The benefits of fats in our food

Unsaturated Fats.

The body relies on unsaturated fat to create and balance a healthy level of inflammation. Additionally, unsaturated fat surrounds and protects nerve cells, including those of the brain and eyes. Unsaturated fat includes both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. The mono (one) and poly (many) refer to the number of double bonds within the fatty acids. The number of double bonds in a fat influences the way it reacts to heat, light, and oxygen in the environment, a process called oxidation. The oxidation of the fat creates unhealthy free radicals and eventually causes the oil to become rancid. Polyunsaturated fats are less stable than monounsaturated fats when exposed to oxygen, or higher heat, because they have multiple double bonds. Overheating plant-based polyunsaturated fats from soy, canola, sunflower, or corn oil is associated with atherosclerosis and inflammatory joint disease. Unfortunately, many highly processed, packaged foods tend to contain these exact oils, increasing our exposure to oxidized fats. Polyunsaturated fats are also referred to as essential fatty acids because the body doesn’t naturally make them. These include omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The key is to choose quality fats and to avoid an excess of highly processed omega-6-rich oils.

The Balancing Act of Omega-6:Omega-3

Many people are consuming polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 and omega-6, out of balance. In general, most omega-3 fatty acids tend to reduce inflammation in the body while omega-6 fatty acids tend to promote inflammation. A healthy ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the diet ranges from 4:1 to 6:1. Americans are now often eating a 16:1 to 20:1 ratio, leading to health consequences associated with increased inflammation. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in most fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, cod), and nuts and seeds (walnuts, flax, chia). Higher levels of omega-6’s are found in oils from corn, soybean, safflower, and sunflower, which are often cheaper, highly-processed oils. Omega-6 oils are frequently used in creating packaged and fast foods because they are inexpensive for food manufacturers to include. One can see how the Standard American Diet has contributed to this imbalanced ratio. To improve this ratio and to promote an anti-inflammatory diet, we recommend reducing your intake of omega-6 fatty acids from highly processed oils, namely corn and soybean, which are often called vegetable oil. In addition, increase the amount of omega-3 fatty acids-rich foods in the diet as another important way to improve this ratio.

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats surround and protect your brain as well as provide energy for your heart. They support cell membranes, providing necessary stiffness and integrity, and assists in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K. High consumption of poor quality saturated fat (from conventially-raised animal products) along with low intake of fiber and antioxidants from fruits and vegetables is linked to inflammation, high cholesterol, and heart disease. Eating saturated fat in balance with unsaturated fat as part of a whole foods diet is healthy. Saturated fats are provided in the diet by both animals and plants. Because saturated fat is more chemically stable, it is a good choice to cook with at higher temperatures.

Trans Fat:

A Fat to Avoid You’ve heard our message: Eat healthy fat. It’s good for the body. However, there is one type of fat to avoid: trans fat. Scientists have discovered that bombarding unsaturated fats with hydrogen atoms creates trans fats, a far cry from a low-processed, natural fat. Another name for trans fat is partially hydrogenated oils. Trans fat is created to give food a longer shelf life: it goes rancid less quickly. This fat is often used in the fast food industry for frying and for stabilizing packaged food products. Another motivation to use trans fat by industrial food producers is their bottom line. They use cheaper, low quality oils that are at risk for oxidation to create these trans fats. This is turn provides a cheaper food product for the consumer, although at a cost to your health. Trans fat increases inflammation in the body and is linked to heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. All major medical governing bodies, including the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, agree that trans fats should be completely avoided in the diet because of the strong link to heart disease and unhealthy changes in the brain.[5] Chapter Five, Reading Food Labels, will help identify possible sources of trans fat in food.

Demystifying Dietary

Fat Now that we know the different types of dietary fat available to us, let’s dive into the fat conflict. Media and health professionals present conflicting messages about good and bad fats, often solely promoting the health benefits of unsaturated fats and the health consequences of saturated fats. Additionally, cholesterol in food is often villainized. This misguided, overly simplistic advice about Good Fat/Bad Fat can be traced back to the work of researcher Ansel Keys in the 1950s and 1960s. The data he collected influenced United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) food policy recommendations for a low-fat diet for decades to follow. Mr. Keys conducted what is referred to as the Seven Countries study. From data collected, Mr. Keys reported high dietary intake of fat contributed to high cholesterol levels which increased rates of cardiovascular disease. One of the controversies surrounding Mr. Keys’ findings is that prior to this study, he had access to additional dietary and health data from over twenty countries, and the complete data showed that some countries exhibiting high dietary fat intake also displayed lower heart disease levels. Little attention was given to following up with those countries reporting high-fat diets and low heart disease levels. With conflicting information about the role of dietary fat, cholesterol, and heart disease, it is troubling to consider why the USDA presented one overly simplistic point of view to the American public for the last few decades. Heart disease is STILL the number one cause of death for both men and women in this country, and no-fat or low-fat dietary advice for the masses has not led us as a nation to better health outcomes.Interestingly, excess dietary carbohydrates stimulate the body to produce the types of saturated fats known to inhibit proper cardiovascular functioning. Take note: excess refined and simple carbs from soft drinks and potato chips actually create a greater health risk associated with blood levels of saturated fat than healthy sources and portions of naturally fatty meat, butter, and cheese made from healthy animals.

Demystifying Cholesterol

Cholesterol continues to be a subject on the receiving end of much name-calling in the health and food industry. So what exactly is cholesterol and why do we care so much about it? Cholesterol is a type of fat made by the body and also consumed in the diet. Cholesterol forms the building blocks of sex hormones— including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA—and vitamin D. It supports the structure of all the cells in the body, including brain cells. Cholesterol helps to repair damaged tissue in the body due to its role in creating healthy cell membranes. The liver makes 75% of your total cholesterol levels, leaving only 25% to be influenced by dietary intake. The liver takes care of regulating the body’s need for cholesterol in response to internal metabolic influences. Some of the metabolic triggers that can lead to an elevated cholesterol level may include low thyroid function, diabetes, stress and other diseases associated with the stress hormone cortisol, as well as genetic tendencies. As for dietary intake, the body is built to regulate liver cholesterol production in relation to increased or decreased dietary intake of cholesterol. We have all heard of bad cholesterol, aka low-density lipoprotein or LDL, especially in relation to its colleague, high-density lipoprotein or HDL, known as the good cholesterol. Most people are concerned about elevated cholesterol and heart health. A lot of current dietary advice is aimed at “lowering total cholesterol” levels because of the association of elevated cholesterol with heart disease and heart attacks. This is another area that needs demystification. An elevated total cholesterol level, as measured through a lab test, does not predict your chance of having a heart attack. Indeed, a 2009 national study analyzing over 135,000 Americans showed that nearly 75% of patients hospitalized for a heart attack had cholesterol levels that would indicate they were not at high risk for a cardiovascular event by current conventional standards.[8] The physiology of cholesterol in the body is more complex than the simple name-calling of Good HDL and Bad LDL that you may hear in most doctors' offices. There are different types and sizes of both HDL and LDL that have shown different impacts on the development of heart disease. Rarely do doctors do the deeper study of analyzing the various subtypes of HDL and LDL. Assessing one’s cholesterol level continues to be part of the standard of care for determining heart disease risk. However, the development of heart disease is a multifaceted process and includes significant and equally important factors besides total cholesterol and dietary intake of fat. This includes hypertension, tobacco use (smoking or chewing), physical inactivity, obesity, diabetes, poverty, chronic stress, depression, and excessive alcohol intake. Risk factors that you do not have control over include a family history of heart disease, male gender, advancing age, and African ethnicity. If you do have many risk factors for heart disease or if you have established heart disease, then the following choices can be a healthy response: reducing your consumption of poor quality saturated fat and refined carbohydrates, improving the quality of your dietary fat, and working to lower elevated total and LDL cholesterol level and triglycerides. These choices must be paired with many other lifestyle modifications to address other risk factors listed above. On the flip side, having too low a cholesterol level can lead to its own health concerns, such as an inability to produce sufficient sex hormones as well as to mental health diseases, such as depression.[9] In our work teaching community nutrition and cooking classes, we hear from many participants who are avoiding whole eggs or egg yolk to avoid the cholesterol, due to concern about the relationship between high cholesterol and heart disease. Eating cholesterol in the diet (yes, even from eggs) above the recommended USDA guidelines of 300 mg has been shown to raise both the protective large HDL and the large LDL. So, unless you have an egg allergy an egg intolerance, or you have been identified as someone whose cholesterol specifically reacts to eggs, which is a small minority of people, eat those eggs, preferably made from healthy, pasture-raised chickens. To bring this complex topic to a close, The International Journal of Clinical Practice has cleared up this Good Cholesterol/Bad Cholesterol debate with this statement: “ The earlier purported adverse relationship between dietary cholesterol and heart disease risk was likely largely over-exaggerated.” When conflicting research presents itself, it is always a good idea to return to what we know for a fact about the way the human body works. Human physiology dictates that we must have adequate cholesterol in the body for good health. If you have been told you have elevated cholesterol, we recommend you do the following: work with a naturopathic doctor who is trained to understand the physiology of cholesterol in the body and who can appropriately guide you based on the total amounts, the particle types, and the balance of your cholesterol levels in relation to your overall health.

Bringing Fat Back To The Kitchen

Recall that we mentioned the nutrient-rich, low-processed fats, including butter, tallow, lard, coconut and olive oil, that have nourished populations around the world. Knowing how to properly cook with fats is just as important as choosing low-processed fats; recall the negative health implications of overheating polyunsaturated fat, including increased risk of inflammatory diseases. Certain fats withstand higher heat, like most saturated fats and certain unsaturated fats with higher smoke points. The reality is that some degree of oxidation will occur with cooking oils. Eating antioxidant-rich foods is very important to counteract the negative health effects of any oxidized fats in the diet. Antioxidant-rich foods include brightly colored fruit and vegetables, beverages such as tea and coffee, and dark chocolate. You will find that in many of the recipes included in this book (see Recipes), we recommend using low-processed, natural fats. This includes coconut oil, avocado oil, butter, or animal fats for higher heat needs, such as baking and sautéing, and extra virgin olive oil for recipes that require lower temperature cooking, as well as for salad or meal dressings. Unrefined expeller pressed sesame oil can be used for its distinctive flavor in stir-fries, sauces, and dressings. It generally has a medium-to-high smoke point. Avocados and walnuts are naturally high in healthy fats, thus requiring less processing to extract the oils, but they can be more expensive at the grocery store. Grapeseed oil, which can be a sustainable by-product of wine production, is often marketed for its neutral flavor and may be an economical choice at the store. However, the seeds have very high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids (about 70%) and often undergo extensive processing, increasing the risk of oxidation. With any oil you choose, be sure to review the oil's smoke point and avoid overheating the oil. Refer to Table 15.4 and Table 15.5 in Chapter Fifteen, Kitchen Skills. The topic of whether canola oil is a healthy choice is a common question in our workshops. Canola oil is often marketed as having high omega-3 content. It is important to look beyond marketing and consider the source and production of this particular oil. Canola oil comes from the rapeseed plant, which is an inedible plant in its natural form because it contains a toxic compound, erucic acid. Originally, rapeseed oil was used for lamp fuel and as an industrial lubricant. In the early 1970s, the plant was bred to contain a lower amount of its toxic compound, leading to the name: Canola or Canadian Oil Low Acid. To extract the oil from the tiny rapeseeds, a high amount of processing must occur. This includes chemical extraction (using hexane, a petroleum-based product), high heat, and bleaching, exposing the sensitive omega-3 oils to stressors that contribute to the oxidation of the fatty acids.The very thing that canola oil is marketed for, the high omega-3 content, is compromised. In addition, the rapeseed plant is recognized as one of the most common genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Learn more about why we encourage limiting or avoiding GMOs in food products in Chapter Five, Reading Food Labels. Increasing omega-3 fatty acids in the diet is a healthy goal. However, we do not support the use of canola oil. There are more natural and less processed fats that will increase omega-3 fatty acids in the diet, including ground flaxseed, chia seed, walnuts, egg yolks from pasture-raised chickens, grass-fed beef, and many types of fish.

Does Eating Fat Make You Fat?

The answer is No. Eating healthy, low-processed fat is good for you and your waistline. When avoiding all fat in the diet, people tend to eat more simple carbohydrates to feel full, which can definitely contribute to weight gain. In 1977, public health recommendations for the U.S. population were made to reduce fat intake to less than 30%. Food producers responded to this recommendation by replacing fat with carbohydrates. We have since learned that contrary to those recommendations, replacing dietary fat, specifically saturated fat, with carbohydrates likely increases the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, increased carbs cause an increase in blood glucose, which stimulates the hormone insulin and promotes fat cell growth around the midsection. Avoiding fat in the diet does not lead to a smaller waistline, and quite frankly, your food doesn’t taste as good. Read a label on a fat-free or low-fat product and see what has been added to compensate for the loss of flavor from the fat; often it is sugar and/or salt. Remember, fat provides slow fuel for your day and helps you feel satiated.