Cat in the Fat

27 May 2010 2 Comments

by jessiecarter in GRAVITY Experiment Tags: cadaver, dissect, Dr. Seuss, fat, fatty acids, fish, green eggs and ham, gross anatomy, Italian, Omega 3, Omega 6, Omega 9, saturated, skinny, unsaturated

GRAVITY Experiment Day #43

Pounds lost / pounds to go:  6.0 / 9.0

Exercise:  30 min GRAVITY training – feeling a little stagnant with my routine today but lest the show must go on

THIS ONE MIGHT BE GROSS TO SOME SO PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!!

Okay, let’s talk about fat.  When I was in physical therapy school, our first class was gross anatomy.  I remember the anxiety and unnecessary worry (see yesterday’s post) that I experienced prior to that infamous first day when we had to select a body to dissect.  There were six cadavers to choose from and all of them were bagged so we were choosing blindly.

Our group picked “Rosa” – she ended up looking like a sweet, Italian grandmother who was as big in diameter as she was in height.  Oh, dear Rosa.  We were so indebted to her by the end of the class.  Her death (but then gift to science) meant that we learned more than she will ever know.

Beyond Rosa’s muscles, bones, and organs, she taught me about fat.  Good gracious – Rosa had every type of fat known to man.  I have dissected bumpy fat, lumpy fat, icky fat, sticky fat, slimy fat, grimy fat, mushy fat, and gushy fat.  Wonder if Dr. Seuss ever wrote a book about fat?

Needless to say, I didn’t eat fried foods for nearly a year after that class.  But now we hear a lot about good fat and bad fat.  What’s the diff?

Fat – love it or hate it, we need it.  It helps form every cell, insulates our nerves, keeps us warm, balances our hormones, keeps skin and arteries supple, and lubricates joints.  The key is recognizing which type of fat our body needs and how much of it we require.

Saturated fats are not your friend.  These are the fats that are hard at room temp – they are harder to digest and tend to be full of cholesterol.  They come from animals and are found in meat, eggs and cheese.  Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and can be further divided into two groups - monounsaturated fats (Omega 9) such as olive oil OR polyunsaturated fats (Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids) such as sunflower oil.

Omega 6 (safflower oil, sunflower oil, pumpkin oil, sesame oil) and Omega 3 (mackerel, salmon, tuna, flax seed oil) are the ones you really want in your diet to fulfill your fat need.

So here’s the skinny on fat:

1. The ideal body-fat ratio should be approximately 19-26% of a woman’s body weight and 12-18% of a man’s body weight.
2. There are two different types of body fat (brown and yellow).  Brown fat is situated inside the body and is “active” – it contains cell structures that produce heat and burn energy.  Yellow fat is found nearer the surface and is “less active” and more likely to accumulate.  Women tend to have a higher ratio of yellow fat than men – of course.
3. Women need higher levels of fat because it is essential for reproduction and so the body stores it “just in case” – joy yet again.
4. An average healthy intake of good fats in the diet should be approximately 30-40 grams a day.  The fat content of diets in affluent populations can be nearly four times this amount.  Yikers!
5. Heat, light and oxygen destroy essential fatty acids, which is why it is best to keep oils in dark containers.
6. Essential fats (Omega 3 and Omega 6) must come from the diet because your body cannot produce them.
7. Weight for weight, fat provides more than twice the amount of usable energy than carbohydrates or protein (you’ll find 9 calories in every gram of fat).
8. Fat contributes to the palatability, texture, and smell of many foods – amen to that!  It also slows down the process of digestion providing an extended period of ”feeling full” after a meal.

Fat can be fabulous but when choosing between green eggs and ham and one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish – go for the fish