The Good, The Bad, The Ugly on Fats

Funny how trends change the way you eat and what you think of as a good or a bad food. When I was a little girl, everyone I knew ate margarine. Our parents saved us from the horrible, cholesterol ridden butter. We were told that margarine was healthier than butter and butter was the enemy. Oh how times have changed.

Our eyes were opened to the dreaded “trans-fatty acid”, from which margarine is made, when it was found to contribute to some cancers as well as elevated blood LDL-cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) levels, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease. Margarine was the new bad guy. It was back to butter… in moderation, and reading labels to avoid the new enemy.

Many prepared foods still contain trans fats even with all the research. Read your labels and you’ll be surprised. if it says “partially hydrogenated…” oil of any kind, it’s a trans fat.

For a while all fats were labeled as bad and fat-free became the rage. Big mistake! The steam fell out of that trend when we got fatter from all the carbs we stuffed into foods to disguise the fact that they weren’t yummy anymore. We also got even more deficient in the few good fats we might accidentally eat.

Right now the cooking shows promote the use of mono saturated or polyunsaturated oils like olive oil or canola oil. Olive oil is especially flavorful and can add a fruity flavor to dishes. If these oils are fresh, cold pressed and not exposed to extended light, they are a rich source of omega-6 fatty acids. They are readily useable for cooking and salads, and all the Atkin’s type recipes, and make a suitable replacement for the trans fats for most dishes.

So, what are people saying about butter? Despite unjustified warnings about saturated fat from well-meaning, but misinformed, nutritionists, butter has several nutritional benefits as well. It has a vitamins such as A, E, K and D. It is also rich in trace minerals, especially selenium, a powerful antioxidant. It also contains iodine. It contains a small amount of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and more.

Okay, so what about cholesterol in butter? Actually cholesterol is a necessary nutrient needed to maintain intestinal health and also for brain and nervous system development in the young. Actually human breast milk is extremely high in saturated fat and cholesterol.

Here’s another little tidbit about cholesterol. Cholesterol is a potent anti-oxidant. It floods into the blood when we take in too many harmful free-radicals. These free radicals often come from damaged and rancid fats in margarine and highly processed vegetable oils.

A survey by the Medical Research Council showed that men eating butter rather than margarine ran half the risk of developing heart disease.

Now we’re aware of what fats support our health and which fats to avoid. We can eat healthy fats for taste as well as for the health benefits they provide and avoid the fats that could cause us harm. Fats are an essential part of a healthy diet when you know the right ones to enjoy.