There are good fats and bad fats. To be healthy, we should eat a low-fat diet. That’s what we’re told. But is it true?
Since the mid 90’s, more researchers and health advocates have questioned the fear that fat makes us fat and causes disease. Emerging evidence indicates certain types of fat, especially essential omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats, are actually healthful.
We need fats of all kinds in our diet, much more than we have been led to believe. For over 40 years, we’ve been told fatty foods are to blame for everything from heart disease to obesity to cancer. To decrease fat in our diets, we’ve been substituting eggs, butter, full-fat yogurt and meat with low-fat products such as no-fat yogurt, dry toast, rice cakes and liquid sugars. But these packaged and processed foods usually come laden with chemicals, starches and sugar.
Does sugar cause more weight gain than fat?
When fat is removed from food, it loses its flavour, but food manufacturers must make low-fat foods taste good. So what do they do? They add sugar.
When we eat sugar or any refined carbohydrate which breaks down into sugar, the body produces insulin to transport the sugar to muscles and organs which in turn burn it as fuel. Insulin also regulates fat metabolism, and when insulin levels are high the body stores fat rather than burning it.
Some researchers believe replacing fats with sugars and carbohydrates can wreak havoc on the metabolism. Even some sugar substitutes have been linked to weight gain: they seem to encourage people to eat more and disrupt energy expenditures. This leads to further fatigue, cravings, excess weight gain and a long list of health issues.
A high-fat diet won’t necessarily make us sick or fat, just as a low-fat diet may not make us healthy or slim. Study after study shows those who say they eat a low-fat diet don’t necessarily eat fewer calories than those who eat fat.
Low-fat products and weight control
Studies show low-fat labels lead all consumers, particularly those who are overweight, to overeat snack foods. A reduced fat cookie often has just as many calories as its original counterpart. Also, when foods are perceived to be good for us, people tend to eat too much of them.
Did you know?
We need fat to lose weight, prevent disease, build a strong immune system and feel satisfied.
• Fat is what our taste buds like
• Fat gives us energy
• Fat gives us satiety
• Fat tastes great
• It’s all about the kind and amount of fat we consume A diet full of healthy fats, lean protein sources, green vegetables and whole grains will improve health and weight.
Because these foods take more time to digest, they nourish at a cellular level, making us feel full for longer. These are the keys to healthy weight control and weight management.
A typical Canadian breakfast
• Low-calorie, low-fat cereals, usually low in necessary fibre and minerals.
• Low-fat milk, low in the fat necessary to absorb calcium in the milk.
• Fruit slices, high in fructose sugar and usually not organic.
• Orange juice, high in sugar and far less healthy than eating a fibre-rich orange.
• Coffee, often with sugar, void of nutrients and high in sugar. Result? Starving by 10 am, weight gain, sugar cravings and fatigue.
Saturated fats – good or bad?
Studies show some saturated fat is necessary for a healthy diet. A healthy diet contains 16 to 18 grams of saturated fat. Many indigenous tribes eat high-saturated fat diets, yet have low mortality from heart disease. Why? Their diets are lower in sugar and their lifestyles are more active!
Societies with high fat diets, low mortality rates from heart disease and low obesity rates:
• The Maasai, a Kenyan tribe, eat meat, blood and whole milk. Their diet comprises of 66% saturated fat.
• The Inuit eat whale meat and blubber with a diet containing 75% saturated fat.
• The Tokealu in New Zealand eat fish and coconuts with a diet containing 60% fat.
• The Rendille tribe in NE Kenya eat camel milk, meat and blood with a diet containing 63% saturated fat. Simply stating the amount of fat in a food product is misleading. What type of fat? Saturated, unsaturated, trans fats? If unspecified, people will cut down on all fats, including the healthy ones.
The four different types of fat
• Saturated fats, from animal fat and tropical oils
• Monounsaturated fat, such as olive oil
• Polyunsaturated fat, such as omega-3 and omega-6
• Trans fats, such as margarine
Healthy Fats
Eat more monounsaturated fats
Extra virgin olive oil, made up of monounsaturated fats, has been linked to reducing LDL cholesterol and is best for dipping bread, and drizzling on salads and steamed vegetables. Olive oil should not be heated. Avocados contain almost as much healthy monounsaturated oleic fats per gram as olive oil – up to 70 to 75%.
Eat more polyunsaturated essential omega-3 fats
Essential fatty acids, vital for health, cannot be produced by the body. Every one of our bodies’ 100 trillion living cells needs essential fatty acids to rebuild and produce new cells. Healthy omega-3 oils can be found in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, plus walnuts and freshly ground flax seeds.
Today we consume far too many omega-6 oils, which increase inflammation, compared to omega-3 oils, which decrease inflammation. The primary reason for an epidemic of imbalance between these oils today is our excessive consumption of the wrong oils – corn, sunflower, peanut, soy, canola and safflower.
Why are omega-3 fatty acids so important?
Just as muscles are made of protein and bones of calcium, the human brain is more than 60% fat. DHA is the most abundant fatty acid in the brain, and an adequate supply throughout life is essential for brain and nervous system function. DHA forms critical receptors for the neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. If DHA is deficient and these receptors are made from other inferior oils – such as trans fats found in supermarket oils, baked goods, bottled salad dressings and vegetable shortening – the receptors will not function properly, contributing to an epidemic of attention deficit, depression and other mental disorders.
Minimize saturated fats – but don’t cut them out completely
Saturated fats are found in animal products such as cheese, ghee (clarified butter), milk, yogurt and meat, plus coconut and palm oils. Look for extra virgin as they are healthier than refined. In moderation, they are wonderful! The average diet should contain approximately 16-18 grams of saturated fats for a person eating 2,000 calories a day.
Consuming too many saturated fats raises bad cholesterol levels known as low density lipoprotein (LDL). High LDL levels of the smaller nature can increase heart disease because they keep cholesterol in blood circulation and carry it to the arteries to be deposited. Sadly, meat contains far more fat than years ago. Today, beef is 18 to 41% fat, with 40% of that fat being saturated, while venison contains about 2 to 3% saturated fat. It’s all about moderation.
Optimum amounts of saturated fats are needed for:
• Stronger bones (to increase absorption of calcium)
• Cell membranes
• Genetic regulation
• Healthy heart
• Hormones
• Immune system
• Improved liver health
• Healthy lungs
• Satiety (reducing hunger)
Eliminate trans fats
Trans fats – or partially hydrogenated fats – are formed when liquid vegetable oils are made into solid fats such as shortening and hard margarine. Trans fats hit with a double whammy: in addition to raising levels of LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol, they also decrease HDL ‘good’ cholesterol. Many researchers also suspect trans fats increase the risk of heart disease, as well as type 2 diabetes, colon cancer and breast cancer. How many trans fats should we eat in a day? Zero!
Foods containing Trans fats:
• French fries (6 gm)
• Doughnuts (5 gm)
• Pastries
• Muffins
• Croissants
• Cookies
• Crackers
• Chips
• Hard margarine
• Shortening
• Chicken nuggets (4 gm)
Consuming just 1 gm of trans fats per day can increase your chance of cardiovascular disease by 20%. No wonder children are showing clogged arteries by 12 years of age!
Perhaps it is the trans fats in our diets, not the saturated fats, that are causing heart disease to be the leading killer.
Our ratio between unhealthy fats:healthy fats
Used to be 2:1.
Today that ratio is 20:1.
Healthy fats, a necessary macro nutrient in our daily diet, are also necessary for weight loss and optimal health. From fish oils to avocados to coconut oil, eating the right type of fat in the right amount can have a positive effect on heart health and brain function, and can reduce inflammation.
So the next time you pick up a low-fat or no-fat product, read the label to see how much sugar is in it. Apart from fructose sugar in fruit and lactose sugar in dairy products, the recommended daily intake for sugar is approximately 7 to 10 tsp/day (4 gm equals 1 tsp).
Healthy fats for your pantry
• For taste and satiety, use organic butter or ghee instead of margarine.
• Use coconut oil for high temperature cooking.
• Use olive oil to drizzle over vegetables, to make salad dressings and for bread dipping.
• Use flax oil in salad dressings and keep it in the fridge.
Storing oils safely
Light, heat and oxygen oxidize oils, turning them rancid and toxic. Store oils in dark containers and/or dark places because light is the worst offender. Light destroys oils 1,000 times fast than either heat or oxygen, so keep olive oil in a cool, dark cupboard, and flax oil and cod liver oil in the fridge. Purchase in small dark containers and throw them out after three months.
How much fat do we need daily?
The Food and Drug Administration recommends between 5 teaspoons (about 1½ tablespoons or 21 g) and 7 teaspoons (just over 2 tablespoons or roughly 28 g) of oil a day, depending on age and gender. This includes oil from all sources (food, cooking oil and condiments). For fat in general, we should get no more than 25 to 35% of our total calories from all types of fat. For a 2,000 calorie diet, that breaks down to less than 16 g of saturated fat, less than 2 g of trans fat (preferably 0 g), and between 50 and 70 g of total fat each day.
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