Don't Fear the Fat

Fats are essential for optimum health and should come from unrefined animal and plant sources.

Fat is important for many reasons including:

Provide a source of sustained energy
Makeup of cell membranes (vs the hardening of cells I talked about in this post)
Needed for absorption of fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E and K
Line and protect our organs
Required for the body to use proteins
Slow down absorption of food (this is why it might be helpful to include some fat with carbs or sweets to avoid a spike in blood sugar)
Helps control inflammation
Help regulate sex hormones
Healthy liver function, for making cholesterol and bile
Makes food taste good!

Types of Fats

Saturated - highly stable, best fats to use for cooking

Sources: animal fats (like butter) and tropical oils (like coconut)

Monounsaturated - relatively stable, ideal for cold use, like for salad dressing

Sources: olive oil, avocado, almonds, pecans, cashews and peanuts

Polyunsaturated - unstable, go rancid easily. Should never be heated. Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats.

Sources: flax, nuts and seeds and fish

Two polyunsaturated fats are considered to be the essential fatty acids. They're essential because the body cannot make them, so we can only get them from food.

Essential Fatty Acids:

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) from Omega 3 fats

Sources: Flax, Wheat Germ, Walnut, Hemp

Linoleic Acid (LA) from Omega 6 fats

Sources: Safflower, Peanut, Most oils, Black Currant Seed, Evening Primrose, Borage Oil

These days, fatty acids definciency is epidemic. Years ago, people were misled to believe that saturated fat was the link to heart disease. A fear of fat became rampant and led to the low fat diet trend that still lingers today. Food manufacturers started to remove saturated fat from their products and replaced it with hydrogenated fats. So instead of butter, margarine was offered as the alternative choice because it was low in saturated fat. Yet margarine is full of trans fats which we now know is extremely dangerous and toxic for people to consume. With the reduction of saturated fats, heart disease skyrocketed. In reality, saturated and monounsaturated fats help protect the heart. The lack of good fat in the diet led to all sorts of health issues including musculoskeletal issues, hormonal imbalances, heart disease, immune issues, allergies, skin issues and even depression.

And remember, fat makes food taste good. With the removal of fat, sugar in processed food was increased in order to make the food to taste better. With a lack of natural fat and an increase in sugar, obesity then went up.

In addition to the removal of saturated fat, processed food is lacking in omega 3 fatty acids. Ideally, we should have a 1:1 ratio of omega 3 to omega 6. Historically, this balance was easier to achieve because people ate a big range of types of foods in their natural form. This was due to the fact that wild food sources are naturally high in Omega 3. Today, people are surviving, but not thriving, on processed foods that are void of Omega 3 and are very high in Omega 6 fats. One example of the wild foods source vs today's food is with grass-fed vs grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef which is whats natural, is high in Omega 3 but grain-fed beef (not their natural food source) are basically void of Omega 3. The lack of natural, unprocessed real food combined with overconsumption of processed, packaged sugary foods, that are high in Omega 6, leads to an imbalance with Omega 3 to Omega 6.

Good vs Bad Fat

Bad fats include hydrogenated (trans-fats), partially-hydrogenated, processed vegetable oils and fried fats. They're unstable, meaning they go rancid and oxidize, under high heat and light. "Bad fats" are mostly considered "bad" due to the way they're processed. These types of oils are processed under high heat so they're damaged before they even make it to the store. Then they sit in clear, plastic bottles under the flourescent light of the grocery store becoming even more damaged. Rancid oils are not safe to use because they're toxic to the body and contain free radicals which can lead to Cancer and heart disease!

When we talk about "good" fats we're referring to saturated fats, monounsatruated fats and polyunsaturated fats that aren't damaged in the process of making them. Ideally look for oils that say

'cold-pressed', unrefined

on the label and come in dark colored, glass bottles and only cook with saturated fats like Coconut oil.

Ideally we want a balance close to 30% saturated (like butter), 10% polyunsaturated (omega 3 and 6), an 60% monounsaturated (like olive oil).

The Good Fats/Oils

Omega-3s: Fish oil, Flax seed oil, Wheat Germ, Walnut, Hemp, Pumpkin

Saturated: Red palm oil, Coconut oil, Eggs, Butter, Raw full-fat dairy, Animal flesh fats from pastured animals

Omega-6s: Sunflower oil, Sesame oil, Safflower oil, Peanut oil, Black currant seed, Evening Primrose

Omega-9s: Extra virgin olive oil, Hazelnut oil, Almond oil, Avocado oil

Fatty Acids

Fatty acids are a subunit of fats. They're made from Saturated fats and Polyunsaturated Fats and control inflammation in our body. Inflammation results in pain the body such as joint pain, headaches, acne and many other issues. Not all inflammation is bad though. Acute inflammation allows our body to heal from wounds or injury. But being chronically inflamed leads to all sorts of health issues that people begin experiencing on a daily basis (joint pain, skin issues, headaches, aches and pains etc)

Fatty acids make a hormone-like substance that our body cannot do without, called Prostaglandins, which are what actally control the inflammatory process in our body. They're made from Essential Fatty Acids which are Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) from Omega 3 fats and Linoleic Acid (LA) from Omega 6 fats.

3 types of Prostaglandins:

Prostaglandin 1

is made from Omega 6 (polyunsaturated) fats and is anti-inflammatory

Sources:

Corn Safflower Peanut Most oils Black Currant Seed Evening Primrose Borage Oil

Prostaglandin 2

is made from Saturated Fats and is pro-inflammatory

Sources:

Organs Red Meat Dairy Shell Fish Coconut Oil

Prostaglandin 3

is made from Omega 3 (polyunsaturated) fats and is anti-flammatory

Sources:

Flax Wheat Germ Walnut Hemp Fish Oils

All 3 types of Prostaglandins are needed in balance. Our body needs needs to be a able to both "inflame" and "anti-inflame" in order to heal from any injury or wound. So while it may sound like saturated fats are bad beacuse they're pro-inflammatory, this is not true. Our body responds to injury by first inflaming in order to begin healing, then it must also be able to anti-inflame. Think of a splinter. The location of the splinter first becomes red and swollen, or it 'inflames' so the body can get rid of the splinter and then once the splinter is removed the body begins to heal, or 'anti-inflame'. On the other hand, too much saturated fat leads to too much inflammation. So all 3 are needed in balance.

Prostaglandin formation is inhibited from NSAIDS, aspirin, steroids, alcohol and trans fats. An imbalance or lack of fatty acids interrupts the making of prostaglandins and the body's ability to heal. Aspirin, for example, might be useful as a temporary solution, to deal with acute pain, but when used chronically our body loses the ability inflame and anti-inflame on its own, resulting in more and more pain like daily joint pain or headaches Its easy to see why people often rely on pain medications long term because the body has lost its ability to anti-inflame and decrease pain on its own.

Why Fat Won't Make You Fat

It's also important to note that much of the fear of fat is based on a fear of getting fat. But when we limit sugar and refined carbs and consume real food that includes good fats, our body can be in "fat burning mode" rather than "sugar burning mode". Our body can only use but so many carbohydrates. A person who eats too many carbs will store that excess sugar as fat. Fat burners include good fats in their diet and don't overconsume sugar/carbs. They can use and store the limited amount of carbs that they do eat. But what makes a sugar burner a sugar burner is overeating processed, refined carbs. So in sugar burning mode, excess carbs are stored in adipose tissue as fat on the body. For a more detailed explanation, you can read all about being a Fat Burner vs Sugar Burner. Most people, due to processed foods and excess sugar, are in sugar burning mode. Our body would prefer to be a fat burner, but when we overconsume carbs and sugar, our body will default to sugar burning mode.

Fat is not something to fear. Its necessary to have a healthy body that feels and looks good. Focus on eating a real food diet with good fats like coconut, avocado, olive oil, flax, fish and nuts and seeds.

In Nutritional Therapy, we assess clients Essential Fatty Acids levels, using a simple functional test. If I find that a client is low, this is a good indication that have lost their anti-inflammatory ability and may be inflamed. We can use Nutritional Therapy to control this inflammation and reduce healing time.