Fit Fare

When faced with the seemingly emulsified results of fat research, it is helpful to keep your bearings set on a path toward healthy eating. There are many factors to keep in mind when making decisions about which fats to consume and what proportions are appropriate. No single study can test all the variables in a healthy diet, so it is important to get perspective from more than one source. Otherwise it might be easy to lose one’s direction. A case in point would be the recent release of preliminary results from the Women’s Health Initiative Study, where the results appear to indicate that low fat diets cannot prevent heart disease or cancer. There are a few important variables that should be considered before we use these results to justify a cozier relationship with comfort food.

Obesity correlates with increased risk of heart disease and certain forms of cancer. The Women’s Health Initiative Study was not designed to investigate the effect of weight loss on health. Therefore, subjects on the low-fat diet (under 20% of total calories from fat) kept their calories constant, thereby maintaining their body weights. The average American consumes about 23% more fat than is recommended (37% of calories from fat rather than 30%), while only 23% of the population consumes the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables, according to doctors from the National Cancer Institute. It is clear that much of the population would benefit from reducing their fat intake, even if only to bring it down to what is considered moderate fat consumption, rather than low. It is unfortunate that the results of this study could be used to justify high fat consumption, as fat contains the most condensed form of calories in our foods. Diets high in fat can quickly lead to obesity when coupled with lack of exercise.

The press has underreported that the Women’s Health Initiative Study showed “trends toward reduction in heart-disease risk among the subset of women in the low-fat-diet group who made the greatest reduction in consumption of saturated fat and trans fat” (Science Daily). Types of fat consumed appear to be an important variable in disease prevention, and since the FDA advocates that no amount of trans fats are safe in our diets, it is clear that reducing trans fats might have more impact on health than just reducing all dietary fats across the board. A further concern, not addressed by this study, are persistent organic pollutants (POPs), some of which are known carcinogens, that accumulate in animal fats, thereby concentrating and migrating to the top of the food chain. More difficult to account for are the fat degradation products created in oils and fats during cooking, especially during frying, which are believed to be carcinogenic.

But the picture isn’t entirely bleak, because some fats carry along health benefits. Certain oils are high in antioxidants, such as Vitamin E and carotenoids, which slow fat oxidation during cooking. Some fats contain fatty acids with proven medicinal anti-microbial properties. Essential omega 3 fatty acids are very low in American diets yet they have been shown to prevent heart disease and possibly other diseases.

Knowing a few facts about how fats affect our health and making a few adjustments to our cooking habits could make an impact in our quality of life down the road. The North American Association for the Study of Obesity has found that vegetarian diets prevent many chronic diseases, because they are not only “low in disease-promoting substances (e.g., cholesterol, saturated fat, oxidants, trans fatty acids, arachidonic acid, and total fat), but also high in protective dietary factors (e.g., antioxidants, folate, soluble fiber, saponins, flavonoids, carotenoids, isoflavones, soluble fiber, plant sterols, and optimal n-6:n-3 ratio).” While plant based diets can offer benefits, I believe healthy eating ultimately comes down to learning the risks associated with various foods and finding one’s own personal balance. There doesn’t seem to be a garden path toward healthy eating.

In the weeks ahead, I hope to flesh out some of the points I have made above with more details, in order to help readers discover a healthier relationship with the fats in their diets.