The Truth About Dietary Fats

An important part of my studies and practice is telling clients to stop eating processed foods that contain hydrogenated fats and commercial polyunsaturated oils. Instead, I recommend that they cook with saturated fats like butter or coconut oil and to not be so afraid of animal fats, eggs and cholesterol!!

Yes, shockingly I do!

But, look at it this way...... remember when humans thought that the world was flat. Nothing could convince us (I say that as if I was around then!!??) to believe any differently. And now of course we know that the opposite is in fact true.
 
Well this is the case for the Diet Dictocrats who have been for the last 50 years brain washing us to believe that there is a direct relationship between the amount of saturated fats and cholesterol in the diet and the incidence of coronary heart disease; which was first brought to light by a researcher by the name of Ancel Keys in the late 1950's.

 
As a result of media and marketing pressure we, for almost the last 60 years, have reduced the amount of fats in our diet. However, isn't it strange that before 1920 coronary heart disease was rare in

America

and that today heart disease causes at least 40 per cent of all

US

deaths!! And I won’t even mention obesity rates!

So! Let us take a closer look at dietary fats to understand the all too familiar terms like saturated, hydrogenated, cold pressed, linolenic acid so that we can make more informed choices about dietary fats... 

 

 

• Fatty Acids are chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms. The hydrogen atoms fill spaces provided by the chains of carbon atoms (makes sense as you read on!)
• Imagine that a caterpillar’s body is the ‘chain of carbon atoms’. The hydrogen atoms are the legs.
• Certain caterpillars have more legs than others. (different kinds of fatty acids) For example;
• A saturated fatty acid is a caterpillar that has the most legs; his body is ‘saturated’ with his ‘hydrogen’ legs!
• A monounsaturated fatty acid is a caterpillar that has a lot of legs but he also has one pair of legs missing! (gosh I love this analogy)
• A polyunsaturated fatty acid is a caterpillar that has…… (yes you guessed it) a lot of missing pairs of legs (i.e. missing hydrogen atoms).

 

So what does this mean?

 

• Saturated fats are more stable (i.e. the caterpillar is more likely not to fall or wobble when he walks as he has all of his legs intact). This means that they are more stable under pressure such as high heat (cooking) and will appear more stable at room temperature (solid or semi solid formation). Example - BUTTER

 

Whereas;

• Polyunsaturated fats are the least stable and they are more likely to go rancid after high temperatures. (I.e. the caterpillar will most likely fall and hurt himself as he has so many missing legs!) These fats also appear wobbly and bendy (due to lack of stable legs) which give them the appearance of being liquid. Example – Olive Oil.
• Rule number 1 - Polyunsaturated oils should therefore never be heated or used in cooking as they will go rancid!

 

But wait, I keep hearing that I should eat lots of polyunsaturated fats?

 

Yes, you should eat polyunsaturated fats but make sure they are the right types and of an equal value. The two kinds of polyunsaturated oils that are ‘essential’ in your diet are;

 

1. Double unsaturated linoleic acid (known as Omega 6)
2. Triple unsaturated linolenic acid (known as Omega 3)

 

Firstly, the reason they are called Omega 3 & 6 is that it all relates to where the first set of missing legs appear on the caterpillar’s body (hydrogen atoms). Not really important at this stage but as long as you know that these are essential due to the fact that the body cannot make its own production, so it relies on us to eat enough from our diets.

 

 

The fatty acids (caterpillars) can also be classified by how long they are.

 

• Short Chain Fatty Acids have four to six carbon atoms (imagine the caterpillar has four to six segments in its body). These are always saturated fats.
• Medium chain Fatty Acids have eight to twelve carbon atoms
• Long chain Fatty Acids have fourteen to eighteen carbon atoms

 

 

Confused? Don’t worry! It will make sense over time and as you begin to hear these words repeated you will have more and more of an understanding.

 

Now that you have the caterpillar analogy in your head let’s find out more about why I advocate saturated fats and how you have to be so careful about polyunsaturated fats.

 

As I mentioned before polyunsaturated fats can become rancid after cooking at high temperatures. Rancid oils have the same effect on your body as free radicals which basically mean that the cell’s DNA structure can become damaged. A damaged cell structure can lead to malformed cell tissues and can affect any part of the body such as premature aging (the skin); autoimmune diseases and plaque build up.

 

Extraction

So before you sit down for your evening meal of polyunsaturated fats, let us look at the process of making your favorite oil such as sunflower oil.

Sunflower oil comes from sunflower seeds. The process of making the seeds into oil is known as ‘Extraction’ and for mass production purposes the pulp is usually heated to 230 degrees Fahrenheit! Uh oh! Yes and additional toxic solvents are added to the mixture, so you can understand why they become rancid.

 

So when you see oil that states it is ‘Cold Pressed’ you know that the oil has not endured any high temperature processing and that it is safe to eat but not cook with.

 

In addition to being rancid, most commercial vegetable oils contain a disproportionate amount of Omega 6 in relation to Omega 3. This causes a whole host of related imbalances inside the body for example depression which can be caused by a low level of Omega 3.

 

Hydrogenation

 

Another form of processing oils is known as hydrogenation. This is where polyunsaturated fats that are liquid at room temperature (caterpillar with a lot of missing legs; so is unstable) are artificially inseminated with hydrogen atoms to make it stable at room temperature. (Mr. Caterpillar is given artificial legs to make him more stable.) However, the process of making these artificial legs is to start off with cheap already rancid oils (from the extraction process), a whole bunch of toxic chemicals are added and it is further heated to extreme temperatures. So basically you are eating a plastic artificial limb that is grey in colour before the artificial colorings’ have been added!

 

Next time you read the ingredients and see hydrogenated fat you know what you are eating – plastic! Here is a bit of advice- don’t eat margarine!

 

So after all this depressing news about pretty much all of your dietary intake let us look at saturated fats and why they are good for you.

 

Saturated Fats

 

Saturated fats come from nature, they have not been altered in factories and man survived on these foods for years without the modern day diseases that are so prevalent today.

 

In a nutshell, they are stable for a reason!

 

Every cell membrane in the body is encased in a layer of fat. To maintain its structure and integrity the source of fat needs to come from a natural saturated dietary source. Why?

 

If your diet contains too many polyunsaturated fats such as commercial vegetable oil or hydrogenated and man made trans fatty acids, the body can’t differentiate whether it is rancid or not and rather than flushing the free radical out of the body, the body accepts it and uses it to make further cell membranes. So what happens is the cell membrane becomes less stable and disrupts the natural chemical reactions that maintain homeostasis. The result can be a cell breakdown which can manifest as a chronic illness or disease such as cancer, obesity, diabetes or heart disease.

 

Saturated fats also have many healing qualities.

 

• The Short – chain fatty acids that I mentioned before contain antimicrobial properties that protect us from parasites and yeasts in our gut.
• They also contribute to the health of our immune system.
• They protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins.
• A diet rich in saturated fats enhances the absorption of the essential Omega 3
• They assist in the absorption of calcium into the bones.

 

In summary, the healing qualities of saturated fats such as butter far out way the damaging consequences of man made commercial hydrogenated and trans fatty acids. In essence choose a diet that has a good balance of healthy natural oils and fats. Keep away from commercial non whole foods that have been processed in a factory. Read the ingredients, if a product says it has hydrogenated oils, stay well away as you now they are rancid and can contribute to a whole host of future complications.

 

What about fat and weight loss?

 

As far as the weight loss issue goes, you are better off healing your metabolism first by eating all natural healing foods than restricting yourself from essential nutrients. Have you every noticed that your calorie restricted, “no fat” diet comes to an end after a couple of weeks? This is because your body will override your will and determination when it comes to sourcing the essential fats and nutrients it really needs. This is where cravings usually stem from; your body’s way of telling you that you have not had an adequate amount of proper nutrients. If you have not had enough good quality protein or fat you will start to crave foods and you are more likely to head for the cookie jar (laced with trans fat) than provide your body with what it really needs.

 

It can be a vicious circle as the cravings may also be a result of a parasite which could easily have been prevented if you had eaten the saturated fats that contain the antimicrobial properties in the first place!

 

If you would like to find out more about what good fats to eat and an eating plan that includes healthy fats then please contact me at samantha@samanthatjones.com

 

Sources –

Nourishing Traditions – Sally Fallon

Fats that heal, fats that kill – Udo Erasmus