Fats-The Good, The Bad & The Downright Ugly

I just couldn't resist it the photo:) But there is some element of truth behind it. There are so many people in the world for whom the battle of saying no to the goodies is a really tough one. Tackling your mindset around why these are so tempting to you in the first place, is the most important area to get clear on (and will be covered in another blog), but it is equally as important that people know why saying no is a whole lot better for you in the long run.

When I was growing up my mum was a brilliant cook and in particular, a brilliant baker. I loved and still do love the delights that she can produce when she gets into the kitchen. Although,  nowadays her idea of a dessert (living on her own) is a nice M&S, mixed berry crumble, or heaven's forbid, one from Lidyl or Aldi! Still, she gave myself and my sisters a taste for the sweet things in life and we are beyond fussy, when it comes to getting it right in the goodies department. Lucky for me though, I had a host of food sensitivities, so I began to uncover the world of guilt free baking! And discover it was exactly what I did. To this day, I cannot and will not eat the stuff that some people pass off as a "replacement" for brownies or flapjacks, which I love!! These baking faux pas can be truly horrific and would put anyone off wanting to chose the "healthy" option. Honestly, I would prefer to eat an amazingly good product once a week than one a day of these poor, desperate imitations (unless it's me making it that is...such modesty!) But I digress......

The baking tray is not the only place where we can find these fats that we find so hard to say no to, but it is one of the more challenging, particularly if you like to go for cup of coffee in Starbucks or some of the other coffee houses that have popped up all over the place in recent years. You may even have told yourself that having that muffin or scone every day with your cup of coffee is ok because it's your little "treat" for being so good (good for what I'm not quite sure), and because they are packaged so invitingly, you might be fooled into to thinking that they're are actually not as bad for you as you thought! Well, I will be the bearer of bad news..... these products are laden with the types of fats that you definitely do not want to eat on a regular basis. Remembering that there's so much more to fats than meets the immediate eye. Let me give you the low down on some of the important things you should now about fats, especially if you are going to move from zero to hero in their world.

First though, let's get some facts about fats out of the way.  ALL fats are completely, totally and utterly essential for us to live healthy lives. Fats help you body absorb many essential vitamins (A,D,E and K), they maintain the structure and function of cell membranes and preserve the integrity of your immune system (helpful don't you think!).  Your brain is composed of 60% fat and one third of this should come from essential fats if you want to achieve optimal health and wellness. So next time you hear of someone on a fat free diet, worry, really worry!

Fats break down into the following categories:
1. Saturated fats - which are solid at room temperature e.g. butter, meat, lard, coconut oil/butter
2. Unsaturated fats - which are liquid at room temperature e.g. vegetable oils

Unsaturated fats break down further into:
Monounsaturated  fatty acids (avocado oil and olive oil)
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (sunflower, corn or hemp oil )

Some of these fats are essential fatty acids and the others are non-essential. In short, we need to take in essential fatty acids (also known as the polyunsaturated ones) because they cannot be made by the body. The primary function of EFA's is the production of prostaglandins which regulate body functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood clotting, fertility and play a role in immune function by regulating inflammation by encouraging the body to fight infection. The non-essential can be manufactured by the body in small amounts and therefore it is not essential that we get them from our diet.

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids - The Really Good Guys
Just to keep things simple, I will only look at omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. Omega 3 fats can be found in sources such as flax (also known as linseed), pumpkin and hemp, plus fish oils like krill. The omega 6 fats are found in sunflower, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds). In the body, the omega 3 fats are converted to alpha-linolenic acid, which then converts to EPA and DHA, which have an anti-inflammatory effect. Omega 3 fatty acids are easily damaged though (which is why you should not heat these oils) and is also why they are usually omitted from many processed foods. We are much less deficient in omega 6 than omega 3 because many food manufactures add these omega 6 oils to our food. This happens for many different reasons, but one of these reasons is because fats make our food taste better. However, this leads to a over supply of omega 6 and an under supply of omega 3 for many of us and therefore provides another reason to reduce the amount of processed food in your shopping basket. The omega 6 fatty acids are broken down by the body to linolenic acid, which is then coverted to to GLA (think evening primrose ladies) and a not so good acid called arachidonic acid. To avoid too much arachidonic acid, the recommendation again is to lessen the amount of processed foods you eat plus reduce the amount of animal based products you consume. As mentioned above, because all essential fats are so easily damaged by heat, please avoid using these oils for cooking and do consume cold for best results.

Saturated Fat - The Bad Guy or Is It??
Not all saturated fat is bad for you, which may come as a shock to many of you.We actually need saturated fat in our diet. It is the saturated fat that is found animal based products, which we need to reduce, which is also the saturated fat that found in large amounts in or current Western diet. But did you know that coconut oil is also very high in saturated fat too? But it a different type of saturated fat which contains medium chain triglycerides rather than long chain triglycerides and our bodies LOVE these MCT's. They are actually incredibly beneficial for our health and can be brokendown and utilised quickly by the body and are a really excellent source of energy. In South East Asia and the Pacific Island where coconut is revered, they enjoy high levels of cardiovascular health and super strong immune systems and it is their consumption of coconuts that are largely responsible for these findings. Coconuts also contain lauric and capric acids, which are incredible antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial agents to so excellent for maintaining a healthy gut.

Transfats - The Downright Ugly and what's it doing on our plates anyway Guy!!
A lot of the polyunsaturated fats we eat are damaged and become trans fats or processed fats. These are also known as hydrogenated fats. To turn a vegetable oil into a hard fat (e.g. margarine) it goes through a process called hydrogenation. This is where hydrogen is added to a vegetable oil to make it solid.You know the type that you can take out of the fridge and spread immediately?  This hydrogenation process blocks the body's ability to use the good fats and is something that we really want to avoid.  Could this mean that you are reducing the effectivness of your essential fatty acid supplements??  Having too many of these transfats in your diet will also increase your bad cholesterol (LDL) and also lower your good cholesterol levels (HDL). Transfats are not something you want in your food so next time you go shopping, please read that label for the word "hydrogenated or partially hydrodgenated" If it contains either, don't buy it. Transfats are not even recognised by our bodies and will immediately store it as a toxin. And back to my baking scenario above, most of the shop bought cakes, muffins and scones are make by using these hyrdogenated vegetable oils, so this is another good reason to avoid them or at least reduce the amount you purchase and consume.

As with anything I do, my aim is not to scare you senseless into making changes or to confuse you so much that you do not know what to eat anymore. My only aim is to educate and inform you and to help you feel better and live a healthier and longer life.  So, the next time someone puts one of those pretty looking cup cakes in front of you and your feel obliged to eat it, be aware of what they contain and make your choices based on the facts. I also LOVE cupcakes and scones too, but when I chose to bake them, I will make make sure that my body at least knows what to do with it when it goes in by using real identifiable butter or fat that my body will recognise. I suggest you do this too.

I hope this has helped you and would love you to share it with as many people as possible if it has. This is the best way to pass on the good word.

I would also be thrilled to receive your comments and if you have any pressing concerns about what you've read, please feel free to email me (see contact me area).

Finally, if you are currently challenged by any health concerns i suggested you consult your doctor before embarking on any major change to your diet, particularly if you are currently taking doctor prescribed medication.

Other than that.....I wish you incredible health and happiness!

Ruth.