Monday, November 24, 2008

How to Eat to Lose Body Fat, About Fat

By Ricardo d Argence

Today, we are constantly bombarded with offers selling the latest fat loss plan or gadget. From medications and drink concoctions to tiny magnetic devices, each targeting the same thing: body fat. Sounds good, right? Getting rid of fat from our bodies either by burning it off through physical activity or taking it our fo our diets. The body actually needs fat for its processes and requires fat consumption in order to remain healthy. Yes, you heard correctly.

While we are all trying desperately to lose excessive amounts of weight it is important that we understand that a small amount of fat is actually good for us. Fat cells help regulate hormones, provide energy stores, and cushion our internal organs.The problem then is not in the presence of fat but the amount. When we cross, the three percent threshold is when a necessary part of the body becomes dangerous.

Your diet basically makes available to your body two kinds of fat: good fat or bad fat. The so-called good fats are the polyinsaturated and monounsaturated types, while the so-called bad fats are the saturated and trans fat types. The latter we need to avoid while the former is an essential part of a balanced diet. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential to the processes of the human body, but they have to be ingested, as the body does not manufacture them. Therefore, we must get it from our diet.

In order to get the good fat the body needs you should know what foods contain them. Examples of good fat foods are nuts, avocados, sunflower seeds and fish oil.

The kind of fat you should avoid will be contained in deep fat fried foods and heavily preserved foods. A short list of examples would look something like eggs, cheese, french fries and potato chips. When we eat high levels of saturated or tran's fats we can run into health problems in a hurry.

Tran's fats tend to have a doubly bad effect on the body, it increases the amounts of bad cholesterol in the body while at the same time lowering the good cholesterol.

Fat storage adds weight to your midsection and also has an overall adverse impact on your health. Besides having high cholesterol you are prone to the risk of having diabetes, stroke and heart attack. The simple solution is to cut back on bad fats and exercise more in order to reduce your risk of these as well as additional health problems. - 16003

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