Fats: Your Waist, Your Heart & Your Shopping Cart.

Listen up! Your “fat free” salad dressing is not the answer.
First of all, let’s be real…: it’s not salad dressing that is causing you to gain wait. Salads aren’t making people fat.
Functional Medicine is dedicated to the ‘root cause’ of malfunction as well as ‘optimizing’ the body’s function.  Fats area A HUGE part of the ‘bad’ which lead to malfunction and the’good’ that support us 4 Better Health.
Food coming out of a bag with “snack-o-sphere” (the puff of air you get when you open the chip bag) and food coming through car windows: that is making us fat. Well, that and the monstrosity of portions, eating more fake foods than real foods and guts that have no idea how to digest it… but let’s talk FATS!

The Good, the bad & the ugly.
Fats are a major source of energy in the body and responsible for utilization of ‘fat-soluble’ vitamins (A, D, E, & K) and essential fatty acids (fish oils).  So if you are taking these supplements on an empty stomach (or right before bed), you aren’t absorbing them. Some are ‘bad’, some are ‘good. Some have a bad rap for no reason, and some are put in your food without knowing it.

The Good:

Mono-unsaturated & Poly-unsaturated fats. These help lower total cholesterol, the “bad” LDL cholesterol and glucose (diabetes) levels while increasing the “good” HDL cholesterol. Unsaturated fats have at least one double bond in the fatty acid chain. A fat molecule is monounsaturated if it contains one double bond, and poly-unsaturated if it contains more than one double bond.

Examples of Mono-unsaturated fats: Olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds
Examples of Poly-unsaturated fats: Fatty fish, eggs (Blasphemy! Eggs are not evil), seeds, nuts and flax seeds

Saturated fats.
By definition these fats are ‘saturated’ with hydrogen. Sounds bad therefore many are still dissin’ these fats. These help to improve the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol and serve to improve the ‘size’ of the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. Size you ask?? Yes, the fatter and fluffier, the less possibility for the LDL to ‘stick’ in the vessels. In fact the smaller denser LDL appear to have a 300% increase in cardiac risk.(By the way, if you are being told you need a Statin for your cholesterol- ask for the Cardio-IQ orVAP lipid panel from your provider to get data on the size of your LDL and therefore true stratification of risk. You may need to take the article with you and ‘beg’ them to appease you but most insurance companies pay for this). Saturated fats also support improved liver and brain health.

Examples of Saturated fats:
Coconut & coconut oil, Butter (double blasphemy!), beef, poultry skin, full fat dairy, nuts, seeds.

The Bad:

Vegetable oils.
Get the yellow oils out of the house. Yes even the ‘omega heart healthy’ ones! We realize they belong in the ‘poly-unsaturated’ club but the ‘good’ they could offer from the seed/plants is highly compensated by the chemicals (“solvents”) used to pull the oils from the plants. And they tend to be high in the ‘poly’ level which means they have many double bonds.  The more double bonds thequicker the rancidity (rotting).  Pretty sure you don’t want to sign up for rotting organs (cardiovascular disease, cancer, dementia and autoimmune). No need to ‘use up’ what you have.  Think heal-not Rot.

Trans fats, or hydrogenated oils.
“Partially hydrogenated” oils are snuck into most processed foods. These fats increase the risk of heart disease because the fat molecules on their bond structures line up in a line which leads to plaque formation. Most people know these fats are ‘bad’.  It’s been on the news and the FDA is finally clued in stating partially hydrogenated oils are not “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS).  Psst… Yes you… we have a little secret for you.  Food manufacturers can claim “No trans fat!” and still include them as long as the product has less than 0.5g per serving size (refer back to my monstrous portion size issue… no one is following them!). PLEASE read ingredients and PLEASE stop eating them. We did not say decrease. We said stop.

Where do Trans Fats hide?
Many peanut butters, margarine and ‘spreads’ (even the ‘heart healthy’ ones), fake and flavored coffee creamers, packaged foods, (Cookies, crackers, cakes, muffins, pie crusts, pizza dough, cake and pancake mixes, donuts, French fries, taco shells, chips, microwave popcorn, frozen dinners), spice packets and breads/buns.  And most foods that come through a car window.

Eat the Fat! 80% of health or disease status comes from what’s in your grocery cart, what’s in your kitchen and what’s on the end of your fork. Fats should be a part of your diet. Eat the fat. But don’t eat the crap that contains Trans or poorly processed polyunsaturated fat and don’t eat too much.  Sure, some salad dressings have the ‘bad’ fat, so shop wisely, read ingredients and put the good stuff in your grocery cart.

Sign up for our newsletter

Join Our Monthly Email List & Tips 4 Better Health!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

rebecca a photo“Words cannot express how grateful I am for the individualized care I have received from Lisa at 4Better Health! If you or someone you love is suffering with an auto-immune condition, want more energy and less pain and are looking for an alternative to traditional medicine, you have found it! With their help you will be amazed at the power you have to change your path.” 

Rebecca Alferes 53 Years Old

“Frustrated with conventional medicine philosophy of just take a pill for the rest of your life? Functional Medicine is your answer. Since I first saw Lisa 2 months ago I have lost over 10 percent of my original body weight and have more energy than I can ever remember having.”

Micheal Annantuonio – 36 years old

“After suffering for over 2 years and seeing many practitioners (who often dismissed my fatigue & pain) Dr Zub adjusted my medications and supplements. As a result, my baseline functioning and health is finally better. Dr. Zub works as a partner with you the patient, is earnest, humble and actively learning She is a Gift!” 

C.G., Needham M

“I feel like I have finally found a physician who is willing to work as a partner with me with the goal of improving my health. Dr Zub is an outstanding physician both from a diagnostic and a Functional Medicine perspective. I’ve recommended her to many of my friends.”

Karen Bird – Needham MA

“In a very short amount of time, Dr. Zub has been able to identify and address underlying chronic health issues that I have been dealing with, that other doctors were unable to do. I love 4 Better Health’s approach to treat the entire person thru a therapeutic partnership and get to the root of issues, not just throw medicine at a symptom. I truly sing her praises and have already referred others to the practice. I truly wish I had found Dr. Zub a long time ago as she has been life changing!”

Diane Tamagno

Linda LaCamera(1)“Finding 4 Better Health was a blessing after many years of traditional medicinal doctors /Endocrinologists being unable to get me to feeling optimal. Dr Zub listened to me, truly heard me & devised a proactive plan for me to have a better life. My body is still healing, but I am no longer barely functioning to get through my daily life. I can exercise again without being completely depleted of energy. I have been able to successfully lose 20 pounds. I feel I can always contact Dr. Zub with any questions or concerns I may have. We continue to work together to find the right course of action for my health. I can’t say enough great things about their practice.”

Linda LaCamera

colleen adams“4 Better Health embodies the true meaning of holistic healthcare! Thank you, Dr. Zub, for taking a genuine interest in each aspect of my life affecting my health and vitality; and for taking the time to educate me on the ways in which my body functions on a metabolic level, and the things I can do to better manage my energy and well-being!”

Colleen Adams

“Prior to working with Lisa I’d have to be home-bound one day every other weekend in order to deal with my problem. Now that I don’t need to do that anymore I’m back to hiking/mountaineering, kayaking, bike riding, snow-shoeing, being with friends, and spending time in the White Mountains. I am soo thankful for all 4 Better Health has done for me. You had a MAJOR hand in getting me back into this kind of shape [and I’m looking forward to getting even stronger and more fit]. I feel in command of my life again and I am enjoying doing all the outdoorsy, active things I love to do! What a gift you have given me!”

John Curcio

jenweightloss“My weight has always been a fight. I was having trouble sleeping  and walking upstairs because of pain in my hip and knee. I have tried a million diets but in the end I never felt in control of what I ate. When I made the decision to do the cleanse/detox I had my reservations. But it changed me. What I want
to eat and what my body craves. I feel better than I have in years. I am  sleeping better than ever and taking the stairs every chance I get. In 6 months I’ve gone from 265# to 180#. It’s all planning and consistency!”

Jenn

I was exhausted and in pain- aching from my neck to toes and waking up 4 or 5 times a night. My doctors told me it was just old age. Within a week of taking a few supplements and small changes to my diet recommended by 4 Better Health; my pain was drastically reduced and I began sleeping so much better. I am doing much more than I had been able to do in a very long time, my spirits are better, my outlook is better and I couldn’t ask for anything more. I would recommend this practice to everyone.

Rose Ciampa 83years old.