In the Part 2 of this blog post we’ll start exploring some of the BASICs of mindful eating, cover some of the frequently asked questions, and dispel common myths about mindful eating.

Until then you can begin by limiting distractions (such as TV, phones etc.) while eating and tune into your experience during meals. You might be surprised by what you discover! You can also learn more about Mindful Eating at The Center for Mindful Eating’s web site www.TCME.org.

Sources:

1. Mann T, Tomiyama AJ, Westling E, et al. Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: diets are not the answer. Am Psychol, 2007; 62:220-233.
2. Kabat-Zinn J. Wherever You Go, There You Are. New York, NY: Hyperion: 1994.
3. Grossman P, Niemann L, Schmidt S, Walach H. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: a meta-analysis. J Psychosom Res. 2004; 57:35-43.

First image courtesy of Maggie Smith at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Second image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Suzanne Lewis MS, RDN, CD