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Nutritious Foundations
Fat has gotten an evil rap for many years, after all, eating fat makes you fat, right? But fats have recently come out of obscurity and into the limelight and we now know there are many sources of fat that are healthy and even essential! Healthy fats support growth and promote healing. Fats are the building blocks of many important molecules, including hormones. From a weight maintenance perspective, fat helps us feel satiated and satisfied. One type of fat decreases inflammation, while another type increases inflammation. How are we to know the difference? And what's more, among the different types of fats, controversy abounds. Good fat? Bad fat? What foods should I eat? What foods should I avoid? Keep reading to find the answers.
Fats can be classified into three categories, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated:
considered to be heart healthy and supported in all corners of the literature as being a "healthy" fat. Avocados and olives fall into this category. These types of fats raise your levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and can help lower your LDL levels. As high LDL levels are thought to be a primary risk factor for heart disease, lowering them is clearly a good thing. No controversy here.
generally heart healthy, especially when coming from plant-based sources such as nuts and seeds. Pay attention to walnuts, chia, flax, and hemp seeds which have an unusually high proportion of omega-3 fatty acids as opposed to most other nuts and seeds which are predominantly comprised of omega-6 fatty acids.
https://www.superfoodevolution.com/nuts-and-seeds. In case you need a refresher on the benefits of omega-3's vs. omega-6's, click here,
https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/nutrition/omega-6-vs-omega-3-fatty-acids/, but in a nutshell, overconsumption of omega-6's promote inflammation while omega-3's decrease inflammation. Salmon and other cold-water fish are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Remember the acronym SMASH (salmon, mackeral, anchovies, sardines, herring) when choosing fish high in omega-3's. Of the aforementioned fish, mackeral (4,580 mg) contains the highest amount of omega-3's, followed by salmon (2,150 mg).
The controversy of polyunsaturated fats does not come from fresh food sources, rather it comes from vegetable oils. Although technically considered polyunsaturated fats, many of these "vegetable" oils are actually highly refined seed oils. Take canola oil for instance. You can still find many, many websites that promote canola oil as a "heart-healthy" cooking oil because it has a high concentration of monounsatured fat. However, you may not realize that canola oil also contains a high level of omega-6 fatty acids (which promote inflammation) and that 90% of the canola oil sold in the US goes through a refining process using high heat and chemical exposure. This same process is true of other popular "vegetable" oils including soy, corn and palm oils. Look for cold-pressed vegetable oils. Avocado oil is my pick for sauteing because of its high smoke point and high ratio of monounsaturated fat. Extra-virgin olive oil is also an excellent pick due to the high levels of mono-unsaturated fat and polyphenols (a powerful antioxidant) it contains.
Now the real controversy begins. For the past 50 years (since the 1970's) saturated fat has been singled out as "bad". This was followed en masse by the low-fat craze of the late 80's and 90's where we ate no fat, ate lots of sugar and got fatter and fatter. Today, the controversy exists as most of the research still supports the "saturated fat causes heart disease" theory and the 2020-2025 Nutrition and Dietary Guidelines once again advocate for "less than 10% of our daily fat intake should come from saturated fat." However, there are a growing number of research studies which challenge this long-held premise on saturated fat, stating that the science just isn't there to support it and that including fats from all sources can be a healthy addition to a weight maintenance program. If you really want to dive into the controversy, check out
this article which sums up the research by stating: "Other issues are much more worthy of your attention [than saturated fat intake], such as limiting your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed foods, following a well-balanced diet, and getting plenty of physical activity in your daily routine."
That being said, personally, I am not going to be feasting on red meat every night, rather, I plan to continue to emphasize all of the MUFA and PUFA sources of healthy fats along with a hefty dose of fruits and vegetables. As for saturated fats? I do enjoy a juicy steak, but not too often!
Exercise is the best medicine
--Hippocrates
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