Good fat vs. bad fat

Their are 3 Macro Nutrients in a Healthy Diet, Proteins, Carbohydrates & Fat. What matters always is the quality of these Macro Nutrients and the quality depends on the source and type of Nutrient. Out of these 3, two are Essential and one is Non Essential. I am sure by now you assumed that Fat is non essential and Carbs / Proteins are essential. The reality is Fat & Protein are essential and Carbohydrates are non essential. Human body can make its own Carbohydrates through a process called Gluconeogenesis. This evolutionary advantage of Gluconeogenesis has been least used by todays population which is fed on science born out of Diet - Heart Hypothesis made famous by Dr Ancel Keys which led to the formation of the Dietary Guidelines in the 1980's and gave us very popular Food Pyramid.

As a result of the Dietary Guidelines of the 1980's which was based on the assumption that Saturated fat is the cause for Heart Disease reduced the percentage of saturated fat in daily intake of total calories and also successfully sowed a seed of fear against Saturated Fat in the peoples mind, which we are even today observing in the food habits. These Food habits based on the Food Pyramid have ensured that not only the present population is sick but is also chronically suffering from the effect of Metabolic Syndrome. Metabolic Syndrome is a group of diseases of which the root cause lies in the amount of Carbohydrates we have been eating throughout our Life.

Fat plays many important roles in the body. Fat is found both in animals and plants. main function of fat is to provide energy to our body, but it also has many other very important effects and actions. Fat helps our body absorb Fat soluble Vitamins like Vit D, A, E, K. Fat regulates inflammation and immunity. Fat maintains the health of our cells, skin and hair. Fat also adds richness and flavour to food which helps in feeling full and not getting hungry for longer periods.

In nature Fats exist in three types Saturated, Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated fats. All three are good fats and have positive health benefits. On the other hand you should always avoid heavily processed and potentially harmful manufactured trans fats.

All About Good Fats -

Numerous studies have shown Saturated Fats create a positive and beneficial effect on our bodies by enhancing the immune system, protecting the liver, forming the cell membranes & helping build stronger bones.

Monounsaturated fats have one double bond between carbons in their chains. While Polyunsaturated fats have more than one double bond between carbons in their chains. Polyunsaturated Fats are of two types Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Omega 6 Fatty Acids. The first double bonds in the carbon chain define their names.

Saturated Fat - carbon chains. They remain solid at room temperature as they are saturated with hydrogen.

Some Healthy sources of Fats -

Monounsaturated - Avacados, Nuts & Olive Oil.

Polyunsaturated - Organic or Free range Eggs, Grass Fed Meat, Fatty Fish

Saturated Fat - Ghee, Butter, Cream, Lard, Coconut Oil

All About Bad Fats -

Before 1900's saturated fats were used for cooking and were a major part of our diet. But lots changed over the next 80 years or so where we shifted our dietary habits and started including more of seed and bean oils for cooking and eating. These Oils were smartly marketed as Vegetable oils which made it super easy to be sold as clean and heart healthy, whereas the truth is completely opposite.

The rising population in the 1820-30's increased demand for oil used in cooking and lighting. The oil from the whales was steadily decreasing and the steep price rise meant more problems for general population and the Industries who depended on Whale oil.

At the same time some creative entrepreneurs tried to crush the cotton seeds which were a waste product of cotton farming and extract oil, but it took another 20 years or so until 1850's to refine the technology to make the cotton seed oil available commercially. This creativity of making oil came as a result of a huge wastage of cotton seeds in the cotton producing industry since the time of its beginning in 1736 till the time it matured into a big industry in 1784.-1790. About 200000 pounds of cotton was being exported from US to England compared to a modest 600 pounds in mid 1700. Later after more inventions in the cotton making machinery, the cotton production reached 40,000,000 pounds. This created a huge wastage of cotton seeds, only 5% of these were used for agricultural purpose, some went into cattle feed but there was just no solution for this huge amount of cotton seed wastage. This is when the invention of cotton seed oil helped close the gap of demand for industries, cooking and lighting. But in another 10 years in 1859 the world discovered fossil fuels and the business of cotton seed oils got badly affected and cotton seeds were again categorised as toxic waste product.

Manufacturers of Cotton seed oil were left with excess stock due to no demand and had to find ways to use it. So they tried to illegally add it to animal fats and lard as a part of human consumption. This was done without finding out if it was safe for human consumption. Olive oil was adulterated with cotton oil due to its light flavour and slight yellow colour, as a result Italy banned American Olive Oil in 1883. Procter & Gamble which used to use cotton seed oil to manufacture candles and soaps, discovered a way to partially hydrogenate cottonseed oil and make a product which looked and felt like lard. No one knew the safety or health effects of consuming this lard like fat made from hydrogenated cotton seed oil, which later it came to be known as 'Trans' fat.

Hydrogenation of Cotton seed oil gave it a more food like resemblance and Proctor & Gamble decided to call it Crisco and skillfully market it as a cheaper alternative to lard. They launched a smart campaign to make Crisco a popular household in America. A free recipe book was designed using Crisco instead of the commonly used fat lard, butter etc and was distributed totally free. No product had ever been marketed like this before, at the same time these advertisements claimed Crisco was easier to digest, was cheaper and healthier due to its plant origin.

Cotton seeds were a toxic waste was never mentioned and this success rolled on for three decades until 1950's till another cheaper alternative was found, soybean oil.

Soybeans were introduced to North America around 1765, Soybeans are about 18% Oil and 38% protein which made it a ideal food for the livestock or for industrial purpose. Prior to great depression Americans were not fond of tofu or soybeans but things changed soon after world war 2 when large areas experienced drought. Soybeans could fix the nitrogen in the soil and the great American plains were ideal for growing soybeans. Soybeans quickly became the most popular and profit making crop after corn.

Proctor & Gamble was looking at pushing the sales of crisco and just like any other company was looking at innovative ways to create a goodwill and trust for its product "Crisco". American Heart Association was established in 1924 and was a place for few specialist to meet for professional discussions. Proctor & Gamble invested $ 1.5 Million in 1948 as a donation and got a recommendation attached to its hydrogenated product "Crisco" & other Vegetable oils as being heart friendly, healthy and a ideal replacement for animal fats which were a commonly used in American households at that time.

Influence of Dr Ancel Keys & the Diet Heart Hypothesis on what we are eating for the past 60-70 years.

Dr Ancel keys proclaimed to the world through his famous 7 countries study that the new dietary villain was saturated fats, the type found in animal foods like meat and dairy. Dr Ancel Keys was a dominating authority and knew how to get things done. With Dr Ancel Keys recommendation along with the influence of companies like Proctor & Gamble, American Heart Association (AHA) wrote the worlds first official recommendations in 1961 asking people to "reduce intake of total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol. increase intake of fat and eat "heart healthy" vegetable oils, high in polyunsaturated fats, like crisco. In 1977 this advice was again repeated in the influential "Dietary Guidelines for American" which the world followed blindly.

Organisation like the American Heart Association, The Center for Science in Public Interest etc took advantage of its market moving & influencing capability and advised public to switch from Tallow, Lard, Butter, Coconut oil, Palm Oil, Ghee etc and replace it with partially hydrogenated oils, vegetable oils, margarine. All these changes were asked without acknowledging or investigating the dangers of trans fat, vegetable oils dominated by polyunsaturated fat.

In 1990's it was discovered that Trans Fat was one of the main reasons for causing Heart Attacks. Studies later indicated that trans fats doubled our risk for heart disease for every 2% increase in consumption of fat calories. Irony is it took another 2 decades for the US Food & Drug Administration to remove partially hydrogenated oils from the list of human foods "Generally Recognised as Safe". This proves that AHA has been asking us to eat poison for all these years.

The Problem in Vegetable Oils -

During the evolution as humans learned to survive, the only source of Linoleic Acid (Omega 6) would have been eggs, nuts and seeds, these were all natural and in right proportion to omega 3 fatty acids. And isolated Linoleic Acid or Omega 6 intake from commercially produced seed oils was zero. However companies like Proctor & Gamble through their products like Crisco introduced isolated and adulterated type of linoleic acid into our diet.

Vegetable Oils are Polyunsaturated Fats which are chemically processed. The percentage of Omega 6 compared to Omega 3 is very high. Also the double bonds of vegetable oils oxidise in high temperatures, in storage or while cooking, that makes the oil and food cooked in it highly toxic for human consumption due to the presence of free radicals.

Oxidation happens when molecule gives up an electron to another in presence of oxygen. This process creates 'free radicals' which can cause damage and raise risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer etc.

Due to oxidation, Vegetable Oils containing unsaturated fatty acids are of major concern in the food industry. Vegetable Oils are susceptible to oxidation both during processing and storage. The oxidation process leads to the formation of several components causing off-flavours and reduced nutritional quality. Oxidation may also severely change the nutritional quality of foods by impairing vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Regularly consuming oxidised oils could be a threat to our health. The intake of Linoleic acid has increased a lot and from a source that humans have never consumed before. These Vegetable Oils made from seeds & beans can be found in nearly all processed foods and are also found in departmental stores packed in plastic bottles for cooking. These oils are highly sensitive to heat, light and air and are exposed to all three during packaging and transport, thats why industrial seed oils should not be consumed. The only good source for Omega 6 Fatty acids are natural sources like nuts, seeds etc.

Why is manufactured trans fat so bad? A study published in "The Lancet" in 1994 showed 75% of the fat found clogging arteries is unsaturated and comes from commercially hydrogenated vegetable oils and not natural saturated fat or animal fat. Vegetable Oils also raise smaller dense LDL particles and lowers the beneficial HDL cholesterol at the same time it raises Triglycerides. Raised Triglycerides also indicate Insulin resistance (Type 2 Diabetes) and along with lowered HDL pose a Heart Disease risk as well.

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is one of the leading ingredients in most processed foods like - Biscuits, chips, peanut butter, etc.

My daily intake of Fat ?

By now it is clear that Saturated fats like Ghee, Butter, Coconut Oil, Lard, Tallow, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Avacado Oil, Sesame Seed oil are good fat. And highly processed Vegetable Oils and Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated Oils are worst of the lot. It is also important that when you consume Fat, you should avoid eating them along with Refined Carbohydrates or Sugar or Fruits. As eating Fat along with Carbohydrates will make the body store them as Fat in the body and will increase the Triglycerides and other risk factors. To get the complete benefit of Saturated Fat, you will also need to time the Fat really wel along with combining it with the right Macros such as Proteins and Vegetables or Nuts or all together. The best option is to adopt a Low Carb or a Keto Lifestyle, which will help you improve your overall health.

On a low carb diet, maximum calories come from Fat. Nearly 60 to 80 % of your daily caloric requirement will come from Saturated fat. This percentage will depend on your specific health goals.

By now we also know their are 3 different types of fats like Saturated Fat, Monounsaturated Fat & Polyunsaturated Fat. All unprocessed foods which has fat have all the three types of fat present in different proportion. All 3 are essential for our health. what matters is the the percentage and balance of all 3 fats. The ideal balance of these essential fats is naturally present in whole foods, processed fats like vegetable oils, hydrogenated oils are very high in Polyunsaturated Fat,

Always aim for a healthy ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 -

Achieving a balance of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acid in diet is most important. Research shows our evolutionery diet contained approximately equal amounts of omega 3 and omega 6 fats. However due to heavy reliance on processed foods and vegetable oils in our diets today may contain more than 15 times as much omega 6 compared to omega 3.

The Omega 6 polyunsaturated fat (Linoleic Acid) and Omega 3 polyunsaturated fat (Alpha-linoleic Acid) are the essential fatty acids as your body cant manufacture them on its own. These have to come from the food that we consume. Alpha Linoleic acid i.e Omega 3 comes from seeds however the most important omega 3 fats EPA & DHA are only found in fatty fish and grass fed meat. These long chain fats are crucial for brain health, are anti inflammatory & also provide support for cellular structure. EPA & DHA are also found to help reduce heart disease risk factors.

Good Fats for Cooking -

Always choose Fats that dont oxidise at high temperature. we learnt earlier how vegetable oils are prone to oxidation during transport, storage and cooking and can create some serious damage to our health.

The best fat for cooking are saturated fats like Ghee, Coconut Oil, Butter and Lard for frying and deep frying. These fats are very good in tolerating high temperature and do not oxidise as they reach high temperatures. Less stable polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils and seed oils do oxidise.

Olive is a Monounsaturated fat and is also a good option for cooking due to its stable nature at high temperatures.