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The Free Fitness
Tips Newsletter - Newsletter 2009
brought to you by
http://www.freefitnesstips.co.uk/
*****
The Free Fitness Tips Newsletter -
November 2009 is sponsored by:
*****
Hello everyone. Welcome to the
November 2009 Free Fitness Tips Newsletter. This month
I've been continuing my series of articles on dietary fat.
I've been looking at each type of fat in detail and also taken a
comprehensive look at the many benefits of dietary fat.
Anyway, the full list of this month's
newsletter content is outlined below:
1)
Featured Article
This month's
featured article is probably my most comprehensive article to date.
So without further ado the winner is...
20
Health Benefits of Dietary Fat
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In my last few articles I have been
focussing on
dietary fats. Until recently dietary fats were seen as the
macronutrient to avoid. They have been associated with heart
disease, obesity and many other negative health conditions.
However, this common perception of dietary fats could not be further
from the truth. With the exception of
trans fats, dietary fats support your body in performing many
vital functions, offer protection for your cells and promote optimal
health. In this article I want to expand on this topic further and
provide you with a comprehensive list of the many benefits of
dietary fat.
SATURATED FAT BENEFITS
Saturated
fat is still seen by many as a ‘bad’ fat. It has been strongly
linked with clogging the arteries and significantly increasing your
chances of developing heart disease. The reason for this dates back
to the 1940s. Around this time hydrogenated trans fats were created
by vegetable oil manufacturers. Before the 1940s saturated fats
were a regular fixture in most people’s diets. Vegetable oil
manufacturers wanted to promote their new creation and so pushed
hydrogenated trans fats as a healthy alternative to saturated fats.
They backed their claims up with flawed research and were successful
in reducing consumption of saturated fats whilst increasing
consumption of hydrogenated trans fats.
More recently the flaws in this
research have been revealed. Recent studies have linked
hydrogenated trans fats (and not saturated fats) with
cancer and heart disease. These studies have also revealed that
hydrogenated trans fats have no nutritional benefit. Furthermore,
the benefits of many benefits of saturated fats have now started to
be realised. These benefits include:
1) ABSORPTION OF OMEGA 3
FATTY ACIDS:- Elongated omega 3 fatty acids are a type
of polyunsaturated fat found in fish, dairy products and eggs.
Although they are not a saturated fat, the presence of saturated fat
in the diet helps your body absorb them more effectively.
2) IMPROVED BRAIN HEALTH:-
Approximately two thirds of your brain is constructed cholesterol
and fat. About half of these brain fats are saturated. Therefore,
consuming saturated fats supports optimal brain health.
3) IMPROVED HEART HEALTH:-
When your heart is stressed it uses the saturated fats palmitic acid
and stearic acid. Therefore, saturated fats can improve your heart
health during times of stress.
4) IMPROVED LIVER HEALTH:-
Saturated fats can protect your liver from harmful substances
including alcohol and medications. It has also been shown to
reverse liver damage and remove fat from the liver.
5) IMPROVED LUNG HEALTH:-
Saturated fats help your body produce a substance called lung
surfactant which helps them function properly. Not getting enough
saturated fat in your diet can cause faulty lung surfactant to be
produced. This can damage your lungs and lead to breathing
problems.
6) OPTIMAL NERVOUS
SYSTEM:- Some types of saturated fat act as nervous
system messengers. They have an important influence over functions
such as digestion and insulin release. Failure to consume enough
saturated fat means that these functions are not performed properly.
7) REDUCED HEART DISEASE
RISK:- Contrary to popular belief, saturated fat can
actually lower your risk of developing heart disease. Consuming
saturated fat lowers blood levels of a substance called lipoprotein
(a). The presence of lipoprotein (a) is a strong risk factor for
heart disease so by consuming saturated fat you can decrease this
risk.
STRONG CELL WALLS:- Saturated fats give your cell
walls their rigid structure. In fact 50% of your cell walls are
constructed from saturated fats. Not only do saturated fats keep
your cell walls structured but they also offer protection from
external materials.
9) STRONG BONES:-
Saturated fat helps your body absorb calcium properly. Calcium
supports strong bones and also reduces the chances of you developing
osteoporosis (reduced bone density).
10) STRONG IMMUNE SYSTEM:- Certain types of
saturated fat help your body produce strong white blood cells.
Myristic acid (found in butter) and lauric acid (found in milk) are
two such fats which ensure that you produce strong white blood cells
and have a strong immune system.
MONOUNSATURATED FAT BENEFITS
Monounsaturated fat has not received
nearly as much negative press as saturated fat. This is largely
down to the Mediterranean diet which has given huge publicity to the
benefits of monounsaturated fat which include:
1) IMPROVED BLOOD
CHOLESTEROL LEVELS:- There are two main types of
cholesterol; low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density
lipoprotein (HDL). LDL cholesterol has been linked with heart
disease,
high blood pressure and organ damage. HDL cholesterol collects
LDL cholesterol from the blood and transports it to the liver where
it is processed and excreted. Monounsaturated fats help lower blood
levels of LDL cholesterol and increase blood levels of HDL
cholesterol. This helps keeps your vital organs and blood vessels
healthy.
2) IMPROVED BLOOD GLUCOSE
CONTROL:- Monounsaturated fats contain a substance
called aidponectin which enhances your cell’s ability to absorb
glucose. Monounsaturated fats also increase your cell’s insulin
sensitivity which allows them to take glucose from the blood
effectively.
3) REDUCED CANCER RISK:-
Multiple sources link monounsaturated fats (particularly those found
in olive oil) with cancer prevention. In particular these
monounsaturated fats are thought to protect you from
breast cancer and
colon cancer.
4) REDUCED INFLAMMATION:-
Monounsaturated fats interfere with leukotrienes (naturally produced
molecules that contribute to inflammation) and therefore actively
reduce inflammation in the body.
5) THEY ARE A GOOD SOURCE OF FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS:-
Foods that contain monounsaturated fats are often a rich source of
the fat soluble vitamins
A,
D,
E and
K. Monounsaturated fats also help you absorb these
vitamins effectively. Fat soluble vitamins have various health
benefits which include supporting healthy vision, helping your body
clot and protecting your cells from dangerous free radicals.
6) THEY CAN HELP YOU BURN
FAT:- Research suggests that monounsaturated fats can
help you burn fat and prevent the build up of fat around the center
of your body.
OMEGA 3 ESSENTIAL FATTY ACID
BENEFITS
Omega 3 fatty acids are one of the
main types of
polyunsaturated fat. They have many health benefits which
include:
1) ABSORPTION OF FAT
SOLUBLE VITAMINS:- Whilst monounsaturated fats are a
good source of fat soluble vitamins, omega 3 essential fatty acids
help you fully absorb these vitamins.
2) HEALTHY VISION:-
Omega 3 essential fatty acids are used by your body to produce
retinal tissue. Therefore, consuming omega 3 essential fatty acids
helps keep your vision strong. Contrastingly, not consuming enough
can lead to problems with your vision.
3) IMPROVED BRAIN HEALTH:-
Omega 3 essential fatty acids support brain health in a different
way to saturated fats. They have been linked with protection from
Alzheimer’s disease (a condition that destroys your brain cells).
They also support the production of cell membranes and signal
pathways in your brain.
4) REDUCED CANCER RISK:-
Like monounsaturated fats, omega 3 essential fatty acids can help
protect you from various cancers including breast cancer, colon
cancer and
prostate cancer.
5) REDUCED HEART DISEASE
RISK:- Like saturated fats, omega 3 essential fatty
acids also reduce your heart disease risk. They do this by lowering
blood triglyceride levels, lowering
blood pressure and removing fatty plaques from your artery
walls.
6) REDUCED INFLAMMATION:-
Like monounsaturated fats, omega 3 essential fatty acids also help
reduce inflammation. This is particularly good news for sufferers
of arthritis, asthma and eczema as omega 3 essential fatty acids can
reduce the inflammatory pain associated with these conditions.
OMEGA 6 ESSENTIAL FATTY ACID
BENEFITS
Omega 6 essential fatty acids are the
other type main type of polyunsaturated fat. Their health benefits
include:
1) HEALTHY SKIN:-
Omega 6 essential fatty acids are a key ingredient in the formation
of healthy skin cells. They have also been shown to help with skin
conditions such as dermatitis and eczema.
2) REDUCED PRE-MENSTRUAL
(PMS) SYMPTOMS:- Research has shown that omega 6
essential fatty acids can relieve both bloating and breast
tenderness that are often products of PMS.
3) STRONG BONES:-
Like saturated fat, omega 6 essential fatty acids help your body
absorb calcium. Therefore omega 6 essential fatty acids support
strong bones and protect you from bone damaging conditions such as
osteoporosis.
DIETARY FAT BENEFITS SUMMARY
As you can see dietary fat is not the
evil macronutrient that people once thought. I hope this article
has showed you just how important an addition to your diet it can
be. Dietary fat has countless health benefits and I have listed a
massive 20 in this article. Just to recap those benefits are:
- Absorption of fat soluble vitamins.
- Absorption of omega 3 essential fatty acids.
- Healthy skin.
- Healthy vision.
- Improved blood cholesterol levels.
- Improved blood glucose control.
- Improved brain health.
- Improved heart health.
- Improved liver health.
- Improved lung health.
- Optimal nervous system.
- Reduced cancer risk.
- Reduced heart disease risk.
- Reduced inflammation.
- Reduced PMS symptoms.
- Strong cell walls.
- Strong bones.
- Strong immune system.
- They are a good source of fat soluble vitamins.
- They can help you burn fat.
2)
Free Fitness Tips Blog Updates
As I said in the introduction to this
month's newsletter over November I have been expanding on the topic
of dietary fat. This month's articles include:
-
What is
Saturated Fat? - November 7th 2009
-
What is
Monounsaturated Fat? - November 10th 2009
-
What is
Polyunsaturated Fat? - November 15th 2009
-
What are Trans Fat? - November 21st 2009
-
The
Key To Keeping Your Joints Healthy - November 15th 2009 (Guest
post from Scott Wood)
-
20 Health Benefits of Dietary Fat - November 29th 2009 (This
month's featured article)
3) Final Words
I hope you enjoyed these articles on
dietary fat. I still want to expand on this topic further but
as you probably know next month is December and that means Christmas
is almost upon us. So next month I will be doing a series of
articles on staying fit and healthy over Christmas. Then in
January 2010 I will be resuming my dietary fat series.
Until next time,
Tom Parker (Owner and Creator of Free
Fitness Tips)
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The Free Fitness Tips Newsletter -
November 2009 is sponsored by:
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