Fats

peterhanna1

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4
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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I'm getting so confused about what I should/should not eat! I need to lose weight and have cut out out saturated fats. Even taken to 0% Greek Yoghurt. But a recent video from Louise says unprocessed fats are good for you! And recommends full fat food including butter/cheese and meat fat, as well as chicken skin. All the foods my nurse told me were bad for me! What is the right advise?
 

donnellysdogs

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People that can't say sorry.
Personally and only my experience (and hubbies)... Our cholessterol went up in wrong direction when we did heavy loads of double cream, full fat milk, cheese and full fat yogurt.
When we went to meditereanean diet.. True old fashioned not with ciabatta bread etc... Our weight plummeted and so too our cholesterol. My cholesterol has now reduced to 4.9 the best ever in 20+ years..
However I do now have a lactofree yogurt inclusion everyday. Since then I have had to go on to smoothies and soups so next cholesterol will be interesting.
My hubby lost 4st in all and kept the weight off.
People react differently though. Many people here get good results with raised, big qtys of full heavy fats.
Some cholesterol goes up initily and then reduce down...
I prefer fats such as the avocado and olive oil for dressings and olives...
 
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zand

Master
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IMO Louise is right. I spent years following low fat, now that I eat full fat products my weight is starting to drop. Many find their weight drops with LCHF, but the amount of fat is a personal one. I find that it's carbs that give me weight problems not fat.
 
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Enclave

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Retired Moderator
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I an vegetarian.. So I get my fats from olive oil and coconut oil ... If you eat fat your body has no need to store fat .. If you are eating low carbs as well you will loose weight .. I eat around 20g of carbs a day and lost 5st in 18 months .. If you low carb then you get your enegery from the fats you eat .. And your bs will improve

Am tagging @daisy1 who will be along soon with lots of useful information
 
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seadragon

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Messages
316
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
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Diet only
I also recommend taking a look at www.dietdoctor.com website. Good free info from a Swedish doctor about how low carb diets can help diabetes and weight loss. Good explanations and link to scientific info on why saturated fat is not the enemy. Take a look at your 0%fat yoghurt and see how much more sugar/carbs it contains than the full fat version. Fat does not make you fat but sugar will.
 
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Daibell

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Hi. Confusing isn't it! Bear in mind that much of the stuff we have been told by the media and the GPs etc is often based on weak science or has the food lobby lurking in the background. Carbs are our biggest enemy for blood sugar as they are converted very fast to glucose in the body. They are also easily stored as fat by the liver if in excess. Fat in food is far less of a problem and as a generalisation the body doesn't directly store the fat you eat as fat; the liver decides what to store as fat. Fat doesn't raise blood sugar by much. If you Google the web you will find endless articles about cholesterol, statins etc and little valid evidence that fat actually causes an increase in heart issues, but avoid trans fats. In summary many of us find that focussing on reducing the carbs improves both weight and blood sugar. Increasing the proteins and fats keeps you feeling full for longer. When measuring cholesterol only worry about the LDL, HDL and Trig ratios not the Total.
 
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SunnyExpat

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Like others, avoid saturated fats if you can. Many will disagree, but it doesn't mean it works for all.
 
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bobrobert

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417
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Like others, avoid saturated fats if you can. Many will disagree, but it doesn't mean it works for all.

I increased my saturated fats after being diagnosed with diabetes. In stead of low fat cheese I now eat full fat cheese and full fat yogurts as well as bacon, beef burgers, gammon steaks and sausages. My blood sugar levels were praised at my last examination. The moral of the story is not to be afraid of saturated fats unless eating to excess.
 
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SunnyExpat

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I increased my saturated fats after being diagnosed with diabetes. In stead of low fat cheese I now eat full fat cheese and full fat yogurts as well as bacon, beef burgers, gammon steaks and sausages. My blood sugar levels were praised at my last examination. The moral of the story is not to be afraid of saturated fats unless eating to excess.

I doubt bloods are afraid.
They just do what they do, and many find blood sugar isn't all there is to them.
No need to eat saturated fats if you don't choose to.
 
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zand

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Well my bloods aren't afraid of saturated fats. My total cholesterol has gone down from 6.7 to 5.8 and my HDL up from 1.0 to 1.2 with the LDL down (sorry lost old figs for that one) Trigs are down from 1.0 to 0.8. Thank goodness for the goodness in saturated fats I say. :)
 
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Pinkorchid

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Yes really how much saturated fat you eat is up to you some people just don't get on with them. I don't eat red meat sausages or bacon because I don't like them so just mainly eat chicken so my fats come mostly from olive oil, coconut oil, avocados some nuts and a little butter
 
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SunnyExpat

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Well my bloods aren't afraid of saturated fats. My total cholesterol has gone down from 6.7 to 5.8 and my HDL up from 1.0 to 1.2 with the LDL down (sorry lost old figs for that one) Trigs are down from 1.0 to 0.8. Thank goodness for the goodness in saturated fats I say. :)

You may find you'll do just as well with non-saturated fats, it's more likely the lack of carbs that accounts for the improvements, rather than specifically saturated fats, as many don't see those figures if they include specifically saturated fats.
There is no need to be scared of quality unsaturated fats either.
 
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zand

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You may find you'll do just as well with non-saturated fats, it's more likely the lack of carbs that accounts for the improvements, rather than specifically saturated fats, as many don't see those figures if they include specifically saturated fats.
There is no need to be scared of quality unsaturated fats either.
lol but I like saturated fats. ;):)
 
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Kristin251

Expert
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I am another one that keeps saturated fat low. I will eat a 100% grass fed burger or lamb occasionally but in small quantities. Avocado olive oil olives and nuts are my main fats. I don't gob them but I don't skimp. Saturated fat can have more of an effect on blood sugar than plant fats and I find this to be true. It will raise me higher and I will stay higher. A life saving fat for me is avocado smashed with sea salt. I eat one a day. I eat it throughout the day with celery. Very satisfying. Olive oil for salad dressing and nuts / seeds for snacks. Fat does tend to make up 80% of my diet but that's easy to do with a whole avocado, a medium salad dressed with a normal portion of oil and a few nuts. I don't eat large portions of protein either and under 20 g carbs. BS is very steady and low.

I agree that taking carbs out of the diet is what lowers CHO, not saturated fat.
 
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bobrobert

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417
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Most diabetics are on a restricted diet so it doesn't make sense - imo - to restrict it even further by not eating saturated meat. Don't believe what the NHS states about saturated fats but do your own research by searching the forum for information.
 
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SunnyExpat

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Most diabetics are on a restricted diet so it doesn't make sense - imo - to restrict it even further by not eating saturated meat. Don't believe what the NHS states about saturated fats but do your own research by searching the forum for information.

It doesn't make sense to to keep telling us to eat them, imo, when we tell you we don't.
It's a bit like the NHS keep banging on about the eatwell plate now, and everyone needs to eat that.

We're fine, no-one needs saturated fats, if you like them, that's your choice in life.
Our choice isn't the same, and our cholesterol is better without.
 
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zand

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It doesn't make sense to to keep telling us to eat them, imo, when we tell you we don't.
It's a bit like the NHS keep banging on about the eatwell plate now, and everyone needs to eat that.

We're fine, no-one needs saturated fats, if you like them, that's your choice in life.
Our choice isn't the same, and our cholesterol is better without.
I totally agree it's your choice but I don't think fats, saturated or otherwise, have anything to do with LDL cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is mostly down to what your body creates itself and dietary carbs, particularly fructose. I mention fructose because a relative of mine (not diabetic) with high cholesterol found it dropped significantly when she stopped having orange juice and Weetabix for breakfast.

Maybe not everyone needs saturated fats but I am healthier with them back in my diet. My joint pains have almost disappeared altogether.
 
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SunnyExpat

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I totally agree it's your choice but I don't think fats, saturated or otherwise, have anything to do with LDL cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is mostly down to what your body creates itself and dietary carbs, particularly fructose. I mention fructose because a relative of mine (not diabetic) with high cholesterol found it dropped significantly when she stopped having orange juice and Weetabix for breakfast.

Maybe not everyone needs saturated fats but I am healthier with them back in my diet. My joint pains have almost disappeared altogether.

I'm sure no one is disagreeing that the correct fats don't affect cholesterol.
What we are finding, as a fact, not an opinion, is that saturated fats affect our cholesterol, and we don't intend to eat it, when we don't need to.
So, for those of us that decide to keep saturated fats low, it should be respected that it is perfectly fine to eat that way on LCHF as well.
 
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zand

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So, for those of us that decide to keep saturated fats low, it should be respected that it is perfectly fine to eat that way on LCHF as well.

Yes of course it's fine! I don't think anyone is really saying it isn't. The thing is many of us have found that the NHS guidelines just don't work for us so this is the right place to tell others that actually saturated fats aren't bad. If you don't want them, that's fine. I'm not saying you have to have them, just that they aren't bad if you do want them. That's why Louise says exactly that in her low carb videos. I think the fact that we are speaking out against NHS guidelines means that sometimes the members here who follow those guidelines because they suit them may think that we are 'having a go' at them personally. We are not, we are just trying to give others the chance to make their own minds up just as you and I have. The 'sat fats are bad' message has been out there for 40 years, so yes, now we know that's not true we want to tell others that, that's all. It's not about changing any one person's diet. It's about the choice that you and I already have.

Of course if the NHS guidelines were up to date there would be no need for us to be having this conversation. :)
 
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bobrobert

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417
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Diet only
The reason that this site has so many members is that the NHS doesn't tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth concerning diets. The members want an alternative point of view from learned people so they can make up THEIR minds. My doctor prescribed statins for me and after I stopped taking them he agreed with me that they DON'T prevent heart disease. The moral of the story is don't believe every thing they say. SunnyExpat, nobody is saying that you have to take them if you don't want to but I think you have been giving the impression that they are bad for members of the public?