My sister and I were grocery shopping recently and came upon a great sale on yogurt. Sifting through the varieties looking for plain Balkan style yogurt, a woman was cleaning out the fat-free fruity selections. We asked her why she was choosing fat-free and she said she wanted to cut out the fat in her diet. Of course, those of you who know me, know that alarm bells were ringing in my head for this woman. And never wanting to miss an opportunity to educate about food, we turned this into a teachable moment…. so we grabbed a no fat yogurt and did a comparison of ingredients for her. Our list… milk, cream, active bacterial cultures. We like plain yogurt and flavour it at home with our own fruit jams or homemade granola. Her list… skim milk, modified food starches (for her flavouring agents), agar, pectin, gelatin, active bacterial cultures. She was amazed and asked us why they have to put gelatin and food starches in yogurt. It is an easy answer, they are taking fat out and need to replace it with something so they pour on the thickening agents such as food starches, gelatin and pectin. What really got her was when we explained that those ingredients can actually have an adverse affect on you and create, you guessed it, FAT!
Most of you know that you need some fat in your diet. Good fat that is. Good fat like the ones found in avocados, fish, olive oil, coconut oil, flax oil, and whole milk. Why do we need fat? Simple, for our brain! But also for the skin and even your hair. But we have been bombarded over the last 10-15 years by the “eat low fat, zero fat, fat is bad, eliminate fat” diets that were supposed to help stop causing us to become obese. Now though, we’re finding out that this low- fat fad has backfired in essence. Ironic right? Low- fat foods cause you got gain fat.
Now before you go filling my email box with your responses, let me tell you that low fat NATURAL things like Greek yogurt are good. They are made with skim milk but no added ingredients to thicken them and no starches to hold them together. Natural ingredients. Nice! Most low-fat foods though are loaded with starches and other carbs that will eventually find their way to the places on your body where you are trying to lose the fat. Thighs, buttocks, arms, chest and belly. It really is scary to read the labels on these products and see the ingredient panel that is 15 lines long loaded with things you can’t pronounce. Not good.
What we need to do is embrace the GOOD fats out there. There are good fats, I’m not lying! In culinary school we had a great instructor in our Nutrition class, here’s what he taught us about fat:
Monounsaturated Fats (MUFA) – these are “good” fats found in your olive oil, nuts, chicken and avocados. There is research out there that shows that these fats can help regulate your blood pressure and lower your cholesterol levels.
Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFA) – also a “good” fat – found in salmon, as an example, is also great for lowering cholesterol as well. A version of this fat is the Omega 3 that everyone knows is a powerful fat that can help is in any number of ways.
Fats to be consumed once in a while:
Saturated Fat – think dairy products. Butter comes to mind. I love butter and use it when I bake, when I have toast and sometimes when I fry things. I believe in everything in moderation. So my saturated fat intake is balanced by the intake of MUFA and PUFA in my diet.
REALLY bad fats:
Trans fat: these are usually marked as “hydrogenated” fats and are found in some packaged food, desserts and snacks. Lately though, with the hype out there about trans fats, they are becoming less and less popular. We have declared an all out war on them as of late which is a good thing because they are a nutritional nightmare. They actually can raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol. Yikes. Stay away from these guys!
SO you’re asking yourself “what do I eat then?” The answer is easy. Consume foods with full healthy fat. Reason being that when you eat full fat foods you feel more satisfied and consume less. Plus, you are less likely to nibble later on. The low-fat equivalents of your favourites can be appetite stimulants and because you think you are eating healthier you tend to consume more which means the calorie count goes up and whamo, you gain weight! Everything in moderation. You see, low-fat foods tend to have a higher calorie count than their full fat cousins. Because the manufacturers add in all those items that we don’t need to make them taste good, they end up with a higher calorie count than full fat equivalents. Can you see how we have been led astray?!
So, stick to good fats like nuts, fish, flax, chicken and when you’re feeling like a snack, take the full fat yogurt of your choice and add in your own fruit and a touch of maple syrup to sweeten. Chances are, you’re consuming way less in calories than the no fat cups you can buy in the dairy aisle.
This was the lesson we quickly taught the woman in the grocery store. My hope is that you have learned something too. Be very careful when shopping. Always ask yourself this question “if they are taking fat out, what are they putting in?” There is a lot of information out there and if you need help, please feel free to ask me. I’d love to show you how to shop to fill your cart with good, natural, healthy foods that pack a whallop of flavour and keep you satisfied. Contact me for further details.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, my full fat yogurt smoothie is waiting for me to drink it!
