Use Your Fat For Energy!

Fat is a concentrated source of energy and is vital for building our cells and hormones. It acts as a carrier for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. These vitamins are essential for bone development, brain function and sexual development and it doesn’t matter how many vitamin pills we take, if we aren’t eating enough fat we can't convert these vitamins and minerals into compounds which can be absorbed into the the body.

Generally most people you talk to will tell you that eating fat is bad for you. That drinking whole milk or yogurt and eating meat and eggs is unhealthy for your body and your waistline. Alot of people fill up on carbohydrates at mealtimes but aren't doing adequate excercise to burn off the intake and so excess carbs are stored on our body. Hello love handles, hello cellulite!!

Science allows us to know there are 2 pathways for energy conversion in our body. The glycolysis (protein and carbohydrate) pathway and the beta oxidation (fat) pathway. When we consume carbohydrates our pancreas releases insulin which transports sugars to our cells for energy. If we can reduce our carbohydrate intake to 30g for 5- 12 days our body learns to use the beta oxidation (fat) pathway instead of the glycolysis pathway, so then when our body sends a signal that it needs fuel we will draw on our fat stores for energy. It can be a difficult transition and is best undertaken with alot of support.

At the end of each season at Origin of Energy we do a 2-4 week gut-gardening detox. This detox is designed not only to cleanse any nasties out of our intestinal tract but also to create a shift in our body, to burning fats for fuel. It involves eating lots of meat, whole milk products, butter, eggs and of course lots of greens! However it is vital that the products you consume are sourced from farms where the chicken and eggs are organic free-range and where the animals are grass-finished, which means they are fed on open pasture, not grain from a bucket in their cage!

The detox can be challenging at first. I know I just felt like i wanted to eat all the time!! But actually this is a good thing...you will keep your metabolism going when you eat every few hours and as fat makes our food much stronger in flavour you won't need to eat as much to feel full. Portion control is still important, everything in moderation is still the number 1 rule...xxx