Time to demystify fats: The subject of fats in the diet is generally full of confusion. In this era of food focus being placed on “fat free” and “low fat” everything, we are quickly developing a nation of fat deficiencies! How is this possible with all the obesity in the world? Because we are eating the wrong kinds of fat, and eliminating the right kinds. Fats are important in the body. They have very specific, important functions. Without them we set the stage for digestive problems, loss of tissue integrity (skin, organs, vessels), hormonal imbalances and neurological disorders. What is rarely understood, is that when there is a deficiency of Essential Fats in the body, the body will store most of the fat ingested, hoping someday to be able to convert it into a usable fat. When Essential Fats are sufficient in the diet, then the body will melt off the layers of fat it no longer needs. So contrary to common thought, eating fat does not necessarily mean you’ll gain weight, and eating “low fat” and “no fat” foods can actually make you gain weight! The secret is to eat the right kind of fats.
Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) – The first and most important fat. Essential Fatty Acids are just what the name implies: Essential. They are not naturally provided by the body, and as such must be supplied through our nutritional intake. They are responsible for cell wall integrity (strength), nerve cell growth factor, smooth flow of nerve impulses from brain to body parts, hormone precursor (needed for the body to be able to make hormones), part of the body’s natural anti-inflammatory mechanism (PG2), and skin resilience (dry skin and hair are indicators of EFA deficiency). Essential Fatty Acids are found in avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, raw nuts and seeds, salmon, mackerel and sardines, and in trace amounts in whole, unprocessed grains and green leafy vegetables. These saturated and unsaturated kinds of fat are essential. They are absolutely needed in the diet for proper functioning of the body. But since they are the building blocks of brain cell and nerve development, they are even more essential!!! If proper amounts of EFA’s are provided in the diet, the body will not accumulate other fats (which contribute to obesity).
Animal Fats – Are another needed fat, but not necessarily all animal fats. Animal fats are saturated fats, and are needed for different functions in the body. “Animal fat” includes fat from all forms of meat (beef, pork, poultry, fish, lamb, elk, deer), eggs and dairy products (cheese, yogurt, milk, etc.) – basically anything that comes from an animal. Not all animal fat is the same, however. Dairy fats that have been heated (pasteurized) do not have the same beneficial effect on the body, and in fact result in significant health challenges. The health (or lack thereof) of fats of all animal meats is dependent upon how they are raised. It’s not the fat that’s the problem. The real issue is that the toxins from antibiotics, growth hormones and chemicals in feed store in the fat. Animals that are raised on pasture grass are much healthier and their fat beneficial. Game meats are considered the healthiest. Fish should be wild and not farm raised where chemical feeds effect the nutrition.
Eggs can be consumed as desired. However, look for eggs from hens raised on pasture. Since the 1990’s we now know that eating cholesterol does not raise cholesterol levels, any more than eating fat makes you fat. That old garbage nutritional advice was debunked 20 years ago, yet is still perpetuated by the uneducated.
Vegetable Oils – These are bad. When the whole assumption that fat made you fat, and eggs, beef and other fats were strongly discouraged, vegetable oils were introduced. Vegetable oils such as rapeseed (canola), soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower, safflower, etc. are processed by using chemicals that degum, bleach (pre and post bleaching), dewax, emulsify, winterize, fractionate, deodorize, hydrogenate or plasticize, overheat, and many are petroleum produced or genetically modified as well. There is no place in the diet for them.
Trans-Fatty Acids – The Most Dangerous Fat. Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA’s) include hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils/fats, margarines, and heated fats or oils. These BLOCK essential fatty acid absorption. These are literally poisons (poison is defined as any substance which, when relatively small amounts are ingested…has chemical action that may cause damage to structure or disturbance to function, producing symptomatology, illness or death). These DO NOT belong in the body. For example: Butter takes approximately 14 days for the body to completely eliminate. A long time, really. Margarine, however, is a completely different story. Margarine takes almost 600 days – nearly 2 years for the body to process and completely eliminate. In the meantime, it stresses the liver, and interferes with the pain mechanism (decreasing pain tolerance), and interferes with the body’s natural anti-inflammatory process (PG2). When you heat an oil or fat by frying, cooking, baking, or even how it’s processed, you change its molecular structure, and it is no longer healthy for the body. It becomes toxic, not helpful. It no longer works the same in the body. Roasting nuts or seeds, even if oil is not added, becomes harmful (because of the naturally occurring oils found in the nuts or seeds). So only eat raw nuts and seeds.
It is critical to health and healing to have enough Essential Fatty Acids in the body. Signs of an EFA deficiency include: Nervousness, weight gain, pain (or more pain than should be for the symptom), hormonal dysfunction, and dry skin & mucus membranes. Deficiencies also lead to heart attacks and strokes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammatory conditions and autoimmune diseases. Causes of EFA deficiency include: Trans-Fatty Acid Intake: (eating hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils/fats, margarine and heated oils), consuming too many commercially raised and processed animal fats; consumption of too few whole grains, nuts, seeds (raw), avocados, and quality oils (such as olive and coconut oils and butter; insufficiency of quality animal products; and digestive disorders such as gallbladder stress (insufficient amounts of bile to emulsify fats).
In Summary: The body NEEDS fats! But the right kind is ESSENTIAL – Essential Fatty Acids. If the reader or the patient needs a healthy functioning body and/or brain, especially one in the healing process, EFA’s are a must. But it is just as critical to eliminate the Trans-Fats.
| FUNCTION IN BODY Vascular wall integrityCell wall integrity (strength)Nerve cell growth factorSmooth flow of nerve impulses from brain to body partsHormone Precursor (needed to make hormones)Part of the pain mechanismPart of the anti-inflammatory mechanismNeeded to make brain cellsPart of the webbing of fatty tissue that holds organs in their proper anatomical positionNeeded for healthy, strong skinLubricates | DEFICIENCY CAUSED BY Trans-Fatty Acid Intake: Eating hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils/fats (check labels), margarine, heated oils (fried, roasted or baked (oils/fats). TFA’s block ESSENTIAL fatty acid absorption.Consuming Too Many Commercially Raised and Processed Animal Fats, and pasteurized dairy (cheese, yogurt, milk, etc.).Consumption of too few essential fatty acids (whole grains, raw nuts and seeds, avocados, quality oils (olive coconut oil, butter).Consumption of too little quality animal fats.Gallbladder stress – insufficient amounts of bile to emulsify fats, or missing gallbladder. |
| SYMPTOMS OF DEFICIENCY NervousnessWeight gain and inability to lose weightPain (lower pain tolerance)Hormonal Dysfunction (PMS, Menopause symptoms, etc.)Dry skin, hair & mucus membranesPendulous abdomen when obeseConstipationNervous system degenerationVaricose veins or hemorrhoidsEmotional instability | SOURCES OF EFA’S ButterCoconut OilAvocadosOlive OilRaw nuts & seedsSalmon, mackerel, sardines and tunaIn Trace amounts in whole grains and green leafy vegetables.In order of the highest amounts of the best: Butter, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, macadamia nuts, pecans, sesame seeds, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, filberts, brazil nuts, cashew nuts, pumpkin seeds, olives and wheat germ. |
© 2012 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D
