Fat has got a bad reputation. Over the last 70 years low-fat products have been marketed as the saviour of our health and weight. And as you may have read in my recent blog, weight and health have become very much intertwined within diet culture. The message from governments and the media is largely that the fat we eat gets stored as fat in the body and puts us at greater risk of heart disease. It is far more complex than that.
Part of the problem, of course, is that we use the same word for the fat within our body and the fat we eat.
HOW DID FAT GET SUCH A BAD NAME?
The demonisation of fat began when an American scientist called Ancel Keys produced the first ‘evidence’ linking saturated fat to heart disease in 1953. When another scientist looked at the same research, this time without cherry picking date from specific countries, no correlation was found.
Whether there is a correlation in studies between consuming fat and heart disease or not, scientists have been unbale to prove that this is in fact a cause of heart disease.
However, governments (and their health care agencies) across the world began advocating a low-fat diet. They told us to opt for low-fat or no-fat alternatives wherever we could.
Soon, the food industry jumped on board to create products that better satisfied this new advice. They replaced saturated fats with ‘healthier’ vegetable oils, like margarine and shortening – ironically these trans fats are now one of the few fats research shows ARE linked to health problems. The biggest problem is that by removing the fat from foods, sugar has more often than not replaced it, in order to make those foods more palatable.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FATS?
Many of the women I work with come to me with a profound fear of fats -worried about weight gain or heart disease. However, the impact of fats on health and weight, very much depends on the type of fats you are consuming or avoiding.
Saturated fat
These are the fats that have the worst reputation, and they’re found in animal food products (including meat and dairy) and coconut oil.
Contrary to what we are led to believe, these dietary saturated fats do not raise cholesterol. This is controversial as it goes entirely against what we have been told for decades (and we are still being told by government agencies)
Take coconut oil, it is in fact found to reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol and blood pressure and has anti-fungal properties too! It makes the ideal replacement for butter in baking and a useful oil for frying with as it doesn’t oxidise at high temperatures.
Let’s also look at red meat, we are led to believe it’s unhealthy due to its fat content. Broken down, it consists of amino acids needed for brain chemicals such as serotonin (that helps you to feel good,) and dopamine (associated with reward - so important in terms of bingeing!), muscles, antibodies etc It is also essential for regulating blood sugar and helps prevent cravings.
Additionally, it is packed with micronutrients including calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium and Vitamins B3, B5, B6 and B12
It doesn’t just contain saturated fat but others including omega 3 fats, but has no unhealthy trans fats. (See below for more details on these)
Monounsaturated fats
These fats are associated with the Mediterranean diet – particularly olive oil- and populations that eat a lot of these fats, like the people of Greece and Italy, have some of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world. Avocados, often dismissed as too calorific, are high in monosaturated fats (and rich in vitamin E).
Many cardiologists advocate the Traditional Mediterranean diet, as higher intakes of this kind of fat are linked to a better cholesterol balance between the helpful and more harmful cholesterols.
Polyunsaturated fats
These include omega-3 and omega-6 essential fats. They cannot be made in the body and must be eaten as part of your diet (or taken as a supplement). Omega 3 rich foods include oily fish such as salmon and nuts and seeds.
These fats fulfil many roles in the body. Sufficient levels have implications for cell membranes, hormones (they regulate insulin function), managing inflammation and immunity, mood and memory.
As a rule, omega-6 fats are less helpful than the anti- inflammatory omega-3 fats. Historically, humans had a good ratio of omega -6 to 3 – ranging between 1:1 and 4:1.
The modern Western diet has impacted this balance and the ratio is frequently 20:1 thanks to processed foods, vegetable oils and conventionally raised (rather than grass-fed) meat.
So it’s helpful to focus on the intake of omega 3 rich foods which are harder to obtain in the diet, than omega – 6 fat sources. The omega 3 fats have a positive effect on long term weight regulation.
Trans Fats
These fats cause cell membranes to become stiff and hard, so they no longer function correctly. Trans fats are the ones harmful to cardiovascular health (lower good cholesterol - increase level of bad cholesterol). Mostly trans fats are contained in processed foods (i.e. hydrogenated oils, margarine etc).
AND DOES FAT MAKE US FAT?
Again, this is influenced by the type of fats we consume. Monounsaturated fats and omega-3 fats are the most efficient at stimulating the release of the satiety hormone leptin, that tells us it’s time to stop eating. In fact, the omega 3 fats have the most positive effect on long term weight regulation.
Trans fats are far less efficient at stimulating the release of leptin. We are therefore far more likely to feel dissatisfied after eating trans-fat containing food and to keep on eating it even if we are full.
Its worth noting that all foods except sugar contain a minimum trace of fat. It might also surprise you that all foods that contain fat comprise of saturated, monounsaturated, AND polyunsaturated fats.
If you are a long-term yo-yo dieter, high-fat foods are likely to be on the forbidden list. But, if you deprive yourself of food thinking it is bad, you are likely to become susceptible to ‘deprivation-driven’ eating. This commonly leads to overeating and bingeing.
The key is to understand how food and your body works in order to overcome society’s deeply ingrained belief that we simply must eat less calories and exercise more. This thinking merely serves to promote a diet mindset that leads to destructive thinking and harmful eating behaviours.
Until next time
Marcelle x