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A lot of people still don’t
know there are fat burning foods that can actually increase the number of
fat calories your body burns each day? These are know as free foods and
are generally low in calories; in fact some of these foods are so low in
calories that your body actually burns more calories metabolizing them,
than the total amount of calories in the food it’s self.
Although fat burning foods are important for anyone who wants to lose
weight and keep it off for good, they're vital if you're one of these
people who find it hard to lose weight. No matter how much exercise you do
or how hard you diet, your genetics and metabolic make up play a vital
role in determining how fast and how much weight you lose.
Genetic differences also affect how much weight you gain when you eat too
much. One study of 12 groups of identical twins was overfed for 100 days.
One set of twins gained 29 pounds. A second set, however, gained only 13
pounds even though both sets of twins were overfed with the same number of
calories. Of course, fat burning foods won't compensate entirely for
genetic differences this ultimately comes down to a balanced calorie
controlled eating regime and exercise. They will however make fighting fat
a lot easier in the long run.
Types of fat
There are two types of fat “good fat” and “bad fat”
Actually there are 4 types of fat: Monounsaturated, Polyunsaturated,
Saturated and Tran’s fat, but they can still be category as good and bad.
Monounsaturated (good fats)
Monounsaturated fats are considered good fats and are said to help reduce
cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure and to help control
diabetes.
These good fats are found in food like; olive oil, peanut oil, cashews,
canola oil, hazelnuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios, pine nuts and
chicken fat.
Polyunsaturated (good fats) omega 3 and omega 6
Polyunsaturated fats are also considered good fats and are said to reduce
triglycerides, inflammations and tumor growth. They also help to improve
immune function and help protect against sudden death from heart disease.
Polyunsaturated fats can be broken down into two categories: Omega 3 and
Omega 6
Omega 3 is found in foods like Canola oil, walnuts, flaxseeds, hempseeds,
salmon, mackerel, trout, tuna, sardines, and herring.
Omega 6 is found in foods like safflower oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil,
nuts, beans and soft margarine.
Saturated (bad fats)
Saturated fats are bad fats; they raise cholesterol and increase the risk
of heart disease and stroke. In fact they are twice as potent at raising
your bad cholesterol levels as polyunsaturated fats are at lowering them.
It is difficult to eliminate these fats from your diet but one way to
reduce them is to choose fat free milk and other dairy products.
Saturated fats can be found in foods such as meats, whole milk, cheese,
palm and coconut oil.
Trans (bad fats)
Tran’s fats are the ugly fats; they raise bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower
good cholesterol (HDL). They increase the risk of heart disease and
stroke.
Tran’s fats can be found in foods like crackers, cookies, cakes,
shortening, margarine, hydrogenated oils and vegetable oils that have been
subjected to heat-damage during cooking.
Omega 3 fish oil and weight loss
A recent study that was published in the international journal of
obesity, researchers want to find out if by supplementing the diet with
omega 3 fish oil (good fat) would increase the number of fat calories
burned in a single day.
The two groups were fed exactly the same diet apart from one group were
fed 6 grams of fat in the form of butter, olive oil, sunflower oil and
peanut oil, the other group were given 6 grams of omega 3 fish oil.
The fish oil group were given 8 capsules per day, 2 in the morning, 3 at
lunch and 3 in the evening.
The Total daily intake of omega 3 long chain fatty acids was 1.8 grams.
The out come of the test results were fairly conclusive.
The table below shows you the changes in fat oxidation, body fat, and
metabolic rate after three weeks for the groups with or without fish oil
With fish oil without fish oil
Measurement of body fat -2pounds -0.7
Measurement of daily metabolic rate 1775 calories 1710 calories
These results show that the group who were supplementing with fish oil
burned about 1.1 milligram of fat per kilo per minute. This is roughly 26%
higher than the other group who weren’t supplementing with the fish oil.
One of the key reasons as to why omega 3 fish oil has such a powerful
effect on fat metabolism is that the insulin levels were 50% lower when
subjects used the fish oil. Insulin is a hormone that reduces the use of
fat for fuel, while also promoting fat storage in the presence of excess
calories.
Insulin increases the activity of an enzyme known to promote the storage
of fat.
Insulin inhibits the action of hormone sensitive lipase, which is
responsible for breaking down stored fat and preparing it for use as
energy.
Insulin also activates an enzyme, which, along with fatty acid synthesis,
is responsible for converting carbohydrate into fat.
Simply put, high levels of insulin make it less likely that your body will
use stored fat as a fuel source. The drop in insulin levels when subjects
used the fish oil would have allowed more fat to be used for energy.
Conclusion
Any good doctor or nutritionist will tell you that the best way to get
any nutrient is to eat a very balanced diet. In the case of Omega 3 oil
this would be in the form of fish, sadly due to the pollution levels found
in our oceans today eating large portions of fish every day is not
advisable.
The frustrating truth is that there will never be an easy quick-fix method
of losing weight that is safe and simple. However, with a little research
into the workings of the body, it becomes clear that there are many small
things you can do which add up over time to aid weight loss and make you
feel better about yourself. Taking a fish oil supplement is a good idea
for anyone wanting to make positive steps towards weight loss.
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