Fats that heal and fats that kill

Do these dictums sound familiar? Eating fats makes you fat. If you’re a heart patient then you should eat a low fat diet. This is far from the truth. Fats have got a lot of bad publicity in the media without any scientific backing. Not too long ago the medical establishment considered all fats in the diet very bad for health.  But now the premise has changed- not all fats are created equal, there are fats that heal and fats that kill. Let us take a closer look!

Fats are made up of several different classes of fatty acids (an organic molecule). Naturally occurring fats are classified into three types- saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Two fatty acids belonging to the class of polyunsaturated fatty acid are deemed essential for health, those are linoleic acid and alpha liolenic acid. Not all fats are essential, but these essential fatty acids are like vitamins in that they cannot be made by the body and a lack of either one of them will cause disease. Essential fatty acid deficiency is part responsible for a host of degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease and inflammatory ailments. In the fat phobic times that we exist, essential fatty acids are collectively the number one missing nutrient in an average person’s diet. The essential fatty acids are a component of every cell membrane, a primary source of reserve energy fuel, and the building blocks for the body numerous eicosanoids, a hormone like chemical. Eicosanoids are like power brokers of the body- they can lower blood pressure, raise body temperature, open or constrict bronchial passages, stimulate hormone production and sensitize nerve fibers. The production of these vital eicosanoids is solely dependent on dietary fat.

Fatty acids also are identified by the families to which they belong. Families use the word omega for its descriptor. Omega is used to designate unsaturated fatty acid families only. Saturated fats do not have a omega designation. The omega families consist of omega-3, omega-6 and omega-9. Omega-3 (alpha-linolenic acid) and omega-6 (linoleic acid) are essential, and have the strongest power to generate eicosanoids. Omega-9 (oleic acid) is not essential as the body can make its own. The secret to real good health is keeping a dietary balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fats, just having one without the other creates a serious harm. Indian diet today tends to be rich in omega-6 fats such as safflower, sunflower and corn oil and virtually no omega-3 fats that are obtained from flaxseed oil and cold-water fish.  To prevent an omega-6 overload, using omega-9 fats can serve as an excellent option for cooking.  Omega-9 fats are found in olive, peanut, sesame seed, almond, macadamia, hazelnut, and avocado oils.

Omega fat imbalance isn’t the only way in which dietary fats endanger us. Consumption of trans fatty acids or trans fats that do not belong to the naturally occurring fats, are by far a major health hazard. A whole lot of research has shown that trans fats causes  weight gain,  high blood sugar, increased LDL (bad cholesterol), lowered beneficial HDL (good cholesterol) and raise the overall risk of coronary artery disease.  Trans fats are produced by a man made processes called hydrogenation or partial hydrogenation. In this process liquid oils such as soybean, corn, canola, cottonseed, safflower are pumped with hydrogen to increase the degree of saturation thus making them resistance to degradation due to heat damage or oxidization. Most people still innocently believe that margarine made by the process of hydrogenation is a better substitute for butter and fall victim to heart disease. All processed food that have a long shelf life such as chips, cookies, crackers, cakes, breads, cereals, heat and serve foods, bhujia mixes, prepackaged mixes and almost all vegetable oils contain partially hydrogenated oils i.e trans fats. Further, high heat used for deep frying foods changes the molecular structure of fats no matter which oil is used. Such type of fat consumed also turns into a health threat. Thus, stir fried food is a better option. Oils from peanut and coconut can handle high heat better and can be used for stir frying.

Many believe that trans fats are equivalent to saturated fats, they are not. Trans fats do not behave like the saturated fats in the body. The popular theory that saturated fats are bad for health is simply false. We consume predominantly three types of saturated fats: stearic acid, palmitic acid, and lauric acid. It is well established that stearic acid has no effect on blood cholesterol levels. In fact, stearic acid found in high amounts in animal fat is converted to a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid by the liver. This is the same heart-healthy fat found in olive oil. Also the practice of calling animal fats saturated is wrong and misleading. None of the naturally occurring fats and oils are made up of only saturated or unsaturated but rather a mixture of various fatty acids. Ghee for example is primarily made up of 62% saturated fats, 28 % monounsaturated fat, 4% polyunsaturated fats and .02 % cholesterol and has tremendous importance in ayurvedic medicine for its healing properties.

What about raised triglyceride (fats) levels is then blood? Here the culprit is not fats but sugar or starchy foods. Sugar is the real villain, if possible completely avoid it. Sugar in the body is broken down and reassembled as fat called triglycerides. These fats narrow arteries, impair blood flow and increase risk of stroke and heart attack. Thus, the take home message- avoid  sugar and starchy foods at all cost, avoid foods with trans fats (all kinds of processed foods), do not consume fried foods and make sure the diet contains omega-3 fats and  remember ghee and coconut fat are not the enemies but our friends!