One of the most poorly understood areas in nutrition, even among nutritionists themselves, is the question of healthful and unhealthful fats. New research is constantly being added to the fund of information: what follows is a simplified explanation and, I hope, easy-to-follow guidelines.
By definition, any substance that the body requires in its daily biochemical activity, but which it is unable to make by its own chemical processes, is an essential nutrient. Our bodies are capable of making all the parts of the fat molecules except for polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). PUFAs are found in naturally occurring vegetable and fish oils and human milk, and a single teaspoon of high-quality crude vegetable oil is supposed to be enough to supply our daily requirements. One difficulty lies in finding such healthful unprocessed oils.
The reasons the PUFAs are necessary for the body is that they are chemically very reactive. They function as essential building blocks in membranes of each and every cell in our bodies and also as precursors of the locally active hormone-like substances, such as the prostaglandins. In this latter function, it is important that several different varieties be present in the proper balance. Their chemical reactivity causes them to be easily affected by improper storage so that they become rancid. The early rancidity of fat is not detectable by the smell or taste but does affect the usefulness of these PUFAs in the body. When PUFAs are rancid, it is because they are peroxidized, and this is the result of reacting with oxygen.
Nature very wisely packages these highly reactive substances with vitamin E, which prevents peroxidation and therefore rancidity. Unfortunately, all of the processing of the oils – even those in the health food store – removes this protective vitamin E. When we make it a point to take in adequate amounts of PUFAs in the diet, it is necessary to supplement the intake of vitamin E. At least 100 units a day is recommended for everybody, or else the healthy PUFAs in the body can be peroxidized and become toxic.
The subject is even more complicated, however. Since these molecules are large and complex, they have a certain configuration in space – a physical form. When we look at a glove, we can recognize that it was designed to fit a hand, but we also know that there are right-hand and left-hand gloves, and that one doesn’t fit the same hand the other does. They are mirror images – alike but not identical. Chemical molecular structures are also capable of having mirror-image forms. Our bodies can only use the so-called cis-form of the fatty acids; that’s the one that fits into the body machinery. When we process fats, we convert some of them into the trans-configuration. These trans-fatty acids do not fit into the body machinery and tend to gum up the works.
All processed fats have this unhealthful form of fatty acid. There is no healthful margarine available in the United States! It doesn’t matter whether it says it’s poly-unsaturated or not. Most of the cooking oils and fats available contain excessive quantities of trans-fatty acids. It is not only the question of saturated and unsaturated that must be considered, but also the processing which produces the wrong fatty acid configuration. Ordinary saturated fat, such as that found in beef or chicken, is more healthful than the trans-unsaturated fatty acids found in corn oil and margarine.
Therefore, when you buy foods you should avoid any package which says it contains hydrogenated vegetable oil, saturated or hardened vegetable oils (even “partially” is no good). There is no such thing as a solid polyunsaturated fat at room temperature. If you see something that is supposed to be high in PUFAs and it is a solid (like margarine) you know you are being ripped off. PUFAs are liquid at room temperature. In general, the beautiful clear oils are too purified for good health, and butter is more healthful then margarine.
Actually the subject of the toxicity of rancid PUFAs is strongly implicated in the “free radical theory” of degenerative diseases. Free radicals are a self-perpetuating form of highly active substances which produce damaging chain reactions that injure cells and ultimately tissues and organs. The body has a very complicated system of halting this chain reaction, and the substances which are involved in preventing the damage are known as antioxidants. The list of these protecting agents has increased lately as more research has been brought to bear on the problem. Now, the major protective nutrient substances include vitamin E, Vit A, selenium, vitamin C, glutathione, cysteine/N-Acetyl Cysteine [N.A.C.] (and other sulfur-containing factors including garlic), vitamin B2, vitamin B3, superoxide dismutase, catalase, ubiquinone [“CoQ10”], alpha-lipoic acid and many other substances which have minor roles.
One of the most important things that triggers rancidity in fats is exposure to excessive heat. PUFA-rich oils may be used for cooking, but only at low heat and for short cooking times. These oils, once opened, should be kept refrigerated, and they should be used promptly. Typical healthful oils high in PUFAs include safflower, sunflower and sesame.
When one uses polyunsaturated oil, it is always a good idea to put vitamins C & E complex into each bottle. You can do this by puncturing a capsule of vitamin E and a capsule of Ascorbyl Palmitate – a fat-soluble form of Vitamin C – and squeezing the contents into the bottle. Then the bottle should be tightly capped and placed in the refrigerator. Once it’s been opened, heat, light and air are the enemies of healthful oils and contact with them should be minimized. Don’t heat oil until it smokes; that will almost certainly cause some oxidative changes in the fatty acids.
Remember that at most restaurants the current practice is to use hydrogenated vegetable oil for deep fat frying. The reason for this is that it does not go rancid because it is virtually chemically inert, nor does it tend to pick up the taste of what is being cooked in it, so that you can do French fried potatoes, salmon croquettes, veal cutlets and fried shrimp in the same bubbling oil without causing a crossover in taste. This saves money for the restaurant proprietor. Unfortunately the residues of oil that cling to the foods are the least healthful type of oil.
Remember to read the labels carefully on all kinds of baked goods and snack foods – potato chips, popcorn, chocolates, Danish, doughnuts, cake, pastries of all kinds. Most people today recognize that excessive sugar is a problem but every once in a while they give themselves a “treat” with something sweet. These is a difference between putting stress on the body’s metabolic machinery with excessive sugar (a substance which the body is designed to handle in smaller quantities and lower concentration and therefore can ultimately dispose of through existing biochemical channels) and the overloading of the machinery with synthetic fatty substances for which no suitable metabolic pathway exists.
These abnormal molecules become incorporated into critically important structures in every organ and tissue in the body – the membranes of the individual cell structures themselves. These membranes perform two important functions: first, they are architectural structures on which the integrity of the cell and its individual parts depend; second, they are skeletons for active chemical products that behave like very powerful hormones. However, hormones are secreted into the blood and travel to other specific “target” organs. The products from the membranes, such as prostaglandins and leukotrienes, cause changes within the same cell, resulting in changes of the function of multiple systems in the body. Examples include contraction or relaxation of blood vessels, secretion or non-secretion of glands, blood clotting or bleeding tendency, contraction or relaxation of muscle tissue such as that found in the intestine, uterus, urinary tract, etc.
It is obvious that if the parent compound is abnormal, the hormone-like substance made from it will also be abnormal and will have either no effect or the wrong effect in terms of the body’s functions.
Recent research has demonstrated that there are still other considerations because the healthy body is supposed to make changes in the major naturally occurring PUFA, linoleic acid, of the Omega-6 series, and some people cannot do it properly. Deficiency of vitamin B6, vitamin C and other intake nutrients as well as aging, diabetes, obesity, allergies, schizophrenia, alcoholism, and excessive trans- fatty acids can combine to make it more difficult to produce our own supply of the metabolic intermediate, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).
GLA can be found in mothers’ milk and in oil from the evening primrose plant. For that reason, evening primrose oil has been touted as an important food supplement. There is no objection to taking supplements of evening primrose oil, but for most people it is unnecessary. However, it is very difficult to know if your intake is adequate and the supplement is safe insurance, if you are so inclined.
Alpha-Linolenic acid is the basic EFA of the Omega-3 series---another class of fatty acids that is important in the body’s chemistry---and it is found in linseed oil, walnut oil, and hemp oil. It too should be able to be converted into other longer-chain fatty acids such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Since linseed oil also contains the essential Omega-6 PUFAs, as well as important Lignans, it seemed to be the best choice as a dietary oil, even though it may not be the most delicious on a salad (most gourmets prefer olive oil). Linseed oil is one of the old-time European standbys in the kitchen and has a strong basis in historical use. However, as of this writing, probably the best food oil to use is Hemp Oil, because it contains the Linoleic, alpha-linolenic and GLA in excellent balance, and has a pleasant nutty flavor. (Walnut oil is the next best for salads and many Americans enjoy its taste). The daily intake should be near one tablespoon of Hemp oil plus one to two teaspoons of raw fish oil.
Typical manifestations of deficiency of the essential fatty acids include dry skin, dry lusterless hair, abnormal nails, rough skin (particularly on backs of the arms, the front of the thighs and the buttocks). In these areas a typical permanent reddened “goose flesh” condition seems to occur, which is aggravated by inadequate amounts of vitamins A and C. One of the most common complaints is a tendency to “feel cold inside” even when the outside temperature is comfortable. This may be felt merely as cold hands and feet, but frequently seems to include feeling cold down almost to the bones. This condition responds nicely to supplements of large quantities of linseed oil in many patients. These deficiencies are frequently seen in people with multiple allergies, children with learning disabilities and some schizophrenics.
There certainly is evidence that reducing saturated fats and increasing PUFAs with a total fat intake that is less that 30 percent of the calories in the diet does result in lowering of the blood level of cholesterol, but that does not mean that the cholesterol in the diet in “bad.” The frequently maligned egg is indeed a rich source of cholesterol and fat, but it also contains the “unknown, but nevertheless essential, synergistic, micronutrient co-factors that make food different from vitamin pills.” Except for those with serious disturbances in the blood fats and cholesterol, eggs are not contraindicated in the diet, as long as they are fresh and preferably fertile, meaning that they would hatch if incubated, which indicates that they contain the Energy of Life, about which we know very little except that it exists. It is just common sense: A chicken has all the organs and tissues that we have – plus feathers – and it ALL comes from that egg! Of course, to be complete, we should eat the eggshells too – they are the repository for most of the minerals that the chick obtains as it grows. The cholesterol is not there by accident!
|
Oil |
% PUFAs |
% Saturated Fats |
|
Linseed |
76 |
- |
|
Safflower |
76 |
11 |
|
Walnut |
71 |
11 |
|
Soya Bean |
59 |
15 |
|
Sunflower |
52 |
14 |
|
Corn |
52 |
17 |
|
Cottonseed |
50 |
27 |
|
Fish |
50 |
23 |
|
Sesame |
43 |
14 |
|
Peanut/groundnut |
30 |
20 |
|
Almond |
20 |
8 |
|
Olive |
12 |
15 |
|
Avocado |
9 |
12 |
|
Palm |
9 |
47 |
|
Coca Butter |
3 |
61 |
|
Coconut |
2 |
76 |
I am proud of this article – it appeared in the late 1970s in a magazine Your Good Health. I did not have to make any significant changes in the message! (Hemp Oil was not available back then, and I now believe it is the best-balanced, all-around edible oil nutritionally.) Since that time, the scientific evidence has been piling up, and finally, the food industry is making claims of “no trans-fats.” which may be true, but they are still over processing these delicate oils. In addition, most of the chemicals that we have contaminated our planet with in the past 75 years or so, are fat-soluble, and are absorbed by the plants that we eat, and are then concentrated in the body fat. Therefore, PLEASE buy and use ORGANIC fats – butter, eggs, meats, fowl and vegetable oils – whenever possible.
What is now clear is that the Central Nervous System is full of long-chain Omega-3 Fats. The brain is about 70% fats by dry weight, and 65% of that fat is identical to fish oil! Every woman who intends to bear children should have a full reservoir – before she gets pregnant – to provide to her baby in utero. It will also come out in the breast milk. As the child grows from infancy to adulthood, the brain requires a constant source of EPA and DHA for optimum growth, development and function. Study after study shows that all of the major “Psychiatric” diagnoses – including ADHD – respond better to fish oil over a period of a year or so, than to the tranquilizers, sedatives, stimulants and antidepressants that are the beginning and end of the psychopharmacologist’s arsenal. In addition, fish oils have a dramatic long-term effect of lowering unhealthy blood fats, relieving pain and inflammation – especially arthritic pains – and reducing blood pressure and the associated risks of heart attacks and strokes. My Grandmother – a Russian Peasant – used to tell my father, “Give the boys more fish – it’s brain food.” How did she know? Why did my father – a physician – and all of the other doctors of his time (and many even now) – not know? So, remember this new version of an old saying:
OILY TO BED AND OILY TO RISE MAKES ONE HEALTHY, WEALTHY AND WISE.
To your Health!!