19/07/2011
Things change fast in my world. A few months ago, you couldn't tell overweight people to eat more fat without the evil specter of Dr. Atkins appearing over your head. Now, it seems, everyone knows about the health benefits of unsaturated fats, those found in fish, nuts, avocados and olive oil.
But in case you haven't heard, here's the basic problem with low-fat diets: You replace the fat with carbohydrates. Carbs provoke a rise in insulin. More insulin leads to more hunger. On top of that, your body digests carbs faster than fat. So you get hungrier faster. Fat has neither of those liabilities. Your body digests it slowly, and it doesn't cause an insulin surge. So adding a bit of fat to breakfast, lunch, and dinner actually speeds weight loss. Another point: Fat makes you feel more satisfied after a meal. You feel as if you've eaten, not just nibbled.
The flip side of this (you knew there was a catch) is that too much fat will make you fat. Fat packs more calories per square inch than protein or carbohydrates. Overeating is easy-especially if you're breaking rules 1 and 2, starving yourself through the day and then shoveling down a bag of fried pork rinds at night.
So add some nuts and olive oil to your next salad. Put some avocado on that turkey-breast sandwich. Smear peanut butter on your morning toast. And when you eat out, never pass up a chance for a nicely prepared piece of salmon, herring, tuna, or mackerel (these are the fattiest fish).