Body fat

“ Ordinary animal fat, as has been shown in Lesson IV, is composed of various fats, each of which is a distinct chemical compound.
Human fat not identical with food-fat
The distinction between tallow, lard, olive-oil, and human fat, is chiefly due to the various portions of stearin, and olein, which composes the mixed fat. In normal cases, where fat is deposited at the usual rate, the body-fat is of uniform composition regardless of the food-fats. The reason human fat is not identical with food-fat is because the body has selective power in depositing these fats. ”

“ When in any individual the weight varies rapidly or slowly, it is nearly always due, for the most part, to a change in the amount of adipose tissue stored away in the meshes of the areolar tissue. Almost any grave change for the worse in health is at once betrayed in most people by a diminution of fat, and this is readily seen in the altered forms of the face, which, because it is the always visible and in outline the most irregular part of the body, shows first and most plainly the loss or gain of tissue. ”

“ Taken in moderation they are easily digested, but if taken in excess they become a burden to the system. About 7 or 8 per cent of the weight of a normal body is fat, and this fat is formed chiefly from the fatty foods taken into the system, supplemented by the sugar and starch.
When the body becomes very fat, it is a disease, called obesity. Fat people are never healthy. The fat usurps the place that should be occupied by normal tissues and organs. It crowds the heart and the lungs, and even replaces the muscle cells in the heart. ”

“ According to various investigators, the fat which causes the turbidity of the blood plasma at the height of absorption will, as a rule, disappear after a few hours, part of it being burned as fuel, producing energy for the internal and external work of the body, and at least a part of the fats eaten being rebuilt into body fat. ”

“ Thus, if the sole source of fat which a man takes in his food is tallow, the fat-depositing cells in the human body would refuse a certain proportion of the stearin, depositing a larger percentage of olein, [208] thus giving a softer or more liquid fat than that which was supplied in the food. The excess of stearin would be consumed in the production of heat and muscular energy.
Why exercise reduces obesity
When the consumption of glucose in the muscles becomes greater than the supply available in the blood, and from the glycogen of the liver, body-fat must be consumed. ”

“ The exact relations of fatty tissue to the states of health are not as yet well understood; but, since on great exertion or prolonged mental or moral strain or in low fevers we lose fat rapidly, it may be taken for granted that each individual should possess a certain surplus of this readily-lost material. It is the one portion of our body which comes and goes in large amount. ”

“ It is necessary to distinguish carefully the size of the body which arises from cellular fat, from that which is the consequence of the proper development and nutrition of the organs. 3d. Oftentimes the causes which evidently weaken the powers of life, produce a considerable quantity of fat; such as inactivity, rest, great and long continued hemorrhage, convalescence from certain acute diseases, in which the powers still languish, though fat abounds. 4th. A fatty state of the muscles is a state of evident weakness in them. ”

“ Undue accumulation of fat is not only a mechanical obstacle to the proper activity of the body as a whole, but it interferes with the freedom of movement of such muscular organs as the heart and stomach, thereby interposing obstacles to the normal action of these structures. Further, whenever undue fat formation is going on in the body, there is the ever present danger that the lifeless fat may replace the living protoplasm of the tissue cells and so give rise to a condition known as “fatty degeneration.” ”

“ Our source of fat is chiefly animal food and in a smaller measure vegetables; but the fat our food contains is not altogether responsible for the fat in our bodies. Carbohydrates, if in excess of momentary needs, are partly converted into fat and stored as such. A reserve supply of nourishment is thus provided, and is drawn upon only when the food that we consume does not contain as much energy as we expend.
WHAT WE DO TO OUR FOOD.—With the exception of water and mineral substances, the food-stuffs must undergo chemical alterations before they are capable of being absorbed into the body ”

“ Dietetic Treatment is most important. It constitutes the only rational method of ridding the body of its surplus fat. To do this it is necessary to regulate the diet both as to quantity and type. Fat-forming foods are those which the body utilizes most easily for the production and storage of fat. Any food, no matter whether it is fat-forming or [Pg 447] not, if taken greatly in excess of the needs of the body, will be stored as adipose tissue. ”

“ Thin persons need more food in proportion to their weights than fat ones. In order to lose weight, the body must be driven to consume its own fat.
To take care of the internal work of the body, breathing, heart-beating, digestion, involuntary pull of the muscles, and for the multiplied activities of the cells, each hour during the twenty-four we must have a certain number of calories as our basal requirement. ”

“ But in my opinion the true explanation is to be found in the fact that variations in the amount of fat in the body are normally far more extensive in women than in men; at puberty, during pregnancy, and during lactation, extensive though gradually effected changes in the amount of adipose tissue in various parts of the body occur, so that experience has rendered the organism ready to adapt itself to the further changes that take place at the climacteric—above all, the heart has become competent to meet very various demands upon its powers. ”

“ Thus it is seen that when the intake is constantly greater than the energy expenditure there must necessarily be some way in which the body can store up the surplus fuel, and so long as the digestion remains good and the amount of exercise limited there is no reason why there should not be a constant and steady accumulation of surplus fat which inevitably terminates in obesity. ”

“ The fats eaten are not stored in the body directly, but the body constructs its fats from those eaten, and from other substances in food,—according to some authorities from the carbohydrates and proteids, and according to others from proteids alone.
Fats are stored away as fat, furnish heat, and are used for energy; at least, it is probable that at times they are put to the latter use. The fats laid by in the body for future use last in cases of starvation quite a long time, depending, of course, upon the amount. At such times a fat animal will live longer than a lean one. ”

“ In accordance with the opinions of able physiologists, fat ought to constitute one-twentieth of the entire weight of the body in man (in the female about one-third more than in the male) . It consists of a multitude of minute cells, frequently forming large masses held together by a very delicate membrane, the areolar tissue, which serves as a reservoir, and prevents the fat (which is fluid during life) from floating. ”

“ Fat is one of the non-nitrogenous substances. It forms the essential part of the adipose tissue. Chemical analysis shows that all fatty substances are compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They are lighter than water, generally fluid at the natural temperature of the body, and burn with a bright flame, forming water and carbonic acid.
Caseine is abundantly found in milk. When dried, it constitutes cheese. Alcohol, acids, and the stomach of any of the mammalia coagulate it; and it is also soluble in water. It is found in the blood, bile, saliva, and the lens of the eye. ”

“ This fact is taken advantage of in treatment for reducing flesh; where one lays on flesh it is evident that more food has been taken than was required for metabolism so that the surplus has been stored in the form of fat. The only way to reduce the weight is to compel the body to burn up that stored fat. ”

“ When any one has been sick he is thin, because, to produce heat and power while he was sick, he has had to use the fat stored up in his body. To have such a supply of fat is like having a bank account to draw on when out of work. We might call the deposits of fat in our bodies our health banks.
Fat meat is not the only form in which we eat fats; we eat them in a great many other ways. Certain vegetables, [16] such as beans, contain an oil that forms fat. Ripe olives contain a great deal of fatty oil. Butter is a very important form of fat, and cream contains a large amount of it. ”

“ Fats and oils are but little changed during digestion. The fat is divided into little globules by the action of the pancreatic juice and other digestive elements, and is absorbed by the system. Fat forms the chief material in adipose tissue, a fatty layer lying beneath the skin, which keeps the warmth in the body, and is re-absorbed into the blood, keeping up heat and activity, and preserving other tissues during abstinence from food. ”

“ THE THIRD circle represents a diet containing less than the maintenance; again, for example, say 1000 calories less. Here the 1000 calories must be taken from the body tissue, and fat is the first to go, for fat is virtually dead tissue.
This 4 ounces of fat daily which will be supplied by your body equals in six months 48 pounds.
There are in America hundreds of thousands of overweight individuals; not all so much overweight as this, but some considerably more so. If these individuals will save 1000 calories of food daily by using their stored fat, think what it would mean at this time. ”

“ The Fat, Overweight Individual
¶ Soft flesh thickly padded over a small-boned body distinguishes the pure Alimentive type. In men of this type the largest part of the body is around the girth; in women it is around the hips. These always indicate a large nutritive system in good working order. Fat is only surplus tissue—the amount manufactured by the assimilative system over and above the needs of the body. ”

“ After the first half or so of life has passed away, instead of periodical sickness, the unemployed material may be relegated in the form of fat to be stored on the external surface of the body, or be packed among the internal organs, and thus he or she may become corpulent and heavy, if a facility for converting appropriate material into fat is consistent with the constitution of the individual; for some constitutions appear to be without the power of storing fat, however rich the diet or inactive their habits may be. ”

“ Fatty Metamorphosis, Fatty Degeneration, and Fatty Infiltration.
The fat which is present within the body under physiological conditions owes its origin primarily to the food taken. A diet which is abundantly fatty furnishes a direct source for much of the fat which appears accumulated in the various organs and tissues. ”

“ Experiments conducted by Professor Chittenden of Yale have proven conclusively that men can live and maintain body weight upon much less protein food than previous dietetic standards had indicated.
The fats are found in fat meats and dairy products, and in nuts, olives, and vegetable oils. The body is prepared to digest and assimilate a certain amount of fat, no one knows how much. I have found in my own case that I require a great deal less than people ordinarily eat. ”

“ A. Food for Energy.—Although both starch and sugar are carbohydrates which furnish energy to the body, this need of the body should be supplied for the most part by starch. The harmful effects of excessive sugar eating were mentioned previously.
A certain amount of fat is needed for energy-giving. A meal containing fat "stays by" a person for a longer time than one devoid of foods rich in fat. This is because fat is more slowly digested than other foodstuffs. Hence a vigorous person leading an active outdoor life may feel much more comfortable when fat is included in his diet. ”

“ A man of normal weight, say 150 pounds, doing ordinary work in a tropical country, would not need to consume more than an ounce of fat each twenty-four hours, while the same man in a northern climate, where the thermometer ranges from zero to 20 below, could use up, with similar labor, from three to four ounces of pure fat daily. Fats, however, do not produce fat in the human body unless taken largely in excess of its needs. Their primary purpose is to keep up the temperature of the body. ”

“ One who is too fat should first choose the foods that have in them most highly concentrated the necessary proteins, vitamins and minerals, and which, at the same time, add the fewest number of calories. This means he will leave off the table the highly refined foods containing pure sugars and starches.
To reduce, one must drive his body to consume its own stored up fat supply to get the fat it needs for fuel. If one is too thin, he should just reverse the process. ”

“ Characteristics of Fats.—The fats are all insoluble in water, and only partially so in cold alcohol, but they dissolve readily in ether. As a rule, the fat occurring in the animal body is more or less characteristic of the species. For example, animals that live on land have a harder fat than those living in the water ”