Is there a carton of skim milk in your refrigerator? Low fat ice cream in your freezer? If so, then you will feel like you’ve discovered the secret to eternal happiness after reading Connie Leas Fat: It's Not What You Think
Crud. Glop. These are just a few of the unpretentious terms you’ll see employed in Leas’ "commonsensical" take on fat. We often hear terms like “triglyceride” and “polyunsaturated” thrown about in the media but most of us have only a vague idea of what these terms mean. We know “monounsaturated” is somehow synonymous with olive oil, but few of us associate it with a porterhouse steak. Leas breaks down these overused terms and, in the process, fleshes out several surprising misperceptions surrounding fat –“both the kind you eat and the kind you carry around.”
The biggest fallacy Leas overturns is the idea that eating saturated fat makes you fat. Yes, you read that correctly. If you haven't yet heard the life-changing news, EATING SATURATED FAT DOESN’T MAKE YOU FAT! As Leas explains in her characteristic no-nonsense style, "saturated fat, by the way, is saturated with hydrogen atoms --not glop as we might imagine." Here are a few of the other shocking tidbits from Leas' book that just might drastically alter your life for the better:
- Americans consume 15 percent less fat than we did in 1970, yet overall we are 20 percent fatter.
- Doctors often prescribe statin drugs when cholesterol levels reach 240, even though this is actually within the normal range.
- Overweight people live longer than those in the so-called "healthy" range of the BMI scale.
- Medical research shows that exercise isn’t particularly effective for weight loss, even cardio!
- Adding fat to foods with a high glycemic index lowers the glycemic index of that food.
- Lard is a healthy fat. (Yeay for pies!)
This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday hosted by Cheeseslave.
Recommended reading:
The Big FAT Secret Surrounding Cellulite @CelluliteInvestigation
October Fest Carnival of Super Foods: Healthy Fat Recipes @KitchenStewardship
What Makes Us Fat and Why Nobody Seems to Care --Gary Taubes @KellytheKitchenKop
Should Cellulite Victims Eat More Processed Cheese? A Dr. Oz Report @CelluliteInvestigation
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by Dr. Lionel Bissoon. 
Great post! I'm going to have to check that book out... even though I'm a real foodie, and LOVE saturated fat. Butter, coconut oil, tallow, lard... mmmm... it doesn't get any better than that. :)
You have a nice blog here!
Hi, Jen! Leas' book is a great resource, even for the converted :) She does an impressive job of breaking down the science behind all that terminology in an easily readable and entertaining format. Thanks so much for your kind comment!