Eat Fat, Live Longer

You’ve probably heard that the typical American diet-with its high emphasis on fatty cuts of meat-is what causes heart disease. We’re wondering, however, if anyone ever told you about the high-fat diets of the Masai? No, you say? That’s the answer we expected you to give because many industry groups would probably rather you didn’t know about the Masai and others who seem to thrive on a high-fat diet. It seems to confuse the low-fat message, doesn’t it?

The Masai are a tribe in Africa that consumes a diet that is almost 100 percent saturated fat. Whole milk and beef are dietary staples. Do the Masai drop dead from heart attacks at age 40? No, they do not. The members of this tribe do not suffer from heart disease. They just don’t get it. Are they genetic anomalies? Do they lack a heart disease gene? It’s not likely.

The Masai are just one of many species around the globe that thrives on a diet rich in fat. The Inuit are another example. They live in North America and also develop little to no heart disease, obesity and diabetes. They also eat a considerable amount of saturated fat, mostly from whales, fish, seals, and other animals. Is it possible that the Inuit, like the Masai, lack the heart disease and diabetes genes? It’s possible, but not likely. You want to know why? Canadian Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson lived with the Inuit for a year and consumed their fatty diet. He suffered no ill health effects.

How can this be? How can so many populations from so many different places in the world consume diets rich in animal fat and manage to stay healthy? They can because animal fat alone is not what causes heart disease, cancer, and other health problems. It’s not until members of these healthy-fat-eating societies start eating typical American convenience foods such as fast food and processed foods that their rates of heart disease start to climb. It appears that natural sources of fat are not what make Americans more likely to suffer a heart attack than folks living in other countries around the world. It’s the sugar, processed flour and starch, and synthetic fats.

ndeed, consider that a recent Harvard study followed the eating habits and health outcomes of more than 80,000 nurses over 2 decades. Women who consimed higher amounts of carbohydrates from refined sugar and highly processed foods nearly doubled their risk of heart disease compared to women who ate a lower carbohydrate diet. This latter group actually cut their risk of heart disease by 30 percent on average. At least five other studies conducted at prestigious institutions such as Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania show similar results for heart disease reduction.

Finally, a 2-year study that compared a high-fat, low-carb diet and the Mediterranean die (which emphasizes poultry, fish, olive oil, and nuts) determined that the low-carb dieters lost nearly twice as much weight as the low-fat dieters. And they were healthier at the end of the study. Their cholesterol profiles improved the most.

Why Insulin Matters The Most

Your insulin level probably matters much more to your overall health than your cholesterol level does. Whereas high levels of certain types of cholesterol have been linked with heart disease, high insulin levels have been linked with nearly every health-related cause of death. High insulin levels have been associated with obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and overall aging. A low-carbohydrate diet drives down insulin whereas a high carbohydrate diet raises it.

Here’s how high insulin levels can increase your risk for a number of diseases.

Heart disease. High insulin levels trigger the liver to produce triglycerides, raising your risk for heart disease. In the 22-year Helsinki Finnish Policeman study of 970 men, the men with the highest insulin levels were most likely to suffer a heart attack over the course of the study. Other studies have yielded similar results.

Reduced life span. Researchers have long known that people who reduce their insulin levels either through exercise or calorie restriction tend to live longer than people with higher insulin levels. For example, studies show that centenarians tend to have lower insulin levels than people who died earlier, and their cells tend to be more sensitive to the hormone’s effects. High insulin levels have been shown to speed the aging rate of cells and tissues throughout the body. When insulin levels remain low, cells more easily fight off age-related diseases such as cancer, dementia and stroke.

High blood pressure. If your cells are resistant to insulin and consequently insulin levels rise, this causes the body to excrete magnesium. Cells need magnesium to relax. When levels are low, blood vessels constrict and blood pressure rises.

Weak bones. Insulin affects other hormones such as growth hormone, testosterone, and progesterone. When cells become resistant to insulin and levels rise, bone-building hormonal signals get distorted, causing the body to excrete calcium and weaken bones.

What raises insulin? In a word: excess carbohydrates, especially from sugar and refined grains. When you consume grains and starches, the pancreas must produce insulin with high-glycemic faster-digesting carbs creating a greater and more rapid response than lower-glycemic carbs. Individually, fat and fiber do not trigger a response.

Why Eating Less Doesn’t Work

“Weight loss is easy. Just eat less.”

Over the years, we must have said that to hundreds of patients, even though only a few were successful. We now know why. This conventional advice- eat less, exercise more- only works if your metabolism is in balance. For everyone else, the divide between wanting to eat less and actually managing to do it can be as wide as the Grand Canyon. If your metabolism is out of balance- as it is for 90 percent of the patients we see- calorie cutting and portion control will only make you hungrier, more tired, and eventually fatter.

Here’s why. If you reduce calories the way the U.S government and many medical establishments suggest, you do so mostly by reducing fat. That means you’re still consuming most of your calories from carbohydrates. All of the carbohydrates you eat turn into blood glucose, and, right now, your body probably does not handle blood glucose effectively. Until you fix your metabolism, a high carbohydrate diet will cause blood glucose to quickly rise, which will cause your pancreas to pump out the hormone insulin, which will direct 85 percent of excess glucose into fat cells, causing blood glucose to drop and resulting in hunger, and starting the cycle all over again.

Restaurant Suggestions

When eating out, always ask how your meal will be prepared. Grill your waiter or waitress about sauces, dressings, and fillers. meatballs, for example, might be a great low-carbohydrate choice, but only if they are made without bread crumbs. A piece of fish might contain hidden carbs if the sauce on top of it is made with sugar. When looking at the menu, look for words such as scampi, garlic and oil, grilled, poached, braised, baked or broiled. Also, remember to get more vegetables, either as a salad or as a side dish. Few restaurants serve enough with the meal.

The Thyroid

Thyroid hormone helps regulate metabolism, energy levels, mood, body temperature, and various bodily organs. If your thyroid is not functioning optimally, you will gain wait easily, resist weight loss, feel cold, become depressed, and suffer from dry skin, thin hair, low sex drive, joint and muscle aches, high cholesterol, and fatigue. The American College of Clinical Endocrinologists estimates that 1 in 10 Americans have an underactive thyroid and that half of them remain undiagnosed.

Fat: The Whole Truth

Besides improving the taste and texture of food, dietary fat is vitally important for good health.

Dietary fat:

• Is critical for proper brain and nerve function, eyesight, skin health, and even sperm count.
• Slows the progression of age-related memory loss and other cognitive disorders.
• Bolsters mood and prevents depression.
• Is used to make cell membranes, hormones, and hormone like substances.
• Carries the fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E and K. (Without fat, you’d become deficient in these vitamins.)
• Helps convert carotenes into vitamin A.
• Enables mineral absorption.
• Allows the body to fill in bone with calcium and other minerals.

The Importance of Fat Balance

The consumption of trans fats, sugar, and refined carbohydrates may not be the only factor in the rising rates of heart disease in this country. An imbalance in our conumption of different types of fat may also contribute to the problem. As it turns out, our bodies evolved on a diet that was relatively rich in a type of fat called omega-3 fatty acids (found in salmon and walnuts, among other foods) and relatively low in omega-6 fatty acids (found in many vegetable oils, particularly soy and corn oil). Many researchers believe that no more than twice as many fat calories should come from omega-6 fats as from omega-3 fats, but most of us are consuming 25 times as much omega-6 fats as omega-3s. Our consumption of omega-3s are low for a number of reasons. Few of us eat enough fatty fish, walnuts, flax, greens, and other foods that are rich in this type of fat. Commercial farming also reduces the natural omega-3 fats that would normally be present in animal meat, eggs, and vegetables. Eggs from hens that eat insects and green plants, for example, are richer in omega-3s than eggs from hens that are fed soy. Worse, most processed foods are loaded with omega-6 fats from corn or soybean oil.