Thursday, August 13, 2009

Rationalizing to eat more

When I get asked why we promote the SlimCado as having less fat when 'everyone knows avocados have the good fat,' I point to an earlier blog entry that has doctors recommending only 70 calories a day of good fat. Then I add, with SlimCados you can eat a lot more avocado for 70 calories.

Despite the logic, I get the vibe that I'm not fully answering the question. So there's more to why we Americans cheerfully down vats of guacamole without a care. It's why this article by by Brett Blumenthal helps fill the void where my answer seems to stop short.


We often eat foods that are determined to have ‘health benefits’ past moderation, in turn, making them ‘not so healthy.’ Take dark chocolate for instance. It has become pretty well know that dark chocolate contains antioxidants which are great for warding off ‘free-radicals’. I imagine that for a lot of people, the logic then goes something like this: “Great! So this must mean I should eat dark chocolate often and in large quantities to ensure that I stay young and beautiful.” In reality, if we all did this, we would have even a larger obesity epidemic on our hands than we already do. The truth is that we should indulge in these foods, but still maintain ‘in moderation’ as our standard for portions and frequency.

Look, a
fat is a fat. It doesn’t matter if it is a ‘good fat’ or a ‘bad fat’, it is still a fat. And, a healthy diet should only incorporate 20% – 30% of fat, whether good or bad. Granted, when you are eating fats, eating those that are ‘good’ is by far more healthy than eating those that are ‘bad.’ You should avoid those that are ‘bad.’ But just because it is good doesn’t mean that you should look at them as a staple of your diet.