Fat is Still Fat!

Have you been as confused (and may still be) about "fat" as I have been?  When I was growing up, my grandmother lived with us.  Every morning she made lard biscuits.  She would also have a big platter of fried bacon and scrambled eggs (sometimes scrambled eggs and pig brains, yes, you read that right!).  By the way, those eggs were fried up in bacon grease. There would be a stick of real butter on the table, a glass of ice cold, whole milk at each plate, cream or lite cream (we now call that half and half) for coffee or just to pour over cornflakes.  My grandma would often have the box of corn flakes sitting on the table as well just in case we were still hungry.  And that would all be topped off with a jar of homemade jam, jelly or fruit butter.  I can still smell and taste it all!  My grandma believed in a hardy breakfast to start the day and hated it when all we wanted or ate was a bowl of cereal and milk.  Nowadays we would gasp at all the animal fat, carbs and sugar that was in that breakfast! 😱😱😱

So Many Kinds of Fats!

A few years later bacon grease, lard, butter and whole milk became taboo and we began to replace everything with vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, something called margarine and low fat milk, etc. That was "healthy".  I do not recall anyone talking about "quantity". Then as a young adult much of your vegetable fats and margarine was being tossed out the window and I started hearing about all the different kinds of fat. Your animal fats, your vegetable fats, saturated fat, trans fat, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, fat from calories, low fat, high fat, good fats, bad fats, cholesterol, how our bodies metabolized fat...  It was enough to blow your mind! 😲😲😲

Follow the Money

In my younger days reports stated how bad animal fat is for you and the trend was to use margarine, shortening and cooking oil for everything.  10-15 years ago the reports stated our bodies were designed to metabolize butter, but not margarine.... And then there was a huge trend to start using olive oil.  More recently avocado oil, coconut oil, flax-seed oil and several others have become popular in food preparation.  A month ago I heard in the news that coconut oil has been deemed bad for us. That sounded odd to me.  While high in fat, coconut oil has many health benefits so why the bad "report card"?  (This report was put out by an organization that I have given a lot of support to in the last 6-7 years.) I made a mental note to be sure to research this, because it just didn't "sound right".  A couple of days later I get notification that Dani Spies of Clean and Delicious had just put up a new video on her YouTube channel titled "Is Coconut Oil Really Healthy?"  She had done the research (which I have since confirmed) and was willing to pass the information along to us, plus educate us on the healthy benefits of coconut oil.  Click on the above links to see the video and to visit her website.  (For more information on coconut oil you might want to check out her video "Coconut Oil 101".)  

Do your own research on the report(s) and follow the money.  And when ever you hear a news report on a particular product or food item, you might want to do your own research.  You may also find a case of "follow the money".  

So What About Good Fats and Bad Fats?

We have good fats and we have bad fats, but fat is still fat!  To give you an example, several years ago I was having a dinner party.  I had made up a couple of small dishes of olive oil (a good fat) with some herbs and garlic to be used for dipping french bread.  One of my guests exclaimed, with much excitement, "Olive oil!  It's a good fat! It's healthy for you!" and proceeded to consume one complete container (a little over 1/4 cup) with the bread.  Below is a photo of a label attached to a bottle of extra virgin olive oil I currently have in my cupboard:  

From my estimate, since there are 4 Tablespoons in 1/4 of a cup and 14 grams of fat per tablespoon, she consumed 56 grams of.... "good fat". (More math here... that is 480 calories in fat!) And that folks is when "good fat" becomes "bad fat" because fat is still fat! For an example, let's say I have a lite active lifestyle and only need about 1800 calories a day to maintain. 30% of those calories can and need to come from fat.  That equates to 60 grams a day. (That would be a total of 540 calories a day in fat.) Some of those grams can come from lean meat, etc, but a portion of those fats need to come from essential fatty acids (EFA): your omega 3's and omega 6's for cellular growth, repair and joint & brain health. When you eat more than what your body needs, it gets stored in your adipose (fat) cells. We also need protein to build, maintain & repair muscle. For an 1800 calorie diet you need about 136 grams of protein, ruffly 30% of your caloric intake.  Most of those calories will come from foods that contain what is considered your "bad fats". That would be your meats and dairy. Try to stay away from the fatty meats, chose instead the lean cuts. And enjoy dairy only in very small portions or as treats.  Nuts contain your "good fats" and protein.  Be sure to read your labels and be aware of your serving sizes and what those serving sizes contain.  More importantly, stick to a serving size portion.  😊

Avoid trans fats altogether.  They would be in shortening, margarine, fried foods, processed snacks & baked goods. Really watch your fat intake.  Read your labels.  Keep a chart or a log of what and how much you eat.  When you chart it, you will be amazed at how much fat you really consume.    

Essential fatty acids (EFA) have wonderful health benefits and are necessary for good health.  In moderation they will lower LDL (the bad cholesterol) and raise HDL (the good cholesterol), lower the risk of heart disease, aid in cellular growth & repair, aid in fat burning, and the list can go on. Our bodies need these fats! And they are good for us.  However, be sensible.  Know your numbers. Limit your fat intake to 30% of your total caloric intake per day.  Fill up that 30% with as many EFAs as you can and remember to avoid trans fats.  Moderation is key!  Good fat can become bad fat if you get more than your body needs, because fat is still fat! 

I hope that you found this post beneficial and somewhat entertaining. I am amazed at all the research that is on the world wide web on a little thing like "fat". So much of it is scientific, but sometimes we just need to know the basics such as keeping your fat intake to 30% of your calories and avoid the foods with trans fats. That way we will be healthier and around longer to enjoy...

The Little Things in Life

Missy