Too much fat is bad. Everybody knows that. Obesity has been linked to cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and other devastating diseases. Scientists explained the risks of obesity obesity very well: obesity causes problems by inducing inflammation. Now we know what the problem is. Now we know why it is a problem. And we know what needs to be done — lose weight if you have extra pounds. Sounds simple. Until recently.
The thin line between life and death
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that opposite may be true: thinner people with diabetes have greater chances of dying than obese people. Period. Before, we thought that to improve diabetes we needed to lose weight! But now? Gain weight? To me it didn?t make any sense. We need an explanation of the fact, that thin people not only have diabetes, but also have more chance of dying that their obese counterparts. Unless we come up with the explanation and hence solution, we are lost. And I was lost too.
Good fat, bad fat
Suddenly I recalled a Danish study done in Greenland. They were puzzled why Eskimo almost never have heart attacks, while eating food with relatively high fat content. And Eskimos? cholesterol levels were not low, and they were not very slim. The study was published in the British medical journal Lancet in 1970. It concluded that the reason Eskimo do not have heart attacks is because of the type of fat they eat, not the amount. They predominantly eat fats with omega 3 fatty acids, while we mostly eat fat with omega 6 fatty acids. Omega 3 is anti-inflammatory while omega 6 is pro-inflammatory.
Food for thought
That could explain why thin people die from diabetes?not because they?re eating too much fat, but because they?re eating the wrong type. So it may be that longevity has little to do with the total amount of fat we eat, but rather the kind of fat we eat. So could it be that it does not matter how much we eat, but rather what quality of food we eat?
My suggestions:
Try to eat organic foods.
Stick with Paleolithic diet.
Make raw food your preferred food.
Stick with grass-fed pasture raised meats.
Try to get wild-caught mercury-free fish.
Good luck!
References:
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1309157