Fats

There are 3 naturally occurring fats commonly found in diet: saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. All 3 have different effects and benefits.

Trans fat is the fourth type of fat that is an unhealthy byproduct of industrial fat production and should be avoided

Our modern diets lack good fats. We are told not to eat butter, eggs, full fat milk instead to go for substitutes such as margarine, egg beaters, skim milk, low fat sour cream and so on. The diet leaves us with low energy and starving brains.

Fats are vital to our bodies in numerous ways:

  • Act as an intestinal lubricant
  • Generate body heat and guards against internal heat loss
  • Act as a delivery system, carrying fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K in the body
  • Are essential to protein metabolism, mineral absorption, conversion of carotene to vitamin A
  • Provide energy to the muscles
  • Serve as anti-inflammatory mediators
  • Are building blocks for cell membranes and hormones
  • Satisfy your appetite for longer by staying in the digestive tract longer than protein or carbohydrates (gives you a feeling of fullness)

Fats are composed of building blocks called fatty acids. Fatty acids come in two varieties: saturated and unsaturated.  Unsaturated are divided into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Most food that contain fats and oil, whether of vegetable or animal origin, are some combination of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. For example, meat contains saturated fat as well as omega-6 and 3s, canola oil contains omega 3s, 6s and 9s; each food, however, has a predominant fat.

Saturated fats

  • Found in animal products: meat, diary, lard; and in tropical oils: coconut oil, vegetable shortening and palm kernel oils
  • Solid at room temperature; stable fatty acids, not easily altered by heating
  • Provide good sources of stored energy of the body
  • Insulate vital tissues against the cold
  • Are necessary for calcium to be effectively incorporated into bones
  • Provide fat-soluble vitamins
  • Protect liver from toxins
  • Have antimicrobial properties that protects us against harmful microorganisms in the digestive tract
  • Are needed for the proper utilization of essential fatty acids

Monounsaturated fats

  • Found mostly in vegetable
  • Liquid at room temperature

 

Polyunsaturated fats = Essential Fatty Acids EFAs = Vitamin F

  • Necessary for health and cannot be produced by your body; it has to be obtain from your diet
  • Two main types:
    • Omega-6  linoleic acid (LA)
    • Omega-3 linolenic acid (LNA)
  • Vital for the structure and effective working of the brain and nervous system, the immune system, the hormonal system, the cardiovascular system and the skin
  • Healthy only when eaten in their natural state or processed out of their natural state by using pre-, cold- and expeller press techniques rather than heat-damaging manufacturing process
  • Found in fish (salmon, mackerel, halibut), plant oils (best seed is flaxseed), botanicals, nuts (English walnuts best), beans (navy, kidney, soy)
  • They rapidly go rancid and should be used quickly, also refrigerated in dark containers; when oxidized they release free radicals causing inflammation.
  • We are usually deficient in omega-3s; it is difficult to get enough omega-3 in our diets alone, that’s why supplementing is a good idea
  • Omega-3s and omega-6s each have individual functions, both are necessary for health and should be taken in equal amounts rather than one over the other; ratio omega-6 to omega-3 should be 1:1 to 2:1; now it usually is 20:1 or 30:1
  • Omega-6 fatty acids (linoleic acid and arachidonic acid)
    • Unprocessed, unheated vegetable oils (safflower, sunflower, corn, sesame)
    • Botanicals (evening promise, black current oil – GLA containing fatty acid that is helpful in metabolism of linoleic acid (LA))
    • Saturated animal fat (choose only free-range organic meat since drugs concentrate in fats)
  • Omega-3 fatty acids (DHA, EPA, and alpha linolenic acid)
    • Cold water fatty fish (salmon, krill, sardines, mackerel, halibut, butterfish, tuna, anchovies), fish oils
    • Flax, chia, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, canola oil, seaweeds
    • Walnut, flax, canola, wheat germ oil if their source plants were grown in a cold climate, if fresh, cold pressed and not hydrogenated
    • Omega-3s are extremely sensitive to light and oxygen; therefore, they have been removed from processed food to extend shelf life leading to deficiency in omega-3s
    • Fatty fish or fish oils are primary sources of usable and already broken down EPA and DHA
    • Omega-3s from most plants, including flax, is a complex form called Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) that needs to be broken down into EPA and DHA in order to be useful to the body;
    • Flaxseed oil, even though it needs conversion, it also supplies the body in lignans phytochemicals shown to have anti-cancer properties; food grade flaxseed oil (linseed oil) has the richest content of omega-3s from all plants (it contains both omega 3-s and omega 6-s with the 3s predominating)
    • Cod liver oil – rich source of EFAs together with vitamin A and D (1sp a day to young children, 1tbs to adults or capsules containing at least 250 mg of DHA – kids 7 and up)
    • Pasture raised chicken, eggs and beef are good sources of omega-3s

Trans Fats

  • “Modern” manufactured oils
  • The most harmful fats to your body
  • Are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid, that kills any EFAs and changes it’s chemistry; in addition, they cannot be broken down in the body but are stored in fat tissues, eventually leading to diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and the formation of free radicals
  • Include hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil shortening, margarine, processed foods, fried foods, breads, crackers, donuts etc

 

Sources:

    1. “Natural Healing Wisdom & Know – How” by Amy Rost (2009)
    2. “Lessons from the Miracle Doctors” by Jon Barron (2008) (p. 92-99)
    3. “Prescription for Nutritional Healing” by Balch and Balch (2000)
    4. The Skinny on Fats, Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/know-your-fats/the-skinny-on-fats/
    5. The Brain Needs Animal Fat. Georgie Ede, MD. (2019) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/diagnosis-diet/201903/the-brain-needs-animal-fat