Eat fat to improve weight and health? Haven’t we always been told the opposite is true? In fact, over the past 50-odd years we’ve been made to think that a high carbohydrate (60% of daily calorie intake), low fat (15%) and moderate protein (25%) diet is the way to stay healthy and slim. Clearly this is an outdated belief, since the world’s nations are eating less fat than they ever used to, but are experiencing greater incidences of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other lifestyle diseases.
The importance of fats
Our brains are comprised of, and use, enormous amounts of fat so any diet that restricts fat intake, or regularly brings in adulterated fats, can compromise our cognitive health. In a 2009 study looking at essential fatty acids and the human brain, researches said, “We’ve learned in recent years that fatty acids are among the most crucial molecules that determine your brain’s integrity and ability to perform”.(1)
According to a 2013 article written by The Poliquin Group, the benefits of eating fat include better body composition, more muscle, easier fat loss, better reproductive health, better brain function and mood with less risk of depression, stronger bones and less risk of osteoporosis, reduced cancer risk, better cholesterol ratio and reduced heart disease risk, stronger immune system, and better skin and eye health.(2) Fats help you regulate body temperature, aid in hormone production, and help the body absorb fat-soluble vitamins. They also supply Vitamin A, which is required for protein absorption, and provide long-term, slow-burning fuel.
Types of fats
Fats come in many different types – from saturated (fats hard at room temperature like butter, coconut oil and the fat on meat) to polyunsaturated (omega-3 fish oils, omega-6 corn and Canola oil), to monounsaturated (seed, nut, avocado, and olive oils). Fats tend to contain a mix of different fatty acids but usually a predominance of one, which leads to it being categorised as a specific type. Once in the body fats break down into their smallest unit, fatty acids.
1. Saturated fats
Despite the suggestion in the past that saturated fats like butter, lard (pig fat), tallow (beef and mutton fat), coconut fat, and poultry fat are unhealthy, and that vegetable oils are healthy, quite the opposite has been proven. Our cell walls are comprised of around 50% saturated fats, helping to maintain the cells’ structural integrity. These fats also improve bone health, protect the liver from toxicity, help fight infections, and boost our immune systems.(3) In March 2014, a meta-analysis (including data from almost 80 studies and involving more than half a million people) published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, discovered that people who ate higher amounts of saturated fat did not experience more heart disease than those who ate less.(4)
2. Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs)
Omega-3 fats are particularly health-promoting. They fight inflammation and depression, improve eye health, promote brain growth and development in infants. They improve risk factors for heart disease, reduce symptoms of ADHD in children, reduce symptoms of metabolic syndrome, and fight autoimmune diseases. Omega-3 fats also improve mental disorders, fight age-related mental decline and Alzheimer’s disease, and reduce asthma in children. Finally, they reduce fat in the liver, alleviate menstrual pain, and are good for your skin. They may also help prevent cancer, improve bone and joint health, and improve sleep.(5)
Marine versions of omega-3 may be your best option as the plant-based omega-3, needs to go through a conversion process before it can be used, and typically this process is inefficient in humans. Best choices of marine omega-3 include salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, cod, oysters, anchovies, halibut, tuna, trout, shrimp, caviar, organ meats and grass-fed beef. Plant-based sources of omega-3 include chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, Brussel sprouts, flaxseeds, algae-based supplements, legumes and grains.
Omega-6 fats have been known to help with health issues such as eczema, diabetic neuropathy, joint damage, arthritis, osteoporosis multiple sclerosis and hypertension. Evening Primrose oil has shown some positive effects with regard to allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, and gynaecological issues. Because omega-6 fatty acids raise triglycerides in the body, they are best eaten in small amounts. This is especially true if you consume a diet of fast food, ready meals, or restaurant meals since vegetable oils tend to be used in these foods. Naturally raised (pastured) animals have a much better ratio of these fatty acids than those raised unnaturally (in other words, given feed that specifically increases the quantity of meat). Sources of omega-6 include poultry (meat, fat and egg yolk), pistachios, walnuts, almonds, blackcurrant seed oil, hemp seed oil and borage seed oil.
Note: omega-6 fats tend to be more pro-inflammatory, whereas omega-3 fats tends to be more anti-inflammatory. Ideally, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the diet should be between 2:1 and 4:1, but typically consumption these days falls somewhere between 10:1 to 20:1. This suggests that those eating a “standard” diet may do very well taking an omega-3 supplement, to balance out the omega-6 intake.
3. Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs)
MUFA benefits may include improving the function of your blood vessels, insulin levels and blood sugar control. They may also help lower your risk of cancer and heart disease, and reduce inflammation. These fatty acids can be found in olives and their oil, almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, macadamias, avocados, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and eggs.
Best fats to use
Apart from eating all fats in their whole food state, I also recommend a range of organic oils, from cold-pressed olive and nut oils, cold-pressed coconut fat, and MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil, to grass-fed butter, cream, lard, poultry fat and tallow.
Seed oils are problematic, even if cold-pressed, due to the fact that they are very unstable and easily damaged during processing. Avoid consuming Canola/rapeseed, corn, soybean, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower, cottonseed, sesame, and peanut oils. Also, try to eliminate, or drastically reduce, the amount of trans fatty acids (labelled “partially hydrogenated oils”) in your diet since these are very damaging to health. Trans fats are manufactured using a process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oils to make them solid. As far as possible cook with olive oil, butter, coconut fat or rendered animal fats (from drippings, or store-bought). These are less easily damaged by moderate to high temperatures and add great flavour. Use the previously-mentioned cold-pressed liquid oils as a salad dressing, or add into hot food but never cook with them since high temperatures damage them. Eat a range of oils daily in generous quantities.
Beware the carbohydrates!
Of the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats), carbohydrates is the one that can significantly alter blood sugar levels. This is because their starches break down very quickly into sugars in the body and are available to be used as an immediate energy source. A few hundred years ago we were far more physically active through our day and our choice of carbohydrate would probably have been an unprocessed whole grain. However, these days we’re a pretty sedentary species and our carbohydrate choice tends to be one of convenience and thus a processed one (e.g. commercial bread, juices, crackers, muffins, crisps etc.).
These processed carbohydrates are broken down much more rapidly into sugar than their wholegrain counterparts, playing havoc with blood sugar levels. Even wholegrain carbohydrates can impact significantly on blood sugar. When these levels becomes high, insulin is released, resulting in a signal to various cells to ‘open’ to receive the excess glucose. Your muscle cells and liver may already be topped up with fuel from your previous meal (except if you have exercised at a relatively high intensity since then), so the cells most likely to take this excess fuel are the fat cells, converting the glucose into fat very swiftly.
So, every time you eat a meal that’s high in processed carbohydrates, you’re setting yourself up for body fat storage. Not only that, but high sugar-release carbohydrates also result in a release of serotonin (our ‘feel-good’ hormone), but they don’t supply adequate fuel because they are ‘burnt up’ so quickly. Our brain’s subsequent cry for more fuel is ironically perceived as a need for more carbohydrates (due to the resulting serotonin release) and so – when we respond with carbohydrates – we perpetuate a vicious cycle.
How fats can help
Adding more fat to our meals helps us fuel ourselves better and for longer, and can ‘dampen’ the effects of rising blood sugar. Apart from the obvious health benefits fats offer us, they also improve the flavour of food and, ironically, tend to reduce the overall calories we consume over a 24-hour period. This is because we remain fuller for longer so tend not to do as much snacking between, or overeating at, meals. So next time you’re hungry, make sure you include some fat, and then enjoy the satisfaction and energy you get from it.
Resources:
1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20329590/
2. https://www.poliquinstore.com/articles/ten-amazing-benefits-of-eating-fat#:~:text=Ten%20Amazing%20Benefits%20of%20Eating%20Fat%201%20Better,Immune%20System.%2010%20Better%20Skin%20and%20Eye%20Health
3. https://drjockers.com/healthy-fats/
4. https://wellnessrepair.com/why-cholesterol-is-not-bad/
5. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/17-health-benefits-of-omega-3#section17