Fat

There is so much misconception around dietary fat, which unfortunately has been a large part of thousands, if not millions, of untimely deaths around the world. Here I want to dispel a couple of these myths and then get into all the amazing things that fats do for our bodies and which ones we should be eating.

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We were told for a long time that eating cholesterol increased the levels of serum cholesterol i.e. cholesterol in the blood, and therefore, heart disease. As it turns out, there is actually no evidence that eating cholesterol causes heart disease. In 2015 the US dietary guidelines were updated to say that “there is no appreciable relationship between the consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum cholesterol” and that “cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for over consumption.” This misconception that eating cholesterol causes heart disease led to the creation, promotion and use of lots of so-called healthy vegetable oils and seed oils, because they are predominantly unsaturated fat and don't contain cholesterol. These can be some of the most highly-processed, unnatural fats out there and some of them, particularly hydrogenated vegetable oils containing transfats, are actually highly inflammatory to the body and are no longer considered safe for human consumption by the Food and Drug Administration (USA), because of this damaging effect they have on the body - including on our hearts. Walter Willett, the chair of Harvard's nutrition department has estimated the shift towards transfat caused 228,000 heart attacks per year in America alone. Transfats can actually stay in your body for up to 57 days after eating them and inhibit carrying of oxygen in your blood stream, among their many other damaging properties. If you need a motivator to help you stay away from eating these highly processed fats, just think of this, margarine is actually grey and has to be filled with artificial food colourings in order to make it appear to be edible.

As for answers on what does actually increase the bad types of fats in our blood and exactly which are the bad ones, well, this is in a state of change too. It isn't as simple as Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) is bad and High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is good. There are different types of LDL and the small dense ones seem to be causing the most problems like inflammation and plaque formation in arteries, and these look as though they are actually increased by consuming sugar and refined carbohydrates. HDL, the good type, actually increases when we eat saturated fats, which lowers the risk of heart attack.

Another misconception is the idea that eating fat makes you fat. According to a study out of Harvard (which is one of my favourite sources for nutritional science information), eating a high-fat (60% fat, 30% protein, 10% carbohydrates) diet actually increases markers of metabolism, meaning that you burn more calories than you would eating the same number of non-fat calories, without actually changing anything else, like how much you exercise. This implies you can eat the same number of calories from two different sources, one high in fat and one low in fat, and having this high fat diet will actually mean that you'll burn more calories. The study also found improvements in blood sugar, insulin, triglycerides, HDL and other markers of cardiovascular health. Many other studies and meta-analysis have shown similar effects, not to mention the fact that obesity rates have drastically risen as we changed over to low-fat, high-carb diets. I know this one is a hard one to move past, but this idea of low-fat being healthy has killed people so we need to get past it a.s.a.p!

Some scientific findings of benefits of high-fat diets:

  • 44% reduction in risk of dementia (high carb 88% increase risk of dementia)

  • Weight Loss

  • Decreased inflammation

  • Decreased total triglycerides

  • HDL increases

  • Reduced markers of Heart Disease

  • Improvements in and prevention of Type-II Diabetes

TYPES OF FATS

We have essentially fatty acids -fats that we need to consume in our diet because our body requires them and the body cannot produce them itself or requires them to be provided. In simplified terms these are what are referred to Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids and are part of the polyunsaturated fatty acid group. Omega-6 are found widely in our modern diets generally, but Omega-3s are less so. Omega-6s promote inflammation and Omega-3s subdue inflammation, and in order for our bodies to be in balance and therefore healthy, we should be consuming these in the right balance - typically reported as a 1:1 ratio. Unfortunately, the Standard American Diet (SAD), which much of the world is now following through the consumption of highly-processed foods, leads to consuming 20x more Omega-6s than Omega-3s. This is a big problem and one of the reasons why so many people are suffering from inflammatory conditions. Eating processed foods, with their highly processed vegetable oil contents, will greatly increase your intake of Omega-6s. Eating a natural wholefoods diet of Real Food will be far more likely to get you to a balance of Omega-6s to Omega-3s. A diet lacking in Omega-3s is linked with Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia, Attention Deficit Disorder, Violence, Depression and Suicide. A study found that switching to a diet high in Omega-3s had 31% of patients who suffer from Depression recover from it. There’s evidence that DHA and EPA, the two Omega-3s found in animal products, are more effective than psychotherapy and antidepressants in treating depression. Other research has shown that Omega-3s work as well as medications for Bi-Polar Disease. Anxiety, anger, and depression all benefit from consuming EPA. If you are vegetarian you will only be getting ALA Omega-3 and may have to source algae oil which has pre-converted the ALA into EPA and DHA. The body can convert ALA into EPA and DHA but the conversion rate is only about 10%. There is some contention as to whether this is as beneficial as eating EPA and DHA in animal products but it is probably your best option as a vegetarian. Animals sources are definitely superior here and you want to be eating the healthiest animals around -organic, grass-fed, pastured or wild meats, and wild fish. These have their Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats in a 1:1 ratio, unlike the factory farmed versions which have 6x more Omega-6 than Omega-3.

Good sources of Omega-3:

  • Seafood, especially fatty fish e.g. Salmon

  • Grass-fed meats

  • Eggs

  • Vegetarian (ALA) - Walnuts, Flaxseeds, Olive oil

  • Algae oil (good option for vegetarians)


While I am not one to recommend supplements, and certainly not blanket recommend them, there is a lot of evidence on the benefits of taking fish oil or krill oil supplements -probably because we need Omega-3s so badly and because their availability in our diet has been so depleted by our reliance on modern processed foods. It seems to be the one supplement recommended by pretty much every leading integrative or functional medicine practitioner. If you are going to supplement with fish oil, ensure that it is mercury free, from a really trusted and sustainable source for your area of the world, and is relatively fresh as it easily oxidises.

Clinical Benefits of High-Dose Fish Oil or Krill Oil shown in:

  • Heart Disease

  • Cancer

  • Depression

  • Attention Deficit Disorder

  • Multiple Sclerosis

  • Brain Trauma

  • Alzheimer's Disease

  • Chronic Pain

  • Osteoporosis

  • Skin Disorders

  • Fertility

  • Body Fat Loss


We don't just need to be eating the polyunsaturated Omega-3s, there are monounsaturated and saturated fats too, and we should be eating the right types of all of them. Monounsaturated fatty acids come from plant and animal sources and help protect against Heart Disease, lower blood pressure, and improve insulin sensitivity. The Holy Grail of mono-unsaturated fats is really good quality extra-virgin olive oil, which has been shown to reduce the risk of Heart Disease, Type-II Diabetes, and Obesity. We don't exactly know which compounds give olive oil these amazing traits but don't let that stop you from consuming this amazing oil! What is known is that heating it causes olive oil to lose some of its beneficial traits which is why it is best to consume cold-pressed olive oil at room temperature.

Saturated fatty acids, of which there are more than 30 types, are thermogenic and increase our metabolism. Saturated fats are very stable and don't oxidise or get damaged easily which makes them the best option for cooking with and have higher smoking points than the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Coconut oil, often demonised for its high saturated fat content has been shown to raises HDL, improves LDL size and type, and lower total serum cholesterol to HDL ratio. Cultures with more than 60% of their diet from coconut oil have little to no Heart Disease. It is also mildly antifungal and antimicrobial. The medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) in coconut oil speed up metabolism and boost energy production. The Lauric acid in coconut oil is also good for immune function with the only other good dietary source for it being breast milk.

Even though we tend to break fats down into these categories typically you will find that natural fatty foods have a mix of all of the different types of fats, just in different proportions.

Good sources of Mono-Unsaturated Fats:

  • Olive oil

  • Tree Nuts

  • Avocado

  • Animal fats - tallow, lard, duck/chicken fat

  • Butter/Ghee

  • Bone marrow

Good sources of Saturated Fats:

  • Animal fat including tallow, lard, duck/chicken fat

  • Butter/Ghee

  • Coconut Oil


Fats are really important for absorption of nutrients as well. We have fat-soluble vitamins - A, D, E, and K, that are well researched and more and more we are finding other compounds that require fat in order to be absorbed into the body. For instance, one of the main beneficial compounds in turmeric is fat-soluble and should be taken with fat to be absorbed properly into the body. Vitamin D is hugely important in the body. Salmon and eggs are examples of good dietary sources, and the sun is probably most important of all. Getting some sun exposure onto as much skin as possible everyday helps with vitamin D production and just how long will be highly dependent on you and balancing this with other risks such as skin cancer. Some suggest that vitamin D actually requires 48 hours to form properly in the skin after sun exposure and that washing with detergents can interrupt this process.

The easiest way to tell which fats are the good types of fat is that they will be the ones as close to nature as possible (just like everything else!) and importantly, extracted without heat. When it comes to the animal fats it is really important that they have come from animals that are in their natural environment and been fed their own natural diet i.e. organic, grass-fed, and pastured or wild.

Good to use for cooking:

  • Ghee - with a similar taste to butter it is great to use in a wide variety of dishes. Also helps improve digestive fire and absorption of other nutrients. Smoking point: 450F/232C. Video on how to make it in recipes.

  • Coconut Oil - great for sweet dishes and Asian-flavoured savoury dishes

  • Animal Fats: tallow, lard, duck and chicken fat - great for savoury dishes

  • Avocado Oil - personally I think you're better off eating them whole!

Good for salads and room-temperature dishes:

  • Extra-virgin olive oil (Smoking point: 350F/177C). Refining olive oil increases its smoking point to 465F, but then it loses its benefits

  • Extra-virgin nut oils and avocado oil can be good too - but I prefer to eat these whole

Which fats to avoid (pretty much anything which has been processed):

  • Vegetable Oils

  • Anything "Hydrogenated"

  • Canola Oil (it is refined, deodorised and bleached!)

  • Margarines

  • Spreadable Butters

  • Fried Foods - the oil typically used for frying is highly processed and incredibly damaged from such long use


Which dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids to you eat?

Which dietary sources of mono-unsaturated fats do you eat?

Which dietary sources of saturated fats do you eat?

What proportion of your diet do you think you should be getting from fat?

How do you generally feel after a meal high in fat?

Are there certain fats that you feel better or worse after eating?


Good Sources for further information:

For scientific literature - greenmedinfo.health

Mark Sisson - marksdailyapple.com

Mark Hyman - drhyman.com


Much Love,

Sophia Englezos