by: David McEvoy

Copyright 2005 David McEvoy

A lot of people still don’t know there are fat burning foods that
can actually increase the number of fat calories your body burns
each day? These are know as free foods and are generally low in
calories; in fact some of these foods are so low in calories that
your body actually burns more calories metabolising them, than the
total amount of calories in the food it’s self.

Although fat burning foods are important for anyone who wants to
lose weight and keep it off for good, they're vital if you're one of
these people who find it hard to lose weight. No matter how much
exercise you do or how hard you diet, your genetics and metabolic
make up play a vital role in determining how fast and how much
weight you lose.

Genetic differences also affect how much weight you gain when you
eat too much. One study of 12 groups of identical twins was overfed
for 100 days. One set of twins gained 29 pounds. A second set,
however, gained only 13 pounds even though both sets of twins were
overfed with the same number of calories. Of course, fat burning
foods won't compensate entirely for genetic differences this
ultimately comes down to a balanced calorie controlled eating regime
and excersie. They will however make fighting fat a lot easier in
the long run.

Types of fat

There are two types of fat “good fat” and “bad fat”

Actually there are 4 types of fat: Monounsaturated, Polyunsaturated,
Saturated and Tran’s fat, but they can still be catorigised as good
and bad.

Monounsaturated (good fats)

Monounsaturated fats are considered good fats and are said to help
reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure and to help
control diabetes.

These good fats are found in food like; olive oil, peanut oil,
cashews, canola oil, hazelnuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios,
pine nuts and chicken fat.

Polyunsaturated (good fats) omega 3 and omega 6

Polyunsaturated fats are also considered good fats and are said to
reduce triglycerides, inflammations and tumour growth. They also
help to improve immune function and help protect against sudden
death from heart disease.

Polyunsaturated fats can be broken down into two categories: Omega 3
and Omega 6

Omega 3 is found in foods like Canola oil, walnuts, flaxseeds,
hempseeds, salmon, mackerel, trout, tuna, sardines, and herring.

Omega 6 is found in foods like safflower oil, sunflower oil, sesame
oil, nuts, beans and soft margarine.

Saturated (bad fats)

Saturated fats are bad fats; they raise cholesterol and increase the
risk of heart disease and stroke. In fact they are twice as potent
at raising your bad cholesterol levels as polyunsaturated fats are
at lowering them. It is difficult to eliminate these fats from your
diet but one way to reduce them is to choose fat free milk and other
dairy products.

Saturated fats can be found in foods such as meats, whole milk,
cheese, palm and coconut oil.

Trans (bad fats)

Tran’s fats are the ugly fats; they raise bad cholesterol (LDL) and
lower good cholesterol (HDL). They increase the risk of heart
disease and stroke.
Tran’s fats can be found in foods like crackers, cookies, cakes,
shortening, margarine, hydrogenated oils and vegetable oils that
have been subjected to heat-damage during cooking.

Omega 3 fish oil and weight loss

A recent study that was published in the international journal of
obesity, researchers want to find out if by supplementing the diet
with omega 3 fish oil (good fat) would increase the number of fat
calories burned in a single day.

The two groups were fed exactly the same diet apart from one group
were fed 6 grams of fat in the form of butter, olive oil, sunflower
oil and peanut oil, the other group were given 6 grams of omega 3
fish oil.
The fish oil group were given 8 capsules per day, 2 in the morning,
3 at lunch and 3 in the evening.

The Total daily intake of omega 3 long chain fatty acids was 1.8
grams.
The out come of the test results were fairly conclusive.

The table below shows you the changes in fat oxidation, body fat,
and metabolic rate after three weeks for the groups with or without
fish oil

With fish oil without fish oil

Measurement of body fat -2pounds -0.7

Measurement of daily metabolic rate 1775 calories 1710 calories


These results show that the group who were supplementing with fish
oil burned about 1.1 milligram of fat per kilo per minute. This is
roughly 26% higher than the other group who weren’t supplementing
with the fish oil.

One of the key reasons as to why omega 3 fish oil has such a
powerful effect on fat metabolism is that the insulin levels were
50% lower when subjects used the fish oil. Insulin is a hormone that
reduces the use of fat for fuel, while also promoting fat storage in
the presence of excess calories.

Insulin increases the activity of an enzyme known to promote the
storage of fat.

Insulin inhibits the action of hormone sensitive lipase, which is
responsible for breaking down stored fat and preparing it for use as
energy.

Insulin also activates an enzyme, which, along with fatty acid
synthesis, is responsible for converting carbohydrate into fat.

Simply put, high levels of insulin make it less likely that your
body will use stored fat as a fuel source. The drop in insulin
levels when subjects used the fish oil would have allowed more fat
to be used for energy.

Conclusion

Any good doctor or nutritionist will tell you that the best way to
get any nutrient is to eat a very balanced diet. In the case of
Omega 3 oil this would be in the form of fish, sadly due to the
pollution levels found in our oceans today eating large portions of
fish every day is not advisable.
The frustrating truth is that there will never be an easy quick-fix
method of losing weight that is safe and simple. However, with a
little research into the workings of the body, it becomes clear that
there are many small things you can do which add up over time to aid
weight loss and make you feel better about yourself. Taking a fish
oil supplement is a good idea for anyone wanting to make positive
steps towards weight loss.


About the author:
Dave mcevoy is an award winning personal trainer with over 20 years
experience, he also runs a high quality health supplement website.
http://www.mind1st.co.uk