Clogging Your Arteries?

Nutrition
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i’m not a bodybuilder nor am i a self-proclaimed health-enthusiast. but i’m trying to make a decent diet, based on what i’ve read over a long span of time on these forums… i’m a busy college student but i’m trying to avoid the usual tendency to eat crap foods. my diet consists primarily of the following:

wheat bread, quaker oats, mini wheats cereal, chicken breast, tuna fish, eggs, salad, fruits, mixed vegetables, whole milk, green tea, natural peanut butter, butter, and olive oil.

i treat myself to junk food too, but only sparingly.

now my mother’s a doctor and from what i’ve gathered, a lot of people in medicine really don’t know what they’re talking about with regards to nutrition (she thinks the food pyramid is a great guide). she told me, however, that the butter, olive oil, natural peanut butter, and whole milk would end up “clogging my arteries” due to too much saturated fat.

i’m pretty sure that’s not true, but technically, i AM taking a lot of saturated fat… however, i know some of you guys take shots of olive oil or drink gallons of milk a day. so what’s the deal - is the saturated fats found in milk/olive oil/natural peanut butter safe to take in? please keep in mind i’m not a body builder. i’m also 5’6" and 130 lbs.

on a side note, i’ve gathered that butter > margarine, as it i’ve read it is much more natural and doesn’t have those nasty things they put in margarine. i only take 1 tbsp of butter a day - is that ok? is that fat found in butter beneficial in any way?

any input appreciated,
thanks.

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You owe it to yourself to read Gary Taubes’ “Good Calories, Bad Calories.” It sounds like a bad diet book, but it’s an exhaustively researched debunking of the main myth promulgated by medicine in the last 50 years: that saturated fat and dietary cholesterol are to blame for the incidence of heart disease.

And at 5’6, 130, if it doesn’t clearly tell you, in English, to stop eating it, keep going.

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[quote]Sneaky weasel wrote:
And at 5’6, 130, if it doesn’t clearly tell you, in English, to stop eating it, keep going.[/quote]

I lol’ed. I guess recent immigrants are OK due to their higher omega-3 content?

5’6, 130 really isn’t that small by non-bodybuilding standards, depending on leanness.

To the OP, saturated fat is good, as long as you don’t mix it with lots of junk carbs. It sounds like you get plenty of healthy mono and poly unsaturated fats from the OO, PB and tuna but it might be advantageous to start taking fish oil.

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[quote]tom8658 wrote:
Sneaky weasel wrote:

5’6, 130 really isn’t that small by non-bodybuilding standards, depending on leanness.

[/quote]

You mean for a girl, right?

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[quote]Diablo9845 wrote:
tom8658 wrote:
Sneaky weasel wrote:

5’6, 130 really isn’t that small by non-bodybuilding standards, depending on leanness.

You mean for a girl, right? [/quote]

yeah really

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Avoid anything with trans-fats. Trans fats can not be found naturally in nature as they are chemically engineered molecules (trans-double bond as opposed to cis-double bond in unsaturated fats).

And avoid the traditional food pyramid. Humans do not need that much carbohydrates in their diets. There are no such things as essential sugars but there are things such as essential amino acids and fatty acids.

But eat accordingly. If you to get bigger (which I assume you want to), just eat a shitload but be conscious. There are a lot of great articles here on T-Nation.

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[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
Diablo9845 wrote:
tom8658 wrote:
Sneaky weasel wrote:

5’6, 130 really isn’t that small by non-bodybuilding standards, depending on leanness.

You mean for a girl, right?

yeah really[/quote]

don’t mistake bare bones for just a small frame. manny pacquaio is barely larger than me by height and weight, but he could probably take on 99% of the world population in a fist-fight. not that i’m jacked, by any means xD

anyway, thanks for the advice. i take it my “arteries are going to be ok.” is drinking lots of whole milk a good way to gain weight, or should i stick to a lower fat variety?

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[quote]ollagram88 wrote:
i’m also 5’6" and 130 lbs.

[/quote]

i stopped reading here, anyone who is 5,6 and 130 lbs needs more food

as for the dietitian/nutritionists/medical establishment i ignore everything they say

those whole grains will screw you up way more than beef ever could

low carb != low fiber

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[quote]ollagram88 wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:
Diablo9845 wrote:
tom8658 wrote:
Sneaky weasel wrote:

5’6, 130 really isn’t that small by non-bodybuilding standards, depending on leanness.

You mean for a girl, right?

yeah really

don’t mistake bare bones for just a small frame. manny pacquaio is barely larger than me by height and weight, but he could probably take on 99% of the world population in a fist-fight. not that i’m jacked, by any means xD

anyway, thanks for the advice. i take it my “arteries are going to be ok.” is drinking lots of whole milk a good way to gain weight, or should i stick to a lower fat variety?[/quote]

This isn’t a fighting forum. Sherdog.com would be more suited towards that. This forum is mainly about wanting get stronger and bigger. And don’t mistake fighting ability for making up for size/weight. Unless you are an elite fighter, a 200+ untrained man will be able to win in a fist fight against a trained 130lb man-boy.

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[quote]pzehtoeur wrote:
Avoid anything with trans-fats. Trans fats can not be found naturally in nature as they are chemically engineered molecules (trans-double bond as opposed to cis-double bond in unsaturated fats).[/quote]

Not to be a dick, but this isn’t true. Animal products like meat and milk do have a small amount of natural trans fats like CLA. But it’s something like 1%-2%.

The only reason I mentioned this is that I have seen threads started when someone freaks out about “trans fat in my beef!!!”

[quote]ollagram88 wrote:
butter, olive oil, natural peanut butter, and whole milk would end up “clogging my arteries” due to too much saturated fat. [/quote]

You do know that arterial plaque forms IN BETWEEN the walls of the blood vessel, not just stuck on the interior of the tube. And the plaques are made of mostly dead white blood cells - it’s not just a gob of fat sitting there.

Hey, the more you know . . . .

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[quote]Diablo9845 wrote:

This isn’t a fighting forum. Sherdog.com would be more suited towards that. This forum is mainly about wanting get stronger and bigger. And don’t mistake fighting ability for making up for size/weight. Unless you are an elite fighter, a 200+ untrained man will be able to win in a fist fight against a trained 130lb man-boy.

[/quote]

i think you kind of missed the logic of my point. there are plenty of respectable, healthy athletes of the same height/taller than me but of equal weight who are not underfed, underdeveloped, nor underweight “man-boys” by any means. many of them simply have small body frames which has absolutely nothing to do with musculature nor fatness. anyway, if you’d still like to think otherwise, i didn’t post here to argue, but we can simply leave it at that. good day, sir.

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Try to even your fat intake. So poly, mono and sat fat are all about the same. It can be hard do to this, because everything basically has saturated fat in it.

Olive Oil isn’t saturated, and peanut butter only has a slight amount of saturated fat in it for the record.

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[quote]hardgnr wrote:
Try to even your fat intake. So poly, mono and sat fat are all about the same. It can be hard do to this, because everything basically has saturated fat in it.

Olive Oil isn’t saturated, and peanut butter only has a slight amount of saturated fat in it for the record.[/quote]

thanks. what would be good sources to help balance out the fats? i’m trying to look up sources of poly, mono, and sat fats but a lot of them seem to overlap in what they provide, but also in different ratios.

from some articles and posts i’ve read so far… milk and eggs should cover the sat fats and olive oil the mono fats. i don’t think my diet right now seems to be getting enough polyunsaturated fats. what would be some good, reasonably-priced sources? i read a lot of contradicting information on poly fats so i’m a little confused.

also, is 4 servings of whole milk a day going to imbalance the fat intake? i’d like to put on some weight (for now) too which is why i’ve chosen whole milk at the moment.

thanks.

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Your arteries probably won’t get clogged because of what you’re eating. Other factors many still be in play though.

No source of fat is JUST sat. mono. or polyunsat… In reality, they’re all a mixture. Even animal fats which are usually labeled as “saturated” are a mix. Some fats are also modified by the body… for example the saturated fat in chocolate is said to change into something more like the monounsaturated stuff in olives.

I’m certainly no expert, and there are tons of books that explain the stuff, but my philosophy on fats is similar to my philosophy on sugars. More whole foods, less refined stuff. So, instead of adding butter to everything (not that it’s bad!) I’d just have a glass of milk that hasn’t been skimmed more often.

Instead of soaking everything in EVOO, I’d just eat more whole olives. Kinda like… saving sugar for the occasional add in my coffee, and making treats apples and pears, as opposed to pastries or other flour based goods.

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[quote]ollagram88 wrote:

thanks. what would be good sources to help balance out the fats? i’m trying to look up sources of poly, mono, and sat fats but a lot of them seem to overlap in what they provide, but also in different ratios.

from some articles and posts i’ve read so far… milk and eggs should cover the sat fats and olive oil the mono fats. i don’t think my diet right now seems to be getting enough polyunsaturated fats. what would be some good, reasonably-priced sources? i read a lot of contradicting information on poly fats so i’m a little confused.

also, is 4 servings of whole milk a day going to imbalance the fat intake? i’d like to put on some weight (for now) too which is why i’ve chosen whole milk at the moment.

thanks.[/quote]

Eat fish, nuts, and seeds. Salmon, walnuts, and ground up flax seeds are good for polyunsaturates, if that is a concern for you. Just replace salmon for steak or whatever, eat walnuts as snacks, and throw the flax in oatmeal, grits, cream of wheat, or what have you. Leafy greens, vegetables, and whole grains all naturally have small amounts of oils too.

Yeah, according to conventional theories, four servings of whole milk will “imbalance” your fat intake… But it should be fine if you’re looking to add weight. Use pure cream for even more calories. Add it to black coffee/tea, cook with it, etc. No milk proteins in heavy cream, but it is pure fat, and contains nutrients. Just another way to add kcals if four cups of milk doesn’t do it for ya.

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[quote]Brant_Drake wrote:
pzehtoeur wrote:
Avoid anything with trans-fats. Trans fats can not be found naturally in nature as they are chemically engineered molecules (trans-double bond as opposed to cis-double bond in unsaturated fats).

Not to be a dick, but this isn’t true. Animal products like meat and milk do have a small amount of natural trans fats like CLA. But it’s something like 1%-2%.

The only reason I mentioned this is that I have seen threads started when someone freaks out about “trans fat in my beef!!!”

[/quote]

Yup… That’s good though! lol All of my grass-fed beef has trans fat… but it’s not the plastic make believe kind… it’s true CLA. :slight_smile:

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[quote]Brant_Drake wrote:
pzehtoeur wrote:
Avoid anything with trans-fats. Trans fats can not be found naturally in nature as they are chemically engineered molecules (trans-double bond as opposed to cis-double bond in unsaturated fats).

Not to be a dick, but this isn’t true. Animal products like meat and milk do have a small amount of natural trans fats like CLA. But it’s something like 1%-2%.

The only reason I mentioned this is that I have seen threads started when someone freaks out about “trans fat in my beef!!!”

ollagram88 wrote:
butter, olive oil, natural peanut butter, and whole milk would end up “clogging my arteries” due to too much saturated fat.

You do know that arterial plaque forms IN BETWEEN the walls of the blood vessel, not just stuck on the interior of the tube. And the plaques are made of mostly dead white blood cells - it’s not just a gob of fat sitting there.

Hey, the more you know . . . .[/quote]

I guess I should’ve meant the trans fats found in shit like hydrogenated vegetable oil but you’re right. Never a good idea to turn something that was meant to be liquid at room temperature into something that remains solid at room temperature.

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alright, thank you all for your help, it’s appreciated.

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You have been given good advice that I agree with on fats.

But are you covering your bases with saturated fats?

If you want to make your head spin look up the controversy on coconut oil.

I use virgin coconut oil daily to also to get my medium chain triglycerides but would never tell someone else to do the same without doing their own research.