Three facts to consider:
Fact 1. Obesity rates are rising at an astronomical pace.
Fact 2. Heart Disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the US.
Fact 3. Most of us are actively avoiding fat because we are told that it is the enemy.
Hold on…Doesn’t something about this strike you as wrong? If there are so many people continually trying to diet, lose weight, and “get healthy” by following what we have been told, then why are the rates of obesity and disease rising exponentially?
I am about to tell you something that so strongly contradicts everything you have learned and heard that I’m fairly certain you won’t believe me:
FAT IS NOT BAD FOR YOU.
In fact, I would venture to say that from everything I’ve learned as a trainer and health enthusiast, fat is actually
GOOD FOR YOU.
This is not ad copy or blogger intuition. This is the result of empirical studies and cutting-edge research. There are studies that show a reduction in all negative health markers (triglycerides, bad cholesterol, and high blood pressure, to name a few) for subjects who were placed on low-carb and high fat diets.
If you don’t believe me, here are some other bites of knowledge to chew on:
~ High sugar intake (table sugar and chemically-altered sweeteners like corn syrup) is linked with enabling or harboring cancer.
~Pancreatic cancer has one of the worst prognoses of all cancers—and if you didn’t know, the pancreas is responsible for regulating levels of sugar in your blood.
~When sugar molecules reach the liver during your body’s metabolic processes, they set off a sequence of events that make your liver spit out fat molecules.
Notice that sugar is the common denominator among the bad outcomes. Just to clarify—there are different kinds of sugar, some better or worse for you, but all carbohydrates are essentially sugars. That includes breads, cereal, pastas, cupcakes, table sugar, honey, corn syrup and soft drinks.
Even fruits and vegetables are carbs (but those are ok to eat and need to be the subject of a whole different blog). The point is, think about what you eat during a day—I challenge you to record how many grams of carbs—SUGAR—you consume.
So what does all of this have to do with health? And mental health? Well, the simple answer is – everything.
Think about it this way: our health—or at least superficially, how fat or skinny we are—impacts major psychological factors like our self-esteem, our comfort with putting ourselves “out there” socially, or how healthy or unhealthy our body image may be.
On a biological level, we know that:
~our brains’ insanely complex chemical systems depend on fat intake (amino acids) to construct our neurotransmitters, which specifically dictate our mood states
~neurons are protected by a skin called myelin that’s made up of fat and supplements of Omega-3 fatty acids that are shown to help mood
~pancreatic cancer (attacking the organ that regulates blood sugar and then feeds our brain) is one of the most notable medical issues linked to psychological/mood disorders
I could go on, but clearly there is a strong connection between physical health and mental health. And our work at KISI clearly supports these connections.
Brain + self-esteem + cutting + eating issues + body image + social skills + health practices.
The good news: tweaking a few aspects of the chain can impact all of them, in a really good way.
Therapy with a good clinician, great.
Therapy AND exercise? Amazing.
Therapy AND exercise AND good nutrition? Possibly, a new person.
Feeding the biological mechanisms of your mind is just as important as opening it and understanding it.
Plus, I’ve been astounded at the progress produced by self-injurers who take up exercise as part of their individual and family therapy.
How to optimize your brain and body for therapy:
~Eat lots of fat (naturally-occurring fat; fat does not raise insulin/blood sugar levels and does not facilitate the storage of fat)
~Eat lots of fruits and vegetables (are they carbs—yes; but because of all of the good nutrients and fiber, they are healthy for you and will not spike your insulin the same as processed carbs)
~Eat protein in a normal amount (eggs, meats, turkey, etc.; these do not directly trigger the storage of fat either)
~Stay away from SUGAR and starchy carbs (these spike your insulin, trigger the storage of fat, and contribute to heart disease and obesity)
~Exercise to look better, feel better, and complement your “therapy diet” (if you don’t know what you’re doing or how to start, join classes at a gym or get a personal trainer).
Be honest with yourself. How happy are you with your body image and your self-esteem? Not because of what other people tell you, but because you don’t feel like you are who you want to be.
See if you can figure out what’s stopping you from getting to that place you want to be. I’ll bet it’s something you can overcome.
For further reading and reference:
www.eatingacademy.com http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
-Katie Rosenberry is a Fellow and the Research Coordinator at KISI