Fat is probably the most contentious issue in nutrition. Are they as bad for us as we are led to believe? Are they really responsible for the often poor standard of health seen in the majority of the western world? Should we embrace the “low fat lifestyle”? The problem is that there is a huge amount of freely available information around, especially compared to pre-internet times, and much of it is a) out of date, b) incorrect, c) written by people with no formal training or qualifications or d) written using such technical language that for most of us it makes no sense!

In this article, I’d like to shed some light on the seemingly complicated and controversial world of fats so that you can make informed choices about which ones to eat and which ones to avoid.

Fats are classified according to their level of hydrogen content. All this actually means is that fats that are said to be saturated are packed to the gunnels with hydrogen molecules and fats that are deemed unsaturated are missing some hydrogen molecules. The amount of hydrogen molecules present in a fat  dictates how a fat looks, tastes and when we eat it. Fat should make up around 20 – 30% of our daily food consumption. Very low fat diets are actually quite unhealthy as we need a daily dose of fat for our body’s to perform at their best. Very low fat diets are also strongly linked to skin and hair problems, low birth weight babies, lowered testosterone levels in men, reduced brain function, impaired learning ability, lowered intelligence and eye problems.

Let’s take a look at the four main classifications of dietary fats…

Saturated fats
As mentioned before, these fats are saturated with hydrogen molecules which make them very solid structures – they are often solid at room temperature e.g. butter and lard. They are chemically inert which means they don’t react much when exposed to heat, light, oxygen or chemicals. Saturated fats are found mostly in animal products i.e. beef and dairy (milk, cheese, butter) as well as palm oil and coconut oil and our bodies tend to use saturated fats for energy or energy storage. (Look down at your tummy – THAT’S saturated fat!!!)

Saturated fats are considered as the “bad boys” of the fat family but really this isn’t the case. The worst thing we can say about saturated fats is they can make you fat if consumed in excess as they are very calorie dense. Being over -fat is associated with a host of negative health concerns but it’s not the consumption of saturated fats that’s the problem. Being over-fat can be caused by over consumption of carbohydrates or even protein. Eating fat can make you fat and being fat can be a health problem but let’s not shoot the messenger! Some saturated fat in the diet is not just fine but is actually essential.

The body mostly uses saturated fat for energy and if it doesn’t need the energy it will store the fat around your body for later – often in places we’d prefer to be fat free like our stomachs, legs and bums.  As mentioned  saturated fats are inert, so they don’t undergo any chemical changes when we eat them. Saturated fats don’t clog our arteries, won’t cause heart attacks and are actually vital for mineral and vitamin absorption e.g. putting butter on your Sunday roast vegetables means the veggies become even better for you! Saturated fats are ideal for cooking as they don’t turn rancid when heated (more on this later).

Speaking of saturated fats, how many of us have been told by “experts” to switch from butter to margarine to improve our health?

Speaking of saturated fats, how many of us have been told by “experts” to switch from butter to margarine to improve our health? This is a huge myth that I’d like to lay to rest right now. As we know, butter is made from cows’ milk. Very little is added so it’s safe to say that butter is a natural food. It consists mostly of saturated fat so is deemed by some as unhealthy, but look closer at the alternative – margarine. Prior to the invention of refrigerators margarine didn’t exist. It was invented solely because butter doesn’t spread when cold. Margarine is a man-made food, more chemical than natural, contains all sorts of additives, like E numbers, emulsifiers, acidity regulators, colours, artificial flavours, stabilisers etc. It’s basically a chemistry set in a plastic pot. Butter on the other hand has no artificial ingredients, contains vitamins and minerals, is rich in CLA which is an “anti cancer” super-fat and also contains something called Wulzen Factor X, which is a substance which prevents calcification of deposits in our arteries! So, in short, butter = good, margarine = bad. Even the so-called wonder-margarines that promise improvements are heart health are no better for you than good old natural butter. Do like your grandparents did and eat butter in moderation – your heart and your taste buds will thank you for it! Incidentally, some cultures revere butter and actually prescribe it as a medicinal health food. It is given to soon-to-be mothers, growing children, the elderly and the sick as a cure all. Food for thought!

Here’s a little experiment to try which will hopefully show you that butter is best…buy some margarine and some butter. Leave them both out side by side on your kitchen worktop for a few days. After a while, you’ll see the butter discolours very slightly (the outer surface oxidises) but will pretty much stay unchanged. No fungus will grow on it (butter has anti microbial properties which can enhance gut health), it won’t go off and except for maybe a few fly foot prints (!) it will be completely unchanged. The margarine however will most likely have begun to separate, discolour noticeably, have fungus and bacteria growing on it, begin to smell bad and actually go off. Don’t eat it! The butter will be quite safe for consumption but the margarine won’t do you any good at all.

In part 2, we’ll be taking a look at unsaturated fats…

Patrick Dale

Part 2 or this series can be found here http://www.ultra-fitmagazine.co.uk/?p=1120
Part 3 of this series can be fund here http://www.ultra-fitmagazine.co.uk/?p=1126

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