This past week, my daughter was reading a book about animals and we both learned something fascinating about Camels. If you will allow me, you will see how this new information is not only fascinating, but also teaches you about your own health!
There are two dominant species of camel – Dormedary (aka Arabian) or Bactrian (aka Asian). You can tell the difference between them instantly by looking at once distinct feature – the humps. Dormedary only have 1 hump while Bactrian have 2 humps.
Most people assume those humps fill with water – due to a camel’s propensity for desert life, often going days to weeks without water while being used for transportation of people or cargo. A camel’s hump does not hold water at all – it actually stores fat! The camel uses it as nourishment when food/water is scarce and it can even produce water from the internal metabolism of that fat. If a camel uses the fat inside the hump, the hump will become limp and droop down. With proper food and rest the hump will return to normal as fat stores are replenished.
This “hump fat” is therefore designed to accumulate during period of rest and be burned/converted into energy and water, during times of need when resources are limited.
As humans, we do not sure our fat in one centralized location – or do we??? (Our abdomen, or buttocks/thighs). What I found fascinating is that the camel can call upon its fat stores when needing water, nutrients and energy – so why can’t we? WE CAN – the challenge is we are always in “rest/storing” mode instead of being in times of need.
Consider this, when was the last time you didn’t have incredibly easy access to nearly any and all food and or beverages. Chances are, you could easily stand up right now and within less than 5 min have access to endless sources of foods/beverages that encourage storage of fat. The mere fact that you have 1, or 2 (possibly 3 or more) humps on yourself is simply nature acting itself out as if you were a camel (please understand I mean this with no offense – merely using an analogy to help you learn).
Fat Can Be Converted Into Water, Nutrition, Energy and Life
Your body stores fat because of its immense capacity to provide you with not only protection (it acts as an insulator of our organs and a housing system for toxicity) but it can also be turned into vital nutrients necessary for life – most importantly water. But, not the kind of water you are thinking of – instead fat is converted into “metabolic water” – i.e. water that is created inside your cells through the metabolism of oxidizing nutrients. You can produce 110 grams of water per 100g of fat. You can also produce 60 grams of water per 100g of carbohydrates and 42 grams of water per 100g of protein. The water produced by converting protein into energy always matches the exact amount needed to excrete urea, a colorless crystalline compound that is the byproduct of protein metabolism. This is why diabetics (who convert protein into sugar) often experience frequent urination.
The conversion of fat into water and other nutrients only occurring during times of need – which is the main issue most of us face today – not putting our body into times of need on a regular/frequent basis. Don’t hate me for this section, but if camels can live for weeks off the conversion of their hump fat into energy, it implies you can do that also! This is why fasting is such an important practice if you want to truly conquer your health as fasting affords you controlled times of need so that your body can create the energy, water, nutrition and life you are storing (but not yet using) as fat. Practice the art of fasting, either 1 day weekly, 3 or more consecutive days monthly or intermittent fasting on a daily basis if you want to experience the power of metabolic water, turning fat into energy and breaking through plateaus with your weight loss goals.
When you consume more fat then protein and more protein than carbohydrates, you encourage fatty acid metabolism – aka turning your stored fats into life. If you really want to ignite that process, the studies show you simply need to fast and eat lots of fat. Why not try “Camel Hump Fat” – yes, it’s available in a jar and is an exceptional cooking/dietary fat.
Camel hump fat contains the following fats: Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) (anti-inflammatory molecule that also promotes fat burning and muscle storage), Arachidonic Acid (AA) (increases eicosanoids which are anti-inflammatory and pro-immunity), Capric Acid (CA) (anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-parasitic), Lauric Acid (LA) (similar properties to Capric Acid), Stearic Acid (SA) (anti-coagulant and anti-thrombolytic) and Oleic Acid (OA) (raises HDL, Lowers LDL cholesterol).
It also has vitamins A, E, K, B12 (40% of your daily requirements in just 1 tablespoon). It also has 3x more Oleic acid than coconut oil and with all this it truly is a remarkable fat!