Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat and More

My regular readers know this is my frequent refrain: Fat Doesn’t make you fat. Sugar does.

If you’re new, let me repeat: Fat doesn’t make you fat. Sugar does.

An important new Brazilian study supports the notion that regular intake of healthy fats diminish the risk of diabetes and heart disease, both closely linked to obesity.

In fact, the study from the University of Londrina offers some pretty solid evidence that two powerhouse fats together can actually help beat metabolic syndrome, that deadly cluster of conditions – increased blood pressure, high sugar, excess abdominal fat and high cholesterol — that dramatically increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

The secret weapons are simple: extra virgin olive oils and fish oil.

Having a salmon steak for dinner? Add a salad dressed in olive oil and you’re home free. How about linguine with tuna, olive oil, garlic and parmesan? If you’re like me and can’t handle seafood, stick with olive oil and add a high quality fish oil supplement (at the same meal).

We’ve known for a long time that fish oil and olive oil are healthy. They’re the central part of the Mediterranean diet. What’s so important about the fish oil-olive oil diet study is the synergistic effect of the two healthy fats.

The Brazilian study targeted men and women with metabolic syndrome, placing them at high risk for diabetes and heart disease. They were divided into four groups—those who continued their usual diets, those who got an extra 3 grams of fish oil daily, a third group that got 10 ml (about two teaspoons) of olive oil and lunch and dinner every day and then the final group that got both fish oil and olive oil for 90 days.

The fish oil/olive oil group had significantly better results than the others. They dropped their LDL cholesterol levels by 28 points and improved their LD-HDL ratios, indicating healthier cholesterol levels. This makes them a powerful alternative for statin drugs, which have so many negative side effects that very few people should be using them.

They also substantially improved their oxidative stress markers that document free radical damage and increase inflammation and the risk for a host of disease commonly associated with aging.

There is abundant research that shows the anti-inflammatory benefits of fish oil and the lipid reduction associated with olive oil. It’s exciting to see that the two together not only continue their beneficial health effects, but enhance one another.

It’s also easy to do. Many of you are probably already combining fish oil and olive oil in one way or another. If you’re not, consider it. It could make a dramatic difference to your health.