(Not so) Evil Fat

Weight: 272
Running: 3 miles today. Felt AWESOME!!

Fat. It is a word we have all been trained to fear over the last generation or so. It has almost become dogma among doctors and nutritionists that fat makes you fat. If you ask virtually any doctor what you should eat to be healthy, especially if you have a history of heart disease, you will be told to eat a "low sodium, low fat, heart healthy diet."

Why has fat been so stigmatized? To answer that question, we are going to take a step back in time. The beginning of the anti-fat movement has its roots in the 50's. It began not scientifically, but with common sense. If the problem is that you are carrying too much fat, then eating fat will only make things worse. To back this up, they began to design (rather poorly) studies in the 60's which confirmed that increased intake of fat, especially saturated fat, increased risk of heart disease and death. The birth of the low fat diet had happened. From there, citing these poor studies, the American College of Cardiology recommended a low fat diet in the prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD). What the doctors of the time (and even today) failed to realize is that human metabolism is far more complex than fat being turned into fat.

I apologize, but I have to go into a little chemistry here. There are many types of fats:

Saturated fat: a fat in which all of the carbon molecules (the c's) are occupied by hydrogens. Saturated fats occur in most animal products, and some plant products like avocado, nuts, and coconut. They are solid at room temperature.

Monounsaturated fat: Notice that one of the carbons in this molecule has a double bond to the one next to it. Thus, it is not "saturated" with Hydrogen. These fats occur in mostly plant oils, like olive oil.

Polyunsaturated fat: More than one of the carbon atoms has a double bond. There are 3 main varieties:

• Omega 3- The first double bond is in the 3rd carbon atom
• Omega 6- The first double bond is in the 6th
• Omega 9- The first double bond is in the 9th

Trans fat: A type of monounsaturated fat where the Hydrogens in the double bond are on opposite sides of the molecule. These have the advantage of being super stable and having a long shelf life, making them ideal for selling. They have the disadvantage of causing horrible amounts of blood vessel inflammation in humans. These do not occur in nature and only are made by food companies for use in fried foods. Many types of chips and microwave popcorn have vast amounts of trans fat. This is the big baddie.

Cholesterol: A complex molecule used in the cell membrane of virtually every cell in your body, as well as in steroid molecules, testosterone, estrogen, and many other hormones. The USDA has a daily recommended intake of cholesterol, but the human body is perfectly capable of making cholesterol without any help. You don't have to take in any, and a high cholesterol level is well linked to heart disease.

So on to the myth about fats. They are not all bad. In fact, there are essential fats. Our bodies can't make two fatty acids we really need: alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid) and linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid). They should be consumed in the ratio of about 2:1 with the 2 being omega 3. Flax, walnuts, and some other nuts are great sources of omega 3. 

The truth is even broader than that, however. Fats from plant products are quite beneficial for you. Whereas animal fats (particularly from factory farmed animals who are fattened on corn) cause CAD, systemic inflammation, and create the small LDL's (the bad ones that cause artery disease), plant fats actually decrease information, slow artery plaque formation, and contribute to satiation, causing you to eat less.

You'll notice if you read my DevolveHealth eating rules at www.devolvehealth.com, they say nothing about fat intake. If you eat a varied diet including nuts, seeds, healthy oils such as flax and olive, chia seeds, avocado, and coconut oil in mild to moderate amounts, you will get plenty of the essential fats that you need, and avoid the evil trans fats and animal saturated fats. The foods to avoid are animal products and processed (especially fried) foods.

I know what you are thinking: "what about salmon? They say salmon has lots of omega 3's." While this is true, you can easily get the same omega 3's from plant sources, and avoid the antibiotics fed to farmed fish. Also, you can avoid the Mercury load that you get from predator fish such as salmon. 

Bottom line: if you want to be healthy, ignore the guidelines about fat, stop counting calories, and follow the DevolveHealth eating rule #1:

Eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and legumes, and very little if any meat, dairy, or eggs.

If you do this, you will not only notice weight loss (if that's what you're looking for), but also increased energy, and lower risk of chronic disease.

Happy eating! Feel free to comment and let me know your results!