High Fat vs Low Fat - Sandi Korshnak

Fat Wars

We have all heard the horror stories, don’t eat all that fat. It’s going to clog your arteries and give you a heart attack. You’re going to get high cholesterol. It’s safe to eat margarine and Crisco and vegetable oil but not butter and olive oil? Or God forbid, coconut oil! What makes them different? Where did this all start? We are going to go on a little history lesson, so grab your coffee and stay with me here.

Did you know that Proctor & Gamble pretty much funded the American Heart Association? The AHA used to be a group of doctors that met to discuss heart disease and patient health.

History of Fat

Back in the early 1900s, P&G owned cottonseed mills and with the help of a chemist, used that cottonseed oil to make a product ( known today as hydrogenated vegetable oil) that resembled lard that they needed to make soap. They then got the idea to market it as lard and sell it to people to put in their food. Crisco was born (CRYStalized Cottonseed Oil). They produced a cookbook with recipes in it (all using Crisco) and distributed them for free to the public. This product was 50% trans fats.

Since there were no dietary regulations back then, they marketed it by saying that since it was made from plants, it was safer for the public than lard, and butter. When cottonseed oil got expensive, they started making oils with soybeans, sunflower, corn, and safflower.

In the mid 1900s P&G made a sizable donation to the American Heart Association. Not long after, the AHA came out with guidelines for us to all be “Heart Healthy” even though the diet had never been tested in clinical trials. They explained it by comparing it to dumping grease down a pipe. It hardens and clogs the pipes. It made sense, so we all bought into it.

Is Fat Safe?

There are studies that go back to the early 1970s that suggest these guidelines are not correct, or can actually be doing more harm than good. Some of these studies were never published. And others were just buried. It wasn’t until the 1990s that we started hearing about trans-fats. In 2015, it was determined by the FDA that PHOs, the major source of artificial trans fat in the food supply, are no longer “Generally Recognized as Safe” and gave manufacturers until Jan 1, 2020 to get rid of them. This is something the AHA had been pushing for nearly 60 years as good for us! How did they get this so wrong? Did they really not know? Were they blinded by the money they were receiving from P&G? Did they even care?

The AHA now just pushes vegetable oils Isn’t it a coincidence that Bayer (who relies heavily on the farming of corn, soybeans, ) also funds the AHA?

The Numbers Don’t Lie

I am no doctor. I’m also not a nutritionist or dietitian. I’m just someone who lost 120 pounds by eating a ketogenic diet. I did not do it by gulping bulletproof coffee and eating bacon and butter. True keto is focusing on the quality of what I am putting in my body. I am probably a little more strict than some coaches about what I do and don’t allow. And that’s ok. Once you master keto, you can make your own choices on what you’ll allow and what you won’t. I’ve also done my research on WHY I want to eat this way, then took a class to learn more about it, and got myself certified to coach it. I regularly read and update myself on new information. I have also been certified to teach Intermittent Fasting and am currently working on my certification for Primal Living.

How I Started

My weight loss journey started on Jan 1 of 2016. I was not keto in the beginning. Just low carb. I think I went full keto sometime in the summer of 2016, which means I have been eating high fat since then. Our health insurance company requires us to get blood work done every other year. Below are the results from April 2018. If you scroll down to page 9 you will see the comparison between 2016 and 2018. My only number that was in the red for 2018 was my BMI. I’ve since lost about 25 pounds, bringing that BMI number down as well. Just to be clear, in 2016 I was on all kinds of meds for my various issues and my numbers were not good. 2018 I was only taking a thyroid pill and eating keto. All numbers (except BMI) were dead on.

What’s my history? I am someone who, before keto, was pre-diabetic, had a heart condition (Long QT interval), hypothyroidism, high blood pressure and breast cancer. The heart condition is something I was born with, but I no longer have cancer (knock on wood). My pre-diabetic levels have dropped and I am hoping to come off my thyroid pills this year. My blood pressure pills were dropped last year with my Dr’s blessing. High fat is working for me. I have 5 doctors that I see on a regular basis and they have all given me their approval to continue this way of eating.

Sources

All links for sources about above statements are linked below. Please, educate yourself. Even if you have no desire to go keto, at the very least, get rid of the processed garbage that we are being sold. Your body will thank you for it.

If you are looking to start a ketogenic diet, please send me a message or an email. I can help you map out a plan for your specific goals.

These are MY results from eating a ketogenic diet.