Nutrition 101– Fats
Nutritionists tend to throw terms like ‘carbs’, ‘vitamins’
and ‘minerals’ around like everyone knows what they are. But
many people, if asked, couldn’t actually tell you what a vitamin
is, or why your body needs them. Yes, organic food usually contains more
vitamins and minerals, but what does this actually mean for your health?
Well, welcome to this series of explanations of the most used nutritional
terms – what they are, what they do, and how to get them. This month:
Fats
We’ve all heard that fat is bad – but this is only half
the story. The right fats are absolutely essential in your diet, and vital
for many structures and functions in your body. Fats provide the structure
of every cell wall in your body, control inflammation, lubricate your
skin and joints, provide energy, and make up around 60 per cent of your
brain.
Low-fat or no-fat diets can deprive you of not only the bad fats but
the good fats too, so if you remember only one thing from this article
it’s this: Fats are good for you, as long as you eat the right kinds.
They can actually help you lose weight, look and feel better, and avoid
common conditions like allergies, eczema, heart disease, depression, PMS
and more.
While all fats - saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated –
have positive roles in your body, the balance of fats in the typical western
diet has gone way out of kilter. In general, we eat far too much saturated
fats in meat, dairy and processed foods, and far too few essential fats
from nuts, seeds and oily fish. Two kinds of fats that have no place in
your body are hydrogenated fats, including partially-hydrogenated fats
that are even worse, and fried fats. Hydrogenated, or trans-fats, are
linked very strongly with heart disease risk, and while common in many
non-organic cakes, biscuits, pastries, ready meals and margarines, they’re
banned in organic foods. To understand how bad frying is for you, consider
this: While eating fish lowers your risk of heart disease, eating fried
fish dramatically increases your risk. It damages the fats and makes them
harmful for your body. I’ve actually heard that each chip is as
bad for you as one cigarette, and while this may be overstated, you get
the picture.
So the good fats that we need more of can be found in raw nuts, seeds
like flax, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower, and oily fish like sardines,
salmon and mackerel. These fats, including the omega 6 fats but especially
the fats known as omega 3, are essential inclusions in a healthy diet,
and almost everyone can benefit immensely from having more of them in
their diet. If you suffer from dry skin, eczema, asthma, arthritis, hayfever,
depression or PMS, in addition to seeing a health practitioner I strongly
recommend you improve the balance of fats in your diet. Omega 3 fats are
powerfully anti-inflammatory, and many of these common conditions are
an inevitable result of eating too few of them.
Finally, there are some interesting issues regarding organic food and
fats. Firstly, as many pesticides are stored in fat, the fats in conventional
meat and dairy may contain higher levels of pesticide residues than organic
meat and dairy. Recent research has also shown that organic meat and dairy
often have a healthier balance of fats than conventional meat and dairy,
containing higher levels of omega 3 fats plus another beneficial fat (that
helps control weight) called CLA.
As you can see, fat is a big subject. If you’d like to know more
see Patrick Holford’s New Optimum Nutrition Bible or Udo
Erasmus’ Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, both available
from good health food shops or online.
Wishing you the best of health,
Shane Heaton
Nutritionist
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