Good Fat, Bad Fat

Good Fat, Bad Fat

For over 40 years, the fear of saturated fat was widespread in the United States as a result of the previous U.S. Dietary Guidelines urging us to limit its consumption. This dietary advice was based on the assumption that saturated fat raises the risk of heart disease. However, a 2014 article in the Annals of Internal Medicine concluded there is no evidence to support the notion that saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease.

Suddenly, fat was like a prisoner who had been given a life sentence but released on new evidence that proved its innocence. Saturated fat like coconut oil, and monounsaturated fat like the oil found in avocados, nuts and other vegetable sources, became the “fad fats” overnight.

In fact, some diets, like the increasingly popular Keto Diet, promotes the concept of “eat fat and burn fat.”

Some of you may have tried to load up on fat based on this concept but found that it didn’t work for you. What gives?

Well, if you apply the lens of bio-individuality, it turns out that this motto only just applies to Types O and B, but not Types A and AB, because the former enjoys a high level of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), an enzyme in the digestive tract that helps to break down fat and protein, whereas the latter has a very low level of that. You can read more about this here.

The type of fat matters. For Types O and B, who benefit from a higher proportion of fat in their diet than the other two blood groups, 100% grassfed red meat is a good choice, as it contains a higher level of an unsaturated fatty acid known as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which helps to burn fat, whereas feedlot-raised beef is much less efficient in this regard. Grassfed beef is particularly beneficial for Type O, acting like medicine, whereas it is neutral for Type B. Type B can enjoy grassfed lamb, which acts like medicine for them.

Ghee is a good fat to include in your diet, as it has gut-healing qualities. In addition, it has an elevated level of CLA, which is thought to have anti-cancer properties. Ghee increases the intestinal microbiome for all blood types, is beneficial for the Non-secretors under Type B and AB, neutral for the rest, and beneficial for all GenoTypes. It is actually quite simple to make ghee at home. I teach it in my online cooking course. Click here to access the course.

Another oil that is good for all is olive oil. When in doubt, always go for olive oil. There has been concerns of olive oil having a low smoke point and hence unsafe for certain cooking methods. However, a recent study has found that extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) displayed a high level of oxidative stability, producing lower levels of trans fats and other byproducts when compared with other oils that had higher smoke points.

If you do want to use oil that has a higher smoke point, I would recommend rice bran oil, which has a really high smoke point (232 °C/450°F). I like using it for stir-frying or the occasional deep-frying and even for baking, as it has a neutral taste and works great in all types of dishes. Rice bran oil is beneficial for Type A Non-secretors, Type B Secretors and all Type O, neutral for the rest. If you follow the GenoType system, it is beneficial for all except Warrior (avoid). It may be difficult to find rice bran oil in your local supermarket. I usually order it online. Here is my favorite brand.

One oil that I would suggest you drop is canola oil. While it is neutral for Types A, AB and O Secretors, and an avoid for Types B and O Non-secretors, the process by which it is produced presents many risks to our health. Most canola oil these days is partially hydrogenated which creates trans fat in the final oil product. The process of hexane solvent extraction in the making of this oil creates further trans fat, not to mention that the chemical hexane is a neurotoxin.

What about butter? For years, it has been demonized and margarine has been the fat of choice for those who want to avoid heart disease. However, butter’s reputation has been redeemed somewhat by the above-mentioned Annals of Internal Medicine article. In fact, butter made a comeback after Mark Bittman published his column in The New York Times, Butter is Back.” While butter is not necessarily the demon that it had once been portrayed, and margarine isn’t as angelic as it once was deemed, butter is still something that you would want to eat sparingly—unless you are a Hunter, Teacher or Nomad (per GenoType system), for whom butter is beneficial. It is an avoid for Types A and AB, as well as Explorer and Warrior, and neutral for Types B and O, as well as Gatherer. When eating butter, choose grassfed butter over conventional butter. Better still, use grassfed ghee or clarified grassfed butter whenever possible.

As for coconut oil, it has become extremely popular in recent years due to the popularization of the Keto Diet and its promotion by certain natural health practitioners. But it might be helpful for you to learn why it isn’t such a great source of fat for the majority of people—except for Type O Non-secretors, for whom coconut oil is only neutral, as well as Teachers and Nomads, for whom it is beneficial. (Note: Type O Non-secretors make up about 20% of the Type O population, who in turn make up about 44% of the U.S. population.) You can read more about the biochemical reasons why coconut oil is not recommended for most people here.

Below are some articles about margarine and plant-based butter that might interest you:

A Brief History of Margarine

The origin of margarine

Plant-based butter

Does your Breakfast Give You a Sugar Crash?

Does your Breakfast Give You a Sugar Crash?

What do you usually eat for breakfast? Do you like to eat bread, toasts, bagels, muffins, pop-tarts, pancakes, waffles or commercial breakfast cereals?

Do you find yourself suddenly tired and hungry, and searching for a snack in the middle of the morning, way before your lunch break?

Your mood may change at this time. Maybe you feel anxious, irritated or angry (“hangry”).

All of these are symptoms of a sugar crash, and that’s because you have eaten mainly refined carbohydrates for breakfast, which causes your insulin secretion to shoot up and drop quickly not long afterwards.

This kind of sugar crash, if repeated over a long period of time, wrecks havoc to our metabolism and could lead to insulin resistance, which is a leading factor behind developing Type 2 Diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

If you can relate to the above symptoms of a sugar crash and wonder what you should have for breakfast, please check out my video below: http://bit.ly/erc_video_bf_sugarcrash

Breakfast and Sugar Crash | Eat Right Chef Louisa | www.eatrightwithlouisa.com

One of my suggestions for a quick-and-easy way to enjoy a well-balanced breakfast is to drink a protein smoothie with fruits, vegetables, blood type-specific protein powder and good fats. You can download my “Eat Right Chef Protein Smoothie” recipe here: http://bit.ly/eatrightchef_smoothie

If you want to get tips on how to get rid of sugar from your diet, click here to get my “9 tips on Sugar Cleanse“: http://bit.ly/erc_sugarcleansetips

If you are new to the Blood Type Diet and want to learn how it can help you get healthier, please subscribe to my newsletter by filling in the form below:

Turning Around Diabetes with the Blood Type Diet

Turning Around Diabetes with the Blood Type Diet

Diabetes runs in my mother’s side of the family, so I am very aware of the possibility that I might get it too. Already in my 20s, I experienced hypoglycemia and frequently felt light-headed and dizzy when I hit blood sugar lows. I wasn’t aware at that time that hypoclycemia was a precursor to Type 2 Diabetes.

Luckily I started eating right according to the Blood Type Diet and SWAMI in my mid-30s and I am confident that I’ll be able to prevent it. In fact, it is possible to reverse diabetes even if you have it.

Recently, my mother’s diabetic conditions had worsened and became highly unstable, often reaching 170-200mg/dL even when fasting. Working with her to tweak her meals, exercise and sleep regime, her blood sugar level dropped drastically so that it hovers around 110-120mg/dL before meal. This took place within a two-week window and her level has stabilized since. She had been skeptical of eating according to her blood type and resisted properly following it for two years since I introduced it to her. Finally she is following my instructions to a tee (and of course, eating what I cook for her sometimes) and is surprised to see the benefits. Most important of all, she realizes that she doesn’t have to rely on drugs the rest of her life and is motivated to continue healing her body by food and lifestyle changes.

Check out the video below to find out how I guided her to turn her diabetic conditions around:

Watch the video here: bit.ly/erc_diabetesvideo

Eat Right Chef Louisa's Diabetes Video

For the complete Diabetes protocol, check out this book by Dr. Peter D’Adamo:
Diabetes: Fight It With The Blood Type Diet

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