Many Americans are gaining more body fat, and a big reason for this is the amount of fat they eat. Eating too much fat can lead to serious health problems, like getting sick, making you disease-prone, aging faster, and even living a shorter life. While exercise is important, controlling how much fat you eat is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy.
To give you an idea of what this all means, here are some comparisons: The longest-living people in the world only get about 1% of their calories from milk, cheese, butter, meat, fish, etc., while the average for an American is approximately 40%. Americans consume more added fats and oils compared to other countries due to the prevalence of fast food and ultra-processed foods in the USA.
When you eat a lot of fat, it doesn’t just disappear. Your body stores it; over time, this stored fat can cause many problems. Too much body fat can lead to diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. The fat that gets stored deep inside your belly is especially harmful because it can cause inflammation, which damages your organs and makes it easier for you to get sick.
Here are six things you can do to have a leaner, healthier body, happier, and longer life free from the added threats accompanying unhealthy fats.
1. Hydration
Drinking plenty of water is one of the best ways to help your body store less fat. When you’re dehydrated, your body holds on to more fat and store it, but drinking enough water helps you use fat for energy instead of storing it. This is why staying hydrated is so important for keeping your body fat levels down. Note that increasing the quality of water you drink can impact overall health and vitality even more.
2. Reduce Fat
To keep body fat under control, it’s essential to be careful about how much fat you eat. A good rule is to ensure that only about 10% or less of your daily calories come from fat.
3. Increase Complex Carbs
The rest of your diet should focus on complex carbohydrates like whole grains, beans, and vegetables. These foods provide the energy your body needs without adding extra fat or weight.
4. Cut Out Refined Foods
Eating fewer foods high in sugar, salt, and refined flour, like candy, chips, and white bread, is also a good idea. These highly processed foods make storing fat easier for your body.
5. Eat More Veggies
Instead, try to eat more salads, steamed and raw vegetables, and drink plenty of water. This helps your body stay healthy and reduces the amount of fat it stores. Let’s face it: If you feed your body fewer animal products and factory-made oils, you will automatically store less fat.
6. Exercise
While exercise is important for staying fit, it’s not the only thing that matters regarding heart health and preventing disease. The amount and type of fat you eat play a much bigger role in your health. Your blood vessels, which carry blood throughout your body, must stay healthy to prevent heart disease. The health of these blood vessels depends more on your diet than on how much you exercise.
Not all exercises are equally helpful for controlling body fat. Regular walking is good for overall health, but it doesn’t do much to reduce body fat or build muscle. Exercises that make your muscles work harder, like lifting weights, are better for burning fat and keeping your body strong.
When it comes to health, not all fats are created equal. Eating unhealthy, hydrogenated fats found in processed foods and restaurant-fried and deep-fried foods causes free radicals to form, damaging your cells and making you more likely to get sick. These fats damage your body, making you susceptible to illness, disease, premature aging, and death. Since every cell in your body has a fatty layer, these free radicals cause a lot of harm to your entire body.
Limit your intake of unhealthy fat to protect your health. Focus on eating fresh, unprocessed foods and be mindful of your fat intake. This will help you keep your body fat levels down and protect your cells from damage.
In conclusion, the amount of fat you eat has a big impact on your health. Eating too much fat can lead to increased body fat, which in turn raises your risk of diseases, faster aging, and a shorter life. To stay healthy, it’s important to limit your fat intake, drink plenty of water, eat a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, and choose exercises that help you burn fat. By being mindful of how much fat you consume, you can feel better, take control of your health, and live a longer, healthier life.