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Demystifying these delicious dietary “Must-Haves”

Fat is receiving a lot of attention lately as an important part of the human diet – FINALLY! Healthy lipids and fat should no longer be banished as unwelcome intruders in our food but given their rightful place as an essential nutrient that everybody needs. It’s time to demystify this previously banished nutrient.

 First, let me explain the words fat and lipid. Fat and lipid are often used as synonyms, but fat is actually a subset of lipids.  Lipids are a big category of molecules that include fat as well as sterols (cholesterol), hormones, waxes, and phospholipids. Furthermore, fat is a collection of fatty acids, known as triglycerides, and are found in both our body and the food we eat. Other lipids, like cholesterol and phospholipids, are also found in our bodies and in food we eat. In real life, a doctor will order what’s known as a lipid panel to check both triglycerides (fat) and cholesterol(sterol) levels in the blood.

Now it’s time to answer a couple of questions:

 1.     Are all types of fat (and lipids) fabulous?

 2.     How do I consume fat and other lipids with confidence?

 So here goes:

Are all types of fats (and lipids) fabulous?

No. But many are! A fat is fabulous when is has the ability to build healthy brain cells, beautiful skin, hair, nails, and hormones, and boost immunity. Fabulous fat also helps our cells communicate effectively, reduce inflammation, and fight against cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Fat helps us absorb important fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, which in turn help us absorb minerals.

One fabulous fat is the saturated fat found in grass-fed meat and organs, wild salmon, pasture raised eggs, grass-fed butter and dairy, coconut oil, and palm oil. The saturated fatty acids contained in saturated fat contribute to healthy cell membranes that have just the right flexibility for optimal cell communication and function. Cell communication includes the ability of our insulin receptors to work properly so we can better protect ourselves against type 2 diabetes. Optimal immune and brain function and the ability to build new nerve cells also depend on access to healthy saturated fatty acids, like palmitic (found in palm oil, grass-fed dairy and meats), myristic, and lauric acids (coconut oil). Saturated fat helps our lungs flex properly, which is especially helpful with symptoms of asthma. Saturated fat is one of the few foods that can actually raise HDL cholesterol – a good thing! Inflammation is reduced by healthy saturated fat such as CLA, found in grass fed meat and dairy products. And healthy saturated fat is not associated with cardiovascular disease.

Another fabulous fat category is the monounsaturated fat found in olives, olive oil, avocados and avocado oil, peanut butter, certain fish, and raw nuts, like almonds, cashews, and pecans, and seeds, like pumpkin and sunflower. Monosaturated fat is high in vitamin E and other antioxidants and is fairly heat stable so it can be used for low heat cooking. Benefits of consuming this type of fat include a reduced risk of breast cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. It also helps reduce belly fat, encourage weight loss, and reduce the pain experienced by those with rheumatoid arthritis.

The third category of fabulous fat is the polyunsaturated essential fatty acids. These fatty acids are better known as Omega-3 and Omega-6 and must be obtained from the diet. Interestingly, Omega-3 is anti-inflammatory and Omega-6 is pro-inflammatory, but both have important roles in the body. The key is obtaining them in the right ratio. When consumed in a 1:1 ratio, these fatty acids create healthy cell structure, promote optimal brain and lung function, produce clotting agents, and protect us from inflammation. Omega-3 is especially helpful for mood, lung, and heart health.

The best dietary sources of Omega-3 are found in wild salmon and other wild caught cold water fatty fish like sardines, and high-quality fish oils. Omega-3s are also found in grass-fed meat and the full fat dairy/butter from these grass-raised animals, wild meat, and pasture raised chicken eggs. Flax seed and walnuts also contain a type of Omega-3 but it needs conversion in the body to a more useful form and is not reliable. Omega-6 is abundantly available in corn oil, soybean oil, and other vegetable oils as well as nuts and seeds. Omega-6 is high in grain finished beef.

 Lucious Lipids

Cholesterol, a type of lipid known as sterol, is important for the function of our bodies. It’s responsible for hormones and proper cell membrane structure, including repair of damaged blood vessels. Cholesterol is not the problem – damaged blood vessels, from sugar consumption and free radical damage from processed foods and trans-fats, are the problem. The idea that cholesterol from pasture-raised animals and eggs should be eliminated from the diet is faulty and is not supported by science. For the vast majority of the population, dietary cholesterol has very minimal impact on serum cholesterol levels, but does provides a healthy source of cholesterol that would otherwise be produced by the body. Serum cholesterol levels are sort of an equilibrium between the diet and the body’s production, unless artificially reduced by drugs.

Phospholipids, found in eggs, are also very important in the body. In fact, all of our cell membranes contain phospholipids. Phospholipids make up our myelin sheath and transport fats and proteins in the blood. The body can make phospholipids, and eating them is certainly not a problem.

How do I consume fabulous fat and other lipids with confidence?

Read the labels on your food. If it doesn’t say wild caught or 100% grass-fed or finished or pasture-raised, it isn’t. Don’t confuse organic or “all-natural” as meaning wild or grass-fed – they’re unrelated. Go for the 100% grass-fed, pasture-raised, or wild caught products that are clearly labeled. It may or may not be organic. If your store doesn’t carry these products, you can order online but many mainstream retailers now carry these items.

Remember that a balance of different nutrients is best when it comes to diet, and lipids are no exception. Our bodies do best when we consume a variety of unprocessed fat from grass-fed and wild meats and fatty fish, full fat grass-fed dairy/butter, eggs from pasture raised poultry, and foods like avocados, olives, coconuts, and their associated unrefined expeller or cold-pressed oils. Raw nuts and seeds are also excellent and include walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans, cashews, macadamia, flax, hemp, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, and chia, just to name a few. Raw peanuts and peanut butter are actually legumes and also contain healthy fat.

It is advisable and healthy to harvest and eat all the fat and other lipids that naturally come in the foods mentioned above. This means you will be consuming both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and sterols like cholesterol – all to your benefit. You will also be more likely consume a healthy ratio of the essential Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids when you consume these foods and AVOID grain-fed meats, industrially farmed chickens, and soybean and corn oils, as well as other polyunsaturated vegetable oils and the foods that contain them. It may also be advisable to consume a high-quality fish oil supplement to ensure optimal Omega-3 levels.

 Cautions:

Americans are over-consuming Omega-6, mostly from the soybean oil, safflower oil, and corn oil found in so many food products and grain-fed cattle products, and this can overwhelm the body’s ability to use Omega-3 properly and control inflammation. Ideally, this ratio should be 1:1 but should not exceed 4:1. In the United States, the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio is commonly as high as 20:1 and this is driving inflammation in the body. It isn’t enough to consume Omega-3 in optimal amounts. It is just as important to protect ourselves from too much Omega-6.

Consuming too many unsaturated fats (even healthy ones) make cell membranes too floppy. Embrace healthy consumption of saturated fats from grass-fed and wild meats and fatty fish, grass-fed dairy/butter, coconut oil, palm oil, and pasture-raised eggs and chickens. Your heart and brain will thank you for these wonderful lipids.

Trans fat made from polyunsaturated oils is never a good choice. Trans fat is made by adding hydrogen to polyunsaturated vegetable oils, like soybean and cottonseed oils, in a special process that will make them solid at room temperature. Why? It increases shelf-life and creates textures that make processed foods palatable and inexpensive. It also creates a significant risk for heart disease - even small amounts. Trans fat makes cell membranes rigid and disrupts nerve cell function.

Trans fat can be identified by the words partially-hydrogenated. Common products that contain trans-fat are margarine and other butter substitutes, commercial baked goods like cookies, crackers, cakes, and frostings, some peanut butters, frozen dinners, Crisco, cooking spray, coffee creamer, snack foods and microwave popcorn. A federal law was passed in 2006 that stated that trans-fat must be listed on the label. By law, however, a food may contain up to 0.5 gm of trans fat per serving and claim zero trans fat on the label!