Healthy Fats

The Replacement for Saturated fats with dangerous oils

In the 1950s, heart disease began to rise steeply. With high levels of cholesterol found in artery plaques, some started looking at cholesterol levels found in foods as a possible cause. Cholesterol is found only in animal foods such as meat, fish, cheese, eggs and butter. So the traditional foods of butter, eggs, and fat from meats were “out”, and the new vegetable oils were seen as heart-healthy replacements. However, research now shows that cholesterol levels in food have little or no effect on blood cholesterol levels, and the whole lipid theory of heart disease has been rejected by many re- searchers and doctors.

So what was the cause of the rapid rise of heart disease in the US? While there are many factors to consider, one thing we know is that after World War II there were some significant dietary changes in the American diet, including that kinds of fats Americans were eating:

Butter consumption was declining while the use of vegetable oils, especially oils that had been hardened to resemble butter by a process called hydrogenation, was increasing—dramatically increasing. By 1950 butter consumption had dropped from eighteen pounds per person per year to just over ten. Margarine filled in the gap, rising from about two pounds per person at the turn of the century to about eight. Consumption of vegetable shortening—used in crackers and baked goods—remained relatively steady at about twelve pounds per person per year but vegetable oil consumption had more than tripled—from just under three pounds per person per year to more than ten.

What we know today, but was not known well in the 1950s, is that hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils create trans-fatty acids that have been linked to heart disease.

Today, walk into any major grocery or retail food chain, visit the cooking oil section and you will not find much in the way of saturated fats. What have replaced saturated fats are now liquid vegetable oils, also known as polyunsaturated oils.

Unfortunately, polyunsaturated oils are not stable and they are prone to oxidation. These commercial vegetable oils are a recent addition to our diet since World War II, when manufacturers developed a process to make them shelf stable by using hydrogenation. Hydrogenating, or partially hydrogenating these oils, also makes them more solid (mimicking saturated fats) and useful.

WONDERFUL COCONUT OIL

Coconut oil contains what are called medium chain fatty acids, or medium chain triglycerides (MCTs for short). These medium chain fatty acids are different from the common longer chain fatty acids found in other plant-based oils. Most vegetable oils are composed of longer chain fatty acids, or triglycerides (LCTs). LCTs are typically stored in the body as fat, while MCTs are burned for energy. MCTs burn up quickly in the body. They are a lot like adding kindling to a fireplace, rather than a big damp log.

Coconut oil is nature’s richest source of MCTs. Not only do MCTs raise the body’s metabolism leading to weight loss, but they have special health-giving properties as well. The most predominant MCT in coconut oil, for example, is lauric acid. Lipid researcher Dr. Jon Kabara states “Never before in the history of man is it so important to emphasize the value of Lauric Oils. The medium- chain fats in coconut oil are similar to fats in mother’s milk and have similar nutraceutical effects. Outside of a human mother’s breast milk, coconut oil is nature’s most abundant source of lauric acid and medium chain fatty acids. MCTs have been part of infant formulas and hospital formulas for many years. The food industry at one time considered coconut oil to be the most su- perior dietary oil for use in baking and food preparations. At one time, it was a significant part of the American diet.

The Benefits of Saturated Fats

Most of the fats in the diet of our forefathers were saturated fats. This is also true of many traditional cultures. Tropical diets, for example, get much of their fats from coconuts and palm oil, which are rich in saturated fats. These traditional cultures have not had the obesity and health problems that we are seeing today in our culture, even though they had a diet high in saturated fats.

One reason why saturated fats have a long history of use in traditional cultures is because they are very stable fats that do not easily oxidize (turn rancid). Virgin Coconut Oil, for example, will not go rancid even at room temperatures in the tropics for a couple of years. Conversely, the refined oils that many Americans use are very unstable and turn rancid (oxidize) quickly. Oxidized oils are very toxic to the body and they can cause wide spread free-radical damage.

In addition to their shelf stability, saturated fats have many important roles in the body’s chemistry: For example:

Cell Health - Saturated fatty acids constitute at least 50 percent of cell membranes. They give our cells necessary firmness and integrity.

Bone Health - They play a vital role in the health of our bones. For example, at least 50 percent of our dietary fats need to be saturated for calcium to be effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure.

Cardiovascular Health - They lower Lp(a), a substance in the blood that indicates proneness to heart disease.

Detoxification – They protect the liver from the toxic effects of alcohol and certain drugs.

Immune Health - They enhance the immune system.

Tissue Health – They are needed for the proper utilization of essential fatty acids. Elongated omega-3 fatty acids are better retained in the tissues when the diet is rich in saturated fats.

Heart Health - Saturated 18-carbon stearic acid and 16-carbon palmitic acid are the preferred foods for the heart, which is why the fat around the heart muscle is highly saturated. The heart draws on this reserve of fat in times of stress.

OTHER HEALTHY FATS

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) – are unsaturated fatty acids that the body is unable to synthesize and therefore must be obtained from the diet. The two most important are linoleic acid (an omega- 6 fatty acid) and alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid). Americans get an overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids in their diet from poor sources such as margarine, salad dressing, chips, cracker, and ready-made baked goods. Care should be taken to limit omega-6 fatty acids and to get them from quality sources.