Today I felt a little bit of what a drug addict might feel when he’s out of his stash. It rarely happens, but after a restless night and a cranky, tired morning afterwards I realized what went wrong. A day before, I WASN’T EATING ENOUGH ANIMAL FAT! Because you see, there are many metabolisms out there that function on high amounts of fat and protein, being perfectly healthy. And there are also many that thrive on lean protein and lesser fat. And there are also the ones in between, where everything has to be in a certain moderation and combination.
Thanks to Metabolic Typing we CAN accurately find out today how our metabolism functions and what kind of foods we really need in order to stay healthy.
I am a typical eastern European when it comes to food: fish eggs, organs, animal fat, rich stocks and stews are all my friends!
So I ran out of my stash. No bacon, no fatty meat, no organs, no stock bones, nothing. And you call this life?? Being swamped with work lately and putting in a lot of effort, it actually happened. (No wonder I needed extra cholesterol to make hormones to help me cope!)
Before I could make the plan to purchase all my goodies and have my peace of mind and sleep at night, I rushed to Sprouts, a local health food store, for a quick refill. (Do I have to mention that I obsessed the whole night about my home country’s fabulous raw and smoked pork belly? Yes, it CAN happen!)
I was probably among the first customers that hit the store that morning…I was on a mission to find my stash! I reached the organic, sustainable meat section and to my despair there was NO bacon…I almost felt like crying…I asked around and finally a worker brought some from their storage. Yay! She opened the box and looked through the packages, saying “I’m looking for a better, leaner one for you”. At that point I almost lost it..NO, I said loudly, I NEED the FATTIEST YOU HAVE! She looked at me as if I were the craziest person..I collected myself and explained her I’m a nutritionist and FAT is actually good for you…Then I asked if they will ever have organic pork belly, bones and organs? I know, I was pushing it now!…She said that only older people ask for such things and buy the regular salt pork belly…Well, knowing what it’s in the regular pork meat, compared to a pastured or at least organic one, I couldn’t take the chance, no matter how bad my fat cravings were!
Just for a quick recap, WHY IS FAT SO IMPORTANT?
Fats are essential for life and without them we couldn’t survive. The real issue here is to know how to choose the good from the bad fats. Also, every person is different and needs more or less of particular types of fats in their diet.
Foods packed with “all natural” and “no trans fats” labels don’t necessary mean they won’t have a form of “bad fat” in the ingredients list. The only fats you should stay away from are : hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated, or trans fats, margarine and liquid vegetable oils like canola, soybean, corn, sunflower, etc.
Saturated fats play many important roles in the body. They provide integrity to the cell wall, promote the body’s use of essential fatty acids, enhance the immune system, protect the liver and contribute to strong bones. The lungs and kidneys cannot work without saturated fat.
Dietary cholesterol contributes to the strength of the intestinal wall and helps babies and children develop a healthy brain and nervous system.
Cholesterol is vital for making our hormones, which have a profound influence over how we feel and act.
The lady from Sprouts referred to the organs, bones and pork belly as “old time food”. YES, it’s old and young people and “modern times” should learn from the old way of cooking and eating!
Because in the land of “lean, fat free food”, about 34% of Americans are obese…
Strong bones can be easily achieved if you focus on a diet that has high calcium and magnesium content like Dairy products. ;”;’`
Kind regards
http://www.healthmedicinelab.com“>
I totally understand this! I started researching recently because I lost my appetite and have gotten extremely skinny. I discovered the Weston Price diet and started eating more animal fat…and my appetite came roaring back, just a few days in! I’m insulin-resistant (pcos), and think that my body couldn’t use the “healthy” carbs I was eating, so I went into starvation mode. For reference, my genetic background is western European and Native American. I love your blog and Romanian recipes!
Thank you so much Jenny for checking out my blog and recipes! :) I’m happy you decided to go with some more healthy animal fat in your diet and already felt a difference! The Weston Price recommendations are a good start, although they don’t fit each individual metabolism. The reality is that we literary live in a genetic melting pot these days. It’s good you know your heritage and take that into consideration but knowing your family tree is not always a determining factor when choosing your diet. Each of us carries genetic influences from countless ancestors from time immemorial. What genes come to the fore in an individual is really a matter of a kind of genetic roulette. It’s common to see that even within the same family, there can be dramatic variations of the Metabolic Type requirements between siblings. If one child tends to be lean, energetic and thriving while the other child tends to be overweight, slow and failing, the chances are very high that the diet is right for the first child’s Metabolic Type but very wrong for the second child’s Metabolic Type.
I had a hard time gaining weight all my life. I tried countless ways of eating, to heal my health problems and gain weight. It was not until I started eating according to my metabolic type that I gained the desired weight and reversed my health problems. Food for thought :)