The good, the bad and the crunchy

Nutrition was so much simpler in the eighties, all fat was bad and to lose weight you just had to count calories.

It was subsequently discovered that there are good and bad fats.

The good fats, that increase 'healthy' LDL cholesterol, play a very important role in the health of most of our systems and can infact speed up our metabolism helping us to lose weight. At the same time excess intake of the bad fats, that increase levels of 'unhealthy' HDL cholesterol, can contribute to the development and acceleration of a whole host of diseases and morbidity.

Now it transpires that we manufacture much more HDL cholesterol internally than we get from food and that this production is influenced significantly by our hormone balance and stress levels and can therefore be increased by eating sugar and drinking coffee ... Confused.com?

Well it's no great wonder that no one knows what they should be eating anymore ... so how do you make sense of it all?

Well the first step is to take the guess work out and have your cholesterol levels checked. It is very difficult to tell from someone's appearance what their levels will be and this is something your doctor can test for you for free so just ask next time you're there.

Once you've got the results then it will give you a guide as to what you need to be focussing on:

If your 'good' LDL levels are high and your 'bad' HDL levels are low then well done you, give yourself a pat on the back.

If you have high levels of HDL cholesterol then it's important to work to lower these through cutting down on foods naturally high in HDL cholesterol (any saturated fats, which are the fats from any meat or animal produce), adding in exercise and increasing your intake of foods that help clear cholesterol from the body (high fibre foods such as oats, pulses and vegetables). You should also work to reduce the amount of stress on the body, to help balance hormone levels, by cutting down on sugar, refined carbohydrates and caffeine.

If your LDL cholesterol is low then it's time to tuck into some oily fish, seeds and nuts. These foods all contain the health-giving essential fats that are such an important component in all our cells. It's also worth noting that the good and bad fats compete for use in the body so to get the benefits of the good fats you are eating you need to minimise your intake of bad fats.

Whatever your results it's important to note that it's actually fats combined with sugar that create the most serious health problems by causing glycolysation. This is where the sugar hardens the fat, in the same way that icing sugar combines with butter to make icing crunchy.

This crunchiness causes the hardening of arteries which can result in blockages or burst blood vessels which can manifest as heart attacks and strokes. It also makes all the cells in your body stiffer and less flexible contributing to skin conditions and accelerated skin ageing. Good for cakes ... not so good for your health!
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