The Truth about Fats

The truth about good fats and bad fats is not exactly the same as what you would commonly hear. First we’ll look at the “Ancient Wisdom” side of the issue, then we’ll go into the science.

Healthy primitive and non-modernised peoples, such as those studied by Weston Price, ate mainly animal fats. Much of their fat was consumed in its natural form in whole foods. They did not eat modern vegetable fats and oils. They were virtually free of cancer and heart disease.

The fats that have traditionally nourished people since the earliest times were mainly animal fats, supplemented by some oils. These oils include those that were easily extracted by a natural, low-temperature process, including olive oil, peanut (and other nut) oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, palm oil. These are fats as provided by nature.
The modern fats include refined and modern vegetable oils (extracted at damaging high temperatures), hydrogenated and trans fats. These are new and dangerous fats that our body is not adapted to, and cause us great harm.

It was during the twentieth century that consumption of modern vegetable fats began and greatly increased, and consumption of animal fats decreased. It was also during this time that there was a huge increase in the rate of cancer and heart disease. Saturated and animal fats do not cause cancer and heart disease, as we are commonly told. Modern vegetable fats do.

Now let’s look at the science.

Let’s start with the basics. All fats are made up of a combination of saturated, monounsatured and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Fats are found in most types of foods, especially animal based food (meat etc.) and nuts and seeds. Land animals generally have more saturated and monounsaturated fat. Seafood, nuts and seeds usually have more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. Any kind of fat, eaten as found in its natural state in whole foods, is fine and healthy to eat. It is when the fats and oils themselves are extracted that problems may come about.

Now let’s look at the different types of fats and their suitability for our consumption.

Trans Fats, Hydrogenated Fats:
Trans fats are mostly created from the high-temperature, high-pressure process of hydrogenation. This process changes fats that are generally liquid at room temperature into solid at room temperature fats. The most common hydrogenated fats are margarine and shortening. These fats are usually rancid to begin with. The hydrogenation process changes the chemical structure and formation of these fats, from one commonly found in nature, to quite an unnatural formation. When your body takes these fats into your cells, it causes trouble. For normal cell processes to occur, the cell components need to be in certain arrangements. The trans fats that have been incorporated into your cell destroy its natural arrangement, so normal processes cannot occur. In short, trans fats are taken into your cells like any other fat, but they cannot be used by the cells because they are in an unnatural form. Trans fats interfere with your body’s normal functioning. They have been strongly linked with cancer, heart diseases and general bad health. Trans fats are the absolute worse fat you can eat. They should be avoided as much as possible.

Unstable Fats:
Exposed to a certain amount of heat, any fat or oil will go rancid. Some fats go rancid easier than others. When a fat or oil oxidises and goes rancid, it becomes full of free radicals. Free radicals attack cells in your body and cause damage through oxidative stress. Over time, this leads to increased aging, cancer, heart disease and an overall wearing down of your body’s healthy functioning.
The most unstable fats and oils are usually those with a large amount of polyunsaturated fat. These include safflower, corn, sunflower, soybean and cottonseed oils. Canola oil is also very unstable. They go rancid very easily and cannot tolerate much heat at all. The heat used in cooking is enough to make them go rancid. They should not be used in cooking. Not only that, but the usual modern process of extracting the oil generates enough heat to make these oils rancid. That means they are already rancid by the time they are oils. They are often refined and deodorised to get rid of any bad smell or taste caused by rancidity. The only way to get these oils in their non-rancid form is if they are cold-pressed or expeller pressed. Usually though, these oils are very high in Omega 6 fatty acids, which causes other problems (more on this in a future post). So they are best avoided completely.
For healthy primitive and non-modernised people, polyunsaturated fat made up the smallest portion of their fat intake. When you eat a natural varied diet, the amount of polyunsaturated fat you get from whole foods (especially nuts, seeds and seafood) will easily be enough. It is easy to get too much polyunsaturated fat if you add polyunsaturated oils to your diet.

Stable fats:
This category of fats and oils do not go rancid easily. They do not go rancid from the extraction process. They can also be used unheated or for cooking at moderate temperatures, and will only go rancid at very high temperatures. They are usually those containing a large amount of monounsaturated fat. They include olive oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, macadamia oil and other monounsaturated oils.
Though these are unlikely to go rancid from extraction, cold-pressed or expeller-pressed oils are always better, because maximum nutrition is preserved.

Very Stable fats:
These are fats with a lot of saturated fat. This means they can take a lot of heat and are highly resistant to becoming rancid. These fats include animal fats (e.g. beef tallow, lard, chicken fat, dairy fat etc.) and tropical oils (e.g. coconut oil, palm oil, cocoa butter). These fats can be used for frying and high-temperature cooking without becoming rancid.


Low Fat Diet?
You do not need to eat a low fat diet. In fact, it can be quite harmful. The right fats are needed for many important processes and functions in the body, so it is very important to get enough healthy fats. Modern conventional nutrition tells you to eat no more than 30% of calories as fat. Healthy non-modernised people usually had anywhere from 40% to 80% of calories as fat. So don’t be afraid of eating a lot of healthy fat.

And don’t worry, this won’t make you fat or overweight. Because healthy fats are needed for many bodily processes and function, they are not easily stored as excess body fat. Rancid fats and trans fats can easily cause weight gain. Because they cannot be used by your body for much, they are easily stored as excess body fat.

Stay tuned for my next blog entry, which will give you practical tips on healthy fat consumption.