FAT DOES NOT MAKE YOU FAT Contrary to popular belief, the consumption of saturated fatty acids (butter, meat,
coconut oils, etc) will not only not make you fat, but are absolutely essential to every function of every cell in your body. First let me make it clear: the kind of fat and quality is just as an important factor in understanding the purpose and importance of dietary fats. There are three types of dietary fats: saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. I want to explain the importance of saturated fats since many Americans are under the belief that all saturated fats are bad for you. The following facts where taken from the scientific research done by Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon.
SATURATED FATS - Found predominantly in animal fats and tropical oils like
coconut oil and in lesser amounts in vegetable oils, is also made within your body, usually from excess carbohydrates. Saturated fats are highly stable because they have equal hydrogen and carbon bonds. This means that they can withstand high heat very well and are less likely to go rancid. Also, they are much more accessible to the body compared to poly or monounsaturated fatty acids because of their short chain nature. When oils go rancid from processing or over heating they become carcinogenic free radicals that wreck havoc on cells, free radicals are linked to many ills like heart disease and cancer. According to Dr. Mary Enig (internationally recognized expert on fats), 60 percent of the brain is composed of saturated fats. Phospholipids help make up the brain cell membranes. They contain two fatty acids and one protein-like component. You nourish your brain cells when you eat saturated fats. Saturated fats maintain cel- lular integrity everywhere in the body. The reason is that every cell membrane is ideally made up of about 50 percent saturated fat. Saturated fats are necessary to maintain cell stiffness and integrity and to work properly. Cell membranes that lose integ- rity from not getting enough saturated fats become floppy from the constant pulling of nutrients.
BONES - A study published in the 1996 American Oil Chemists Society Proceedings
found that for calcium to be effectively incorporated into the skeletal structure, at least 50 percent of dietary fats should be saturated.
TOXINS AND ORGANS - If you have read books on biochemistry, you will know that
saturated fats protect the liver and other organs from toxins like alcohol, pharmaceuti- cal drugs, and over the counter pharmaceuticals like Tylenol.
HEART PROTECTION - Saturated fats provide energy to the heart in times of stress.
The heart prefers saturated fats over mono and poly. This is why there is a concentration of saturated fat in the tissue surrounding the heart. Saturated fats are scientifically proven to lower a substance in the blood called Lp(a), which (unlike cholesterol) is a good predictor of heart disease. Saturated fats help to reduce the levels a substance called C-Reactive Proteins (CRP), an indicator of inflammation. Levels of total cho- lesterol, HDL (high-density lipoproteins) and LDL (low-density lipoproteins) are not good predictors of heart disease. If you read studies that are unbiased (look into who is financing the study), you will see that heart disease is just as frequent in people with low cholesterol.
LUNGS - They cannot work without adequate saturated fats in the diet. This is because the fatty acids in the lung surfactant ( fluid necessary for lung function) are normally 100 percent saturated. When people consume a lot of partially hydrogenated fats and vegetable oils, trans fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids are put into phospholipids where the body normally needs saturated fatty acids. As a result, the lungs cannot work effectively. Look at the rising incidences of all types of lung disease including asthma, and lung cancer.
HORMONES - Hormones require the right kinds of fats for proper functioning; your body cannot make stress and sex hormones without vitamin A, provided exclusively
by fatty animal foods such as liver, shellfish, and cod-liver oil. On the other hand, the wrong kinds of fats inhibit the production of stress and sex hormones, leading to prob- lems with glucose balance, mineral metabolism, and reproduction.
The full facts and details of saturated fatty acids and their roles in the human body
are well beyond my article limitations but I hope I was able to stimulate some interest in understanding the real science behind our bodies nutrition. The analogy I like the best is: if someone is trying to give you advice on health, just ask them to take off their clothes and see what it’s doing for them...
Martin Alonzo owns a private training studio called Performance Training Center on Fourth Avenue in Hillcrest. He is a CHEK Institute-trained professional and can be contacted via the web at
performcenter.com or direct at 619.206.4577.
OCTOBER 2010 | RAGE monthly 63
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