The basic building blocks of a good diet are protein, carbohydrates and fats. While many diet fads favor protein and disdain carbohydrates like the Atkin's and the South Beach diet, fat has been lost and neglected amidst confusion and misinformation. Yet fats are essential for so many critical functions in health and wellness.
Let's examine the functions that fats serve in our body. It stores energy and maintains insulation--yes it does keep the body warm but also protects nerve fibers, organs and the rest of the body from injury and damage. But more importantly fat is used to make hormones, help transmit nerve signals, lubricate arteries and slow down the aging process.
Of course there are good and bad fats. For health you want to take in good fats and avoid bad fats. But how do you distinguish the good from the bad? I will discuss this in more detail later on but for now a simple way to tell is this: If a fat doesn't move at room temperature then it will stay that way inside your body and clog up your arteries. Lard and butter will do just that. So what you really want are oils because at room temperature they remain liquid and fluid and generally have beneficial properties for your health.
Fats: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
There are three types of fat: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated.
Monounsaturated fats -- including olive oil, sesame oil, canola oil, almond oil, flax oil and fish oil -- are good fats. These contain essential fatty acids such as omega-3 and gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) that are critical in brain development and function, skin health, vascular health, proper immune function, fertility and normal physical development.
Polyunsaturated fats -- such as margarine, corn oil, hydrogenated safflower oil and sunflower oil, also contain essential fatty acids. Unfortunately, these fats are highly refined and contain large amounts of trans fat. Trans fat, created by hydrogenating vegetable oil to make it spreadable, is implicated in both cancer and heart disease.
Saturated fats - the bad kind of fat. Included in this category is butter, peanut oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil and lard. These saturated fats elevate cholesterol and triglyceride levels, leading to an increased chance of heart attack and stroke. These oils are best avoided.
Oil from the Sea
The reason that salmon was being promoted as a health food in the first place is that it is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are also called essential fatty acids (EFAs) or good fats. More specifically, EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are the long chain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish. Studies have found that these compounds appear to protect against the modern world's most deadly diseases -- heart disease, stroke and cancer. Omega-3 fats assist in reducing inflammation and can be beneficial for inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Omega-3 fats may also play a role in reducing depression and other mental health disorders. For a list of fish high in Omega-3s and low in toxins and contaminants, click here to go to the Tao of Wellness.
The Lowdown on Oil Oils that originate from vegetable, nut and seed sources provide the essential fatty acids that are critical for our nerve and brain functions. The typical vegetable oils that can be found at supermarkets have undergone chemical and heat processing that destroy the quality of the oil -- bleaching, cooking, defoaming, distillation, extraction, refining and the addition of preservatives. Additionally, many of these oils are exposed to light and air and are even potentially filled with pesticides.
All of this causes the formation of free radicals, which undermine the health benefits of consuming essential fatty acids. To ensure that you are receiving all of the possible benefits from your oil, buy organic, cold-pressed, minimally processed oils at your local health food store. Be sure that you consume oil within three months. To prevent it from becoming rancid, store your oil in the refrigerator in dark glass containers.
Two Stand-Out Oils The essential ingredient of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil, has been found to have beneficial effects on blood lipids and it may even lower blood pressure. According to the World Health Organization, nearly 60 percent of strokes and 50 percent of heart disease are associated with high blood pressure.
Hypertension is estimated to be the cause of 7.1 million deaths per year worldwide. A recent study has concluded that olive oil intake is "inversely associated with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure." The bottom line: consuming more olive oil is linked to lowered blood pressure.
Sesame oil -- the oil favored by Chinese centenarians -- is enjoyed for its delicious nutty flavor and also possesses some considerable therapeutic properties. Chinese medicine lists sesame as a blood builder, a kidney and liver tonic, and a bowel protector and regulator. It is rich in phytic acid, the antioxidant that may prevent cancer. Lignan sesamin, one variety of sesame oil, appeared to radically reduce cholesterol levels in the bloodstream and liver of rats.
To benefit your health and enhance your meals, add some olive or sesame oil to your food and salads; sprinkle sesame seeds and oil into your dishes regularly. Some other excellent choices for oils include: walnut oil, flaxseed oil and almond oil.
I hope after reading this article your perception of fats will change and instead of being fearful and confused of fats in your diet that you will begin to be selective about beneficial fats for your health and wellness.
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So if a solid fat at room temperature stays solid in our arteries and bodies, then wouldn't a "healthy" fat that goes rancid if not refrigerated go rancid in our WARMER THAN ROOM TEMP body? In fact, shouldn't that mean that these healthy fats that are refrigerated become very rancid and unstable just upon heating them while we cook with them?
The idea that a piece of butter reforms as butter inside our arteries is so asinine. And the real truth is that most MDs only go through about 72 hours of nutritional education, which makes them maybe slightly more experienced with diet and nutrition than say, the guy who works at the desk at your gym. The only health professionals who have actual clinical nutritional experience as part of their degree are R.D.s... although even some of them might regurgitate the same contradiction in this article.
There's an amazing book written by GARY TAUBES, called "GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES" and it's not a diet book, it's just a book about the faulty and manipulated diet science. check it out!
http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/coconut-research.htm
http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/palm-oil-research.htm
Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com
if you REALLY want to eat healthily, you need not look further than your grandma's cooking.
cook, people! learn it and love it.
Indians cook almost exclusively with ghee (clarified butter) and they don't suffer all of the illnesses caused by the western diet.
Coconut is now being reconsidered and on balance is seen to be fairly beneficial.
Good article in general, but maybe Dr. Ni needs to reconsider his blanket condemnation of all saturated fats.
Too many of us deem all fats to be avoided like the plaque. No, some are essential. Just need to choose wisely.
This gets into it in more detail for the wonks among you: http://www.garmaonhealth.com/2009/08/eating-fat-is-good/
One other thought... non-fat is usually not your best option. Sure, there's less (or no) fat in such foods, but typically the overall caloire count per serving is higher! And the type of calories is SUGAR.
Sugar often makes you fatter, as the late Peter Jennings special here: http://www.garmaonhealth.com/2009/08/how-to-get-fat-without-really-trying/ and this article on sugar explains: http://www.garmaonhealth.com/2010/02/beware-fructose/
That said, there was a recent anthropological study which concluded, even after factoring in such things as clinical obesity, and the usual range of disease anomalies, that the modern West is producing the most robust race of human beings the world has ever seen. Taller, stronger, healthier.
Please, HuffPo, or who-ever is responsible here, please have a competent biophysicist look at this stuff first before you perpetuate even more goofy and loopy science disguised as sensible medical advice.
Gamma-linolenic acid is not a monounsaturated fat. It is a polyunsaturated (triunsaturated) fat, and should be treated under the rubric of polyunsaturated fats.
Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats and should be treated under that heading.
Eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid are not essential fatty acids. They can be derived from alpha linolenic acid, which is an omega-3 fatty acid. Linseed (flaxseed) oil abounds in alpha linolenic acid. A small proportion of the alpha linolenic acid is converted in the body to eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid.
Flax oil and fish oil are not rich in monounsaturated fats. They contain plentiful omega-3 fatty acids, which are polyunsaturated fatty acids.
I could go on.
Ni (the author) lacks an elemental comprehension of chemistry or nutritional physiology.
The entire premise of the article is off, so I won't bother to point out the errors and others have already but there has not yet been any studies to prove that your dietary intake of fat is related to elevated cholesterol and at least 50% of people who have heart attacks do not have high cholesterol. Carbohydrates increase cholesterol levels by causing constant fluctuations in blood sugar and insulin levels, not fat.
Butter, also solid at room temperature is also a healthy fat.
For an excellent read about how the dietary policy has been shaped in the U.S take a look at "Good fat, bad fat" by Gary Taubs. Check out the Weston Price diet, as well.
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30 years ago I was told by a top flung Harvard doctor that peanuts are "dangerous" for several reasons. Every few years one of those "reasons" is dropped by the wayside. This will too.
BTW - his characterization of the Atkins diet as high protein is also wrong. It is high fat. Have a look at the latest book, just out on Amazon and authored by three credible researchers.
.......from 1987
I did it for my arteries - but was surprised that my high cholesterol levels immediately dropped, and have stayed in the normal range ever since. Why should that be so? I don't know, but butter (from grass-fed cows, which has a good balance of omega 3 and omega 6 oils) and olive oil (which has neither omega 3 nor omega 6 oils) seem to work best for me. They're both tasty, too.
Instead of using much butter, which is rich in saturated fats, try drizzling flaxseed oil from a cruet onto bread, potatoes or any other food on which you use butter.
Foods containing flaxseed oil may be heated in a microwave oven. For example, heat a slice of bread containing flaxseed oil for about 18 seconds. The oil will infiltrate the bread. How savory!