Dietary Fats and Saturated Fats

by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

I’ll preface this article by saying that it will help if you have an
open mind and accept that some of these facts are a slap in the face to
politically correct nutrition in this day and age where fats are
admonished by many doctors, health "experts", and the mass media.

To start, eating an adequate supply of healthy dietary fats is
vitally important to your overall health. Fats are one of the main
components in all of the cell membranes throughout your entire body. If
you eat enough healthy natural fats, your cellular processes will
proceed normally. On the other hand, if you eat man-made, heavily
processed, chemically altered fats (damaged fats) that are found in
most processed foods, your cellular function will be impaired as these
damaged fats become part of your cell membranes, the body will have to
work harder to operate correctly, and degenerative diseases can
develop.

In addition, healthy dietary fats are necessary for optimal hormone
production and balance within the body and are therefore essential for
the muscle building and fat burning processes. Other important
functions that dietary fats play in a healthy body are aiding vitamin
and mineral utilization, enzyme regulation, energy, etc.

I cringe every time I hear so called "health experts" recommend
restriction of dietary fat, claiming that a low-fat diet is the key to
good health, weight loss, and prevention of degenerative diseases.
Restriction of any one macronutrient (protein, carbs, or fat) in your
diet works against what your body needs and can only lead to problems.

All three basic macronutrients serve important functions for a lean,
healthy, and disease-free body. As Dr. Mary Enig, Ph.D, and one of the
leading fats researchers in the world, notes in several of her books
and articles, there is very little true scientific evidence supporting
the assertion that a high fat diet is bad for us.

For example, if these so called "health experts" that admonish fat
are correct, and a low-fat diet is the solution to good health, then
why did traditional Pacific Islanders who typically obtained 2/3 to 3/4
of their total daily calories from fat (mostly from coconut fat),
remain virtually free from heart disease, obesity, and other modern
degenerative diseases (that is, until Western dietary influences
invaded)? Also, why did traditional Eskimo populations, consuming up to
75% of their total caloric intake from fat (mostly from whale blubber,
seal fat, organ meats, and cold water fish), display superior health
and longevity without heart disease or obesity?

Why did members of the Masai tribe in Africa remain free from
degenerative diseases and maintain low body fat percentages on diets
consisting of large quantities of raw whole milk, blood, and meat? What
about the Samburu tribe of Africa, which eats an average of 5 times the
quantity of dietary fat (mostly from raw whole milk and meat) as
overweight, disease-ridden Americans, yet Samburu members are lean,
healthy, and free of degenerative diseases? What about traditional
Mediterranean diets, which are known to be very high in fat in some
cases (sometimes up to 50-70% fat), and are also well known to be very
healthy?

These examples of high fat diets and the associated excellent health of
traditional populations around the world go on and on, yet it seems
that many doctors, nutritionists, and media outlets still ignore these
facts and continue to promote a diet that restricts fat intake.

Well, the problem is that the good fats (the natural unprocessed
health promoting fats) have gotten mistakenly lumped together in
nutritional advice with the deadly processed fats and oils that make up
a large percentage of almost all processed food that is sold at your
local grocery store, restaurant, deli, fast food joint, etc. These
deadly processed fats are literally everywhere and almost impossible to
avoid unless you know what to look for and make smart choices in what
you feed your body with.

Take note that I’m not recommending following a super high fat diet.
Active individuals that exercise on a regular basis certainly also need
adequate supplies of healthy carbohydrates for energy and muscle
glycogen replenishment as well as good sources of protein for muscle
repair. The above examples of the high fat diets of traditional
populations and their corresponding excellent health were simply to
prove the point that you don’t need to be afraid of dietary fats as
long as you make healthy natural choices and stay within your daily
caloric range to maintain or lose weight (depending on your goals).

Following is a list of some of the healthiest fatty foods (some will
surprise you!) as well as some of the deadliest fatty foods to try to
avoid at all costs:

The Healthy Fatty Food Choices:

• Coconut fat: Coconut fat is approximately 92% saturated
  fat, yet surprisingly to most people, is considered a very healthy
  natural fat. The health benefits of coconut fat lie in its composition
  of approximately 65% medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). Specifically,
  about 50% of coconut fat is a MCT called lauric acid, which has very
  potent anti-microbial properties helping to enhance the immune system.
  Also, MCTs are more easily utilized for immediate energy instead of
  being stored as body fat. Coconut oil is also an excellent cooking oil
  for stir-frying, etc. since saturated fats are much more stable and do
  not oxidize like polyunsaturated oils when exposed to heat and light,
  which creates damaging free radicals. The best sources of healthy
  coconut fat are organic coconut milk, virgin coconut oil (available at
  http://coconut-info.com), or fresh coconut.
• Extra
  virgin olive oil: Olive oil is approximately 71% monounsaturated, 16%
  saturated, and 13% polyunsaturated. Choose “extra virgin” olive oil,
  which comes from the first pressing of the olives and has higher
  quantities of antioxidants. Unlike most other oils on supermarket
  shelves, extra virgin olive oil is not extracted with the use of
  harmful industrial solvents and is one of your healthiest choices for
  liquid oils. Try making your own salad dressing by mixing a small
  amount of olive oil with vinegar. This is healthier than most store
  bought salad dressings, which are usually made with highly processed
  and refined (chemically damaged) soybean oil extracted with industrial
  solvents.
• Dark, bittersweet chocolate (>70% cocoa):
  The cocoa bean is a very concentrated source of antioxidants and
  responsible for part of the health benefit of dark chocolate. The fat
  portion of the cocoa bean (cocoa butter) is a healthy natural fat,
  composed of approximately 59% saturated fat (mostly healthy stearic
  acid), 38% monounsaturated fat, and 3% polyunsaturated fat. I’ll limit
  the description of healthy chocolate to ONLY dark bittersweet chocolate
  with >70% cocoa content. Most milk chocolates are only about 30%
  cocoa, and even most dark chocolates are only about 55% cocoa, leaving
  the remainder of those products composed of high amounts of sugar, milk
  fat, corn sweeteners, etc. Look for a quality dark chocolate that lists
  its cocoa content like Chocolove Extra Dark (77%) or Dagoba New Moon
  (74%), which contain mostly cocoa and very little sugar. Keep in mind
  that although dark chocolate can be a healthy treat, it is still
  calorie dense, so keeping it to just a square or two is a good idea.
• Avocados
  or guacamole: The fat in avocados (depending on where they’re grown)
  is approximately 60% monounsaturated, 25% saturated, and 15%
  polyunsaturated. Avocados are a very healthy natural food that provides
  many nutrients, fiber, and healthful fats, while adding a rich flavor
  to any meal. Try sliced avocado on sandwiches or in salads or use
  guacamole in wraps, sandwiches, or quesadillas.
• High
  fat fish such as wild salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, trout,
  etc.: Just about any fish or seafood are good sources of natural
  omega-3 polyunsaturated fats, but the higher fat fish listed above are
  the best sources of omega-3’s. Due to the radical switch to a higher
  proportion of omega-6 polyunsaturated fats like soybean oil, corn oil,
  safflower oil, etc. in our food supply during the middle of the 20th
  century, the average western diet is currently way too high in
  omega-6’s compared to omega-3’s, which wreaks havoc in your body. This
  is where good omega-3 sources like high fat fish, walnuts, and flax
  seeds can help bring you back to a better ratio of omega-6/omega-3.
• Nuts
  (any and all - walnuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews, macadamias, etc.):
  Nuts are great sources of healthy unprocessed fats as well as minerals
  and other trace nutrients. Macadamias, almonds, and cashews are great
  sources of monounsaturated fats, while walnuts are a good source of
  unprocessed polyunsaturated fats (including omega-3’s). Try to avoid
  nuts that are cooked in oil. Instead, choose raw or dry roasted nuts.
• Seeds
  (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds): All of
  these seeds are great sources of natural unprocessed healthy fats. In
  particular, flax seeds have received a lot of attention lately due to
  their high omega-3 content. However, keep in mind that omega-3
  polyunsaturated fats are highly reactive to heat and light, and prone
  to oxidation and free radical production. Therefore, freshly ground
  flax seed is the only way to go. Instead of using the store bought
  ground flax seed, you can buy whole flax seed and use one of those
  miniature coffee grinders to grind your own flax seed. Try grinding
  fresh flax seed into your yogurt, cereal, or even your salad. If
  you’re using a flax oil, make sure it’s a cold-pressed oil in a
  light-proof refrigerated container, and use it up within a few weeks to
  prevent it from going rancid. NEVER cook with flax oil!
• The
  fat in organically raised, free-range animals: This is where most
  people have been misinformed by the mass media. Animal fat is
  inherently good for us, that is, if it came from a healthy animal.
  Human beings have thrived on animal fats for thousands of years. The
  problem is, most mass produced animal products today do not come from
  healthy animals. They come from animals given loads of antibiotics and
  fattened up with hormones and fed un-natural feed. The solution is to
  choose organically raised, free-range meats, eggs, and dairy. At this
  time, the price is still a little higher, but as demand grows, the
  prices will come down. I've found an incredible website that actually
  offers free-range grass-fed meats delivered right to your doorstep at
  very reasonable prices. Believe me, it's very hard to find grass fed
  meats at any grocery stores, so I was pleased to find this site.

The Deadly Fatty Foods:

• Hydrogenated oils (trans fats): These are industrially
  produced chemically altered oils subjected to extremely high pressure
  and temperature, with added industrial solvents such as hexane for
  extraction, and have a metal catalyst added to promote the artificial
  hydrogenation, followed by bleaching and deodorizing agents…..and
  somehow the FDA still allows this crap to pass as food. These oils
  aren’t even worthy of your lawnmower, much less your body! They’ve been
  linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and more. Even
  small quantities have been shown in studies to be dangerous. If you
  care about your health, check the ingredients of everything you buy,
  and if you see partially hydrogenated oils of any kind, margarine, or
  shortening, protect yourself and your family by choosing something
  else. The FDA has mandated that all food manufacturers are required to
  show the quantity of trans fat on all labels by January 2006.
• Refined
  oils: Even if the oils are not hydrogenated, most oils on your
  supermarket shelves are refined, even most of the so called “healthy”
  canola oils. Most refined oils still undergo the high temperature, high
  pressure, solvent extraction, bleaching, and deodorizing processes.
  Anything labeled vegetable oil, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil,
  safflower oil, and even many canola oils have been damaged by this
  refining process (unless they say "virgin" or "cold expeller pressed").
  This damages the natural structure of the fats, destroys natural
  antioxidants, creates free radicals, and produces a generally unhealthy
  product. Take note that the explosion of heart disease in the middle of
  the 20th century coincides quite nicely with the rapid increase in the
  use of hydrogenated and refined oils in the food supply.
• Anything
  deep fried: including tortilla chips, potato chips, French fries,
  donuts, fried chicken, chicken nuggets, etc. All of this crap shouldn't
  even pass as real food in my opinion!
• Homogenized milk fat - Milk fat is a very healthy fat in its natural raw state. Milk and beef from grass fed organically raised cows
  is known to have higher quantities of healthy fats like conjugated
  linoleic acid (CLA) and omega-3 fatty acids compared with grain fed
  cows. Traditional populations around the world have thrived in perfect
  health while consuming huge quantities of raw, non-pasteurized,
  non-homogenized, full fat dairy products. Once again, food processing
  ruins a good thing by pasteurizing and homogenizing milk fat, rendering
  it potentially dangerous inside the human body. Unfortunately, you will
  find it almost impossible to find raw milk in the US unless you
  personally know a farmer. Check out http://www.realmilk.com for more
  info on the benefits of raw milk and to find out if it’s available near
  you. As an alternative, cultured dairy products like yogurt have at
  least had beneficial microorganisms added back to them making them
  better for you. Realistically, since you probably won’t find raw milk,
  sticking to skim milk is the best option to avoid the homogenized milk
  fat. If you use butter for cooking, your best option is grass-fed butter.

I
hope this article has shed some light on the truth about dietary fats
and made you realize their importance in a healthy diet. A fully
comprehensive analysis on dietary protein, carbohydrates, and fat, and
how to compile all of this information into a diet that promotes a lean
healthy body with a low body fat percentage is provided in my book "The Truth About Six Pack Abs". Give it a try and you won’t be disappointed!