GOOD FATS

CATEGORY: FOODS YOU CAN EAT / DRINK FREELY

fats

Good fats are good. It’s astonishing, how many people have been led to doubt this seemingly obvious statement. One of the most common nutrition related myths is that eating fats causes weight gain and serious health problems. A lot of people hold, what Marc David from the Institute for the Psychology of Eating calls a ‘TOXIC NUTRITIONAL BELIEF’ THAT ‘FAT IN FOOD EQUALS FAT ON MY BODY’. The problem with this modern old wives’ tale is that the truth is somehow opposite.

We know that LACK OF DIETARY FAT MAY ACTUALLY BE A REASON WHY PEOPLE DESPERATELY DIETING MAY STRUGGLE TO LOOSE WEIGHT. One of the signs of essential fatty acids (EFAs) deficiency is weight gain or inability to lose weight.

Adding healthy fats to your diet would benefit you with:

  • *  slower blood glucose level increase after meals, which results in less insulin demand and less metabolic problems
  • *  better vitamin absorption
  • *  regular bowel movement
  • *  improved appetite control (longer feeling of satiety)

fats 2

FACTS ABOUT FATS

FATS ARE esters – complex MOLECULES COMPOSED OF THREE FATTY ACIDS AND THE GLYCEROL, HENCE ALSO KNOWN AS TRIGLYCERIDES.

There are three main macronutrients: fat, carbohydrate and protein. Fats are necessary part of the diet of humans – they serve both structural and metabolic functions.

Fats serve as ENERGY SOURCE for the body:

  • –  they can be used as an immediate energy source
  • –  or stored if consumed in excess of what the body needs immediately
  • –  each gram of fat when burned or metabolized releases about 37 kJ = 8.8 kcal

When digested in the healthy body, fats (triglycerides) are broken down by enzymes called lipases (produced in the pancreas) to release their constituents: fatty acids and glycerol. Glycerol itself can be converted to glucose by the liver and becomes an extra source of energy.

 

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF CLASSIFICATION OF FATTY ACIDS:

BASED ON SATURATION fatty acids can be divided into:

  • SATURATED FATS
  • UNSATURATED FATS (also called OMEGA FATS, divided further to omega 3,6 & 9 fats):
    • *   monounsaturated
    • *   polyunsaturated

BASED ON MOLECULAR SIZE

  • SCFAs – short chain fatty acids
  • MCFAs – medium chain fatty acids
  • LCFAs – long chain fatty acids

CLASSIFICATION OF TRIGLYCERIDES

As mentioned above, when three fatty acid molecules are joined together by a glycerol molecule, they create a TRIGLYCERIDE. As a result we have:

  • SCTs – short chain triglycerides
  • MCTs – medium chain triglycerides
  • LCTs – long chain triglycerides

 

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS

THERE ARE TWO ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS (EFAs):

  1. Alpha-linolenic acid (an omego-3 fatty acid)
  2. Linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid)

They are called essential because… they are essential, meaning that their deficiency leads to serious health problems and THEY CANNOT BE SYNTHESIZED IN THE HUMAN BODY but need to be consumed with food. Other fats can be produced by our body.

They are that important because they play essential role in:

  • – regulating inflammation processes
  • – controlling many cellular functions
  • – affecting cellular signalling (transmission of the signals through the cell walls) especially in neurons and cardiac cells (heart cells)
  • – affecting mood & behaviour
  • – hormone production incl. thyroid and adrenal activity
  • – skin and hair health

EFAS CAN BE FOUND IN:

  • – fish and shellfish
  • – nuts and seeds especially walnuts, flaxseed (linseed), hemp seed, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds
  • – leafy vegetables
  • – Olive Oil (contains both linoleic and linolenic acids in perfect 10:1 proportion) & Coconut Oil (contains Linoleic Acid)
  • – almost all vegetable oils (but be careful – they contain mostly harmful polyunsaturated and Omega-6 fatty acids)

EFAs DEFICIENCY (insufficient supply of the foods rich in EFAs) may lead to numerous health problems, for example:

  • – high cholesterol level, atherosclerosis, heart problems and stroke
  • – osteoporosis
  • – dermatitis (dry, scaly, cracking skin)
  • – ulcerative colitis, menstrual pain
  • – joint pains
  • – depression and other mental health problems
  • – problems with attention and concentration in children and adults
  • – immunological system problems (starting from susceptibility to common infections)

 

HYDROGENATED FATS

Unsaturated fats can be altered by reaction with hydrogen helped by a catalyst. This is called hydrogenation – it breaks all the double bonds and converts unsaturated fat into fully saturated one.

HYDROGENATED FATS HAVE MORE DESIRABLE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES e.g., they melt at a desirable temperature (30–40 °C), and store well, whereas unhydrogenated i.e. natural polyunsaturated oils go rancid. Hydrogenation has been widely use in food industry since the 1950s to make vegetable shortening from vegetable fats (met in margarine, snack food, packaged baked goods and frying fast food). HOWEVER, THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH HYDROGENATION:

  • * IN THIS PROCESS TOXIC FREE RADICALS ARE CREATED, THAT CAN BE THE CAUSE OF MANY SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS
  • * DURING HYDROGENATION TRANS FATS ARE GENERATED AS CONTAMINANTS – trans fats are rarely observed in nature, as opposed to cis forms of fats, most common in natural fats.

WHY TRANS FATS ARE BAD?

  • * consumption of trans fats has shown to increase the risk of coronary heart disease, the worldwide leading cause of death.
  • * they are raising levels of the LDL cholesterol (so-called “bad cholesterol”) and lowering levels of the HDL cholesterol (“good cholesterol”),
  • * they are increasing triglycerides in the bloodstream
  • * they are promoting systemic inflammation

In light of recognized evidence and scientific agreement, nutritional authorities consider all trans fats as equally harmful for health.

On 16 June 2015, the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration agency) finalized its determination that trans fats are not generally recognized as safe, and set a three-year time limit for their removal from all processed foods.

(read more about the sources of trans fats here)

WHAT ABOUT CHOLESTEROL?

Before we move any further, let’s look into cholesterol, because it always is a source of controversy when it comes to fats.

CHOLESTEROL is a complex organic molecule. It belongs to a diversified group of molecules called LIPIDS, substances that do not dissolve in water. These include: fats, oils, waxes, triglycerides and sterols (including cholesterol). The term lipids is commonly used as a synonym of fats, hence calling cholesterol a fat is not wrong, although scientifically not entirely correct. In contrast to ‘proper’ fats = fatty acids that have very simple structure, cholesterol is chemically complicated.

Cholesterol is an essential structural component of all animals’ cell membranes, necessary to maintain cell membrane structural integrity and fluidity. As opposed to animals, plants and bacteria have a solid cell wall to protect its integrity. Animals, including humans, do not need a cell wall thanks to cholesterol that enables the cells to change shape and move about, containing its content together at the same time. Within the cell membrane, cholesterol helps with intracellular transport, cell signalling and nerve conduction. Additionally, cholesterol is used by the human body to produce crucial substances like steroid hormones, vitamin D and bile acids.

The most burning question when it comes to cholesterol is: DOES DIETARY CHOLESTEROL INTAKE INCREASES SERUM CHOLESTEROL LEVELS AND LEADS TO THE CORONARY HEART DISEASE (CHD)?

As with most of big questions, it is not that easy to answer it. Let’s first look into what we already know.

  1. Blood (plasma) cholesterol comes not only from what we eat. Cholesterol is also produced by all kinds of cells in animals, however in vertebrates (including humans) liver cells typically produce greater amounts than other cells. Because human body produces cholesterol itself, providing cholesterol regularly in the diet is not essential for adults and children aged 2 and above (human breast milk contains significant quantities of cholesterol crucial for infants’ development).
  2. For the same reason cholesterol blood level is not simply dependent on how much of it we consume. Additionally, not all cholesterol we eat is absorbed. It is estimated that only about 50% on average (ranging from 15% to 75%) of dietary cholesterol gets to the bloodstream, with the remainder removed in the faeces.
  3. Total Cholesterol level does not accurately indicate the CHD risk. A much more accurate indicator of risk is the CHOLESTEROL RATIO. How does it work?
  • * Cholesterol, being a lipid, does not dissolve in the blood. To be transported through the bloodstream it needs to be merged with proteins. As a result LIPOPROTEINS
  • * There are two types of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol all over human’s body:
  • – LDL = LOW DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN
  • – HDL = HIGH DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN
  • * LDL IS CONSIDERED BAD CHOLESTEROL because, due to its small size it easily gets to the artery wall and contributes to the creation of plaque – a thick, hard deposit that can clog arteries, make it less flexible and leads to the condition called atherosclerosis, contributing to heart attack and stroke.
  • * HDL IS CONSIDERED GOOD CHOLESTEROL because it is not only quickly removed from the body but it also is believed to remove LDL from the arteries. Scientists believe that HDL acts as a scavenger, carrying LDL away from the arteries and back to the liver, where it is broken down and removed from the body.
  • * TOTAL CHOLESTEROL, BEING A SUM OF LDL AND HDL DOES NOT REALLY TELL US MUCH ABOUT THE REAL RISK OF THE HEART DISEASE.

 bloodcholesterolratioTo calculate Cholesterol Ratio, divide Total Cholesterol by HDL cholesterol – the result is much more reliable indicator of the heart disease risk:

  • *  The lower the Cholesterol Ratio, the better = more HDL compared to LDL
  • *  The higher the Cholesterol Ratio, the higher risk of CHD = more LDL compared to HDL
  • *  A score of 4 or more indicates heart or circulation problems (according to NHS Choices UK)

 

  1. For decades official recommendations clearly told us to limit cholesterol intake, as it was believed that dietary cholesterol intake is directly linked to the CHD risk. These guidelines were widely criticised because they had no scientific evidence behind them.
  2. IN FEBRUARY 2015, THE USDA DIETARY GUIDELINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED REPEALING THE OLD GUIDELINE SUGGESTING LIMITING CHOLESTEROL INTAKE. This epoch-making shift resulted from the fact that the committee found no correlation between dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol levels.

What are the conclusions? CAN CHOLESTEROL BE CONSUMED SAFELY WITH NO LIMITS? Definitely not! Moderation is a golden rule for any healthy diet, and it is one of the pillars of the Happy Life Diet.

Good Fats Bad Fats

After the introductory notes above, let’s make it simple – which fats are good?

GOOD FATS

Generally, good fats are old, natural, not industrially processed (or at least not much) ones. It is important that fats from this list are of good quality and fresh (not rancid).

THE BEST FATS AVAILABLE ARE:

  • COCONUT OIL  (EXTRA VIRGIN)

    Read more about coconut products here

  • OLIVE OIL (EXTRA VIRGIN)

  • Olive oil is a staple of Mediterranean Diet. It is primarily monounsaturated fat (MUFA), with a little bit of saturated (SFA) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) – that’s a very healthy fat profile plus it contains both linoleic and linolenic EFAs in perfect 10:1 proportion.

OTHER GOOD FATS:

  • GHEE BUTTER & BUTTER

  • AVOCADO OIL

  • WALNUT OIL

  • SESAME OIL

  • MACADAMIA OIL

  • DUCK FAT, BEEF FAT (TALLOW, SUET), BACON FAT, LARD

This is definitely not exhaustive list.

When it comes to ‘BAD FATS, you should really eliminate any vegetable oil high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and Omega-6 (bad ones!), they’re the ones that will end up killing you! Examples of those include corn oil, peanut oil, soybean oil and grape seed oil.

 

[1] Brouwer IA, Wanders AJ, Katan MB (2010). ‘Effect of animal and industrial trans fatty acids on HDL and LDL cholesterol levels in humans – a quantitative review’. PLoS ONE 5 (3): e9434. Published online 2010 Mar 2. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009434

 

 

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