Fats are among the most misunderstood food nutrient for essential living. It is important for energy, hormone production, storing and transporting vitamins, and insulation of nerves and organs. Back in the 80’s you had high cholesterol fats being implicated as the biggest factor in producing coronary artery disease. Since many animal products were high in saturated fats, they were known to raise the blood cholesterol. Saturated fats in red meat is distributed throughout the meat. In poultry it is in the skin.

What is the hierarchy of good to bad fats?

What has been the most controversial fat? That would be saturated fatty acids. Over the last 50 years, it has been the most vilified fat for bad health. Saturated fats were known to raise total cholesterol. As testing got more sophisticated, it was known to raise LDL cholesterol, which is the bad cholesterol. More modern testing shows that saturated fats also raise HDL. The gold standard now is the ratio of HDL/total cholesterol. From that perspective, saturated fats are neither good or bad relative to its impact on heart disease.

How could there be such confusion in recommendations? Early studies were observational and were not well controlled among the study groups. Once a recommendation was made, those with the government and heart guidelines were reluctant to change. How can you make a recommendation that affects an entire population when you are comparing various low fat use to a high fat use that may also include different sleep, exercise, stress and eating habits between the groups. From my perspective, you look at where we were 100 or more years ago when obesity, diabetes, and heart disease rates were low and stable. You take away the processed, packaged, convenient, and fast foods. You look at animals raised in their natural environment without -cides (herbicides, insecticides and fungicides), less crowding and stress of a feedlot, cage or contained pond, and foods that are natural to them. That is to look at food as it was seen in its ancestral domesticated environment. Ancestral saturated fatty acids – solid animal shortenings including tallow(cattle), Suet(sheep), Lard(pork); products containing saturated fats - red meats, coconut oil/milk/cream, palm oil, dairy --> butter, whole milk, cream, ghee, and cheese. Ancestral unsaturated fatty acids – two different categories – monounsaturated fatty acids(MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFA). Within the polyunsaturated oils, they are divided into Omega 6 and Omega 3 oils. Monounsaturated fatty acids – avocados, olive oil and nuts omega 6 fatty acids (limit use)

They are an essential fat that cannot be produced by the body but must be ingested. They can be found in eggs, butter, cheese, nuts and certain seed oils. The amounts vary based on how the host animal was raised. For instance, beef and poultry that is raised in a feedlot or cage has a higher amount of omega 6. In general, these omega 6 fatty acids are overused in processed and fast foods and are inflammatory. Just like with saturated fats, they should be limited to healthy choices. omega 3 fatty acids (encouraged use) Another essential oil that the body cannot produce on its own and must come from our ingested diet. This healthy oil comes from cold water fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring, and sardines), crushed seeds(canola oil and linseed oil), certain other seeds(edamame, chia, flax and hemp), nuts(walnut, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and pecans), and in some vegetables(cabbage, watercress).

Not only are omega 3 fatty acids heart healthy, but they are anti-inflammatory and good for your entire body to reduce disease. Trans fats are potentially the most dangerous fats. When they are found in their natural animal state, they aren’t dangerous. However, when unsaturated vegetable oils are processed by hydrogenation to make the oil more of a solid, such as with Crisco and any margarine, they are considered dangerous leading to cardiovascular disease and increase the risk for cancer. This is a complete reversal of recommendations given in the 1980s saying hydrogenated vegetable oils were safer than saturated fats. In fact, they raise LDL and lower HDL. Again, when we mess with mother nature, things turn bad. In summation, when it comes to fats straight from their “ancestral” source, there is growing evidence that these healthy fats have a null to beneficial effect on cardiac disease. When we eat oils used in processed foods, convenience foods, or finger foods, especially with trans fats, it can put our health in decline.