Are you watching your fat intake? Do you count fat grams?  There is a mystery in your food.  It is hiding right in front of you.  If you are like most food shoppers, a trip to the grocery store is no cause for concern.

A fear of SATURATED FAT has been deeply ingrained in the American Public.

There are a few saturated fats that can save your life.  If you have a choice, always choose the following saturated fats over their manufactured counterparts such as: Butter over Margarine and Coconut oil over Vegetable oil.  One basic premise that I always hold onto when I choose a food is: “food should not be manufactured”.

Food grows perfectly.

The more you tweak, change, and chemically alter the food from its natural state, the less healthy it becomes.  ALWAYS.  You cannot improve the original design.

Saturated fat gives food structure, and taste.

REAL saturated fats will spoil relatively quickly.  To preserve food so it will sit on store shelves longer, food manufacturers now use vegetable oil and artificially saturate them with the gas hydrogen.  This is called-

PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED.  (Fake Saturated Fat)

These fake fats are hidden in the ingredients list, but they are also hidden in the saturated fat numbers.  They look similar and taste similar to saturated fat but they are toxic, unlike real fat.

The National Institute of Medicine recently declared there is NO safe level of Partially Hydrogenated fat.  You see labels touting they have NO trans-fats, and that is good but they can still legally put some in there.  Amazing what politics and money can buy.  So watch for them as Partially Hydrogenated fats because food manufacturers know people are on to them.

Partially Hydrogenated fat:

• makes your cells stupid
• raise bad LDL cholesterol
• lower good HDL cholesterol
• blocks good fatty acid conversions
• decreases red blood cell response to insulin
• Mayo Clinic even tells you to avoid this artificial stuff!

MARGARINE has all the toxic effects of the list above.  Throw this poison out of your house!

BUTTER has many advantages, because it is REAL Food.

• Inhibits fungi & viruses
• Contains vitamin A – good for night vision, immune system, and reproduction (only found in animals)
• Contains vitamin D-good for calcium absorption
• As with all animal products it should be ORGANIC

Don’t fear the natural food.  Traditional people that ate the food they grew or caught, had almost no heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes, or any of the other problems of today. They ate lots of real saturated fat.  One problem we face today compared to the people 70 years ago, is the hormones and antibiotics that are injected into almost all animals.

Why do you think most people that start the Atkins diet lose weight and have more energy?  Being overweight is not healthy.  Eating good protein and more fat helps these people lose weight.  Think about that.   That’s backwards from what “dietitians” tell you.  Eating good, organic, fats and protein is good for you.

One other SATURATED FAT that you should use:

COCONUT OIL.

What?

I thought that was bad for you.

Yes, we have been misinformed yet again.

Benefits of Coconut oil

• Smaller than other saturated fats, therefore they digest very quickly
• Long term energy
• Increases metabolism, therefore it helps you burn more calories
• Has lower calories than Vegetable oil
• Supports your thyroid
• Increases absorption of:

o       Calcium

o       Magnesium

o       B- Vitamins

o       Vitamins A,D,E,K

Coconut oil does NOT cause heart disease.  If coconut oil caused heart disease there would be no Asian or Polynesian people left.

You can use coconut oil for any cooking.  The best use would be in the place of shortening.  Shortening is loaded with partially hydrogenated fat.

Please replace your vegetable oil as soon as possible!  Vegetable oil forms many toxic by-products when heated. Plus, it suppresses thyroid function.  Vegetable oil is pushed hard for a cooking oil.  I wonder if there is a connection to the dramatic increase in people taking thyroid medications?  Thyroid medications are one of the most prescribed medications on the market. Hmmm

Consider your health now for your health in the future.  Upgrade your food and you can upgrade your life.

ATTITUDE

The good news is that you are where you want to be.

Yes, you may not like it, or you may be saying, “ I know what you mean, I worked for it.”

Your mind and body have to be on the same page. You can’t expect a nice physique or abundant energy and reach for a piece of cake and the remote.

I learned something about people from one of our friends. He said his neighbor considered himself “fat and happy”. I never want to get older and feel like I don’t care anymore about my health or fitness. You can’t buy health over night or watch the pounds melt away. But if you are “fat and happy”—great!

Health in takes time. The longer you wait to start the longer it takes. So make a commitment to start something new today.

Some patients read this and gloss over the info as if they are immune or it takes too much work to be healthier. Some patients punch holes in the newsletter and save every issue and re-read them. The information is the same but their attitude is different.

Make a decision right now NOT to be part of the unhealthy epidemic coming to a neighborhood near you.

According to the CDC,

The US ranked 11^th in the world in life expectancy.

20 YEARS AGO

NOW……………………………..

We are ranked 42^nd in the world.

We have so many cool things now, but we know nothing about health. Don’t follow the crowd when it comes to health advice, because the majority is clearly wrong. Always remember you can never go wrong with the natural world.

Use chiropractic first, organic foods, Standard Process supplements, cod liver oil, and probably more fat in your diet. You’d be amazed how good you can feel.  Yes, I said fat.  The fat’s that is.

Good Fats:
These are the easiest to obtain and use
1. Butter
2. Lard
3. Extra Virgin Olive oil (Not “Pure”)
4. Coconut oil
5. Cod Liver oil (not for cooking)
6. Flax oil (just don’t cook with it)
7. RAW milk or cream (Not pasteurized)

If you have these go ahead and use them
8. Beef, chicken, goose or duck fat
9. Palm oil, sesame oils
10. Flax oil (just don’t cook with it)

 A few little bonuses for you.  Good fats can:

1. Slim your waist.   Fat doesn’t make you fat.
2. Help transport nutrients from your guts to your body.
3. Help your liver
4. Help your brain
5. Really help your immune system.
6. And most importantly, it will help your heart.

Stay tuned for more.  This heart stuff is so fantastic, I am having a hard time distilling it down for you.

Dr. Altman’s Magic Fat-loss Formula

#1…70% is what you eat

#2…20% is your activity (exercise, or lack thereof)

#3…10% is related to toxicity, liver, thyroid, adrenal, or hormonal issues

The body is a self-regulating ship as long as you keep the rocks and the coral reefs out of the way. The body constantly strives for homeostasis (balance), but the body can only correct the ship if the captain is sober and there is no damage to the ship.

Let’s start with #1 since 2/3 of Americans are too heavy, and about 2/3 of the weight gain relates to diet. I’m not talking about how many meals you eat or how many calories you eat. If you are eating one meal and snacking all day or eating 5 smaller meals a day and feel great and look great, do whatever works for you.

Now, on to fat. The majority of diet guru’s and nutritionists will die thinking fat makes you fat, all the while living an artificial existence on Viagra or hormone pills. Fat makes you a man or a woman. Testosterone and Progesterone are made from… hold the suspense

…Drum roll please…

…Cholesterol. Oh my gosh! The horrible evil cholesterol monster has reared its ugly head once again. Run for your life…No wait, run for the Lipitor.

The single worst diet advice to come out in the last 50 years was a Low-Fat Diet. Healthy good fats make your skin nice, keep your joints lubed up, and allows your body to make hormones. A low-fat diet will make you less of a man and less of a woman. At least, 30% of your diet should be good fats.

If you want a list of good fats see the chart below for some or head to our website www.docaltman.com and look in the categories for Good Fats.

So what should you do? Cut out sugar. If you are overweight and want to shed a few pounds, get your sugar intake down to zero for 2 weeks and get back to me on what happens. Sugar spikes insulin —> which stores fat. Have you ever seen someone who works out everyday and has for years, and looks the same or is heavier? That’s because you can’t out exercise a bad diet.

You can’t work off 300 calories, have an after- workout shake of 500 calories, and expect any changes. That doesn’t fit for everyone, but that’s where rule #2 comes in.

#2 Sometimes you can do everything “right” but not lose an inch. Your “exercise” is too low in intensity. Think about this.

Would you rather…

…Look like a sprinter or

…Look like a marathon runner?

I know this is a generalization and it doesn’t fit everyone, but that’s the point. What’s the difference in body style? MUSCLE. Sprinters are ripped, and here is lesson #2, muscle is like having a free fat-loss plan. While I sit here writing to you, my body is burning calories to maintain my muscle, and is repairing and building new muscle from my workout this morning.

If you are serious about weight-loss, it would be far more efficient to redirect your efforts to weight training rather than low intensity cardio. I’m not saying cardio is bad for you, just do less of it, maybe only once or twice a week. Spend your extra 20 minutes on the weights instead, women included. 

#1 Eat your good fats, #2 high quality protein, and #3 eat your green veggies.

Part 4 of the Magic Fat-Loss Formula

Mental toughness.

Here is the hard part…it’s hard. Eating veggies is harder than eating donuts. Working out is harder than watching T.V. Bringing good food to work is harder than getting fast food. I actually know people who could never dream of not having toast for breakfast.

I think you can make changes…but you need to make the decision to do something. Unless you start-you will never finish. It might take a while, but so what, changing the body is slow.