Until you start to educate yourself on fats and their function in the body, you may not realize how many types of fat exist. Also, the way foods are cooked can change fat properties and make some types of fat, called oxidized fats, that are even more harmful to you. So what are the good fats? And how bad are the bad fats?
Please note: This is educational health care information is not represented as any replacement for cardiovascular health care that may be needed or any medical attention which may be indicated.
....Bad fats, good fats controversy
Question on alternative health care / spiritual healing: I've been seeing on the news that some restaurants are bringing out products without trans fats. Are trans fats really bad....what fats are good?
Healing facilitation response: I remember sitting in an aromatherapy seminar, 10 or 15 years ago, and hearing that hydrogenated oils were very, very unhealthy and that partially hydrogenated oils were even worse.
I heard that real butter, eaten in moderation of course, was actually better for the body than margarine.
This was certainly not the stand western medicine was taking back then but it made sense to me. I never liked margarine anyway. It always felt uncomfortable to my system, on an energetic level. It felt fake and, as I learned at that seminar, there was a good reason it felt that way: the partially hydrogenated oils are fake to the body. They actually are like internal plastic where the body is designed to be flexible, fluid and un-plastic-like.
As the speaker explained, hydrogenated oils make cell receptors ridgid, unflexible, and unable to function properly. Partially hydrogenated oils were the worst and that was typically what was on every processed food label I read at the time, not just on margarine labels.
What I think about trans fats: I believe trans fats are poison to the body and should be avoided at all costs. Having said that, I also believe the human body is a miraculous machine, capable of handling a certain amount of poison and still functioning properly. If you are otherwise healthy, you can probably eat trans fats without any immediate health challenge. However, I do not believe anyone can consistently consume trans fats without health problems developing at some point in time.
It has been rather satisfying, in one way, to see all the recent reports on trans fats and to hear medical doctors saying that butter really is better, I am relieved at the new turn the medical profession is making because when I tell someone to stay away from trans fats now, they are more apt to listen than they would have been 15 years ago. Yes, in one way, that feels good. In another way, I feel angry that medical professionals didn't recognize the danger of trans fats much sooner.
You may have come to this article because you have heard or read something saying that we need to eliminate trans fats but the whole idea of figuring out what fats are good is overwhelming to you. Join the club.
We've got saturated fats, poly-saturated fats, non-saturated fats, trans fats, oxidized fats, omega 3 fats, omega 6 fats, hydrogenated oils, partially hydrogenated oils, canola oil, soybean oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, safflower oil, corn oil, olive oil, virgin olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil....geeze, how does one know what to eat?
I decided to write this article, just as a very basic starting place to learn the difference between the fats and oils we take into our bodies.
Fat is not bad: Fat is not a bad thing but a necessary nutrient for the body. In order to function properly, the body must have a certain amount of fat. That may sound basic but I really feel that the way many in the medical community, and particularly those involved in the weight loss industry have harped on fat reduction has kind of unconsciously created an energy around fat consumption that is equal to it being bad. Changing the thinking is vital, if we change the energetic response of the body.
The spiritual implications of a fat is bad mentality: Those who frequent this site much already know that I address illness as the outpicturing, on a physical level, of spiritual imbalances that have reached the point where a physical illness is the logical result. This section addresses the energetic effects of thinking negatively about something you still choose to consume.
Think about this from metaphysical, energetic perspectives. If you were to eat something you thought was poison, would you feel good about that? Of course not, unless you wanted to die. And even then, your body and mind would want to reject it on a cellular level because survival instincts are organically built into us. Your body would listen to your mind and would energetically reject what you were doing, at the same time you were doing it.
Thinking that a necessary nutrient such as fat is your enemy (or that carbs or proteins are, for that matter), and then eating those nutrients anyway, is energetically similar to taking deliberately taking poison.
I believe this type of misalignment between mind, body and Spirit creates immune system suppression and an environment where free radical damage can increase dramatically in a short period of time. For that reason, rather than focusing on trans fats being bad, it is energetically more beneficial to focus on what is good for the body and enjoy introducing those elements to our grateful cells.
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Bad Fats: Trans fats are bad, period, and should be avoided at all costs. It is really good that some companies, and even some fast food restaurants, are coming out with products that do not contain trans fats. However, there is another hidden fat danger in fast foods: Oxidized fats. Whenever foods are fried in saturated vegetable fats, monosaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, then oxidized fats are a by-product. This type of fat has been implicated in so many health conditions, it's scary.
In spite of the growing body of evidence to the contrary, there are still those who say saturated fats and oxidized fats are not the culprit. I am not one of those people. I most certainly believe anyone will be healthier staying away from trans fats and oxidized fats complete and when reducing saturated fats.
Good Fats: I stick by extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil, stored in dark containers. Also, organic, cold-pressed flax seed oil. In addition, taking a supplement with organic Omega's is good.
To sum up: Read your labels. Avoid trans fats. Avoid oxidized fats by cutting way down or eliminating fried foods and fast foods altogether. Stick with olive and flax seed oils. Get your omega's.
Health Care Disclaimer: If you have been diagnosed with heart disease, high cholesterol or other health challenge that prompted you to search for this information, you are dealing with a serious medical condition that may be life-threatening. The educational information contained in this heart health article not presented as substitution for your needed medical attentions. Any action taken based on this article on the role of trans fats in hearth health is at the sole discretion of the reader. Please consult with your chosen heart care professional regarding other steps you may take to lower your cholesterol, reduce arterial plaque and heal your heart.