Are The Poly Unsaturated Fats Really Good For You?
Fats and Weight LossAlthough All fats and oils contain the same number of calories – 9 calories per gram - they do not all affect body weight in the same way.The omega-3 fats found in fish oil and grass fed meats have been shown to facilitate weight loss, while the poly-unsaturated fats found in most supposedly healthy cooking oils do not.
Cavemen Didn't Eat Grain OilsThe fact that the poly unsaturated fats found in cooking oils are not the health foods they are made out to be should come as no surprise when you consider our evolutionary history.
Like all animals humans have a “natural" diet. This natural diet is the one our ancestors ate for millions of years. Because it is the diet we evolved eating it is the diet that is truly healthy for us. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate meat from naturally fed animals and whole plant foods obtained fresh from the earth. At the turn of the last century, when there was little heart disease or obesity in America, this was basically the way we still ate. Most of the fats in the American diet at that time were saturated and came from butter, lard, tallow and coconut oil with a smaller amount of monounsaturated fats coming from olive oil. Today, however, most of the fats we eat are poly unsaturated oils derived from soy, corn, safflower and rape seed. And this has created some problems.
The Problem With PolysStudies of primitive societies that obtain their fats from natural foods indicate that poly unsaturated fats should comprise no more than about 4% of the fats that we eat and that the ration of polyunsaturated omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in our diets should be about 2:1.Unfortunately, thanks to our consumption of these oils,as well as our consumption of grains and meat from grain-fed animals, the typical American diet now contains as much as 30% polyunsaturated fats and an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of approximately 20:1. But there are other reasons why a high ratio of omega-6 to omega 3-fatty acids is unhealthy.
The Omega-6 To Omega-3 RatioThe omega-6 fatty acids are used by the body to produce chemicals that cause inflammation.While it's necessary to eat some omega-6 fatty acids, consumption of an excess amount of omega-6 fatty acids leads to persistent generalized inflammation – an important component in the development of most degenerative diseases including coronary heart disease and cancer. Diets that are high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in the omega-3 fatty acids have also been linked to skin diseases like psoriasis and eczema and to the development of asthma. They have also been linked to several mental disorders including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, memory problems and learning deficiencies.
Polyunsaturated Cooking Oils And Free RadicalsWhen you eat too many poly unsaturated fats, these fats replace the saturated fat in your cell membranes causing them to lose their structural integrity.
This is unhealthy, but the story doesn’t end here.
Another reason the poly unsaturated fats found in cooking oils are unhealthy is because they readily become oxidized (go rancid) when subjected to heat, oxygen and moisture.
This occurs primarily during the processing or extraction of these oils and when they are used for cooking, but poly unsaturated fats are so unstable that it also occurs as they simply sit on our pantry shelves. Damage to genetic material can trigger mutations that lead to the development of various cancers, while free radical damage that occurs elsewhere can lead to the development of a variety of other diseases. Several studies have found a high correlation between consumption of poly unsaturated fats and the development cancer, arterial disease and other diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
An O.K. Oil
While safflower, sunflower, canola and corn oils contain mostly poly unsaturated fats which are unstable and should be avoided, olive oil contains 75% monounsaturated oils.
Unlike poly unsaturated oils, mono unsaturated fats are relatively stable; that is, they do not easily oxidize and form free radicals like the polyunsaturated fats do. Extra virgin olive oil is also cold pressed meaning it does not undergo the damaging extraction processes that other oils do. And olive oil may have some additional
health benefits
A Word About Trans FatsTrans fats, also known as “partially hydrogenated” oils, are poly unsaturated fats that have been partially solidified by food manufactures to improve their shelf life and spreadability.
Trans fats are found in commercially prepared foods such as baked goods, snacks, and margarines as well as in fast foods and commercially fried foods like French fries and onion rings.
At least four large highly regarded studies have shown that even a little trans fat in the diet significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease. One of these, the Nurses Health Study which followed approximately 122,000 women over time since 1976, found that adding only 30 calories of trans fats a day nearly doubled the risk for heart disease! Health officials estimate that trans fat consumption causes at least 30,000 premature deaths from coronary heart disease each year. Trans fats have also been implicated in the development of various forms of cancer, and animal studies suggest these fats may adversely affect reproduction and lactation.
Fish Oil and Weight Loss
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