The nutritional mantra over the past 20 years has been a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet for a healthy lifestyle. We were told this approach will not only help us lose weight but it also prevents cancer and heart disease. As a result, we either jumped on or fell off the band wagon on any given day. However, food producers, paying attention to consumer demands for healthier prepared meals, repackaged their products with labels of low-fat this and reduced fat that.
This is yesterday’s news.
Research now shows that the total amount of fat in the diet, high or low, may not actually link with disease. What really matters is the type of fat in the diet.
Not all fats are bad, but some fats are very bad – like saturated and trans fats. There is evidence that these bad fats do increase the risk for certain diseases, while good fats, such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, tend to lower the risks for disease. One of the keys to good health then could be to simply substitute the good fats for the bad fats -except it’s not that simple.
New York City made news late last year when it required restaurants to eliminate trans fat from menus and Chicago is thinking of doing the same. In Michigan there’s been similar talk in Oakland County and some conversation in Lansing for the entire state.
The term fat refers to a broad category of substances we get from food or we make in our own bodies. Physicians often refer to them by their technical name - lipids. ( Fats are spoken of in the plural because there’s no one type of fat but many different fats.)
The fact is you can’t eliminate some diseases by eliminating fat. Granted, too much fat, in any form, may lead to disease. On the other hand, too little fat in whatever form may also lead to disease. It’s the kind of fat and the balance of various fats that determine how fat may contribute to disease.
Take cholesterol, for example. The outlook on cholesterol has changed in the last decade and continues to change. This wax-like substance is made by the liver which links it to lipoproteins that let the cholesterol dissolve in the blood and be transported throughout the body. Although it’s important to limit the amount of cholesterol we get in our food, especially if a person is diabetic, dietary cholesterol isn’t nearly as bad as it was thought to be. It’s the amount and the kind of cholesterol which gets in the blood stream that’s important because high blood cholesterol levels do increase the risk of heart disease. The problem is we make about 75% of our blood cholesterol in our livers and only about25% is absorbed from food.
The Cholesterol-Heart Disease Connection
Deservedly, dietary fats are receiving lots of attention because they can raise cholesterol and have little nutrition value. The problem takes place when we consume more fat calories then we expend in energy resulting in weight gain – a little or a lot.
By the same token, our bodies require some cholesterol to function. For example, cholesterol has an important role in the formation of cell membranes, some hormones and vitamin D. Our systems also require some fat to keep the brain functioning efficiently, combat inflammation, and maintain a proper immune function.
Too much of the bad LDL cholesterol in the blood, however, leads to problems because cholesterol can build up in the arteries. These deposits, call plaque, narrow the artery resulting in restricted blood flow. When the heart doesn’t get enough blood, it doesn’t get the oxygen and nutrients needed to function properly which may lead to a heart attack or stroke. On the other hand, the good high-density lipoproteins (HDL) carry the cholesterol from the blood back to the liver which then eliminates the cholesterol from the body.
The Good
The best options are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats because they can improve blood cholesterol levels. These fats help lower total and low-density (LDL- the bad) cholesterol levels.
Monounsaturated fat is the kind that remains liquid at room temperature but may start to solidify in the frig. Olive, peanut, and canola oils are high in monounsaturated fat. So are avocados and most nuts.
Polyunsaturated fat is liquid at room temperature and remains liquid in the frig. Foods high in polyunsaturated fats are vegetable oils - safflower, corn, soy and cottonseed oils. Omega-e fatty acids which promote good heart health, are polyunsaturated fats found mostly in seafood. Good sources include fatty, cold-water fist such as salmon, herring, trout and mackerel. Flaxseeds, flax oil and walnuts also contain omega-3 fatty acids.
The Bad
Saturated fats and trans fats frequently cause clogged arteries which raises blood cholesterol. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that healthy people consume less than 10% of their calories from saturated fats daily.
Saturated fat is found in foods that are firm at room temperatures such as meats, cheese, butter, luncheon meats and baked goods. Coconut and palm oils also contain saturated fats.
The Ugly
Ounce for ounce, trans fats (also called trans fatty acids or hydrogenated oil) are worse than saturated fats when it comes to heart disease. They not only cause the bad LDL cholesterol to rise, they also cause the good HDL cholesterol to drop, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke even more.
Some trans fats are found naturally in meat and dairy product and in some plants. However, most are formed by a chemical process which changes liquid vegetable oils to solid. Manufacturers use trans fats because they give food a longer shelf life and improve the taste and texture of food. The firmness and spreadability of margarines, flakiness of piecrust, creaminess of puddings, and crispiness of French fries are characteristics provided by hydrogenated oil ingredients. Trans fats are found in solid shortenings, stick margarine, commercial cookies and crackers. Many fast-food chains deep-fry French fries and other foods in trans fat.
Fats on the Food Label
If you want to know what you’re getting when you buy a can of soup or box of cereal- take your glasses when you market. As of January 1, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required trans fat to be listed below the saturated fat line on the Nutrition Facts panel (NFP) on the food label. Many food manufacturers are also listing information about polyunsaturated fats (PUFA) and monounsaturated fats (MUFA) for the product. Consumers can use this information to make informed choices about what is purchased.
Health claims, regulated by the FDA, also appear on food packages to promote the scientific evidence between a food component and a health related issue such as ‘low in fats’ or ‘supports good cholesterol’.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends that fat make up no more than 35% of your daily calories. For example, if you consume 1,800 calories a day, no more than 630 calories should be fat. Keep in mind that this is an upper limit and most of these fat calories should come from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated sources, keeping trans fat intake as low as possible.
Don’t be fooled- read the label
"Lower in fat" may not mean "low-fat" (containing 3 grams or less fat per serving). Products labeled lower fat, reduced fat, 1/3 less fat, 50% less fat, light or ‘lite’ may only be reduced from the full-fat products but still contain a lot of fat. Also, note the serving size. If one serving of cheese is 1 oz., of a 1 pound package, that’s just 1/16 of the package. If you normally eat more then that, you’re getting a greater percentage of fat.
Here’s something you probably didn’t know. The FDA allows food manufacturers to label any product that has less than half a gram of trans fat per serving as zero. You could be getting up to 0.49 grams of trans fat in a serving and not know it. It quickly ads up especially when the serving size is small and you consume 2 or 3 servings. Also the words ‘lite’ and reduced fat’ don’t necessarily indicate the absence of trans fat.
FAT TIPS
Here are some practical tips you can use to keep your consumption of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol low while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet.
- Check the Nutrition Facts panel to compare foods because the serving sizes are generally consistent in similar types of foods. Choose foods lower in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. For saturated fat and cholesterol, keep in mind that 5 percent of the Daily Value (%DV) or less is low and 20 percent or more is high. (There is no %DV for trans fat.)
- Choose alternative fats. Replace saturated and trans fats in your diet with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These fats don’t raise LDL cholesterol levels and have health benefits when eaten in moderation. Choose vegetable oils (except coconut and palm kernel oils) and soft margarines (liquid, tub, or spray) more often because the combined amount of saturated fat and trans fat is lower than the amount in solid shortenings, hard margarines, and animal fats, including butter.
- Consider fish. Most fish are lower in saturated fat than meat. Some fish, such as mackerel, sardines, and salmon, contain omega-3 fatty acids.
- Choose lean meats, such as poultry without the skin and not fried, and lean beef with visible fat trimmed.
- Limit foods high in cholesterol such as liver and other organ meats, egg yolks, and full-fat dairy products, like whole milk.
- Choose foods low in saturated fat such as fat free or 1% dairy products, lean meats, fish, skinless poultry, whole grain foods, and fruits and vegetables.
Do You Have Other Tips? Let Ruthan know: rab@balanceyourhealth.com
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