Oils for Heart-Healthy Cooking

As a bariatric surgeon, Dr. Michael Feiz is well aware of the obesity crisis facing the nation, and he has tips for those considering ways to lose weight. One of the main points of advice from Dr. Feiz for those interested in weight loss is to eat healthier meals, and to prepare them at home. That leads to the question of which cooking oils to use, as there are dozens, and they are not all as good for you! 

Remember that all oils are a significant source of fat, which is their primary nutrient. Fats are an important component of a healthy diet, but it’s important to know that they have a high concentration of calories compared to proteins and carbohydrates. Be aware of the two types of fat when comparing oils: saturated and unsaturated. This can help you determine which oil is the best or healthiest to use.

Percent of Saturated Fat: use this handy graph to help you choose products with the least amount of saturated fat. Look for the <3

The healthy fats are unsaturated, which may help lower cholesterol levels in the blood when used in the place of saturated fats. Unsaturated fats are divided into polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, and come from vegetable oils, fish oils, and oils derived from nuts, seeds, and avocados. Saturated fat is considered unhealthy and The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat consumption to less than seven percent of total daily calorie intake. Saturated fat can raise bad cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease. Saturated fats occur naturally in many foods, including animal sources such as chicken skin, lard, and beef tallow and plant-based foods such as tropical oils.

If you are interested in learning more about cooking oils, look at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's article on "Cooking with Healthier Fats and Oils." 

To learn more about the health benefits of weight loss and bariatric surgery, please visit Dr. Feiz' website at www.drfeiz.com.

Losing Weight Is All In Your Head...So Now What?

People are getting more sophisticated about it, but it used to be that people with weight issues were
told that losing weight was a matter of "will power." The only problem is that there are some drives that go beyond ordinary self-control.

Alcoholics Anonymous made a major step forward nearly eight decades back when it came up with the idea that compulsive drinkers were powerless over alcohol; it really does appear to be true that the way someone with an alcohol addiction metabolizes, and therefore thinks about, alcohol is very different from the way an ordinary, non-problematic drinker does. For some individuals, it's nearly impossible to simply stop at one, two, or even three drinks. Something rather similar appears to be going on with obese people and food.

However, while the alcoholic can simply stop consuming booze completely, severely obese people are expected to continue eating, but to eat a lot less. Moreover, we're learning more and more than obese people are getting brain signals that it seems safe to say that anyone would have a hard time resisting because they really feel like genuine hunger. So far, weight loss surgery is the only reliable way we've found so far to cut through this Gordian knot of a problem.

Now, however, we're reading articles in various places about psychological approaches to weight loss. We know that procedures like lap bands and gastric sleeve surgery are not for everyone; we have only good thoughts for sincere practitioners who are attempting to take other routes to help people loose unwanted pounds. However, from what we're reading at various web sites, a lot of them seem blissfully unaware of the new research on such hormones and brain chemicals as ghrelin and lepton that really do seem to be present in differing concentrations in overweight and obese people. These kind of differences might be an enormous part of why changing the way people think about food is vastly easier said than done.

The good news is that we're learning more and more about how hormones and other factors impact the brain, and all kinds of new therapies may be in the offing over the long run. In the short term, however, we do know that various types of weight loss surgery, can have profound influences on how our brain makes us eat.

If you're interested in learning how bariatric procedures might be able to permanently alter the way you think about and react to food, please call us at (800) 868-5946 or reach us through our contact page.

Celebrity Trainer on 'The Biggest Loser' Asserts the Importance of Diet for Losing Weight

It comes as no surprise to most people today that obesity is a grave issue that affects us both individually and at a societal level. That's why, at Dr. Feiz & Associates, we're proud of our exceptional work offering truly life-changing weight loss surgery. Because of our highly regarded position in the field of weight loss, we're always interested in sharing news on the subject, which is why we were particularly intrigued by recent comments from celebrity trainer Bob Harper of the weight-loss TV show 'The Biggest Loser'.


In the Daily News, the L.A.-based trainer states that, if he's learned anything from his experience helping people to lose weight, it's that diet is more essential to weight loss than exercise. "It's all about your diet," says Harper. "I used to think a long time ago that you can beat everything you eat out of you and it's just absolutely not the case."

Harper continues, "People say, 'Shouldn't I be fit? Shouldn't I be healthy?', and I say 'Yes, absolutely. But what I always hear from my contestants on the show is, 'I just want to get skinny,'"

At Dr. Feiz & Associates, our priority is to help those who are suffering from obesity or excess weight with many types of weight loss surgery, though we also promote regular fitness and a healthy diet as invaluable tools in losing weight, and keeping it off.

For information regarding gastric sleeve and our various other weigh loss surgery solutions, contact Dr. Feiz & Associates today for a free consultation. We guarantee you'll be put in touch with first-rate team that is dedicated to providing you with truly world-class care.