Understanding Each Macronutrient Can Improve Your Choices

According to the Journal of Nutrition, replacing refined grains for whole grains may help reduce your total body fat including unwanted belly fat. Eating slow release carbs like oatmeal or bran cereal before exercise can help you burn more stored fat. Since carbs can only be stored in limited quantities and your body is eager to store them as fat, be selective in the carbohydrates that you include in your menu plan. Understanding what each macronutrient has to offer your body can help you make better food choices. Because fiber decelerates digestion, it helps prevent spikes in your blood sugar levels after eating. It simply traps sugar molecules, so it is absorbed more slowly. By comparison, the sugar in a glass of orange juice gets metabolized almost immediately.

Common Types of Dietary Fatty Acids

Essential fatty acid deficiency is common today because of some dieter’s approach to dieting and lifestyle choices. But, EFA deficiencies can lead to disease and death. Listed are fatty acids that play an essential role in wellness, including:

• Saturated Fats - Saturated with hydrogen molecules, saturated fats are found in animals and have no double bonds between carbon molecules.
• Trans Fats - The primarily dietary source of trans fats is found in processed foods made with partially hydrogenated oils.
• Monounsaturated Fats - Oils that contain monounsaturated fats are normally liquid at room temperature but turn solid when chilled.
• Polyunsaturated Fats - Polyunsaturated fats can have a beneficial effect on heart health. Sunflower seeds and soybeans are good sources.

EFAs play a part in many metabolic processes and evidence suggest that the wrong balance of essential fatty acids may be a factor in numerous chronic illnesses. Most essential fatty acids are crucial for the development of endocannabinoids.

Low-Carb versus Low-Fat Menu Plans

There is a longstanding debate about the best way to lose weight, so before you rush to any conclusions, accept the fact that long-term weight loss success requires a personalized approach for sustainable results. Although low-carb diets are known to produce greater weight loss in the first months, the faster initial weight loss does not equate to a larger amount of overall weight loss when compared to a low-fat diet. For decades, dieters were told to avoid eating fat to keep from being fat. After all, fat has twice the calories per gram than the same amount of carbohydrates or protein. Nonetheless, consuming both healthy fats and consuming healthy carbs can help you shed pounds. Although useful for short-term weight loss, low-fat diets may not be healthy over the long-term.