| by Nancy Emerson Lombardo, PhD, Cheryl Franchi, RD, CSG, LD, FADA, Kristina Scangas and Samantha Turner
Consumer Guideline Tip for January 2011:
“Favorite Fats! Eat healthier fats such as Omega 3’s, and monounsaturated fats such as in olive oil and avocados (a great brain food!). Use olive oil and canola oil for most of your cooking needs. Avoid transfats (partially hydrogenated oils) and reduce intake of saturated fats…emphasizing plant foods will help this strategy succeed.”
In our November and December newsletters, we reviewed the importance of Omega-3 fatty acids for our good health and well-being, identified food sources of this key nutrient; and shared some wonderful recipes to help you include these “superfoods” in your diet. This month we discuss the other healthy “favorite” fats, and introduce the unhealthy ones we’ll detail in February.
Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of polyunsaturated fat and, as we learned, an essential component of a brain healthy diet. There are actually several types of fats in our diet, and it’s important to understand what they are, how they affect our health, and what we should include in our diets to optimize our health (including brain health!), and help reduce our risk for developing many chronic conditions.
Part of our effort here is to dispel the myth that all fats are bad, and that all “fat-free” foods are good.
In the not-so-distant past, fat intake was greatly discouraged, and there were those who recommended severely limiting total fat intake. This advice was based on studies indicating diets too high in fat, especially certain types of fat, would increase the risk for several chronic conditions, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain types of cancers, as well as cognitive decline.
What are some health benefits of fats?
Fortunately it’s almost impossible to remove fat completely from our diets, since it would be unhealthy to do so. Contrary to what many people think, fats are a key nutrient in our diet, are key components of every brain and body cell, and are essential to many functions in the body. For example, fats play a vital role in maintaining healthy hair and skin, help maintain body temperature, insulate organs in our body against shock, and, at 9 calories per gram, fats provide a significant source of calories that can be used as a source of energy. Additionally, they help the body to absorb and distribute the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and carotenoids. Furthermore, fatty acids are an integral component of cell membrane structure and help to maintain healthy cell function in the brain and body. We couldn’t think, feel, move or live without fat!
Another benefit of including some fat in the diet is that it adds flavor, and, because fat takes longer to digest than carbohydrates and proteins, it helps to satisfy hunger by making you feel full for a longer period of time. Further, fat content in foods help slow the absorption of unrefined sugars and carbs, giving your body (and anti-oxidants you hopefully also consumed) a better chance of dealing with these unhealthy foods.
High caloric content of fat!
Caution: Fats do provide a concentrated source of calories (120 calories per tablespoon!), thus we must choose our fats wisely, to avoid excessive calorie intake, which can have adverse health effects e.g. through weight gain.
Why does the TYPE of fat I eat matter so dramatically?
The type of fat you eat is just as important as the total amount of fat in your diet. Evidence suggests that different types of fats have different effects on health. When consumed in moderate amounts, some fats offer health-protective benefits.
There are three main types of fats: saturated, unsaturated, and trans fats.
Fats are made of varying combinations of fatty acids, and may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure and composition. Some fats are saturated (harder at room temperature) while others are unsaturated (liquid at room temperature).
What are the less healthy types of fats?
Saturated and trans fats are the less healthy kinds of fats that you should try to limit in your diet. These fats can increase your risk of heart disease by increasing your total and LDL (bad) cholesterol. One reason eating more plant foods and fewer animal foods helps us obtain healthier fat balances is that PLANT FOODS CONTAIN NO CHOLESTEROL!!!
See our February edition for more information on saturated fats and trans fats. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat and http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/trans-fat/CL00032
And the healthy “favorite” fats?
In contrast, the unsaturated fats can have beneficial effects on health when consumed in moderation and as part of an overall balanced diet. There are two types of unsaturated fatty acids, monounsaturated (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated (PUFAs). The essential Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are types of polyunsaturated fats.
Both MUFAs and PUFAs provide health benefits by lowering total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats have the additional benefit of maintaining, and perhapsincreasing levels of HDL (the good cholesterol). Evidence is building that diets rich in mono-unsaturated fats, such as the Mediterranean Diet, are brain healthy.
Which foods are sources of monounsaturated fats?
Good sources of monounsaturated fats are avocadoes, plant oils such as canola, olive, and peanut oils, and a variety of nuts and nut butters including almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts (filberts), macadamia nuts, and peanuts.
What is an “essential fatty acid?”
Fatty acids that your body can’t make are considered “essential” (EFA stands for”essential fatty acid”. That means we must consume them in our diets to maintain good health. As we learned in previous articles, there are 2 basic EFA’s, both plant based: alpha-linolenic acid (an Omega-3 fatty acid), and linoleic acid (an Omega-6 fatty acid). Our bodies can build the longer chain Omega 3’s that actually comprise parts of our brains and body cells, EPA and DHA, which we wrote about in the last two articles/newsletters, although it is more reliable to get EPA and DHA directly from fish, seafood, and fish or other marine oils (calamari, algae).
While both Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are essential for the body, there is an ideal ratio of Omega-3’s to Omega-6’s that must be maintained for optimal health. That ideal ratio is what our cave dwelling ancestors experienced based on archeological evidence: 4 to 1 units of Omega 6’s for every unit of Omega 3’s. Today most American’s consume a greatly imbalanced ratio of 20 to 30 units of Omega 6’s for every unit of Omega’s 3’s. Many scientists believe this imbalance is one of the key factors behind many chronic diseases afflicting our citizens.
Omega-6 fatty acids tend to be more widely available in foods, including vegetable oils, shortenings, nuts, meats, salad dressings, margarines and processed foods in general, in grains, and in many animal foods. Omega 3’s are present in green leafy vegetables, in a few nuts (walnuts) and seeds (flax and chia), and in fish, seafood and grass/vegetation fed animals (see December issue).
The imbalance of Omega 6’s and 3’s is very harmful to the brain and body for multiple reasons. First and foremost, Omega 6’s are pro-inflammatory while Omega 3’s are anti-inflammatory. Having an excess of Omega 6’s, or deficiency in Omega 3’s, results in inflammation throughout the body and brain. Furthermore, excess Omega 6’s, especially from animal sources, has been linked to a buildup of excess arachidonic acid in the brain, especially the hippocampus, which in response shrinks or atrophies. [reference: Sanchez-Mejia et. al. Phospholipase A2 reduction ameliorates cognitive deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. Nature Neuroscience 2008 11(11): 1311-1318. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2597064/ ]
For sources of Omega 3’s, see our December newsletter articles. http://healthcareinsights.net/home/newsletters/decem
ber-2010-newsletter/
Choosing a variety of foods that contain these EFA’s, in the right balance, is the key to helping to moderate the inflammatory process, which has been linked to many chronic conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, certain types of cancer, and cognitive decline, and specifically, Alzheimer’s disease.
Beware “Fat-Free” Foods
Many food manufacturers have developed “fat-free” products such as cookies, cakes, snack foods, salad dressings and other food products that, although devoid of fat, often contain significantly greater amounts of calories, sugar, sodium, preservatives, additives and other ingredients that are not beneficial to our health. In fact, despite the widespread availability and ingestion of these products, the incidence of obesity has continued to rise to epidemic proportions, and this is a major risk factor in the development of the adverse health conditions listed above. The MPN™ program does not encourage the use of “fat-free” products. Instead, focus on eating healthy fats and reducing consumption of sugar, salt, food additives. The unhealthy saturated fats and avoid transfats altogether.
How Much of Which Kinds of Fats Should I Eat?
All fats, even if they are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, are high in calories. Fat contains nine calories per gram (a measure of weight). In comparison, protein and carbohydrates only contain four calories per gram.
So remember, when it comes to fats, the key to maintaining optimal health is eating the right types in moderate amounts.
Limit total fat intake to 20 to 35 percent of daily calories for a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet. This amounts to about 44 to 78 grams of total fat a day. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-diet/NU00200
Of this, no more than 16 grams should be saturated fats. About half of the remaining 14-32 calories should be comprised of mono-unsaturated fatty acids, and at least 4 to 8 grams of Omega 3’s daily (from vegetables, seed/nut and fish/seafood/seaweed sources).
For a 1,500 calories diet, get between 25 percent and 35 percent of calories from fat, primarily the healthy unsaturated (MUFAs and PUFAs) fats found in plant oils, fatty fish, nuts and avocados. This means about 375 to 525 fat calories daily, or because one gram of fat contains nine calories, 42 to 58 total grams of fat. http://www.livestrong.com/article/253372-1-500-calorie-healthy-eating-meal-plans/ (American Heart Association)
For all diets, try to skip all foods containing trans fats.
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