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The word FAT has many meanings and in our common lexicon most of them have derogatory connotations. It can describe weight gain, what you trim from meat, what you spread on bread or be a percentage quoted on a yoghurt pot with 0% supposedly signifying healthy. However, not-with-standing its mostly negative associations, its current position as dietary bad guy may be about to change.
Historically, Nutritional Therapists have questioned the established dogma of low-fat being best for health, but we have been a lone voice. Persuading our clients that saturated fat in particular is perfectly good for us has proved an uphill battle and often been met with incredulity, so having the same messages reiterated by a mainstream cardiologist was nothing short of heart-warming. [1][2]
Nutritional Therapists see dietary fat as a force for good. Fat is a healthy and vital macronutrient alongside protein that crucially aids blood sugar balance and is necessary as a building block for all our cell membranes, hormones, neurotransmitters and that enables brain synapses to communicate. Mainstream dietary advice however has sought to limit its consumption, especially saturated fats, which have been quite wrongly blamed for rising rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease. These two opposing views can be better explained by peering into the past.
If you look at the diets of our ancestors, we evolved as a species eating both animal and plant derived fats. Our forebears could not remove the fat from their natural whole foods, so fat – primarily animal fat, with a few nuts and seeds – was a large component of early man’s diet. They did not suffer the obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular problems so prevalent today, though of course their more active lifestyles were also a protective factor. Our large brains, which are 65% fat, evolved with us eating fat. Our physiology depends on essential fatty acids and suffers when we either eat too little, or the quality of the fats is adulterated by modern processing.
It was Ancel Keys, the American scientist, who posed the hypothesis that levels of fat consumption correlated with cardiovascular mortality. However, science has been slow to reevaluate his work and admit that his cherry-picking the data from just 6 countries, (that conveniently supported his hypothesis), was not what we would call rigorous science today. If the data from all 22 countries studied had been factored in, no such correlation was seen to exist. The biochemist Professor George Mann called it ‘the greatest scientific deception of our times’. The pursuit of low-fat diets rapidly evolved into public health advice, with food manufacturers and the dieting industry quick to exploit the concept. Meanwhile, rates of cardiovascular disease have simply continued to rise.
All dietary fats are seen as ‘energy dense’, providing nine calories per gram. This makes them a satiating fuel that keeps blood sugar levels stable. This is important because the peaks and troughs of unstable blood sugar lead to cravings, snacking, poor food choices and weight gain. A calorie is not just a calorie – different foods enter different metabolic pathways and the 3 macronutirents (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) have been shown to produce varying degrees of satiety.[3] For example, a recent study has shown that an increase in protein consumption from 15% to 30% of total food intake, whilst keeping carbs constant, can produce a sustained reduction of overall calorie intake.
The same appetite-reducing effect is achieved with fat. A baked potato on its own will digest quickly, and produce a surge of insulin (the hormone that manages appropriate glucose storage in the muscles, liver and tissues). Adding a dietary fat like butter or cheese to that potato will slow its rate of digestion, producing a much lower, stable, sustained release of blood glucose. This keeps you feeling fuller for longer, with less inclination to snack and crucially, prevents a spike of excess glucose being converted into body fat. Proteins and fats are fundamentally the friends of those watching their weight.
Fat comes in many guises, contained within eggs, dairy, meat, fish, certain vegetables and seeds. When produced organically, natural animal fats – incorrectly blamed for all sorts of ills – are good for us and should not be avoided (I hear the collective gasp!) Animal fats naturally comprise a variety of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, very similar to the composition of breast milk.
Fats however are not all equal, and most people today recognise trans-fats as ones to avoid. Unfortunately, having labelled saturated fats as unhealthy, the food industry needed to produce an alternative, and so they turned to vegetable and seed oils which are mostly unsaturated in their composition. But the extraction process involves high heat, chemicals and pressure, and all this can damage the delicate unsaturated fatty acids.
To turn vegetable oils into butter alternatives with a long shelf life, a process called hydrogenation is used. This produces artificial ‘trans-fats’, which science has now unequivocally proved are bad for us. Whilst naturally occurring trans-fats in meat or dairy are not harmful for us, those that have been produced artificially have been shown to increase heart disease, inhibit fertility and have been implicated in cognitive decline and many chronic metabolic diseases like diabetes and atherosclerosis, as well as neurological disorders. [4] Whilst most UK supermarkets agreed to a voluntary ban on trans-fats in 2012, many food manufacturers still continue to use them.
On the other hand, essential omega-3 fatty acids are probably the most important fats in our diet, not least because they are typically deficient in western diets. Case-controlled studies have consistently observed that levels of EPA and/or DHA omega-3 fatty acids are low in patients with major depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, autism and aggression. EPA fatty acids are thought to have the most influence on mood and behaviour, and consuming these essential fatty acids has been shown to improve cognitive function. [5] Eating oily fish is the best and most efficient way of taking in these healthy fats.
Try dressing salads with a dash of olive oil, with some lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. Avoid shop-bought mayonnaises, as they may contain trans-fats. Aim to eat oily fish at least twice a week. Use Coconut butter for stir fries and high-heat cooking, as this fat is very healthy and will not spoil at high temperatures. When stir-frying, try adding a splash of water whilst cooking. This helps to steam the ingredients, thus lowering the temperature and reducing the damage done to the fatty acids in the oil. Limit your intake of crisps and savoury snacks fried in vegetable oils – these oils are less healthy after high-heat cooking. Eat raw, unsalted nuts instead, which are rich in healthy fats. Pastries, cakes and biscuits should be viewed as an occasional treat only. While out shopping, check the ingredients on products carefully for trans-fats and avoid hydrogenated margarine spreads altogether – get back into natural butter! And don’t forget, ‘low fat’ products might be advertised as ‘healthy’, but they are often loaded with sugar – so avoid them!
A British scientist, the late Professor Yudkin, argued for years that it was in fact the rising consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates, rather than fats, that was increasing rates of heart disease in the west. Though the concept was ridiculed at the time, more and more rigorous studies are now vindicating his work.
So ignore those who tell you that eating fat makes you fat and raises cardiovascular risk. The idea is simplistic and just wrong!
Thanks, for some balanced view on consuming fats.
Looks delicious!