Fats & oils
Right: The prevalence of ultra-high processed and calorie-dense foods has led to a need for a greater awareness of healthier food choices.
Previous page: There are a broad range of fats, and not all of them are created equal when it comes to human health.
MUFAs have a single carbon-to-carbon double bond and are typically high in olive oil, some other plant oils, nuts and avocados; PUFAs – which have two or more double bonds – include essential fatty acids from two broad categories of omega-3 and omega-6 but can only be obtained through diet as the body doesn’t produce them endogenously.
Sources of omega-3 include oily or fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and plant foods like nuts and seeds. Forouhi adds there has been confusion and controversy about omega-6 PUFAs, but long-term epidemiological studies show that higher linoleic acid – found in vegetable oils and nuts – is related with better health. Hu shares such thinking, saying MUFAs help lower LDL cholesterol, increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and reduce the risk of CVD, as do PUFAs. He adds that omega-3 fatty acids have an anti-inflammatory effect and provide significant benefits for heart and brain health. Therefore, replacement is “key” to reducing consumption of saturated fats. “One can use olive oil instead of butter for cooking and baking,” he says, offering an example. But he cautions it’s important not to replace red meat with more starch and refined sugar, instead use healthier alternatives such as fish or plant-based protein sources like legumes and nuts. “This way, the overall dietary pattern consists of healthy sources of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.” It’s a view Forouhi broadly concurs with: “A key issue is that when reducing saturated fat intake to below 10%... what matters is what is eaten in its place. In other words, what replaces saturated fat in the diet is really important.” If nothing else, it’s clear that such knowledge is likely reserved for those within the field, perhaps even those with a keen interest in healthy living and diets. That, however, is not everyone and as such knowing what choices to make is fraught with risk – not least because of the sensational headlines Hu alluded to. But both he and Forouhi believe industry and public health bodies have a role to play. “It is important to communicate complex nutrition messages to the general public with simplicity and clarity,” Hu says.
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He suggests using clear language and focusing on key points will help. Forouhi adds: “Crucially, beyond providing health information about fats, concerted action is needed so that the foods available are of better-quality fats and at affordable prices. The reality is that junk food and ultra-processed foods are rife and all around us, cheaper in price, tasty and high in sugar, salt and [saturated] fat.” For this reason, she calls for a multi-sector approach across the food system and public health.
Reformulation and education Food manufacturers have taken significant steps to reformulate their ingredients in recent years, but more needs to be done. Adding their role is “crucial” in shaping public health nutrition by reformulating products and making healthy choices more widely accessible and affordable, Hu says they should also help educate through clear food labelling and healthy food marketing. Forouhi says governments working with the commercial food sector, including manufacturers and retailers, also has to be “part of the solution”.
Making good dietary choices is an age-old challenge, and that’s not about to change. The evolution of science and understanding, for all the good it does, will likely contribute to that conundrum for as long as we continue to learn. Irradicating trans fats, reformulating sodium out of ingredients and now helping to educate about the properties of good and bad fats are just part of the journey. “A really important advance in understanding is the acknowledgement that a focus solely on nutrients such as dietary saturated fat deals with only half the story,” concludes Forouhi. “The food sources that the nutrients come from are important and must be considered together.” It seems of good and bad fats, like much else in this industry, the proposition is complex and the answer perhaps even more so. Hippocrates said: “There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” In this, case knowledge is the key ingredient to making better decisions, for all of us. ●
Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com
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