The Skinny On Fats

We’ve been convinced by the medical establishment, government agencies, lobbyists, marketing forces, and media health celebrities to believe that fat is the main culprit for the obesity, heart disease and cancer epidemics in this country.

Billions of dollars have been spent reinforcing this message and Americans now embrace the concept that all fat is bad and should be avoided. Although as a nation we are eating less fat than any time in our history, heart disease has sky rocketed as more than 60% of Americans are overweight (28% classified as obese) which more than doubles the statistics in 1960. The fact is we’ve been sold a bill of goods about fat. Not only is fat not terrible it can have a positive influence on our health and weight if we learn to choose our fats well.

Forty years ago, distress at the epidemic of heart disease in the United States spurred “The Seven Countries Study” by Ancel Keys PhD, a prominent American nutritionist. This was the earliest major exploration into the link between diet and heart disease. Keys and his colleagues studied sixteen different populations in seven countries and demonstrated how elevated fat intake translated into more heart attacks. This was an influential finding, until a few years ago when George V. Mann of Vanderbilt University discovered that Keys had carefully selected those nations to make his case and suppressed data in his preliminary report that showed exercise had a far more significant correlation with coronary heart disease risk than did any other factor. On further review the most significant result of the study was the foundation for the now popular Mediterranean Diet. Keys research actually demonstrated it was the type of fat consumed not the total fat intake that affected the probability of heart disease.

He was convinced that the Mediterranean Diet, which consisted of plenty of fruits, vegetables, breads, grains, beans and nuts with olive oil as the main source of dietary fat was the optimal diet to lower heart disease. The Mediterranean Diet regularly consumed fats from cheese and yogurt, along with fish, poultry and red meat occasionally to get the necessary healthy fats as well.

Modern society still exhibits evidence of the benefits of reasonable use of good quality fats in the diet. The French for example have one of the highest fat content per capita ratios in their diet and yet maintain a very low rate of heart disease. Some researchers as well as the entire wine industry would like us to believe that it is the ingestion of red wine responsible for such small figures. Red wine isn’t the lone reason for the minor heart disease rates. Generally as a population the French tend to make lunch the largest meal of the day, enjoy their meals slowly and usually ingest high quality foods. The overall diet and approach to eating is similar in nature to that of Mediterranean regions.

The body cannot manufacture the glycerol and essential fatty acids provided by fat and therefore must acquire it from external sources. Fat is found in meat, fish, fowl, dairy products and the oils derived from nuts, seeds and some vegetables and fruit. Oils extracted from these foods represent one hundred percent fat and contain no carbohydrates. This means there is no detrimental impact on insulin levels and pancreatic activity when fats are digested. Carbohydrates increase the rate of insulin in the body, which in turn encourages the body to store fat.

Higher cholesterol and triglycerides levels are another consequence. A low carb diet might not be appropriate for all but most of us experience side effects of insulin overproduction in the form of obesity, diabetes, hypoglycemia, low energy, mood swings and heart disease just to name a few. Low carb eating is the only way to restore these health concerns. Whenever health is increased through carbohydrate reduction fat intake will naturally rise.

Increasing fat must be done in conjunction with carbohydrate reduction. It is vital to adopt the method of reducing refined carbs (sugar, pasta, breads, and processed foods) that will allow consumption of increased fat to naturally occur instead of consciously adding massive amounts of fat to the diet. Do not eat a high fat and high carbohydrate diet. This is the most lethal combination of eating with exorbitantly increased triglyceride levels just one of the side effects. Although many studies may be quoted to enforce the idea of allowing up to two-thirds of daily calories coming from animal fat, there are still major health risks associated with the potential over consumption of animal proteins and unhealthy fats.

Not all fats are created equal. Monounsaturated fats and essential fatty acids (EFA’s) are beneficial and it is important to incorporate these fats into the diet.

Polyunsaturated trans fats pose a severe health risk and should be reduced or eliminated from the diet altogether. Fats are composed of 3 chains of carbon atoms attached to a molecule of glycerol, which is the glue that binds the chains together. Each of those chains is called a fatty acid, and the whole thing is called a triglyceride. The 3 carbon chains can be saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated. Saturated means that no more hydrogen atoms can bond to the carbon chains. Monounsaturated means there is one double bond on the chain (a hydrogen is missing), and polyunsaturated means that 2 or more double bonds are present. All fats are mixtures of these types of fats. Only artificial fats (trans fats) are exclusively one type of fat.

Saturated fats from animal sources tend to be more easily stored in the fat cells than other fats. They also tend to stiffen blood vessels. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and stable when heated (remember the bacon drippings our moms used to save). About two-dozen different saturated fats exist in nature. These fats come from meat and animal fats, eggs, milk, and in a few vegetable oils like coconut and palm oils. Saturated fats increase both low-density lipoprotein (LDL) the so-called bad cholesterol as well as high-density lipoprotein (HDL) good cholesterol.

Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and they’re extremely fragile, vulnerable to light, heat and oxygen. These fats can be broken down into sub-categories called monounsaturated (usually considered healthy) and polyunsaturated (which may or may not be healthy). Monounsaturated and healthy polyunsaturated oils lower LDL while raising HDL’s. Substances high in monounsaturated fats are oils including olive (a fruit oil), canola, and peanut oil.

Cashews, almonds and avocados are also excellent sources. Healthy polyunsaturated fats can be divided into the n-6 or n-3 groups with the number referring to a double bond placement on the carbon atom chain. These clusters are more popularly recognized as omega 3’s and omega 6’s. Omega-3 fatty acids lower serum triglycerides dramatically. In fact, this is the therapy of choice for patients with dangerously high levels of triglycerides, especially with conditions like pancreatitis that don't respond to drug treatments. Good sources of healthy polyunsaturated fats in the form of essential fatty acids (EFA’s) are corn, borage, evening primrose, and soybean oils, flaxseeds, whole grains and fatty fish like salmon and tuna.

Trans fats are unhealthy and should be avoided. In fact Dr. Andrew Weil contends they are the single most detrimental refined food and must never be consumed by the human body. These polyunsaturated fats have been turned into what resembles a saturated fat (solid at room temperature and stable) by a process called hydrogenation in which the fat is heated to a high temperature treated with a nickel catalyst and bombarded with hydrogen. Trans fats are in most margarines, vegetable shortening, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, deep-fried chips, all commercial baked goods, and virtually all processed foods. One consequence of our nations obsession with fat as a major health villain has been a profusion of reduced fat, highly processed food that gives us trans fats in a colossal dosage. Trans fats raise LDL and lower HDL cholesterol a particularly injurious combination. According to Louise Gittleman author of “Eat Fat, Lose Weight” about 90% of the American food dollar is spent on processed food virtually all of it contaminated with trans fats.

We have all been self-deprived of delicious food in the hopes of saving our lives by lowering fat consumption, but this belief was built on misinformation and statistically manipulated research. While total fat ingestion is down, trans fat and refined carbohydrate consumption is up creating an alarming increase in obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Learning to choose fats wisely by increasing EFA’s while eliminating trans fats can improve health and maintain normal body weight.

Everything from functioning of the brain, heart and immune system to the potential for developing cancer depends on adequate fat consumption. Now is the time to drop our food anxiety and once again take pleasure in eating our favorite whole foods with a little old fashioned flavor in the form of healthy, naturally occurring fats.

Rose Payne is the founder and Director of High Level Wellness a holistic health and nutrition center in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She is an AADP certified Holistic Nutrition Counselor and National Educator with a private practice that offers assistance countrywide. She is also the Director of the Immersion Graduate Program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC. Her passion is helping clients transform their lives through the power of nutrition. You can contact Rose at info@high-level-wellness-online.com

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