Hey Everyone!
I’m falling a piffling behind inwards my blogging, but rather than locomote on yous waiting for something novel from the night recesses of my mind, I idea it was fourth dimension to resurrect a post from the past. An oldie but a goodie, equally they say. This was originally posted Nov 6, 2012, making it 1 of my earliest posts, dorsum when really, truly, no one was reading my blog. (All I've done is add together some links to posts I've done since then.) I joke close having no readers now, but, based on page views these days compared to dorsum inwards 2012, things accept come upwards a long way since those early on days. I silent accept a [relatively] modest audience, but I know you’re out there, as well as I am grateful for you! I tell people I accept a modest but loyal following. And, inwards my humble opinion, most of yous are of inwards a higher identify average intelligence. [Maybe you’re from Lake Wobegon? Any American who gets that reference, I am fifty-fifty more grateful for you, haha!] Frankly, I’d rather accept a smaller audience of…how shall I say…”choice individuals,” versus catering to the bully unwashed masses. ;D I endeavour to remind myself of that as well as live on grateful for the few but meaningful comments my posts garner, equally opposed to the flaming wars, irrationally angry comments, as well as utter stupidity that abound on sites amongst a bigger reach. We’re a small, tight-knit grouping here, as well as I kinda similar it that way.
I’ll endeavour non to do these repeat posts real often. Right now, though, I’ve got zippo inwards the hopper, thus I demand to acquire crackin’ on some novel posts. I think I’ve got a dyad to a greater extent than to tack on to the insulin series, as well as yes, love ones, I will live on getting dorsum to the cancer series. (Eventually.) I also accept some epic-ish rants coming.
Okay, plenty blathering. On amongst the show!
Mardi Gras! It agency unlike things depending on where yous alive as well as what yous believe. It could live on a catamenia of uninhibited eating, drinking, as well as full general debauchery preceding Lent. Could live on a fourth dimension to brand funny masks, eat traditional King cakes, as well as do…um…certain things to acquire lots of beaded necklaces.
On this blog, however, I’m gonna stick amongst the English linguistic communication translation: Fat Tuesday! What’s non to love close those 2 things? Fat is delicious and good for yous (no, really, it is!), as well as Tuesday…well, it ain’t Friday, but it’s meliorate than Monday! (And everyone knows Mondays suck. Disagree? Obviously yous haven’t seen Office Space. And if that’s the representative I accept 2 questions for you: what are yous waiting for, as well as how large is the stone you’ve been living under?)
So, Fat Tuesday. What’s that about? Where am I going amongst this?
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| EPA? DHA? I have no clue; only locomote past times the olive oil! |
Well, having gone through a graduate computer program inwards nutrition, I tin tell yous that in that location is a lot of confusion out in that location close fat. Seriously. A lot. Like, blow-my-mind, scare-the-crap-out-of-me levels of confusion as well as misinformation. And that’s among the people who should know better! If a fair set out of nutritionists, dietitians, doctors, as well as nurses don’t know the facts close fat, how tin the average consumer, dieter, or only plain eater stand a chance? (Note: this includes all of us. Trying to lose weight? Then this agency you. Ever purchase food? Also agency you. Ever eat food? Still you!)
Fat is 1 of my favorite things to encounter on my plate. Any goodness chef volition tell yous obese = flavor. (To sentry a primary who embraces as well as espouses this regulation wholeheartedly, may I recommend Michael Symon? I’m also a huge fan of Emeril Lagasse’s motto, “pork obese rules,” but let’s human face upwards it…Mr. Symon’s nicer to hold back at.) Think close it: which tastes better—boneless, skinless, grilled chicken breasts, or a whole chicken, roasted on the os as well as basting inwards its ain juices? Actually, kudos if yous even can answer that question. Far likewise many people of my generation as well as younger accept grown thus terrified of brute obese that they’ve never experienced the compaction of crispy pare on a moist, tender chicken leg. Their alone cognition of chicken is the boneless, skinless materials grilled to kingdom come upwards on a George Foreman grill. Tragic.
I am making it my mission to reeducate the basis close this critical macronutrient. It mightiness live on 1 of the biggest challenges I’ve ever considered tackling. After all, we’re talking close turning the tide on over sixty years of authorities as well as wellness authorities as well as experts—and I purpose those terms loosely—spearheading a smear have against a inwardness that is a fuel, a source of vitamins, a boost to the immune system, as well as an absolutely critical element of some hormones as well as every jail cellular telephone inwards our bodies. Every cell. (Don’t believe me? I accept a dyad of biochem as well as physiology textbooks I tin dot yous toward.) Some of us accept spent our entire lives nether the shadow of how bad obese is for us. Especially…cue the scary music…saturated fat. From animals. (Aaaaahh!!!)
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| Saturated fat? Better brand for certain your life insurance is paid up! |
We’ve trimmed all visible obese from our steaks. We’ve dutifully choked downward egg white omelets as well as thrown all the yolks away similar the hazardous waste product we’ve been told they are. We’ve switched from butter to margarine. We’ve switched from pork to turkey bacon (or worse, soy imitations…now yous tin cue the really scary music), nosotros purpose skim milk inwards our java (well, non me; I purpose heavy cream, thankyouverymuch), as well as nosotros dab the petroleum off our pizza inwards hopes of removing some of the obese earlier cramming a piece into our mouths.
What a shame.
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| Nutrition advice from the in conclusion 6 decades: Go guide to jail. Do non locomote past times GO; do non collect $200. |
So few younger Americans know the gustatory as well as gastronomic pleasures of eating potatoes fried inwards duck fat, the incomparable flakiness of pie crust made amongst lard, or a beef stew where the meat was kickoff seared inwards tallow. These fats, which were consumed past times healthy, robust people for thousands of years earlier our modern epidemics of pump illness as well as obesity, accept been replaced past times things similar soybean petroleum as well as hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Somewhere along the way, nosotros turned our backs on natural, easily obtained fats as well as oils as well as embraced oils from sources that require astounding (and non inwards a goodness way) amounts of processing inwards club to extract, bleach, as well as deodorize them.
Since my weblog posts are usually already way likewise long (yes, I’m aware of the problem, give thank yous you), I won’t acquire into the political as well as economical machinations behind this massive shift. If you’re interested inwards the history of that epic transition, this article will give yous to a greater extent than insight than I could perchance convey.
What I will get into is the biochemistry of this stuff. Because we’ve got to stick to the facts, folks. We’ve got to clear away the cobwebs as well as weed through the politically right and ostensibly logical recommendations we’re used to hearing close fats. What sounds goodness on newspaper doesn’t e'er jive amongst the facts, as well as when it comes to our health, nosotros demand facts, non audio bites. I’m happy that “they” accept finally stopped demonizing all fats as well as straightaway recognize that non alone are some fats non bad for us, but they really seem to be good for us. Salmon, avocado, almonds, walnuts…omega-3s as well as monounsaturates – woohoo!
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| Yes, these are "good fats," but they're non the alone ones! |
Not thus fast, buster. That’s a prissy reversal of previous recommendations to pretty much never eat fat ever, but the “experts” are silent asleep at the wheel. While they’ve vindicated a dyad of politically right sources of obese (nuts, fish, as well as olives), they’ve missed the boat on the enormous, epic "mea culpa" they owe the American populace regarding saturated fat.
It’s fourth dimension to laid the tape straight.
Second alone to cholesterol, fat—saturated fat, inwards particular—is the most misunderstood, maligned, as well as falsely defendant inwardness inwards all of wellness science. In time to come posts (always on a Tuesday – this serial is, later all, the Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday series), I’ll tackle some of the chemical scientific discipline of fats. Don’t worry – I’ll give yous only plenty scientific discipline to brand yous unsafe but non plenty to brand yous caput for the hills. Pity the USDA or AND (formerly ADA) fool who crosses your path inwards a night alley spell you’ve got bacon on your breath.
Okay, plenty backstory. Let’s acquire to it, because we’ve got a lot of basis to cover. Good thing there’s a novel Tuesday every week, eh?
Hang on tight. It’s gonna live on a bumpy ride.
Let’s locomote on it elementary inwards this kickoff post. We’ll start amongst the basics. If yous tin empathise the nautical chart below, I guarantee you’ll know to a greater extent than close fats as well as oils than most doctors as well as a lot of nutritionists as well as dietitians who accept either long since forgotten this or never fifty-fifty learned it inwards the kickoff place. (I’m non trying to badmouth doctors, but think close it: if they specialized inwards nutrition, they’d live on called nutritionists. But they’re called medical doctors. They specialize inwards medicine. I'll verbalise nutrient as well as allow them verbalise drugs.)
Let’s verbalise terminology earlier nosotros saltation in. The word fat generally refers to sources that are solid at room temperature: butter, tallow, lard, etc. Oil is used for sources that are liquid at room temp: corn, soybean, canola, safflower, sunflower oils, etc. I volition distinguish betwixt the 2 when necessary, but mostly I’ll purpose the term “fat” to hateful fats and oils.
There is no source of fat, either plant or animal, that is all saturated or all unsaturated. Every obese as well as petroleum is a combination of unlike types of obese acids. Even lard, which yous likely think of equally the worst thing yous could perchance eat, is really more unsaturated than saturated. I know, I know. Just the word “lard” makes yous cringe. You tin practically feel your arteries clogging, right? Keep reading.
This nautical chart shows yous the percentages of the unlike kinds of obese acids that brand upwards diverse fats as well as oils. Take a hold back at lard, the scariest of the scariest: it has more monounsaturated fat than saturated. And yous know what? Monounsaturated obese is the argue experts state olive petroleum is thus goodness for us. Bacon fat is higher inwards monounsaturated than saturated, too. (Emeril’s been right all along: pork fat does rule!)
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| Salivating? Yeah, me too. (Think ham steak, non Wilbur.) |
And what about olive oil, that holiest of holies? It’s the alone source of fat everyone seems to handgrip on—low-carbers, Paleo adherents, vegetarians, vegans (not to cite doctors, nutritionists, as well as dietitians)—and it’s almost 14% saturated! Put downward the homemade vinaigrette; you’re gonna give yourself a pump attack!!
Fat or Oil | Saturated % | Monounsaturated % | Polyunsaturated % |
Almond Oil | 8.2 | 69.9 | 17.4 |
Avocado Oil | 11.56 | 70.55 | 13.48 |
Beef Tallow | 49.8 | 41.8 | 4 |
Bacon fat | 31.99 | 41.43 | 10.53 |
Butter & ghee | 51.37 | 21.02 | 6.9 |
Canola Oil | 7.4 | 63.3 | 28.1 |
Chicken obese (schmaltz) | 29.8 | 44.7 | 20.9 |
Coconut Oil | 91 | 6 | 3 |
Corn Oil | 12.95 | 27.57 | 54.67 |
Cottonseed Oil | 25.9 | 17.8 | 51.9 |
Duck fat | 33.2 | 49.3 | 12.9 |
Flaxseed Oil | 8.97 | 18.44 | 67.85 |
Grapeseed Oil | 9.6 | 16.1 | 69.9 |
Hazelnut Oil | 7.4 | 78 | 10.2 |
Lard (pork fat) | 39.2 | 45.1 | 11.2 |
Olive Oil | 13.8 | 72.96 | 10.52 |
Palm Oil | 49.3 | 37 | 9.3 |
Peanut Oil | 16.9 | 46.2 | 32 |
Pumpkin seed Oil | 13-19 | ,40 | ,40 |
Safflower Oil | 6.2 | 14.35 | 74.62 |
Sesame Oil | 14.2 | 39.7 | 41.7 |
Soybean Oil | 15.65 | 22.78 | 57.74 |
Sunflower Oil | 10.3 | 19.5 | 65.7 |
Walnut Oil | 9.1 | 22.8 | 63.3 |
Totals are slightly off due to rounding, but yous tin confirm them via the links provided.
This materials tin live on overwhelming thus I’ll halt hither for now. Until adjacent time, only retrieve that saturated obese is not the demon we’ve been told it is, thus no, you’re not going to drib dead from your homemade olive petroleum mayonnaise. (Or from a prissy obese prime number rib, for that matter.) I’ll explicate why soon, when I acquire into the differences betwixt saturated, mono-, as well as polyunsaturated fats, as well as why some are meliorate for cooking spell others are best used cold. (Sneak peek: cotton fiber is for wearing, non for eating.)
Why no cite of omega-3s as well as 6s? Stay tuned. I’ll acquire there, too. There’s a ton to verbalise close as well as plenty of Tuesdays to acquire 'round. Have a specific query close fats you'd similar me to answer? Feel costless to locomote out a comment or email me.
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| The anointed one. (If yous hear carefully yous tin hear the angels singing.) |
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| No singing here. The angels are likewise busy eating. |
Remember: Amy Berger, M.S.,CNS, NTP, is non a physician as well as , LLC, is non a medical practice. The information contained on this site is non intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or forbid whatsoever medical condition. Links inwards this post as well as all others may guide yous to amazon.com, where I volition have a modest amount of the purchase cost of whatsoever items yous purchase through my affiliate links.