??? for Kimmer

[dbarker]

Alot of the foods eaten in this WOE are high in saturated fat which can cause clogged arteries later in life. Are you concerned with the amount of high fats in the food we eat?

[lovelymc72]

bump

[yarncat]

Not worried at all.In the immortal words of former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, "We all have to die from something".

[Magicsmom]

Many of us have had a reduction in our triglycerides and cholesterol since starting this WOE, me included. With a total cholesterol reading at 164 and what my doctor calls a "superb" ratio of good to bad cholesterol, I'm not worried in the least. Anyone who is concerned should be getting a blood test. I hope you are pleasantly surprised.

[JuliaL]

I'm not Kimmer, but I can tell you that there is no real scientific evidence to prove that dietary fat clogs arteries or makes people fat (except in the case of trans fat). You should read the following article:http://www.musc.edu/psychiatry/slater/Taubes1.html which discusses the whole low fat diet and it's effects on obesity in America. It's an eye-opener!

[RobinB]

Great article, thanks!

[dbarker]

Thanks Julia...the article was an eye opener. I am definately a fan of this WOE...heck lost 90 lbs. doing it. I just hear from relatives (my mom and an aunt who is a nurse) that it will kill me one day and how unhealthy it is. Course they are big fans of "low-fat". I say, that will kill them one day due to all the preservatives in that fat-free/low-fat food.

Another things that I wonder about it the caloric intake. Induction says to eat liberally of meats, natural fats, cheese, eggs, etc. I know not to overeat but just to satisfaction but the calories in the foods acceptable on induction are very high. A person could easily reach 2000 a day if not careful. Does anyone limit these foods due to their high calories. Ultimately weight lost is burning more calories than one consumes. I mean if you eat a hamburger with cheese and mayo (all acceptable on induction), it's like way up there on the calorie scale. What do ya'll do to stay in a good calorie range and be able to burn what you eat and ultimately loose.

[JuliaL]

What do ya'll do to stay in a good calorie range and be able to burn what you eat and ultimately loose.

What I did was add good carbs back into my diet - just like the book says to do. Start with more veggies, then low glycemic fruits. Add one thing at a time and watch how you react to it. I now eat fruit and whole grains like oats and quinoa every day (but I'm in maintenance, not trying to lose more).

Dr. Atkins said that we don't count calories, but calories DO count. During my weight loss I found that if I ate around 1600 calories per day I could still lose. In maintenance I can eat 1700-1800 per day. I exercise 6 days per week for 30 mins to an hour.

Julia

[dbarker]

Sounds good...I think I am trying to stay to low on the calories (1300 or so). Probably wouldn't be so hard if I go towards 1500-1600. Thanks.

[SMP]

You don't need to add many veggies, but keep to the low glycemic load ones like greens. V. Stephansson ate nothing but steak for a year in an attempt to recreate his Eskimo diet of fish and blubber on which he survived and remained healthy. He regained some of his lost health. I'll presume it was not feedlot beef back then, but rather, range-fed beef. Whatever, he took neither vegetables, fruits nor vitamin pills, IIRC. And Dr. Bernstein of "Diabetes Solution" hasn't eaten fruit in decades, and is still healthier (and alive!) than those who followed ADA's moderation theories. I'm beginning to realize that moderation is a practice for those w/o serious conditions , addictions and allergies! I had a heart attack in Feb; but 4 of my siblings who DON'T practice Atkins also have heart troubles, some worse than mine. Obese people have trouble with saturated fats - their own self-manufactured stuff.

[KajunDC]

Saturated fats DO NOT cause clogged arteries. It is trans-fats that clog arteries.

The saturated fat part is a complete myth.

[Randy]

EVERY study that tries to blame fat for everything is based on a diet high in fat AND high in carbohydrates. It is my belief that the COMBINATION is the problem, not the fat.

[nonstickpam107]

I couldn't agree more with Randy.

Pam

[Diana]

Originally Posted by Randy

EVERY study that tries to blame fat for everything is based on a diet high in fat AND high in carbohydrates. It is my belief that the COMBINATION is the problem, not the fat.

Absolutley!

[emily1965]

Here is an awesome site that has several great articles about fats....


http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/index.html

[SMP]

Actually, it is INFLAMMATION of the arteries that causes them to clog, not fat. Inflammation is an injury to the arterial walls, and clots are formed from the saturated fats, white blood cells and other beneficial items that are rushed to the injured site to repair it. We couldn't live w/o saturated fat! But it's the triglycerides stored in obese people around their middles that cause so much damage, not dietary.

[Mary McD]

I read the "Big Fat Lie" article, but I guess I'm pretty lame, because I get lost in the long sentences and huge words. I wanted to show this to my sister, but I know she'll stop two paragraphs into it and go eat her Lean Cuisine. She lost 70 pounds a few years back doing her own thing - walking and eating lots of chicken and salads, but she wouldn't say it was a low carb way of eating - she would tell me it was low fat. It just killed me this morning when she said she gained ten pounds after getting married so she was going to start back on her low fat stuff. I wish there was an easier to read article that I could show her.

[emily1965]

Originally Posted by Mary McD

I read the "Big Fat Lie" article, but I guess I'm pretty lame, because I get lost in the long sentences and huge words. I wanted to show this to my sister, but I know she'll stop two paragraphs into it and go eat her Lean Cuisine. She lost 70 pounds a few years back doing her own thing - walking and eating lots of chicken and salads, but she wouldn't say it was a low carb way of eating - she would tell me it was low fat. It just killed me this morning when she said she gained ten pounds after getting married so she was going to start back on her low fat stuff. I wish there was an easier to read article that I could show her.

Did you go to the site I linked to? It has several articles about fats and it's easier reading than teh "Big Fat Lie" article.

[SugarFreeSheila]

One thing I came to learn very quickly from Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution is my own personal low-carb credo: "Fat is only our foe when consumed with an excess of carbohydrates." I am betting that your own LDL & tryglyceride levels, after a few months of consistent and true low-carbohydrate eating, will support this.

[argo2d]

Originally Posted by Sandra Peake

Actually, it is INFLAMMATION of the arteries that causes them to clog, not fat. Inflammation is an injury to the arterial walls, and clots are formed from the saturated fats, white blood cells and other beneficial items that are rushed to the injured site to repair it. We couldn't live w/o saturated fat! But it's the triglycerides stored in obese people around their middles that cause so much damage, not dietary.

thanks sandra, i've been trying to understand why enig and only very few others would laud saturated fats as being harmless whereas the general consensus in the scientifc community still seems to be anti-saturated fats. but i think i understand now from your post that sat fats can still be bad if you are susceptible to arterial damage

[Kimmer]

It's my understanding that saturated fat on its own doesn't clog arteries or cause heart disease ... it's in conjunction with simple carbs (the typical American diet).

Dr. Atkins explains that this is why although our grandparents (and beyond) ate considerable saturated fat (sausage, bacon, lard, butter, cheese), but heart disease and diabetes type 2 didn't become prevalent until the 1950s forward. This is when processed foods became available & affordable, fast food restaurants became prevalent and our incomes increased to buy them.

As I understand it ...

But to answer your question, no, I'm not concerned at all. But then again, our fat intake in low carb shouldn't be much more than before (neither should protein intake). All we doing is taking out the "whites" and substituting extra veggies ... and later on, fruits and whole grains.

[Naturegirl]

I often think of it this way:

When your body has an influx of easy energy to burn (carbs) and also alot of fat along with it, it likes to take the easy route and burn those carbs first. But what to do with the fat? Deposit it all throughout your body, wherever it can find the space.

Really simplified but it works for me.

That's just one of the factors that come into play when talking about heart disease. It's a combination of things. Not getting the right nutrients that keep your body in balance, preventing inflammation. Not gorging on a high fat, high carb meal; not eating past your body's capacity to burn the food you ate that day (calories); not exercising, and consuming all sorts of freak fats that were never meant to be eaten such as processed vegetable oils.

To say that "animal fat causes heart disease" is just not common sense.

You all have made some great points.

It's tough not saying anything to the doctors in the cardiology clinic I work at.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Kimmer

It's my understanding that saturated fat on its own doesn't clog arteries or cause heart disease ... it's in conjunction with simple carbs (the typical American diet).

.

exactly... SUGAR.

[dbarker]

WOW...thanks for all the clarification - the conjunction thing makes sense.

Naturegirl...great explaination.

Now I have some "ammo" the next time my aunt or mom says something. Course, old habits die hard...they have been doing the "low-fat" thing since the 80s. It was hard for me to change my thinking too.

Thanks again!!

[SMP]

Also, obese people tend towards higher blood pressure , and that can cause the inflammation that causes the clots. If we didn't build the clots, we'd most likely die of internal hemorrhaging. To say we need saturated fats is an understatement. It's not, however, the fats we eat, but those we make out of sugars and starches that make us obese. Why? That goes back to insulin, the fat-making hormone. And it isn't called forth in any quantity by proteins and fats, only by carbs. The problem can be easily summed up by 1. saying all our bodily systems are intertwined. 2. diets high in carbs call forth the insulin response, which leads to fat storage and all the complications of obesity, including heart attacks.